Shining Armor gave a small sigh as he trotted through the halls of Canterlot Castle. No longer as the illustrious Captain of the Royal guard. No, now that he had been wed to his wonderful wife, he found himself the Prince of an entire kingdom of his own, an Empire, even!

Dispatching the last traces of the...old leadership had been quite troublesome to be sure, but his wonderful sister and her friends, along with the help of his loving and supportive spouse had been more than enough to see him through those trying times. He was here today on official business as the ruler of the Crystal Empire. he was to see...

Blueblood. of all ponies, he was the one who had been chosen to assist him in this matter, unfortunately, he was the most qualified short of the Diarchs, who were sadly too busy with other business at the moment to assist him with the task at hand.

You see, as effective as Shining may have been as an officer, as a noble, his graces had always left something to be desired. he had always been a bit on the blunt side, as kind as he was. He was also sadly somewhat undereducated on matters of decorum and duty as a member of the extended royal family. And Blueblood, as infinitely insufferable as he was, could certainly put on the airs of a paragon of poise and proper behavior when it was required of him.

Sure, there was that one time at the Gala, when he had had a bit too much to drink before the event had started and acted quite boorish, but such things could happen to the best of us. The Princesses could certainly tell some stories of the less-than-prim and proper extracurriculars they got up to when they cut loose a bit, and Shining had seen some of them firsthand while serving under the two.

So yes, now that things had calmed down, he had decided it was perhaps time for him to start learning how to properly live up to the mantle he had accepted and conduct himself with the graces of what some of the snootier members of the court might call "a proper noble".

He eventually came to a rather opulent-looking door. White Ash carved with Opulent, gracefully curving ornate carvings inlaid with silver, with his cutie mark, a compass rose, inlaid in the top center of the door in silver and gold. He sighed softly as he consigned himself to his fate and knocked on the door slowly, firmly.

The door slowly opened to reveal the prince, sans his usual attire, oddly enough. He had eschewed his usual tie and collar combination and seemed to be au natural, his hair falling not messily but more...deliberately casually might be the word. As if he simply intended it to seem as if it fell where it may, carefully framing his face just so. Shining armor thought he detected a hint of...perfume? "Ah, Prince Shining armor, please, come in," he said courteously enough as he opened the door properly and stepped to one side to allow the other to enter.

Shining was needless to say, a little thrown off by the other's behavior. Not that it was unpleasant. it was simply quite out of character for the usually uptight and somewhat cold prince to be so welcoming as far as he was concerned. He walked inside, clearing his throat softly before answering "Uh, yes. Hello, Blueblood. I am glad to see you in such high spirits..."

Blueblood smirked softly at the other stallion as the door closed behind them. "Oh, I am just in such a tremendously lovely mood about Auntie Tia leaving your development in my...very capable hooves. I have been looking forward to the opportunity to tutor you ever since I heard that you were crowned as the ruler of the Crystal Empire. Being the ruler of even a Vassal State like that one is quite the responsibility, and I am happy to -ahem- show you the ropes, if I may be so crude as to use the common parlance."

"Really now?" Shining asked him with a somewhat dubious tone, an eyebrow slowly rising in accompaniment. "I am happy to hear that you are so eager to assist me, Prince Blueblood."

Blueblood seems to pick up on his doubt and looks almost offended. Okay, maybe more than a little offended. "What? Do you doubt my dedication to the crown? I admit I may not be the warmest of ponies, But I assure you that in terms of dedication to my duties you will find that I am night unmatched by the average noble!" he said firmly, stamping his hoof onto the soft, carpeted floor of his luxurious suite.

"And if I can ask, what sort of....duties will you be teaching me about?" Shining Armor asked him, not sure how he felt about this apparent side to the other Stallion he had not seen before.

"Well for one, I will be teaching you the proper way to carry yourself as a ruler. You certainly have the commanding presence of a seasoned leader, but your disposition lacks a certain...je ne sais quoi, if you understand my meaning." he said, waving one hoof in the air in a fluid gesture as he spoke. "You do understand, don't you? There is a certain amount of...grace and poise that is required of one of a regal bent that you as of yet lack."

"I am not sure I do, but I suppose that you are the expert in the matter, so I'll defer to you on it." Shining said with a still somewhat dubious tone."

"Yes, quite," Blueblood said with a small derisive sniff, rubbing at his chest with a hoof before setting it back down onto the floor. " The other key matter I have been told to tutor you in is the finer points of...diplomacy."

"Diplomacy? But I was a Captain for years! I have plenty of experience negotiating treaties and the like." Shining insisted, it being his turn to sound a bit offended.

Blueblood nodded and chuckled softly "Oh yes, I am sure that as a military commander your ability to negotiate such sensitive matters is unmatched. I am willing to give credit where credit is due. But negotiation as a soldier and negotiating as a noble, especially as an Equestrian noble are two very different artforms. There are certain....techniques and methods of easing tensions with the representatives of other nations that you might consider quite unconventional compared to your previous experiences."

"Oh?" Shining armor asked, both eyebrows now reaching for the sky on his forehead, leaning in slightly with genuine curiosity. "And I assume that you are very well versed in these techniques?"

"Indeed, Auntie Tia taught me several of them personally, and I have developed some of my own that even she found to be...remarkably effective." The Prince said somewhat proudly. Okay, very proudly as he smiled wide at the other male smugly. "And above all, I am to teach you the importance of rendering the proper service to the common folk that make your rulership possible. After all, a Royal's most sacred and important duty is to protect and serve his people."

"Wow, I will admit I was honestly not expecting that sort of sentiment out of you Blueblood." indeed, the former Captain had always considered Celestia's nephew to be little more than a pampered brat, good for little else than window dressing in most instances. this was most certainly a side of him that Shining Armor was shocked, but not displeased to see.

"You will find that there is a lot about me that you do not know, my dear newly-found Cousin." The Blonde stallion said with a smirk. "Now, before we begin properly, I must of course impress upon you the importance of description. Nothing that I teach you within these walls is to be discussed outside of members of the royal family such as myself, Celestia, and your wife. I will be administering an Unbreakable Oath before we begin to ensure that the information I share with you here will be safe and secure even under great duress, as is done with all members of the Royal Family before embarking on this training regiment."

Shining Armor's eyes widened at this. The Unbreakable Oath was a very potent spell that compelled the ponies involved in the casting to abide by the terms set during the casting, on penalty of having their current marks altered to indicate that they were an oathbreaker, stripped of their special talent. "I...I didn't know you could cast such potent magic, Blueblood."

"Hmph...like I said before, there is a lot that you do not know about me. And plenty that you will find out in the coming days. Now, if you would be so kind, please raise your left hoof." Blueblood said firmly as he did the same as he asked the other, left hoof raised to chest level.

Shining sighed softly and shook his head, once again resigning himself to his fate as he slowly raised his hoof, pressing it flat to that of the other stallion and meeting Blueblood's eyes as his horn began to glow a soft blue.

Blueblood began to speak, slowly, clearly, and solemnly. "Prince Shining armor, do you solemnly swear to uphold the oath of secrecy that binds the royal family concerning anything and everything I teach you here, including the methods used to do so."

"I do." Shining Armor said simply and as he acquiesced, a single pale blue, ethereal serpent stretches from Blueblood's horn and wraps around both of their hooves, intertwining them.

"And do you solemnly swear to obey me unfalteringly during the process of your training, no matter the command, knowing that it is for the good of your country that you are confined to such obedience, until such time as I see fit to release you from your obedience?"

"I...I Do." Shining Armor sounded a bit more unsure this time, but the look in Blueblood's eyes betrayed the seriousness of the situation and he found himself agreeing reluctantly. Another ethereal blue serpent binding them together at the hoof more tightly than before.

"And do you solemnly swear to uphold fist and foremost your duty to the Crown and the protection of Equestria and its Vassal States, no matter the cost to yourself personally?

"I...." He paused, hesitating for a long moment, his voice feeling trapped in his throat. This was it, on the third affirmation, the oath would be sealed, and his fate would be bound to his word, for better or for worse. It was almost overwhelming.

But at the same time, he knew he had to do what was right. It was his burden to bear as a Prince, his duty to his country to uphold the longstanding traditions of his office.

"I Do," he said more firmly than the last time, his eyes filled with an anxious but fervent determination as the final serpent emerges from the other's horn to bind them together fully, the ethereal constructs drawing their hooves together tightly the newly indoctrinated prince felt a searing pain in his hoof and gave a soft, anguished cry as the oath was tattooed into his very essence. in a flash of bright blue light.

After a moment both light and pain faded to nothing, only a softly glowing blue pattern of the thee serpents on his hoof remained to tell the tale of the oath, even this quickly fading to nothing but a memory.

Blueblood seemed to take it a bit better, grimacing as he lowered his hoof back down to the ground, shuddering slightly. "Ugh...not much better giving than receiving, it seems..."

Shining Armor gave them a small, sympathetic smile and nodded as he looked to the other Prince, now officially his teacher. "So, when do the lessons begin?"

Blueblood smirked softly and stepped a bit closer to the other, hips swaying slightly as he came to his side, approaching to his right from behind. "Right now actually..." he said, leaning in close enough for Shining to shudder at the feeling of Blueblood's hot, soft breath against the nape of his neck.

"Now, Kiss me."

Author's Note

And so it begins! I hope that this is not too dreadfully poorly written, I have not really done Porn for it's own sake before, and I hope that this initial build-up serves as a satisfactory base from which to proceed ^^