A Princess's Gentlecolt

It had been roughly a month, since Tirek's defeat by Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Ponyville had return to something bordering on normal. After the events of Tirek's attack, some ponies had moved closer to family, or away from Princess Twilight, who had a danger magnet firmly affixed to her flank, it seemed. This had made finding a house significantly easier, for Mr. Blue.

"That's all the boxes moved in," the head moving pony said to him. "The guys with your tools and equipment, should be here early tomorrow." Mr. Blue nodded.

"Thank you, can I offer you a drink before you go?" The moving ponies politely declined, meaning they said no far too quickly and left. Mr. Blue checked his watch and looked at the sun, estimating the sunset and then looking at the Castle of Friendship, thoughtfully.

He dropped down almost noiselessly, into the second darkest shadow of the map room, only a fool would use the darkest, Princess Twilight reading a scroll. Mr. Blue stepped out of the shadow and bowed.

"Your highness." She managed to hide her surprise well, but had the same momentary change in expression as Princess Luna did, the first few times a Gentlecolt had appeared to her.

"You would be the pony, Princess Celestia mentioned in her letter yesterday." Princess Twilight's tone was flat, and slightly annoyed, as she looked straight ahead.

"Yes your highness, I am to be the first of your Gentlecolt's."

"And what precisely does that mean?" she asked, still not looking round at him.

"I will gather information on ponies, and will act as your covert bodyguard, when necessary."

"You mean spy... I'm the Princess of Friendship, friends don't spy on each other," she replied, her annoyance far more noticeable.

"I seem to remember reading something, about you having a Pith helmet to spy." He smiled, mischievously.

"You know what I mean." She turned her head towards him, Mr. Blue nodded his head. "I am perfectly capable of protecting myself, and if I can't do it on my own, my friends will always be with me." Mr. Blue could sense, where this was going. "I'm afraid you'll just have to go back to Canterlot, and tell Princess Celestia, I do not need you."

"I'm afraid, as it was Princess Celestia herself who gave me the order, you cannot supersede it," he lied, Princess Twilight could order him away, but she had to have Gentlecolt's. "I will return tomorrow at the same time." He bowed and left, the way he had arrived.

After his equipment had arrived the next morning, Mr. Blue went to the market, partly to learn the town, and partly to get breakfast. He had arrived too late the previous day, and the sandwich he had made for the previous days lunch, was long gone now.

"Hi!" Pinkie Pie screamed, appearing out of what would be assumed was nowhere, but was in fact Sugar Cube Corner's front door.

"Good morning," he smiled.

Pinkie's next sentences were spoken at a speed, most ponies couldn't even comprehend, Mr. Blue only got the basic ideas. It's nice to meet you, wow is your cutie mark about wood carving, I should throw you a party, oh I can't, nice to meet you again.

"Oh, I'm Pinkie Pie by the way." Mr. Blue introduced himself by his real name, and Pinkie bounced off.

That evening, he had to wait for Fluttershy and Applejack to leave, before dropping down again. Princess Twilight, organising the scrolls and books, she had been using that day.

"Mr. Blue," she said in greeting.

"Your highness." He bowed.

"I have a few questions, about what I may and may not, ask you to do, etc." He nodded, trotting up to stand next to Princess Twilight.

"I will do my best to answer."

"Are you going to be spying, on the ponies of ponyville?" This question, seemed to be one Princess Twilight had been concerned about, greatly.

"No more than rumor and gossip, unless you order me otherwise." He thought for a moment. "Something that may help you, is to treat my information gathering, like one of the books in your library." Princess Twilight raised an eyebrow. "If you were meeting a foreign dignitary, you would read up on their race, culture, homeland, etc, that's what I can get you, about anything."

"That seems less intrusive." She nodded. "Speaking of books, I couldn't find information on the Gentlecolt's anywhere." Mr. Blue nodded.

"We do our best to keep it that way." He cleared his throat. "We were established roughly four hundred years ago. When a group of valets came to Princess Celestia, to inform her that their masters planned to undermine her authority. Something about not liking a mare ruling, despite her having ruled for six hundred plus years at that point." Princess Twilight's eye roll was enough to know, she had encountered something similar. "This gave Princess Celestia the idea, to form a group who would have civilian jobs and watch for danger. Over the years our roll has changed, we have a group who are permanently at the palace, and our civilian jobs are more of a useful cover." Princess Twilight thought for a moment, then became very serious.

"Have you ever killed any creature?"

"No your highness, all Gentlecolt's are trained in elimination, but the last time a Gentlecolt eliminated any creature, was over a century ago." She wasn't as relieved as he had hoped by this.

"That's good to know, I assume you prefer capture for questioning?" Mr. Blue nodded. "I don't expect to need you very often, I do however want to test your abilities." She attempted to sound more regal.

"Of course." He bowed his head.

"There is a society pony who revels in coursing me trouble at official events, I would like you to find me some information about her. Nothing malicious, but something I can keep in mind when she starts." After Princess Twilight had given him a description, he knew who she was referring to.

The next day he took the train to Canterlot and started his observation. The society pony was a mare who had married into her money, as such was entitled, arrogant, self-centered and generally unpleasant to anyone she saw as beneath her.

On the first day, she went to collect her new dress from an expensive boutique, met two other society ponies, who invited her to lunch, where she had a small salad, went shoe shopping and spent the evening at home. The second day, she didn't leave the mansion until lunch, meeting a friend and ordering two double cheese hayburgers, and a large dessert. That evening her and her husband, went to another society couples mansion for a meal, where she barely ate. On the third day, she didn't leave her mansion, but did have lunch with her husband and another pony, where she only had a light salad.

Princess Twilight wasn't surprised by the report, the information that she gorged herself, when she didn't think other society ponies were around, would be just the thing to keep Twilight calm, the next time they met.

The opportunity to use the information came soon after, with Princess Twilight being invited to attend a function at the Palace.

When she arrived in Canterlot, Mr. Blue was waiting with a carriage for her at the train station, the two ponies pulling it, hired for the evening. After Mr. Blue had helped her into the carriage, he drove up to the Palace, the two ponies pulling coming to a gliding halt.

Once the carriage was parked with the others near the Palace, Mr. Blue used the secret passages to reach the ballroom. When he arrived, another Gentlecolt was waiting with his change of clothes, a smart suit rather than the Waiter uniform he'd expected. He slipped seamlessly into the guests, Princess Twilight noticing him, and doing her best not to. It was like when you see something about to fall, you can't help but keep looking at it, even if you try not to. He was gratified, when he saw the Princess talking to the society mare, and barely reacting to her. The other guests with Princess Twilight, giving the mare funny looks, as she tried to get a rise from her.

It was roughly half an hour later, that Princess Twilight suddenly started heading to the door, clearly distressed. Mr. Blue went back through the secret passages, and drove the carriage round to collect her, almost flawlessly in his timing.

"Where to, your highness?" Mr. Blue asked, the carriage ponies already moving.

"The Waldhoof hotel," she said, shakily.

Once they arrived at the hotel, Princess Twilight leapt out of the carriage, thanking them as she ran inside. The carriage ponies took the carriage back, as Mr. Blue found somewhere out of the way, and teleported to the roof of the building opposite, watching as the Princess hugged two of her friends.

The next evening, he dropped down into the shadows of the map room, Princess Twilight greeting him in the now established way, using his code name.

"Thank you again for last night, I had said some things to Rainbow dash and Applejack, that I realised were hurtful, when I didn't mean for them to be." She sounded a little ashamed.

"Not a problem, your highness." Mr. Blue bowed and smiled.