In Service to the Princess

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Ordinary Day
Chapter 2 - An Unexpected Meeting
Chapter 3 - Castle Life
Chapter 4 - Complicated Questions
Chapter 5 - A Consort's Duty
Part One: The Sun Side

Chapter 1 - Ordinary Day

The alarm clock blared loudly in the ear of the stallion sleeping in the rumpled bed. The room was obscured in the darkness of the blinds drawn over the windows, and slivers of sunlight struggled to break through the cracks in the bottom. A steel gray hoof quested from the warm nest of blankets, groping around the night table in search of the offending object, which rang persistently. Finally, the hoof found the clock, fumbled with it, and knocked it to the floor, where it continued to ring petulantly.

"Buuuuck," a groggy voice groaned. The stallion threw the blanket off of himself, shivering in the cool of his room, his fur standing on end as he found the alarm clock and shut it off.

With that, Quicksilver started his day. He stumbled out of bed, wishing for just another half hour, but duty called. His job was so important that nothing could hinder his work. Not rain, nor snow, nor sleet.

He stumbled to the bathroom and turned on the light, looking at his own reflection in the mirror. His clear, blue eyes looked tired and puffy, about a night's worth of pale white-silver stubble covered his jaw and chin. "You look terrible," he informed his reflection, which just stared back at him tiredly.

He rinsed the night out of his mouth and spat in the sink, then went the few steps to the shower, turned the water as hot as it went, even as the ancient pipes in his apartment groaned in protest, and climbed in, closing the shower curtain adorned with images of happy, yellow rubber duckies.

He washed his mane and coat, gradually feeling more awake, more pony. Once he was done washing, he turned the water as cold as it would go. He closed his eyes and let the cold water wash over him. His fur stood on end from the shock of the temperature change, but the cold water woke him up and invigorated him. He stood under the cold water for five minutes before getting out and drying himself.

When he looked at himself in the mirror to groom, he saw a much more alert steel gray pegasus looking back at him. "That's better," he told his reflection. He combed his silver white mane back in a sleek style with two longer pieces on either side of his head that swept back behind his ears, and got rid of the stubble. He saved brushing his teeth for after breakfast, but put a bit of aftershave on before winking at himself in the mirror and heading down the hall to his small kitchen.

He hummed tunelessly to himself as he prepared some hay bacon, eggs, and toast and brewed himself some strong coffee. It wasn't necessarily that he was looking forward to the day ahead. He had a hard, thankless job, but somepony had to do it, and while he enjoyed his job enough that he had been doing it for seven years, it just paid the bills, and barely at that, since he lived in Canterlot.

Done with breakfast, he went back to the bathroom and finished up his morning routine. He put on his uniform, that of the Equestrian Parcel Service, made sure his shirt and hat were straight, hung his messenger bag about his barrel, and set off.

The streets of Canterlot were bustling with ponies headed off to work. As he always did in the morning, as he headed for the office, he looked up toward the castle, which was visible through the whole city, and definitely the best part of living in Canterlot. He liked walking to work, as he only lived a few blocks away, and he spent his whole day flying, so it was nice to have a few minutes to walk and prepare himself mentally for the day ahead.

For the most part, Quicksilver was easygoing enough to not care that in Canterlot, earth ponies and pegasi were pretty much subservient to the upperclass unicorns that pretty much ran the place. In fact, he lived in the "lower-class" part of town, where unicorns were rarely seen. They were all snooty snobs for the most part, anyway.

He stopped at the office to get his manifest and deliveries for the day, greeting his co-workers. Somepony called, "Hey, Quicksilver! How's it going?"

"Ah, you know, same stuff, different day," he called back.

His best friend, Lightning Strike, a whitish-blue pegasus with green eyes and a short, spiky, blue mane, threw a hoof around his neck. "Hey there, buddy. Wanna hang out at the Trough tonight? They're showin' that race you were talking about. We could bet on who's gonna win."

Quicksilver didn't really want to watch the Wonderbolts derby at the bar, but he wasn't doing anything after work, aside from having a cider and going to bed. He could drink cider just as easily at the bar. He thought all of this as Lightning watched him expectantly. By now, the other stallion knew he didn't have to say anything, Quicksilver would talk himself into going to the bar after work, whether he wanted to or not.

"Okay, but just until the derby's over," Quicksilver conceded reluctantly.

"See ya there, buddy," a triumphant-looking Lightning said, giving Quicksilver a rough pat on the shoulder.

Quicksilver went to get his deliveries. He was one of the faster, stronger fliers, so he was often entrusted with time-sensitive and next-day deliveries. He had from 8:00 a.m., when he got to the office, until sunset to make all of his deliveries.

He wasn't a very big stallion, but he carried about six parcels at a time, returning to the office to pick up more once he was finished with each batch. He always challenged himself to finish up a little early, or to make each group of deliveries in a set amount of time. His bosses liked it because it made him more productive, and he liked it, because it made his otherwise mundane job more interesting. Today, he challenged himself to finish up an hour early. He knew he'd have to bust his rump to make it, but he was confident in his speed and ability.

He arranged his packages in his bag to construct a route. He liked to make a circular route that would begin and end at the office with as little backtracking as possible. Since he was so familiar with Canterlot, and knew his own limitations, he was able to shuffle some higher-priority packages further down, so long as he knew he could make the delivery in time.

He headed out to the launch pad in the back of the building, where he could see many of his co-workers limbering up and taking off into the cloudless morning sky. He waved at Lightning as his friend took off, the pale blue pegasus waving back at him with a huge grin.

He stretched and limbered up as he waited for his turn to take off. Flying all day was very physically demanding, but Silver had been doing it for seven years, so he had a great balance of speed and stamina. Besides, around noon, he would take a lunch break and give his wings a rest.

When Silver got to the front of the queue, he put his goggles on, made sure he had everything, and waited for clearance to take off. Once he got it, he galloped to the end of the launch pad and flapped his wings once, powerfully to get himself going.

He spent the morning speeding all over Canterlot. He'd had a close call with a taxi when he was flying low for a landing, but he'd managed to avoid it, the earth pony driver shouting at him to watch where he was flying. He loved the speed his job demanded, and the adrenaline rush from close-calls like that one.

The hardest part of his job was dealing with guards chewing him out for flying unsafely, and dealing with angry clients, some of whom thought he hadn't made the delivery fast enough, and others that were just having a bad day. He always did his best to not take it personally.

He had one delivery where the unicorn mare he'd been making the delivery to hadn't even paid attention to him. He had knocked on the door and a lavender unicorn mare with an indigo mane with a pink and a purple stripe answered.

"Delivery for," he looked at the label affixed to the package. "Twilight Sparkle," he said, holding out a book wrapped in brown paper.

"Ooh! It came!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"I need you to sign for it," protested Quicksilver as she went to close the door.

She put her hoof in the ink as he indicated and stamped his face distractedly, too focused on the book grasped in the field of her magenta magic, before closing the door on him. With a sigh of exasperation, Silver took his manifest and pressed it against his face to transfer the still-wet ink to the paper, grumbling as he put it back in his bag and took off for his next delivery.

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At the end of the day, he missed his goal by a scant seven minutes. He'd gotten back before pretty much anyone else, though, so he headed to the locker room to take a shower and wait for Lightning, who usually finished up a little early too.

"Don't beat yourself up, man," he told his reflection in his locker mirror, once he had showered and combed out his mane. "Tomorrow's a new day."

"Are you talking to yourself in the mirror?" A feminine voice asked.

With a start, Silver peered behind the locker door to see Penny Lane, a copper-colored earth pony mare he had a crush on. They had worked together pretty much the whole seven years Silver had been a courier, and he had thought of asking her out many times, but never seemed to be able to work up the courage.

"Oh, Penny!" he exclaimed. "Not talking to myself so much as...giving myself a bit of encouragement," he said, his cheeks flushing all the same because she had caught him.

"Oh. I hear public speakers do that," Penny said brightly, making Silver's heart melt and puddle somewhere around his knees.

"Uh..." he said. Say something, stupid! Invite her out! "Me and Lightning Strike were going to hang out at the Trough tonight to watch the Wonderbolts derby...want to join us? I could...buy you a drink?"

Smooth, he scolded himself.

"I'd love to..."

Silver's heart soared and did Figure 8s among the clouds. He could hardly believe it!

"But I really can't."

Silver's heart plummeted from the clouds and crashed on the pavement in a bloody mess.

"It's just that I promised Daisy that I would cover her tomorrow so she can take her anniversary off, so I have to be in early," Penny hurriedly explained. "Maybe some other time?"

"Sure," Silver said, trying to sound nonchalant, but his face looked crestfallen and he suddenly felt his long day. "No problem," he added. Penny hung around for a few awkward moments.

"Well, have a good night," she said, and trotted off.

Once she was gone, Quicksilver groaned. "Arrghh! You could've suggested another time this week! No wonder you never get any dates!"

Just then, Lightning Strike showed up. "What's up with you?" He asked.

"Nothing, I just lost probably my only opportunity to ask the mare of my dreams out. It's just the end of my world as I know it."

"Stop being so melodramatic. There'll be other opportunities, and other mares," Lightning said easily.

"No, you don't get it. I've had a crush on Penny Lane for seven years! I just worked up the bits to ask her out, and she couldn't, and she suggested maybe another time and waited there! I should have realized she was inviting me to find another time!"

Lightning just shook his head. "For being named Quicksilver, sometimes you are a little slow."

"Hey! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I am on your side," Lightning assured him. "That's why the first round's on me."

The two of them finished putting their things away, and headed out, just as the sun was setting, bathing Canterlot in a warm, pink and orange glow.

"This is my favorite time of day," said Quicksilver, looking at the castle towering in the distance, awash in the pink glow of sunset as he and Lightning Strike made their way out to the boulevard.

"I'm with you there," Lightning agreed as they joined the throng of ponies that were headed home for the day. "Man, the street's really crowded. How 'bout we fly there instead?"

Quicksilver grinned. "Okay. Last one there buys the second round!"

"Oh, you're on!" declared Lightning. He knew he didn't have a chance of beating Quicksilver, but he was glad to see his friend's spirits lift, so he figured losing a few bits was worth it.

The two pegasi took to the sky, and were off like a shot.

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Quicksilver left the Trough later, and slightly more inebriated, than he had intended. He had of course, won the race with Lightning, so his buddy had bought the first two rounds of cider as promised, then they got into a heated debate about who would win the derby.

Lightning was putting his money on Fleetfoot, but Quicksilver kept insisting Spitfire was going to win, so they settled by saying if Fleetfoot won, Quicksilver would buy the next round of cider, and if Spitfire won, it was on Lightning. Well, Spitfire won by a huge margin, so Quicksilver insisted that for being an insufferable ass, his friend should buy the next two rounds, and well, he did.

Though Quicksilver stumbled out of the bar, he insisted he could get home just fine, thank you very much. He'd only had four drinks, but he hadn't had much to eat with it, and was a lightweight to boot. He meandered home, letting the cool evening air help clear his head, which felt like it was floating a few feet above his neck. He would drink plenty of water when he got home and take it easy the rest of the night.

The streets of Canterlot were always well-lit at night, so Quicksilver had no trouble finding his way, but he was diverted when he heard the sound of somepony crying. He knew he should just keep on walking. He was drunk, really had to pee, and he had to be up for work in the morning, but something compelled him to find whoever was crying, so he followed the sound.

He soon came upon a pretty white pegasus mare with a pink mane, sobbing quietly into her hooves. Silver thought she looked familiar somehow, and approached her slowly. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked, his voice full of concern. It wasn't just every day you stumbled on a pretty mare crying at the side of the road.

She looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy. "No, not really," she replied, wiping at them. "My coltfriend just dumped me."

Quicksilver sighed in relief. At the glare she gave him, he said, "No, I sympathize, it's just, well, I don't mean to sound mean, but I was thinking something worse might have happened."

The mare shook her head. "Nothing like that," she agreed, "but my coltfriend...we had been seeing each other for a while, and we just moved in together a few weeks ago. I thought it would be great, but just recently, he started to...change. He started getting suspicious whenever I went out on my own, and really broody. Tonight, I went out for some drinks with my coworkers, down at the Trough."

Quicksilver started. He knew she had looked familiar! He remembered seeing a white mare with a pink mane with some other ponies at one of the tables.

"Anyway, I got back a little later than I thought I would, and he just...exploded."

By now, most ponies might have told her to buck up and move on, but Quicksilver listened patiently to her story. He felt horrible for her. He never had a marefriend, but he could imagine how it would feel to have someone you loved just suddenly change like that.

"He accused me of sleeping around," the mare continued. We had an argument, and...and...he...he threw me out!" She broke into fresh sobs.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Quicksilver. He moved to her side quickly and pulled her gently into his forelegs. "Is there anywhere you can go? Anypony we can call?"

She shook her head, crying into his chest. "He has all of my things. I don't have a single bit on me, and my parents live in Fillydelphia!" she wailed.

"Hang on, there has to be something we can do," Quicksilver said rationally. He thought for a moment, then an idea came to him. "You could crash at my place for the night," he suggested. "In the morning, it will be more clear, what you should do," he said.

The mare looked at him with huge, pink, watery eyes. "Really?" she hiccuped. "Would you really do that? For somepony you just met?"

"You bet I would," Quicksilver said, gently wiping away her tears with a fore-hoof. "I'll even lend you a few bits for a cab, if you need them," he said. Part of him cursed himself for being such a nice guy, but she needed somepony, dammit, and that somepony happened to be him! "Come on, my place isn't far. We're just a couple blocks away."

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Quicksilver led the mare to his apartment building. If she noticed how run-down the place looked, she didn't say anything. "You can take a shower, if you want, and you can sleep in my bed. I'll take the couch," he said as he unlocked the door and flipped the lights on. His apartment looked even smaller to him than usual, and he thought distractedly, that it had been a while since he'd cleaned. There was a small pile of dishes stacked in the sink.

"Thank you," the mare said gratefully. "I'm Sun Chaser, by the way."

"Quicksilver."

"I can't tell you how much this all means to me, Quicksilver. You're the only pony who cared enough to listen to me, to help me."

Silver blushed. "It's nothing. Really. My father always taught me to treat others the way I want to be treated."

Sun Chaser said, "It's not nothing to me," and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

His face warmed, the heat radiating from where she had kissed him. He cleared his throat in embarassment and gave her the "grand" tour.

"Bathroom's through there, my bedroom's across the hall. You can sleep in my bed."

Sun Chaser shook her head. "After all you've done for me already, I don't want to kick you out of your own bed. I can sleep on the couch. It's no big deal, really," she said.

"No, take the bed. I insist. The couch is really lumpy. After the night you've had, you deserve a peaceful nights' rest."

This went on for a while, until Quicksilver finally gave in and let Sun Chaser have the couch, which brought back a lesson his father had taught him when he was a young colt. He had said, "Don't bother arguing with a mare, Son, it doesn't get you anything but a headache." He could now see the wisdom in his father's words.

He headed back to his room to get some bedding and pillows for Sun Chaser, after making a quick detour to the bathroom.

As he gathered bedding, he could hear Sun Chaser, who had taken up his offer to use his shower, in the bathroom, fiddling with the faucet.

"You have to turn it kind of hard," he called through the bathroom door, and winced when he heard a yelp once the water did start.

"Got it!" she called.

Silver chuckled to himself as he went back to the living room and made Chaser's bed. He took much more care with it than he did with his own bed. His blankets were piled in the middle, and he just arranged it accordingly when he went to bed. With her bed, he made sure things were neat and straight.

She emerged from the bathroom with a towel over her mane, and smiled when she saw Silver fussing over her bed. "Thank you, Quicksilver, it's perfect."

"You--you're welcome," he stammered, blushing. "If you need anything, an extra blanket or whatever, just holler. I'm kind of a heavy sleeper though, so you might have to come shake me."

Chaser giggled. "Don't worry. I think you've got everything er--covered."

The two of them laughed together and Silver turned off the lights, making sure Chaser was comfortable before he headed back to his room. He thought he'd have a hard time getting to sleep, but he passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

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"Sun Chaser" waited until she heard Quicksilver snoring before she got out of bed. She was truly touched that he went to all that trouble for her, and that she had to argue with him over the couch. He really went above and beyond her expectations for him.

Once she was sure Silver was asleep, she got up off the couch, which, he hadn't lied, was lumpy, found a piece of paper, and scribbled a quick note for him, which she left on the counter next to his coffee machine. "Thank you, Quicksilver," she said with a secret smile, as she left his apartment.

It had taken a little longer than she expected, and by the time she was standing on the cobbled road outside of Quicksilver's apartment building, the moon was high in the sky, washing its pale silver light over Canterlot. Sun Chaser looked up at the blemishes covering the surface of the moon in the form of a unicorn mare's head.

Slowly, her form began to change. She grew taller, and her horn, no longer concealed by her spell, was visible on her forehead. Her simple, pink mane began to billow in the unfelt solar wind, and green, blue, and purple hues wove themselves in.

Princess Celestia stood in the middle of the quiet street, unafraid that she would be seen. This was a quiet neighborhood of working ponies, who would, for the most part, be abed by now.

She was certain Quicksilver was the stallion she was looking for. Her gaze locked on the moon, she said, "I am sorry, Sister. I have ruled this past one thousand years alone, but...there are some things that I am not strong enough to bear on my own. I hope you will forgive me."

Celestia spread her great, white wings and took to the sky with a single powerful flap. She flew a short distance, and blinked away in a flash of gold.

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The alarm clock blared loudly in the ear of the stallion sleeping in the rumpled bed. The room was obscured in the darkness of the blinds drawn over the windows, and slivers of sunlight struggled to break through the cracks in the bottom. A steel gray hoof quested from the nest of warm blankets, groping around the night table in search of the offending object, which rang persistently. Finally, the hoof found the clock, fumbled with it, and shut it off.

A clear, blue eye blearily glanced out of the covers, and widened as he remembered Sun Chaser out in the living room. He made haste to get out of bed, and fell to the floor with a loud "Oof!" as his hooves got tangled in his blankets and sheets. He managed to extricate himself, and went down the hall, thinking Chaser must have been a heavy sleeper if she had slept through all that.

When he emerged into the living room, however, he found the couch empty, the blankets arranged neatly. "Sun Chaser?" he called, but the white mare was nowhere to be seen.

He wandered into the kitchen, finding Sun Chaser's note next to the coffee machine.

Quicksilver,

Thank you so much for everything you did for me last night. I had to get up early so I could get to work, but I cannot express how much I appreciate everything you did for me. There are far too few kind ponies like you left in the world.

-Sun Chaser

Silver read the letter a couple of times, and smiled. He was glad he could help her, even if only for a night, and he thought it was a shame that what she said about him being one of the few kind ponies left in the world was probably true.

"Everypony needs a friend," he said to the letter. "Even if only for a night."

Since he was already in the kitchen, he set his coffee to brewing as he went through his normal morning routine, but just as he was about to make his breakfast, there was a knock on the door.

Quicksilver hoped it was Sun Chaser, but he knew it wasn't, and as he gazed out the peep hole to see who his visitor might be, he found that he had two visitors, and neither of them were Sun Chaser. In fact, they weren't mares at all. It was a pair of Royal Guards!

Author's Note

I'm aware that in most fandoms, it's a cardinal sin to pair OCs with canon characters. I think this is a little unfair. Anyhow, anyone who's seen my favorite fics on this site will know that I ship Twilestia, but I've been kicking this idea around in my head for a while now, and I got inspired to try it out after reading a fic that kind of touches on that idea. (The fic is here. Read it.)

Just so everypony is on the same page, the Equestrian Parcel Service (or EPS) is the Equestrian equivalent of UPS or Fed-Ex.

Chapter 2 - An Unexpected Meeting

Quicksilver's eyes widened as he saw the Royal Guards standing outside his apartment. He saw one of them raise his hoof again and heard the resulting knock.

Oh, crap!he thought. What the buck are they here for? What did I do? He took a few deep, calming breaths before opening the door. "Good morning, gentlecolts," he said brightly.

"Are you Quicksilver?" the guard on the right said. Both guards were white pegasi, with blue eyes and blue tails. The plumage on their helmets matched their tails.

Silver thought this might be his chance, but then, he thought, they probably knew who he was, and lying about it wouldn't get him anywhere. "That's right," he replied, leaning against the doorway, elbow propped on the door frame, trying to sound casual, and knowing he was failing miserably. His heart beat a tattoo against his ribs.

"We have been ordered to bring you to Canterlot Castle by Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia," the same guard informed him tonelessly.

Silver gulped. What could Princess Celestia possibly want with him? He hadn't committed any crime that he was aware of, he had paid his taxes, and so far as he knew, hadn't done anything to warrant the attention of the princess. He tried to think fast, but his brain wasn't very helpful. Then, he got it. He started laughing. "Great getup guys! Wow, you actually had me going there for a second. Who put you up to this? Lightning? He's a real joker, that one."

The guards looked at each other. "Princess Celestia has 'put us up to this,'" the monotone guard said. "She requests your presence at Canterlot castle, immediately." He emphasized the last word.

Quicksilver kept chuckling for a while and trailed off awkwardly. "Ummm--have I done something wrong? Am I in trouble?"

The two guards exchanged glances, as if debating how much to say. "You aren't in trouble," the one on the left assured him. He had a kinder tone than his partner. "We have simply been ordered to bring you in the presence of Princess Celestia. She did not deem it necessary to inform us of what she wants you for."

"Well, as long as I'm not in trouble..." Silver said hesitantly. He stepped out of his apartment, glad he hadn't even turned on the stove, then looked back at his coffee longingly. "Is it okay if I bring my coffee?" he asked.

The two guards exchanged glances again. "I don't see why not," the one on the left said with a shrug. His partner just rolled his eyes.

Silver quickly poured himself a cup and added a bit of cream and sugar before he joined the guards. "Okay, I'm ready!" he declared.

The guards didn't say anything, just headed down the hallway with Silver trotting behind them. He couldn't help but notice how they were both roughly the same height, muscular, and their armor covered any defining features, like their cutie marks. Then, he wondered if Princess Celestia could tell them apart, or if they even had names. Maybe they all had numbers or something. Maybe Princess Celestia just addressed them all as 'hey, you!' He almost laughed at the idea, but stifled it, and very briefly wondered if they were all chosen for their similar appearances, or if they actually dyed their manes and coats, kind of like a uniform.

He drank his coffee as they walked. They couldn't be that bad, he decided. They had let him bring it after all. He didn't think he'd be in a fit state to see the ruler of Equestria if he hadn't even had a single cup of coffee. He was also glad he had already gotten ready for work. He was even wearing his EPS uniform.

As they left his apartment building, he saw a plain-looking coach waiting outside, a brown earth pony harnessed to the front. Monotone opened the door for him and his buddy preceded him inside. "Get in," he said flatly.

Quicksilver did as he was bade, getting into the coach and sitting beside the other guard. Monotone climbed in after him, and once he was settled with Quicksilver in the middle, he tapped on the glass at the front of the cab to tell the driver to get going.

They all sat in silence as the coach took them to their destination.

The route they took to the castle wasn't exactly direct. They went down several side streets. Quicksilver was curious as to why the princess wanted to see him if he wasn't in trouble for something, and why they went to such pains to not be seen.

They traveled through many back streets and alleys, places that even Quicksilver, after living for years in Canterlot, hadn't even known existed. Quicksilver peered out the window as the coach trundled along.

Finally, after what seemed like half an hour, they reached a postern gate in the castle wall. It was overgrown and mostly obscured by some kind of climbing plant with dark green foliage and tiny blue buds that were closed tightly, despite the bright daylight. Quicksilver didn't recognize it, and he wouldn't have even realized there was a gate there if he hadn't been led right to it.

He and his guards got out of the coach, and once they were standing on the cobbled street, it drove away.

Monotone tapped his hoof on the gate in a pattern. Horse Code, realized Quicksilver. After a moment, the gate swung open, somehow unencumbered by the climbing plant.

Monotone passed through in silence, followed by Quicksilver and the other guard, who closed the gate behind them. Silver didn't see anypony else, and wondered who had opened the gate. Why all this cloak and dagger stuff? he wondered.

He found that they were in some kind of garden; maybe the kitchen garden. There were all kinds of vegetables, berries, and fruit trees growing here. They didn't head toward the kitchen though. Instead, they went behind the castle and through some kind of servant's entrance.

Quicksilver looked around in awe as they walked through what may have been the guards' barracks, and out into a corridor. The corridor was lined with huge windows that allowed the sun to spill inside, lighting it naturally. The flagged floor was covered in a plush red carpet that gave a little under Silver's hooves.

He could hardly believe this wasn't some kind of trick or prank. He was half-expecting the coach to take them somewhere out of the way, where they could dispose of him without being seen. The only reassuring thought he had was that they'd be going to a lot of trouble for a guy who obviously only had a hoofful of bits to his name, so they had to be the real deal. Besides, the guards' armor looked like it was real gilded plate, and obviously wasn't fake. Same with the way they talked and carried themselves.

They went through a few corridors that all looked the same, lined with huge windows facing both East and West, so the sun would always illuminate them through the day, and the moon would illuminate them by night.

Finally, they stopped at a door that was made of some kind of light brown wood emblazoned with Princess Celestia's cutie mark. Quicksilver wasn't a carpenter, so he had no idea what kind of wood it was. Two guards, a gray unicorn, and a light tan earth pony, were stationed on either side, facing forward. Neither of them so much as blinked when Quicksilver and his guards approached. This time, when the guard knocked, it wasn't Horse Code, just three firm knocks.

"Your Highness, we have brought the pegasus Quicksilver as you commanded," Monotone called.

"Excellent. Please show him in," came a clear, feminine voice.

The unicorn guard's horn lit with golden magic and opened the door for Quicksilver. Monotone and his partner sank to their forelegs in a bow before Princess Celestia, who was coming around a large desk. Realizing this was the ruler of Equestria, Quicksilver, too hurriedly sank to his forelegs, looking up at her as she approached.

She was even more beautiful in person than any of the posters or pictures he had seen of her could even depict. Her pastel green, blue, purple, and pink mane billowed serenely in an unfelt breeze, and her alabaster coat looked pristine in the morning light. She was quite a lot taller than he had imagined, and she wore a kind smile.

"Thank you, Bright Shield and Strongbow," she said, nodding in turn to Monotone and his partner. Well, that answered that question. "Quicksilver, please come in. Would you like some coffee or tea?" She had reached the door by now and Quicksilver scrambled back to his hooves. The princess stood aside to allow him to pass by her.

Looking at Bright Shield and Strongbow, Quicksilver said, "Uh, thanks guys," though he didn't know what he was thanking them for, and followed Princess Celestia into what was obviously her study. A large desk made of the same wood as the door occupied a decent portion of the room, and bookshelves stuffed to the brim with books and scrolls lined the walls. He looked at his mug, which he was still carrying. "Coffee would be great," he said a little weakly, realizing that the princess not only knew his name, but had also addressed him directly.

"Hoplite," Celestia said, addressing the unicorn guard. "What is going to be said within this room is to be considered a state secret," she instructed.

"Your Majesty," the guard protested. "I can't allow him to be alone in there with you. We don't know anything about him!"

"I know everything about him," she countered. "Are you refusing to obey my command?"

Hoplite gulped audibly. He was walking on eggshells, he knew. If he refused to follow his Princess's command, he could be dismissed, or worse, charged with treason. "No. Of course not, Your Majesty. I am merely concerned with your safety, as is my duty."

"You need not be concerned. I know I am perfectly safe with him." She turned her head to look at Quicksilver, who had stopped just inside the study. "Isn't that right, Quicksilver?" she asked sweetly.

It was Quicksilver's turn to gulp. "O-of course!" he stammered. "Your Majesty," he added quickly.

Hoplite looked skeptical, but he nodded. Procedures for state secrets meant the room would be sound-proofed by magic, and guards were to be sationed ten feet away from the door, as a precaution. "As you command, Your Highness," he said gravely. He glanced to his earth pony compatriot and nodded once.

Celestia retreated into the confines of her study, and closed the door, locking it by magic, and casting the sound-proofing spell. "There," she said. "Please, Quicksilver, have a seat," she invited, gesturing to a table off to the side of the study, near a huge window that reached the ceiling and bathed it in the golden glow of the morning sun.

Quicksilver took a seat as indicated, and the princess sat across from him. She poured him a cup of coffee from a silver pot, and added just the right amount of cream and sugar, placing it before him with her magic.

"Ah, Your Majesty," Quicksilver started as Celestia poured herself a cup of dark brown tea. She held a hoof up to stop him.

"I truly dislike titles, Quicksilver. Please, call me Celestia."

Quicksilver's brain ground to a halt. He was suddenly on a first name basis with the ruler of Equestria? "Uhh...Pri--Celestia," he stammered. Get a hold of yourself! he commanded himself. "I was just wondering why I'm here," he said, after taking a deep sip of coffee to get himself together. Very vaguely, somewhere in the corner of his mind, he couldn't help but think this was the best coffee he had ever tasted.

"An excellent question," Celestia said cheerfully as she added a lump of sugar and a bit of cream to her tea. She levitated the cup before her in the golden aura of her magic, dipping her muzzle into the cup delicately and sipping, smacking her lips softly, contentedly, in a somewhat un-princesslike way. "First, though, the matter I am about to discuss with you is one of a...personal...nature to me. It is something that, should you refuse, must not leave this room. May I have your assurance that you will not discuss anything you are about to hear with anypony?" she asked, placing her teacup on the saucer set on the table before her, having drained it in one sip.

Quicksilver was a little dumbstruck. State secrets, he thought, recalling the exchange between the princess and her guards. She was going to great lengths to be sure he was the only pony that heard...whatever it was she was about to say to him, or request of him, by the sound of it. He briefly wondered what would happen if he said no, but figured if he did, she would thank him for his time and send him home. He wondered if that would be the easier option. After all, until this morning, he'd been a normal courier pegasus. What could the Princess possibly want to request of him that was so personal?

After a moments' debate in his head, curiosity finally won out. Celestia waited patiently for him to decide, drinking another cup of tea as she waited. "I promise," he said at last.

Celestia smiled radiantly. "It seems that so far, I was right about you," she said.

"You know me?" he asked. "You told that guard, Hoplite, that you know everything about me."

Celestia smirked. "I know enough. I know that you were born in Cloudsdale, that you're 27 years old, still a virgin, and that you've been working as a courier for seven years," she said.

Quicksilver flushed hotly. "How do you know I'm still a virgin?" he demanded.

"I have my ways," replied Celestia, smiling enigmatically. "I also know that you are a good listener, and very kind, which are two qualities that I hold in very high regard. Which brings me to why I summoned you here. I am...looking to fill a position. One that has not been held by anypony in more than a millennia."

"What kind of position?" blurted Quicksilver.

"I was just getting to that," chided Celestia gently. "This position requires the utmost discretion. Few ponies even know that it exists, since it has been such a long time since I've taken one." She paused, looked out the window behind her at the gardens it overlooked.

"The truth is, I have been ruling Equestria alone for nearly a millennia. It is a job that I love, and that brings me great gratification; however, being a ruler naturally requires that I...keep a distance between myself and my subjects." She did not look at Quicksilver as she spoke. "You may think it is impossible to be among so many ponies, and still be alone, but I am, because being the ruler of Equestria requires that I fulfill my little ponies' expectations for me. Sometimes, it can be a very lonely existence." Now she returned her pink eyes to Quicksilver's clear, blue ones.

He thought, vaguely, that those eyes seemed familiar, that he had seen them before, but obviously, he was sure if he had been in Celestia's presence before, he would have remembered it. "Wait a minute," he breathed as the realization hit him. "It was you. Last night! You're Sun Chaser!" He didn't know how it was possible, because Sun Chaser had been a regular-sized pegasus mare, but he knew it had to be her.

Celestia looked taken aback, and Quicksilver was amazed he caught her off-guard. A slow smile spread across her muzzle. "Very perceptive," she said lightly. "I will stop beating around the bush and get to the point, Quicksilver. There are things I need that only a stallion can provide me. What I am looking for is a consort." She paused a moment, allowing that statement to sink in.

"Why me?" asked Quicksilver, a shock running through him at the implication.

"Is it not apparent?" she asked. "I am looking for somepony that I may be comfortable being vulnerable with, Quicksilver. Yes, in that sense as well," she said, catching the look he gave her.

"B-but I--"

"I do not require my consort to be experienced in all areas. That, in particular, can be taught. What I need is somepony who can listen. Somepony who can be supportive. I am not as perfect as everypony makes me out to be, and carrying on that façade...it has taken a lot out of me in this past thousand years." she confessed. Even though she sat straight, and her posture never slipped, he could see how tired she was in her eyes.

"What, exactly, would my duties be?"
inquired the gray pegasus. He could hardly believe he was even having this discussion.

"You would be duty-bound to guard my secrets," Celestia informed him, "you would support me and be somepony I can talk to, and you would attend to my needs. It is not an easy job, I won't lie to you, but you would play an essential role in my happiness and well-being."

Quicksilver's mind was racing a mile a minute. He could hardly fathom what Celestia was telling him. Even though she had given a reasonable explanation as to why she had chosen him, he couldn't imagine she would want him, a simple courier, as her consort. "When would I start?" he asked in a daze.

"Right away," replied Celestia. "Your things from your apartment will be brought here, to the castle."

"What about my job? My friends?" He thought particularly of Lightning.

"Your resignation will be sent tomorrow morning, and you will not be a prisoner, here. You may come and go as you please, so long as I do not require your presence."

"What if, when the time comes, I can't--"

Celestia held up a hoof to quiet him, and Quicksilver shut his muzzle. "There's no need to ask all of these 'what-ifs.' If, for any reason, you feel as though you cannot perform any of your duties, simply let me know, and you may return to your life, so long as you keep the promise you just made to me," she said gently. "I understand this is a very big thing I ask of you, but I have every confidence in you. That is why I chose you, after all."

Quicksilver was thankful that Celestia expressed her confidence in him, but it was still a huge decision to make. His whole life would change with one simple word.

What do I have to lose? he thought. He thought of his job. He'd been doing the same thing for seven years. He was good at his job, and he liked it, but he didn't love it. It wasn't really what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, he just stuck with it because he couldn't think of what he would do instead. He had wanted to join the Wonderbolts when he was younger, but that ship had sailed, a long time ago. He was nervous about part of his job being pleasing the princess in bed, but he was reassured that if he didn't think he could do it, he could just go back to his old life.

"Do you need time to think about it?" Celestia asked, watching the gears turning in his head with her wide, beautiful magenta eyes.

"No," said Quicksilver firmly. "I've decided. I'll do it."

"Excellent," Celestia said, favoring him with a brilliant smile.

"I just had ah--one more question. It's kind of personal," he said.

"Ask me anything," Celestia invited.

Even though she had given him the invitation to ask anything, Quicksilver fidgeted in his seat nervously. "Uh...can you, you know...get pregnant?" he asked uncomfortably. Part of him couldn't believe he had even asked that, but he felt like it was a valid question for somepony in his position.

"No," replied Celestia, closing her eyes briefly and bowing her head. "I do admit, it would complicate things greatly if I could. I consider my subjects my children."

"Ah, okay," he said, trying not to sound too relieved. He didn't want to think about the possibility of foals.

"One more thing," said Celestia. "This thing I ask of you is of a highly personal nature, but I do not expect that I be the only pony you be with," she told him.

"You mean--" he started, and the princess nodded. Quicksilver boggled at that concept. He didn't even have a marefriend. He could scarcely even imagine being with Celestia like that, let alone her and somepony else.

"If there's nothing else," Celestia said brightly before Quicksilver had an opportunity to think on that more, "I have adjourned court for the day. I would be pleased to show you around the castle."

"I'd love that," Quicksilver said. He and Celestia stood and headed for the door, which Celestia opened with her magic. As they exited, she headed down the hall to where Hoplite had stationed himself.

"You and Claymore are dismissed. Quicksilver here is to be treated as my personal guest, and to be given access to all areas of the castle. Please spread the word to the other guards and members of the staff."

If Hoplite was the least bit confused about his princess's orders, he gave absolutely no indication of it, seemingly having learned his lesson. He nodded once. "It will be done," he agreed at once. He moved off to join the earth pony guard, Claymore.

"Now then," said Celestia brightly after seeing the two guards off. "Follow me," and Quicksilver fell in beside her.

He was amazed by the opulence of the palace as Celestia led him to where she and the castle staff all resided. She showed him to his room first, and he was amazed by the size of it. The sitting room alone was probably the size of his entire apartment. All of the furniture was hoof-crafted and of the highest quality. He thought that his stuff would look like junk in comparison.

Celestia waited patiently as he explored his quarters. The bedroom featured a huge four-poster bed that he couldn't help but test out. He sank into the feather mattress, feeling like he could just fall asleep then and there. He never realized just how hard his bed at home was.

He joined the princess out in the sitting room. "Is everything to your liking?" she asked.

"Yeah! This is better than anything I could have expected," he replied. He felt dizzy, and followed Celestia in a daze, like he was expecting to wake up any minute. He doubted it was even past 10 in the morning, but he felt like he'd already been here all day.

Celestia showed him her own chambers, just upstairs from him; the dining hall, the gardens, and other points of interest. He tried to pay close attention to what she was showing him, but he felt like his brain was overloading, and he wasn't sure he was going to remember much.

As though sensing this, Celestia said, "If you get lost, any member of my staff would be more than happy to help you. Everypony will treat you courteously, and they will be happy to do as you ask," Celestia assured him. "You play a very important role to my well-being and happiness." She paused in the middle of a hallway, and Quicksilver almost ran into her.

"Why don't you take the rest of the day to settle in and let things sink in a bit? I realize this must be terribly overwhelming for you, and that I have quite unceremoniously turned your life upside down.

"The castle is your home now, and you may go wherever you wish. There is no area that is restricted to you. Feel free to explore as you will, but I ask that for the time being, at least, you remain within the castle grounds. I have several things that I must sort out in regards to you before I feel comfortable letting anypony see you coming and going. You are, however, by no means, a prisoner, and if you do try to leave, nopony will stop you. I hope you understand."

"Sure. I understand," Quicksilver said. He realized how delicate this whole thing must be. "But uh, when will I be able to see my friends?" he asked, thinking of Lightning. He knew his best friend would be worried when he didn't show up for work that morning. "What will I tell him when I do see him?"

"Those are the things I must see to. While I was fairly certain that you would accept, I was reluctant to plan too far ahead, in case my judgement of you hadn't been correct. Things should be arranged by this evening, and you may see your friend tomorrow," Celestia replied.

Quicksilver looked down at his hooves, filled with a raging tempest of conflicting emotions. He felt Celestia's hoof gently caress his cheek, and he looked up to her, into her kind, pink eyes.

"I am sorry to disrupt your life like this Quicksilver. I want you to realize that I am so very grateful to you for your willingness to do all of this for me. This is no small thing I ask of you, and I greatly admire your fortitude, and how well you've taken all of this."

"I...it's...okay," he said. He was going to say it's nothing, but he knew it wasn't, not to her, and not to him. "I just need some time to think," he said. "I appreciate that you think so highly of me, even though you don't really know me. I mean, you know all about me, but you don't really know me," he said hurriedly.

Celestia nodded once in understanding of his meaning. "Take all the time you need. However," she hesitated a moment. "I do hope you would be willing to join me for dinner tonight."

Quicksilver considered for a moment, then nodded. He'd have all day to get his thoughts and emotions sorted out. "Sure, I'd be happy to join you for dinner," he agreed.

Celestia's smile was as radiant as her sun. "Wonderful. Dinner is at seven in the dining room. I have much to attend to until then, but if you need me for anything, do not hesitate to ask a guard for me, and they will bring you to me, wherever I happen to be, but I'll likely be in my study for most of the day."

Quicksilver nodded. "Alright," he said.

Celestia bowed her head and nuzzled him, cheek to cheek. "Thank you," she said softly, then she departed.

Quicksilver watched as she disappeared down the hallway, toward her study, watching as her tail flowed in the solar wind. He never imagined he'd ever meet the princess, let alone have her nuzzle him like that. He blushed as he remembered that eventually, they'd end up being much more intimate than that, even, and that she had technically kissed his cheek the night before, as Sun Chaser.

He stood there for a moment, thoughts jumbling in his head. Eventually, he started moving again. He still felt like he was in some very surreal dream. The magnitude of what he agreed to just refused to sink in. He didn't know if it would even sink in tomorrow or next week.

Up until now, he had been a normal guy. He thought his life was over when he decided not to persue his lifelong dream of joining the Wonderbolts. He wasn't living his destiny like most other ponies did.

He never thought there would be ponies who knew delivering packages would be their destiny, but most everypony at EPS had some kind of cutie mark related to mail. There were a few with letters as their cutie mark, some with a stamp, or packages. He looked back at the sleek silver 'S' shaped lightning bolt on his flank. He knew flying fast was what he'd been born for, but that didn't work out.

But now...he was to be consort to the ruler of all of Equestria! He would know her like nopony else did. He was deeply honored that she would choose him of all ponies to be the one to tell her troubles to, to take comfort from, to...please her. He blushed. It wasn't like he couldn't imagine it, and it definitely wasn't like he didn't find her...well, glorious.

She was by far, the most beautiful mare he'd seen in his whole life. She was so slender, so graceful, so beautiful. Wait, he'd said that already. Well, it bore repeating anyway. He'd have been lying if he'd said he didn't sneak a few glances at her generous rump when she was showing him around the castle. Worse still, he was sure she knew he was looking. You'd have to be gelded not to appreciate that plot, he reminded himself. Or gay. He was neither. Well, he didn't think he was gay anyway. He shook his head. That was irrelevant.

He didn't really pay attention to where his hooves carried him as he was lost in thought. He didn't pay any of the guards or members of the staff any mind, and if they paid him any mind, he didn't notice. He ended up in one of the gardens Celestia had shown him on their tour. As he walked out into the brilliant sunlight of the clear, cloudless morning, he felt the sun's warmth embrace him. Her sun. Now that he had met her, had spoken with her, it became that much easier to see her as the pony who rose the sun at dawn, to see her almost as its avatar.

He wandered around the gardens for a while, taking in the exotic plants, basking in the sun beside a tiny gurgling stream, and clearing his mind from all the scattered thoughts. The truth, as he understood it, was that he was Celestia's consort now. He wasn't sure why she chose him, exactly. He didn't think he was particularly good-looking. He was maybe a little tall, but still not nearly as tall as she was, but he decided the best approach would be to take things one at a time. It really didn't do any good to wonder at possibilities or concern himself with things that haven't come to pass yet.

He was still nervous about being intimate with her, but he knew that was his inexperience talking, and his fear that when the time came, he wouldn't be able to please her. But, as she had pointed out, that particular skill could be taught, and he knew there was no use worrying about it. In fact, he thought, maybe she had chosen him because of his inexperience. That way, she could mould him, teach him the way she liked
It.

"Quicksilver," a familiar voice called.

Silver, who had been laying in the grass with his head rested on his forehooves, looked up, his ear twitching when he heard his name.

Bright Shield was standing a ways away, looking consternated. "There's a 'Lightning Strike' in the foyer, demanding to see you." Now, he wasn't monotone, like he had been that morning. In fact, he seemed a little panicked.

"Oh no," groaned Silver, getting to his hooves. He trotted over to Bright Shield. "Lead the way," he said.

The two of them all but galloped to the foyer, where Lightning Strike was hovering above a group of guards. "No! I'm not leaving until I see Quicksilver!" he shouted stubbornly.

The guards all seemed hesitant, as though they weren't sure what to do. "Come down!" A guard that he recognized as Hoplite (at least he thought it was Hoplite. He was a gray unicorn, but all of the unicorn guards looked the same) called. "Quicksilver has been sent for. Don't be so brash!"

"Lightning!" he called from the balcony that overlooked the foyer, behind where Lightning was hovering.

Lighting Strike looked behind him. "Quicksilver! You're okay! I came by your place this morning when you didn't show up for work and saw a bunch of these bozos unloading your stuff from your apartment. What the buck is going on? Did you not pay your taxes? I told you to pay your taxes! Don't sign anything! I'll get you a lawyer!"

"I paid my taxes!" returned Quicksilver. "Um, I uh, I live here now, bud," he said, not sure how to explain when Lightning inevitably asked why.

"I see you've met our new Royal Messenger," Celesia said, coming through a doorway off to the side.

Quicksilver nearly sagged in relief.

"Royal Messenger," repeated Lightning. He landed beside Quicksilver and grabbed him in a rough bro hug. "Why didn't you say something? That's great, buddy! Congratulations!"

Silver winced as Lightning gave him a noogie, his wings flapping uselessly as he tried to get his friend off of him.

"We still had a few details to hammer out this morning," Celestia said, approaching the two friends. "But now, it's official."

"Princess Celestia asked me not to mention it to anypony before she announced it officially," Silver jumped in, earning a discreet wink from the princess.

Lightning finally extricated himself from Quicksilver, grinning hugely. "Just don't forget us little ponies at EPS, bud. Wait till I tell everypony! Royal Messenger! Our Quicksilver! You're really doing your name proud, bud!" He leaned in closer to his friend and said, "Maybe now, you could ask Penny Lane out. How could she say no to the big shot Royal Messenger?"

"Duhh," replied Quicksilver stupidly. He thought he heard Celestia giggle.

"So, how 'bout it, bud? This calls for a celebration! Or are you too good for the Trough now?"

"Can I take a rain check on that?" He glanced at Celestia and she inclined her head. "I uh, actually promised the Princess that I would have dinner with her tonight."

"Woah-ho! Dinner with the Princess!" exclaimed Lightning. Quicksilver was amazed that his friend didn't even seem to realize they were standing right next to her. "Well, I definitely can't keep you from that!"

"Um, Princess Celestia," he said, looking up at her. "This is my friend, Lightning Strike. He's been my buddy since Flight Camp. He's actually the one who suggested I get a job at EPS."

Lightning's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking in shock as he finally realized he was in the presence of the ruler of all of Equestria. He sank to his forelegs in a deep bow. "Your Highness!" he exclaimed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lightning Strike," she said warmly. "It seems you've caused quite a ruckus," she said, looking at all of the guards still assembled in the foyer below.

Lightning got up and rubbed the back of his head with his hoof. "Yeah, uh, sorry about that," he said sheepishly. "I just saw them taking Silver's stuff from his apartment and followed them here. I was worried, that's all."

"It's good to see somepony that will go to such lengths for a friend. You could have gotten yourself into quite a lot of trouble, just now," pointed out Celestia.

"I'd do anything for Silver, and if he was in trouble, or in jail or something, I would go right with him," declared Lightning. "Uh, I'm not in trouble, am I?" he asked.

Celestia laughed. It was a light, musical tone that Quicksilver really liked. "For your dedication to your friend, I will let it go, this time. Guards," she called. "You're dismissed." The guards all saluted and departed. "In the future, if you would like to visit Quicksilver at the castle, you may make arrangements with the Seneschal."

"Thanks, Your Majesty," Lightning said sheepishly. "You really are as nice as everypony says you are," he added.

"Thank you." Celestia accepted the compliment with a tilt of her head. "Quicksilver, take a few moments with your friend, and when you're done, please meet me in my study."

"Of course, Your Highness," Silver said hastily, hoping she wasn't going to punish him instead.

Celestia departed, her tail billowing about her legs as she walked.

Quicksilver turned his attention back to his friend. "That was pretty reckless of you. Even more than usual. What got into you?"

Lightning rubbed the back of his head with his forehoof. "It's like I said! I saw them taking your stuff, and I was afraid something happened to you. I know it was pretty foalish to follow them all the way here, but I had to know that you weren't in trouble."

Quicksilver's expression softened. He was touched about his friend's concern for him. "Thanks, buddy."

"So, I should get going," he said. He was all dressed up in his work clothes, his messenger bag full of deliveries. "I still have to get my work done, and I'm going to have to bust my rump to get all of this delivered by sunset. You think tomorrow we could celebrate? We could go somewhere nicer than the Trough if you want."

Quicksilver grinned, remembering how Celestia had said he could see his friends tomorrow. "Sure. I'll meet you at the EPS office at sunset tomorrow." He hoped Celestia wouldn't mind.

"Great! Congrats again, bud!" With that, he left, thankfully, remembering the no-fly zone.

Quicksilver turned and trotted through the doorway Celestia had left through and made his way to her study, butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. When he got to the door with her cutie mark on it, the guard just opened it for him. He must have been under orders to let Silver in when he came.

He found Celestia at her desk, an open scroll floating before her in the golden grip of her magic, a long, red feather quill scratching over it, as though of its own accord. When he entered, she lay the parchment over her desk, scattered some fine sand over it to help the ink to dry, and rolled it up, affixing her seal to it.

"Am I about to make my first delivery as royal messenger?" he joked.

Celestia laughed. "No, I haven't had a royal messenger in over a millennia. I send messages by phoenix fire." She beckoned to the majestic red bird sitting on a perch beside her desk. Quicksilver hadn't even noticed it there, even though it was huge. Celestia held the scroll by the window and the bird, apparently a phoenix, spread its large, graceful wings and flapped once, engulfing the letter in a golden orange flame. It sped out the window, toward its intended destination. Celestia held her foreleg up for the majestic bird, who perched atop it, ruffling its magnificent red feathers.

"Phoenix fire is much more secure, not to mention distinctive. Messages sent by phonix fire cannot be intercepted." The phoenix trilled proudly. "Thank you, Philomena," she said to it, lowering her head to nuzzle it gently on the top of the head. Philomena the phoenix returned the affectionate gesture before spreading her wings and returning to her perch.

"If you hadn't guessed, Philomena is my pet phoenix. I've had her for a very long time. Phoenixes are quite magnificent and fascinating creatures. When they grow old, they lose all of their feathers, and once they die, they renew themselves in a brilliant flash of flame, becoming beautiful and majestic once more," Celestia explained.

Quicksilver thought that a phoenix was quite a fitting pet for the solar monarch. "That's pretty amazing," he breathed. Then he remembered why he was here. "You wanted to see me?" he asked, trotting over to the desk.

As if sensing his nervousness, Celestia giggled. "You're not in trouble, Quicksilver. I truly think your friend's actions were admirable. Not many would go to such lengths for a friend. You are incredibly fortunate to have him."

"Yeah, I am," admitted Quicksilver.

"I had to use your cover story a little sooner than I anticipated, but all is well. While you reside here, you will be known as the royal messenger to everypony outside the castle. As I do send messages day and night, it would make sense to have one in residence here."

Quicksilver nodded. "That makes sense," he agreed. "Um, I hope you don't mind, but I told Lightning we could celebrate my new job tomorrow, after work. At sunset."

"I don't mind at all," replied Celestia. "You will be doing a great deal to help me, so I certainly don't mind returning the favor."

"Great. Thanks, Your--Celestia." It was going to be hard remembering to address her by her title when they were in public together, and by her name in private. He hoped he never got them switched up, or ponies would wonder why he was being so familiar with the princess.

Celestia smiled. "You're very welcome. I just wanted to let you know of your public position here. I still have a fair amount of work to do."

"Okay, so I'll see you at dinner then," Silver said, recognizing that Celestia was dismissing him. Celestia smiled and nodded.

Quicksilver left Celestia's office and wandered around the castle for a while until he found his room again. His father often told him that the best way to learn how to get around a new place was to get lost, and he had plenty of time, so he didn't bother asking somepony to help him.

When he got to his room, he found all of his things from home there. It wasn't much. He wasn't a very sentimental kind of guy, and he didn't really keep much aside from what he needed.

Realizing he was still wearing his work uniform, he took it off. "No more EPS for this pony, he said. He'd throw out his uniforms later.

He spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking his stuff. He had a few trinkets and knickknacks that he held onto, chief among them being a small, wooden music box that had belonged to his mother before she passed away, and a photo of him as a small colt with his father. They were both beaming happily and waving Wonderbolts pennants. This had been one of the very few times his father had smiled, especially after his mother died.

He put the music box and photo on the dresser in his bedroom, touching the lid of the music box lightly with a forehoof. They were just objects, he knew, but having them here, it felt like his parents were with him, even though his mother had passed on and his father still lived in Cloudsdale. "I hope you're proud of me, Mom," he said.

He finished unpacking his things and asked a butler if he could help him with the trash. "You needn't worry about that, Sir. We will attend to it," the butler assured him.

A few butlers and maids came and cleared out the empty boxes, leaving Silver's room clean and uncluttered. "There is a perk to this job," he said to himself. "I don't have to worry about housework."

In the end, he'd kept his uniforms, remembering that Celestia had said he could go back to his old life if things didn't work out. Sure, he was liking it now, but he'd only had a couple of conversations with the princess, and not about anything personal, either. Aside from the things she had said to him this morning, he knew next to nothing about her, aside from what he'd already seen, and that she had a pet phoenix named Philomena.

His stomach grumbled loudly, and he remembered he hadn't even had breakfast yet! Coffee only went so far. There was a knock at his door, and he saw a maid standing on the other side with a magenta coat and a pink mane.

"Would you like some lunch, Sir?" she asked.

"Would I!" he exclaimed. He asked for a daisy sandwich on oat bread, carrot chips, and some hay juice.

"Coming right up!" the maid chirped. As she turned to leave, she ran her tail along his chest, making him blush. He reasoned that it hadn't been on purpose and went back into his room to wait for his lunch.

Lunch had been delicious, and delivered by the same mare that he'd talked to before. She had winked at him before she left this time, and he wondered what was up with her.

"Sorry for all the dust," he apologized, assuming something had gotten in her eye.

She looked at him oddly. "Of course. Just ring if you need anything, Master Quicksilver. My name's Nina."

Silver was pretty sure he could get used to castle food, and all the helpful ponies.

Tired, and still a little dazed, he spent the afternoon reading, and ended up taking an impromptu nap on his comfortable feather bed when he dozed off. When he woke up, the sun was descending below the horizon, and the sky was ablaze in oranges, reds, and deep purple. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets he'd ever seen.

He figured he should get ready for dinner, and jumped in the shower. He turned the hot water on as high as it would go, which turned out to be considerably hotter than his apartment's shower. He yelped, scalded, and turned it down so it was still very hot, but at a more reasonable temperature.

He went through the motions of bathing, washing himself well so he'd look nice for Princess Celestia. He was a little nervous, because this would be the first real conversation he'd have with her, and he hoped fervently that he wouldn't say something stupid. He didn't even know what they were even going to talk about!

Once he was done cleaning himself, Quicksilver turned the water on cold, this time experimenting until it was so cold, he could barely stand it. He found it soothing and invigorating, getting the last vestiges of sleep out of his system.

"Relax," he commanded himself. "I'm sure we'll just talk about whatever. I doubt she expects you to be a great conversationalist or anything." He thought of those ponies he knew that seemed to know everything about everything. They always had such interesting stories, and he always wished he could be like that. He shook his head. No, he was there to listen to her, not to regale her with things she more than likely already knew everything about. History? She'd been there!

He stood under the cold water a little longer than he usually did, trying to calm himself down. "Just be yourself, buddy," he told himself. "That's all she needs you to be."

Finally, he got out and groomed himself. "The most important thing," he said to his reflection, "is that she's happy. If I can make her happy, that's all that really matters. Everypony needs a friend. Especially a princess."

He made sure his mane, coat, and wings were straight and presentable. By the time he left his room, Celestia had already risen the moon, but he still had plenty of time to get to the dining room.

He walked through the halls, the castle surprisingly quiet, as though all activities ceased at moonrise. He passed a few guards, and this time, he paid attention. While most of them just regarded him warily, a few looked at him with outright contempt. He wondered what had gotten under their armor.

After a few moments, he got to the dining hall, finding the grand, double doors standing open. There was a long, polished mahogany table, with candelabra set every couple of feet, giving the room a soft, gentle glow. Two places had been set, one at the head of the table, the other on the right-hoof side. Celestia wasn't there yet. In fact, he was quite alone.

He hadn't anticipated getting there before Celestia, but it was quite apparent which place was his, so he cantered into the dining room, his hoof steps echoing on the bare, flagged floor.

Abruptly, the big double doors closed with a resounding slam that echoed through the entire cavernous room. Startled, Quicksilver jumped and looked behind him, seeing nopony there. The windows were closed, and there was no wayward breeze. Besides, it would take more than a breeze to close those massive doors.

Quicksilver's eyes darted around. "When all other possibilities have been eliminated, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth," he reminded himself, quoting Sherclop Holmes. "Hello?" He called. "Is anypony there?" He tried to keep his voice steady, but it wavered a little as he said this.

A form coalesced directly in front of him from the shadows. Silver yelped, trying not to scream like a filly as it resolved into something that resembled a pony, but it was all wrong. It wore silver armor, like that worn by the royal guards, but instead of a plume on the helmet, there was something that resembled a bat wing. Purple leathery wings were furled at the creature's sides, and it regarded him disinterestedly with golden, slitted eyes, like a cat's.

You--," stammered Quicksilver. "You're a bat pony!"

"How astute. I see that Princess Celestia at least requires a grain of intelligence from her consort," the bat pony said dryly, in such a way that Silver couldn't tell whether or not he was being sarcastic.

Quicksilver decided the bat pony was being sarcastic and flushed angrily. "Hey! Cut me some slack! Bat ponies are supposed to be a myth!" he exclaimed.

"That is true," the bat pony conceded, but sounded as though he did so reluctantly.

"Who are you?" asked Quicksilver, his fear fading away slowly.

"His name is Gilded Bracer," Celestia's voice said. Silver nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn't even heard her come in.

"Celestia! Holy mother of Faust, don't sneak up on me like that!" Quicksilver exclaimed, holding his chest as he tried to force himself to breathe.

Celestia exchanged a glance with Gilded Bracer and laughed. The bat pony's expression didn't change.

"Seriously, you could give a pony a heart attack that way," groused Quicksilver, but he started laughing despite himself. It was pretty funny, after all. For his part, Gilded Bracer looked like he thought he was surrounded by foals.

"Gilded Bracer was the captain of the Night Guard," Celestia started.

"Was?" interrupted Quicksilver.

"It was a long time ago," said Bracer, to Silver's surprise. He glanced at Celestia, as though asking her if he could continue. Celestia bowed her head in acquiescence, and Bracer returned his catlike gaze to Quicksilver. "But that is the past. I have experience as a consort. Not Princess Celestia's," he said, seeing Silver take a breath to interrupt again. "I have expressed my willingness to Princess Celestia to help you become acclimated to your new position. I will come for you in the morning after breakfast." With that, the bat pony nodded cordially to Celestia, and left the dining room.

"I apologize if he startled you, Quicksilver," Celestia said after Gilded Bracer had departed. "He wasn't always that way." The two of them started toward the table. Lunch felt like it had been a long time ago.

"That way, as in his charming personality, or that way, as in his appearance?" asked Silver as the two of them sat on the plush cushions on the floor.

"Both," replied Celestia evenly. Her expression seemed a bit pained. "There is much about Gilded Bracer that I am not prepared to talk about right now," she said as butlers brought out the soup course. The soup was a creamy tomato with a little dollop of sour cream and a sprig of parsley. It looked delicious.

Even though Silver was bursting with questions about the bat pony, such as how he had been before, why wasn't he captain of the Night Guard anymore, and whose consort had he been, if not hers, the finality in her tone told him that particular discussion was over, at least for now. "Soo, how was your day?" he asked, trying to find something safer to talk about.

Celestia plucked the parsley out of her soup with her tongue and chewed thoughtfully. "Good " she decided after she swallowed. "Although I didn't have court today, I had several arrangements to make in regards to you, I caught up on correspondences with several other heads of state, and had a wonderful lesson with my personal protégé, Twilight Sparkle. I also had several preparations to make in regards to the Summer Sun Celebration."

Silver's eyes widened at the mention of Twilight Sparkle, and he remembered the lavender unicorn mare from yesterday. "Twilight Sparkle?" he murmured.

"You know of her?" asked Celestia, seeming pleasantly surprised.

"She left a lasting impression," replied Silver, rubbing at his face where she had planted her hoof. "Anyway, it sounds like you've had a busy day," Silver remarked. He had dipped his muzzle in his bowl and eaten some of his soup as Celestia talked.

Celestia laughed lightly. "Every day is a busy one," she told him. "But it is a labor of love."

"Are there ever days when you hate your job?" Quicksilver asked out of genuine curiosity. He thought ruling a country had to get exhausting, and dealing with nobles and ponies clamoring for your attention and complaining to you about their problems, and expecting you to fix them had to be difficult. It almost gave him a panic attack just thinking about it, and that was what Celestia had been doing since Faust knew when.

Celestia had levitated her bowl in front of her and sipped her soup, somehow managing to not stain her lips red. "It is sometimes a difficult job, but I love all of my little ponies, and making them happy is one of the things I enjoy about what I do. Some days seem longer and more tiring than others, but I never hate my job."

"Wow. That's a pretty big statement," Silver pointed out. "You love everypony? Even the criminals?"

"I love everypony, especially those who have nopony else who loves them, no matter what they've done," Celestia replied.

Quicksilver thought that was actually pretty deep. He had, himself a philosophy of at least being friendly to everypony he met. Loving them all, no matter what, was easier said than done. He and Celestia finished their soup in silence as he thought about what she had said.

"How was your day, Quicksilver?" asked Celestia as the butlers cleared their bowls and brought in the next course.

"Pretty good," Silver said as they were given two large salads. Princess Celestia's salad was absolutely huge, and she eyed it hungrily. "I just wandered around and thought about everything that's happened today. I think I'm over the shock, if I don't think about it too much," he admitted.

Celestia laughed and tucked into her salad. Silver was pretty sure he'd never seen anypony eat so much. He found his own salad pretty filling, and it wasn't even half as large as Celestia's.

They spent the rest of dinner eating and chatting idly about nothing in particular. Celestia asked him to tell her a bit about himself, which he did, wondering how much she already knew.

When they were done eating, after two more courses, Quicksilver sat back on his haunches, his belly full. "I don't think I've ever eaten so much in my entire life," he sighed, patting his distended stomach with a forehoof.

Celestia giggled. "I tell the staff that they needn't be so elaborate, but they insist on it," she said. "Would you care to walk it off with me in the gardens?"

"I'd love to," Silver said honestly. He really enjoyed Celestia's company, and he wasn't ready to part ways with her yet.

The two of them stood, and Quicksilver followed her out of a set of glass doors in the back of the dining room into one of the lush gardens. He could hear a bird trilling somewhere, and the crickets were chirping at full volume.

"Nightingales," Celestia said. "They only sing their song after sunset. They were a favorite of my sister's."

Silver was surprised. "I didn't know you had a sister," he remarked.

"Few do," Celestia said softly. "She's been...away...for a very long time." The alicorn bowed her head sadly.

Quicksilver was left to ponder the meaning of her words. Did she mean away, as in another city or country, or away, as in she had died? He wasn't sure he should even ask her. Celestia was looking up at the moon, unshed tears glittering in her magenta eyes like sparkling diamonds. "I'm sorry," he said at last, finding that to be the most appropriate thing to say, either way.

Celestia shook her head. "It's been a very long time since my sister...had gone," she said. "But it is still something that pains me, to this day."

Silver's ears fell against his head. Celestia had been in such good spirits, until now. He went up to her and gently nuzzled her neck comfortingly. He was hoping he wasn't overstepping his bounds, but he hated seeing her so sad. He was surprised when he felt her reciprocate his gesture, and closed his eyes as he felt her warm tears against his coat. He enjoyed the softness of her coat against his, the warmth that radiated from her, and her light, sweet scent. When he opened them again, he noticed a trailing vine of light blue flowers with dark green foliage. Silver started as he recognized them. They were the same flowers crawling all over the gate the guards had taken him through just that morning, except now, instead of being tightly closed, the buds were in full bloom. The blossoms were assorted shapes, some completely round, some shaped like a crescent moon, others, like stars.

Celestia pawed at them with her forehoof in agitation.

"What are they?" he breathed. "I saw them by the gate when they brought me here this morning. I've never seen anything like them before." They were beautiful. The tips of the petals were a darker shade of blue that lightened to almost white toward the black, white speckled bud in the middle.

"Moonflowers," she replied, a hint of contempt in her voice. "They've spread like weeds from our old castle, deep in the Everfree forest, even all the way out here, to Canterlot. The border of the Everfree in Ponyville is practically overrun by them. They only bloom at night. During my sister's...absence all these years, they did not bloom, even at night."

"Why not?" asked Quicksilver, fascinated. He wondered if the 'our' she used was in the royal sense. He remembered vaguely from history class that in days long past, the princess had referred to herself in the plural, referring to herself and all of her kingdom.

"Because these flowers were made for her, by her lover," Celestia replied.

"You don't seem to like them very much," Silver observed. Her answers only seemed to raise more questions.

Celestia sighed. "I do not necessarily dislike them. They are beautiful, and they were a token of love from a stallion that I admired very much to my sister, who loved him just as much as he did her. More than anything, they sadden me, because they remind me of her."

Quicksilver was taken aback. He wondered if anypony had ever seen the princess that vulnerable, that sad. He hesitated, not sure what to do, then draped a comforting wing over her back. Because of the difference in their heights, his wing didn't go all the way over her back, but Celestia leaned into him and gave him an appreciative smile all the same.

"Thank you," she told him. "I have borne this for so long, that I'm afraid I've become quite overcome by it."

"Well, what are friends for?" he asked, nuzzling her cheek gently. She returned the gesture, and Quicksilver felt her warm tears against his cheek. I can do this, he thought. It was a little daunting, being the only pony that would see Celestia like this, in those times when she was weak or broken, but he was amazed she had held up a thousand years with nopony to talk to, nopony that could see her vulnerable.

They wandered the gardens until the air started to grow chilly, then went back inside. Quicksilver walked Celestia to her chambers, stopping outside her door.

"Thank you, Quicksilver. You've already been indispensable." She bent down to his level and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek before going inside. Silver watched her go rather dumbly, and it was a few minutes before he shook himself and headed back down to his own room.

It was his first day as Celestia's consort, and he already knew more about her than possibly any pony in Equestria, maybe even including the personal protégé she'd mentioned at dinner.

He found the moonflowers quite romantic, and he thought it was a shame they caused such strong feelings in Celestia.

When he got back to his room, he brushed his teeth and got ready for bed. He knew one thing was certain, tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. He was supposed to see Gilded Bracer again in the morning, and he was going to see Lightning in the evening. He didn't know what would happen in between, but he wouldn't be bored. "This could be a good thing," he told his reflection in the mirror. "If I could make one pony happy, that would be wonderful. If I could make her happy, I'm sure it would spread all across Equestria."

As he made his way to his feather bed, he thought this was what his life was missing. Some ponies were content to get up in the morning day by day and do the same things, over and over. Like Lightning. He was perfectly content with his life. Silver had used to think there was more out there for him, that it wasn't enough to just wake up, go to work, go to the bar, go home, go to bed, and wake up the next day and do it all over again. He felt like he should be out there doing something worthwhile, that somehow, he should be making a difference. Now, as Celestia's consort, he was making a difference, at least to her. He didn't need anypony to know what he did or give him acknowledgement or praise. Just knowing he made a difference to her, that he could help...that was enough.

He looked over at the picture and the music box sitting side by side on his dresser. "Good night," he said to them, before pulling his blankets over himself, and despite the fact that he was in an unfamiliar bed, falling asleep almost immediately.

Chapter 3 - Castle Life

When Quicksilver's alarm went off in the morning, he thought he was back in his apartment, and that everything that had happened yesterday had been a dream. A beautiful, glorious one, if not a bit surreal, even by dream standards, but a dream, all the same.

Except, this bed was far too soft and comfortable to be his. It was so soft, in fact, that it was like sleeping on a cloud. He didn't remember having such a soft bed since he left his cloud bed behind back in Cloudsdale. A hoof quested from the covers and groped around the bedside table, finding his alarm clock, and shutting it off. His head was amazingly clear as he cracked a cerulean eye and took in his surroundings.

His bedroom was still dark, due to the heavy drapes pulled over the windows, but this was, in fact, his room in the castle. He yawned hugely, turning from his back, which he'd been sleeping sprawled out on, to his side.

So it hadn't been a dream, after all. He didn't know whether to be relieved, or terrified. He really was the consort. He wouldn't have to worry about flying around crowded Canterlot, making deliveries and dealing with pompous unicorn nobles as a subservient pegasus ever again. He hadn't even realized how much that had bothered him. Instead, he would get to enjoy the company of the ruler of all of Equestria, be the one to hear of her troubles and keep her secrets, and please her in bed. He groaned. Dealing with the nobles certainly wasn't preferable, but...

But what? To most stallions, sleeping with the solar princess would be enough to make this whole job worthwhile.

He abandoned that train of thought as he willed himself out of bed. He had a busy day ahead of him. He had breakfast with the princess, after which, he was to meet Gilded Bracer. He wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing the bat pony again. He wasn't entirely sure Bracer liked him, even though he had implied that he was the one who volunteered to help him.

He didn't know how long he'd be with Gilded Bracer, but after sunset, he was going to meet Lightning. That was the part of the day he was really looking forward to.

As his hooves hit the plush carpet his bed was resting on, Silver thought about how excited he was to see his friend. His whole life had been turned upside down! The only problem was that he couldn't tell Lightning about any of it. He definitely didn't like the idea of lying to his friend about being the royal messenger. What if Lightning asked him about all of the exotic locales he was delivering messages to? For now, he could skate by and say he had all sorts of things to do before he started traveling to Griffonia and stuff like that, but that felt like stalling.

"One thing at a time," he reminded himself. He still had his day to get through!

He went about his usual morning routine, taking a shower, getting himself groomed and nice and presentable for the princess. When he looked at himself in the mirror after his shower, he was amazed to see an alert, handsome stallion looking back at him. "Looking good," he told himself.

With that, he headed out of his room and toward the dining hall, humming to himself.

He was almost there when he saw a large, white unicorn stallion headed his way. He wore a tie and lapels with a rose through the buttonhole. The stallion's mane was long and blond, draped artfully about his powerful neck. Cool, blue eyes met his and fixed upon him as they drew closer.

"Well, if it isn't Auntie's new plaything," drawled the stallion as he drew closer.

Quicksilver didn't know who this stallion was at first, but he had called Celestia 'Auntie,' and everypony knew about her nephew, Prince Blueblood. He wondered how somepony like Blueblood could possibly be related to somepony as kind and wonderful as Princess Celestia.

He wanted to say something along the lines of, 'Well, if it isn't Prince Plothole,' but thought better of it. He didn't want it getting back to Celestia that he'd been rude to her nephew. Instead, he said, "I guess you could think of it that way, but I hope Princess Celestia doesn't think of me like that," in the most polite voice he could muster. "My name is Quicksilver," he offered.

"Charmed, I'm sure," said Blueblood, affecting an air of disinterest. "I am Prince Blueblood. I can see why Auntie might see you that way. You're strong, athletic, not entirely bad-looking," said Blueblood suggestively, his eyes evaluating Quicksilver appraisingly. Quicksilver felt himself flush when Blueblood's eyes roamed to places that weren't strictly considered polite. "If you ever don't find Auntie to be enough, come find me."

Quicksilver wasn't sure whether he should feel flattered, or offended, and what he was more surprised about, that Blueblood would try to pick up his aunt's consort, or that his barn door swung that way. No, scratch that. He should have realized his barn door swung that way the moment he saw him. He remembered Blueblood's obsession with nobility, which he'd read about more than a few times in the headlines of the gossip rags, and said, "What, a commoner like me?"

Blueblood tilted his head and appraised him critically. "Well, if you're good enough for Auntie..." he said.

"Uh...I have somewhere I need to be," he said uncomfortably, and trotted past the prince. He felt Blueblood's eyes on him, and glanced at their reflections in the huge window he was walking by, seeing the white unicorn stallion eyeing his hindquarters as he walked. Quicksilver's stomach roiled from the idea that he'd managed to attract the prince's attention, but he was almost to the dining room. He'd just have to avoid Blueblood around the castle, if he could.

Relieved that the exchange was over at the very least, he headed to breakfast in the dining hall. He saw that Celestia was there already, sitting at the head of the mahogany table. The dining room looked much different by day. The sun poured through the huge windows, bathing the whole room in its golden glow, and he noticed details he hadn't noticed in the moonlight.

"Good morning, Quicksilver," Celestia greeted cheerfully. She was seated at her place at the head of the table, wearing a fluffy bathrobe. "I hope you had a pleasant rest."

"Yeah, it was great. My bed's like sleeping on a cloud," replied Quicksilver. "How was your rest?" he inquired as he joined her at the table.

"Truthfully, I don't sleep much," replied Celestia as some unicorn butlers came with the food levitated before them on silver platters.

Quicksilver was amazed at the sheer amount of food that was brought. There were plates of pancakes, eggs, hay bacon, and toast. They were each given a bowl of oatmeal, and there were pitchers of both orange juice and hay juice, as well as coffee and tea.

"You don't?" asked Silver as Celestia poured herself some tea and he helped himself to the coffee. Coffee was always something he splurged on, so he always had high-quality beans, but this coffee tasted better than anything Silver had ever tasted. It was some kind of light roast, but even though he drank it with plain cream and sugar, it had a chocolaty finish. "Mmm," he hummed appreciatively as he sipped.

Celestia smiled as she watched him and said, "Well, they say you need less sleep as you get older, and the moon is a little more willful than the sun. Usually, the sun stays where I put it and follows its course. The moon likes to drift off sometimes, and I have to put it in its place."

Even the oatmeal was delicious, and Silver started tucking in as Celestia spoke. "Can't you sleep in between? Sounds almost like a foal," he observed.

Celestia chuckled. "I suppose it is," she agreed. "I used to wake up every few hours to check up on it, but I have some difficulty sleeping sometimes, anyhow. I take the time to catch up on my reading, or finishing any work I didn't get to during the day," she explained.

The princess had taken a huge stack of pancakes and layered bananas in between. She drenched the whole thing in syrup and whipped cream, and Silver watched as she dug in hungrily.

He wanted to ask her about it, because she seemed to eat a lot, which he found surprising, due to her slender frame. Celestia was still considered the standard of beauty in all of Equestria, but he thought it would be rude. He didn't want to call the princess a glutton.

As though sensing this, Celestia said, "Alicorns need to eat more to keep up their strength. Raising the sun and moon takes quite a lot of energy, and I am quite a bit larger than you."

"That makes sense," the consort said. He helped himself to an egg, some toast, and a couple of slices of hay bacon. He had about three cups of coffee, and washed it all down with hay juice. "Freshly pressed," he observed after draining his glass, eliciting a chuckle from Celestia. Now that he was fed and watered, he remembered his encounter with Blueblood on the way to breakfast. "Uh, I met your nephew earlier," he said.

"Oh?" Celestia asked as she finished her pancakes and helped herself to more tea.

"He seems like...an interesting fellow," Silver replied.

Celestia laughed. "He's harmless," she assured him.

"Is he really your nephew?" he asked, voicing a question that was, quite often, a subject of debate in the gossip rags when they had nothing better to talk about.

Celestia laughed, and Quicksilver wondered how often ponies asked her that. "No, to tell the truth, his story is a little sad." Her expression grew serious, and her eyes got a little distant as she remembered. "His mother was a mare I had met on a rainy night, some years ago. I had discovered that she had been raped by one of my own guards. I was aghast that one of my guards would do such a thing, as they all know that rape is never something I condone. The guard in question was dismissed from my service and tried for treason. The mare, I took in. I adopted the son foaled as a result of the rape as my nephew, and allowed him to live here, at the castle."

Quicksilver's jaw hung open. He never would have imagined any of Celestia's own guards would rape anypony. "Wow, that was good of you...to take them in," he said, his voice quiet.

"What else could I have done?" Celestia asked, her expression pained. "As their sovereign, my guards represent me, and I am responsible for their actions. I had to offer her recompense."

Quicksilver chewed thoughtfully. He respected Celestia even more, not only because she did compensate Blueblood's mother, but because she felt as though it was her responsibility to.

Gilded Bracer came for Quicksilver as he finished breakfast, just as he said he would the night before. The bat pony looked out of place in the bright, sunlit dining room.

"See you later, Celestia," he said nervously as he followed the former guard. Celestia smiled and waved cheerfully.

As Quicksilver followed Bracer through the castle, he wondered where the bat pony was taking him. He wasn't entirely familiar with the castle yet, but he felt as though he was taking him someplace he hadn't been before.

They passed through an abandoned corridor that was different than the others. The bright sunlight faded into dimness, the carpet went from red to deep purple. "Where are we?" Silver breathed as he found himself in a part of the castle that seemed darker than the side Celestia and her staff lived and worked in. Large windows still lined the hallways, but they were shrouded with heavy, midnight blue drapes. This part of the castle felt quieter, distinctly abandoned, but not in ill repair.

"This is the moon side of the castle," Bracer said with a hint of reverence in his voice.

"It seems...quiet," observed Quicksilver. He was sure that if the flagged stone floor wasn't covered in carpet, their hoof-steps would be echoing through the cavernous hallway.

"The sun side of the castle is where the reigning monarch of Equestria lives and works," Bracer pointed out. "All of the activity is in that part of the castle, because nopony needs to come here."

"Why have it, then?" the consort asked.

Bracer deigned not to answer him. Instead, he stopped before a simple mahogany door, pushing it open with his forehoof. "Go inside," he commanded.

Silver did as the bat pony said, and went inside, only to find an empty room, completely devoid of furniture or any other sign of habitation.

Gilded Bracer joined him, closing the door as he entered. The room was almost completely dark, but for the sun struggling to enter through a crack in the drapes over the large window.

"As I said last night, I have agreed to help you become acclimated to your role as a consort," Bracer started. "But first I must make one thing perfectly clear. I will not discuss anything with you that Princess Celestia has chosen not to tell you, particularly in regards to myself."

"Okay," said Quicksilver hesitantly. He remembered his talk with Celestia at dinner, and how she had said there was much about Gilded Bracer that she was not prepared to discuss. Part of him had hoped he would be able to question the bat pony directly, but Bracer had shot that hope down before they even started.

"The things said in this room should be kept strictly between us," continued Bracer. "Everypony in the castle may know of your role as consort, but it is by nature, a position that is shrouded in secrecy."

The consort watched the bat pony, wide-eyed, wondering if he wasn't perhaps being a little dramatic, but he recalled his brief discussion with Celestia regarding his duties as consort, and that one of them had been to keep her secrets. He wondered if she and Bracer might be the only ones who actually knew everything about the consorts. "Okay," he repeated after a moments' thought.

Bracer nodded. He paced before Quicksilver, flicking his tail every time he did an about-face and started walking the other way. It reminded Quicksilver of his time at the Wonderbolts Academy. Captain Veyron used to pace as he lectured the recruits. "You may have noticed that some of the guards treat you contemptuously," Bracer began.

Silver started, pulled out of his recollections. "How could you know that?" he asked.

Bracer regarded him with narrowed eyes. "I might feel the same way, were I in their position," he replied. Quicksilver didn't even need to ask why, the confusion was written all over his face. "In days long passed, the consort used to be chosen from among the numbers of the Royal Guard. In fact, it was often an honor that was given to the captain of the Guard."

Quicksilver held his tongue, but he remembered that Bracer had once been captain of the Night Guard. He simply nodded his understanding instead.

"This was done for a number of reasons. The Royal Guard are already sworn to not reveal the Princess's secrets. You will never find one among their number gossiping about her. If such a thing did happen, they could be tried for treason, for going against their duty."

Quicksilver's eyes widened. "They'd really try them for treason for gossiping about the princess?" he asked, his jaw hanging open at the idea.

"The Royal Guard take their duties very seriously," explained Bracer, "and it is an extreme breach of protocol to do such a thing.

"The Royal Guard are highly disciplined. They do not talk with one another at their posts. They are always alert, ever vigilant. Their duty is to protect the princess, both her person, and her reputation." He looked away. "I do not know that Princess Celestia would have them tried for treason just for gossiping about her. She would likely simply dismiss them."

"I don't think so," Quicksilver countered. What she had told him at breakfast about Blueblood's mother had been very extreme, but he also remembered what she had said in her study, about having to maintain a facade of perfection. "Her subjects think of her in a certain way, and she has to reinforce that image. She wouldn't let somepony who tarnished that image just go free, so he could keep doing it," he pointed out.

Bracer raised an eyebrow, a look of respect in his golden, catlike eyes. "So, you're not as foalish as you look," he said.

Silver flushed hotly. "I'm a quick study," he said.

"I see that," the bat pony said grudgingly. "Anyhow, another reason the consort was chosen from among the Guard was that it provided the perfect cover. A guard already lived within the castle, and was expected to always be with the princess. He would also be able to protect her in the times when she would be most vulnerable."

Quicksilver wondered how a guard would be able to protect the princess when she was most vulnerable, but didn't say anything, about that. "Why did she choose a courier, then?" he asked.

Bracer almost sneered at him. "I can only speculate. Princess Celestia rarely shares her reasons for doing anything with anypony. Suffice to say, she had her reasons for flouting tradition."

"I'm taking a guess here, but she doesn't seem all that traditional in general," Quicksilver observed.

"That does seem to be the case," Bracer concurred. "However, knowing these things is still important."

Quicksilver nodded. He was reminded a bit of history class. He hadn't really been a good student; he used to nod off during lectures like this, but this was different. He was actually quite fascinated by the things Bracer was telling him.

"As I am sure Princess Celestia already told you, there are certain duties a consort is expected to perform," Bracer said, to which Silver nodded. "The duties of a consort are, I believe, fairly self-explanatory. Protect her secrets, be a source of comfort so she will not be distracted from her duties, and see to her needs.

"There is much, however, that is left unspoken. A consort helps the princess bear her burden, but she must still choose to share it with him. Trust is something that develops with time."

Quicksilver rose his hoof and waved it in the air. Bracer facehoofed. "Yes, Quicksilver?" he asked.

"Princess Celestia said she hadn't had a consort in over a millennia. Why choose one now?" he asked.

"Are you even listening to me?" the bat pony demanded.

"Sure I am," Quicksilver said, resting back on his haunches and crossing his forelegs in front of him. He wings spread defensively.

"I do not know why Pincess Celestia has chosen to choose a consort now, of all times. I am not in her confidence."

Silver's ears drooped. "Oh, right," he said.

"I suggest, if you want to know so badly, that you ask her," Bracer snipped.

"You don't really think she'd tell me, do you?" asked the consort.

"That's exactly what I was just talking about. Trust. Princess Celestia has lived a very long time, and has experienced much. I may not know why she has decided to take a consort after over a thousand years of not having one, but what I do know is that she chose you because she already feels some degree of trust toward you." He glared at the pegasus as he opened his muzzle to say something, and he snapped it shut again.

"In the past, there were strict rules about how a consort would conduct himself. This was to eliminate any vestiges of there being any sort of personal feelings or intimacy between consort and princess.

"Celestia has never been a great proponent of tradition, however. She did not like treating the consort as little more than a servant she happened to sleep with. She dispensed with the rules with her last consort."

"What were the rules?" asked Quicksilver, intrigued.

"A consort was required to not make direct eye contact with the princess."

"Whoa. It must have been hard talking to her if you couldn't even look her in the eye," pointed out the pegasus.

"Yes, well, that was the first rule to go," conceded Bracer. "Most of the other rules were concerned with how a consort was to conduct himself in the bedchamber. There was to be no kissing. It was always implied, but never implicitly stated, that a consort should only mount the princess from behind."

"Well, it would be hard to mount her from the front if you couldn't look her in the eye," Silver pointed out. He thought the no kissing rule seemed a little extreme. I mean, yeah, kissing kind of implied a more intimate relationship, but he wondered where the heck they would start if they couldn't even kiss.

"The consort was allowed to touch the princess anywhere that wasn't covered by her underside or tail," continued Bracer, unconscious of Quicksilver's thoughts. "He could touch her wings if they were extended, and he could enter her only when she gave him permission to do so."

"What if she never did give him permission to enter her?" blurted Quicksilver. He was so engrossed in the lecture that he hardly realized what they were talking about.

"Then he would need to find alternative methods to please her," replied Gilded Bracer.

"Alternative methods," repeated Quicksilver slowly.

"There were even rules concerning what was to happen when climax was reached. The consort was not to spill his seed within the princess, and he was to leave no visible traces upon her."

"But I thought the princess couldn't get pregnant," Quicksilver said.

Bracer rolled his eyes. "One might say that spilling one's seed inside somepony might be considered one of the most intimate of acts," he pointed out.

"Good point," conceded Quicksilver. "So all of these rules...they aren't used anymore?" he asked.

"As I said, Celestia disliked treating her consort as an object or a glorified servant. She believed some degree of intimacy was required. After all, why should a consort support a princess that he is not allowed to care about in any capacity?"

"So, why even tell me the rules?" inquired Quicksilver. He wasn't trying to be petulant, he was just curious.

"You asked," Bracer reminded him.

Silver's ears drooped. " Oh, right," he said sheepishly.

"Besides, they may not be in use anymore, but it is important to know them. They can act as a sort of guideline as to how you conduct yourself with the princess."

"So...is it still an unspoken rule that you can only uh...mount her from behind?" he asked, his brain suddenly catching up and realizing what it was they were discussing so flippantly.

"I would recommend following that particular rule, at least until you become closer to her," replied Bracer, as ever, emotionless. "I have been in service to my princess quite a long time, and that was still something I observed," he said.

"Ohh," Silver said. "Well, that makes sense, about the guards," he said, his brain switching to a slightly more comfortable topic.

"They will not harm you. Celestia made it quite clear to all of the members of the household that they are to treat you with the same courtesy and respect that they would afford her."

"I'm on the same level as Celestia?" Quicksilver asked, his eyes widening at the implication.

"Yes, but I suggest you do not abuse your power."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Silver breathed. "I'm not used to ponies jumping to fulfill my every whim. I grew up in a house where everypony did everything for themselves."

Bracer deigned not to reply. "There is a way that you may redeem yourself in the eyes of the guards," he suggested.

Quicksilver's ears perked, and he sat up straighter. "How?" he asked.

"Learn how to protect the princess," replied the bat pony simply.

"How would I do that?" he asked, wide-eyed.

"I was a guard myself..."

"You would teach me?" asked Quicksilver. Well, at the very least, Bracer must not have hated him if he would offer to teach him to guard the princess.

"Yes. It will be difficult. I will train you the same way I trained my subordinates. You will keep up," he said.

Quicksilver nodded eagerly. "I went to the Wonderbolts Academy," he said.

"Pfftt. The Wonderbolts are lazy and undisciplined compared to my soldiers," returned Bracer.

"Come on, give me a little bit of credit," whined Silver.

"How long has it been since you went the the Wonderbolts Academy?"

"Ten years," replied Silver, hunching his shoulders, his ears drooping.

"Did you pass?" demanded Bracer.

"No, but that wasn't my fault! I was injured!"

"Still, that was ten years ago. Unless you kept yourself fit enough to join the Wonderbolts tomorrow, you get no credit for going to the Academy."

"Okay, okay. Point taken," Quicksilver said.

"I am going to dismiss you now. I recommend you spend some time in the library, brushing up on your military history."

Quicksilver was going to whine about his assignment, but he thought better of it. Gilded Bracer was already giving him the stink eye. "Okay," he agreed. "I needed something to do today anyway," he said.

"I will fetch you in the morning, before breakfast," the former bat pony guard informed him. "You may want to eat something light ahead of time." With that, he turned, flicked his tail, and left Silver staring at the empty doorway, still sitting on his haunches.

He got up and stretched. "Why do I need to learn military history?" he whined to himself as he left the room. Then, he realized Bracer had left him to find his own way to the library. He really couldn't tell now if the bat pony liked him, or merely tolerated him as a favor to Princess Celestia. "Did she put him up to this?" he wondered out loud as he wandered through the dim hallways. He made it sound as though he had chosen to help him of his own accord, but he certainly didn't act like it.

It took him half an hour, but he finally made it back to the sun side of the castle. He should have paid closer attention to where Bracer had been taking him. Sherclop Holmes would be very disappointed in my observational skills, he thought. Now, he had to find the library. Celestia had shown him where it was during their tour, but he was all turned around. He had a great sense of direction...when he knew where he was going. He knew Canterlot so well that he could get anywhere in the city from wherever he happened to be, and he had a knack for planning routes, because that had been an important part of his job. He was still very unfamiliar with the castle, since he'd literally only been there for a day.

"Well, no better way to learn a place than to get lost," he reminded himself.

As he wandered around, keeping an eye out for the library, he paid more attention to how the members of the staff acted as he passed. The butlers and maids hardly paid him any mind as he passed them in the halls. The guards, however, were a different story.

Some regarded him with a wary alertness that was simply part of their job, others with suspicion, and still others, though they were fewer, that seemed to regard him with outright contempt and hostility. He wasn't sure whether he should rely on the fact that Celestia had told them to treat him as they would her. Some of the guards looked like they very much would have liked to cause him bodily harm. Accidents happen, he thought to himself. He would just have to be careful around them, he decided. He looked every guard he passed in the eye.

Finally, after what seemed like another half-hour of wandering, he found the library. He tried to remember which hallways he had traveled through so he could construct a mental map of the castle; any distinguishing features, he catalogued.

As he entered the library, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and ran into somepony. "Oof!" came a feminine voice. The pony he had run into, being smaller than him, fell to her rump and dropped the towering stack of books she had been carrying in her magic.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" he apologized. He hurried to help the unicorn mare up and his eyes widened in surprise and recognition. "Twilight Sparkle!" he exclaimed.

"You...ow...know me?" she asked as she rubbed a bump on her head from where one of her books had bounced off of it. "Have we met before?" she asked, looking at him more closely.

"Yeah," Silver said as he helped her gather the fallen books. "I delivered a package to you the other day. You weren't really paying much attention though. You stamped my face with your hoof," he said.

"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Twilight. "I had been waiting for that book for a week!"

"I know how it is, waiting for a new book," he said, helping her restack her pile. He noticed that most of the books she had were about magical theory. "What was it?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"The new 'Daring Do!'" exclaimed Twilight excitedly. "Daring Do and the Temple of Terror."

"There's a new Daring Do?" exclaimed Quicksilver. "How did I not know about this? I've read all of the Daring Do books!"

"Me too!" said a giddy Twilight Sparkle. "Do you live here...at the castle?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm the royal messenger," he said sheepishly, wondering if Princess Celestia had told her protégé about him.

"I'm done with it, if you want to borrow it," Twilight said, pulling a book from the middle of the stack with her magic.

"But you just got it two days ago," protested Quicksilver.

"Please," Twilight said, rolling her purple eyes. "I eat books like that for breakfast." she levitated the book to him.

Quicksilver reached out excitedly for the book, and held it in his hooves giddily. "Wow...thanks a lot!" he said. "That's really nice of you, to lend your Daring Do book to somepony you don't even know."

"I know where you live," said Twilight threateningly, narrowing her purple eyes at him.

Silver gulped. "Where do you live...so I know where to return it."

"I live in the observatory," chirped Twilight.

"Okay," Silver said, sure he'd be able to find it.

"Oh! I never asked you your name!" exclaimed Twilight.

"Oh! I'm Quicksilver! It's very nice to meet you...I mean...officially," he said awkwardly, extending a hoof for her to shake.

"You too, Quicksilver! It's always great to meet another Daring Do fan!" Twilight said excitedly.

"I promise, I'll return this as soon as I'm done reading it," he said.

"Great. I'll hunt you down if you don't," joked Twilight. At least, Quicksilver thought she was joking. There was a somewhat dangerous glint in her eyes as she said that. "Oh no!" Twilight exclaimed. "I'm going to be late for my lesson with the princess! Bye, Quicksilver!" she exclaimed, reclaiming her stack of books with her magenta magic and galloping out of the library.

"She's kinda cute," Quicksilver chuckled, nestling the Daring Do book under his wing.

He enlisted the help of a librarian to find the military history section of the library. He really wanted to crack into Daring Do, but he was pretty sure if he didn't study his military history, Gilded Bracer would know.

"What period would you like?" the librarian asked him. She was a pretty stereotypical librarian; a middle-aged unicorn mare with her jet black mane pulled back into a severe bun with knitting needles stuck through. She regarded him over the top of her glasses.

"Uhh," he thought. "Better start from the beginning," he decided.

The librarian nodded at him severely and helped him find a book. "This is a fairly general history of the beginnings of the military," she said, levitating a book to him from an upper shelf in her glittering blue magical field. "I can get you something more in-depth, if you require it."

"I think a general history should do, for now," Silver said, taking the offered book. "Uh, can I check this out?"

"Yes. Of course. Do you have a library card?" she asked.

"Uhh. No...I didn't know the castle library was open to the public," he said.

"Of course it is," declared the librarian, her voice never exceeding the acceptable library levels. "Princess Celestia believes knowledge is a valuable resource that should be available to all," she said reverently.

She trotted back to the front desk, Quicksilver trailing behind her. If he had known the castle library was open to the public...well, he would have come here a lot sooner! He could only imagine what kind of books the Royal library contained.

The librarian got him a library card, and he checked his book out. "This one's on loan from a friend," he said, regarding the Daring Do book tucked under his wing.

He left, trotting excitedly through the halls. He had admittedly, been interested in military history. He had read quite a few military fiction books, particularly as a colt. He found his way back to his room, and when he got there, he asked for some lunch from a maid. He couldn't find Nina. This maid had a lime green coat and bright red hair. She reminded him of cherry limeade, which turned out to be her name!

"You look delicious," he remarked, not realizing what he was saying until it left his mouth. He flushed hotly as Cherry Limeade giggled.

"Master Quicksilver is quite a flirt," she said, flicking her tail under his chin.

"Aahh...that came out wrong," he said uncomfortably, to fresh giggles. She winked as she left to fetch his lunch, and this time, there was no mistaking what she meant by it. She brushed her tail under his barrel, making him blush.

He retreated to his room, wondering if all the maids were gossiping about how awkward he was, and when his lunch came, he was almost too embarrassed to get it. He let Cherry Limeade in, and she set it on the table for him. "I brought you something special," she said flirtatiously before she left.

He took the cover off with his teeth, setting it aside. He laughed when he saw a glass of cherry limeade, a slice of lime and a ripe, red cherry floating in it among the ice cubes. He took a drink through the straw and grinned stupidly.

He ate his lunch hungrily, then curled up on the couch with his military history book, the Daring Do book resting on the coffee table.

He read all afternoon, trying to absorb what the book was saying, but he found it very dry. It was like sitting through a droning lecture, and the dates and names floated around his head, refusing to stick. "Great," he muttered to himself as he closed the book. "Gilded Bracer is really going to think I'm mentally deficient," he said.

He looked out the window. The sun was lowering toward the western horizon. It was about time for him to leave, if he expected to meet Lightning Strike by sunset. He got up and stretched, his muscles feeling a bit cramped from laying on the couch all afternoon.

He made his way out of the castle, trotting at a brisk pace to get the blood flowing. He was almost glad for the five mile walk before he could take to the sky. The afternoon was cooling as it became evening. He closed his eyes briefly as a cool breeze washed through his coat, making him shiver pleasantly. The air smelled of a pleasant summer evening.

He knew he could take a cab, that he didn't need to walk all this way, but after reading all afternoon, he wanted a bit of time to stretch his legs and try to get what he had read to sink in a bit. Equestrian military history turned out to be a much deeper subject than he thought. Equestria had, after all, existed as a kingdom for over a thousand years. If he went back to the origins of the military, before Princess Celestia banished Nightmare Moon, well, that was a horse of a different color.

He groaned. He knew about the formation of the EUP protective forces. He had studied that because it was a requirement to join the Wonderbolts, but he only knew it as far as the Wonderbolts were concerned. There was also the elite soldiers who became the Royal Guard, the squads and regiments within the Guard itself, and the fact that the military, so far as it had existed back in the days of the EUP was more of a ceremonial force, as there hadn't been any major wars or threats to the kingdom as a whole since the defeat of Nightmare Moon.

All of the facts and names swam around his head until he finally got out of the no-fly zone. I'll think about all of this later, he decided as he spread his wings and took off into the cooling sky of early evening.

He closed his eyes a moment as he felt the wind in his mane and feathers. Flying was the one thing in his life he knew he couldn't do without. When he was in the sky, he felt free. There was nothing to tie him down. He grinned as he flew through a cloud and shook the tiny droplets of moisture from his mane, and did a barrel roll. Everything seemed clearer when it was just him and the sky.

It seemed like no time before he was coming in for a landing at the EPS office. The sky was deep purple, orange, and red as the sun receded down to the horizon. He didn't see Lightning yet, but he did see somepony else. He groaned as his boss, Thunderhead, a powder blue portly pegasus whose wings didn't seem like they'd hold him in the sky looked at him with narrowed golden eyes. He was chewing on the end of a cigar, as always. Everyone joked that the boss was naked without his cigar.

"Quicksilver!" he shouted in his gravelly voice. The gray pegasus always thought you could hear every cigar Thunderhead ever smoked in his voice.

"Hey, Boss," he said nervously as he touched down. Thunderhead had trotted over to meet him.

"What's this?" he demanded, fishing a letter out of the vest he was wearing.

"Uhhh...my resignation," he said.

"You promised you would stay put until Hearth's Warming," Thunderhead accused.

"I know I did, Boss, and I'm sorry, but...opportunity of a lifetime, and all that," Quicksilver said sheepishly.

Thunderhead ground his cigar between his teeth. "My turnover is high enough without you up and quitting on me. No notice! Just this, and from the Princess, of all ponies!"

"I'm sorry, Boss. I would have told you if I had known, but I didn't even know myself until yesterday, I swear!"

"Is that why you didn't even show up for work yesterday? You're lucky Lightning Strike likes you so much! He covered your deliveries too!" Thunderhead shouted.

"Uhh..." Quicksilver didn't even know what to say to that.

As though seeing how overwhelmed Quicksilver was, Thunderhead's expression softened. "Look...it's not like you don't deserve it. I'm just in a bit of a bind. You know good couriers are hard to come by. I wish you could have just let me know sooner."

"I know, Boss," Silver said. "Seriously, if I had known any sooner, I would have told you. I really hate to do this to you, but if Princess Celestia asked you if you wanted to be the royal messenger, would you say no?" he asked.

"No, I don't suppose I would," Thunderhead conceded.

"Hey, don't pick on him," came Lightning's voice. Quicksilver's ears perked, and he looked over Thunderhead's shoulder, seeing the white-blue pegasus cantering up to them.

"I'm done," Thunderhead said. "Congratulations, Quicksilver. If you know anypony who wants a job at EPS, you send them my way."

"I will," promised Quicksilver as Thunderhead trotted away. "Whew," he said. "I was hoping to avoid that," he said.

"Tell me about it," sympathized Lightning. "So, now that that's over with, where do you wanna go? It's on me. Anywhere you want, bud."

Quicksilver hesitated. He knew Lightning didn't really make all that much more than he did, but he definitely didn't want to offend his friend by turning him down. His ears flattened against his head as he thought, then perked up again as an idea came to him. "How 'bout that Neighponse place?" he suggested brightly. He and Lightning ate there all the time. It wasn't too expensive, and the food was fantastic.

"Great," agreed Lightning. The two friends spread their wings and took to the sky.

Although Quicksilver hadn't liked having to explain himself to his boss, he was glad to see him. These last two days had seemed incredibly surreal, and seeing Thunderhead and Lightning made things seem at least a little more normal, somehow.

He glanced beside him at his best friend as they flew into the oncoming darkness spreading out over Canterlot. He knew he would always be there for him, no matter what, like he had told Celestia yesterday. He knew he was incredibly lucky to have Lightning as a friend.

They had been through everything together. When Quicksilver's dreams of joining the Wonderbolts had been shattered, Lightning had been there to help him pick up the pieces. He let Silver move in with him when he moved to Canterlot. He had been the one who had helped Silver get his job at EPS. He was the closest thing he had to a brother. That was why Quicksilver felt bad about not being able to tell him the truth about why he was living at the castle now. He had to admit that it was tempting, but he had promised Celestia he wouldn't tell anypony his actual role, and even though he was positive Lightning would keep the secret, he knew he couldn't betray her like that.

It was a short flight to the Neighponese restaurant. One of the reasons he and Lightning always ate there was because it was close to the office.

Quicksilver couldn't help but grin as they went inside and were seated by their favorite waitress, Cherry Blossom. She was a pretty, pale pink earth pony mare with a very pale red and white mane and tail, tied in a Neighponese-style bun. Her beautiful brown, almond-shaped eyes crinkled in a smile when she saw them.

"It's been a while," she commented as she set out a menu, a sushi menu, and chopsticks for them.

"Too long," agreed Lightning with a wink as they sat on their cushions at the table. "We don't need these," he said, pushing the menus back to her. "We'll just get the usual, and two bottles of hot sake."

"And green tea," chimed Quicksilver.

Lightning chuckled and shook his head as Cherry Blossom took the menus with a smile and a bow and went to fill their order.

"You and your caffeine," Lightning said with a grin.

"You and your alcohol," countered Quicksilver. "I can't get drunk tonight. I still have to get back to the castle."

"Pfftt. Take a cab."

"Cabs are expensive!" protested Quicksilver.

"Aren't you getting paid for this?" asked Lightning. "You've gotta be making more than you did at EPS. You're the bucking royal messenger, for Faust's sake!"

"Well, yeah," he said, though he and Celestia had never discussed monetary compensation. For him, it was almost enough just to live in the castle, but he supposed having some money would be nice, too. He resolved to ask her later.

"So, how did you, of all ponies, become royal messenger? Did you apply, or what?" asked Lightning, his green eyes alight with curiosity.

Quicksilver chuckled and shook his head. "No, they found me," he replied, thinking of the Royal Guards at his door the morning before. That almost seemed like it had been a lifetime ago.

"Well, they picked the right guy for the job," said Lightning as Cherry Blossom brought their drinks on a tray on her back.

She expertly grabbed the tray with her teeth and set it on the table, then put out the two bottles of hot sake, two small cups, a pot of green tea, and a teacup for Quicksilver.

"Thanks," Lightning and Quicksilver said at once.

"Welcome," replied Cherry Blossom. She gave them a small bow and left.

"Aren't you jealous at all?" asked Quicksilver as Lightning took one of the sake bottles in his mouth and poured them each a small cup.

"Why would I be? I'm happy with where I am. I've been there long enough that the pay is decent, and they're talking about making me a supervisor. I'm set. Besides, I know you, Bud. You may have been content, but you weren't really happy. I can tell you're happier now. You've changed, just since I saw you yesterday." He pushed a cup of sake to Quicksilver with his hoof and picked up his own. "Kampai," he said after Quicksilver had picked up his sake, and they both threw them back.

"That's pretty good stuff," commented Quicksilver as he put his sake cup down on the table.

"You think I've changed that much? In just a day?" asked Quicksilver as he grabbed the handle of the teapot in his mouth and poured himself a cup.

"Yeah. You seem more cheerful, if not a little spacier than usual," agreed Lightning.

Quicksilver wasn't sure what to say to that. He supposed he did feel happier. He had hated being stuck in an endless routine, with his days all blending together. It hadn't been that he was bored with his job. EPS had been challenging. In fact, he always wondered why Lightning was more content with it than he was. Flying fast was Quicksilver's special talent. He'd gotten his cutie mark in flight camp when he realized that racing was what he loved to do, and flying fast was essential to the job of a courier. "Hmm," he said.

He was spared the need to say any more by the arrival of their food. Quicksilver and Lightning had been coming to this restaurant for years. They'd been coming here together since Silver moved to Canterlot, and they pretty much always got the same thing: Two Fillydelphia rolls, an asparagus roll, a tempura sweet potato roll, and these lemongrass creamcheese rolls with asparagus and some lemon peel, which was Quicksilver's favorite.

Quicksilver let himself forget about what they had been talking about as they split up the food and poured more sake.

"To the royal messenger!" declared Lightning, holding his sake cup aloft. They toasted and threw back their drinks.

Quicksilver had insisted on only having a few cups of sake, but when he and Lightning finally left, he was so full, he knew he'd get stomach cramps if he tried to fly, so he ended up catching a cab. The whole day had been a blur to him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had such a busy day, and he was pretty sure this was only the beginning. He was looking forward to getting back to his room and going to bed, wondering what tomorrow had in store for him.

He got off about half a mile away from the castle, wanting to walk the rest of the way. By now, Celestia had risen the moon, bathing Canterlot in its cool, bluish silver light. The streets weren't so crowded this time of night, and aside from guards on their patrols, Quicksilver didn't see anypony out wandering, like him.

He wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings, and was taken completely off-guard when a white and blue hoof clamped over his mouth. "Mmph!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening with shock, wings spreading instinctively as he was dragged off to a side-street, kicking, and trying to bite his attacker, who managed to deftly avoid his teeth. "Stop struggling, idiot," a voice he didn't recognize commanded, but it didn't sound like whoever owned it meant him harm. Once they had stopped in a darkened side-street, his assailant said, "I'm going to let go now. Don't run away."

Quicksilver nodded slowly, debating whether or not he should run away anyway. His heart was pounding against his ribcage, and he felt like he might throw up, but he figured if his attacker meant him any harm, he would have done something by now.

The hoof slowly withdrew from his mouth, and Quicksilver spun around. He almost expected to see Blueblood, but the voice hadn't sounded like him, and his hooves were white and gray. Instead, he saw a large unicorn stallion, roughly the size of Blueblood, if not just a little smaller. His coat was pure white, and he had a dark blue mane with lighter blue highlights. He wore the armor of a member of the Royal Guard, but his was different than the standard gilded plate armor worn by most all of the Guard. His armor was a purple enameled plate, with a shield shaped chestplate with a magenta-colored spark design on it.

"Who are you?" asked Quicksilver as his heart rate returned to a somewhat normal pace..

"My name is Shining Armor. I'm the captain of the Royal Guard," the unicorn stallion replied. As though seeing his next question on his face, Shining Armor said, "Princess Celestia sent me to find you. It isn't safe for you outside the castle at night. You should have taken a cab straight back to the castle."

"What? Why?" asked a confused Quicksilver.

"Princess Celestia isn't so naive as to think there aren't members of the Guard who resent that she chose you as the consort. Nopony has displayed such hostilities openly, and nopony would dare do anything to you in the castle, where it would definitely get back to Princess Celestia, but out here, she can't protect you, so she sent me."

"If anypony was going to resent me for being chosen as the consort, wouldn't it be you? Gilded Bracer told me that the honor was usually given to the captain of the guard," Quicksilver said, nervously eyeing the abandoned back street Shining Armor had dragged him to.

The captain of the guard actually laughed. "No. I'm completely loyal to Princess Celestia. Besides, she's my sister's mentor. I couldn't be her consort."

"You're Twilight Sparkle's brother?" Quicksilver asked, shocked.

"That's right," Shining said. "You've met Twili?"

"A couple of times," replied Quicksilver. "So Celestia sent you to find me."

"Yes. She understood that you were going out to meet your friend, but as you may have noticed, it's gotten pretty late. She was hoping you had just ended up staying out later with Lightning Strike, but she was also concerned something may have happened to you," Shining Armor said. "She asked me to find you and bring you back to the castle."

"Ah...I'm sorry I worried her. I meant to be back sooner, but Lightning and I always have something to talk about," he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly with his forehoof.

"No harm done," Shining Armor assured him. "Just remember, it's dangerous out here at night. If you're going to be out late, take a cab directly to the castle."

Quicksilver nodded and the two stallions began walking. Silver thought Shining Armor would take him back they way he'd come when he dragged him back here, but to his surprise, the captain of the guard kept walking down the side street. "Where are we going?" he asked. "Isn't it that way?" He pointed his hoof to the mouth of the alley.

"We're going a different way," Shining Armor assured him. "I don't usually go right in through the front gate. Besides, at night, it's locked, anyhow."

"Ahh...I didn't know that," said Quicksilver. He couldn't help but think that if Shining Armor hadn't found him, he would've been screwed. He hadn't paid all that much attention to where Strongbow and Bright Shield had been taking him yesterday, so he doubted he would have been able to find the postern gate on his own.

"You do now," Shining Armor said with a sardonic grin.

The two stallions walked in silence for a while, the only sound being the clopping of their hooves on the cobbled road. The night was cool, and the moon was bright enough to illuminate the street. Quicksilver was a little uncomfortable with the silence. "How long have you been captain of the guard?" he asked at last.

Shining Armor didn't turn his head to look at Quicksilver as he walked. Instead, his sapphire eyes kept scanning their surroundings. "Since just recently. Being a member of the Royal Guard had been my dream since I was a colt. I went to the Guard Academy around the same time Princess Celestia took my sister as her protege."

"It must not be too easy," Quicksilver remarked.

"It's not," replied Shining. "The Guard are considered the most elite of Equestria's military forces. It takes a lot of fortitude just to get through the Academy. Maybe a third of those who go to the Academy actually go on to become members of the Guard."

"Wow, that's pretty steep," boggled Quicksilver.

"Being a Guard is more than just being able to march in formation and do drills. If you want to be a Guard, you have to be willing to sacrifice your own life for the Princess if need be." He glanced back at Quicksilver now. "Do you think you'd be able to make that kind of sacrifice?"

That gave Silver something to think about for a while as they traveled down another side street. He barely even knew Princess Celestia, but all things considered, none of the Royal Guards even knew her that well, either. Sure, they saw much more of her than anypony else would, but they didn't know her. "You would give your life to save hers?" he asked.

"That's my duty," said Shining Armor.

"You don't really know her...you'd sacrifice your own life for somepony you don't really know?"

"I don't need to know everything about her to know her," Shining Armor said. "I've been guarding her for several years now. I know that she gives a lot of herself to keep this kingdom running. She makes a lot of sacrifices; does things that she doesn't necessarily like, agree with, or even want to do for the sake of her subjects; millions of ponies she has never met, but whose happiness she cares very deeply about. Knowing that she would give herself for all these ponies she'll never know...that makes the idea of sacrificing myself for her that much easier to swallow."

"Wow," breathed Silver. "I didn't think of it like that."

"I love Princess Celestia as my sovereign. That's all I need."

Quicksilver thought about that as they walked together down the silent streets. Before too long, they arrived at the gate Bright Shield and Strongbow had brought him through yesterday morning. The moon flowers were in full bloom. A soft, sweet smell drifted on the breeze with a hint of jasmine mixed with the scent of ozone and evening breeze.

"The Moon Gate," Shining said. He didn't knock, but instead, produced a key from beneath his breastplate. It was a silver key that almost seemed to glow in the light of the moon.

"Whoa," breathed Quicksilver. The gate was covered in thousands of moon flower blooms, their glossy, dark green leafs shining in the moonlight.

Shining Armor levitated the key to the gate and inserted it in a keyhole that was almost obscured by the moon flowers.

"Just one question," Quicksilver said as Shining Armor used his magic to open the gate.

"Yes?" the stallion asked, looking back at the pegasus.

"Why did you have to jump me like that and drag me down the street?" he demanded.

Shining Armor laughed. "Well, you weren't really paying attention. If I meant you harm, you could have been seriously injured, or dead. Pay attention next time."

"Right." Silver said, hoping Gilded Bracer never heard about this.

"Princess Celestia asked me to bring you to her chambers when we got back," Shining said as they walked through the guards' barracks.

"To her chambers?" repeated Quicksilver.

"She usually retires after moonrise," Shining Armor elaborated.

Quicksilver gulped, but followed Shining Armor. The castle was silent at this time of night. Pairs of guards patrolled the hallways, and every patrol they passed nodded to Shining Armor, who returned their greetings with a curt nod of his head. They went up a huge staircase, bypassing the floor Silver's rooms were on, and going one flight higher. Silver followed Shining Armor, his tail drooping low between his haunches, until finally, they arrived at Princess Celestia's room.

Shining Armor nodded to the two guards posted there, and raised a hoof to knock. "Your Highness, I've brought Quicksilver," he announced through the door.

"Let him in," she called back.

Shining armor opened the door with his magic, which, Quicksilver noticed, was a shade of magenta just a little lighter than his sister's. "Goodnight, Quicksilver," he said.

"Yeah, goodnight," Silver said nervously, going inside.

Celestia's room was large and rather simply decorated. The Princess was reclining on a large bed on the floor, her back resting against a gold, tasseled buttress. A scroll was suspended before her in the golden glow of her magic, and her magenta eyes were scanning it. The door closed as Quicksilver stepped inside. The consort gulped nervously.

"Come in, Quicksilver," the Princess invited. "Why don't you join me?" She rolled up the scroll and levitated it over to a table. The room was dark, but for the flickering of the fire set in the huge fireplace.

"J--join you?" he stammered.

"Yes," Celestia said, patting a spot on the bed beside her with her forehoof.

Quicksilver cantered over nervously, his ears flat against his head.

Celestia noticed his expression and giggled. "I don't need you to make love to me tonight," she assured him, and the consort sighed in relief. He joined Celestia on her large bed, curling up beside her with about a foot between them. Celestia spread one of her great, alabaster wings and pulled him closer, so their sides were touching. Her coat was very soft, and she was warm. "There, much better," she said.

"I'm sorry if I worried you," he said uneasily, looking up to her. "I meant to be back sooner, but Lightning and I always end up talking for hours."

Celestia laughed lightly. "I understand. I truly should have told you if I expected you back at a certain time, but I'm afraid it slipped my mind." She nuzzled him gently, and Quicksilver returned the gesture. "How was your celebration dinner?" she asked.

"Great!" replied Silver enthusiastically. "I...kind of feel bad about not being able to tell him the truth, though. I owe him a lot. He's always been there for me."

"I understand," Celestia assured him. "But I'm sure you understand the need for secrecy? I must admit, I have had many potential suitors, and while I do not mind irritating them by choosing somepony who is not of the nobility, I am afraid it would make things very difficult for you."

"So, wait...all of this secrecy is for my benefit?" he asked, shocked. He had figured that all of this secrecy was to avoid some kind of scandal, but he hadn't counted on it all being for him.

Celestia laughed. "For the most part. I truly have no desire to be embroiled in a scandal, though I could weather it. One does not rule a kingdom for a thousand years without knowing how to deal with such things. You, however, would not be in such a good position. When I took Twilight Sparkle as my protégé, there were quite a few that resented how close she got to be to me. There were many nobles that asked why I didn't see fit to take any of their children as my personal protege, though Twilight does come from a rather well-to-do family. Then, when they found out I made her brother captain of the royal guard..." she shook her head. "If it got out that you are my consort, there would be many nobles that would be...angry...to say the least. They have been clamoring for hundreds of years for me to either take one of them as a consort, or to marry one of them, which I have had no desire to do."

Quicksilver rested his chin on his forelegs. "Why not?" he asked. "You said it was hard to run the kingdom by yourself. Surely, one of them would be able to help you?"

"True as that may be, none of them want to marry me or become my consort out of interest in helping me bear the burden of running the kingdom. They are far more interested in improving their own status and position. They want all of the power with none of the responsibility. They want to style themselves King or Prince while I do all the work," explained Celestia.

"I guess I can understand that," Quicksilver said. "Bracer told me that consorts used to be chosen from among the Guard. Why didn't you choose one of them?"

"That may have been a better choice," admitted Celestia. "There wouldn't have been any need to go to all of the trouble I've gone to with a cover story, and an angry EPS manager asking why I took one of his best employees," she said, making Quicksilver flush. "I trust all of my Guard implicitly. I hoof-picked them myself, which is why it hurts so badly when they betray the trust I place in them." Quicksilver winced, remembering what Celestia had told him that morning. "Though they are all very devoted, there is only one other I would have chosen, and I would not have felt right doing so."

Quicksilver had a feeling he knew who she was talking about, but he didn't say anything. He could imagine Gilded Bracer at her side, but he thought he might have been too stoic for somepony like her. He imagined them wrapped in one another's forelegs, and had to shake his head to clear the image. No, he didn't need that particular image in his mind. "But why me?" he asked.

Celestia chuckled lightly. "You're still hung up about that?" she asked, nuzzling him and nipping at his ear, making him squeak.

"I was just a courier...and something of a failure," he said. "I keep asking myself what you could possibly see in me, and I keep coming away empty-hoofed. I just don't understand."

"You are a wonderful stallion, Quicksilver, and far from a failure. Your dream of joining the Wonderbolts may not have come to fruition, but perhaps that wasn't your destiny."

Silver's head shot up, his ears pricking at the thought. "What do you mean, it wasn't my destiny to join the Wonderbolts?" he demanded. "That's all I ever wanted when I was a colt. My father was the Wonderbolts' manager!"

"Sometimes what you want, isn't what you need," Celestia told him softly. "Are you sure you didn't want to join the Wonderbolts because that was what your father expected of you?"

The consort's ears drooped. "Well, he always said I could do something else if that wasn't what I wanted, but I thought it was what I wanted."

"You thought it was what you wanted?" asked Celestia, her eyebrow arching.

"I--" started Quicksilver.

"Why don't you think about it for a while?" suggested Celestia.

"Does this have to do with why you chose me?" he asked.

"Not much," admitted Celestia. "But I have a feeling that joining the Wonderbolts wasn't what you were meant for. If you were meant to join the Wonderbolts, if you had truly wanted it that badly, would you have allowed an injury while you were at the Wonderbolts Academy stop you? When Shining Armor attended the Royal Guard Academy, he was badly injured, but he didn't allow that to stop him. He knew being a member of the Guard was his destiny."

"I--hmm." Quicksilver rested his chin on his forelegs again. "So...what made me so special? You said there were many other candidates."

Celestia laughed. "You won't be deterred, will you?" she asked. The pegasus shook his head. "I was looking for somepony who was, above all else, kind. Somepony who was willing to put somepony else's troubles above their own. I wanted somepony who could remain optimistic, no matter what it was life threw at them."

"I guess I do qualify there," admitted Quicksilver. "But I get discouraged easily. I might be optimistic, but that's because I can't stand the idea of the alternative. Who wants to go through life being depressed or angry about things they can't control?"

"And that is a very good philosophy to have," Celestia assured him. "Though I argue that you always have control over your life. You choose how you perceive and react to situations. You always have a choice."

"Sometimes, it seems the choices you make aren't really much of a choice," Silver said sleepily, the food and the sake starting to get to him.

"That may be true, but it is still a choice," said Celestia, resting her chin against the back of Silver's neck. She glanced out the window, at the moon hanging high in the sky. "It was my choice to banish you, Sister," she said so softly that Quicksilver barely even heard her. "It may not have seemed like a choice at the time, but it was my choice, nonetheless."

"Mm," replied Quicksilver. His eyelids felt heavy, like they didn't want to stay open anymore. Vaguely, he was aware of something warm being draped over him. He could feel Celestia's chin resting on his neck, could feel her sides moving as she breathed. She was warm and comfortable, and smelled of summer. Vaguely, he thought he enjoyed talking about philosophy with her. Being thousands of years old had to give one a different perspective. "Goodnight, Celestia," he said sleepily.

"Goodnight, Quicksilver," replied the princess. He just barely felt her lips brush the base of his ear

Author's Note

This inspired the rules that consorts were to observe, and was actually what got me thinking about the whole idea.

Chapter 4 - Complicated Questions

Quicksilver awoke with a start when he felt his pillow shift. He reached over, wrapping his forelegs around it to keep it in place. Hmm, he thought. My pillow is bigger than I remember, and it feels kind of furry and warm. His eyes shot open when he heard a musical laugh. Holy Faust! his brain screamed. I'm still with Princess Celestia! I fell asleep in her bed last night!

"I'd like to stay here, too," Celestia told him gently. "But it's time for me to raise the sun."

"Gahh! I'm sorry!" exclaimed Quicksilver, letting the princess go.

Celestia laughed as she got to her hooves, and Silver realized incredibly belatedly, that she wasn't wearing her regalia. The princess ruffled her wings as she made her way to the huge balcony on the other side of the room, opening the large glass doors with her magic. She glanced back at Quicksilver. "Would you like to watch?" she asked.

"Sure!" he replied, getting up, excitement clearing the drowsiness from him, and following her outside. Canterlot was still covered in the darkness that precedes dawn. The moon was hanging just above the western horizon, waiting for Celestia to return it to its resting place. He watched in awe as Celestia's horn was surrounded by her golden magical aura, and the moon very slowly sank beneath the horizon. The sky was now completely black, devoid of the light of either moon or sun.

The consort watched as Celestia closed her eyes, a smile spreading across her muzzle. He turned his attention to the East and could see as the sky began to lighten, a deep orange spreading over the black outline of the city in the distance. The orange glow grew brighter, until it was joined by yellow. He could see the top of the sun slowly cresting the horizon. He was just barely aware of Celestia spreading her great wings as the sun rose, adding shades of pink to the morning sky. As it rose higher, Celestia flapped her wings and rose slowly into the sky, spreading her forelegs as the sun climbed into its place, the sky turning shades of pale blue and gold.

"Ahhh," breathed Quicksilver, amazed. He had seen the Summer Sun Celebration once as a colt, when it had taken place in Cloudsdale. He remembered sitting on his father's shoulder. He was on one shoulder, his sister on the other. They had been toward the back, and while he could see everything, Celestia herself was too far away for him to see her clearly. "That was amazing," he breathed as Celestia's hooves touched down on the balcony.

"I admit, I was showing off a little," Celestia said, blushing faintly.

Quicksilver had never seen Celestia blush like that before, and he thought it was really cute. "That was beautiful," he told her. "I never imagined I'd get to stand next to you while you rose the sun."

Celestia laughed lightly as they returned to her bedchamber. "I'm sure quite a lot has happened in the past two days that you never imagined you would do," she said lightly.

"That's true," he admitted. "I never thought I would uh...sleep in the Princess's bed," he said, making her laugh again. His face grew hot.

"You were a very considerate bedmate," she complimented. "You didn't try to steal the covers, and you stayed on your own side of the bed." She was grinning at him as she said this, making him flush again. "Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Did you?" he asked, remembering breakfast the day before, when she'd said she didn't sleep much.

"I did," she said with a smile. "I must admit, I hadn't slept that well in quite a long time."

"Well, I doubt I had much to do with that," he said.

"Mm. Perhaps, perhaps not. I just know that aside from waking up as I normally do to check on the moon, I slept through the night," pointed out the princess.

A knock sounded on the door, drawing Quicksilver's attention, but before Celestia could say anything, it opened, and in poured a veritable fleet of attendants. "Good morning, Your Majesty," they all chirped as they came in.

"Good morning, ladies," Celestia said with a smile as Quicksilver watched, wide-eyed. They didn't seem to pay him any mind as they flocked around the princess with a basin of water, brushes, jars and other implements for grooming. "Thank you, everypony, but I think I'll have my consort attend me today," she said gently.

The attendants must have been used to their princess tending to her own grooming on occasion, because they all bowed, left the implements, and departed as quickly as they came.

Quicksilver gaped at the sight. "Do they do this every morning?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," Celestia said with a musical chuckle. "It's their belief that I shouldn't have to do such mundane things as brush my own mane," she explained. "Would you care to attend me, Quicksilver?" she asked.

"Sure, but uh...you'll have to tell me what to do," he said uncertainly.

"I'd be happy to," Celestia assured him. She beckoned him to follow her to her vanity, where the attendants had left everything.

She first dipped her hooves in the basin of water a few times. Curious, Quicksilver leaned in, only to have her lightly splash his muzzle playfully. He drew back quickly, snorting, but detected the subtle scent of honeysuckle.

"First, I wash my hooves," she said in a sing-song voice. "Then, I wash my face." She levitated a hoof-sized, soft-looking white facial sponge, dipping it into the water and allowing it to draw in the moisture, before squeezing out the excess. Then, she gently scrubbed her face, starting from the base of her horn and moving in downward circular motions towards the jaw, before lifting the sponge and repeating until she had made it to the long arch of her neck, making sure to avoid all sensitive areas, like her eyes. She also cleaned her ears with a fluffy-looking cotton ball.

"Here's where you come in," she said, picking up a heavy-looking ceramic jar with her magic and taking the lid off. She floated it under his muzzle, and he saw what looked like coarsely ground oats mixed with various herbs and powders that he didn't recognize on sight.

"What do I do?" he asked, looking at the oats and sniffing them. "You want me to rub you down with breakfast?" As he looked more closely, his nose detected what his eyes had at first not seen. It smelled like milk and honey, like something he had eaten recently, and he vaguely wondered if this was what happened to the food when it didn't get eaten. He remembered seeing the butlers removing the platters from the dining hall after his first breakfast here in the castle. He quelled thoughts of eating it off of her, and blushed, not so much out of embarrassment, but more sheepish at how his thoughts wandered, especially because he knew Celestia was aware of the fact that his mind had totally gone south.

Celestia laughed, finding his nescience rather adorable. "You don't eat it, silly. The oats draw out the oils and dirt, the fats and proteins from the powdered milk help to make the coat glossy, and the honey is antimicrobial, not to mention soothing."

"And yummy," he added.

Celestia bopped him lightly on the muzzle. "Focus now," she chided. "Take some in your hoof," she instructed. Quicksilver complied. "Now rub it into my coat in a circular motion, starting at my neck, and work your way down."

"Like a dry bath?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Celestia cheerfully, pleased at how quickly he was catching on. She stood still for him as he rubbed the oats into her coat, his touch gentle, but firm.

For his own part, Quicksilver was thinking about how this was the first time he was really touching her quite deliberately. She twitched reflexively in response to his touch, and he could feel the muscles beneath her coat, strong and firm. He thought about how alicorns were generally considered to have the defining traits of all three tribes; the wings of the pegasi, the magic of the unicorns, and the strength, endurance, and general physical prowess of the earth ponies. He was amazed at how strong she felt, for being so slender.

He worked downward, pausing only to get more oats from the jar that Celestia levitated for him. He vaguely remembered his mother teaching him how to do this, but he was just a small colt when she passed away, and he didn't remember much about it. He was amazed that royalty did such things, too.

"What are you thinking about?" Celestia asked, as she had noticed his movement had slowed somewhat.

"Oh...I just...remembered my mother teaching me something like this, but I don't remember much about it," he replied. "I was kind of young when she died."

"I was young when my parents died," she told him solemnly.

His ears perked at the revelation. "Really? I mean, no offense, but it's kind of hard to imagine you even having parents."

She laughed in that musical way he liked. "It was a very, very long time ago. It fell to me to care for my sister. I taught her how to do this," she revealed.

"My sister took care of me," he said as she spread one of her great wings so he could get her coat beneath it. "She was a few years older. My father cared about us, but he wasn't really the nurturing type."

"Mm," replied Celestia. She closed her eyes, enjoying Quicksilver's ministrations, using the pleasant sensation of him rubbing the oats into her coat to stave off the memories she would rather not think about right now.

As though sensing this, Quicksilver worked in silence, kind of transfixed with the motions of his hoof, until he realized he had reached her rump. "Um...can I touch here?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, looking back at him with half-lidded magenta eyes.

He proceeded, tentatively at first, his face flushing. He knew he shouldn't be embarrassed, but he couldn't help it.

"You can press harder," Celestia said, her voice tinged with amusement. She felt him press harder, resuming the gentle, firm pressure he'd used elsewhere. She was glad she had already spread her wings for him, because she wouldn't have to worry about them betraying her, and hummed pleasantly as he rubbed the oats into her flank, enjoying the sensation.

"And here?" he asked softly, just barely brushing her cutie mark.

"Y-yes," she replied, her voice catching a bit in her throat, despite herself.

He rubbed the oats inward, toward the center of the sun mark on her flank, and she bit her lip, feeling warmth spreading through her. Her cutie mark was particularly sensitive, and she liked being touched there.

He moved around to the other side, blushing as he rubbed his princess's generous rump. Having it in his face was also presenting problems, and he struggled to keep his wings under control. I'm just a very healthy stallion, he reminded himself. What stallion wouldn't feel like this in my position?

He couldn't help but feel grateful when he finished though, working back up along her sides and up her neck.

"Very good," cooed Celestia. Quicksilver wondered if he was imagining the hint of flush in her cheeks.

She presented him with a hard-bristled brush and told him to now brush the oats out. With the brush between her and his hoof, Quicksilver felt a little less self-conscious, and it suddenly wasn't quite as intimate. Come on, he told himself disgustedly. She has other ponies touching her rump every day. But what was that smell? It was warm, like butterscotch, and it pervaded his senses. It was heady and musky, and it made his vision blur a bit around the edges.

Aware of the scent, Celestia flushed, glad he wasn't in the position to see her face, and fibbing for his benefit, said, "That's just the smell of the mixture when it gets warm from the brushing." She knew this wasn't the time for such things.

"Oh, okay," he said, almost sleepily. He felt his belly clench in response to it, and wrote it off as hunger pains. "It smells nice."

Once he had brushed the oats out, Celestia gave him another brush. "One more time," she said, the corners of her mouth upturned.

Quicksilver complied, taking the second brush, which had softer bristles. Before he even started, she found a comfy patch of carpet and lay down so her belly was exposed to him.

"Brush my belly?" she asked altogether too innocently.

"Uh...of course," he said, trying not to let his voice waver.

He found the fur along her belly to be very soft and fine as he brushed her gently. He didn't go as firmly as he did with the rest of her coat, knowing how sensitive the belly is in general.

"Mm," she hummed, quite obviously enjoying herself. Her eyes were closed and she had to keep her tongue from lolling out of her mouth. She loved having her belly rubbed, but that wasn't typically something she could ask her attendants to do, and what Quicksilver didn't know wouldn't kill him.

Quicksilver tried to tell himself it was stupid to be nervous about brushing her. Eventually, he'd be touching her much more intimately. Maybe he was embarrassed because despite the (mostly) non-sexual way he was touching her, it still turned him on. His mind was getting the better of him.

She rolled back to her hooves when he was done with her belly. If she noticed how it was affecting him, she didn't say so, which he was grateful for.

Brushing her definitely gave him a chance to appreciate her form, though, and mostly without making him feel indecent about it. She was slender and graceful, and she literally didn't move a muscle as he attended her, once she got used to him. Sometimes, a sigh might escape her, but hey, he liked being brushed too.

She accepted the brush from him with her magic when he was done, laying it carefully on the vanity, and said, "Thank you, Quicksilver."

"You're welcome," he said sheepishly, his whole body feeling flushed. "Is that all?" he asked, seeing that there were still a few jars, hoof-trimmers, and other implements that he eyed nervously.

She giggled as she brushed her own mane, which seemed to snap and crackle with its own energy as she ran the brush through it. "Yes, just a few finishing touches," she assured him.

He watched as she picked up a dainty-looking porceline jar from the vanity, and applied a pearlescent pinkish-looking scented mineral powder to her coat, which, if the brushing hadn't made her coat look smooth and shiny, the powder made it shimmer in an almost otherworldly manner.

"You look beautiful," he breathed, and she favored him with a dazzling smile.

"Thank you," she replied. "I still need to preen my wings," she said.

She picked up a case and unrolled it over the top of her vanity, revealing all manner of feather picks and wing combs. He'd heard you could get such a preening at a salon or spa, but he preferred preening his wings himself. He didn't like the idea of having strangers touching them, especially because when he was a courier, particularly, his wings were his livelihood. He had a hard time trusting somepony else with them.

To his relief, Celestia preened her own wings, using the picks and combs with her magic while he watched. She was very careful about it, making sure her feathers were straight, and picking out any loose ones.

Her grooming done, Celestia stepped back over to the vanity, where Quicksilver saw her crown and torque resting on a pony bust. Her golden shoes were arrayed neatly before the vanity, and she stepped into them carefully. The torque was next.

Quicksilver watched, feeling like there was some sort of ritual or ceremony to the way she put on her badges of office. He could almost feel the weight of them. It was like without them, she was free, and now that she was putting them on, he thought it seemed as though she was preparing herself, saying the oath of her office mentally. She put the crown on last, and she levitated it carefully onto her head, resting it near the base of her horn with a sort of sense of finality. Her expression was serious and somber as she checked herself in the mirror to make sure it sat straight.

As she turned to face him, he couldn't help but think that now, she looked every bit the ruler that she appeared to be in the posters and photos he had seen of her. It was strange to him how the regalia made all the difference. She was beautiful and regal without it, but with it, she was no longer Celestia the pony; she was Celestia the ruler. It was hard for him to think of her as both his sovereign and the pony he had snuggled beside last night.

"Aren't they heavy?" Quicksilver asked, his hoof unconsciously touching his neck as though an invisible torque rested there. Just watching her put it on, he could almost feel the weight of it on himself.

"They are quite heavy," replied Celestia. "It has always been my belief that a ruler should never wear her crown easily. It serves as a reminder as to the weight of the office I hold."

"Hmm," replied the consort, mulling it over with a touch of sympathy. He had never thought about that. It was interesting to him that her regalia served to remind her of her duty to her kingdom, a constant reminder that she carried with her through her whole day, but they were also badges of her office to remind others that she was their ruler.

Before he had actually met Celestia, he had never really thought about the government or the way her rule affected her kingdom. He had always known her as a just, benevolent ruler, but he never really considered how the decisions she made as ruler of Equestria affected him, personally. "You've worn them a long time," he observed.

"I have," agreed Celestia. "I have become accustomed to their weight, just as I have become accustomed to the weight of my responsibility to my subjects."

"Isn't it hard?" he asked. He was still quite hung up on that. He knew she had ponies that helped her run the kingdom, but all of the final decisions were hers to make. He couldn't fathom shouldering that kind of burden himself, and she had been doing it for well over a thousand years.

Celestia laughed. "At times. I have set up the government in such a way that I am little more than a guide. I believe in allowing my little ponies to figure things out for themselves."

Quicksilver grinned. "Like a teacher," he said.

"Or a mother," Celestia added, also smiling. "You should come to court sometime," she suggested. "You could see me 'in action,' so to speak."

"I'd love to. If Gilded Bracer lets me," he said, remembering that he was supposed to be training with the bat pony.

Celestia laughed. "You don't think he'd let you see your princess in action?" she asked playfully.

"Uh...I guess he probably would," he replied, now that he thought about it.

Quicksilver wished he could just stay with her all day. He loved being in her presence, feeling the warmth that seemed to radiate from her very being, but he knew Bracer would be looking for him soon. "I should get going. Gilded Bracer said he'd be coming for me before breakfast."

Celestia nodded her understanding. "Yes, I should be going, as well. I have an early meeting to get to." She approached him and lowered her head to nuzzle him. "Have a good day, Quicksilver. I'll see you at breakfast."

"Okay," he agreed, nuzzling her back, taking in her sweet scent as much as he could, so that he could carry her with him throughout the day.

With that, they parted.

Quicksilver went back to his room and took a quick, cold shower. He was still feeling the effects of his proximity to Celestia, and while he vaguely thought that she had done all of that on purpose, knowing how it would affect him, he was also glad she had, because at the very least, it had its intended effect of making him feel that much more comfortable with her. He flushed as he remembered his hooves touching her rump, and that scent he had smelled from her. He wasn't so naive as to really think that was just the herbal mixture.

He wished he had a little more time to himself as he showered quickly, expecting Bracer to knock on his door any minute. He was feeling a bit unfulfilled, and a little frustrated that he didn't have time to take care of it.

He was just drying his coat when the knock came. "Just a second!" he called, hastily tossing the towel over the rack and trotting out to his sitting room. He opened the door, seeing Bracer in his silver armor standing on the other side, regarding him with his usual dispassionate gaze.

"Come," he said.

Boy, would I like to, Silver thought, flushing a bit, but he complied, shaking a bit of moisture from his mane as he shut the door and followed the former guard.

Bracer walked silently, as he usually did, and Quicksilver noticed how even his hooves didn't make much of a sound, despite his silver shoes. He couldn't help but be a little creeped out by the bat pony, but maybe that was just an instinctive reaction to how different he was.

"Tell me what you've learned about military history," Bracer said as they made their way to the moon side of the castle.

His brain screeched to a halt and tried to turn over, but it was like an engine trying to start in the cold. "Well, uh, you didn't tell me what period I should start from, so I started from the Celestial year of peace, after the defeat of Nightmare Moon," he said nervously, his brain having had finnaly switched gears after a moment.

"Very well, the military, such as it is today, did not truly exist before Nightmare Moon's defeat," Bracer replied.

"Uh...why not?" asked Quicksilver.

By now, Bracer was getting used to Quicksilver's inquisitive nature, but he found the pegasus to be easily distracted, and teaching him was like trying to catch a bird. "The Royal Guard existed as a means to protect the princesses, but Equestria was a small kingdom, compared to how it is now.

"Princess Celestia and Princess Luna took a much more hooves-on approach to defending their kingdom, and Equestria wasn't really large enough to be considered much of a threat to either the dragons, or the griffons, and the sea serpents who live along the coast were always peaceful and friendly toward us."

"Princess Luna?" asked Quicksilver. He remembered hearing about a Princess Luna mentioned briefly in history class.

"She and Princess Celestia ruled Equestria together, in harmony, before Nightmare Moon was defeated," explained Bracer. "Celestia was responsible for raising and lowering the sun, while Luna was responsible for the moon." Bracer was being vague on purpose, since he knew Celestia had likely not mentioned Luna to Quicksilver. He wondered if the consort would be bold enough to question her about it.

For his part, Quicksilver was thinking about what Bracer had said, his brain processing the facts. "So, wait a minute," he said, stopping in the middle of the hallway. Bracer came to a stop and looked back at him.

"Something doesn't add up here. You have Celestia," he said, holding up his right forehoof. "Then you have Luna." He held up the left forehoof. "And you have Nightmare Moon." He looked back and lifted one of his hind-legs, wobbling on the other one, and using his wings to keep himself balanced.

"Are you really counting on your hooves?" asked Bracer, regarding him disdainfully.

"Shut up! I'm overwhelmed here! Don't judge me," retorted Quicksilver. "So, Celestia, Luna, Nightmare Moon." He put his left foreleg and his hind-leg back on the ground, leaving his right forehoof."Celestia. What happened to Luna?" he asked.

Bracer rolled his eyes and deigned not to answer him. He started walking again, making Quicksilver hurry to catch up. "After the defeat of Nightmare Moon, it suddenly came to everypony's attention that there may be those that sought to overthrow Princess Celestia. That was why the EUP was formed," he continued.

"All of those facts just swim around in my head," Quicksilver said as they walked through the hallway that connected the sun side of the castle to the moon side. It's like an eclipse, he thought. "I'm not trying to be petulant, but why do I need to know this? I'm not really going to be a guard."

Bracer stopped so suddenly that Quicksilver ran into him and fell to his rump. "Maybe not in name, but if you want any respect from the members of the Royal Guard, you must become like them. You will be with the princess much of the time, and you must be able to protect her, or at least not be a liability if something were to come up," he said.

The pegasus got up, rubbing his rump. "I understand all that, but why do I need to know military history? Do I get cred with the guards if I know it, or what?" he asked.

Bracer gritted his teeth and ground out, "Princess Celestia herself says that knowing history is important, lest we be doomed to repeat it. The military as it exists now is there for two purposes." Bracer sounded frustrated as he said this.

"I'm about to get the condensed version, aren't I?" Quicksilver asked.

"Yes," snapped Bracer. "It may be the only way to cram it through your thick skull."

If this wasn't normal for Bracer, Quicksilver might have been hurt that the bat pony was, essentially calling him stupid. He just didn't understand the point of all of this, but he figured it had to be important, if Bracer was trying so hard to get him to understand.

"The military, such as it is, exists for two purposes," repeated Bracer. "The first is to protect our borders. It has not been necessary for our military forces to actually fight anyone in a very long time, but having them there shows that we cannot be easily invaded. The second purpose is protecting the princess. When Princess Celestia defeated Nightmare Moon, everypony was spooked because they discovered that threats could come from within." Bracer said.

"From...within," Quicksilver repeated. He was more confused than ever. He knew there was some essential information here that Bracer wasn't telling him, especially when he didn't answer him about where Luna had gone.

Bracer started walking again, and Quicksilver hurried after him. "Study history," he advised. "It will help you with your job."

The bat pony led them out to a courtyard that was lush with dark green foliage. It was almost like a rainforest. The trees and vines grew so thick, they almost obscured the sun. All that could be seen of it was bright sunbeams that struggled through the thick foliage, but there was still quite a lot of open space.

"In days past, a guard had to always be prepared," Bracer said. "Pegasi guards often carried blades concealed in the feathers of their wings." He produced a bundle wrapped in cloth, and Quicksilver came closer to see as he began to unwrap it.

"Whoa," he said, as the blades Bracer was referring to were revealed. They were varying lengths, some as long as the long primary feathers of a pegasus's wing. They glinted in the sunlight, obviously still very sharp, and barely thicker than a feather.

"I may teach you how to use them, later. For now, we need to get your body honed," the bat pony said.

They did a brief warm-up, trotting around the courtyard to get the blood flowing, and flexing their wings. Quicksilver was still a little perturbed by the strangeness of Bracer's leathery bat wings, but even he had to admit, they had a certain grace.

To his surprise, Bracer did the exercises with him. Once their muscles were warm, they began to stretch, Twisting their torsos so their left wings touched their right hindhoof, and vice-versa. They did sit-ups, and while Quicksilver found Bracer's pace a little brisk, he did his best to keep up.

In between sets, they trotted around the courtyard, and Quicksilver could feel sweat dripping down his neck. It was no more than an hour past dawn, but the midsummer morning was warming quickly, and the thick foliage of the courtyard made it humid.

Bracer, despite himself, seemed a bit impressed with the way Quicksilver was keeping up.

"I might not have been fit enough to join the Wonderbolts," he told the former guard as they did wing ups, face-to-face, forehooves crossed behind their backs, hindlegs extended out behind them, so their wings were all that held them up, "but I had a pretty physically demanding job. I spent all day flying around Canterlot, and I needed speed and endurance."

"I see," Bracer said, his eyes narrowing as he watched as the pegasus's wings flexed under his body weight. The bat pony got to his hooves and went around to Quicksilver's side. He took a hoof and pressed down on Silver's back. The pegasus grunted, slowed a bit by the additional weight, but he took it in stride easily enough. "Alright then," Bracer said. He spread his own wings and flapped once, getting just high enough that he could settle on Silver's back. He kept his wings spread and flapping gently so he wasn't putting the whole of his body weight on Silver's back.

He could feel the perspiration on the pegasus's back and his muscles as they contracted beneath his hooves, and Silver grunted again. This time, his wings trembled a bit as they struggled to hold both his own and about half of Bracer's weight. To the bat pony's surprise, the pegasus kept going.

The additional weight was obviously difficult for him, and Quicksilver panted softly as sweat beaded on his brow, ran down his temple, and he watched it drip into the dirt beneath him.

"Not bad," Bracer said, putting a little more weight on the pegasus. To his surprise, Quicksilver didn't complain, and he didn't stop until his wings trembled and finally collapsed, sending both of them into the dirt.

Silver lay on the ground, panting and wheezing, his flanks heaving from the exertion. His wings felt like they were made of jelly.

"You're dismissed," Bracer said, leaving him there.

"What...did I ever...do...to him?" panted Quicksilver as Bracer departed. He felt like Bracer found his very existence offensive, and yet, he was the one who had volunteered to help him. "I don't get him," he decided.

Once he'd recovered enough, he stood and trotted around the courtyard to cool down, slowly decreasing his pace to a canter, then a walk as his body gradually cooled and his heart rate lowered. There was a little stream running through the courtyard, which he found by listening to the sound of the water. He took a little birdbath, using his wings to scoop up some water and sprinkle it over his head. He felt a bit nauseous, but that was probably due to the intensity of the exercise, and the fact that he hadn't eaten anything beforehoof, as Bracer had suggested he should.

Quicksilver had a much easier time finding his way to the sun side of the castle this time, as he had paid more attention when Bracer led him through before, even as they had been talking. He didn't have to wander around like he had yesterday, and he found the dining room easily enough.

When he got there, he found Celestia just getting started on her breakfast, three giant slices of French toast, scrambled eggs, and hay hash-browns. "How did your training with Gilded Bracer go?" she asked as he sat to her right at the table.

"I don't know," he confessed. "I'm not sure if he's doing it to pick on me, or if he really wants to help me. I have no idea what he thinks about me! Did he really volunteer to help me, or did you ask him to?" He pulled food his way without even paying attention to what he was taking. His stomach was rumbling hungrily, and everything looked good.

"No, he did volunteer," Celestia assured him as she poured maple syrup on her French toast. "To be honest, I do not know his intentions, either, but I believe he truly wishes to help you," she said, but Quicksilver noticed that she didn't quite meet his eyes as she said it, as though unsure herself.

"But I obviously frustrate him! I'm too chattery, and he thinks I'm a weakling. I talk too much, I ask too many questions, I'm too eager," he complained, pushing the small pitcher of syrup around the table with his hoof.

"And I find all of that to be very endearing," Celestia told him, using her magic to pluck the syrup pitcher from his grasp and replaced it with a bagel from a small platter in the middle of the table.

Silver rested his cheek on the table. "I don't even know why it bothers me so much," he said, apparently having not noticed what the princess had said, and lifting the bagel to his mouth and taking a bite. "I mean, I should just accept his help, and it's his own problem if he doesn't like me."

Celestia laughed. "You are a very friendly stallion, Quicksilver. Am I wrong to assume that it's always bothered you if you thought somepony didn't like you?"

"Well, yeah," he sighed. "I always try so hard to be nice to everypony. I guess...maybe I don't understand how somepony couldn't like me...or I'm afraid that they say things about me behind my back."

"Those may be valid fears, but why should it matter if somepony doesn't like you?" she asked gently, regarding him with her large pink eyes.

"Because I like everypony," he sighed.

"That is one of the things I like about you," she told him soothingly. "You are very loving."

"Like you," he said, lifting his head off the table so he could look at her.

"Yes," she said, a gentle smile on her muzzle. "I think, perhaps, Gilded Bracer may be jealous of you. He was like you, in some ways, when he was younger, but things have happened that have made him perhaps, a little jaded. He's lost some of the enthusiasm he once had. Perhaps that is why he both wants to help you, and why he finds you so frustrating."

"Hmm," Quicksilver said. His hooves were on the table, and he lowered his head so his chin rested between them, rather cutely. His stomach protested loudly, causing a sheepish grin to spread across his muzzle.

Celestia giggled, and piled eggs, hay hashed browns, oat sausage, and another bagel on his plate. She poured him some hay juice, since he seemed to like it so much, and tied a napkin around his neck, perhaps a little tighter than she meant to.

Quicksilver looked down at his plate, his eyes widening at all of the food that was suddenly in front of him. "Wow, that's a lot of food," he remarked, making Celestia laugh. She had given him a portion that was perhaps, better suited to a pony of her own stature, but she was concerned for him.

Satisfied with Celestia's answer about Bracer, his mind switched tracks. He started eating his breakfast, not paying attention to what he was shoving in his muzzle. "So, I was wondering something," he said, his words muffled, as his mouth was full.

Celestia laughed at his utter lack of decorum. "Yes?" she asked cheerfully.

"Am I getting paid for this?" He swallowed. " I mean, living in the castle is really enough for me, but it would be nice to have some spending money," he commented as he shoved more food in his muzzle. His eyes watered as he bit down on something spicy. "Agghh...hot!" he exclaimed, spitting the small, bright red chili back onto his plate.

Celestia giggled. "Garnish," she said innocently, a hint of amusement in her voice, and merriment twinkling in her eyes.

Quicksilver drank half of his hay juice, trying to cool the spice spreading across his tongue, but it only made it worse. Celestia, feeling sorry for him, added some sour cream to his eggs.

"Try this," she suggested.

Desperate for anything that would cool the fire spreading through his mouth, Quicksilver licked the sour cream, his ears drooping as the spice gradually receded.

"I apologize," Celestia giggled, not sounding entirely apologetic. "I didn't realize how spicy that little pepper was."

"It's okay," Quicksilver said, drinking the rest of his hay juice. "I'm kind of a lightweight when it comes to spicy food."

"Me too," confessed the princess.

Silver's ears perked. "You are? But you're...you're the sun! How could you not like spicy food?" he asked, shocked.

She giggled. "I just have no taste for it," she said. "Don't tell anypony my secret," she said with a wink.

"Your secret's safe with me," promised Quicksilver solemnly. The effect was ruined by the smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"To answer your question, though," she said as Quicksilver resumed eating, this time, paying more attention, in case there were more peppers among his breakfast. "You will be paid 500 bits per week," she told him cheerfully.

Quicksilver nearly choked on the hay juice he'd been drinking. "500 bits per week?" he repeated. "That's more than double what I made at EPS!"

"What you do for me is very important," she told him. "You deserve to be well-compensated, as what I ask of you is not easy."

He looked at her wide-eyed. "That's still a lot. I mean...I don't really need much."

"I insist," Celestia said firmly.

"Okay," he said slowly, not really wanting to argue the point with her. He wondered if he was technically a government employee, if his pay would show up under 'Royal Messenger,' and other such inane thoughts as he resumed eating. He knew he shouldn't eat so much. His stomach was already getting full, but the food was so delicious, and he couldn't stand the thought of wasting any of it, even though he knew he couldn't possibly eat it all.

Celestia had left the dining room when her secretary came for her. "Meet me in the courtyard before sunset," she said as Quicksilver watched her go, chewing on his oat sausage thoughtfully.

"Okay," he agreed distractedly. He yelped when she nipped his ear as she departed.

"Someone's feeling amorous today, Your Majesty," Celestia's secretary commented as they departed together.

The princess giggled. "Yes, in fact, I'd like some champaign and chocolate-covered strawberries delivered to the garden gazebo by sunset."

"Of course, Your Highness," the secretary giggled. The feeling was quite contageous, especially because it had been so long since anypony had seen their princess like this.

Quicksilver's ears perked as he heard this, his eyes widening from the implication. He ducked his head, thinking he might need another cold shower.

In her absence, it was like the room got dimmer, as though clouds passed over the sun. He grew a little melancholy, his thoughts darkening a bit, straying back to something that had been bothering him.

She's heard all about my problems, he thought, but she still hasn't told me any of hers. I'm supposed to be supporting her, not the other way around.

He thought about all of the conversations he'd had with Celestia already. The only one where she'd even gotten close to telling him anything was their talk in the garden on his first night at the castle, and this morning while he attended her, but she had stopped that conversation pretty quickly.

He pushed his plate away and rested his chin on the table, thinking. Bracer had said she must have already trusted him to some degree, since she chose him as her consort, but she still wore that mask of perfection with him. She never told him what she was thinking, or how she was feeling about...anything. "There has to be some way I can get her to talk to me," he said to himself, not even noticing when a unicorn butler came in and cleared all of the food and dirty dishes. "But...how?" he wondered aloud.

He thought of Bracer's suggestion that he study history. That would certainly tell him a bit about Celestia's past. Quite a lot of Equestria's history was centered around her.

"Arggh! I can't think in here!" he exclaimed. He got up and decided that maybe he should go for a walk. He had plenty of time until he was supposed to meet Celestia at sunset, so he should be able to think of something between now and then, right?

He trotted out of the dining hall, forgetting to pay attention to the guards, but nopony accosted him or even bothered him as he headed through the castle. He decided he didn't want to go through the front gate, but he stopped at his room and grabbed his messenger bag. That way, he reasoned, it looked like he was out, doing his job.

Quicksilver had left the castle through the Moon Gate. He figured he wasn't going anyplace in particular, anyway, but he found it easy enough to reach the main thoroughfare from where he ended up.

I never realized how crowded Canterlot could be, he thought, as he joined the throng of ponies going about their business, and avoided being hit by a cab that was passing by. The earth pony pulling it shook his hoof at him and shouted, "Watch it!"

He wandered about, just taking things in and thinking. He thought it seemed like one of the things that seemed to be weighing heavily on the princess was the rift that apparently existed between her and her sister. She was kind of vague about that whole topic, he thought. She said her sister was gone, but she didn't say where, and she said herself that few knew she even had a sister, he thought. But what happened to cause this rift? Are they fighting? What are they fighting about? How long has Celestia's sister been away? He groaned.

Even as he was thinking, Quicksilver was paying attention to his surroundings. He didn't want to crash into anypony, or get hit by any cabs. That's how he spotted her. She was a lovely unicorn mare, tall, slender, with a white and pink mane and tail. She had lovely lavender-colored eyes, and a pure white coat. She looked like she could be Celestia's...sister, he thought with dawning realization. That had to be her! There was such a strong family resemblance.

What should I do? his brain screamed. Surely, Celestia would know if her own sister was in Canterlot, he reasoned. Then again, I wouldn't know if my own sister was in Canterlot, he thought. Not if she never...told me! That had to be it! Celestia's sister was right here, in Canterlot, but she never told her! All they had to do was be brought together so this rift could be healed!

"Hey!" he exclaimed, galloping over to her. The mare's eyes widened as he ran over to her, and she took a surprised step back. "I know you don't know me, but you need to know that your sister loves you very much, and whatever happened between you, it can be healed!"

"Excuse moi?" said the shocked unicorn mare. "I do not know what you are talking about. I do not have a sister," she said in a heavy Fancy accent.

"Yes, you do!" Quicksilver insisted. "She misses you very much! She's at the castle, waiting for you!"

"Who are you?" demanded the mare. "I am an only child!"

"I'm a friend. All I want is to help," said the pegasus earnestly.

"I say, what is all of this commotion?" A large unicorn stallion, who had just appeared out of nowhere, for all Quicksilver knew, demanded.

"Fancy! This stallion is crazy! He keeps insisting I have a sister!" the mare exclaimed, seeming relieved at the intervention of the stallion, who regarded Quicksilver with monocled blue eyes. He wore a fancy suit, and his blue mane was done very neatly. He had a small mustache.

"Fleur doesn't have a sister," the stallion, who Fleur called Fancy said bemusedly. "You must have her confused with somepony else."

"B--but she--she ah...looks so much like...ah--somepony I know," Quicksilver stammered lamely.

"I assure you, Fleur is an only child," Fancy said. "I should know, I'm her husband." He took his monocle off with his blue-tinted magic and polished it on his jacket.

Quicksilver, realizing he'd made a huge mistake, was beside himself with embarrassment. "I--I'm so sorry," he stammered. "I--I'll just go."

"Yes, you do that, before we call the guards," Fleur said, sticking her snout in the air and sniffing, even as she hid behind Fancy.

Quicksilver turned tail and ran, almost getting flattened by a cab in the process. He didn't even look back as the driver planted his hooves in the ground to stop it, and he didn't even hear the shouts of the driver or the occupants. He'd never been so mortified in his entire life.

That's why you don't jump to conclusions, stupid! he scolded himself. Sherclop Holmes would have known that wasn't Celestia's sister. She wasn't even an alicorn! Does that even run in the family? He wasn't even paying attention to where he was running. His face, from the tips of his ears to his neck, was burning with hot embarrassment.

He finally stopped when he found himself in a park. This time of day, it was abandoned. He allowed himself to catch his breath and sat in the grass, hot tears of embarrassment stinging his eyes. All I wanted was to help, he thought, hanging his head. All I want is to be a good consort, but how can I, if she won't even let me in? He felt a tear slide down his cheek and watched as it dripped to the grass beneath him.

Ever since he agreed to be Celestia's consort, his whole life had been turned on its ear. His old life wasn't much, but it wasn't complicated, either. He'd had a job that maybe he didn't love, but he was good at, at least one reliable friend, a place to live...he might have been lonely, and at the rate he was going, he would have never had a marefriend. "Who needs a marefriend?" he asked. "Mares are complicated. They never say what they think. Lightning always said what he meant and meant what he said. Who knows what's going through a regular mare's head, let alone hers!"

Celestia always seemed happy, or at the very least, content, but he had seen another side of her that night in the garden. She had looked so sad, like all the weight she carried would break her one day.

"Maybe I should just tell Celestia I can't do this, and go back to my old life," he said, looking down at the green grass between his steel gray hooves. He didn't know how he'd ever thought he could do this. Between Bracer getting on his case all the time, and Celestia not allowing him to do his job, he thought he might be better off just going back to being a courier.

He couldn't help but think of the last three days, though. He had been sick of his life as a courier, and he hadn't even realized it until he was given another opportunity.

Dealing with Bracer could be difficult, but he felt like he was meant to be a part of the bat pony's life; and Celestia...He thought about sleeping beside her last night, about the time they'd spent together, about attending her this morning. It had only been three days. Consort or not, she wasn't just going to spill all of her life's biggest regrets on him right away. He'd have to be patient. She obviously had many burdens.

He looked up at the grass surrounding him. He could see how it shone in the sunlight as the wind blew through it, and saw very distinctly, a rainbow in the way the light reflected from the thousands of blades. Maybe it was the dew, still clinging to the grass from the early morning, reflecting in the sun, or maybe it was some kind of trick of the light, but he felt his heart lift, somehow.

Quicksilver scrubbed his tears away with his forehooves. "Buck up," he told himself. "The things you deal with every day is nowhere near as tough as what she deals with, and she does it with a smile on her face! You've only known her three days. You're still getting to know her, and she's still getting to know you. She'll talk to you, when she's ready."

The consort took a deep, steadying breath. "It might be hard, but you agreed to this. She asked you for your help. You might not know why, but she chose you, Buddy. You can't just turn your back on her."

He stood up and looked into the bright blue sky, now feeling the sun's warmth on his back once again. He spread his wings, stretching them out to the sky. "I can do anything I put my mind to," he assured himself. "Maybe Celestia was right. Maybe it wasn't my destiny to be a Wonderbolt. I don't know if it's necessarily my destiny to be a consort either, but my life led me to this. I need to trust in myself."

He flapped his wings once, powerfully, so it all but flattened the patch of grass he'd been standing on, and he was airborne. He rose high into the sky, basking in the warmth of Celestia's sun and the coolness of the breeze through his mane. He whooped as he flapped his wings to build up speed, flying straight through a small, solitary cloud, grinning as drops of moisture beaded on his face and he flapped them in a spray from his wings.

He climbed higher, higher, until the air was cool, and a little thin, and the world was small and indistinct beneath him. Canterlot was little more than a smudge. He thought of all those ponies, just going about their lives. Fancy and Fluer would probably forget about him. It really wouldn't matter that he'd so thoroughly embarrassed himself.

The gray pegasus pulled his goggles out of his messenger bag and affixed them over his eyes. He angled himself downward, and he snapped his wings closed. He began to fall, picking up speed rapidly. "Yeah!" he shouted, his voice lost to the wind. He watched his descent carefully, and just at the right moment, he opened his wings, gliding through the air until he skimmed just inches over the ground. He could almost feel the tips of the tall blades of grass grazing the fur of his belly.

He eventually slowed and came to a landing, finding himself outside Canterlot. "Woo!" he exclaimed, invigorated by the freefall.

He shook his mane and ruffled his wings as he closed them, and flopped down on the grass. He rested his cheek on his forelegs. "My life isn't simple anymore," he said, plucking a blade of sweet grass with his teeth. "But it'll be more rewarding, if I stick with it." With that, he closed his eyes and dozed in a field of grass, the breeze blowing over him, the sun enveloping him in its blanket of warmth.

Quicksilver woke, his head raising from his forelegs as he checked the position of the sun in the sky. He didn't know how long he had napped, maybe a couple hours, but it was only early afternoon. He made a lunch of the grass he was laying in, savoring its warm sweetness, and found a small brook to drink from.

"I'd better get back to the castle," he told himself, taking off. It seemed the weather team brought in a few clouds while he was sleeping, but they were fluffy and white, and there weren't too many of them. In fact, it seemed somepony had considerately put a cloud over him to keep him from getting toasted in the sun.

He flew at a more gentle pace, still coming down from the adrenaline rush from his dive.

He landed just outside the no fly zone, nodding to a guard patrol as he entered. They returned his greeting, and Quicksilver could have sworn one of them winked at him. Strongbow! he realized. He grinned back at the white, blue-eyed pegasus guard.

The consort decided to walk back to the castle, since it wasn't too late yet. Maybe he had gone about the whole sister thing the wrong way. He remembered his talk with Bracer, and how the bat pony mentioned that Celestia had ruled alongside a princess named Luna. He facehoofed inwardly. Luna must have been the sister. He knew Celestia meant "sun" and Luna meant "moon." Was it such a stretch of the imagination to think that the sun and moon could be sisters?

I should have gone straight to the library, he realized as he trotted down the cobbled street. He was passing some shops that mostly specialized in baubles and trinkets, and something caught his eye.

He trotted over to a display and saw what it was. "Wow," he breathed. It was a beautiful crystal sun brooch. He imagined Celestia must have had thousands of trinkets like these, but the way the light hit it and made it sparkle so brilliantly reminded him of her. It even resembled her cutie mark a little, but it wasn't.

He went inside, noting that the shop was "Sun Salutations." Huh, that's a coincidence, he thought.

He asked the shopkeeper how much the brooch cost.

"200 bits," he replied.

"200 bits!" he exclaimed. That was a week's pay at his old job. He went into his messenger bag and found the bag with his money. He still had last week's pay. "I'll take it," he declared, tossing the bag onto the counter. Now that he made so much, and it was all expendable income, it wasn't like he needed to hoard his bits.

The shopkeeper weighed it, and nodded. "It's yours," he said, taking the brooch from the display and wrapping it carefully for him in tissue paper, and boxing it.

"Could you wrap it?" Silver asked. "It's a gift for somepony."

"Certainly," replied the shopkeeper, an older blue stallion with glasses perched over his muzzle. He wrapped the box in brown paper, and tied it neatly with a bit of twine.

"Thanks!" Silver exclaimed. He carefully grabbed the small package by the string with his teeth and tucked it carefully in his messenger bag.

"You're welcome. Have a pleasant afternoon," the shopkeeper replied.

"You too!" Quicksilver said as he left the little shop, not noticing the shopkeeper putting a brooch just like the one he'd just purchased in the display, and trotting toward the castle.

As he approached, Quiksilver saw a huge group of Neighponese tourists gathered around, all taking pictures of the magnificent structure, chattering furiously to one another. He trotted across the drawbridge, shaking his head and grinning. Tourists, he thought as the guards on the other side let him in.

He found his way to the library easily enough, and as he headed to the history section, he saw a familiar lavender unicorn. He trotted over to her and said, "Hey, Twilight."

She looked up from the huge book she was reading, startled. "Oh, hello, Quicksilver," she greeted.

"You must spend a lot of time here," he observed.

"Oh, yes," the lavender mare replied. "I have some homework from the princess that I'm working on," she said distractedly. "Actually, I was wondering something. You told me yesterday that you're the royal messenger, but I did some research, and Princess Celestia hasn't had a royal messenger in over a millennia. She sends her messages by phoenix fire," she said matter-of-factly.

"Uhhh, that's right," he hedged, wondering if Celestia had counted on her protege going to such trouble. He didn't even know what he was going to tell her. He couldn't just tell her the truth.

Twilight saw his messenger bag slung about his barrel. Her eyes went from his bag back to his face. "Oh! Were you out on a delivery?" she asked.

"Yeah. Uh...Princess Celestia decided that there were some things that required a um...more personal touch. You know, a message can be more meaningful if it's delivered by hoof," Silver said, making things up as he went along.

"Hmm. That makes sense, I guess," she said a little suspiciously, raising a hoof to her chin in thought. "So, what are you doing here?" she asked, apparently deciding that he had answered her well enough, for the time being.

"Well, uh...I was actually interested in learning more about Equestrian history before the Celestial era of peace," he said.

"Oh? Is this a personal interest?" Twilight asked.

"Well, yeah, it doesn't have too much to do with my job as royal messenger," he said, rubbing the back of his head with a forehoof. "It just uh...seems like nopony really talks about what it was like before Princess Celestia defeated Nightmare Moon."

"That's true," agreed Twilight. "But that was almost one thousand years ago. Nopony but serious historians really think of that particular period as being relevant."

"But we still talk about the founding of Equestria and the defeat of Discord," protested Quicksilver. "And all of that happened before Princess Celestia defeated Nightmare Moon. Why is Discord a historical figure, and Nightmare Moon is nothing more than an old mare's tail?"

"That's actually a good question," Twilight said thoughtfully. "This year's Summer Sun Celebration will commemorate the thousandth year since Princess Celestia defeated Nightmare Moon. It's actually surprising that nopony is making much of a big deal about it," she pointed out.

Quicksilver nodded eagerly.

"Maybe we could find something to explain this," Twilight said, closing the huge tome she had been perusing.

Twilight and Quicksilver spent quite some time looking for anything useful. "I can't believe there doesn't seem to be much of anything that talks about Nightmare Moon, aside from mentioning that Princess Celestia defeated her," sighed Twilight. The two of them were surrounded by an impressive stack of books they had flipped through and discarded.

"Do you think Princess Celestia doesn't want anypony to know what really happened?" asked Quicksilver, sitting on his haunches.

"How could you even suggest that?" demanded Twilight. "Princess Celestia values knowledge, and she's the one who told me that learning history was important, or it would be doomed to be repeated!"

"Shh!" urged Quicksilver, looking around anxiously, as though expecting a librarian to jump out from behind a bookshelf and scold them. He was surprised though, at how Twilight had said the exact same thing Bracer said this morning. "There's got to be something here," he said to placate her.

They looked a while longer, until Twilight came up with a book titled A Brief History of Equestria. "This might have something useful," she said, flipping it open.

It turned out, a brief history of Equestria was a very brief history. It basically summarized all of the major events in Equestrian history.

"Here, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeat Discord," Twilight said thoughtfully, her hoof pointing out the passage, complete with an illustration of the two alicorns firing a brilliant beam of rainbow light at the god of Chaos. She flipped the page, which showed an illustration of Celestia and Luna being crowned the rulers of Equestria.

"Wait, what happened between the coronation and Nightmare Moon's defeat?" Twilight asked, pointing out that there was at least a decade-long gap in the narrative.

"That's not important to me," pointed out Quicksilver. He pointed to an illustration of Celestia with a tiara that was different than the one she usually wore blasting the same rainbow magic she and Luna had used on Discord at Nightmare Moon. The tiara seemed to have a star-shaped gem on top of it. "Flip the page," he said.

Twilight, with a look of trepidation, did as Quicksilver asked. Celestia stood alone with her usual regalia, the sun and the moon behind her. "That doesn't tell me any more than I already know!" he exclaimed in frustration.

Twilight looked back at him, her eyebrows arched over her amethyst eyes in confusion. "What are you trying to find out?" she asked.

Quicksilver debated about whether or not to answer her. He was already displaying far too personal an interest in this, and he didn't want Twilight getting any more suspicious than she already was. She had already shown that she doubted his story that he was really the royal messenger.

"I'm just interested in the whole legend of Nightmare Moon," he said. "I can't seem to find it anywhere. We have two holidays centered around her; the Summer Sun Celebration, which celebrates her defeat, and Nightmare Night."

"Pfft. Nightmare Night isn't anything more than a children's holiday," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but holidays usually have something that they commemorate in history. Everypony knows that the Hearth's Warming pageant isn't how Equestria was really founded, but it commemorates the actual event," he pointed out.

"That's true," Twilight said, raising a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. "But why are you so interested in Nightmare Moon?" she asked.

"I just want to know how the legend came about," he told her. "I never realized that the Royal Canterlot Library was open to the public, so when I came here yesterday, I got to thinking that if anyplace had a truly accurate historical representation of the legend of Nightmare Moon, the Royal Canterlot Library would."

"That's what you would think," Twilight said, using her magic to pick up all the other books they had sifted through and return them to their proper places. Quicksilver was relieved that she had, because he thought if the librarian had to re-shelf all of those books, she'd probably have a fit. "Is it okay if I take this?" she asked, holding out the last book they found.

"Yeah, it pretty much just says what I already know," he replied.

"Thanks. It's getting late, so I'd better go," she said, looking up at the windows just barely visible over the towering bookshelves.

"Yeah, I've got to be going too," Quicksilver said. "Thanks for your help, Twilight. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime," Twilight said. They went to the end of the aisle together, Twilight levitating the book in front of her with her magenta magic.

The two of them parted ways there, Twilight trotting off, and Quicksilver walking more slowly in thoughtful contemplation. He knew Twilight was right, it was absurd to think that Celestia had intentionally suppressed the real story of Nightmare Moon, but it was the only explanation he could think of.

He glanced out the window, seeing that it was getting close to sunset. He wanted to go freshen up before he met Celestia out in the courtyard tonight, so he headed back to his room.

Celestia was seated at her desk in her study. She had adjourned court a little earlier than she had anticipated, because she found herself distracted today, and it wasn't fair to her supplicants and petitioners to not give them her full attention. She was drinking some calming lavender tea with lemon peel when the door to her study flew open. Her eyes widened in shock as Twilight Sparkle marched in.

"Are you keeping me out of the loop?" she demanded, floating a book under her teacher's muzzle. It was open to the pages that showed Celestia and her sister's coronation and her defeat of Nightmare Moon.

"Excuse me?" Celestia asked, startled.

"Nightmare Moon!"

Celestia's eyes watered suddenly. Distracted by Twilight's declaration, she had just taken a rather large sip of tea. Caught off-guard, she swallowed it in one searing gulp that burned her throat. "What?" she rasped.

"How come your Royal Messenger is so interested in ancient pony history, and you haven't even assigned me to look into it?" she demanded.

Celestia arched an eyebrow at her best student. "I haven't assigned my Royal Messenger, or my protege to look into it," she pointed out. "As there's nothing to look into," she said with a tone of finality.

Twilight's eyes widened and she flopped to her haunches. "But he was in the library this afternoon. He was looking for books about Nightmare Moon. Why would he be so interested in history, if it wasn't from you? He said it was a personal interest, but for some reason, I don't think he was telling whole the truth," she said.

Celestia took the book from Twilight in her magical grasp, looking at the pages. "I don't know why Quicksilver would be so interested in Nightmare Moon," she said, trying to modulate her voice, but Twilight thought she sounded kind of strained. "Twilight, thank you for telling me about this," she said, returning the book to her student.

Twilight knew by the tone of her voice that the conversation was over. Her ears flicked back, and she felt deflated. All of the passion fled from her at the abruptness of it, and she wondered if she had crossed some sort of line, without realizing it. It was unusual for Celestia to ever not answer one of Twilight's questions, but she got the distinct feeling she shouldn't press her about this.

Twilight took the book. "It is the one thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration," she pointed out, feeling as though she had sort of thrown Quicksilver under the wagon.

"It is," agreed Celestia, but her tone of voice didn't tell Twilight anything.

"I guess...I'll go now," Twilight said hesitantly, cowed by the change in her mentor's demeanor, but not yet deterred from looking into this on her own.

Celestia saw the determination lingering in her protege's eyes. "Yes. Alright. I'll see you tomorrow," Celestia said, a bit of her usual warmth returning to her voice. "Speaking of which, since you seem to not be feeling challenged enough, I'll have some assignments for you then."

Twilight brightened up and blushed a little, and instead of detecting the subtleness of Celestia's "punishment," she felt as though she was being recognized for her eagerness to learn. "Okay! I can't wait! See you tomorrow!"

She had played straight into Celestia's hooves, and with any luck, she would be too distracted to look into this further, at least, not until Celestia was ready for her to. This would have to be addressed, of course, but she had anticipated having a little more time to prepare.

Although she was smiling, her heart felt heavy, knowing this would be one of the last times she would see her protege like this, unburdened by the responsibilities that she would soon be placing upon her. She thought with relief of the book she had placed in her desk drawer that very day, and that Twilight hadn't found that one yet.

She would have to have a talk with Gilded Bracer and Quicksilver later.

The lavender unicorn left Celestia's office, and turned to trot back to her observatory. Unheard by her was the heavy sigh in her wake. Something had just happened, but she didn't know what. She looked at the book in her grasp. "Nightmare Moon and the Summer Sun Celebration," she said to herself.

Quicksilver returned to his room and took a quick shower, taking a little longer under the cold water. He thought of everything that had happened today. "Bracer was trying to tell me something with his little military history lecture," he said to himself as he allowed the cold water to wash over his head. He spread his wings a bit, ruffling them as the water hit them. "There was Celestia, Luna, and Nightmare Moon, but somehow, Luna disappeared after Celestia defeated Nightmare Moon." He thought a moment, and his eyes widened. "Is it possible that Luna was Nightmare Moon? Luna was the princess responsible for the moon." All of the hints flashed in his mind, storybook style, and he groaned, only partially because he had gotten some stray soap in his eye.

"I can't believe I didn't see this sooner!" he exclaimed, rinsing the soap out of his eye. "If her own sister was Nightmare Moon," Silver breathed, "It's no wonder Celestia wouldn't want anypony to know what really happened."

He got out of the shower and flapped his wings a few times to shake the water from them, then dried himself. He made sure his mane was neat, and put on a little cologne. That was the only explanation that made sense, he decided.

He left his room and trotted out to the courtyard, holding his package by the string in his mouth, his ears perked excitedly.

He found Celestia wandering near a hedge. She had taken off her golden shoes, and was walking bare-hoofed in the soft summer grass. She had been feeling particularly burdened since her impromptu meeting with Twilight Sparkle, and wanted to feel more free.

She looked up, her brows furrowed at first, as though she had been deep in thought, but as he approached, and she noticed his cheerful demeanor, her expression softened, and she smiled. "Hello, Quicksilver," she said. She couldn't punish him for his nature, when she was certain Gilded Bracer had intstigated his impromptu investigation, the likes of which had even inspired the ever-studious Twilight Sparkle to join in.

"Hello," he greeted, keeping his teeth clamped on the string. "I got you something," he said, laying it at her hooves so he could talk.

"Oh? A gift?" she asked, surprised and delighted, picking it up with her magic. "Should I open it?" she asked, tilting the box a bit as though wondering what it contained.

"Yes," replied Quicksilver eagerly. He felt almost like he had as a colt when he gave his favorite teacher a gift. He watched in anticipation as her magic untied the string and very carefully unwrapped the box. "I hope you don't already have a hundred like it," he said sheepishly as she lifted the lid.

"Oh, Quicksilver, it's beautiful," she breathed as she levitated it out of the box. The brooch caught the rays of the setting sun, scattering rainbow-colored sparkles over the grass.

"I saw it when I was out in town today, and it reminded me of you," he said.

"It's very lovely," Celestia said, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered, just near his ear, making it flick and sending a shiver through his entire body.

"You're welcome," he said, his face flushing in pleasure as Celestia carefully tucked the brooch back into the box and closed the lid. She tucked it very carefully beneath her wing, and it was immediately swallowed in her fluffy down.

"Walk with me?" she asked.

"Of course," Quicksilver replied.

As they walked, she felt like she had been a little brash, telling her servants not to bother with the champaign and her plans at the gazebo, but her conversation with Twilight earlier had shaken her and weighed heavily on her mind. It brought everything with Luna and Nightmare Moon to the forefront. She had her plans in place, and she knew it was happening, but she had been putting it off. What Twilight had said earlier made her realize that the time was drawing steadily nearer, and she didn't want to let her student go just yet. She was also afraid of what might happen if things didn't go as she had planned.

The sun lowered until it was resting just at the horizon, like the moon had when it was waiting for Celestia to lower it. Her horn flared and it began sinking behind the rooftops of Canterlot. The clouds in the sky were painted in red and orange, the sky alight in pink and purple.

"That's just as amazing as when you raise the sun," he told her.

She smiled warmly, his presence drawing her back to the here and now. "There's no particular ceremony to it," she explained. "I don't even have to raise the sun from my balcony, though I prefer to."

"What does it feel like?" he asked.

"I'm not sure that I could explain it," admitted Celestia thoughtfully. "The sun is a part of my being. I can feel it when it's time for me to raise or set it. It 'tugs' at me. The sun is patient, wise, and warm. It always goes where I tell it to, and it never resists me. The moon can sometimes be a little more like a child. When I lower it before dawn, it's like I'm putting it to bed, and it's tired and willing, but when I raise it at night, it's excited and free-spirited," she said with a laugh.

"I never thought celestial bodies could have a personality like that," chuckled Quicksilver.

"I think I sort of give them a personality to make them more relateable," she said. "It's sort of a feeling, or an impression. Like I said, it's hard to explain," she told him.

"That makes sense," he said, though he didn't fully understand it. That was something he supposed you really had to feel for yourself to understand fully. The sky was darker, now that the sun had set.

Celestia turned her head toward the East and her horn flared again. Very slowly, the pale yellow orb of the moon ascended.

"I went out into town today," he said once they resumed walking. "I had been thinking of our conversation on my first night here...about your sister," he said, drawing a look from her, and her ear flicked back a bit, warily. "I saw this unicorn pony that I thought looked like you...and I wanted to help so badly...I kind of embarrassed myself."

"You mean Fleur-de-lis?" Celestia asked, sounding both amused and mortified.

Quicksilver nodded, blushing furiously at the memory. "I told her her sister missed her, and she should come back," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. As much as he had told himself Fleur and Fancy would probably forget him soon, he was still deeply embarrassed when he thought about it, so much so, that his chest felt tight.

"Oh, no," breathed Celestia.

"Yeah, her husband came over and they insisted she was an only child, and I realized I'd made a terrible mistake," he said. "I was so embarrassed...I kind of thought about quitting."

Celestia's eye twitched as she thought, What a horrible day. Maybe I should have kept the champaign.

Silver felt something warm against his back, and, not realizing he'd been looking down at his hooves the whole time he was telling her this, he looked up to see that Celestia had brushed his back with her wingtips before draping the magestic, feathery appendage over him.

"You thought about it?" she asked gently.

"Yeah," he said, his eyes meeting hers. "I want to help you...that's my job, right? I've told you my troubles, but you haven't told me yours...and I realize we've really only just met, but it's my job to help you bear your burdens, right?"

"Yes," she said softly, her voice aounding a little pained.

"I know trust comes with time. Bracer told me that when we talked yesterday. But the thing with your sister...you seemed so sad. I decided I couldn't just abandon you. You chose me for a reason, and I know that when you're ready to talk to me, you will," he said.

"Perhaps I do need a little push," she admitted. "I've grown so used to not telling anypony about my problems, that it's become something that is...difficult for me.

"I know, but..." He straightened. "You don't need to be alone anymore, Celestia. I know you barely know me, but you chose me because you knew I would listen to you...that I wouldn't judge you, and I never will! I might not know you well, but I'll always be loyal to you, and I'll never leave you, no matter what," he said earnestly.

She bent her head to his level so she could nuzzle him. "That's a big promise," she told him, the weight of the years in her voice. "I've done things...that are truly terrible, that I am deeply ashamed of. It's hard for me to believe that if I told you about them, you wouldn't judge me."

"I can't judge you," Quicksilver told her. "I talked to Shining Armor last night, when he brought me back to the castle. He told me that he's seen how you've sacrificed for the good of your kingdom. Anything you've done, I know you've had to have a reason for, and you may not have liked it, or wanted to do it, but you would have done it for the sake of your ponies."

"That is true," she conceded with a bow of her head.

She looked up and locked eyes with her consort. "Twilight Sparkle came to me this afternoon. She told me you had taken a sudden interest in Nightmare Moon."

Quicksilver nearly stopped in his tracks, so surprised was he that Twilight would have told Celestia he'd been poking around in the library. I should have been more careful around her, he thought, but he hadn't expected her to go galloping straight to Celestia about it.

"Who told you about Nightmare Moon?" she asked gently, not sounding angry.

"Gilded Bracer," he admitted, ducking his head a bit, his ears back. He felt a bit like he was tattling, and he was almost positive the bat pony was going to find out about it, that he was going to pay for saying something.

"I had a feeling it might have been him," she sighed.

"He was having me study military history...as part of my training," he explained hastily. "I've always known that you defeated Nightmare Moon, but that was a thousand years ago...so most ponies think of her as an old mare's tail...a boogeyman to scare their children with, but he mentioned that before you defeated Nightmare Moon, you ruled with Princess Luna."

"Yes," she confirmed, but she waited for him to go on.

"Well, I'm a little slow sometimes, so it took me a while to realize...that Luna was Nightmare Moon...and Luna was your sister," he concluded.

Celestia stopped and hung her head. "Yes. It's all true," she said, her voice sounding heavy with remorse. "I haven't even told Twilight about Luna. It is my greatest regret...both that she became Nightmare Moon...due to my own actions, and that I was forced to banish her."

"You banished her?" he asked.

Celestia nodded. "I wielded the Elements of Harmony...the greatest weapon Equestria has, against my own sister, who helped me use them to defeat Discord. The power of the Elements sent Nightmare Moon to the moon...and there, you can see her, even today," she said, turning her head and glancing up at the moon with its unicorn head over her shoulder.

"The mare in the moon," he said, following with his eyes to the pale yellow orb hanging pregnant in the early evening sky.

"Yes. I have spent the last thousand years trying to figure out how to end my sister's imprisonment," she said. "Soon, my plans will either succeed, or they will fail. It has caused me excitement, and a great deal of trepidation."

"You bear it well," commented Quicksilver softly. "I wouldn't have even known if you hadn't told me."

Celestia gave him an ironic smile. "When one has ruled as long as I have, one learns to school her features, to maintain composure, no matter how one feels inside," she said. "It seems, lately, there have been chinks in my armor. I am afraid I gave Twilight quite a fright this afternoon."

"But that's what I'm here for, right?" he asked.

"You really think no less of me, knowing I banished my own sister? That I may have had a part in her transformation?"

"I can't judge you for things I can't hope to understand, and I have a feeling it would take a long time for you to tell me the whole story," he said. "Nightmare Moon threatened your kingdom, your subjects, and you had to banish her to stop the threat. That's the way I understand it."

"Perhaps I was right to choose you," she said, embracing him, neck to neck. He stretched his head up to nuzzle her jaw.

"I'll do whatever I can to help you," he told her softly.

With that, the two of them headed to dinner, leaning against one another.

Celestia had returned to her study after she and Quicksilver parted for the evening, her plans thwarted.

She sighed and eyed the crystal decanter resting in its place on a bookshelf near her desk, thinking of its precious contents, then shook her head. No, she needed a clear head tonight. She still had thinking to do.

She was truly touched by the gift her consort had brought her, especially since tonight, it was like a ray of sunshine breaking through the dark clouds.

He was right to assume that many ponies gave her gifts in order to win her favor, but they were often extravagant and expensive, and despite being the ruler of a kingdom, that wasn't the sort of thing she valued.

She retrieved the little box from beneath her wing, smiling as she opened it to look at the glittering brooch within. She valued Quicksilver's gift far more because of his thoughtfulness, because he had gotten it because it had made him think of her.

She placed the box open upon her desk, nestled against the lid in such a way that it was propped up, catching the light of the embers dying in the hearth.

She was ready to call it a night, but she still had to speak with Gilded Bracer. Better to get it over with now than to put it off, she had decided.

She looked up when she heard a knock on the door, after which it opened, and the bat pony himself entered her study.
"You summoned me?" he said with a perfunctory bow. He had been in her service long enough that he knew she disliked such formalities, but he still felt as though he should afford her the respect her office demanded.

"Yes, I did," she replied. "Please, come in."

Bracer, who had stopped just within her doorway, entered the room when Celestia beckoned him, stopping before her desk.

Celestia regarded him thoughtfully and he felt the ripple of her magic as she cast the soundproofing spell. Right then and there, he knew they weren't about to have a pleasant chat and catch up over tea.

He had changed so much from the stallion she had known. She had known him since he was barely more than a colt. "I heard you've given my consort a history assignment," she said without preamble, knowing Gilded Bracer preferred to get straight to the point.

"I did," replied the bat pony.

"What are you up to?" she asked him. "What are your motives?"

If Bracer was surprised by this line of questioning, or her bluntness, he gave no indication. "I simply wish to put him in a better position," he replied evasively.

"Whatever for?"

"To serve you, of course."

Celestia sighed. "You have been gone a very long time, my friend. Much has changed during your absence."

"I know," he said, bristling a bit at her comment. "I've been spending a fair amount of time in the library myself. It's quite fascinating. Ruling, as always, suits you well."

"That is beside the point."

"Your Highness, as always, I serve the crown. The things I told him are things he deserves to know, especially given the events that are already being set in motion," Bracer said evenly. He hardly blinked as he regarded her with his slitted, catlike eyes.

"I have a feeling there's more to it than that," Celestia pointed out.

"There is. You need to wake up. You've had a thousand years to plot and plan, but the time of Princess Luna's return is at hoof. You seem to be ignoring the whole issue."

Celestia didn't allow her feelings to show on her face. She felt an angry flush rising, but she quelled it. She was too experienced at this game, but Bracer knew her well enough that he knew he had touched a nerve.

"I would appreciate it if you would allow me to tell my consort things on my own time. No hints, no insinuations," she said evenly. "Preparations are being made, and my plans had been set in motion, long before you even returned."

She regarded him coolly, but the room felt warm from the energy rolling off of her. "You may be loyal to my sister, Gilded Bracer, but you still serve the crown, and for the time being, that means you serve me."

Anger flashed in the bat pony's eyes, but his expression remained calm, as ever. Celestia wasn't the only one who could wear a poker face. "If you are going to take full responsibility, will you offer me recompense for what happened to me in the course of my service to the crown?" he demanded. He thought he had her cornered. How could she repay him for something she had nothing to do with?

"That matter will be addressed in due course," Celestia replied evenly. "In the meantime, however, I have an assignment for you. It would benefit the both of us greatly, and If you do this thing for me, I will forgive your transgression."

Bracer's eyebrows rose in genuine surprise, caught off-guard. "What would you ask of me?"

"It seems you are not the only one who has returned. I need you to look into this matter further, and confirm its validity."

Bracer was taken aback by this order, to say the least. Were there more like him? More who, like him, were returning at the strengthening call of their mistress? He schooled his expression, but a bead of sweat collected on his brow. "Are you certain that's wise?" he asked solemnly. The shadows lie in shadow for a reason.

"As I said, my plans have been set in motion. I will not allow Nightmare Moon to use you again. My offer would extend not only to you, but also to however many of you there are as well; a place here at the castle, protection, and a chance to return to service." She looked down. "I do not know how much of this information is credible, but if it is true, I cannot approach them. They will not trust me, but they followed you, Bracer. You must be my ambassador."

"And if I refuse?" he asked incredulously.

Celestia looked back up at him, her eyes flashing. The way Bracer had challenged her reminded her of somepony else from her past, whose dark mane and eyes had matched his dark soul, and glittered like the swirling, starry night. She corralled her thoughts back to the present.

"When you entered my service, you took an oath to me, Gilded Bracer. You swore your life to the crown. Breaking that oath is treason. Must I really remind you? When you came back to me, I offered you my trust, and you offered me your service." Her voice was sharper than Bracer had ever heard it, and he reflected, not without due surprise and begrudging respect, that she had changed in the time since he had last seen her.

"I will uphold my vow to you, so long as you uphold your promise that you just made to me," Bracer replied, not allowing his surprise to show.

"Good."

The bat pony turned to leave.

"Bracer," she said, and he turned to face her again. "I am truly sorry for all that has happened to you. I know my words mean nothing, that they can't change you back, but I will do everything in my power to repay you for all that you have sacrificed."

Bracer bowed his head, then looked back up at her. "I will always be loyal to Princess Luna, and by extension, to you. Nothing you can do can possibly repay me, but I accept all that has happened to me in the course of my service. The others...some of them may be harder to convince."

"You must do everything you can, Bracer," she said. He detected a plea in her voice.

"I will give you that," he promised.

She placed a plain-looking piece of parchment on her desk between them, sliding it forward to him. "Your assignment," she said. "The first might be the easiest, as it's somepony you knew well."

Although her words were vague, his eyes flashed in recognition as he took the parchment and glanced at what was written on it. He slipped it beneath his breastplate, nodding once, a mask sliding over his features to conceal his shock. The name written on the parchment was like a ghost from his past.

"I trust you will continue your lessons with Quicksilver, so as not to further his suspicions."

"Of course." He didn't wait for her to dismiss him. The conversation was over, and Bracer left.

Celestia sat back with a sigh. She had been planning and preparing for a millennia, but Bracer and his brethren were a variable she had not accounted for. Since she was accustomed to being several moves ahead in the game, this frustrated her. She wasn't sure she would be able to repay any of her sister's guard, and that worried her, because she couldn't have them running around Equestria unchecked.

She sighed once more and got up. It was out of her hooves now. She had to rely on Gilded Bracer, and although she was certain she could trust him, she felt uncomfortable with this variable she had no control over.

When Quicksilver went back to his room that night, his mind felt heavy. He meant what he said about not judging Celestia. "She needs a friend," he told himself. She needs somepony to talk to. She's good at hiding how she feels, but I feel like there's a deep sadness inside her. She'll do whatever she has to for her kingdom, but I think she sacrifices some of her own happiness in the process, he thought. She was one of those ponies whose own happiness can't compare to the happiness of others in their own mind.

He went into his room and got ready for bed, glad he had gotten her to open up, at least a little. Maybe she would realize soon that she could talk to him. He climbed into bed sleepily. I'll have to ask her where these feathers come from sometime, he thought. His eyes snapped open when he thought they might be harvested from pegasi. He envisioned pegasi all being herded into a rainbow colored building where fears and horrors came true. That's ridiculous, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note

This one was delayed a bit, as my girlfriend kept "distracting" me.

As always, I credit her with helping me add more depth and informing me of when I'm being too redundant with certain words. Hope y'all liked it!

The chapter name is from the song 'Complicated Questions' by Finger Eleven, which I think would be quite applicable from Quicksilver to Celestia.

Chapter 5 - A Consort's Duty

Celestia was in her study. The fire in the hearth had burned to embers, casting a dark red glow in the already dim room. She knew she was dreaming, because she remembered doing this already. This was during her talk with Gilded Bracer last night; except he wasn't standing on the other side of her desk as he had done then, and it wasn't Gilded Bracer.

Instead, it was the dark maned, dark eyed stallion the bat pony had reminded her of in that tense moment of confrontation between them, and he was at her throat trailing heated kisses upon it. Her stomach clenched at his intense, fiery passion, as real as it had been so long ago.

She snapped wide awake with a deep, sharp gasp.

"It's time to raise the sun," she murmured with a heavy sigh, as much to the apparition from her past as to herself , feeling a telltale ache between her hindquarters as she got up. The dream had felt startlingly real, and the princess felt as though she hadn't slept at all. She would have to tell the maid to skip the Earl Grey and bring her black coffee instead.

Celestia made her way wearily to her balcony, and looked out over Canterlot, toward the north. "Are you stirring as well, my old master? Do you sense her, too?" Her gaze lowered from the horizon to look to the Moon Gate, magenta eyes softening as they settled on the tightly closed blooms that all but concealed it from view.

Quicksilver woke at dawn, just as the morning sun streamed through his bedroom window. He had asked the maid to open his curtains for him in the morning, so the sun would wake him. He loved waking with the sun.

He ate something small, an apple and a few carrots so he wouldn't be working out on an empty stomach, and also drank his morning coffee while he waited for Bracer to come for him.

Silver had just finished with his light snack when he heard a knock at the door. Knowing it was Bracer, he trotted over and opened it, finding the bat pony on the other side, as expected. Bracer looked a bit worse for wear, as though he'd been up all night, and didn't say anything as Quicksilver left his room and fell into step with him. Bracer had his typical dour expression, but something just seemed off about him, and Quicksilver couldn't place what it was.

Today, they walked in silence to the courtyard where they trained together. Silver wondered what had crawled under the bat pony's armor, so early in the morning. Aside from wondering if he would take it out on him during their training though, he wrote it off as Bracer being Bracer and used that time to quiet his mind.

He had always been fascinated with the concept of meditation, but his mind operated on so many tracks, and his thoughts always seemed to jerk around so much that he found completely clearing his mind difficult, unless he wasn't actively trying to.

Keeping his mind clear as he and Bracer trotted through the twilit, abandoned hallways of the moon side of the castle was easier than when he tried to do it sitting in the middle of his sitting room. At least he could focus on the movement of his hooves and on modulating his breathing.

When Quicksilver and Bracer got out to the courtyard, the pegasus saw a suit of armor like the ones usually worn by pegasus members of the royal guard, sans the shoes and helmet, but instead of being made of gold plate like theirs, this was gleaming white enameled plate. Part of him instantly knew it was his armor and fell in love with it, while another part of him shied away from what it represented.

"You want me to wear that?" he asked incredulously, eying it skeptically. Although the guards seemed to wear it easily enough, he knew it had to be heavy.

"Of course I want you to wear it. What else would I have you do with it? Look at it?" Bracer replied sarcastically. "Members of the Guard are expected to be able to train in their armor, so that is what I expect of you," the former guard said, helping him into it.

Quicksilver shifted and ruffled his wings. The armor rested on his back and went right down to his wing joints, and he tried to adjust to the weight. It was, perhaps, a little lighter than he had expected it to be, but it still had to weigh at least seven kilos. While he sometimes carried that much as a courier, it was distributed differently, which Silver thought made all the difference.

They warmed up as usual, and even though seven kilos would hardly seem like anything, it already slowed Silver down, and he found it difficult to keep up. He felt a little pathetic, as Bracer was even wearing his armor, too.

He and Bracer did their usual calisthenics routine, but they didn't trot around the courtyard as they usually did between sets. Instead, they rested periodically so Silver could catch his breath. If it weren't for that small kindness, Quicksilver would have been certain that Bracer was trying to kill him. He wondered vaguely if this was payback for him telling Celestia about his history assignment. He felt awful about tattling on him, but he couldn't have just lied to her!

Once they were done with their calisthenics, which Silver had survived, even though the armor was hot and he could feel sweat collecting beneath it and soaking into his coat, and he was all but panting when they were through, they drank the cool, sweet water of the stream that ran through the courtyard.

"Don't drink too fast, or you'll get stomach cramps," cautioned Bracer.

It took all of Silver's self-discipline (not much, admittedly) to sip the water rather than gulp it.

To his surprise, once they were done drinking, Bracer said, "We're going for a run."

"In this?" Quicksilver protested, looking down at his star-crested breastplate.

"Yes, in that, How often do you insist on making me repeat myself?" Gilded Bracer demanded flatly, an undertone of exhaustion tinging his voice. "Never mind. Don't answer that," he said as Quicksilver opened his mouth to reply.

The consort was surprised again as they left the courtyard and trotted through the moon side of the castle, out to the sun side. They drew quite a few looks as they trotted by, and Quicksilver noticed they were mostly from guards, and mostly directed at him. He tried to hold his head high as he trotted beside Bracer, who wasn't paying any of them any mind. The two of them left through the Moon Gate.

"Follow me, and keep up," Bracer said.

Quicksilver thought the bat pony looked out of place in the bright light of the day, but Bracer must have read the weather team's schedule, because as they trotted down the cobbled backstreets, Silver saw special weather team unicorns for within the no-fly zone directing angry-looking dark clouds into the sky with their magic, blotting out Celestia's beautiful sun.

At first, the former guard set a pace that wasn't too trying. Despite the weight on his back, Quicksilver was able to keep up fairly easily, but the bat pony increased the pace gradually. Eventually, they were almost at a full gallop, just as the rain began to fall.

"Horseapples," cursed Quicksilver. Bracer seemed unperturbed by the rain. At first, Silver followed his instinct and scanned the street for any kind of shelter, but he couldn't find any, and eventually, he gave into the rain falling on his head. In fact, once he had surrendered to it, it felt kind of nice. He ruffled his wings as he and Bracer ran, like a bird in a birdbath, enjoying the cooling drops falling on him from the sky. The rain made pinging, pattering noises on his armor. Some sneaked beneath, running down his sides in cool rivulets, the contrast against the heat of his body making him shiver.

They stopped a ways from the castle for a short rest, and Quicksilver tried to catch raindrops on his tongue.

Gilded Bracer wore an expression that clearly said, Grow up.

After they had rested for a bit, they headed back to the castle, trotting briskly, their hooves splashing in puddle in the cobbled road, distorting the images reflected back as though part of some dream world.

When they got back, Bracer went with Quicksilver back to his room and helped him out of his armor. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?" he asked.

"No, I guess not," Silver conceded.

"This armor is yours. I suggest you learn how to care for it," the bat pony told him. He found a place for it, and Quicksilver decided the first step would be to find a pony form for it, so it wouldn't just lay on the floor. To his surprise, there was also a helmet with a white-silver plume, and golden shoes waiting for him as well.

As he showered, Quicksilver thought maybe Bracer didn't hate him, after all. He knew the bat pony wanted him to act like a guard, but he liked to think it was a sign of some kind of respect that Bracer gave him the armor.

As Quicksilver was finishing his shower, grooming, and preening, a knock came at his door. He hurried to answer it, finding Cherry Limeade on the other side. "Good morning, Master Quicksilver," she greeted perkily.

"Morning," the consort replied as the maid handed him a yellow envelope.

"Her Majesty regrets that she cannot join you for breakfast this morning, as an urgent matter has been brought to her attention." Her brows were knitted in sympathy, as though she hoped she could make it up to him, however she could. "If you'd like, I could deliver something to your room," the pretty maid suggested brightly.

"Uh, sure. That would be great. Just some eggs, hay bacon, toast, and a cup of coffee, if you don't mind," he requested distractedly, looking down at the envelope he held in his hoof. A simple sun seal held the flap closed, instead of Celestia's official royal seal.

"I'll bring it right away," the maid said happily, before turning to depart.

Quicksilver slowly closed the door after her and used his wing tip to cut the seal, walking over to his coffee table and taking a seat on the couch. He pulled the letter out of the envelope with his teeth, and spread it out on the surface of the coffee table with his hooves, trying to flatten it. It was written in lovely, flowing, slanting script, and he thought it smelled faintly of linen drying in the summer sun.

Quicksilver,

I am sorry I won't be able to join you for breakfast, and most likely, dinner. A matter of great import has come to my attention, and I believe it will take most of the day to attend to. Unless Gilded Bracer had any plans for you today, you may consider yourself at liberty.

In light of this, I request your presence in my chambers tonight, several hours after moonrise. Please come well rested, well-groomed, and pleasantly scented.

Have a very pleasant day!

-Celestia

Wide-eyed, Quicksilver read the last part again out loud. It wasn't like this would be the first time he'd been in Celestia's chambers, but even written on a page, in Celestia's neat, slanting script, he knew they weren't just going to be cuddling tonight.

He gazed at the letter, his eyes unfocused. Last night, she had planned on wooing him with berries and champaign, now she was inviting him to join her with words on an impersonal slip of parchment. He wondered what had changed, what this urgent matter was that would be taking up her whole day. Silver wished things had gone according to plan last night. Then, it would have just happened, and he wouldn't have had to be anxious about it all day.

Silver took a deep breath. "Hoo-boy," he said out loud, leaning back on the couch, a ball of nerves settling in his stomach like a lead ball. He'd known this time was coming, given how things had been between them yesterday. "It's no big deal, Silver," he said to himself. "You're a virgin, not a foal. You know what goes on between mares and stallions between the sheets."

By now, he knew better than to think Celestia would judge him in any way. She truly was the kindest, most generous mare he had ever met. He knew he did a lot to help her, but she was the one who had given him...he looked around his opulent sitting room. Well, she had given him all this. He wanted so much to be able to thank her, to be be able to please her.

He was broken from his thoughts by a knock at the door. "Great, breakfast," he said. He was feeling ravenous.

He went to the door, and as expected, Cherry Limeade was standing outside, holding a covered, silver platter on her back. She smiled at him as she brought it into his room and placed it on the table for him. "Thank you, Miss," he said politely.

"You're very welcome, Master Quicksilver. If you need anything else, I'd be happy to help," she said cheerfully.

"This is great for now. Thanks," Silver said. The maid gave him a little curtsey and departed. The consort sat at the table and tore into his breakfast, not thinking about anything as he ate. He'd do that once he had a full stomach. He was happy to see that he had been given a small, silver pot of coffee, and cream and sugar to go with it.

Once he was done, he leaned back, satisfied, his eyes drawn once again to the letter sitting on the coffee table, and his problem coming back to the forefront of his mind. He knew Celestia understood he was a virgin, that she wouldn't hold it against him.

"Ah, stop your whining already!" he said to himself. "If you're worried about it, do something about it!"

He nodded to himself. That's what he'd do. He might not have experience, but he could talk to somepony who did. He put the cover back on his dishes for a maid to pick up, got up, and resolved to find Gilded Bracer.

Quicksilver never thought he'd be the one looking for Gilded Bracer, usually, the bat pony came and got him. He wasn't even sure what Bracer even did during the day, when he wasn't spending it lecturing him. Maybe he was asleep?

Silver wandered into the moon side of the castle. Aside from his training with Bracer, he never came here. He was still a little unnerved by how abandoned it seemed, without the hustle and bustle of guards and servants, especially with the Summer Sun Celebration coming up. Still, there was a feeling of anticipation in the air that he couldn't place, an energy that, even though his eyes reasoned that this place was abandoned, it didn't feel like it was.

Regardless of how creeped out he was, he was still slightly awed by the moon side of the castle. It felt a bit like some sort of cathedral or shrine in its sort of reverent silence, and the more time Silver spent on the sun side with Celestia, the more...wrong it felt for him to be here, somehow.

He wandered around, peeking into rooms. He thought it might be more effective to walk around calling, "Braaa-ceeerrr!" but that wasn't very dignified.

"What are you doing?" A voice asked from behind him as Silver poked his head into yet another empty room, making him jump out of his skin. By now, he thought he ought to be used to being snuck up on.

"Aaahh!" he shouted, spinning around to see the very bat pony he'd been looking for standing behind him. "Ponyfeathers! Bracer, I really wish you'd stop doing that!"

"And miss the opportunity to hear you scream like a filly? Not a chance," replied Bracer sardonically. He seemed to be in higher spirits. Maybe he had taken a nap?

"Doesn't it ever get old?" demanded Quicksilver.

"No, not really," replied Bracer flatly.

"Ass," muttered Quicksilver.

"So, you haven't answered my question," the bat pony pointed out dispassionately.

"I was looking for you," admitted the pegasus.

"Whatever for?" Bracer asked in a voice that suggested he got that a lot.

"I...uh...can we talk somewhere more private?" Silver asked nervously.

Bracer looked around the abandoned hall. "Nopony's here," he pointed out.

"I still feel...exposed." Silver shuddered and Bracer rolled his eyes.

"Come with me," instructed the bat pony, and Silver trailed behind the older stallion.

Bracer led Quicksilver some ways until they stopped at a plain, mahogany door, which he pushed open. It swung open silently, and the bat pony preceded Quicksilver inside. Once Silver came in, Bracer closed the door behind him.

They weren't in some empty, abandoned room like the last time they had truly spoken. In fact, they were standing in a sitting room very much like Silver's, but the large windows were covered by heavy, midnight blue drapes that kept the sun's rays out, making it feel almost cave-like, or like it was nighttime.

Where all of Silver's furniture was made of light woods, Bracer's was crafted from darker woods. Although Quicksilver only had a passing familiarity with wood, he thought he recognized mahogony and ebony. The cushions on the couches and chairs were deep purple, and the carpet they stood on was a blue so dark, it was nearly black.

"Is this your room?" asked Silver.

"Yes," replied Bracer. "What did you want to talk to me about?" the bat pony asked, indicating that Silver should sit down.

The pegasus looked around a bit as he took a seat on the couch. Although Bracer's room seemed lived in, it still felt kind of new. He thought he detected the faint smell of furniture polish. Quicksilver reasoned that maybe Bracer just didn't spend a lot of time here, or maybe it had been recently cleaned, but he had been in the castle only a few days himself, and his room felt more lived in than Bracer's. Then again, being a soldier, Gilded Bracer struck Silver as the type of pony who would keep his living quarters immaculate, and he would do it himself, instead of relying on the maids to tidy up after him, like Silver did.

"Well, uh," he swallowed nervously as Bracer watched him expectantly. He never really realized it before, but the bat pony hardly ever blinked. It was a little unnerving. "Princess Celestia has requested my presence tonight in her chambers, and I want to be able to please her, but I've never been with a mare before, and I know what to do, but I don't know what to do, and I need your help," he blurted in a single breath.

Bracer regarded him for a moment, his expression unchanging, then he burst out laughing. "A consort who's never been with a mare before?" chortled the bat pony.

Quicksilver blushed hotly, his ears falling flat against his head. He should have realized Bracer would laugh at him.

Bracer grew quiet as he saw Silver's expression. "I thought you were joking," he said. Silver shook his head. "My apologies. I should not have laughed at you. That is cruel, even for me."

"It's...it's okay," he breathed.

"No, it's not," Bracer said. "I have...changed...quite a lot from how I used to be. I must admit that I have lost some of my empathy towards others, so you must forgive me if I come off as being cold or cruel."

Silver's ears perked at this little revelation about Bracer, but he remembered how the bat pony said he wouldn't tell him anything Celestia refused to talk to him about. "I...understand. I think I have enough empathy for the both of us," he joked.

To his surprise, Bracer cracked a smile. A little one, but definitely a change from his usual straight-faced expression.

"Your problem is one that is usually best cured by experience, but I will do my best to help you," the bat pony told him.

Silver nodded eagerly.

"First, tell me, how do you feel for the Princess?"

The pegasus hesitated. That was a question he'd been thinking about himself lately. "Well," he said, wondering what kind of answer Bracer was looking for. An honest one, he decided. "I...care about her. You can't be in her presence and not love her. I'm concerned about her well-being, but that's also a part of my job." He thought a moment. "I don't really love her romantically though," he decided. "I mean, I haven't even known her that long, but..."

"I understand what you are getting at," said Bracer. His voice didn't hold any of its usual derisiveness or sarcasm. "You see what you do for Celestia as your job, your duty."

Quicksilver hesitated. He didn't like making it sound like he had absolutely no emotional connection with the princess, but he supposed that what Bracer suggested was, in essence, true. "Well...yeah. I guess that's right," he said after a moment.

"You needn't feel ashamed if you do not love her romantically. That sort of feeling develops over time, if at all. There have been consorts in the past who have only ever regarded what they did as a job. That truly is all that Princess Celestia asks of you. You provide her the service of listening to her, supporting her, and satisfying her needs. In exchange, she provides you a comfortable life and the pleasure of her company."

"Bracer, I know you said you wouldn't tell me anything that Celestia wouldn't talk to me about, but...if you weren't her consort, then...whose were you?" Quicksilver asked.

"Is it really such a difficult question? Or, perhaps you know the answer, but you think it can't be possible."

Quicksilver knew what Bracer was doing with this. If he let Silver figure it out himself, he wouldn't have said anything directly. It was the sort of misdirection he had witnessed Celestia doing when she wasn't being entirely truthful, but not entirely dishonest, either. "But if that's true, you'd be a thousand years old," he protested.

"Yes, and no," Bracer said in that maddeningly emotionless voice of his. "You have your answer. When all other possibilities have been eliminated, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth," he reminded him.

"I didn't know you liked Sherclop Holmes," Silver said.

"I heard what you said in the dining room the other night, and Princess Celestia recommended him to me. Said I would appreciate him."

Silver chuckled. "She's got you read."

Bracer smirked. "You think you know me?" he asked.

"Well, I know what I've seen, and if you've read Sherclop Holmes, you know appearances can say a lot about a pony." Silver pointed out.

Bracer arched an eyebrow. "You think you're a master of deductive reasoning?" he inquired.

The pegasus faltered. "Well, obviously, not as much of a master as Holmes," he said.

"Indeed, but we have strayed off-topic. Does the subject cause you discomfort?"

"I think this particular subject causes a lot of ponies discomfort," Silver pointed out, shifting in his chair and ruffling his wings uncomfortably, as though to emphasize that statement.

Bracer sighed. "Ponies weren't so prudish, back in the day," he said almost wistfully.

"So, what are you getting at anyway?" Silver asked.

"What I am 'getting at,' is that many ponies feel as though there needs to be an emotional connection before they can give their body to somepony else. Weren't you paying attention?" the bat pony said flatly.

"Of course I was! But what does that have to do with anything?" protested the consort.

Bracer rolled his eyes and sighed. "Why have you decided to stay a virgin so long?" he asked.

Silver flushed. He wanted to say that was none of Bracer's business, but he had been the one to come to him. He knew he should at least do him the courtesy of answering his questions. "I don't see what that has to do with this, but it's just because the right mare never came around," he huffed.

"It has everything to do with this," Bracer said, his gold eyes boring into Silver's blue ones. "What qualifies the 'right mare?'"

"I dunno...I wouldn't just sleep with some stranger," Silver hedged.

Bracer seemed to be growing more exasperated. "So, you were 'saving yourself,' as it were. You were hoping to sleep with somepony you felt an emotional attachment to."

Silver thought about it and decided that yeah, Bracer was right. It wasn't like he had never met mares that he wouldn't have liked to sleep with, but he was looking for something more significant than a one night stand. "So you're saying I've been waiting for someone I love romantically," he said.

"Yes, and the reason you are nervous about making love to Princess Celestia is because you don't love her romantically," summarized Bracer.

"Well, and she's the ruler of all of Equestria, and she's at least a thousand years old, and probably had countless lovers," said Quicksilver. "She had said there were a lot of other cantidates for consort. Why me? I'm not the most handsome stallion out there. I'm sure I'm not the most...well-endowed."

"I can't fathom as to why Princess Celestia chose you. You seem mentally insufficient," replied Bracer.

"Hey!" exclaimed Silver indignantly.

The bat pony shook his head. "Suffice to say that Princess Celestia had her reasons for choosing you. It doesn't matter if you consider yourself handsome, intelligent, or well-endowed. Obviously, Her Majesty decided that you were the stallion that suited her needs. Instead of speculating about it, you should consider yourself incredibly fortunate. There are hundreds, if not thousands of stallions, and even mares, who would love to be standing in your horseshoes. She chose you."

The consort turned that over in his mind for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right...and I guess you don't need to be emotionally attached to somepony to be able to be physically intimate."

"Precisely," replied Bracer.

"Okay, that helps a bit. But uh, what do I uh, you know, do with her?" Silver asked apprehensively.

Bracer stared at him. "You want me to spell it out for you?"

"You're the experienced master," the consort said hotly. "You're the one who said he'd show me the ropes."

"I could show you the ropes," said Bracer, but it sounded much more suggestive when he said it, and he ran his tongue along his pointed fangs.

Quicksilver's eyes widened at the sudden shift in the bat pony's demeanor, but he flushed all the same at the tone he'd used, at the way Bracer leaned in closer to him so he was very much in the pegasus's personal space. "Whoa! I didn't know you swung that way," Silver said, leaning back away from the bat pony as far as he could, only to be stopped by the back of the couch.

Bracer laughed. It sounded odd to Quicksilver, because he'd hardly ever heard him do it. "You don't need to 'swing that way' to enjoy such things. You believe yourself to be attracted to only mares, correct?"

"Um...yeah," confirmed Quicksilver.

"Yet your body still responded to my advances."

"Well, it made me think of things," he said, flushing.

"Like what? Did you think I might kiss you?" Bracer was suddenly inches from Silver's face. He would only need to lean in a little before their lips would be touching.

Quicksilver's pulse raced and he felt his whole body flush. He could smell Bracer's breath, which wasn't unpleasant, and smelled faintly of wintergreen. The bat pony's scent also filled his nose. He had a spicy, kind of earthy smell. "Um..." he stammered uncomfortably. It didn't really take much imagination to see Bracer capturing his lips and kissing him. He could also imagine that the bat pony might be an aggressive kisser.

"They say the mind is the biggest erogenous zone," Bracer said somewhat huskily.

"I--I can see that," squeaked Quicksilver.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" he teased.

"A little," admitted the consort.

"Is my proximity unpleasant?" the bat pony asked.

"N--no. Not really," stammered Quicksilver. Especially if the warming between his hindquarters was any indication. He wondered if Bracer knew what he was doing and concluded he had to, that he was obviously doing it on purpose.

"Don't worry," Bracer said huskily. "I'll leave the prize for the Princess."

Silver's breath caught in his throat as Bracer did close the distance between them, as the bat pony caught his lips with his own. Silver whimpered in the kiss, as Bracer quite obviously knew what he was doing. His eyes had widened at the contact of Bracer's lips on his, but they closed as the kiss deepened.

When they broke apart, Silver was panting softly, his face hot. He had started to stir, and his wings began to unfurl just at that contact. He wasn't sure how to feel about this. On one hoof, he had actually, surprisingly, enjoyed the kiss, on the other, he felt violated, like Bracer had taken advantage of him, and he wondered at the bat pony's motives. Did Bracer actually feel that way toward him, or was this merely to illustrate a point?

"Any place can be an erogenous zone, if stimulated properly, from the tip of the ears to the bottoms of the hooves," Bracer told him as he stepped back a bit. "It's a combination of sensation and imagination. Your brain is quite good at making the connections."

Quicksilver did his best to cover the evidence of his arousal. If Bracer was affected, he did a much better job of hiding it.

"So wait," he said as what Bracer had been saying caught up with him. He was still feeling Bracer's lips on his. "You're saying my elbow could be an erogenous zone?" he asked skeptically.

"Your eyeball could be an erogenous zone, if you're into that," deadpanned Bracer. The bat pony closed in on him. Before the pegasus even knew what was happening, the bat pony was almost on top of him. A detatched part of his brain was amazed at his speed. He gasped as he felt Bracer's hot mouth on his elbow, making his stomach clench.

"Okay, point taken," Silver said weakly. If he hadn't already been sitting, his knees would have probably collapsed under him. His face flushed. He didn't think he was even into stallions.

As though reading his expression, Bracer said, "As I said, you aren't necessarily 'into stallions' just because your body responds when I touch you."

"Wh-what?" he asked.

Bracer chuckled. "There needn't be a component of physical attraction. The body is just a collection of nerve endings. When they're stimulated in a certain way, it results in arousal. That's just the way the body works."

"That's kind of a cynical point of view," Silver pointed out.

"I am an objectivist. I believe in what I see. Arousal is just a response from nerves firing, and emotions are little more than chemical reactions in the brain."

"How can you even know that?" Silver asked, aghast.

"Observation. I imagine Sherclop Holmes would think of it much the same way," replied Bracer.

"That doesn't mean that emotions don't mean anything," Silver protested.

"Emotions are overrated. I was a guard before I was ever a consort. My duty came first. Emotions only get in the way. They cloud your judgement, make you behave in ways you wouldn't normally. If I allowed my feelings to rule me, I and my princess would both be dead by now."

Silver was taken aback. He had definitely just touched a nerve. "How can you be a good lover, if you don't even feel love?" he asked.

Bracer's expression softened. "That is my weakness," he said softly, but he didn't elaborate.

"Uh, I--thanks for the advice, Bracer. I'll uh...I'll just leave now." Silver said uncomfortably.

"Silver," Bracer said as Quicksilver made to leave.

The pegasus's ears perked and he looked over his shoulder, surprised that Bracer had used that name.

"Don't be afraid to let your feelings guide you. I am a cynical old stallion. You are young, and you obviously care about Princess Celestia. That's something that can only work in your favor. Listen to your instincts. They will never tell you wrong, and most importantly, take your time. It isn't a race, and it's the journey that's important, not the destination."

Silver nodded. "Thanks, Bracer." With that, he left, filled with a roiling storm of mixed emotions, not to mention, aching between his hindquarters from what Bracer had done. He felt a little guilty for the way his body reacted to the bat pony, but if Bracer was to be believed, he had absolutely no control over the way his body responded. He wanted to think that was a bunch of bunk, but it seemed obvious that there was truth in his words.

Bracer stood, watching the door Silver had just left through. It had been a long time since he had felt much of anything, let alone all of the conflicting emotions he felt now. "Perhaps I am overly cynical. I wonder when that happened," he said to himself.

Silver was relieved when he got back to the bright sun side of the castle. His head felt fuzzy with everything that had happened between him and Bracer just now. He had felt like a window had opened in the bat pony, and that he had been allowed a glimpse inside. What he saw, he thought, was a deeply wounded stallion.

What was all that about love being a weakness? he wondered as he made his way toward the foyer. He had always been taught that love was the greatest strength there is.

He left the castle through the great front doors. He had thought of making a detour to his room to get his messenger bag, but he really wanted to get out of the castle.

The sun had come out since this morning, warming him, and the fresh air did a lot to help clear his head. He wished he could talk to Lightning. He thought Bracer's advice had been good, especially what he'd said before he left, but it was pretty clear that their relationship was a bit more on a teacher-student level, if he could describe it in any way, and Silver wished he could get advice from a friend.

He looked up at the sky. It wasn't quite noon yet. Maybe he could at least take a walk around Canterlot. Lightning would still be at work, and he'd be at it until sunset. That would be too late to talk to him, because he needed some time to rest up and get ready for his big night.

At the very least, Bracer's little lecture had eased some of his nervousness, even if it had caused other problems, which he decided it might be best not to think about right now. He'd deal with that mess later.

He left through the front gates, wondering if maybe he should have brought his messenger bag, after all. He'd apparently been royal messenger for nearly a week, but nopony had actually seen him out delivering any messages. Maybe he'd ask Celestia if she had anything that wasn't too sensitive for him to handle. A cover wasn't much of a cover if anypony could see right through it.

He trotted through the part of town within the no-fly zone. Wasn't five miles a little excessive? Then again, five miles gave plenty of time for anypony who meant the princess or anypony at the castle harm to be detected and detained before they could cause any trouble. Guards were a prominent feature of this part of town. He just wished he didn't have to walk five miles before he could take to the sky. It had been a while since he had flown, and while he had taken care to keep his wings preened, they felt a little stiff from disuse. He wondered how often Celestia got to get out and stretch her wings. He knew he could have taken a cab, but he couldn't think when he was rattling around on the cobbled streets.

There were signs posted at the beginning of the no-fly zone, so when Quicksilver passed it, he spread his wings and prepared to take off.

"Silver!" a very familiar voice called.

The pegasus turned his head in the direction the voice had come from and broke out into a grin as he saw a whitish blue pegasus waving at him excitedly with a forehoof. "Lightning!" he exclaimed, trotting over to his best friend. "Hey! I didn't expect to see you here! Aren't you on the clock?" he asked once he was close enough not to have to shout.

"Faust, castle life must really be getting to you, bud. It's Saturday." Lightning chuckled. "Don't even know what day it is," he said, shaking his head.

"It's Saturday?" he asked, wide-eyed, wondering how he could not have realized that. "Wow, maybe castle life is getting to me," he said.

"So even the fancy Royal Messenger has to observe the no-fly zone, huh?" Lightning asked jovially.

"Yeah, it's kind of a no exceptions thing," Quicksilver said nervously, knowing exactly what the next thing out of Lightning's mouth would be.

He wasn't disappointed. "What if the princess has to send a really urgent message?" the other pegasus asked, appearing both curious and very interested.

"She has other methods of sending messages that can't wait," he said truthfully, remembering the phoenix fire.

"Wow. Is that like, top-secret or something?" Lightning asked, wide-eyed.

"I don't think so," hesitated Quicksilver. "She never said it was. She showed me."

"What is it?" Lightning asked.

Quicksilver didn't know if Philomena was a secret, exactly. It was true that phoenixes were incredibly rare, but he doubted it was some state secret or anything, and she had shown him Philomena after he'd agreed to be consort, so that didn't fall under the promise he'd made her.

Lightning watched him expectantly the whole time he'd been hesitating with big, green eyes. "Hey, if you can't tell me, it's okay, bud," he said reassuringly after a moment.

"I don't think it's a big secret," Silver decided. "She uses phoenix fire to send messages that are too sensitive and she doesn't want to risk being intercepted."

"Whoa! She has a phoenix?" Lightning boggled.

"Yeah," Quicksilver said.

"Aren't they like, really rare? It's rare for anypony to even see a phoenix," Lightning said excitedly.

"Yeah, they are," agreed Silver. "That's all I really know about it."

"That's cool, bud. So, what brings you out of the castle? You're not on a delivery, are you?" Lightning asked.

"No, I have the day off. Princess Celestia is attending to some really urgent matter," replied Silver.

"Great. I was about to grab some lunch. Wanna hang out?" asked Lightning.

"Sure. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something, so I'm really glad I ran into you, buddy."

He and Lightning went to a nearby café that was a favorite of couriers. They had great sandwiches and the coldest hay juice in town. The two of them grabbed their food and went out to the patio to eat and talk. They found a table overlooking the street and all the ponies just going about their day. Not for the first time since moving to the castle, Silver felt a little envious of them.

"So, what's on your mind?" Lightning asked as he and Quicksilver unwrapped their sandwiches.

Silver hesitated. He knew he couldn't just come right out and say he was sleeping with Princess Celestia. "Well, uh...let's say, hypothetically, that there's this mare that I uh...that I really like, and uh..."

"You wanna ask her out," guessed Lightning.

"No," replied Quicksilver. "I've uh, I've hypothetically been out with her a few times," he hedged.

Lightning's green eyes got huge when he realized what the other pegasus was skirting around. "No way. You wanna sleep with her?" he blurted.

Quicksilver's face burned with embarrassment, certain everypony had heard and were looking right at him. "Say it a little louder," he hissed. "I don't think anypony across the street heard you!"

Lightning ignored him, looking like Hearth's Warming had come early. He clopped his hooves in front of him excitedly. "Is she hot? Who is she?" he asked.

Silver's blush deepened, but he had been prepared for this. "Her name is Sun Chaser," he said, thankful he had never told Lightning about her, "and she's the most beautiful mare in Equestria."

Lightning looked shocked and leaned back slowly, as though seeing his friend in a new light. "My little Quicksilver has grown up," he said, miming wiping a tear from his eye. "Seriously. You've really got it for her, don't you? It's barely been a week since you moved to the castle, and you're already getting farther with a mare than you have in 27 years."

If it was possible, Silver blushed even harder. His face felt distinctly hot. "If you knew her, you would understand," he countered.

"Maybe you should introduce me sometime. I'd love to meet the mare you're gonna lose your virginity to," said the white-blue pegasus.

That stopped Silver in his tracks. Oh, horseapples, he thought, a bit panicked. I hadn't even thought of the possibility he'd want to meet her! "We'll see," he said hesitantly.

"Anyway," Lightning said dismissively, mistaking his sensitivity about her identity for hesitance about the topic at hoof. He leaned forward eagerly. "What do you want to ask me? How to make sweet, sweet love to your marefriend?"

"Well, uh. Yeah, I guess you kinda hit the nail on the head, there." Silver said.

"It's good that you came to me. I've been with countless mares," gloated the whitish pegasus.

"Will you be serious for a second?" pleaded Quicksilver, his tail flicking in irritation at his friend's flippant attitude.

Lightning looked hurt. "I am being serious!" he protested, his bottom lip sticking out a little, but his expression sobered up. "Look, buddy. There's nothing to be nervous about. Sometimes the first time can be the best, most mind-blowing sex you'll ever experience. If you think she's hot, show her. Take your time exploring her. Don't rush. Build her up and make her beg for you to take her. You only get one first time, so make it memorable."

"Wow, Lightning, that's actually pretty profound," praised Quicksilver, just a little embarrassed at what his friend had just said, but impressed because for Lightning, that was actually very deep. This was the stallion that still told ponies to pull his hoof, and laughed whenever he passed gas, after all.

Lightning looked a little bashful, and it was his turn to blush. "Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure my first time was in the bathroom at the Trough."

"What do you mean, 'pretty sure?' Weren't you there?"

"I don't really remember much about that night," the light blue pegasus confessed.

They spent the rest of their lunch talking and gossiping about work as they ate. The food was excellent, and Quicksilver was feeling in much higher spirits. Lightning told Silver that Penny Lane had ended up getting with some earth pony named Paperback Writer. Quicksilver was surprised, both by the revelation, and that she'd gotten with somepony so soon after he left. He wanted to think she had been waiting for him to get up the bits to ask her out, but that was kind of conceited of him. Nevertheless, he wasn't actually all that disappointed, considering he had had a crush on her for seven years.

Quicksilver looked up at the sky, noticing how the sun was more than halfway through it. As usual, he and Lightning had spent a lot of time talking, and he knew he should really get going if he wanted some time to go for a fly and get some rest before this evening. "It's been great chatting with you, bud, but I'd better get going," he said during a brief lull in the conversation.

"Oh, right, your date," Lighting said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"That was hypothetical!" Silver exclaimed.

"Pfft. Whenever somepony says that, it's just because they don't have to bits to own up to it," his friend pointed out.

Silver flushed.

"Anyway, have a great time, Bud. Let me know how it went! I've gotta get down to the Trough. There's a big polo match tonight."

"Yeah, sure," Silver said nervously as Lightning waved cheerfully goodbye, and he waved back, watching his friend spread his wings and fly off back toward the part of town Silver had once called home.

The consort spread his own wings and took off with a powerful flap, thinking of today's events. He felt as though his nervousness had eased a bit, but he didn't think he'd really stop being nervous until it was all over. He definitely thought Bracer and Lightning had given him useful advice, and for the most part, he was sure he'd know what to do when the time came, but that lead ball had settled back in his stomach.

He flew high over Canterlot as the sun began to make its trek to the horizon, wondering what Celestia was doing now. He couldn't help but wonder if she was thinking about him, the way he was thinking about her.

As the sky began to be tinged with shades of orange and pink, Silver made his way back to the castle. He still had time to shower and take a nap before he saw Celestia tonight. She hadn't specifically said when he should come, after all, just several hours after moonrise.

Quicksilver returned to his room just after sunset. He caught a maid and asked for a simple dinner, nothing with onions or garlic. The maid smirked at him, as though she knew why, and left to carry out his wishes.

Although he felt much more relaxed about the idea of being with Celestia, he still felt his gut tighten with nervousness as he thought about it, but he couldn't help but note that the nervousness was tinged with anticipation.

"I've been wanting this for a while," he reminded himself as he waited for his food to arrive. He had been admiring Celestia from the moment she invited him to attend her in the morning. No, he realized, he had been admiring her from the moment he first saw her. Even as Sun Chaser, he had admired her.

He had thought this was going to be what was going to happen last night, what with what he overheard Celestia saying to her secretary as she left the dining room that morning, but he thought whatever had happened with Twilight had jarred her. He felt a little guilty about that, because even though Twilight had been the one to go to her, he was the one who had instigated it.

He was torn from his thoughts, as usual, by a knock on the door, and when he answered it, a maid he didn't recognize was waiting with his food.

"I'll take it, thanks" he said, taking the tray in his mouth and bringing it into his room. He set it down on the table and lifted the lid off. It was a simple, decently-sized salad. He didn't think he'd really be able to eat much more than a few leaves. He was nervous, and his stomach roiled a bit at the thought of food. Besides he'd had a pretty big lunch. He was mostly eating out of habit, because he always ate dinner around this time of night.

He ate a few of the crunchy, sweet leaves, a slice of cucumber, and a couple slices of carrot, then took a short nap, and when he woke up, he jumped into the shower, washing himself thoroughly, especially down there. He wanted to make sure he was nice and clean for his princess.

When he was done with the cold portion of his shower, he felt awake and alert, and he stood before his mirror, brushing his teeth. He could hardly believe he was about to do this. He'd dated his one and only marefriend for close to three years, but they had never gotten this far. They had kissed and made out a few times, sure, but they never really got out of the cute, snugly phase of their relationship. Now, he was about to go make love to a mare that, by comparison, he hardly even knew.

"It's okay, Silver," he said to his reflection in the mirror after spitting out his toothpaste and rinsing his mouth. "You might not have known Celestia long, but that's alright," he reminded himself.

He rinsed his mouth with mouthwash as he combed and styled his mane, using a tonic that kept it soft, but also helped it stay where he put it. He spit out the mouthwash and appraised himself in the mirror. A handsome steel gray pegasus with a silver-white mane and deep blue eyes gazed back at him.

Thanks to his training regimen and all of the castle food he'd been eating, he noticed that his face seemed fuller and less gaunt. Before, as a bachelor, had often forgotten to eat, or never felt like making himself anything, so he didn't. Now, he got three square meals a day, and plenty of exercise, and in just the week he'd been living here at the castle, it showed. He looked more lean and muscular.

"Looking good," he said to his reflection, winking at the stallion looking back at him.

By the time he was ready, Celestia had already risen the moon. He recalled that she had asked him to come several hours after moonrise, so he wasn't worried about being late as he trotted from his own room and up the stairs.

As usual, castle activity seemed to have ceased, save for the guards on their patrols, which suited him just fine. He whistled to himself as he made his way up to Celestia's chambers. Upon his arrival, he found the usual two guards posted there.

He took a deep, calming breath as he paused outside her door. The guards didn't even turn their heads at his approach. Each of them remained standing stock-still, eyes facing forward. This is it, bud, he told himself. No more being nervous after tonight. You don't have anything to worry about, just take your time. He hesitated for a second longer, then raised a hoof and knocked twice.

"Come in," Celestia's voice called.

He took one more deep, calming breath and opened the door, finding Celestia reclining on her bed on the floor, her back resting aginst the golden buttress. "Good evening, Quicksilver," she greeted. She was bare of her regalia, her pristine, alabaster coat all but glowing in the warm, flickering light from the hearth across the room. Not for the first time, Silver was caught by her entrancing beauty. He immediately noticed something different about her. Her mane, usually wafting in the solar breeze, was draped over her long, graceful neck. It was still its typical multicolored hue, but was also thick, wavy and very soft-looking. Her magenta eyes met his, dark and full of what he could only describe as hunger. She was regarding him with the same sort of look she usually gave her breakfast in the morning. As soon as he entered, her horn flared with her magic, and Silver felt a wave of magic pass through him. He knew she was casting a sound-proofing spell. The consort shivered inwardly, wondering if he'd ever get used to it.

"G--good evening, Your--Celestia," he stammered. He felt butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. It was one thing to listen to the advice of his friends, but it was another thing entirely to apply it.

"How was your day?" she asked, managing to make a simple question sound sultry.

"Very interesting," he replied truthfully, trying not to think about what had happened between him and Gilded Bracer, and taking a breath inwardly to calm himself. Celestia was laying in such a way that much of her underbelly was exposed to his view, but her hindlegs were resting neatly against each other, covering her nethers. Her tail was curled in front of her. "You look beautiful," he breathed.

Celestia giggled. "Thank you, my consort. Why don't you come closer?" she invited.

Silver hadn't realized he had been standing in her doorway, looking at her dumbly, and with a start, complied, joining the princess on her bed. "Uh--how was your day?" he asked, getting settled so he was facing her and close enough to her that he could feel the warmth of her body, but not quite touching.

"It went very well, thank you," she replied. "And you look very handsome." She reached a hoof up to touch his silver-white mane, pushing a piece back that had fallen against his forehead.

"Thank you," he said, trying to steady himself. They were just talking, for now, no more than what they usually did together, but her proximity reminded him of that morning. He was so close, he could smell her. Her scent was reminiscent of summer breezes and honeysuckle, evoking happy memories of lazy summer days.

Celestia's hoof went down from his mane to gently caress his cheek. "I hope you don't find this too sudden," she said gently to him. He nuzzled her hoof as though to reassure her.

"I knew what I was getting into when I accepted this job," he told her. "And it isn't as though I don't want..." Buck up and act like a stallion, Mister, he thought to himself. He sat up a little straighter. "It isn't as though I don't want to make love to you," he said, his voice steady this time.

"Oh?" she asked, arching an eyebrow playfully.

"Yeah," Silver said, feeling his nervousness recede again. "You're a very beautiful mare, Celestia," he said. "No, you're the most beautiful mare I've ever seen. I've thought about this ever since the moment I accepted this..." he said.

"Then, why don't you stop trying to tell me with words?" suggested Celestia softly.

Quicksilver blushed at that, but got what she was getting at, and leaned in to kiss her. The kiss was chaste at first. Celestia's lips were warm, soft, and inviting. Emboldened, Quicksilver's tongue probed at her bottom lip, and with a sigh, Celestia allowed him access. Their tongues met, and a shiver ran through Quicksilver that started in his stomach and went straight to his groin as their tongues danced together. He explored the silken wetness of her mouth and suckled on her lips until he drew a whimper from her, savoring the feeling of her hot breath against his muzzle.

They unconsciously drew closer together as they kissed, so they were belly to belly, and he slipped his forehooves around her, feeling her caressing his back and wings in return. He could feel that stirring between his hindlegs like he had earlier, his stallionhood beginning to slip out of its sheath, and his stomach clenching in arousal.

After a long moment, the kiss broke with both of them panting lightly. "Wow," was all Silver could say. She giggled softly in reply, the sweet sound making him close the very small gap between them to capture her lips again. Trailing his hoof through her long, wavy mane, Silver enjoyed the smooth, texture of it. It was thick and incredibly soft and silky. His hoof followed the flow of her mane and caressed her neck gently, prompting a small sigh from Celestia.

The kiss broke once more, and Silver did as Lightning suggested, taking his time exploring her body, paying attention to the sounds she made as he gently ran a hoof along her side; as he caressed her soft belly. He wasn't as uncomfortable with touching her as he would have thought he would be, but grooming her yesterday had certainly helped with that. She sighed as his hoof quested a little lower than he usually dared to go, just brushing her inner thigh, drawing a sharp gasp, her hindlegs spreading a bit to accommodate him. Silver ran his hoof back up along her belly, up to her chest, feeling one of her nipples peeking out from under her fur. She grunted breathlessly as he brushed it tentatively. As he touched there, caressing and rubbing the hard little nubs with his hooves, he grew more confident, especially as she arched into him, her breathing becoming uneven and panty.

"Quicksilver," the princess gasped hotly as he leaned over and kissed each one gently. She pressed her chest up into his mouth more as Silver licked one of her nipples experimentally and moaned softly from the way she responded. Encouraged, he took the little nub into his mouth and suckled lightly. "Ah," she hissed.

Her wings had spread, seemingly of their own accord, unfurling to their full, majestic span. The consort watched out of the corner of his eye, his head still lowered over her chest, noticing how glorious she looked, spread out beneath him and writhing from his ministrations. Clouded as his mind was, Silver couldn't help but be impressed, and had to reach out to touch them, too. Being a pegasus, he knew how sensitive the wings were.

While his mouth remained engaged upon her, licking and suckling, he traced every visible feather with his hooves, and gradually, her soft moans turned into pleading, hot grunts.

For his own part, Silver had already slid out of its sheath, and dripped with arousal. He was ready, but he ignored his own body for the sake of his princess. Celestia's hooves roamed frantically over his body, digging in places almost painfully in time with her gasping breath. Distracted, his hooves ground harder than he had intended into her wings as she traced the shape of his cutie mark, making him groan into her fur. Nopony ever touched him there before, and the sensation of it provoked the memory of how she had reacted to it yesterday. Learning from that, the consort moved to touch her cutie mark, slowly tracing it all the way from the rays of the sun and inward.

Celestia clenched her teeth, her breath coming out in a sharp hiss as her rump moved to meet Silver's hoof more fully.

He leaned in and kissed her jaw, working his way downward. As he hotly kissed the side of her neck, Celestia gasped. "Quicksilver," she said, her voice pleading. "I'm ready for you. Now." She was practically rutting against the mattress.

Groaning in reply, he bit down on her neck distractedly, his mind a white-hot blur.

By now, he was so stiff it was almost painful. Silver grunted against her neck and got up shakily, allowing her to roll onto her stomach. Celestia hiked her hindquarters up eagerly for him and her flowing tail flipped aside as he mounted her, exposing her flushed, dripping marehood.

The consort pressed his hooves into her cutie marks as his forelegs settled over her hips as he got into position. The tip of his shaft, dripping with how ready he was, brushed along the length of her eager opening, making both of them cry out. He could see her marehood, deep red and soaking wet from arousal, winking in eager anticipation. The overpowering aroma of warm butterscotch filled his senses once again as he slipped against her, unintentionally teasing her, sending shocks of pleasure through them both as his head was coated in her slick wetness. Celestia's gracious rump moved into him urgently, and as good as it felt, she had half a mind to kick him for his insolence, and she told him as much.

"Sorry," Silver gasped breathlessly, his already flushed face warming more in mild embarrassment. He wasn't sure if he was really all that sorry, since he thought it felt amazing.

Finally, he aimed himself and slid into her, his eyes almost rolling back into his head from how good Celestia felt as her heat surrounded him. She was so wet that he glided within her with almost no effort, and despite how large she was, her marehood was tight and hot. "Ohhh, Celsetia," he grunted huskily. "You feel so good." In fact, this felt even better than he could have imagined.

"You do too," she said breathily into the pillows, her hips moving back to meet him, to take him in more fully.

"Ahhhh," he breathed, eyes closed, as he slowly pulled out, feeling her muscles clenching around him, as though trying to keep him there. He pulled out until only the tip of his cock was left inside her, then slowly plunged in again. They cried out together.

Silver was trying to take his time, as Lightning and Bracer both suggested, but Celestia was impatiently rutting against him, making him want to just go at her like some kind of wild animal. He was trying to control his instinct to just pound into her, and truthfully, it felt so amazing, he was willing to drag it out a bit.

"Silver, please," moaned Celestia shakily.

Silver's ears perked. "Wha--what did you just call me?" he asked pleased.

"Silver," moaned Celestia as he drove into her.

He grinned, but as eager as he was to please and do what his princess asked, he pulled out, even slower than before. Celestia's moan was also drawn out as he very slowly plunged back into her. He wasn't sure how much longer he could possibly last. She felt so incredible, and the noises she was making were driving him crazy. "I'm the one who's up here," he said huskily. "I'm the one who's calling the shots."

She looked back at him, and Silver nearly panicked, his own words shocking him. He thought he had crossed some kind of line, but there was no anger in those lust-filled magenta eyes. "Yes," she whimpered in agreement. "Please, Silver...faster," she pleaded.

He gave her a quirky grin and increased the tempo of his thrusting, and Celestia moved her hips in time with him, taking him as far as he would go each time. "Oh, Faust," moaned Quicksilver. He could feel a mounting tightness that just begged for release. He was thrusting so hard into Celestia that his hips were slapping against her hindquarters. She was panting and moaning until...

"Ohh, yess," she cried out triumphantly, releasing her juices all over him.

That did it for Quicksilver. He groaned hotly as her juices coated him. Now she was so wet that there was hardly any friction as he thrust deep inside her. "I'm--I'm gonna--"

"It's okay," panted Celestia.

His world went white and he felt like his head was exploding literally as he released his seed deep inside her. His cock was pulsing with the intensity of his release, and he groaned so loudly, he was sure the whole castle could have heard, if not for the sound-proofing spell.

He collapsed against her, withdrawing from her, completely spent. He felt like his whole body was made of jelly.

To his amazement, Celestia was crying softly. Her whole body shook with the intensity of her sobbing.

"Celestia?" he panted, still trying to catch his breath. "I--I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked, slightly panicked.

"N--no, Quicksilver. I--I'm o--okay," she assured him shakily.

He waited for the tears to subside, gently rubbing her back as she cried. Within a few moments, she was just sniffling softly, then she composed herself.

"I'm sorry, Quicksilver," she said softly. "What you did just now was wonderful. I was just a little overcome by it all."

"It's okay," he assured her, still stroking her back gently. He caressed the feathers of her furled wing, causing a shiver to run through her. He wanted to say he understood, but he couldn't, because he didn't. "I didn't know mares cried when..."

Celestia giggled shakily. "That isn't always a typical reaction," she told him. "It had just been...a very long time since I've had that sort of a release," she assured him, snuggling closer to him and arching her back into his hoof.

Celestia rested her head against his chest, as they both lay together, sweaty from their exertion.

Quicksilver looked down at her, thinking she looked captivating in the flickering, warm light of the hearth. Her whole body just seemed to glow, and she looked more radient than he had ever seen her. He gently nuzzled the top of her head, feeling her soft mane against his chin.

"I didn't know you could do this," he said after a long moment of silence, during which the only sound had been the logs crackling in the hearth, trailing his hoof through her multicolored mane again.

"It's something I do when I just feel like relaxing. Letting my mane down, so to speak," she said with an ironic chuckle. "Besides, it's a little hard to wash it when it keeps drifting along in the solar wind," explained Celestia.

"Mmm. I think I like it better this way," he said, feeling the silky strands gliding against his hoof.

"I'll wear it like this for you then," she said softly in reply.

A sleepy, content silence fell between them. Silver felt her breathing against him, felt the steady beat of her heart somewhere around his stomach. He had never felt so content, so satisfied in his entire life.

It wasn't long before princess and consort drifted off to sleep, curled against one another, in spent bliss.

Part One: The Sun Side

Part One - The Sun Side

“Thou great star! What would be thy happiness if thou hadst not those for whom thou shinest!”

-Friedrich Nietzsche