A knock on my door woke me with a start. I stared around the room bleary eyed, and for just a second confused as I saw unfamiliar colours, but I soon remembered where I was. I blinked away the blur caused by my sleep.

My mind still slogging through my muddled brain I looked out the window to determine the time, the rooms lack of a proper clock was a pain as I had to rely on the sky and shadows to even get a clue. I was surprised at how low the sun was crawling and it was low enough to cast the clouds with a deep orange glow.

Again there was a knock at my door. I must have made quite the dumb sight as I stared at the door, it was clear my mind was still in it start up mode as I struggled to understand the meaning behind the knock.

Yet another time there was a knock. The pony that was knocking was clearly growing frustrated with my lack of response as this time it was both longer and harder. Finally I got to my senses and rolled of my bed, or rather attempted. Having a pony body, with wings and a long horn jutting out of your head made the action a painful and embarrassingly a failed attempt. My wing bent uncomfortably under my back and made a series of pops and cracks as the poor joints was subjugated to my weight and odd angles. When I felt this new and unwelcome feeling of my new limb I instinctively contracted muscles I have never had before, and by the gods did it hurt as my wing set into a tight cramp. Panic set in as I at this stage already knew what was going to happen, it was like watching a car crash in slow-motion as my body, carried by its own momentum, continued the roll. My shoulder burned, burned like it had ever done before as I could only imagine how the muscles and tendons were torn apart.

I yelped and I desperately tried to twist myself of my appendage, this only resulted in my horn snagging on the beds cover and with another painful pull to my neck fell with me of the bed. The fine silks bunched over my head.

I laid there, hissed and whimpered as I assessed the damage to myself.

Before I even had time to check the door slammed open and I heard the distinct clop of shoed hooves as the ponies outside made their quick entry. Although muffled a little by the cloth on my head I could hear the worried shouts of the stallions, ‘what happened’ and ‘are you alright?’ came from the three mouths.

Before I had the chance to properly form an answer the cloth was yanked of my head, it was encased in the slight green tint of one of my ‘honorary’ guards, I recognized him from before. In fact I recognized his partner too even though all three ponies shared the same colour scheme their faces was different, as well as their eyes.

The new unicorn guard’s horn lit up in an orange aura and I myself was yanked of the ground roughly, it was not the unkind kind of rough, it felt like a panic induced lift-up a parent would do to inspect their child for injuries. And much to that happened, I felt small pokes all over my body as soon as my hooves met solid ground again. Most did nothing but tickle and irritate but as soon as he hit a spot that made me wince the stallion focused more pokes in that area. My shoulder became the primary target for the assault but soon he found my wing, which provoked a yelp out of me as he extended the limb to its fullest. The mix feeling of pain and a faint tickling sensation made me squirm.

I bit my lip as I endured the ministration as he bent my wing in all manners of ways. All I could do was lock my eyes on his face, I wanted to curse and shout at him to stop but the concentrated face me made as he studied my wing for injuries and my face for any reaction I might give. It was the knowledge that he was just making sure I was alright that made me endure it.

With a final glance at me he gave a small grunt of satisfaction, as far as he was concerned I was alright and he let go of my wing. I jerkily retrieved the limb to the best of my ability and folded the wing at my side. I felt the small muscles at my shoulder burn in the familiarly uncomfortable way that a strained muscled did when it was being used.

“Thanks.” I mumbled as I inspected my own body, trying out what hurt and what did not. My neck hurt a little at certain angles but nothing else hurt, except my already hurt shoulder and wing. I grimaced at how ruffled my wing looked, misaligned and ruffled feathers stuck out at odd angles. I was quickly struck with horror as I realized how much trouble my wings were going to give me. It was probably going to be a pain in keeping them nice and prim looking.

“Don’t mention it,” the guard said to me as he gave me an unsure onceover. It was not hard to know why. It was easy to explain, I was an Alicorn. It was easy to assume that he had not believed whatever he had heard about me, but now he was faced with the truth and it would probably be overwhelming. There was only two, three if you counted Luna, Alicorns in existence that pony kind knew about and I would not be surprised how many legends and myths surrounded the… tribe?

But as soon as he was done, it had taken a mere second, he became stoic as his comrades. The guard persona was probably an incredible crutch to lean on. “Princess Celestia has asked for you presence,” he continued and turned to lead me wherever Celestia was, “follow me.” He confirmed my thoughts.

My two door guards formed up at my sides, the usual distance away, as I went past them out of my room.

I did my best to keep on beat with the third guard but it was clear I was still too inexperienced with my four-legged body to even have a chance. He noticed almost immediately that I started to lag behind and I noticed the small glint of irritation in his eye when I looked behind himself and at me.

No doubt he thought I was deliberately making myself tardy, my old driving mantra made it easier to ignore the look. I was personally not in any hurry and I would go however fast I wanted because fuck everyone else… however that mostly applied to situation where people thought obeying the speed limit was to slow and simply wanted to speed past me instead, a little pet peeve that would have driven me up the walls long ago if I had not learnt to ignore the idiots.

I raised an eyebrow when I was lead straight past Celestia’s study.

“Um, am I not supposed to meet Celestia?” I asked out loud as I turned my head from the door to look at my guide.

“Yes.” Came the simple answer. It did not satiate my curiosity.

“Then where are you leading me?”

The guard pony glanced back at me before he returned his face forward.

“Her Majesty is having dinner and she seeks your company.”

I looked at the back of the armoured pony’s head and pursed my lips in thought. Of all the different scenes I had of our eventual second ‘date’… having it over a dinner table had actually never occurred to me. She had not appeared that friendly with me earlier today. It seemed so easy that it would simply ruin the meal not only for me but for her as well.

I tilted my head into a shrug. She knew what she was doing or else I was overestimating the perks of immortality, being easily over a thousand years old should have thought her one or two things about these kinds of things.

Soon we came upon something I had been dreading, stairs. I tried to be nonchalant as I quickly studied my guides gait as he made the first steps down the marbled steps. I hesitated for a second before I took my first dreaded step. Already I felt how odd this was. I don’t know how many has tried to walk down the stairs head first but I can tell you it scared me shitless. I knew that one misstep or a stumble that I was currently prone to do would lead me into a potential lethal head first dive down onto the marble

Dredging up the courage to lift the next hoof needed for the next step I felt my left foreleg knee give out under me.

The stone filled my vision as I closed with speed. All I could do was sucker in a breath of air and brace for what was to come. But to my relief I felt myself jerk to a halt as I landed in the aura of my honour guards magic. This time it was blue so I had to guess it was my second honour guard this time. Glancing to my left I saw the unicorn that had a slightly stockier muzzle compared to Green, I decided at that time to dub these guards depending on whatever colour I could to distinguish them apart, had used, predictably, his magic to stop my fall in its track.

“Thanks.” I said to him. All the response I garnered was a simple and court nod before both Blue and Green started down the stairs, me hovering on a blue glittering bed of magic. A smidge of concern managed to slip through Orange’s stoicism. He was the first ‘expressive’ guard I had yet to meet I guessed he was quite new as he did not seem to have the same control over his facial features that my two honour guards had. Probably why it was them and not someone, for example, like Orange that stood guard over me.

When we reached flat ground again I was set down on my hooves. My cheeks heated a little at being manhandled in this way, my only saving grace was that I really needed the help that kept it from radiating for the world to see. I could only hope that my fur and coat did not change colour, it would make my life so much harder if it did.

The first thing I noticed was the increased activity, all of a sudden my eyes met thee surprised and shocked looks of a handful of ponies. Many of them carrying lidded food trays and wore what I could only describe as servants clothes. Most had some kind of frilly headdress but some actually had small maid costumes and suits. I probably stared equally fished eyed back at them but I shook myself out of my shock quickly and immediately assumed the same ‘noble’ pose I used against the snot-nosed pony from before.

My back straightened and leaned forward so that my forelegs were straight and my hind legs angled slightly backwards. Head held high at a slight incline, neck straight, it shared the same angle of my hind legs. At least I thought and hoped I struck an impressive and authoritative pose as I tried to act as like the noble I wasn’t.

I tried to ignore the stares that followed me as I leisurely followed the slow trot of Orange. It was easy to notice how much the difference in height really did, except the obvious; I only had to do two steps for every three of my guards. It was a very small observation but it somehow felt like an important piece of information. And thus I filed it away for later.

Fortunately it took only a moment to reach our destination and I was let in through the door.

Celestia felt a slew of different emotions when the door to the small private dining room opened to let her ‘guest’ inside. The guard she had sent, Grass Cut, entered in a quick trot and gave a quick but no less respectful bow, and then he came in. She could feel a flash of anger when she caught the all too familiar poise she would expect herself and even some of her ponies to employ.

What was his purpose here? What was he trying to gain by this charade? Was he even aware of what he was doing… of course must be, just hours before he had not even hinted at this kind of behaviour and upbringing. Ponies did not simply gain this kind of air about them from nothing; it took practice, long hours before a mirror and more than a little knowledge to perform.

But what really made her coat bristle was the knowledge that this stallion, this… this Hue-man must have lied to her. It took all she had to give to not order him chained.

She, if anypony, knew just how much power resided within an Alicorn. She knew she had taken a risk with him when she had lifted his shackles, and now she was struck with a gnawing worry that she might for the first time judged wrong.

But as soon as he had entered Boris’ authoritative stance simply vanished as if it had been nothing but a mirage, an illusion.

And with his the disappearance of his act she felt herself noticeably relax, her body had pulled itself taught, ready to spring into action at the perceived threat. She was shocked over how quick she had been to jump to such devastating conclusions. His presence had been playing havoc with her ever since earlier that morning. She recognized stress when she felt it. She was not thinking clearly. She was focusing too much on what ifs and wild suggestions instead of taking in the now and reacting to it.

She took a long deep breath and let herself relax a bit further; she made a note to book a masseuse for tomorrow.

Celestia rid herself of her previous train of thought and instead focused her attention on Boris again. He looked incredibly unkempt, his mane was hanging in thick tangles of silver grey hair made blank with grease, she suspected none of it came from any beauty products. She shivered at the thought. What had before been a faint mark of an up and coming bruise had now darkened a large swatch of his right side face. It looked almost blue. His tail suffered the same fate as his mane did. The limp was easy to notice even though he made a convincing act, most of his barrel was even darker shade than the one on his face. It did not evade her that he must be in pain.

For some reason his right wing was looking extra rough and it hung slightly lower than his left. The contrast was almost like night and day, both wings was unkempt and was in serious need of grooming… in fact all him was in need of it, but the right wing simply looked damaged, feathers misaligned and crooked. She winced; it would take hours if not weeks to fix if her guess was right. Some of those feathers looked damaged beyond repair.

His coat was dusty and dull and needed more than a long soak and a rigorous scrubbing could ever fix.

The more she looked at him the less dangerous he appeared; his appearance did not inspire fear or awe. Still she was reminded about that he still managed to act as if he belonged, as if he… was her. She bit down on the inside of her lip. She could not decide what to do, her instincts told her to get rid of him but a part of her still believed he could be innocent… not many could hold up against her scrutiny. He had not lied but he still had withheld something, it was this lack of honesty that made her so worried and so quick to assume the worst.

As soon as I passed the threshold to the small dining room I felt relief flood through me, it was one thing to meet one or two ponies at a time and another to wade through a whole corridor full of them… alright that was an exaggeration, I admitted to myself, but it sure as hell did not feel any different. I knew I would be turning heads but damn. The few he had dared to glance at had looked awestruck, slack yaws and wide eyes followed my every move. The sheer weight of that many ponies giving me such attention had made my stage fright rear its ugly head.

I let a sigh escape me and I sagged, dropping my posture.

Orange bowed suddenly before quickly stepping to my left. It brought my attention back to my surroundings. The first and most eye-catching thing in the room was Celestia herself; her flowing ethereal multi-coloured mane did make her standout immensely. She was sitting at a low table, the table reached just about her forelegs’ knees. To be honest the table was quite plain, I expected more considering everything else I had seen thus far. It was a simple piece of brown and oil treated wood, and exemplary piece of oil treated wood and I would not be surprised if it was mahogany or some other kind of expensive wood, I sadly did not know enough about… wood, that I could tell the difference, all I could think was ‘it is definitely not pine.

The table looked much like the rest of the small room. It lacked much of any decorations at all, only a few drapes by the windows and a few paintings of landscapes was the only thing that really stood out. The floor, while clean and smooth, was simply wooden, the walls was also made of carved wood to just about my height, the rest of the wall was trowelled and painted in a soft greenish-yellow that curved up into three parallel domes in the roof. Small chandeliers hung from the woodworks.

The candles were lit even though it was still not dark enough for them to be of much use.

I heard a small ‘pissht’ from my side, it was Orange. He pointedly looked at me before he mimicked a bow before throwing his head towards Celestia. I snorted derisively but complied, it couldn’t hurt to show a little respect. I bowed my head, I was far from sure footed enough to attempt to kneel or lower myself to the floor, I had had too many painful accidents as it was, and I did not want to embarrass myself further.

I saw Celestia smile and return my bow, though it looked more like a deeper and longer nod, enough to recognize my efforts but nothing more.

Orange clearly wasn’t satisfied with my performance, judging by his disapproving frown. But before he had a chance to berate me Celestia finally spoke.

“That will be all, Private Grass Cut,” Oh, so that was his name, “you can leave now.” What name was Grass Cut? For a guard I expected something more in line with more shield or sword in it. It seemed so, so… gentle.

Orange, or rather Grass Cut, opened his mouth to object but hesitated and finally inclined his head,

“Yes, your highness.” He said and then left.

My two honour guards had taken up position outside the door instead of following me in, they disappeared behind the door when it closed shut behind Orange.

Again I was left alone in the presence of Celestia. I was not going to enjoy this dinner, I suspected; why else would she clear the room of any prying ears if she was not intent on discussing something she did not want others to hear.

“Nice of you to join me, Mr. Boris.” Celestia said to me, a small smile plastered on her face. I had no pretences that it was anything other than a façade, a nice and friendly front to make me comfortable. It seemed like a stretch that she somehow would have done a one-eighty in her opinion of me.

“Not that I had much of a choice,” I mumbled. Celestia’s ears swung my way. Damn those ears were sensitive.

“No,” she admitted with a simple little word, “please take a seat.”

She motioned with a hoof towards a cushion on her left side; the seat was the closest to her. I hesitated for a second before I swallowed my worries and went up and took it.

We sat there in silence. Celestia had opted to simple study me in the awkward silence. I did not have the courage to meet her gaze as my eyes wandered the room, studied the small grains in the woodworks, though I stole a glance or two when my eyes roamed past her. Her hair was captivating as it billowed and flowed. I did have a theory on why it was like that, she was channelling magic. When Twilight had absorbed all other princesses’ magic her hair got the same glittering and flowing characteristics when she had at times performed magic. The connection made sense if you thought about it. She was constantly at all times moving both the sun and the moon, consciously or not, and that power manifested as a mesmerizing ethereal hair.

Celestia cleared her throat, my eyes snapped away from her hair to meet her eyes. Her face one of amusement but… I could not shake the feeling she was more irritated than amused, why I could not tell. It was a bit redundant to say that I felt incredibly uncomfortable. Luckily Celestia decided to break the silence.

“Do you know how much trouble you have caused me?” She said to me, her smile slipped away.

The small action shook me more than I cared to admit. I decided quickly I preferred the smiling fake Celestia over this new Celestia. Her face while neutral did not hide the sheer anger I saw flash in her eyes.

“I-I…” I clamped down on my mouth. I did not know what I had done to warrant that kind of response.

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

“I am sorry, I should not blame you for the foolishness of my own subjects.” She breathed out. Her anger bled away only to be replaced by exhaustion. Her eyes drooped as her whole body seemed to collapse in on itself.

I sat stock still as I took in the scene. I was honestly more scared in this moment than I can rightfully say I have ever been. Here I had someone that could squash me into paste with a thought in an emotionally unstable state. It really worried how quickly her moods shifted.

“I, um,” I cleared my throat, “what happened?” I asked. I hoped talking would distract her enough to drag the conversation out of the awkward silence that was encroaching.

Celestia returned her eyes towards me, her usual smile returned and he righted herself properly again.

“A young mare named Spin Talk has decided to make my life difficult,” She explained to me, a small frown graced her lips, “she has a bad habit in spreading misinformation whenever she can.”

“Okay?” I asked, prompting for more information. Celestia glared at me a second before she decided to continue.

“Captain Shimmer Shield disturbed the council meeting I held earlier today… he told me of your arrival,” Celestia’s frown devolved into a hateful scowl, “but Spin Talk decided it was the perfect opportunity to insinuate an intimate relation with you.” Celestia gave a snort in frustration, “And like vultures my ponies ate up her words and now the whole palace and soon Canterlot and the rest of Equestria will think I have a lover!” Her words grew more heated the more she spoke, I was starting to regret asking at this point. “You will have to excuse me that I am a bit short with you, but if you had not appeared I would not be experiencing this embarrassment.”

I had the decency to blush and turn away to stare down at table. Her words explained the looks I had received out in the hall, and by the gods, what had I done! My act of callous arrogance and nobelism must have done nothing but stoke the fire with gasoline!

“I-I’m sorry.” I managed to squeeze out an apology.

“Don’t be, you are not responsible.” She dismissed my apology. “Now before it becomes time to lower the sun we should eat.”

Her horn flashed and a small bell rung.

“Anything you would like?” She asked a moment later with a raised eyebrow.

“Some fruit,” I answered, “and a bit of bread.” I added a second after.

Author's Note

Well... that was surprisingly easy... I am not completely happy with this chapter but I can't dwell and get stuck only because I lack the vocabulary and some writing tricks.

Hope you enjoyed it and please give me a comment with feedback, thoughts or gushing heaps of praise... your choice...