Later that Evening

Anon nervously adjusted his suit as he stared in the mirror. He was wearing his usual dress suit, minus the tie and with the collar unbuttoned. Javelin stood behind him, eyeing the ensemble with a raised eyebrow.

"So... you took the tie off?" Javelin surmised, looking Anon up and down in the mirror.

Anon nodded, "Well, yeah. Celestia said that dinner tonight with her would be a good way to start since Luna was so tired, so we're going out to eat in Canterlot. I wanna look well dressed... especially since I'm having dinner with Celestia in public, but not overdressed, you know?" He explained, looking back to his guard.

Javelin nodded, "Well that makes sense, but for the place you guys are going to, I don't know if a suit is really considered 'proper etiquette at all. It might be a bit overkill." He suggested.

"What do you mean? We're going to 'The Maretta'. It's like, one of the fanciest restaurants in the city. Celestia said that it'd be a good idea to draw as much attention to us as possible." Anon crossed his arms.

"True, but you have to remember that ponies have fur. It's summer. Wearing coats and pants and such is only really for huge parties like the Gala or for... well, for a royal wedding." Javelin chuckled.

Anon sighed, "Well... you've got a point. If it's too hot for this outside, then I'm gonna be the only one wearing it, and I'm gonna start sweating up a storm. Either way, it's not a good look. What should I do then?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow at the shorter stallion.

"Well, I'm not exactly an expert, but I would say..." Javelin trailed off, eyeing anon critically for a moment before nodding once, "Lose the coat. It's way too hot for that. Put the tie back on, and roll up your sleeves to your elbows. I think that will give you the best look." He explained.

Anon looked into the mirror to see himself once more before frowning, "But that's just business casual attire. You dress like that for working in an office or something." He replied.

"Well, maybe where you're from they do, but here, nopony wears ties for business casual. A button-up shirt is all you need for business casual. The way you're dressed now, you look like you're going for a complete ensemble for your wedding. All you're missing is the tie and top-hat." Javelin responded, shrugging unapologetically.

Anon frowned before looking back into the mirror, then back to Javelin, and then finally back to the mirror one last time. He pursed his lips as he contemplated Javelin's suggestion but eventually sighed loudly.

"Alright, alright. I'll take your advice. You'd just better not be setting me up for failure here." Anon shook his head as he doffed his coat and put it on the hanger.

"What? Me? Never." Javelin replied, innocently holding a hoof to his chest.

Anon simply raised an eyebrow.

"Oh come on! I have never led you astray before! And I'm especially not going to now when you're going to be in public with Princess Celestia." Javelin exasperatedly replied.

Anon chuckled, "Yeah, yeah. Fair enough. I trust you." He said as he redid his tie.

Javelin rolled his eyes before trotting up next to Anon and sitting down on his haunches while the tall man finished his tie and started rolling his sleeves.

"Why do you only wear suits anyways? I've only ever seen you in casual clothes for the gym." Javelin inquired, tilting his head to the side.

Anon rolled his right sleeve, "They're the only clothes I have besides a pair of shorts and t-shirt. I was on my way to a costume party when I got beamed over here and I've barely had any time to meet with a tailor or the royal seamstress since then. Any clothes I did end up getting since then always fit wrong. It's like they don't know how to make my clothes proportioned right. Even the royal seamstress said it would take months to make me anything. Something about my 'strange physique and muscular structure', not to mention the dresses they have to make for Celestia and Luna and all of their bridesmaids and stuff." He explained, before starting on the left sleeve.

Javelin raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Anon asked.

"A costume party?" Javelin questioned.

Anon rolled his eyes, "Is that all you got from that?" He asked, getting a shrug in response, "Yeah, I was going as a character from a spy movie. Anyway, point is, I haven't had time to find, or get fitted for, new clothes."

"Really? They can't be that busy, can they? I mean, aren't there like, a thousand other seamstresses that can make clothes for you? I can see the royal seamstress being too busy, but not anypony else." Javelin questioned.

Anon finished rolling his sleeves and shrugged, "I don't know, man. That's just what they all told me. It was always either 'we're too busy' or 'your body is shaped too weird'. Maybe they just wanted me to get out of their hair. I dunno." He replied.

Javelin shook his head, "I mean... I guess so. Eh, whatever. I'm sure we can get you some new clothes sooner or later. Must get hot in all that." He said, pointing at Anon as he stepped back from the mirror a few feet.

"I appreciate it, Jav, but anyway, what do you think?" Anon asked, giving a slow spin in the mirror.

Javelin nodded, "Looks a lot better. Like you're trying, but not too hard. Wouldn't want those mares to get any ideas that you're easy or anything, especially with estrus season coming right up." He replied.

Anon furrowed his brow, "Estrus... I remember you saying something about that before at the nightclub. What exactly does that mean? I drank a lot that night so I don't have the best memory of what exactly happened before I started dancing with Nightshade."

"Estrus is the time of year when just about all mares go into season. Some are a bit early, like that mare that was hunting me down the whole night," Javelin shivered, "But for the most part, all mares go into estrus in about a week. It's gonna be a bloodbath, but instead of blood..." He trailed off.

Anon cocked an eyebrow back, "Instead of blood... what?" He pressed, motioning for Javelin to continue.

"N-nevermind. Point is, if you don't want to get jumped by every mare that you see, you either have to find a mare to claim you for the two weeks it lasts, or hide." Javelin explained.

Anon chuckled, "I still don't get it. So the mares get horny, big deal. If anything, that sounds like a great time. If I was you, I'd probably just enjoy it."

Javelin shook his head, "You don't understand. Estrus is when the mares all go into season. Into heat. They're extremely easy to impregnate, and most of them want nothing more than for you to put a foal in them to end the heat. Hay, even then they'll still ride you into the ground if you let them." He elaborated.

Anon's eyes widened, "Ooooooooooooh... Yeah, now I can kinda see how this could be an issue. Before you know it, you've got twelve baby momma's to deal with." He nodded.

"And they can't spend all their time taking care of the foal. They have to work. So guess what happens? You, my friend, get to stay home with all the little foals and raise them. All twelve," Javelin gave a wide, extremely fake smile, before dropping it and sighing, "Happened to my buddy, Pix. Poor colt never stood a chance against the seven mares that caught him one night. He has nine foals now."

Anon shuddered, "Jesus. Nine kids? I thought you ponies only had like, one or two, max."

"We do. He got every single mare pregnant. 'Course, he had to take responsibility for the foals, so he had to marry each of them and form a herd. The other two foals came the next estrus season. Luckily five of the mares managed to remember to take some anti-pregnancy potions, but the other two wanted another foal more than they wanted their heat sated." Javelin explained.

Anon cocked an eyebrow, "Wait, if you have anti-pregnancy potions, then why is heat such an issue? Don't the mares all just buy that stuff and not worry about it? I'd think most mares wouldn't want a pregnancy out of the blue." He reasoned.

"You'd think that, and for most mares, you'd be right. However, there's always the minority that just don't care, or are so damn horny that they forget. Worst part of it is, the pheromones' just radiating off of them makes it really hard for you to think straight too. A lot of stallions get swarmed, and the combined exposure to so many mares in heat gets them so turned on that they don't care anymore either." Javelin replied, shaking his head.

Anon rolled his tongue in his mouth, "Well shit. When you say things like that, it makes heat season sound horrible. Still though, I didn't feel any different when that mare was all over you at the nightclub, and I was sitting right beside you."

Javelin nodded, "That you were. To be honest, heat season might be a lot easier for you if your biology doesn't register the pheromones like mine does. I was about five more minutes away from taking that mare into the bathroom and rutting a foal into her right there." He shivered.

Anon chuckled before patting Javelin's wither, "Well that's what you've got me for. Someone needs to watch your back and make sure you don't go impregnating every mare this side of Equestria."

Javelin grinned, "Well, for that you have my thanks. Although, with your position, you might have to worry about it more than I do. Mares in heat are horny as all Tartarus, but they're usually still there enough to understand that getting pregnant by you basically sets them up for life."

Anon pursed his lips, "I'm pretty certain that I can't get ponies pregnant. You know, different biology and all that." He shrugged.

Javelin shook his head, "You don't know that fore sure. We ponies can breed with a surprising number of other species. I mean, hippogriffs came from ponies breeding with an ancient race of eagles." He explained.

Anon raised an eyebrow, "Eagles?"

Javelin nodded, "Pretty much anything was fair game back then, and I guess a mare in heat met an eagle who happened to be a bit curious."

Anon rolled his tongue around in his mouth as he thought over the implications.

"Huh? Well that's a thought. Still though, pretty sure my biology is incompatible with yours. I'm sure I'm more liable to get one trying to claim they're pregnant for child support." Anon replied.

"Well I think you should still take precautions. You don't want to run the risk, only to find out that you do indeed have a compatible biology." Javelin responded.

Anon stepped toward the doorway with a smile, "Well that's what I've got you for, isn't it?" He asked, looking back over his shoulder.

Javelin laughed, "Now you're getting it. Come on, let's get you to that date." He said as he trotted up to Anon's side.

Just as they stepped out of Anon's bedroom and into the hallway, Anon suddenly froze. Javelin looked up to him curiously as Anon's brow quickly furrowed.

"Javelin?" Anon asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do Celestia and Luna go into heat too?"

Celestia looked herself over in the mirror. Her regalia was forgone, opting instead to wear a simple golden necklace with a sun shaped like her cutiemark as the centerpiece. Her crown was replaced with a simple tiara of gold that barely stuck out past her mane as is billowed in the nonexistent wind. Her hooves were devoid of their usual golden horseshoes, and lastly, her chest tuft was freshly brushed, appearing slightly fluffier than usual.

Celestia squinted at her reflection as her magic levitated the mascara brush over to her unfinished eye. She gingerly applied a soft coat of goldish-white to her eyelid, giving her eyes a more regal and exquisite appearance. With that finished, she looked over to her dresser and put the mascara away before levitating the final touch of lipstick.

Celestia's ear flicked back at the sound of a knock at her door. She glanced over to the doorway before replying, "It's open. Please come in."

Celestia resumed her task of applying her lipstick while Raven entered her room behind her. The secretary quietly closed the door so as not to disturb the solar princess before she finished her preparations. Quickly enough, Celestia returned the lipstick to the dresser and pursed her lips a few times to complete the application. Seeing this as her queue, Raven affirmatively cleared her throat, earning a look from the white alicorn through the mirror.

"Yes, Raven?" Celestia inquired.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Princess, but... are you certain about this? There's a lot of work that you'll have to catch up on tomorrow if you take the rest of the night off. Not that you don't deserve some down time or anything, but it seems... I don't know, unnecessary? The nobles would be perfectly content with a solid affirmation from you or Luna about your relationship with Anon. Even if they weren't, you're the one who would have to give them a solid yes to see proof. At the end of the day, unless they witness Anon doing something illegal, or cheating on you with some random mare, they don't have much legal ground to stand on." Raven questioned, a confused expression on her face.

Celestia chuckled, "Oh Raven, I'm sure the workload will be fine. I have no appointments tomorrow, so I intend to catch up then. As for your concerns as to the necessity of this whole charade, I think it's time that I be completely candid with you. Please, come over here." She asked, turning around to look at Raven face to face.

"Of course, Princess." Raven replied, stepping over to Celestia's side.

"Now, if I'm being completely honest here-" Celestia began, before a harsh pounding on the door made her pause.

"Princess! It's time to leave. You'll be late if we delay any longer." Lieutenant Valorant's voice boomed through the door.

Celestia looked over to the clock sitting on the wall across from her, "Oh my. I suppose it is just about that time. My apologies, Raven, but I really must be going. I promise that I will speak with you once I return. Until then, please do take the rest of the evening off. I think you've more than earned some extra time off as of late." She said as she rose from her chair.

"I-um..." Raven quietly sighed, "If you're sure, Princess. I will see you tomorrow morning for day court then."

Celestia eyed Raven curiously as the unicorn secretary turned tail and sadly headed for the door. It only took a moment for the solar alicorn to furrow her brow in concern, before speaking out.

"Raven?" She asked.

Raven immediately turned around, "Yes, Princess?"

"Why don't you accompany us for dinner?" She asked, a genuine smile on her face.

Raven recoiled in surprise, "Accompany you? I... Princess, I-I wouldn't want to intrude." She hastily responded.

"Nonsense, you won't be intruding on anything. I believe that Sergeant Javelin will be accompanying us to 'The Maretta', so you can simply sit and eat with him. Besides, you've been working too hard lately. Let me take you out for dinner, as a thank you for putting up with all of my... let's call them shenanigans, as of late." Celestia insisted, taking a step toward the secretary.

"P-princess, I couldn't p-possible..." Raven stammered.

"Please?" Celestia asked, giving her best puppy dog eyes.

Raven stared back at Celestia for nearly three seconds before she broke, "Oh, alright, alright. I'll go... I see now what Anon meant..." She replied.

"Oh wonderful! Come along then, Raven. We really must be going." Celestia clopped her hooves together in excitement.

"Um... can I go get changed at my house and meet you there, Princess?" Raven sheepishly asked.

Celestia smiled, "Of course, Raven. I'll see you there."

"Thank you, Princess. I'll see you over there." Raven gratefully smiled.

With that, Celestia opened her door and stepped outside, finding Lieutenant Valorant standing at attention along with an escort of six more guardsmares. While Raven exited the room behind her, and stepped away from the formation of guards before heading out of the hallway, Celestia looked over her detachment of ponies and smiled.

"Looking sharp as ever, Lieutenant. However, I imagine that we will not be needing too many guards for the occasion. Sergeant Javelin should be sufficient." Celestia suggested, pleasantly.

"Of course, your highness. Although I really must insist you let at least a couple more of my guards accompany you. Your protection is our number one priority, no matter how safe you might seem." Lieutenant Valorant replied, otherwise unmoving.

Celestia chewed her tongue in thought for a moment as she eyed the guards standing before her. A few moments of silence passed between the group before she chuckled lightly.

"I suppose you have a point, Lieutenant. You're only doing your job, after all. Might I ask what you recommend?" Celestia inquired, curiously.

Valorant nodded once, "Yes, Princess. If you'd allow it, I would recommend taking at least three Guards along with you, on top of Sergeant Javelin." She suggested.

Celestia hummed in thought, "I... suppose we could manage to have three guards there with us without causing too much of a scene. If you don't mind, could they be wearing civilian clothing? The restaurant we're going to isn't exactly suited to having armed guards patrolling our table in full armor." She requested.

Valorant nodded, "Of course, Princess. We can have them changed into undercover battle uniforms, just in case." She suggested.

"As long as they blend in well enough, it shouldn't be an issue." Celestia smiled.

"Roger that, your highness," Valorant replied, before looking to the three guards on her right, "Alright, you heard her. Get dressed, you three. I want you outside and presentable asap." She ordered.

The three guards quickly snapped a salute and bolted away or teleported away while the other three were swiftly dismissed back to their posts. Valorant watched them leave with a stern expression of approval, before returning her attention to the solar princess in front of her.

"Alright then, Princess. I'll see you when you get back." She said, offering a salute.

Celestia gave a small nod and smile, "Of course, Lieutenant. I'll see you then."

Their meeting completed, Celestia turned away from the lieutenant and headed down the hallway to the throne room. It took her only a few minutes of walking through the halls before she arrived at her destination, and her favorite location to lower the sun. She approached the stained glass window, depicting her reunion with Luna, and a gentle smile tugged at her lips as her horn illuminated the area with golden light.

The sun swiftly sunk down the horizon until it was just barely above the mountains in the distance. Celestia released her magical hold on the flaming ball of light, and allowed it to hold its position without her aid.

"There we go. Should be just on the precipice now. Just a tiny little push in about an hour and the rest is on you." Celestia smiled at her work, and the solar light hanging just by a thread on the edge of the world.

"Wow..." Anon spoke from behind her, redirecting Celestia's attention away from her sun and to the man and pony standing behind her.

"Oh, my apologies. I did not hear you enter, Anon. Don't sound so surprised though, it's not like you haven't seen me lower the sun before." Celestia responded, with a teasing flick of her hoof.

Anon shook his head, a mystified expression still on his face, "I wasn't talking about the sunset, Celestia... you just... wow. You look great." He complimented, causing a hint of red to appear on Celestia's cheeks.

"Y-you're too kind, Anon. Thank you," She beamed, before her eyes drank in the sight of Anon properly, "And I must say, you're looking absolutely dapper as well. I love the tie. The color contrasts your eyes remarkably well.

Now it was Anon's turn to blush, "T-thanks. It was Javelin's idea. I was about to go for the full jacket getup and he talked me out of it." He explained.

"I merely suggested what to wear. Anon picked the outfit himself." Javelin corrected, professionally.

"I see. Well I must say that you look remarkable this evening, Anon," Celestia replied, before glancing at the clock, "Shall we get going? I instructed Raven to meet us there, and Lieutenant Valorant has already instructed our guard detachment where to go." She explained.

"We have a guard detachment? So does that mean that Javelin doesn't have to come with us?" Anon asked, looking down at his guard with a frown.

Celestia chuckled at Anon's level of attachment to the stallion before replying, "Sergeant Javelin is more than welcome to join us. Although I do believe he will be on duty for the night."

"Yes, Princess. I'm scheduled until the end of your evening together." Javelin responded.

"Wonderful, although... I would say you're a tad overdressed, wouldn't you?" Celestia cheekily raised an eyebrow.

Javelin instantly looked down at his armor and frowned in confusion, "I... don't believe so, your highness?"

Celestia ignited her horn and cast a quick transportation spell. Javelin's armor was immediately removed and returned to his room while a navy blue dress shirt took its place. The stallion balked at his sudden wardrobe change while Anon stared at him, wide-eyed.

"What the?" Javelin questioned, looking down at his new attire.

"Oh wow! Looks like you're having dinner with us then." Anon said, slight excitement in his voice.

"Essentially, now come along you two. We really must be going if we're to make our reservation." Celestia smiled before turning toward the doorway. Anon, and a still confused Javelin, trailed after her, and they were swiftly led out of the castle and into the Canterlot upper district. Once there, the group easily navigated its way to the restaurant at the far end of the silver strip.

Upon approaching the 'Maretta', Anon looked over the crowd of ponies lined up out of the door. Every single one of them was dressed in their finest silk clothing and clearly dressed to impress. As Anon's group approached the line, the sound of idle chatter reached their ears. As they got closer, more and more heads turned toward them, and voices rose as ponies noticed Celestia walking toward them.

"Oh my gosh! It's the princess!" One mare exclaimed.

"She's so beautiful!"

"The Princess!? Where!?" Another cried out.

Soon the semi-circle of Canterlot's elite became a growing crowd of excited patrons all begging and pleading to be noticed by Celestia as she confidently strode through them, a gentle, yet reserved smile on her face the entire time. After a short time of slogging through the dozens of nobles, Celestia turned around and addressed them all.

"Good evening, my little ponies-" Celestia began, pulling all eyes to her, if they weren't already there,"-I hope that my arrival hasn't disturbed your evening. Please understand that I am simply here to have a pleasant dinner with my consort, Anonymous. If you would like to speak with us, please do so tomorrow morning at day court. As always, I treasure your time and kindness, however, I would like tonight to just be between me and my special somepony." She announced, her eyes subtly drifting over to Anon.

The crowd nodded in affirmation, although there were a few disgruntled curses thrown about at the consort's good fortune. Those were mostly drowned out by gasps of excitement and cheers for the Princess and her consort. With her work complete, Celestia turned to face Anon fully, batting her eyelashes at him invitingly.

"Well then, shall we?" A subtle hint of excitement in her voice.

Anon looked over the crowd, before looking back to Celestia, "We shall. Nice work by the way. They just ate that all up." Anon chuckled.

Celestia smiled as she turned and opened the door, ushering Anon inside. She followed behind, with Javelin and the rest of the guards falling in and closing the door behind her. Once inside, the solar alicorn instantly located the hostess and confidently strode up to her.

"Good evening. I have a reservation." Celestia said, a pleasant smile on her face.

"Of course, your highness. Right this way." The hostess replied, before turning tail and leading the group through the restaurant.

Anon's eyes were pulled to the unique decoration of the establishment. The ceiling and floor were both marble, with the sole exception that the floor marble on the floor was covered in a white rug that looked almost as if it was made out of clouds. The circular tables filling the restaurant were covered in a white tablecloth while the chairs were all black velvet. In the center of the room, however, stood a majestic granite statue of Princess Celestia herself, that doubled as a fountain.

Several ponies eating and conversing in the restaurant paused their activities to focus their attention entirely on the sun princess and her entourage as they entered the dining room. There were several gasps and whispers of excitement, but nothing quite as extreme as the reaction outside of the building. As Anon followed behind, he paused mid step and shook his head in amazement at the craftsmanship of the artwork all around him, before he was suddenly pulled away by Celestia's voice.

"This way, Anon." She called.

Anon quickly turned around to see the alabaster white alicorn already sitting at a large table just across from a large stage filled with orchestral instruments and ponies waiting to play them. He slowly approached the table and sat down across from Celestia, just as a soft melody began to play from the orchestra.

"So? What do you think?" Celestia inquired, a fair amount of excitement in her voice.

"It's... amazing. This whole place is just gorgeous," Anon breathlessly replied.

"I couldn't agree more. Now, I'm not sure about you, Anon, but I'm famished."

Author's Note

Just writing this made my wallet cringe. Not as bad as Anon's house though. That made my wallet cry.