Canterlot's Hydra

[The following chapter is from Gilded Spear's perspective]

The sun had long set, and my shift had been over for a few hours now. Before I could retire, I had one last thing to do. As part of my contract, I am to report to Princess Celestia.

The Solar Princess had been clear, she wanted to know everything about Aurum that I could find out.

I knocked on the door to the Princess' private quarters.

The door opened revealing the radiant alicorn princess. Despite the late hour, she looked alert, her face lit up with a warm smile. Her expression portrayed mild curiosity.

"Ah, good evening, Gilded Spear." She greeted, closing the door behind me with her magic as I entered.

I bowed to her, "Princess."

She waved a hoof dismissively.

"No need to be formal with me. We're acquainted well enough for some informality, don't you think?" She said, walking over to the large window, looking up at the night sky above.

I rose back up, "I did as you said, Princess. I took Prince Aurum to your bar."

Princess Celestia had ordered me to take Aurum to the bar that technically doesn't exist. It was primarily used for foreign diplomats and private meetings for high-ranking nobility. All of it was owned by the crown.

Celestia nodded, keeping her eyes firmly placed on the stars above, "Ah, good. And what did you find out from my little errand?"

I straightened up, "The Prince has... well..." I looked to the side to try to find the right words to say, "The Prince could outdrink half of the guard, at least."

She blanched and turned to look at me like I had grown a second pair of wings.

"How much did he drink?" She asked, a look of concern on her face.

"Roughly... 27 gallons over the course of a few hours?" I uttered sheepishly.

"27 gallons..." Celestia repeated quietly, looking like she'd been struck by a bolt of lightning, "Just how much can one pony drink?"

She stared silently out the window, "No matter. We can cross that bridge when we come to it. Offer to take him back tomorrow, after his coronation."

"I think he prefers to drink during the day, Princess. He practically ordered me to accompany him to your bar early this morning."

Celestia frowned, turning away from the window with a look of thoughtfulness, "I wonder what could've gotten him hooked..." She mused to herself before addressing me again. "How does he treat you, my dear? Has Prince Aurum been treating you fairly?" The tone matched that of a question hidden within another. She was asking if I had done what she ordered.

The intention was not lost on me, "I think he's gay, Princess."

"He's... gay?" The Alicorn repeated incredulously, and though she made no other outward indication of it, I could sense the flicker of disbelief behind her eyes, "Are you... certain of this?", She asked quietly, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly.

"I had offered myself up to him on our first night, after he mentioned having read an 'exciting book', I assumed he meant erotica. He turned me down, but the next morning and after quite a lot of alcohol, he was-" I was cut off.

"Stop right there." She turned to look at me, anger evident on her face, "Don't tell me that you started feeling him up when he was drunk."

I shrunk back in fear, "I... I thought it would be the best way to find out if he was into stallions. I asked him if he preferred mares, but he said he didn't know."

"And you thought the best way to find out was to wait until the prince was inebriated, and then start making your move without asking for his consent?!" The princess exclaimed, her face reddening with anger.

I stared at her, afraid that I could be thrown in the dungeons for this. I thought I was just doing what the Princess wanted.

"H-he didn't seem.. against it?" I whimpered out, my hooves shaking.

"Of course he wasn't against it, he was wasted! You don't think he might've been less receptive if he hadn't drunk 27 gallons of hard liquor?" Celestia retorted, her eyes narrowing.

"I... I'm sorry, Princess." I bowed my head low before the Solar Princess.

Celestia's expression softened a little upon seeing me so repentant.

"I don't want you to play dirty games with Prince Aurum again, do you understand? Not without his consent. If you want to find out if he's gay, you're going to have to ask him while he's sober. I'm going to do some looking into that book that he mentioned." She concluded with a small frown.

While my head remained lowered, I added, "While he was drunk, he did mention some things. He has a history of drinking, back home he ordered drinks called 'Bailey's'?"

Celestia seemed to be deep in thought, "I've never heard of an alcohol by that name."

"He also seemed to be upset... because nobody could hear him sing? That nobody should hear him sing?"

The Alicorn princess seemed confused now, furrowing her brow as I retold this to her, "Prince Aurum sings? I've never heard him so much as hum before.."

"I asked him to sing for me, and he sang a song about aliens trapped in campfires?" I recounted the song he sang for me. "He has a nice singing voice, even while he's intoxicated."

"Aliens in campfires?" The Princess pondered, "Sounds like Prince Aurum is a fan of sci-fi novels."

She paused, narrowing her eyes at me, "Stay on his good side. let him drink as much as he wants, don't try anything while he's inebriated, and if he tries to do anything to hurt himself or somepony else, just stomp on the ground. Understand?"

"You... want him to drink?" I asked out of turn, perplexed by her statement.

The Alicorn nodded, "Yes. I want Prince Aurum to drink." She stated with a calm yet firm tone, a look of almost resignation on her face.

She walked over to a large cushion behind her desk and sat down, "It sounds as though the Prince has a serious issue with alcohol, and while I loath to say it, this may be a blessing in disguise." She seemed upset at herself for feeling that way, "Not to mention, if we can figure out what this book he mentioned is, we can find out his preferences."

"Yeah, why do you want me to find out his preferences so bad, anyway?"

Celestia's cheeks seemed to redden slightly, though she quickly composed herself and her tone shifted to a slightly defensive timbre.

"Because I... care about what the Prince likes." She answered with an air of finality, looking at me expectantly. I recognized the look in her eye. It was a look of warning. She was saying, Do not question my reasons.

I took the hint and nodded obediently, "Yes, Princess. Though, I have more to report."

The Alicorn seemed eager to move onto something else, nodding at me in return, "Proceed, please."

"The two of us were relaxing in the waterfall, when all of a sudden, he teleported away back to the castle."

She looked back towards the window, her eyes narrowed. She didn't seem to believe me, "Describe exactly, what Aurum did."

"We were sitting in the pool one second and had a... we talked about something unimportant," I wasn't going to tell her what we talked about, "And then, all of a sudden, he was gone." I trailed off towards the end.

She didn't respond immediately, but she didn't look shocked, almost like this wasn't a strange thing for him.

I decided to continue, "Later that day he... requested a, and I quote, cuddle-buddy..."

Her face fell, "And how long had it been since he last had a drink at that point?"

"Five hours, give or take?" I responded, unable to remember certain moments around this time.

The Princess looked troubled by my response and sighed softly, "That's fine... what's he like when he's asleep? Sleep-talker, snorer?"

I shrunk back, "I never caught him asleep, Princess. Even while he was holding me, he never fell asleep." I was prepared to be reprimanded for having failed to learn more.

To my surprise, Celestia didn't display any anger towards me. Instead, she looked more concerned, "Did he ever look... tired? Did he ever yawn or complain about being tired?"

I recalled the previous few hours, "He complained once on the way back to his room about being tired, and he fell right into bed when he returned, but he never fell asleep."

She looked to be fighting a battle in her head, "If that's all, my spy. You have your orders." replied the Princess, dismissively.

"Yes, Princess." I saluted, and prepared to leave the room, it was time for a nice hot bath, and a relaxing night back home.