Utopia

Bubbles had thought herself confused before, when Ambrosia had begun building her little criminal group. Confusion was starting to become a daily part of her life, in fact. Gild had finally, after swearing and almost throwing the book across the room, penned in a trial date for Ambrosia's case, a month from now. That meant Bubbles had a month until a day she dreaded. The day she'd have to stand and provide testimony to her mother's...

Don't say crimes. It's not... It's not that bad.

She wished that was so. Even as she pored over the record book for Guard's pay, the ledger was blurring before her eyes as she thought about it. Forcing tears back, she shook her head and forced herself to keep reading, to keep making sure the numbers were in order and nothing was wrong. She was more confused now than she'd ever been under Ambrosia's care. Maybe that was why it was so confusing. Maybe it was because she was under a new boss now, a new 'master' she supposed. She glanced up from her little desk Gild had had brought in for her at him. He too looked intensely busy, reading guard reports he'd received from the morning shifts. A large stack stood over his head on his left. The reports he'd read. It'd astonished her, how quickly this scarred stallion read through the reports, and how quickly he could judge their quality, and even how the guard was feeling from simply the way it was written.

He'd even demonstrated, showing her a few details that'd given things away. Subtle hints that betrayed the tired hoof or frustrated unicorn. She remembered being amazed, and that he'd laughed.

Genuinely laughed.

And she'd had to turn away to avoid showing him her blush, embarrassed at her show of enthusiasm for such an interesting field. She just... She couldn't let him know she's... not unhappy where she is.

Then there were the plethora of misconceptions she'd had, ever since she'd heard of Ambrosia's meetings with the grizzled veteran. She'd said he was cold, angry and disrespectful, an intimidating stallion hell bent on destroying Ambrosia's life. But...

But that's not the stallion I see before me. That I share an office with...

No, contrary to what she thought it would be like, after his initial suspicion about her betrayal, he'd been hospitable at the least, polite and gentle at his best. She'd seen him comfort a homeless teenager. He'd hugged the poor colt, and even gave him a mid-sized bag of bits, suggesting that he go and buy some food. She'd seen the look that came over the colt's face before, the same light that brightened the eyes of the orphans and homeless that Ambrosia brought back to the Star, the little fillies and young mares finally with a home.

She tried to imagine him as the dark, villainous tyrant that clearly her mother saw but, she just couldn't.

"Something on your mind?" His voice came suddenly, and she jolted, blinking quickly and blushing, looking down at her book again.

"N-no sir!" She stammered weakly, "It's nothing..."

"I'd believe you," He replied with a hint of his dry humour in his voice, still not looking up from his reports, "If you hadn't been staring at me for almost twenty minutes."

Bubbles felt her blush spread to the tips of her ears and she searched vainly for words to explain her sudden apparent interest in his face rationally, but came up empty. She fumbled around for a while, and it took her a few seconds to realise he was now looking at her, the twinkle of amusement in his eyes very real, and very embarrassing.

"I'm sorry..." She mumbled quietly, ashamed of herself. He laughed again, a genuine sound and not unpleasant.

"My dear, it's alright," He quipped with a smirk, "I know you're uncomfortable, but you can talk to me. We'll be spending a lot of time together, so you might as well say what's on your mind. I'm almost finished these reports anyway, so you might as well tell, it'd give me something to do. And you've been poring over that bloody thing for almost a week. It's your third week working for me, and since your first week, where you were quite talkative, if I remember, you've barely said a word."

She swallowed heavily, and forced herself to close the book, running a nervous hoof over her face to catch a few stray bits of her mane and tucking them behind her ear before looking at him.

"Come on now, we might as well trust each other. I've trusted you with my plans, my secrets... why not reciprocate? If nothing else, it'll be something to lighten my day."

Bubbles flushed a little again, and cleared her throat.

"I... It's... You probably don't want to hear it."

"No, please," He countered, "relieve an old stallion of his boredom."

She didn't bother to say he wasn't that old. At forty, he was... middle aged, but not old yet.

"I... It's just... You're nothing like Mother described..." She explained weakly. Gild's brow raised, and he reclined back in his chair, spinning it to face his new conversational partner.

"Do tell," He practically purred. Bubbles swallowed.

"W-well... she always said you seemed so cold and heartless whenever she spoke to you," Bubbles continued nervously, her voice shaking a little, "She'd come home angry or in tears... one time she came home and just... just didn't eat. She didn't talk, didn't even drink anything. She was like a statue for hours."

Gild hadn't said anything yet, but his light expression had soured slightly, his brows creasing into a light frown, but not in anger.

"And... After I heard what happened to Caress and then all the things I'd heard about you from the few ponies who'd still talk to me... It was... Terrifying."

"A dark, angry tyrant using the guard as his own personal army," Gild finished for her softly. Bubbles nodded wordlessly, and Gild nodded slowly, "I understand their perspective, but I assure you, I've been cold before, and yes I can be cruel, but I've never been heartless. Only determined."

"I... I've noticed that," Bubbles eyes locked onto Gild's for a moment, and she looked away quickly, "It's just... I've seen you comfort guards who've been forced to do something they hated, I've seen you feed a homeless colt with your own money, and you hugged him too. I've... You've got this big plan to make the city a better place... and I just..."

She felt tears coming to her eyes, and she didn't even hear him move, but suddenly Gild was there, though he seemed hesitant to touch her. His good wing was partially opened, but he wasn't touching her, more sort of hovering over her.

"It's alright," He tried to soothe her gently, "It's common, and to be honest, the more fearsome my reputation, the easier my job is. Dangerous ponies make ponies do things they normally wouldn't faster... so I haven't exactly..."

"But... I..." She stumbled along again, wiping away tears before they could fall on her desk, or the book, "I just... I feel so..."

"There's no guilt on your part," He said softly, smiling a little awkwardly, "Look, I haven't... real-oh! okay..."

He stopped suddenly as Bubbles pressed her face to his chest, a little nervously admittedly, but if she was right...

She felt his hoof sweep around her shoulders as he held her, letting her cry. His voice constantly telling her it was okay whenever she managed to choke out an apology so heartfelt, it even began to catch at his throat, and he wasn't even the one apologising. By the time she'd managed to get control of herself, she was dimly aware of another limb having been draped over her shoulders, and his other forehoof resting gently against the back of her head. She felt...

safe.

"I...I always thought you were this... this horrible creature," She whispered tearfully, "This... Dark monster that just wanted to destroy us, our dreams, our hopes..."

"It wasn't like that," He tried to explain, "I knew it was... It wasn't easy, getting to this point, but... But we're here, now, and mostly unscathed."

"Caress doesn't think so..." She mumbled softly. Gild was struck with a profound sense of guilt, and he hugged her a little tighter.

"I know... and I'm sorry. I did what I could..."

Bubbles shook her head.

"N-no... It's alright it... I mean, he's dead right? I heard..."

Gild paused, growing still and Bubbles froze too, stiff in his arms as he pulled back enough to look her in the eye.

"Who's dead?" he asked quietly, "What have you heard?"

She quivered under his steady gaze, but swallowed.

"I... It's just... I heard the guard who r... assaulted her w-was caught in an alley or something and killed... I... I can't say I'm sorry I just..."

Gild frowned, his gaze piercing and dark.

"What do you mean 'guard' who assaulted her?" He demanded, "The reports state it was a client in the brothel, not one of my guards."

Bubbles shrank under his gaze, and he forced himself to relax, just a little. He had to remind himself, she was barely out of her teens. Technically, she wasn't even that yet. He took a deep breath, and sighed.

"Bubbles... if you know something..."

"Caress drew a picture of her attacker!" Bubbles blurted out fearfully, "Sh-She wasn't able to tell us so Ambrosia got her a piece of paper and she drew a picture of the pony who r-r-... raped her..." She was crying again at this point, "It-It was a b-b-b-big pony, Ambrosia was going to follow up on it but..."

"But she never made it to this office to do so..." Gild said quietly, the gears in his head turning, "Did she have arrangements made for him to be..?"

Bubbles stared up at Gild in absolute horror.

"NO!" She practically screamed it in his face, "M-Mother would never! She wanted to talk to you about it! Then we heard he was dead! That's it alright, that's all! There was no point following up on sentencing or accusing a dead guard for something, because he was already dead!"

Gild drew back at her sudden tirade, actually going so far as to stand to take a step back, to give her room. She was breathing heavily, and new tears were in her eyes, these ones certainly not tears of sorrow. These ones were angry, and frustrated. Gild sighed.

"I understand," He said gently, "I had thought it a far stretch from her usual MO, but I had to be sure... And you haven't lied to me yet so..."

He sat down again, still a step away from the still upset pegasus mare before him and sighed again.

"Shatter was always a bit of a long shot," He began, "But he was incredibly strong. Made rescue and protection detail perfect for him. Who'd mess with somepony that big, right?"

His eyes narrowed.

"To be honest, I never liked him. Too many complaints about his conduct that were rescinded the next day, normally by the same pony who made them. Stank of threats. Couldn't do anything without evidence though, and his death caused more complications. I had to cover the circumstances up. It looked like some sort of ritual killing or something. Gruesome."

Silence. For a long time. Neither of them moved. Bubble's breaths became less laboured and more measured over time, and Gild's melancholy seemed to slowly dissipate too. Then, ever so slightly, he smiled.

"Hey, buck up," He told her, "This time next month it'll all be behind us. Let's get back to work. I still have one or two reports to read, and I'm sure you're itching to get back to boring old numbers again."

Bubbles swallowed back a small giggle, and nodded, suddenly feeling enormously guilty all over again. But, as he turned to return to his desk, she sat back at hers, and opened the number ridden book once more to go over it's last few pages of contents, feeling worse and worse the longer time went by.

It was just past two in the morning when Bubbles stopped momentarily in her journey to mail a few letters. She had a cloak on with the hood up over her head, and a book wrapped in heavy cloth on her back. A familiar book. And so it should be, she'd been reading up on it for the past week. The payment records for the guard. But there was something else too, something under her wing she'd kept to herself for almost a fortnight as she deliberated. But she'd made up her mind now, and she had no intention of letting the item go to waste.

So, through the darkened Canterlot streets she ran, huffing in the cold air. She hadn't realised it'd be so cold, or she'd have worn a different cloak. A heavier one, perhaps.

She, for once, didn't fear the night guard patrols that saw her, for they knew who she was by now. And if Guard Captain Gild trusted her, they did too. She even waved to one of them, and they briefly inclined their head to her, much to her thrill. But, she was only brief about it, and hurried on her way. She had a destination, and she wanted discretion.

So when she arrived in the nobles sector before some of the biggest doors she'd ever seen, she paused and swallowed heavily. Braziers outside the door burned brightly and hotly, and there was evidence that someone had laid near one until recently. With a deep breath, she knocked on the door heavily, hoping it would travel through the home to where the occupant resided, probably deep in sleep. And she waited. Turns out, she didn't have to wait long. Bleary eyed and grumbling, the owner of the establishment opened his doors...

And looked at his guest in confusion.

"Bubbles?" Gild mumbled tiredly, "What is it?"

"I have to speak with you," She whispered quickly, pushing past him and into his home, brushing her hood back as she went much to his surprise, "And it simply couldn't wait any longer. It's of utmost import."

He stared at her, his ears and head full of stuffing, and shook his head, sighing heavily.

"You know," He mumbled, his head starting to clear, "When I said 'never leave my side', this isn't what I had in mind."

"Actually, you said 'follow me at all times," She corrected him vaguely, looking through the house until she found a study, and thus a desk, to put her book down upon, "And, I know... but this was critical."

"What could it be," He asked exasperatedly, "That's so critical as to wake the Captain of the Canterlot Guard up at... Three o'clock in the morning by banging on his front door?"

Bubbles paused, and regarded him carefully. He didn't really seem angry, just a little annoyed.

"Alright... first of all then, your representative at the chamber of Commerce is skimming bits off of your guard's wages. only a tiny bit, and not enough to be noticed easily. A bit here and there from each guard's salary, but I thought you'd like to know as soon as possible."

Gild looked at her, and then slowly and tiredly sighed.

"Bubbles..."

"I also wanted to formally apologise," She barrelled on quickly, "I've... been feeling guilty about what I thought of you for a while now... All baseless ideals set on the words of others, and it wasn't fair. I treated you like dirt when we first met, because I thought you were a monstrous pony out to destroy everything my mother had worked so very, very hard for... but I was wrong."

Gild rolled his eyes, but sat down to listen to her tale.

"I've come to realise you're anything but," She'd sat down too by this point, "You're kind hearted, but guarded stallion, who honestly doesn't care what others think of him, so long as it gets the job done. You're fair to your guards, you're gentle to the public, and you chase down your goals with a single minded determination I... Haven't seen in a long time."

She paused, trying to order her chaotic thoughts. Gild had shifted position. His bandages on his wing were coming loose. It'd make her next task easier, at least.

"I... I wanted to start over," She continued, a little less sure of herself now, "I wanted to reintroduce myself, make myself forget everything I'd heard about you and my new perspective but... I find myself unable to. I can't forget it, because it makes what you are, I mean who you are, really who you are, that much more special, that others misunderstand. And you've given me, of all ponies, the daughter of your first target, a chance to get to know you the way you are. Not as the facade, the cold hearted Captain so many know you as, or the angry pegasus others think you are, but as the wonderful.. Wonderful, kind hearted pony you are. And... I wanted to thank you for that and... I just... I..."

She paused, trying to figure out how to frame this without sounding like she'd gone behind his back, which technically she had. it took her a moment to see him moving in her direction, and she stopped, hesitating, backing away slowly to match his gait, panicking just a little. The look in his eye was intense, and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing...

"I... I don't mean to sound like I've gone behind y-your back I... please.. S-stop..."

Her rump hit the wall, and she sat, pressing her back to the wall in an attempt to stay away from his intense gaze. He didn't stop, until he was right there, and then he was hugging her. Not gently, firmly. It didn't feel the same as the last time. It didn't make her feel safe so much as...

"It's alright..." He whispered to her quietly, "I misjudged you as well. I... had thought you as arrogant and self centred as I think of Ambrosia... but I was sorely mistaken myself. You... You're inquisitive, incredibly clever, quick to catch on to things and more observant than almost any of my guards... And I was serious when I said I wish I had ten more like you under my wing."

Nervously, Bubbles swallowed and tried for a joke, "Is... Is that a job offer?" She whispered, her voice trembling. He looked down at her, and he smiled.

"If you wish to take it," He whispered back warmly, "But I wouldn't recommend it..."

"Better benefits as a PA?" She quipped back with a little giggle. Gild smirked.

"Especially to me," He finished, before, rather tentatively, leaning down and pressing a chaste kiss to the corner of her mouth, much to her surprise, "And there... there are others on the table, if you're willing to take my offer."

"Captain..." She breathed shyly, "Are you planning on taking advantage of your young Personal Assistant?"

"I might be considering it," he answered dryly, "But never without her agreeing to it first... the benefits of the job position are good... but the benefits of loving the Captain could be much more lucrative."

Bubbles swallowed, blushing lightly. It occurred vaguely to her that she should be blushing a lot more than she was from his, frankly rather scandalous, proposition. But she left it behind and smiled.

"You know... Ambrosia once told me I should only kiss those I knew for certain I could honestly say I loved..." She whispered in a matter of fact voice, her forehooves coming to rest on Gild's chest, "Which would mean that if I kissed you..."

"You'd have to be able to say for certain you love me..." He finished quietly, looking a little downtrodden. In that moment, he almost looked adorable, and Bubbles couldn't help herself. She leaned forward, and planted a kiss of her own, this one squarely on his lips, and pulled away slowly, her blush now seeming a bit more appropriately proportioned.

"I suppose I love you then Gild," She whispered shyly, "And... I might just take that promotion."