As court drew to a close, Pepper approached at a lively trot. "That was fun!"

Solaris smiled gently, ruffling the colt's mane. "You can keep hanging around here, but the princess and I have some work to do now."

"Nuh-uh, Sir." He saluted despite his defiant words.

Solaris chuckled at his energetic squire. "And why are you saying no?"

"The princess is busy, but you are not, Sir." Pepper stood at attention, despite his small stature. "What can we do?"

He smiled warmly. "We can explore the castle if you'd like."

Pepper nodded enthusiastically. "Let's go!" He bounded off ahead of his master, leading the way with his youthful energy.

Solaris allowed himself to follow along without further complaint. He didn't notice the faint signs and change of decor as they wandered. It was all a lovely walk until they both ran into two guards in front of a door. "Huh?" Solaris turned and looked behind himself to see just how deep into the palace he had gone.

"S-sorry, sirs!" Pepper bowed quickly. "Prince Solaris was showing me around."

One guard nodded at Pepper. "Let me see if she is awake." He slipped into the room they were guarding.

Solaris sat, blinking. "She? I don't mean to wake them if they are sleeping. This isn't important." But it was far too late, that first guard already gone. "Who is she?"

The remaining guard regarded him evenly. "You'll see in a moment, Prince."

The guard returned and stepped to the side of the door, holding it open. "Please enter, Prince."

Solaris looked between the guards, but the invitation had been given. Having no strong reason to deny after coming so far, he advanced with Pepper at his side. "Terribly sorry for the intrus—" His words died in his throat as he saw who he had wandered into.

Luna raised a brow with a bit of a laugh. "Come to see me in the waking world?" She smiled gently, standing upright before him. "You are lucky, my dreams were unremarkable last night."

Solaris bowed quickly. "I was just showing the colt around. We didn't mean to bother you."

Pepper darted right up to her without a shred of fear. "Hello, Ma'am!" He saluted sharply. "It is good to see you again."

Solaris started. "Again? You two have met before then?"

Luna glanced between the stallions. "I am a protector of foals. He had a nightmare, so I banished it and replaced it with a dream. It is a pleasure to see you again, little one."

Pepper leaned up, hint enough for Luna to lower herself until they could touch nose to nose. He giggled with joy, bouncing back a step. "I haven't had a single nightmare since them, Ma'am! You scared it good." He whirled towards Solaris. "That was before you arrived, Sir. Now that you're here, that nightmare would be silly."

Solaris approached slowly, gazing over the room. It seemed a smaller place, less important than Celestia's own room and yet still quite nice. "I didn't want to bother you." He reached out, drawing Pepper closer. "And sorry for troubling you so much. Were you lonely?"

Pepper colored, ears turning down and away. "N-No... A little? I'm a lot happier now, Sir. Honest!"

Luna laughed warmly at the colt's behavior. "It is good to have such devoted ponies in your care." She glanced around the room, then sat on her haunches, gazing between the two of them. "But you must speak truthfully, why are you here, in my room? Hardly the place you need to be to win over my sister."

"I was exploring." Solaris answered quickly. "Pepper was with me, but I've never been to this part of the palace before. It was an accident." He cleared his throat. "But we are here. It's nice to see you."

"Good on you for accepting your actions." She watched him evenly, some mild amusement in her eyes. "This time of day is for sleeping for me. Unlike you sun ponies, my time is largely in the night. If you are to see me more often, it must be while I am awake."

Solaris nodded quickly. "That would be nice. I don't want to leave it to just seeing each other in my dreams."

Luna reached out her wings, huge and to either side before reaching one out to press up under Solaris' snout. "Perhaps it is just because I know your relationship with my sister, but I hear flirtations with almost every word from your lips. You will not seduce me, stallion."

Solaris backed away from her wing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound that way."

She snorted and shook her head, folding up her wings. "Good enough." Her expression turned softer. "Thank you for the chance to see little Pepper. I don't often get to visit with my little charges, for they are usually awake when I am quite asleep." She covered her snout as a yawn escaped her. "As I should be."

Pepper saluted once again. "Ma'am!"

Solaris stood and bowed more properly to Luna. "We'll leave you to rest, Princess." He turned, Pepper on his heels as they slipped out of her room together.

The guards outside looked amused as they emerged. Solaris waved their reactions off with one hoof. "Nothing like you think. Good day." As he walked away, he heard the door closing behind him. "I'm sorry about all that, Pepper."

"Sorry?" Pepper darted around him, orbiting him as one does suns. "That was great, Sir! I didn't think I'd get to see her. Are you friends with her?"

He cleared his throat. "She's not so sure, but we are well on the way." He glanced over his shoulder. "She's nice. She could be mean if she wanted, but she wants to be a good pony." He thought about that, taking note that he really hadn't met a mean pony so far. "Do ponies come in mean varieties?"

"Yes, Sir."

Solaris inclined his head at that sure note. "Have you met one, Pepper? You sound so completely sure of that."

The little colt shrugged. "Well, there's been some." He gazed up and away, thinking. "They're not as many of them as there are good ones, Sir. I think they're just louder. There was one mare that got upset that I was even here, Sir."

"What did she do to you?" He stopped to look down at the little colt.

"She tried to yell at me." Pepper shrugged. "The other ponies were quick to chase her off, though."

Solaris frowned at the thought. "Would you recognize her if you saw her again? I'd like to speak to this mare." He could feel anger bubbling at the idea of anyone trying to chase off his squire. "That wasn't very nice."

Pepper nodded quickly. "I'll be sure to let you know if I spot her!" He patted Solaris' side with a small hoof. "Don't worry, Sir. I'm used to mean mares."

He rubbed his hoof through the colt's mane. "Don't be. If someone is rude or unkind, you should inform me. Insults to you, my squire, are insults to me." He turned, looking around. "Where was I?"

Pepper darted ahead. "This way! It's a big palace, but I've been here before. I can get you back to the entrance!" Without a pause, he led the way to the front of the castle, pointing towards the exit. "You can see Canterlot if you go that way. Have you been around the city, Sir?"

Solaris slowed with thought. "I haven't. I've been so busy around the castle, I haven't really wandered too far outside it." He smiled after the colt. "I guess I'll just have to walk about town and see what there is to see. Want to be my guide?"

Pepper nodded quickly. "Let's explore! Canterlot is great!"

The guards at the gate of the castle didn't immediately move out of the way for Solaris. Pepper, they allowed to scurry past without word, but for him, they locked spears.

Solaris looked between the two gold-armored ponies. "Is something wrong?" He glanced over his shoulder, but saw nothing wrong back towards the palace.

"We are under orders to not allow you to leave without an escort."

The guards parted to allow a pony through. She was tall and slender, her coat dark green with a silver mane and tail. They came right back together to form a pointy wall for Solaris. "Princess' orders."

"But I'm not alone." He pointed to little Pepper. "I have my squire."

The pony approached and shook her head. "A foal isn't good enough, I'm afraid." She did smile warmly at Pepper. "It's nothing against your squire. It's just, well, he's young."

Solaris looked over the mare. "Oh! I thought you were just passing by."

"I was." She flicked her tail. "But I heard the discussion. You are a royal guest. You can't wander around without a guard at your side. As eager as your squire may be, he isn't one of those." She looked him in the eyes. "You don't want to cause a scene here, do you?"

The guards glanced at each other. They were uncomfortable with the idea of standing up to a pony who had been called a prince earlier that day. That didn't make them separate and open the way.

Solaris hummed softly. "And where would I find a guard that's free to take a little walk with me?"

She stepped up to his side. "You're looking at one." She offered a wing, which Solaris shook. "My name's Jade. It's a pleasure to meet you. The Princess has mentioned that you'll need a guard if you step outside." She sat and clapped her hooves. "Just good luck I happened to be here when you tried to escape."

He frowned faintly. "I wasn't escaping."

"Not very well," she agreed with a little smile. "Come along." She stepped right past those guards. "He's with me."

The guards nodded slowly and opened their ranks to let the two ponies through. Pepper darted to his master's side, sticking close to him.

As one, all three headed out into the city proper. Solaris' eyes wandered over the buildings with a growing smile. "It's really nice out here." He wasn't even sure what half the buildings were, but they all felt inviting and a bit fancy. The smells of one made it clear it was a place to eat, another had instruments in the window, likely to purchase?

Jade looked between the buildings. "They're nice, if you like that sort of thing. You're from far out, aren't you?"

Solaris nodded firmly. "Yes, quite far. Is that going to be a problem?"

She shrugged. "Only if you make it one. I'm from a smaller village. But I've grown used to Canterlot since I've been working here." She put out a wing, cutting off Pepper. "Stay where we can see you, little squire."

Pepper grumbled, but nodded.

Jade withdrew her wing as she turned to continue walking. "So you're new here, and that's no big deal." She glanced at the buildings in turn. "What were you looking for? Did you want to buy something?"

"I was more interested in seeing than buying." He turned to look back the way they came. "The palace really stands above everything else, doesn't it?"

Jade followed his gaze and had to nod. "It's where I end up, as a guard, often." She followed Pepper with her eyes. "And I imagine it feels the same to him, since he returns to you."

He nodded gently. "I don't know about that, though it makes sense. But I'm really not used to this city. It's so different from my old home."

"Which brings me to my question." Jade turned around in front of him, cutting him off. "Would you tell me about your home nation, before its trouble?"

Solaris slowed. "It's not another nation." He shook his head, gazing at the mare. "It's another world." At her questioning stare, he continued. "It's very different there." He considered how to phrase that. "All the ponies you met that are from it were larger." He spread his hooves as close as he could to a proper horse's length. "And taller, just bigger. They are smaller, here, but happy."

He expected her to be confused, but she just nodded. "Oh! You're from past one of those mirrors? Fascinating. Another world, with another sun royal. You seem to be a nice enough one, like ours." She turned and resumed her walk. "Maybe that's why you two are hitting it off. Like looking in a mirror that you can kiss."

Solaris sputtered for a moment. "I suppose that makes sense."

Jade laughed warmly and shook her head. "Don't let me bother you. I've got a bit of a tongue. Now, you want to see the sights." She pointed. "If you like schools, there are several, teaching magic in some cases, etiquette in others, and even one on warfare, not as popular by far."

He thought about it. "What else is there?"

She waved to a different building. "There's the art museum, it's nice enough."

Solaris considered that, but shook his head. "Perhaps another day."

"Sir!" Pepper came racing over. "Follow me!" He led the way in a short trot to a small store with many brightly-colored and small books. "They have comics here, Sir, with all manner of wonderous tales."

"What kind of tales?" Solaris picked up one of the books, flipping it open to see images of ponies doing all sorts of things. One had an adventure involving saving a princess from monsters. Another showed a spandex-clad superhero of a pony saving a city from some great beast. Solaris chuckled at the images. "Lovely."

"They're stories of adventure, Sir!" Pepper darted to a book to show it off. "Tales of daring-do!"

Solaris glanced between the other ponies. "Oh my."

Jade nodded gently. "Quite a popular amusement for small ponies." She ruffled the top of Pepper. "Though I know some adults who continue to enjoy them. Not my interest, but I get the idea. The foals are always eager to see what happens next to their favorites." Jade paused at that. "What about your world? Do you have books like these?"

He looked at the images in question and frowned softly. "They were different, but we had them, yes." He saw one with Celestia on it and floated it closer with his magic. "What's this one about?"

"Something about two princesses, Sir, but I don't know the details." Pepper shrugged, looking away. "I haven't read that one."

The comic was about Luna and Celestia fighting some great creature from space that threatened all the world. "Hm. Is that allowed, writing fiction about people who actually exist?"

Jade inclined her head. "It isn't not allowed. So long as they don't anger them. Celestia could demand they stop selling it, but she hasn't yet. If she isn't offended by a thing, who is going to say no?"

Solaris chuckled lightly and purchased a few comics, handing them to Pepper. The colt took them eagerly, giving the store owner his thanks before trotting off to lead the way further into the city.

As the trio walked, they discussed the comics Pepper was holding and the stories they told. Jade was happy enough to talk about the ones she had looked at in the past and even mentioned a few that Solaris might enjoy, if he were interested in the format. He hadn't been, too busy with trying to keep his ranch afloat. But he was living a different life.

***

All three walked back into the palace together, Solaris holding a new comic he had bought. "This could be fun." He flipped it open with his magic, examining the artwork with a smile. "Did you enjoy the trip, Pepper?"

"Oh, yes, Sir!" The colt saluted eagerly. "I'm ready for the next one, Sir!"

Jade glanced aside at them both. "I enjoyed myself as well." She gave them a bow and started off on her own again.

Solaris lowered his head to Pepper's level, cue enough for him to get closer. "Find out who she is, exactly. Don't be spotted. If you are spotted, you just happened to be in the area and ask her some innocent questions."

Pepper stood straight and tall. "Sir!"

He ruffled his mane gently. "Go ahead and play for now." With a laugh, Pepper ran off with his comics in hoof. He was soon running with a number of other fillies and colts, having a grand time.

Solaris headed further into the castle, tucking his comic away in his room before speeding along to where Twilight was waiting for him. She smiled at his arrival, then started teaching him magic eagerly. "Have you been practicing what I've already shown you?" He nodded quickly. "Great! Let's get started."

She went over the basic words, more of a quiz than anything else. "Very good. This really is like remembering more than teaching, you're picking it up quickly."

Solaris lifted an ear at that. It all looked new to him, but he was remembering them well enough. "Thank you." He lowered his head as she reached out to pat it with a hoof. "But I want to learn more than just words and theories." He smiled faintly. "I want to do something, a small spell, anything."

Twilight clapped her hooves with a big smile. "An eager student? You should be ready for a simple spell." She turned away, a book floating up with her magical glow as she leafed through it. "Here's one that foals love."

She gave him the instructions. The spell was more complicated than the words she had been giving him before. But, he tried his best, concentrating on the sounds and making sure to get the right notes and pauses in. He felt a warm pull, a tingling rush from his horn as he finished the spell. With a cork coming loose of a sound, a balloon appeared beside him and drifted towards the ground.

Solaris smiled faintly, then tried again. A second balloon appeared and drifted down with the first. He watched them both slowly fade away and nodded quickly to Twilight. "I did that, right?"

"You did. And, it gets better." She floated the book closer to the very next page. "As you can see her, these are the modification points. Learn them and you can change the color and size of each one you create. Keep focusing on a spell and you can keep them around longer, but focusing on one and casting another at the same time is quite difficult. Mostly harmless, so feel free to try it."

Solaris nodded eagerly. "Thank you!" He flipped back and forth between the two pages with the spell and the modifications and smiled warmly. "Thank you, Twilight, really. This means a lot to me." He tried it eagerly, making pink ones and blue ones, big ones and tiny ones. The room filled with colors as he worked, eager to see just how far he could go with it.

She watched with a smile, glancing over as a third pony joined in the fun. "Princess." She bowed, even if she was a princess herself. It seemed to be a habit around Celestia. "How can I help?"

Celestia smiled and shook her head. "You are doing fine. It would seem he's picked up on some magic, but is this really the right path?" She took a step in the collection of balloons carefully. "He seems to be enjoying it, perhaps too much."

"Celestia!" He whirled towards her. Concentration ruined, all the colors vanished in a series of bubble pop sounds. "Nice to see you. Twilight showed me my first spell."

She inclined her head with a smile. "It would seem so. Have you enjoyed yourself today, Solaris?"

Solaris looked between them both and nodded firmly. "Yes, I have. I met one of your guards, walked around Canterlot with her, and even learned some magic." He chuckled. "It's been quite the day."

Twilight cleared her throat. "I should get going. It was wonderful seeing you again, Princess Celestia." She started off on her way, trotting past with a little smile. "I'll be back for more magic lessons, so keep practicing, Solaris."

He nodded firmly. "Thank you again, Twilight." She gave him a bow before she was off, leaving the two royals behind.

Celestia regarded him evenly. "Shall we walk, then? My duties are waning with the day, and it sounds like you've had an eventful day of your own."

Solaris trotted up to her and nodded firmly. "That sounds lovely, thank you." He fell into step beside her, walking with the princess towards the open air of her garden. "I hadn't realized I needed a guard if I left."

"It is a matter of habit, but a good habit." She turned an eye, but the rest of her remained pointed ahead. "If something were to happen, it would be late to then want a guard around. Better to have one there ahead of time. I am pleased to report that, the great majority of the time, it is uneventful for the guards."

Solaris chuckled lightly at that, nodding. "I imagine so." He smiled gently. "But I did find out more about myself today. I like comics."

Celestia paused. "You did not before, I gather?"

"Had no time for them." He brushed against her, encouraging her forward. "I have a little time now, so I think I'll try some. The art of Equestria is nice, and I don't mind some good stories."

Celestia's smile returned. "That's wonderful, I'm glad to hear it." She glanced up at the sky. "And I've had my fair share of stories." She looked at him. "Though I speak of stories I lived, that others wrote down. Embarrassing things. You're lucky there is no novel of your life out there."

He blushed at that, looking away with an awkward laugh. "I don't know about that." He gestured around himself. "But I hope to have a story like yours."

She laughed gently. "I am unsure you mean that." She stepped closer, leaning in so her snout was close to his. "You would rule for over a thousand moons, watching the many lives of your people rush past you?"

Solaris closed the gap between them in a light nuzzle. "Well, it's not all bad." He pulled back after the kiss. "How are things going on for you? I don't hear about royal duties very often."

Celestia started back a precious inch. "I, hm. Nothing too extreme happened today. I am pleased to report that real estate dispute is fully in hoof, with both sides grumbling a little, but the matter closed to their acceptance." She glanced away. "One unicorn was throwing around his magic a bit too much, so he is in the dungeon until tomorrow. It is a crime to use magic against others."

Solaris reached up, rubbing her mane. "I don't know any magic that could be used on someone else, other than annoying them with a few balloons. Still, good to know. What were they doing?"

She smiled and nodded. "He was making others trip. A minor spell, but it can be dangerous depending on the height or where it was cast." She shook her head. "As for the rest, there are taxes being paid, which means I will need to go over those numbers later." She took a soft breath. "I am glad I have trusted ponies that adore counting to assist with that. For some of them, this is their favorite part. For me, not quite as much, but I attend it with a smile to keep their spirits high."

Solaris considered the garden they were walking towards with thought. "Would you rather count taxes or help me pick some apples?"

Celestia laughed and shook her head. "That is easy to answer." She turned her eyes to a small fruit tree growing in the garden. With her magic, she plucked an apple free and floated it over right in biting reach of Solaris. "One, just for you."

He leaned in, taking a bite from it. "Oh wow!" He leaned back, taking another. "That is amazing. I don't know what the trick is, but the fruit of Equestria is sweet, but not in a cloying kind of way, just really tasty." He turned the apple to her mouth. She accepted a bite with a smile before it disappeared into his saddlebag. "I'm saving that for later. What other duties do you have?"

She considered the question with a soft hum. "Other than making sure the sun tucks in, this is when I would normally do the same."

Author's Note

Pepper leads Solaris around, and he's alright with it.

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