What Happens on Saturday

The next day, Cinnamon spent most of his time thinking of a secluded place for his next date. He narrowed it down to either a picnic on Canterlot Mountain, which was a no-fly zone and pretty secluded or a walk in the private Celestia Gardens. In the end, he decided to combine the two together.

A picnic was a nice idea. Even with the no-fly zone, a hiker could easily come across them. The Celestial Gardens were contained in the castle, the skylight was made up of one way windows and it was already limited in access to only a few creatures in the castle. But there was still that chance, even such a small one, that somecreature allowed inside would happen upon them.

He’d spend a few minutes thinking of a way around it before realizing he could ask Celestia to restrict access to the gardens for the night.

That’s when things became complicated for the picnic part. He couldn’t talk to her before day court ended to ask her not to eat dinner, nor could he try to meet her between the courts closing and her dinner without a large risk of breaking his promise to her, even accidentally. So he settled on simply bringing a night snack of an apple pie. Then he had to figure out how he would bring it with him. If she closed the gardens, he couldn’t bring the pie afterwards; he’d have to be in the gardens already when she told the garden guards to deny access to anycreature wanting to enter, even the few privileged.

Then he realized, he could ask her to teleport him inside beforehand, or clear out the gardens while he waited in her chamber then grab him once she knew it was empty.

The rest of the day passed much like the previous ones.

Before leaving for Celestia’s chambers, Cinnamon went to the kitchens and retrieved an apple pie. He then walked to her room while trying his best not to look nervous or suspicious walking down hallways holding a full pie in his hands.

He arrived at Celestia’s doors and knocked. He was relieved he only received a few curious glances along the way.

A moment passed before one of the doors opened and Celestia’s head poked out.

She smiled, “Good evening,” She waived a hoof to beckon him to her, “come in, come in.”

He walked in after her retreat and closed the door behind him.

“So… how was court?” he asked, somewhat nerviously.

“Well, the majority of the time was filled with the same boring things you already know about. A trade request from the griffin kingdom that will need to be looked at in the coming week. Oh!”

She turned her head to look at Cinnamon directly, “various tribes from Zebrica sent a few stallion representatives to seek an audience with me.”

Cinnamon raised a brow in interest. Similarly to the Griffons; the Zebra tribes were a prideful species and both rarely, if ever, sought out any kind of audience, help, or input from outside species. The Zebra's have been on good terms with Equestria even while refusing to send any kind of ambassador to the castle to establish a stable line of communication with them. Even with how many species have been integrating into Equestria, Zebras have always been and seem to remain a rarity to see living within Equestria’s borders.

“Really? What for?” Cinnamon asked.

“Apparently the Zebras are having a bit of a population crisis. They requested a large harem of mares to stabilize their numbers.”

He blinked in surprise. Although the Zebras were less ferocious than Griffons, they were well known for their strict traditions to pure bloodlines. Stallions and mares that were caught mating or breeding with an outside species received a brand burned onto their forehead and exiled from the tribe.

According to reports from our outposts there; Zebras with this mark were either shunned or killed by other tribes, starved themselves in the wild, or, in rare cases, traveled to one of our outposts for shelter and travel to Equestria.

“That’s… odd; don’t they normally keep to themselves when it comes to breeding?”

She nodded, “So you picked up on that too. Yes, they have, excluding a small amount of cases over the past millennia. Even those were due to unusually terrible weather destroying all their food and only requesting for us to manage it during the summer months of that year.”

“So did you refuse their request?”

She shook her head, “Not right away. I have sent letters to our outposts in Zebrica to look into it. If it is truly a crisis, they may forego their pure bloodline to continue existing. If you were in attendance, you may also have picked up on the odd demeanor of the representatives.”

“Were they rude? Or demanding?”

She shook her head, “No, it almost felt as if they were… nervous? I could not tell if it was because of the request itself or the situation they have been put in.”

She shook her head again to remove herself from her thoughts, “Anyway, now is not the time to think of such matters. I see you have brought a pie, does it have something to do with our date?”

Cinnamon nodded, “Yes, I was thinking we could have a small picnic in the Private Celestial Gardens.”

Her ears perked up, “while I do enjoy the idea, I am afraid it is not private enough.”

“Actually, I put some thought into that. Do you think you could make it restricted access for the night? It shouldn’t inconvenience too many creatures. After that’s done, you can teleport me inside.”

She hummed to herself, “Yes, I believe that would be acceptable. Very well, a picnic in the private gardens it is.”

She walked over to her chamber doors, “I must say, I cannot recall the last time I have been on a picnic.”

She peered at the pie he was holding, “Perhaps next time we could have something more substantial.”

Cinnamon smiled, “Well that’s good to know that you’re still hungry after eating dinner. I wasn’t sure if you’d be hungry for more than a few slices of pie. I also might’ve gained a few curious followers if I carried more food through the castle halls that what I have.”

She chuckled, “If there is one thing you should know about Alicorns, it is that we are more than the common pony in every way. Larger in size, larger magic pool and a larger appetite”

He smiled, “I will keep that in mind next time.”

She nodded, “I shall inform the guards and lock the doors then retrieve you afterwards.”

Cinnamon nodded in understanding before she left, leaving him alone in her room with the pie.

He waited a few minutes before the snapping sound of Celestia teleporting into the room caught his attention.

“The Private Gardens are clear and restricted for the night. I am ready to teleport you when you are.” She said, gesturing to her side with a wing.

Cinnamon nodded and walked to stand next to her. He looked down to the pie, then to her.

“Could you carry the pie? I’m not confident that I wouldn’t drop it after being teleported.”

She nodded and lifted the pie from his grip with her magic, “Ready?”

He let out a breath and relaxed before nodding. Her horn lit up and teleported them to the gardens.

They were teleported to the main garden room overlooking a large oval pool of infinitely flowing water. A divider was in the center of it, making the current flow in a slow whirlpool style. Some water flowers bobbed in the water and clung to the edges of the pool while others gently glided along with the current. Grass pathways surrounded the pool with bushes that hugged the room’s walls. A few flowers were scattered in the bushes, bringing colors of yellow, pink, and blue to the green foliage. Above them was a large skylight of one way windows, magically strengthened and while normal one way

Behind them was the only entrance to the gardens. Only then did he realize how close the guards would be to them on the other side.

“Is it soundproofed?” Cinnamon whispered while looking at the doors.

“It is,” Celestia answered in a normal tone, “And magically locked, just in case.”

He let out a small breath, relieved his oversight was caught before the guards had a chance to notice a very non-princessly voice speaking through the doors. He was certain they wouldn’t be able to identify his voice but he also didn’t know how strict Celestia was about this secret.

The apple pie floated in front of Cinnamon, allowing him to grab it from the air.

“Since this is your date idea, what shall we do next? I must say I am impressed so far.”

He raised a brow, “Really? it hasn't even started yet.”

“Perhaps not but a completely private date is quite a difficult task to accomplish, only feasible to those in high standing. Even I only have three of these options with those I trust to keep a secret.”

She looked around the garden, “Using your access to this place was clever and an option I could not use with other suitors.”

She hummed to herself, “I believe this will be my first time doing such a thing in this garden.”

She looked back to Cinnamon, “Before we begin, I wish to inform you of something so you may think on it through the night.”

When he gave her his full attention, she continued, “This will be the last time we will meet as my suitor. By the end of this date, I will need you to decide if you wish to end this courtship, or become my consort.”

He looked at her with shock. It had only been half a week. He thought it would be a few weeks of being a suitor at least.

“So soon?”

She nodded, “The chances of this secret being revealed prematurely increase as time goes on and unfortunately, I will not be available to another date this week.”

“Could… Couldn’t I give you an answer tomorrow night?”

She shook her head, “If you accept, I will need to assemble an announcement to be made on Saturday. It will go out to all news outlets in Equestria and to our allied nations to attend. Such a thing will require time to send invites while also allowing time for recipients to respond and travel here.”

She paused for a moment, “I recall you having an issue about the news… if you accept, your face will be on the front page of every paper in Equestria and the main topic of discussion to our allies for weeks to come.”

Cinnamon grimaced, already imagining what they would say about him being Celestia’s consort. Assuming his motives would probably be the most talked about topic. Although, would Celestia being part of the story affect what they would say?

He was brought out of his thoughts with a flinch as a feathery appendage rested on his shoulders. He looked over to see the concerned look on Celestia’s face.

“If you do accept, we would work through that together.”

At that moment, Cinnamon was perplexed. Celestia was giving him a look that only his parents and a teacher had given him before, genuine concern.

“Why me?” he asked, barely above a whisper but despite the soft voice, Celestia had heard what he said.

“You are kind, caring, thoughtful and humorous when you are comfortable. You do not seek me for my status or my wealth. Something I have missed for a very long time. You possess the qualities to make a good consort.”

He looked befuddled, “How? We’ve been on one date. I hardly know you… you barely know me.”

“I know enough,” was all she said.

He deflated a little, not satisfied with the answer she gave him but knowing he probably wouldn’t get more than that.

Celestia sighed after noticing his dis-satisfied look. She removed her wing from Cinnamon’s shoulders and looked away in thought.

Meanwhile, Cinnamon looked down at the pie in his hands. It was no longer warm. If they waited any longer, it would become cold. Not to say that there was anything wrong with cold apple pie, but he enjoyed it best when it was warm or hot. At the moment, his hands were quite grateful that it wasn’t currently hot.

“Well, I think we should eat first so I’m not carrying an entire pie with me everywhere.”

“One moment,” she said before he could move to find a suitable spot. “I can show you… if you are willing to do something for me first.”

"Show me what?"

"How I know what I know about you."

He looked at her and spoke after a brief moment of silence, “What would I have to do?”

Celestia turned her body to face him and sat on the ground. She slipped her right hoof out of her horseshoe and raised it in the air with her frog facing Cinnamon.

“With sound body and mind, extend unto me, the power and control, of your memory.” Her hoof began to glow white before she made a circle motion with it in the air.

“With this bind, a promise you make, to never reveal the knowledge you take.” She slams her hoof to the ground. Two white circles extended from the edges of her hoof until they were both within the smaller circle.

She closed her eyes, “Only to those that already know, may hear the words that I bestow. To the rest, your lips are sealed, to prevent my words from being revealed.”

As she spoke, symbols and runes appeared between the outer and inner circles, appearing clockwise from each other until it met back to the first symbol. Once finished, they rose a hoof off the ground and began to slowly spin in a clockwise manner.

She opened her eyes and lifted her glowing hoof, upturning it to allow Cinnamon to rest his hand on top if he chose to.

Meanwhile, Cinnamon processed what was happening. He looked at the large white shape on the ground around them. He recognized one of the symbols floating around them as the runic symbol for memory. A few others looked familiar but he couldn’t quite place them.

“So… what exactly will this do?” he hesitantly asked while eyeing the solid white glow emanating from her upturned hoof.

“It will allow me to seal the information I am willing to provide with a powerful spell so what I say has no chance to be found out by others; whether by your choice or by force.”

She stood up, still holding her hoof out in front of her. “If you try to tell somecreature, you will temporarily forget everything I say for a few hours. If, for any reason, somecreature were to apply magic to your mind for any reason, this knowledge would temporarily disappear to the magic users touch. Otherwise, it will do nothing.”

He looked back at her extended hoof, “And this is necessary?”

She nodded, “It is crucial this does not reach public ears.”

He leaned down and set the apple pie down on the ground beside him. Standing back up, he slowly reached out with his right hand, quickly touching the white light with a finger and taking it back as if it would burn him on contact.

She gave him an unamused look before he finally placed his hand fully on her hoof.

The second he did, white lines shot out from the inner circle and touched Celestia at her left hoof and flank while two others touched Cinnamon’s feet. Then a line formed between them, connecting their bodies.

“Now, repeat after me. I, state your name.”

“I, Ground Cinnamon.”

“With sound mind and body.”

“With sound mind and body.”

“Willingly agree to allow this spell to alter my mind.”

“Willingly agree to allow this spell to alter my mind.”

The white glow on her hoof extended to his hand, forming a solid bubble around their contact. The line that connected the two on the ground slowly grew wider until the inside of the inner circle was all white. The runic symbols around them spun faster and floated higher off the ground, coming to a stop at eye level. Faster and faster until they looked like a solid band of light. Then it broke into a line and shot into Cinnamon’s forehead.

A white hue was left on his forehead and faded away after a few seconds.

He blinked a few times and started to rub his eyes with his hands, “What was that?”

Celestia’s horn flashed as she sent out a mental message, “Old magic from a time before unicorns learned to channel magic through their horns. However, it is stronger and more reliable than the magic used in current times, less holes in the script and a stronger bind.”

She looked at the charred hoofprint in the ground. She frowned and touched the mark, the one "flaw" with binding magic such as this. It would take a few weeks for the green grass to naturally begin to grow again.

A loud snap was heard through the room as Princess Luna teleported in front of them looking the other way

“Tis quite early in the night sister, did thy date go awry?” Princess Luna asked before turning around and spotting both Celestia and Cinnamon still rubbing his eyes.

“Perhaps not.”

She gave Celestia a questioning look, “Why have thou requested our presence? Thou knows we have things to attend to.”

As she walked closer to them, she noticed the scorched hoofprint in the grass and paused mid-stride.

“Is that…”

Celestia nodded.

“Did he?”

She nodded again,” I need you to free his memories.”

She looked over to Cinnamon, “Are thee sure?”

“Yes, I believe it would be best.”

Princess Luna was silent for a few seconds before responding, “Very well.”

She walked up to Cinnamon, then looked back to Celestia, “Did thou not warn him to close his eyes?”

She gave her a sheepish look, “no… I forgot it did that.”

Princess Luna rolled her eyes, “Honestly sister…”

“What? I have not used a spell like this since the peace accords with the earth tribes over 3 millennia ago. I am happy the circle did not fizzle out and disappear from a mistake in chant.”

When Cinnamon finally pried his hands away from his eyes, he saw Princess Luna standing before him with her horn ignited, “bow for us please.”

He glanced at Celestia. When she gave him a small nod, he looked back and bowed.

Princess Luna leaned down and touched her forehead to his. She angled her head down until her horn made contact with the top of his head. With a flash of her magic, the memory of all his dreams returned to him.

She took a step back from him but he remained bowed with a blush on his face.

Princess Luna looked at Celestia, “Is that all thou required of us?”

She nodded with a smile, “thank you Luna.” She walked closer to wrap a wing around her barrel and give her a hug, “I truly appreciate it.”

“Yes, well, we are glad to see he was able to speak on thy behavior.”

Celestia pulled away from her a little but kept her wing resting on Princess Luna’s back, “Pardon?”

Her eyes widened, “ah… um… We must depart; duties… chores… y-yes.” With a crack, she teleported away.

Celestia, still looking at the vacant spot her sister once resided in, shook her head and looked to Cinnamon’s still form.

She walked to stand next to him, “Cinnamon?”

He looked at her with a blush still on his face. Standing up when he realized he was still bowing.

He cleared his throat, “Sorry… did you say something?”

“Are you alright?”

He nodded, “Yeah, just a bit surprised… how was that supposed to answer anything?”

She cleared her throat, “You are correct that I do not know much about you from our previous date but I know about the kind of creature you are.”

“So… you know about the dreams too?”

She shook her head, “Not the specifics; I trust Luna knows what she is doing.”

With her magic, a mirror appeared before them so Cinnamon could see himself in it.

“She informs me with these.” Her horn flashes and his eyes gained a golden twinkle to them.

The reflection he sees in the mirror gains spots of blue hues on his cheeks, forehead and lips. He reached up to touch the marks on his face.

“Your left cheek tells me your intent is pure, your forehead tells me you are not searching for power and your right cheek tells me you are not after my life.”

He touched his right cheek, “Your life? You don’t mean-“

“To kill me, yes. No suitor has returned so far that did not have that mark on them.”

He brought his hand into view to look at it through the mirror to see the mark hadn’t smeared onto his fingers.

“Has everycreature been able to see this the whole time?”

She shook her head, “No, it is only visible to a specific frequency of magic. Luna once used this to identify enemy spies based on the content of their dream. It will fade away in a few more days.”

She ended the spell on his eyes and made the mirror disappear.

“Aren’t you afraid a unicorn might happen upon that frequency by accident?” Cinnamon asked.

She shook her head, “The frequency is too low for any grown magic user to find it by chance since it serves no purpose. It cannot pick up something as light as a feather and a spell requires 100 times the magical density to begin. However, a foal can see it if they are just beginning to use their magic which usually happens when they still have not begun to speak. ”

A scroll appeared in front of Cinnamon; it floated closer to him and unrolled itself.

He gently grabbed it and started to read it

Mother

Unicorn

Slightly sleep deprived

Lead mare No herd

Kind

Pushy

Possible thing for screenwriters

Makes a great mango smoothie off topic

Upper-middle class

Medium house

Surprised about courtship

Questions the courtship

Father

Pegasus

Stay at home stallion

Independent stallion

Cares for pegasus foal pre-yearling

Spends mornings with foal

Considerate

Can follow a mare’s shopping list without buying more

Supports courtship

Limited knowledge, stays at home

Suitor

Unknown race

Few bad experiences in love life

Helps work despite on leave

Does not complain when doing mares work

Something about cinnamon cupcakes

Helps father with shopping

Does not go on spending spree

When he finished reading the short list, he glanced over to Celestia, “What’s this?”

“We send an intelligence agent to make a short list of a suitor and their immediate family. It helps gives an insight to the environment a suitor was raised in.”

When Cinnamon felt a tugging of the paper in his hands, he let it go. It rolled up and disappeared.

“What’s the insight on me?”

“Preferable. Loving parents with positive qualities for each and instilled a value of work into you.”

With a flash of her horn, an empty glass mug appeared between them along with a potion bottle of green liquid, a bowl of fruit and a bag of sugar. "Lastly is a precautionary measure for Equestrian guards such as yourself."

Cinnamon watched as the potion was poured in, filling the mug a quarter of the way up. As the now empty bottle was set to the side, the bowl of fruit floated closer to the mug. The glow of Celestia's magic enveloped the fruit and were lifted into the air right above the drinking glass. Her horn glowed slightly brighter as the fruit was crushed in the magical grip until it was a liquid. She carefully dropped the juice into the mug, being careful not to let it splash out and filling it almost to the top. The bag of sugar was then levitated over and a hefty amount of it poured into the glass. She stirred it with her magic, changing its color from a dark purple to a radiating white.

Once done, she looked back up to Cinnamon. "The Princess' Contemplation; a sweet drink given to Equestrian guards brave enough to request courtship from either me or Luna. In reality, it is a combination of fruit, sugar, and truth potion."

Cinnamon was shocked and opened his mouth to say something before Celestia placed a hoof on his lips to silence him.

Knowing what he was about to ask, she spoke. "It is a precaution and only lasts for 10 minutes. Our guards are trained to be redirect mind magic by guiding it to irrelevant information. While a necessary skill to have, it can sometimes alter or interfere with Luna's ability to create dream scenarios with accurate reactions. Luna has expressed aggravation in the past with some guards ignoring what she conjured up and chasing something like a butterfly or running through a field of flowers."

"So we created this," She glanced down to the drink, then back to him. "While short, it is a powerful truth potion tediously created so the one that drinks it only responds with total honesty to one voice."

He looked down at the glowing white drink. "The bartender," he mumbled.

Celestia nodded, "Correct. Dapper Mix has handled the duty of retrieving information from our armored suitors since the creation of this drink. He writes down what questions he asks and what our suitors have answered. It is not as thorough as what Luna can retrieve with her dreams; so if her dreams do work as intended, his list is not needed and discarded with flame."

"Why does it look like that?" Cinnamon asked; noticing that, while the glow had died down to what he remembered, it remained a solid white. "The one I drank had swirls of blue in it."

"Luna creates these with me. We mix our magical aura's into the drink as an aesthetic to represent the both of us. If she had stayed and mixed this with me, it would create the swirls that you are familiar with."

With a flash of her horn, the drink disappeared. She then lifted the apple pie into the air with her magic.

She looked at the left hallway that led to the daytime section of the gardens, “Now, I believe you desired to eat the pie first; let us do that. I can answer any more questions you may have as we eat.”

He nodded and followed her to the solar branch of the gardens.

The furthest wall away from where they entered was made entirely of one way windows. They faced out away from the city toward the pains and rolling hills under Cloudsdale. When the sun would rise and rest in the sky, light would pour into the gardens. Since the moon was out, a few species of flower had their petals shut.

A small river ran through the garden; the only noise that could be heard was the sound of water washing over a few tiny rapids and the swishing of grass from Celestia and Cinnamon walking through.

She continued to lead him to sit near the windows. She placed the pie on the ground and sat next to it; Cinnamon joining her on the other side of it. He had been thinking of questions to ask. Most were to try and get to know her more before the date ended but a few were still over the whole process of knowledge retrieval.

They both faced the window looking over the land. They could barely see the bottom of the moon near the top of the window from where they were sitting.

“So,” Cinnamon spoke up, “This process… why is it so important to keep secret?”

Her magic ignited and the pie was cut into eight equal pieces.

“The process relies on secrecy. If one were to know about the dream tests, they would learn to lucid dream and make the test unreliable for the truth. If they knew they would be observed during their day to day life after their request, they would act differently.” She looked over to him, “How would you act knowing you were being watched? To see how you acted; to see if you were consort material. Anxious? Hesitant? Or perhaps you would prepare yourself and those around you to act a certain way to improve the quality of information collected on you.”

He nodded in understanding. If he’d known he was being followed around, he wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the small vacation as much as he did… wait a minute…

“This intelligence agent wouldn’t happen to be a bat pony… would it?”

“We have a small assortment of different species for the job.”

“Was mine a bat pony?”

She nodded.

“She… wouldn’t happen to be a screenwriter… would she?” He asked, sounding hopeful.

“No, however, Silent Glider is an amateur writer though.”

He grimaced; Vanilla would be heartbroken if she knew the mare she spent so much time trying to pry a future play title out of never had one to begin with. “Why a bat pony? It was a bit weird to see one in broad daylight. Though, admittedly, I didn’t connect the dots thanks to my mom.”

Celestia sighed, “Most intelligence agents are day creatures that mingle with the rest of the castle staff. I did not want to risk you recognizing somecreature from the castle watching you and your movements constantly for a week. It was safer to send an agent that appeared unusual instead of one you knew.”

He supposed that made sense even though he only knew 1 intelligence agent.

“Wait, you told me the meaning of the cheek glows and forehead glow. What about the one on my lips?”

She looked at him or, specifically, the lips the blue glow settled on. “It means Luna approves of you.”

Not having anything more to say, he ate a couple slices of pie.

He swallowed his second piece as Celestia finished her half of the pie.

“So what about you Celestia? I don’t know much about you, what do you like?”

She hummed, “Well, I enjoy cooking, relaxing in a nice hot bath and reading a good book. I used to do more exciting things in the past but being a princess has limited my ability to do them.”

“Like what?”

She looked out the window in thought, “well, for example, I used to fly as high as I could go then freefall back to the ground to gain speed, opening my wings and fly around as fast as I could go.” She shivered, “Those were the days.” Her smile slowly faded into a frown, “So simple back then. No duties or planning. Just the excitement of having the wind blow through my mane was exhilarating. Hay, sometimes I would wait until I got close to the ground before opening my wings.”

He raised a brow at that, “flying was exciting? Isn’t that just an everyday thing for you? Well, except for that last part.”

She nodded, “It is normal now but that was not always the case.” She looked at him, “before I became an Alicorn, I was a Unicorn. Back in a time when magic was an unknown concept to us; when our horn’s only use was as a weapon against predators. When I received my wings, the sky opened up to me and I seized it. Sometimes I would go weeks without touching the ground; sleeping on clouds and snatching fruit from trees from the air.”

Cinnamon watched Celestia’s gaze across the distant land turn euphoric. A calm silence filled the room and he was in no rush to change that. He thought it was interesting that Celestia apparently transformed into an Alicorn in a similar way as Princess Twilight. He, along with everycreature else, assumed she was born as an Alicorn just like Princess Flurry Heart; even though he never read anything that confirmed it.

For the next few minutes, the silence persisted. Cinnamon was content to eat the rest of his pie and watch.

Celestia blinked a few times and shook her head before looking to Cinnamon, “sorry, I lost myself in my thoughts there.”

He waived a dismissive hand, “Don’t be, I thought you looked cute.

She smirked at him, her eyelids lowering ever so slightly.

Cinnamon, realizing his slip of the tongue, stuttered to correct himself, “I didn’t mean to say- I mean, I wasn’t, uh, I didn’t mind is all.”

She giggled while he stumbled over his words, “Cinnamon, you are thinking like a guard again. Do not be afraid to speak your mind. I was flattered to hear that from you in such a sincere tone."

He stayed silent, still embarrassed by the situation.

She sighed at his silence, “Well, I have made my decision. Now it is time for you to make yours.”

His eyes widened, had it been that long already? He looked to the moon through the skylight and answered his own question. The moon was at the apex of its path across the night sky, indicating that it was near or past midnight. The time flew by so fast and they didn’t get to everything he had planned. They’d done the picnic part but didn’t get to walk around the gardens. Although, he couldn’t complain; he received much more than he could’ve imagined.

“What is your decision?” He asked.

“I hope you do not take this the wrong way, but having the deciding choice should answer that for you.”

He chewed his lip, “even though I still act like a guard?”

She waived a dismissive hoof, “With time, that habit will disappear once you become comfortable around me. Tonight you have shown to step out of your comfort zone, even if by accident.”

Cinnamon twiddled his thumbs while thinking. He didn’t learn nearly as much about Celestia than he had hoped. Only that she was apparently a bit of a thrill seeker.

“Is this a… permanent choice?”

She cocked her head to the side, “care to elaborate?”

“Well… if I agreed, would this work like a relationship with a… lower class creature? Or would my yes mean I would be your consort permanently?”

“It would be similar to a lower class creature as you put it. I would not expect anycreature to make such a permanent decision with the time given to them. If, for whatever reason you or I decide the courtship is not working, we would make an announcement of our mutual agreement to terminate the courtship. However, be aware; if you decide to decline now, you may come to my Saturday court to request courtship again after the 6 month moratorium is finished. If you accept now and we later decide to end the courtship, you would no longer be allowed to appear in my court as a suitor.”

So there was a catch? No, that didn’t sound right. The more Cinnamon thought about it, the less it sounded like a drawback. Although, it sounded more like it was for creatures that regretted their decision to end it or for mares and some stallions that couldn’t get the hint.

He still wasn’t certain about his answer because of how little he actually knew about Celestia but he felt willing to try. He thought he was a good stallion, so to speak. Would he be by princess standards? Well… he was quite a bit less confident about that. He could learn more about her as a consort with time… although…

“What about my job? I’m a part of your guard; would I have any restrictions with that?”

She shook her head, “You would no longer be a guard of the castle. Being a Consort is much like a job where you cannot be distracted.”

“I meant, if I accept and we decide it’s not going to work; would I still be able to be a castle guard?”

“Oh, yes; so long as you can perform your duties, no restrictions will be placed on you except for the position of personal guard due to possible conflict of interest.”

He was okay with that. The position brought some respect and an extra day off but that was all. It was the most stressful guard position in the castle and didn’t come with a raise in bits.

“Then I accept.”

With a squee, Cinnamon suddenly found himself tackled to the ground with Celestia’s weight on his chest and stomach and a pair of lips pressed against his in a kiss. Before his brain could catch up with what was happening, the warmth on his lips left him while an unusually comfortable weight remained on top of him.

It wasn’t unusual to hear about mares initiating a first kiss so soon with some doing so on a first date. This, however, felt… intimate? Or perhaps his lack of experience with this kind of stuff was beginning to show. It was the first time he was in such a position while clean and he had to admit that it felt quite nice and relaxing.

Her soft fur was touching his chest. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest in tempo to her breathing. If he concentrated; he could also feel the faint beating of her heart against his chest.

He raised his right hand up and hesitated for a moment before letting his palm come to rest against her barrel right below her wings. He felt like he wanted to stroke her side but a voice in the back of his head was telling him it wasn’t a good idea. Instead, he settled for brushing his thumb against her fur.

Celestia hummed as she brought her head down to rest above his head, “See? You are already acting beyond the role of a guard.” She peered out the window to the moon, “perhaps we should retire for the night.”

He sighed but nodded. It was a nice moment; one he wanted to last a little longer but the princess had duties to be rested for.

She stood up and backed away to allow him to stand up as well.

Once he was, he prepared himself for teleportation. Exhaling and calming himself, he looked at Celesta.

“Alright, I’m ready.”

She nodded, her horn lighting up and flashed.

The empty pie tin on the ground disappeared from sight.

“Then let us leave.” With that, she turned and began to walk toward the hall connecting to the first room.

Cinnamon looked at her retreating form with confusion, “Um… Celestia?”

She stopped and looked over her shoulder, “Hm?”

“Aren’t you going to teleport me?”

“Mmm, no. I think walking would be nicer.”

After a brief hesitation, he followed after her.

They walked through the central garden to the front doors. Cinnamon stopped short so he wouldn’t be seen by the guards through the open door. However, instead of opening the door to dismiss the guards, she looked to him, “Coming?”

“Yes, just waiting for you to dismiss the guard.”

“Well, there’s no longer a need for that.”

“Wait, what? Why?”

Her eyes slightly widened as something seemed to click in her head, “Oh, sorry. It has been near a millennia since a creature has come this far in the process. My excitement may have gotten the better of me.”

She turned around to face him and cleared her throat, “Well, to answer, since we have both accepted each other, we can throw a little more caution to the wind. We may be seen in each other’s company around castle grounds but no public affection. No kisses, no hugs or settling any appendages on each other while in public. The guards and castle staff will likely gossip and speculate about what is going on between us but you are not allowed to confirm any of it until after the announcement this Saturday. Actually, now that I am saying it, caution to the wind makes it sound more than it is. Oh, and your sleeping situation will be moved to my chambers.”

He raised an eyebrow, “We’re already going to be sleeping in the same bed?”

She smirked, “Is this your first time sharing a bed with a mare?”

“eh, well, no but those mares had a different idea in mind. They didn’t do dates or talking to each other. It was more like meeting a mare, walking to their place, buck and stay the night where I’m not expected to be there in the morning and asked to leave if I am.”

Her smirk changed into a frown, “oh, I am sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks, but it’s alright. It feels like a lifetime ago that I did that. Since becoming a guard, I’ve stopped going to mares houses.”

She exhaled through her nose, “Well I am glad to hear that. Now,” She gestured to the front doors with a wing, “shall we be on our way?”

He nodded and walked up next to her. Once he was by her side, she turned to face the doors.

“Remember, do not confirm gossip. The castle staff will not ask while I am present but I cannot always be around.”

He nodded again, “Got it, deny until the weekend.”

She smiled, “Excellent.”

She opened the doors with her magic so they can walk through. Once on the other side, the guard’s reactions were immediate. They both looked between Cinnamon and Celestia with shocked eyes.

“P-princess, we didn’t know he was already in the garden.”

The other guard quickly joined in, “Should we escort him to the dungeon for the night?”

Celestia waived a dismissive hoof, “That will not be necessary. I asked for the garden to be restricted; I did not think it necessary to clear it.”

She closed the doors behind them with her magic, “Besides, this was a favorable oversight; I have been meaning to speak with him about his service to the crown. As of this moment, the garden is no longer restricted access.”

The both saluted, “Yes Princess!”

She slightly nodded once and began to walk down the hallway to her room with Cinnamon following close by her side. They didn’t speak the whole way. Celestia enjoyed the silence and company while Cinnamon was putting all his focus into not looking suspicious whenever they walked by a group of hall guards or door guards.

Eventually they made it to Celestia’s large, golden chamber doors with a guard posted on both sides. They stiffened to the attention position as they approached. Celestia opened one of the doors and motioned for Cinnamon to enter before her, which he did after a little hesitation. He only walked a few steps inside, allowing him to hear Celestia talking to the guards behind him.

“We are not to be disturbed; we are working on an important project that may take a few nights to complete. He is allowed full access to for the duration and should not be impeded unless he is trying to take something from my quarters.”

He heard both guards simultaneously voice their understanding before Celestia walked through the door and closed it behind her.

“Unless I’m trying to take something?” Cinnamon asked.

She smiled, “It would be suspicious if you had free reign to my bedroom without restriction, just resist the urge to take things from my room.”

“Wouldn’t it be suspicious enough that I’m going to be in here all night?”

“Once the gossip begins, they will make the connection no matter how perfect of an excuse I make.”

She walked into the connected bathroom to begin brushing her teeth.

He walked to stand in the doorway of the bathroom, “Do you know when the gossip might start?”

She didn’t answer him right away; spitting a muzzleful of teeth cleaner into the sink first; patting the small storm cloud above the bowl to begin the flow of water to clean the bowl and her brush.

“I am certain it will begin around evening tomorrow. The guards stationed at the private gardens will likely find it odd that I did not simply request your presence for a conversation instead of happening upon it by chance.”

She looked at her toothbrush and gestured it to him in a silent question of if he wanted to use it. He walked further into the bathroom and accepted the toothbrush from her magic, put some tooth cleaner on it, and brushed his own teeth. He grimaced for the first dozen strokes since Celestia’s brand of teeth cleaner had a stronger minty taste to it than he was used to. Once finished, he spat what was left into the sink and splashed water on whatever clung to the sides of the bowl so it would wash into the rune at the bottom of the bowl and disappear.

He set Celestia’s brush in an empty cup on the counter and left the storm cloud to continue pouring until it emptied itself; ceasing its flow and beginning to refill. When he returned to the bedroom; Celestia had already removed all her royal garments and was lying on her bed looking at Cinnamon while patting the empty spot next to her with a smile.

He took a moment to calm his nerves; it was just sleeping with a mare, he’d done this plenty of times with his mother when he was young. It was pretty similar since his mother was about his size back then.

He walked over to the bed and sat down. The bed was easily large enough for 5 creatures of his size to sleep on comfortably and the softness of it was like nothing he’s ever felt before. He almost instinctively reached to remove his loincloth but thought against it before he made any movement.

“What in Equestria is this thing made of?” Cinnamon asked as he flopped onto his back on the bed, “It the comfiest thing I’ve ever felt.”

She chuckled, “Believe it or not, it is made with clouds from the Everfree Forest; at least, the ones that did not turn into raging storms. They are the softest clouds around but the hardest ones to obtain. It took me 26 years just to find one and another 20 to find a second for my sister. Only 3 exist to my knowledge and Fancy Pants holds the third.”

He relaxed into the bed and felt any tension he had fade away, “How in Equestria do you bring yourself to leave this thing?”

She smiled, “It is easy with plenty of rest,” She placed a hoof on his chest and started to rub him with her soft frog, “which is easier to obtain when you tire yourself out.”

He looked at her and noticed the unmistakable look of lust in her eyes. He brought a hand up to hold her hoof and stop her from rubbing him.

“Is something wrong?” She asked.

“It just feels like this is going… well, fast.”

“Cinnamon, you are my consort in everything but name; that includes mating.” She withdrew her hoof from his stomach, wrapped her forelegs around his chest and pulled him close to her in a spooning position.

“But if you do not feel comfortable yet, I will wait.”

She nuzzled into the back of his neck, “And I will not ask you to leave in the morning.”