"Are you certain that he agree'd to stop the killing?" Celestia asked Luna, eyeing her sister with question. The both of them were inside Luna's room, both sitting on chairs and discussing what Luna had been doing during the night, talking with this so called Nameless King.

"I'm not for certain, but he agree'd to stop. He was so strange, Tia.. I can't explain what it was like talking to him- it was.. interesting."

"Well, he comes from a different land Luna, he'll speak differen-"

"No!" Luna interrupted. "It wasn't because he was from a different land. I've spoken to Solaire on occasion, yet this creature seemed very.. wise. He mentioned how tired he was, how his old world was becoming stale. We spent the entire night talking to eachother, and teaching eachother about our respective worlds. He was not knowing of the intelligent nature of the dragons in our world, as most dragons from his world work based on instinct. Very few are actually intelligent."

Celestia eye'd her sister still, trying to debate whether or not this King was telling the truth. "It would make sense.. Yet, that doesn't excuse the killing of those dragons. Ember must have talked with him already, yes?"

"No," Luna shook her head. "He mentioned that a dragon matching her appearance had tried to oppose him, but he simply swatted her, 'like a fly' he said."

"What got him to agree to stop?"

Luna shrugged. "I don't know. I think he only wanted knowledge of the new world he was in, as he kept asking questions. Some which seemed common sense, others seemingly deep in essence. He mentioned that he had heard Solaire's name before."

Celestia's ears perked to that statement. "Really?" Luna nodded. "Hmm.." Celestia sat in thought for a few moments. "Perhaps we should arrange a meeting between him and Solaire? Perhaps we could bring the both of them to the castle. If they do indeed know eachother, it would make things much easier. I'll send a letter to inform Solaire of this King."

Luna nodded, rubbing her head with a hoof. She was starting to get a headache. "However, we will need to arrange the meeting in a more.. spacious room."

"Why?" Celestia asked.

"This.. 'King,' is.. exceptionally large. I do not think he will bring his dragon inside, but he himself is large enough. Perhaps the royal dining hall?"

Celestia nodded. "It seems like a fitting room to hold such a meeting. When shall we arrange it?"

Luna shrugged again. "I don't know sister. Sooner rather than later, though i'll need to know ahead of time so I can inform him."

Celestia, standing from her seat, nodded towards her sister. "Of course, now get some sleep sister. You've been up all night, and i'm glad you've been able to get information from this new strange creature. The increase of information will help our current predicament."

Luna, stifling a yawn with her hoof, waved goodbye to her sister. "Goodnight, Celestia. May you have a bright sunny day ahead of you."

"And may you sleep deep." Celestia said with a smile, heading for the door to leave.

Solaire immediately melted as he slid into the steaming hot-tub along with Twilight and Rarity, who'm both were already enjoying the hot water. It was not ordinary for males and females to be in the hot tub together, as they would usually be nude. However, with Twilight's status as Princess, nobody objected.

Solaire was a bit hesitant to undress, but after sliding completely into the hot tub, the thoughts of protest went away. He could feel the warmth spread across his entire body, a slight stinging and tingling feeling spreading all over his skin. The pain of the countless scars that dotted around his body was numbed, their existence almost being forgotten.

With a soft moan of contentment, Solaire pushed himself against the corner of the tub, spreading his arms across the outside and stretching his legs out. Twilight and Rarity both watched him, smiles on their faces as they were amused from his reactions.

"What?" Solaire said with a slight smile. "It's amazing, and to say differently is to lie."

Rarity shook her head, a smile still on her face. "Nopony's denying that dear."

"Soo.." Twilight said, trying to start a conversation. "Whats up, Rarity?"

Rarity turned her gaze to Twilight now, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "I've got so much to tell you!"

Solaire, who wasn't interested in the conversation in the first place, was in his own thoughts already. The gossip in front of him turning into merely background noise for him to think.

His thoughts immediately drifted to thinking of plans. First things first, he needed to talk to that pyromancer. Setting up a meeting with whoever it was would get the ball rolling on getting a bonfire made, and that is if it would even work. The concepts of his own world didn't apply fully into this one, so it might just be some sword stabbed into the ground, surrounded by rocks and other such things. Either way, he needed to find out.

Trying to think of happier things, his mind drifted to Celestia.

How was she handling things? Solaire hoped she was alright. He noted that during his recent visit to talk with her, she seemed tired. It would make sense, since she must've been dealing with the situation of the new inhabitants of the world. Still, he hoped he could return to her sometime soon and help her with her stress.

However, living with Twilight wasn't exactly all bad. Sure, he had problems with Starlight in the beginning, but that was figured out and resolved. Sure, he wasn't exactly doing what he thought he'd be doing, that being hanging out with Twilight and her friends, but atleast he was hanging out with Twilight and a few others.

Speaking of Twilight, she made to be an exceptional snuggle-buddy. Solaire had enjoyed the external warmth that surrounded him during the night. Being accompanied by Twilight was calming, and allowed him to feel better rested in the morning. Her soft, silky fur and fluff on her chest was more comfortable than the pillow he laid his head on at night.

She definitely seemed to enjoy his company as well. Her mind had seemed to completely drift from the incident at the border, which was a good thing. She was thinking of other things, although those other things might not be good, she wasn't sulking in her bedroom all day no longer.

Solaire hummed to himself quietly as he was still stuck in thought. Twilight was extremely cute, along with Celestia. And Luna.

Hell, all the Princess' were cute now that he thought about it.

He imagined that his presence might mean more to them than he had originally thought. Celestia had told him how she hated having to act 'royal' all the time, and appease to the public's opinion and thought. Perhaps the same could be said about Luna and Twilight. That would explain why Twilight seemed to relax whenever she was alone with you in a room, her mood switching drastically. Even being in a room with one of her friends, she acted slightly differently.

Perhaps not noticeable to her friends, it was noticeable to him. He didn't like the thought of the Princess' being stressed out because of another's opinion, and how they think someone in their shoes should act. They weren't in the Princess' shoes, why should they be allowed to judge?

Either way, he hoped to clear them of their worries. If it'll take time, he'll take his time. It was only right. They had helped him ease into this new world rather well, and quickly for that matter. He was surprised at how fast they had decided to trust him, even with his help with Twilight and Celestia.

He wasn't complaining however. Being in that castle was great and all, but a change of scenery wasn't always bad.

And this hot tub was definitely needed.

Before he could think further about anything, he was poked gently by a purple hoof. His gaze turned to meet Twilight's face. who was right in front of him, extremely close. "You okay?"

Solaire nodded gently. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"You've been silent the entire time, dear." Rarity said, still sitting in her spot.

Twilight looked at Solaire with a strange look, as if she was questioning something in her head and deciding how he would take it. She suddenly turned around, and hopped right onto Solaire's lap. With a smile, she turned to Rarity. "So, Vinyl and Octavia really got caught in the stalls?"

The two of them resumed their conversation as if nothing had happened, leaving Solaire with a puzzled look. Did Twilight not understand that he was naked? And that she was sitting on his lap?

He didn't question it, and instead listened in to their gossip, keeping silent still.

Shining groaned, sitting at the desk of his old office, reading paperwork and military reports of the incidents around the world. Things about the border war, the new creatures arriving in Equestria, and anything else that required his eyes to look at.

To be honest, he hated working for the military. It was boring, or dangerous. There was usually no inbetween.

He looked over at a picture he had taken with him from the Crystal Empire, staring at it with a slight smile. It was a picture of him, Cadence, and Flurry Heart.

As much as he missed them, he knew he had to take care of things here first. Running his Empire was always number one, but it required no guidance from him in the recent months. Cadence usually took care of everything, as he was again required to take care of military issues.

With the alliance of his empire and Celestia/Luna's, this was a required duty. Nobody in the military here knew how to deal with these problems properly, which made him question if Celestia or Luna were really on top of checking who was running their military. Despite that, he knew he needed to focus on the problems at hoof.

Firstly, the border war.

Information says that the 'rebels' are fighting against the rule of Equestria, stating that Celestia and Luna have neglected several issues in outer towns, and only focusing on the richer, bigger, and closer towns. It wasn't true, as each town was given funding based on population.

The border towns were always given lower funding because they usually had very little population, and these ponies had saw it as inequality. Whether they had reasoning for it or not, they were to be considered an enemy because of their violent tendencies towards the border population.

They had resorted to radical thinking, forcing ponies to join their 'cause' or to be killed. It was a bad situation, since now soldiers couldn't tell if their enemies were civilians trying to stay alive, or radical rebels who were forcing their views onto these ponies.

Usually, the military would be able to go in and wipe the slate clean easily. However, the rebels weren't as stupid as their ideology. A lot of said rebels were ex-military, being trained in aerial combat if they were a pegasus, or specialty magic if they were a unicorn. Earth ponies resorted to spears and crossbows. This meant that they weren't going to be able to be rid of easily, as they knew the inner-workings of the military already.

They were able to guess where the military was going to search, when they were going to attack, and where they were stationed. This caused massive ambushes, and it seemed that the only way to really combat these rebels was to not combat them at all. So far, holding the border from the kingdom's side worked. That exact reasoning was why Shining didn't understand why Celestia had wanted to go out of the border and fight them head on, as it only caused massive ambushes, and mass casualties were had.

Some of those casualties were Shining's friends.

Shining would simply be playing along with Flurry Heart until he got the news that a comrade that he knew very well had died in an ambush. It wasn't one, or two, or three. It was several of his friends, ones that he grew very close with during his time as Captain.

And they were being marched to their death's by Celestia and her sister.

It pissed him off, knowing that their incompetence to run a military was getting their soldiers killed. When he tried reasoning with Celestia, or even Luna for that matter, they always turned a blind eye to him. They told him to go back to the Crystal Empire, that he was no longer Captain here and had zero influence on the goings-on in the kingdom.

Yet they had free reign to change policies in the crystal empire at will.

How dare they, force his friends march to their deaths and tell him that he couldn't do anything about it. How dare they!

He might have forced his hoof a little too close to the fire and got burned, but he was now in charge of the operations in the kingdom for the time being. With that, he was going to make sure that things went right, to stop the bloodshed that was taking place on the border.

His mind drifted to thinking of a way to rid of these rebels efficiently, and with the least amount of casualties. He had suggested earlier that they should take a couple rebels hostage, but the rebels had committed suicide before they were captured, or simply refused to talk, even under torture.

They truly were radical.

Shining shook his head, setting the border-reports to the side of the desk, and instead focused on the newest reports. The new inhabitants of Equestria.

Solaire was the first, or atleast the first recorded incident of these new arrivals. He wasn't hostile, but the way he acted towards Shining caused him to not like Solaire all that much. Despite that, Shining couldn't simply ignore the good that Solaire had done. He was there to help Twilight when she needed it.

Something he wasn't able to face due to shame.

What shame? He couldn't exactly place a hoof on it. He couldn't face her without feeling something erupt from his heart, causing him to hate himself further.

If he had tried harder to interfere earlier with the kingdom's border war, she wouldn't have to live through something so traumatic.

Swaying away from that, he focused on the report that Luna had given to him. The new 'King' in the Dragon Lands. The description was odd and made little to no sense, Shining noting in his head that he would have to speak to Luna one on one to understand what any of it meant.

The creature found in the School of Friendship was detailed in another report, the creature in question being called a 'hollow,' according to Solaire. Solaire had disposed of it quickly and efficiently, protecting Starlight in the process. Shining was glad nopony was hurt from the incident, though if Solaire had fallen on his ass, he wouldn't have minded.

No other reports were had, other than a few strange sightings in the Everfree forest, which was nothing to worry about.

Shining decided to take a small break from the reports, leaning back in the office chair and giving a loud sigh. He had bags under his eyes, his mane and tail were disheveled, and his voice was low and rough. It was apparent that he had become more bitter ever since the information about his friend passing, but he looked his worst at the moment.

Trying to change subjects onto something happier, he pulled out a scroll. Perhaps he should write something home to Cadence and Flurry. He missed them, they must miss him back. He could only imagine Flurry asking 'where papa?' over and over again, not understanding where he had gone.

The thought made his heart ache. He guided the quill against the parchment, his eyes filled with tears. With a sniffle, he held them back, shaking his head.

He had to be here. He needed to be here.

He had no other choice, unless he wanted to see more of his old comrades fall to the Princess' inability to rule.

Solaire was currently holding the Princess of Friendship comfortably on his lap, whilst she and Rarity both gossiped about things in town. Rarity didn't even seem to notice that the Lavender unicorn was sitting on his lap, and happily continued on talking with her. He didn't really know a whole lot of the town, or the people in it, so some of the gossiping confused him. It was interesting though.

It was usually the same set of things happening with different people. Some people got together, some people broke up, some people got caught doing things they shouldn't have been doing, someone likes someone else. He wondered how Rarity knew so much about so many different people and what they were doing. Perhaps she just really liked to read the newspapers?

Either way, Twilight seemed to be entertained, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't also slightly entertained.

Throughout the talks of gossip Twilight had leaned further back into Solaire's chest, using him as if he was a pillow to lean on. He didn't mind all that much as she had comfortable fur, but it wasn't exactly.. normal.

Perhaps she wanted a reaction from him? Well- he wasn't going to give her one she wanted. He was going to simply keep quiet about the whole ordeal.

"We've been here for thirty minutes already?" Rarity said, staring at the clock on the wall. Solaire didn't even notice that time had practically seemed to fly by, as he was stuck in his thoughts for the most of it. Being surrounded in hot, steaming water with a calming aroma dispensed into the room put his straining thoughts at ease. He was able to put mental notes and plans together.

"It doesn't seem like it, does it?" Twilight asked, leaning fully back onto her human pillow. "Are we not able to stay longer?"

"Of course we can stay longer, dear. I was just surprised at how long we've spent talking already when it seems only a couple of minute passed by. Time flies when you're having fun, hm?"

Twilight simply nodded her head before glancing her eyes upwards to Solaire, searching for some sort of reaction. His expression was mostly blank, a small smile on his face. He didn't seem to be paying attention to the both of them, but he seemed happy in thought.

What could he be thinking..?

Celestia sighed to herself, overlooking the same balcony that she and Solaire had talked on many days ago. It was her small break, and she loved watching the town below when she had the chance. She couldn't make out all the details, but seeing the little splotches of color running around down below was entertaining. She would often make up little scenario's and stories in her head. She would come up with the names, jobs, and gossip of the made-up characters. She wondered if she should write it down, perhaps make a small series out of it?

No, she knew that the little stories she made up were nothing like reality. She was a Princess, what did she know about common-pony living? She didn't. Though, she thoroughly enjoyed reading about stories that detailed the experience, whether they were non-fiction or purely fictional. It brought in a new set of eyes for her to stare through, and even if the experiences were supposed to be sad or heartbreaking, she longed for the feeling of it.

To feel normal.

She would be able to spend time with her sister and friends, without having to worry about running an entire kingdom. She and her sister could talk more, without interrupting either's sleep schedule. She could gossip and laugh about the small things in life, and hear about rumors in the town over.

Oh, it would be amazing to live like that.

Sadly, she has to deal with her position of power. That meant not being able to see her sister often, even during meetings. Luna had made it obvious to Celestia that she hated being forced to attend meetings during the daytime, as that is when most meetings happen. Luna tried proposing to half the meetings from daytime, and move them to the nighttime. Of course, the nobles weren't going to have that. They needed their 'precious sleep.'

Luna instead proposed to have Celestia wake her if there was ever an emergency that needed both their eyes to look at. There wasn't anything that was such an emergency, as most things could be forwarded to her via scroll for her to look over when she awakes.

Celestia would also never be able to hear about the rumors. Most rumors in Canterlot were usually about her. Some of them harmless, some of them scandalous, and some of them quite dumb. At-least the stalker problem was taken care of. She still didn't quite get the reason for such a big group of Stallions to follow her every move and gawk over her. She wasn't special.

Though she could understand why most saw her in a different light than she saw herself. Of course they were going to see the pony who ran their kingdom differently, but usually this meant fake reactions and meanings. Many ponies weren't willing to be themselves around her. She could understand it, but she didn't like it.

Even her prized student acted differently towards her.

The only people that didn't act differently towards her were Luna, and Solaire. Luna was her sister, so that was a given. Yet Solaire came from another world. He wasn't familiar with Equestria, he wasn't familiar with her or her sister, or anything to do with the kingdom, and because of that he acted like she was a normal pony.

But if he knew, would he still act like she was normal?

She wouldn't know. At-least, not at the moment. She was finding herself thinking more and more about Solaire as they days dragged on, so she would constantly try to think about what he might think of certain things.

It would be much easier if he was here to she could ask him, but he was having fun down there with Twilight. He must be enjoying himself. Well, that's what Celestia hoped for. Was the current news of these new creatures appearing into Equestria stressing him out, or is he truly having fun with Twilight and her friends?

She hoped for the latter.

It had been two hours in the tub now, and Solaire was beginning to feel the energy inside of him be drained from the water. Each minute that passed, he felt as if his soul was being sucked dry, becoming sleepier and less-motivated to move around. It seemed that the same could be said for both Rarity and Twilight.

Rarity was slumped against the side of the tub, her head barely sticking out of the water, her mane sitting outside the water. Twilight was currently slumped into Solaire, still using him as a comfortable pillow to lean on. Solaire was also slumped against the side of the tub himself, his eyes half-lidded.

"P-perhaps we've overstayed, hm..?" Rarity said tiredly, her eyes also half-lidded. "I feel so.. tired-" Bringing a hoof up to her mouth, she stifled a yawn. Twilight, as if the yawn was infectious, also stifled her own yawn with a hoof and nodded.

"Yeah.. I think I could do with a nap. I think i'll be going to bed earlier- what did they put in the water to make it so.. sleep-inducing?"

Rarity waved her hoof aimlessly in the air. "They put a relaxation spell into the water. It's supposed to be calming, but if you stay in it too long you become.." She yawned again. "..tired.."

Solaire nodded, lifting the lavender Princess off of himself and onto the floor. "It was definitely relaxing, but we are all too tired to stay in it any longer. We'll fall asleep here if we stay." Twilight whined slightly, being a little disappointed that she was no longer able to lean into her human pillow.

"You two best get home, i'm going to stay and get some other treatments before I leave." Rarity said, stifling yet another yawn. Twilight nodded, levitating a towel onto herself and another to Solaire. Solaire used his own to dry himself off quickly, and wrap it around his waist.

"Take care, Rare." Twilight told her with a smile, heading over to the changing room.

"Will do, darling."

With that, both Twilight and Solaire were now in the changing room. Solaire pulled the towel from his waist, and began to dry himself completely off, Twilight doing the same. With the both of them dried off to the best of their ability, Twilight sat as she watched Solaire get dressed.

"Not polite to stare." Solaire said jokingly. Twilight waved her hoof dismissively in the air.

"I've already seen it all, does it really matter anymore?"

Solaire shrugged. "I don't know, does it bother you?" Twilight tilted her head with a smirk, not responding. With the chest-piece finally equipped and his helmet being clipped on, Solaire was ready to go. "Let's get back to the castle, shall we?" Solaire began to make his way to the door.

"Not yet-" Twilight said whilst putting a hoof out to stop him. He simply looked down at her, a bit confused behind the helmet. "I know you weren't listening but- Rarity said she had some clothes for you. We're going to stop over at her shop before we go home."

"How will she give them to me if she won't be there?"

"Her sister will be there, she'll let us in." Twilight said, now turning to the door and walking out of the changing room, entering into the main lobby.

Waiting behind the counter was Lotus Blossom, one of the workers at the spa. "Ah- were you satisfied with your stay?" She asked Solaire and Twilight as they were almost out the door already. Solaire nodded towards her, giving a thumbs up. Lotus stared back, not really understanding the gesture, but acknowledged the nod. "I'm glad- come back soon!"

With that, they were both out of the spa.

"What does that even mean?" Twilight asked as they both walked, their destination being the Carousel Boutique.

"What does what mean?" Solaire asked, wanting her to clarify.

"The thing you do with your.. claw."

"Hand, you mean?"

Twilight groaned. "Yes, hand, whatever.. What does it mean?"

Solaire showed her a thumbs up. "It means something like.. Good. If someone did something good, you say 'good job' and give them a thumbs up. If someone asks you a question and you want to say yes, you give them a thumbs up, if someone is asking if you understand, you give them a thumbs up."

Twilight tilted her head. "Are there any other gestures you do in your world?"

Solaire laughed. "I'm sure you've seen me splay my arms up in a sort of.. Y shape?" Twilight nodded. "That is how I praise the sun. Think of it as a way of praying, I guess. There is also this-" Solaire stuck his middle finger out, showing her.

"What does that one mean?"

"I don't want to explain it, but just know it isn't nice. If someone shows this to you, take offense." Twilight looked at him confused, before simply going along with it, continuing to walk.

They had arrived at the front door to the boutique. Twilight picked up a hoof, and knocked on the door. Hurried footsteps could be heard from inside, and the door swung open. "Rarit- oh." Sweetie Belle stared at the two individuals at the front door, a little confused. Yet when she realized Solaire was there, she put on a big smile. "Hi!"

Solaire gave a light chuckle at seeing her reaction, waving politely. "Hi."

"Your sister told us that she had outfits ready for Solaire, Sweetie Belle? Do you know where they're at?"

"Of course! Come in!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, hurriedly running off to one of the rooms. Both Twilight and Solaire stepped inside, following the small filly to the room. As they entered, they saw large mannequins in the shape of Solaire, each of them donning clothing of different variety.

"Sis said each of them are for different stuff like.. Casual or formal, things like that. I helped with the designs-"

The casual set of clothing on the left was simple. A black t-shirt with a sun emblazoned on the front, and blue jeans. Solaire had never seen anything like it before, but it sure was interesting.

In the middle was the formal set of clothing. It was what you would see a noble pony wearing, a tuxedo with dress pants to match. There was a small sun on the pocket square of the tuxedo, yet the colors were slightly dulled to make it stand out less.

"What about that one?" Twilight said, pointing a hoof to the last mannequin on the right.

"Oh- she said it was a combination of both."

The last set of clothing was casual-formal. The top was a dark blue leisure-blazer, with a white shirt beneath it. For pants, it was black dress-pants with a golden sun belt-buckle, the same design that was on Solaire's chest, save for the face. Sweetie Belle pushed two pairs of shoes in front of Solaire, looked up to him. "These are some shoes she made."

She thought of everything, didn't she?

One pair were classic black dress shoes, to match the formal and casual-formal set of clothes, and the other pair were classic sneakers, also black. Solaire liked the designs, and they would be much more comfortable to walk in than his boots. However, he wished that there was more color variation than the dark colors that were chosen.

Still, he wasn't going to complain.

Twilight levitated all of the clothing into the air, folding them neatly and setting them into one of Rarity's clothing bags, setting the shoes inside as well. "Come on- let's get to the castle so you can try these on."

"You don't want to try them on here?" Sweetie Belle asked, a tinge of sadness in her voice. Solaire bent down and patted her head softly.

"Don't worry, i'll be back to show them off to you, hm?"

Sweetie Belle nodded, her slight frown turning into a smile. "Okay!"

"Come on, just show me!" Twilight said teasingly, sitting on her bed. She had her view covered by her wings. "Tell me when to open my wings, I've waited like.. five minutes already!"

With a groan, Solaire finally let her open her wings. "Fine, you can look."

In front of Twilight stood Solaire, wearing the dark blue leisure-blazer, white shirt underneath, and black dress-pants and golden belt buckle.

She stared in awe. He looked so much better in the new clothing, and handsome for that matter. "You.. you look.." She stood off the bed, walking up to him, her eyes scanning every little detail of the clothes. "Amazing!"

Solaire sighed. He didn't mind compliments, but fashion-related things he wasn't really into. He had met way too many undead that were way into fashion, trying their best to get reactions from others. When he did indulge in the small bit of fashion his world had to offer, he always got compliments.

He didn't like the way he looked to begin with, so he usually denied them.

Yet, with Twilight being the one complimenting, he didn't mind it all that much. Still, he wasn't fully able to take her compliments to heart, but he was more accepting of her opinion and compliments than those in his own world.

"I would've added some purple on it though.." Twilight said to herself, admiring the clothing still.

"I think you're biased on that."

"Pft, as if." Twilight said, giving him a smug look before jumping back onto the bed. "She really should've made you some pajama's or something so you don't have to sleep in your underwear."

"Are you uncomfortable with me sleeping in my underwear?" Solaire asked, stepping up to the bed. Twilight shook her head.

"No, just didn't know if you were comfortable."

"I don't mind." Solaire said with a shrug. "It does let my body breathe easier, and I get to feel that fluffy fur that you have. I mean, not like I really have a choice to feel it or not since you're always forcing your way against me."

Twilight smirked. "Guess I'll just stick to my side then~"

"Hey now, I didn't say to not do it."

"Exactly, so why are you complaining about it?"

Solaire huffed, shaking his head with a slight smile. "Okay okay, fine. You win. This time, atleast."

"This time? I don't think there was a time that I haven't won."

Solaire lightly pat her head. "Mhm, keep telling yourself that." He said with a chuckle, looking over to the door. "So, what else are we going to do today? We slept in, we went to the spa, got me some clothes, what else?"

"Hmm.. Well- I was going to take a nap, my body feels completely drained after spending two hours in that water. Those spells must've been really strong today, I've never been drained like that before, and I've stayed longer than two hours before."

"Hmm- i'll accompany you on that nap, but later I need to send a letter to Celestia."

"What for?" Twilight asked, slipping under the bedsheets.

"The pyromancer. I need to talk to her, and Celestia said she would send me what times she's available. I haven't gotten a letter back so, I assume she must've forgotten."

"Pfft- Celestia doesn't forget things.. Well.. Maybe.. Either way, I'll send a letter on your behalf later today."

"Thanks." Solaire hopped onto the bed, kicking off his shoes and splaying himself out comfortably. Twilight, seeing this as an opportunity for a comfy pillow to sit upon, stood up and slumped over his body. "Really?" Solaire asked, unamused.

"What? Did you seriously not expect this?"

"Honestly, I thought you were going to stay in your own space this time."

"Okaaay-" Twilight began to slide off back onto her side of the bed, before two hands forced her back onto Solaire. Twilight smirked at him. "Mhm.. Knew it."

"Just hush, and get to sleep, hm?" Solaire said with a chuckle, laying his hand over her soft fur.

Out far into the eastern border stood a town, a small population of only a hundred or so ponies, currently being occupied by military officials. The town, which used to look like a standard farm-town, has turned into a small headquarters for these soldiers, their purpose being to protect the citizens.

A unicorn mare, decked out in golden armor, with grey fur and neon green tail and mane was sitting with a few soldiers. She eye'd them all as she sipped her canteen. She had just been sent to the border as 'reinforcements,' yet she didn't understand why. There was no need to send her out, as there were no incoming reports of rebels in the area, and she was supposed to be on patrol at the castle.

Yet she went along with Shining's orders.

"Hey Emerald." A stallion greeted her as he walked in. His fur was white, with his mane and tail both being light blue and white. He was a simple earth pony, also decked out in gold gear.

Emerald nodded her head to him in acknowledgement. "Hey Wild. What's it like out there?"

"Nothing still. The rebels seemed to have completely seized all attacks for a couple days. It's getting eerie here."

Emerald smirked. "You just want to fight, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Wild exclaimed, sitting opposite of her underneath the tent. "I mean, what else would I have volunteered to come here for? Those damn rebels keep hurting our people, of course i'm going to hurt them back!" Emerald simply watched him, amused. He always was a true 'patriot.'

"Also, I meant to ask." Wild picked up his own canteen, sipping it leisurely. "Why did they send you out here? I understand why I was- but you didn't volunteer."

"I didn't. Just came because of Shining's orders."

"Pfft-" Wild laughed casually. "I don't know why he's even ordering us around. Shouldn't he be, like, I dunno, running his own damn empire?"

"I didn't question it Wild. Princess' must know what they're doing, and they put him in charge. We can't really tell them what to do, now can we?"

Wild shook his head, sipping still. "Suppose not. Still doesn't make sense though. Plenty of guards that volunteered, yet he chooses you? Doesn't make much sense. You being a pyromancer and all, you'll get really angry or somethin' and we're all cooked."

Emerald glared at him. There happened to be an incident in the past where Emerald had gotten a little too.. upset. Her emotions took over her magic and, the entire facility went ablaze. She hated it when anypony would bring it up.

"Sorry- sorry." Wild said, waving his hoof. "I just don't get it. Doesn't make sense to me."

"Yeah.. It doesn't make sense to me either, and I'm the one they sent out."

The room fell silent for a little while, both ponies simply watching eachother, listening to the sound of the town, and sipping their canteens. It was a boring day, with nothing to do. Sure, they both were as eager to slack off as much as the next pony, but with nothing to do all day, it was boring.

"Hey-" Wild said, interrupting the deafening silence. "Wanna' come patrol the perimeter with me? It might be boring, but it's sure better than sitting in here doing nothing."

Emerald finished sipping her canteen and clipped it back onto her hip with her magic. She tilted her head in thought, thinking about the offer. Sure, she could sit in here and stare at nothing, or she could accompany Wild and possibly see or do something than sit around.

She chose the latter. "Yeah- i'll come."

A loud bang came from Shining's office door, and in came was a very angry solar Princess.

"Shining!"

"Yes..?" Shining asked, simply staring at the reports still on his desk. The lack of attention he gave to Celestia peeved her.

"Did you seriously send Inferno Emerald to the eastern border for reinforcement!?"

Shining looked up at her, his face having no expression. "Yeah. They needed reinforcements, and so I-"

"You could've chosen anypony but her, there were dozens of volunteers! She was the one that Solaire needed to talk to."

"Oh, that was her?" Shining said with a smile, leaning back in his office chair. "Oops."

Celestia looked at him with an expression that could kill, if she allowed it to do so. She slowly walked to the front of the desk, each hoofstep having a sense of power to it. She peered over the desk and got right into his face.

With slow, angry words, she spoke.

"You did this on purpose. Didn't you?"

Shining stared back into her glaring eyes, a smirk still present on his face. "You already know the answer."

Celestia pulled her face back and turned to look at the wall, groaning loudly. "Why would you do something like this, Shining?!"

"Solaire wanted to talk to her- he's from a different world- he could use her against us! He could have some sort of plan in motion that involved her- the further away she is from him, the better-"

"You are not the one to decide something like that Shining!" Celestia yelled with a tone akin to Luna's royal canterlot voice. "I can't believe I let an IDIOT control my army!"

Shining simply smiled back at her, his expression smug. "Look, Princess. Let's see how this plays out, okay? If everything fails then yes- blame me. But if everything goes according to plan and works out, you can't hassle on me no longer."

Celestia knew that she could force him to send Emerald right back to canterlot. Celestia knew that she could simply force her hoof into his business, and force him to do whatever she wanted, or needed to be done. Yet, she nodded her head, with still glaring eyes.

"We'll see, Shining. We'll see."

With that, Celestia left the office, and slammed his door shut. Shining simply stared at the door, a smile still present on his face. He then turned his gaze down to his reports, sliding out Emerald's military file and examining it. He stared at the small photograph of her on it, and smiled at it.

Thing's were going to work out.

Solaire awoke to the lavender Princess poking him over and over. He swatted her hoof with his hand, looking up at her with half-lidded eyes. "W-What was that for?"

"You mumble in your sleep."

"Mmm.. Sleep-" It seemed like the effects of the hot tub were becoming more and more extreme over time. He didn't want to move, he didn't want to open his eyes fully. He simply wanted to curl back into the bed, grab the purple pony in front of him, and fall back asleep. Was that so much to ask for?

Twilight's appearance definitely showed that she was being affected by the magic as well, her eye's also half-lidded. She slumped back onto the bed, her head laying on one of the few pillows on the bed. "Mmmnnn- I had stuff to do today.."

"But sleep.." Solaire groaned, slowly but surely taking his clothing off. He was going to sleep no matter what. At the moment, he didn't care what time it was, he didn't care if he had things to do. They could all be done later. Even with him being the warrior of sunlight, he wanted nothing more at the moment than to simply drift back into the black nothingness that is his dreams.

Twilight, using all of her strength in her magic to help Solaire pull his clothes off, leaving him only in his underwear, turned to him. "I feel like.. I feel like a chariot is weighing me down right now.. I can't even.. I can't eve-" Solaire used all of his might that was left inside of himself to pull her into his chest, and pull the blanket over the both of them.

"Sleep.." He said silently, his mind already drifting into the void. Twilight, with a content hum, followed his order, her thoughts becoming nothing but melted goop as she fell asleep.

"Sleep well, and sleep deep, Solaire." Were her last thoughts before she succumbed to her fatigue.

Author's Note

Sorry for taking so long to update the story! It's been a bit over a week, but I hope it was worth the wait.

I have no doubt in my mind that there will be a lot of spelling mistakes- so make sure to point them out to me if you see any of them!

If you have any questions, critiques, or just want to show your general appreciation of the story, be sure to comment down below! I always read them, even if I don't reply!

And to anyone who needs it:

It might be scary to jump out of your comfort zone, but if you're ever feeling alone, depressed, or just bored, it might be the right thing to do. Who knows, you might find someone to become friends with, or find something you love to do.

You won't know unless you try it, right?