In The Comfort of Her Majesty

Dingalingalingalingalingalingali-DING

"yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnn!"

Seven o'clock. Time to start the day.

Thunder Shock pulled himself out of bed and tried to shake out the drowsiness that still gripped his mind. After a few minutes of this, he opened his window curtains and allowed Celestia's morning light to flood his bedroom with its warmth. A quick trot downstairs brought Thunder to one of his closest companions: his tea pot. A few tea leaves, a bit of hot water, a few minutes of brewing, and three small drops of honey created Thunder Shock's coveted morning tea.

'siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiipppppppp'

'Ah, Earl Grey, you treat me right.'

After thoroughly enjoying his tea, he trotted back up and hopped in the shower, trying to enjoy as much of the hot water as he could. Unfurling his wings, he gave himself a quick air dry to get his wings in working order. A quick body grooming was his next order of business. He trotted over to his bathroom mirror and brushed his teeth and silvery white mane, making himself at the very least presentable. He quickly ran his brush over his thunder cloud and lightning cutie mark for good measure as well. The last pony who came to work with an unkempt cutie mark had to clean the locker room for a week.

With a last check in the mirror, Thunder trotted out of the bathroom and over to his dresser. He looked lovingly into the old picture that was sat upon it: a small dark blue colt with his parents at the park.

"Another day, another bag of bits. Wish me luck." he whispered.

With that taken care of, Thunder was out of the front door and into the bustling streets of Canterlot. The usual group of ponies were going about their business: the street merchants selling their wares, the nobles trying desperately not to associate themselves with the common ponies, and the common ponies themselves.

A left, a right, and two lefts later brought Thunder to his place of work: The Equestrian Weather Service Canterlot Office. He quickly trotted in and checked in at the front desk.

"Hi Thunder Shock! Hoping for park duty again?" the receptionist called out.

"Oh you know it!" he politely called back.

Quickly heading to the locker room, he donned his weather vest and goggles. After securing his gear, he trotted down the hall towards the main staff room. A few rows of simple fold out chairs were set up, along with a podium and projection screen in the front. Quickly sitting down, he waited patiently for the rest of the weather ponies to arrive. A few minutes later, a whitish blue stallion trotted in striking a victory pose.

"WASSUP! Sky Hopper is in the house!" he shouted with bravado.

"Hi Sky..." the others half heartedly responded.

A few minutes later, Flitter and Cloudchaser entered and sat down in front of Thunder. As he gazed at the pair, he couldn't help but admire their beauty, especially Flitter. As he gazed upon her, his heart began to beat with an anxious passion. Deciding to seize the opportunity, he gently tapped her on the shoulder.

"H-Hey Flitter." he nervously whispered.

"What's up?" she whispered back.

His breath became more labored as the anxiety grew in his chest.

"I...I was wondering...if your not too busy...maybe you'd like to..."

"To what?"

"...n...never mind."

Shortly after his failed attempt, the local weather captain, Lightning Titan, entered the room and stood at attention at the podium. He set a few papers down and cleared his aging throat.

"Morning everypony, happy Wendsday, let's make this quick. We're already running a little behind on our shift. Just got the results back, congratulations are in order. We're in the top five weather offices based on a public poll. Good job, but I want number one! So keep driving until we make it. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" the audience called out.

"Very good! Now, assignments. Flitter, Cloudchaser, you're on the east side today. Need a level two storm to keep the sewer systems in town flowing. Get to it."

The two quickly trotted out of the building to start their shifts.

"April Showers, Blue Skies, you're going to Ponyville. Their office is a little short staffed today and they need a boost. Ask for Rainbow Dash when you get there."

Lightning Titan cleared his throat again and continued to read off the list in front of him. Unbeknownst to anypony, Thunder nervously tapped his hoof as the assignments were called out.

"Thunder Shock, your favorite: park duty. Make sure those nobles don't get a sunburn."

A quiet sigh left Thunder Shock as he finally relaxed in his chair.

"Sky Hopper, your suspension continues. You're with Thunder today."

A audible groan echoed the room as Sky vocalized his frustration. Their assignments handed out, Thunder and Sky flew quickly over the Royal Canterlot park, four square city block of trees, beautiful flowers, and a stunning lake. The job was simple but tedious: manage the clouds according to the park dwellers, water the trees and flowers when necessary, and above all, do NOT anger the nobles. Sky took exception to this rule and would make funny faces towards them behind the clouds he would handle throughout most of the day.

Around noon, as Thunder was busting up a few clouds for a loving couple's special moment, Cloudchaser sped toward him with worry in her eyes.

"Thunder, can you help me for a minute?! I'm really flying blind here!" she called out.

"Why? What's the problem?"

"I tried to get the level two going, but the clouds just won't start up. Can you help me out?"

"What about Flitter? Can't she-"

"Her wings started to cramp up. She can't get airborne for another fifteen minutes and the storm needed to start twenty minutes ago! Please?!"

" 'sigh' Alright, but just this one time."

"Oh thank you so much! I already got the clouds set up, but I can't start them up. This way."

Thunder and Cloudchaser headed far to the east of town when they came across the swollen grey storm clouds. As Cloudchaser corrected their height and position, Thunder started to scan the ground below with worry in his eyes. Flitter had taken shelter under a massive archway as she furiously rubbed her wings. Thunder continued his scan, looking for anything that could cause complications.

"Ok, first things first, is there anypony else down there?" he asked with concern.

"Flitter and I did a quick fly through before we set up the clouds. I think it's pretty empty down there."

"You THINK?! Cloud, a storm set up isn't something you guess at! It takes a special kind of precision to pull off a safe storm. One wrong move-"

Catching himself before he could rant further, he took a deep breath and sighed heavily "Look, just stay right here. I'll do a fly through really quick."

Thunder quickly swooped down and began to check every alleyway, every doorway, every nook and cranny of the streets below for any hidden ponies. The area clear, he quickly flew back up to the storm clouds and did a final check to make sure they were in the correct position. With everything set, Thunder turned away from the clouds, did a few quick calculations in his head, breathed deeply, and gave them a very strong kick. The clouds roared and reverberated from his energy until small rain drops began to fall. With another powerful buck, the rain came pouring down, drenching the city below.

Cloud could only look on in awe as she saw the storm in full force. "That....That was amazing! Thank you so-"

"Yeah yeah yeah. Look, think you two can manage it from here?" Thunder quickly asked.

"Well, yeah, I think-"

"Great. Gotta get back to the park. See ya."

Thunder quickly flew back to the park, leaving Cloud with a powerful storm to manage and a confused look on her face.

The late afternoon sky trekked across the sky as Thunder and Sky trotted home after their day's work.

"Well, another day down. I think that went well enough." said Thunder.

"Yeah, if you like bending over and taking it from the nobles, then its just a blast." Sky responded sarcastically.

"Oh come on Sky, it's not so bad. Keeps us fed and sheltered and SOME of the nobles are nice."

"You may get some of the nice ones. All I get are the plot holes."

"Now you're overreacting."

"Says the only weather pony who LIKES park duty."

"Now what's that supposed to mean?"

Sky stopped in front of his friend and put his hoof on Thunder's shoulder.

" 'sigh' Look, how long have we been doing this for?"

Thunder rolled his eyes a bit as he recollected about his time in Canterlot. "Um, it's been about.........seven years I think."

"Right. And after all these years, the only time I've seen you enthusiastic about the job is when you get park duty.

"Sky..."

"I'm serious. Every other assignment we've been on together you act like you're about to hurt a puppy. I mean, why don't you volunteer for storm duty once in a while?"

"Look, I have my reasons. Can we leave it at that?"

"Fine. By the way, what was up with you and Flitter during assignment?"

"Oh. W-Well I wanted...I mean I just...I was trying to..."

"You didn't have the bits to ask her out did you?"

"...yeah."

"Dude, I'm just looking out for ya. You keep going like this and your gonna have a lot of regret at the end."

"Sky, things just don't happen that way for me. That's all. I can deal with park duty no problem."

"Listen, if you ever want to hang out or just talk things out, gimme a holler. I'll be here for you."

"Sure. Thanks Sky."

"No problem. See you tomorrow."

"See you Sky."

After parting ways with Sky, Thunder continued toward home. As he rounded the corner, he saw a purplish blue earth pony laid down on a city bench crying into her hooves. As he neared the distraught mare, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He was about to continue on when her wails became even louder.

'Come on. At least ask her if she's OK.'

With trepidation, he approached her and cleared his throat.

"Um, excuse me miss. Are you alright?" he asked.

Upon hearing him, the mare dried her eyes and fought to hold back any remaining sobs.

"Oh, hello. I'm sorry, I've just had a really bad day."

"Really? ...Tell me about it."

"What?"

"Tell me what's bothering you. It'll help you feel better."

"...Why do you care?"

"Because I don't like seeing ponies sad. I've been like that before and I learned that talking to somepony helps."

"...W-Well, I just broke up with my coltfriend and I don't have anywhere to go."

"Don't you have any friends or family that you can-"

"No, and that son of a mule has all of my bits. I don't know what I'm going to do-o-o."

Thunder could see the anguish and pain in the mare's puffy eyes. 'Might as well offer.' he thought.

"Listen, my place isn't too far away. If you'd like, you can stay with me for the night."

" 'sniff' Really?"

"Eh, what can I say? I'm a nice pony."

Quickly composing herself, she stood up and bowed ever slightly at Thunder. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I'm Moonlight by the way."

"Thunder Shock. And it's no problem at all. Come on, it's gonna be dark soon."

The two of them continued down the road until they reached Thunder's humble apartment. He quickly unlocked the door and motioned her inside.

"Come on in. Have a seat. Would you like a cup of tea? I always have one after work." he said as he pointed towards his couch.

"S-Sure. With a small lump of sugar if you have it please."

"Coming right up." Thunder trotted into the kitchen and got to work. After quickly brewing two cups, he carefully trotted back over to the couch and set the cups on the coffee table.

"There you go. Be careful, it's a little hot." he warned as he sat down next to her.

Moonlight carefully lifted the cup with her hooves and took a small sip. "MMMMMMM. This is really good."

"Glad you like it. Now, if you don't mind me asking, what happened between you and your coltfriend?"

Moonlight looked down at her cup dejectedly and quietly sighed. "I...I don't know if I-"

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to pry. I just want to help."

Her lip trembling, she gazed into Thunder's emerald eyes.

"W-Well, It started out all right I guess. We met at a party and just seemed to click. We had a few dinner dates, walks through the park, stuff like that. Pretty soon, I'm moving in with him. I really thought things were getting serious between us. Then, he just....changed. He started to become angry at the drop of a hat. If W-I was five minutes late getting home, he would accuse me of sleeping around. Today, I told him how I felt and he just snapped. Told me he could have any mare in Canterlot if he wanted. Then he threw me out."

Thunder could only sigh and set his tea cup down.

"Moonlight. I'm probably the least experienced pony in the world to give relationship advice. But I know this. If the pony who says they love you treats you like dirt, then they don't really love you. Everypony should be with someone that truly cares for them."

"But...I still love him."

"I'm sure that you do. But do you really want to be like this? Always giving, never getting, being hurt like that? It's your life. You chose who to spend it with. Spend it with somepony who cares."

Tears began to stream down Moonlight's eyes as she attempted to compose herself.

"T-Thank you Thunder."

"Not a problem. Always ready to hel-WHOA!"

Moonlight had gently crept up towards Thunder and moved in to kiss him on the lips causing Thunder to fall off of the couch and onto his back with a thud.

"D...Did you just try and kiss me?!"

"I-I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! It's just...I was..."

"It's alright..it's fine. Just a bit of a surprise."

"I..I need to go outside for a minute. Get some fresh air. Clear my head."

"Go ahead."

She quickly opened the door and trotted out, leaving Thunder to roll onto his stomach and get back on his hooves. After getting off of the cold hardwood floor, he closed his eyes and began to breath deeply.

'Calm down. She's just going through a lot. She's vulnerable. Just give her some space and it will all work out.' he thought.

As he opened his eyes again, he could see the moon begin its long trek across the evening sky.

'Wow. Luna's on point tonight. Whatever ponies say, she can make a good starry night.'

The door gently crept back open and Moonlight trotted back in. She hung her head down and avoided Thunder's gaze.

"I'm-I'm OK now. I'm just...." she said.

"It's OK. Uh, look, it's getting late. Why don't I set you up down here? Just wait right here."

Thunder quickly trotted up the stairs and grabbed the comforter and a pillow from his bed. He quickly trotted back down sat the bed supplies down on the couch.

"There we go. Need anything else?" he asked.

"No. Thank you."

"Not a problem. I think I'm gonna turn in for the night. Need anything, I'm right upstairs."

"Got it. Good Night Thunder.

"Good Night Moonlight."

Thunder trotted back upstairs and gently closed his bedroom door. As he settled into bed, he took one last look at the picture on his dresser.

"Night Mom, Night Dad." he whispered.

The full moon was now high in the sky and aside from a stray few ponies on the street, all was peaceful and quiet. Thunder Shock had long gone to sleep, his body exhausted from the drama of the day. Moonlight too was fast asleep on the couch...until one of her eyes shot open and surveyed the room. Finding nothing up and about, she quietly headed up to Thunder's room and gently opened the door. Upon finding Thunder deep in sleep, she quietly trotted back downstairs and scribbled out a short note which she left next to his coveted tea pot. Her work done, she slid out the front door and onto the cool dark street. Quickly crossing the street, she ducked into an adjacent alley and peered into the darkness.

"It is done, Tia." she said plainly.

Out of the darkness peered Princess Celestia in all of her regal glory. Knowing that her disguise was no longer needed, Moonlight's newly materialized horn quickly shone with a blue tint and undid the complex spell cast upon her. Only a few moments passed before Princess Luna regained her true form.

"How was he?" Celestia replied.

"Very nice indeed. He offered me a place to stay for the night and even a cup of tea. He was mindful and respectful, overall a nice pony. However..."

Celestia's face quickly turned to worry. "Did something happen?"

"We...I attempted to kiss him full on the lips as payment for my lodgings, but he refused."

"LUNA!" Celestia exclaimed, quickly catching her mistake and hoping no pony would investigate the noise.

"What? You said to make sure that he was up to the royal standards. Besides..."

Luna's mouth curled into a devilish grin.

"I like to be a tease."

Celestia could only roll her eyes and shake her head at her sister's brazen attitude. "Regardless, he does have a good nature, does he not?"

"Indeed. Though he does seem a bit...reserved."

"That can be taken care of in time. Do you have any issue with him?"

"None Tia."

Celestia looked lovingly onto the small apartment, feeling a warmth in her heart that had been absent for far too long. "Then I believe we've found the right pony..."

Dingalingalingalingalingalingali-DING

"yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnn!"

Seven o'clock. Time to start the day.

Thunder Shock pulled himself out of bed and tried to shake out the drowsiness that still gripped his mind. A quick realization did the trick.

'Moonlight!'

Quickly covering himself in his bedsheets, Thunder opened his bedroom door and poked his head out.

"Moonlight? Are you awake? Are you decent?" he called out.

Hearing no reply, he trotted down the stairs to find Moonlight gone. Looking around the area, he noticed a small piece of paper next to his tea pot. It simply read:

Had to go to work early this morning. Thanks for everything. Moonlight.

'Well, at least she's OK. What a night.'

Setting the note back down, Thunder trotted back upstairs and quickly made his bed. He then went through the rest of his morning routine: tea, shower, brush, mirror check, photo.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

'Crap! I'm gonna be late, I know it!'

"Coming!" he called out as he galloped downstairs to the front door. Opening it, he found two very armed royal guards glaring down at him.

"Uh, Can I help you gentlecolts?" he asked nervously.

"Are you Thunder Shock?" the guard on the left asked.

"...Yes." Thunder responded with a slight bit of fear.

"You've been summoned for an audience with her majesty, Princess Celestia. We've been ordered to escort you to the castle immediately." said the guard on the right.

After a few seconds of trying to comprehend the situation, Thunder cracked a small smile.

"HAHAHAHA! OK, seriously, did Sky put you guys up to this? Cause I gotta say, your costumes are FANTASTIC! Hahah..."

The guards kept the same look of seriousness on their faces.

"...you're serious?"

"Yes sir. Please get in the chariot." the guard on the left said as he motioned to the chariot parked behind them. Not wanting to anger the guards and find himself thrown into the local dungeon, Thunder obeyed their commands and entered the craft. A few minutes of ground travel brought Thunder and his escort to the main gates of the castle. As the party entered into the castle grounds, Thunder's heart was pounding in his chest.

'What does the princess want with ME? Did I not file my taxes on time? Did I screw up a weather formation over her or something? Oh I am so screwed!'

Thunder's anxiety only worsened as the guards led him into the castle proper. As he was led through the massive hallways and corridors, he couldn't help but be taken aback at the castle's interior beauty. Almost every room and hallway they passed was fitted with a rug or painting and great crystal chandeliers lit their path. A few minutes later, they walked past a set of double doors with a small inscription. Thunder squinted his eyes and made out 'DAY COURT' from it.

"So that's where Celestia holds court." he muttered under his breath.

"Yes. However, the court is recessed for the day. It's the two hundred and forty seventh anniversary of the end of the Griffon Civil War. Celestia has called a day of remembrance for our ally's plight." one of the guards lectured.

"Ah. Didn't know that." Thunder replied.

After what felt like a small eternity trekking through the castle, the group stopped at a set of double doors. One of the guards knocked loudly against the wood. Thunder could hear a set of clicks and clangs as the elaborate locking mechanism was working. The doors soon creaked open and the group quickly trotted inside. They continued down a long hallway as Thunder attempted to see what was ahead. Peeking over the guards' shoulders, he could see to the end of the hallway and saw a set of stairs going up and down. As they neared the end of the hallway, he could see a pair of double doors on each side of the stairs. To the right of the stairs, the doors were emblazoned with a picture of the sun. To the left, a crescent moon adorned the doors.

The group stopped right in front of the sun doors as one of the guards gently knocked on the doors.

"Yes?" a voice from the other side called out.

"Your highness. We have brought Thunder Shock to you as ordered." one of the guards responded.

"Thank you. Please show him."

"Yes your highness." The two guards pushed the door open and lead Thunder inside. And there, sitting at a small round table, was Princess Celestia herself. Her regalia shown brightly in the sunlight of the nearby windows and her ethereal mane flowed as gently as the breeze. Thunder was immediately taken at how radiant and beautiful the Princess really was. However, the thing that Thunder was really taken back by was her size. He generally thought himself as having an average size body for a pegasus, maybe slightly bigger. Yet Celestia was a good two to three times larger than he was. He couldn't help but slightly tremble as he neared the solar diarch. Seeing Celestia at all was considered a rare luxury to a common pony in Canterlot; now he here was right in her very presence. The two guards in front of him bowed almost immediately.

"Thank you both for your service. Now, go and inform Luna to be prepared. She will know what that means. And then stand guard at the door. Dismissed." she said to the guards

"At once, your highness!" the two of them responded as they rose to their hooves and trotted out of the room, locking the door behind them.

Now alone with Celestia, Thunder was shaking like a foal facing down a manticore.

After a full minute of silence, his brain finally began to function again. 'SAY HELLO!' it managed to belt out.

"G...g-g-g...good morning, your highness." Thunder choked out as he continued to tremble.

"Good morning Thunder Shock. I'm sorry if my guards startled you at all. They tend to have a flair for the dramatic."

"N-No problem at all your highness." he responded. 'SMILE! NOD! DON'T FAINT!' his rattled brain continued to spit out.

"Please, call me Celestia."

"Yes yo......Celestia."

Celestia could only smile at the stallion's attempt to remain calm in her presence. Quickly lighting up her horn, she materialized a tea set and began to pour herself a cup.

"Would you care for some tea? I have plenty."

"S-Sure. Thank you."

Thunder took a seat at the table and tepidly picked up his tea cup. After a small sip, his eyes widened at the taste of the Princess's brew.

"Wow. This...this is really good!" he remarked.

"It is Canterlot Breakfast tea with a little bit of sugar and orange peel added. It's my favorite."

"MMMMMMM. I gotta say, you have excellent taste in tea yo-Celestia."

"Thank you." After the two of them had thoroughly enjoyed their tea, Celestia looked down upon Thunder with a strong sense of authority in her eyes. "Now, you must be wondering why I have summoned you here."

Thunder's anxiety began to pick up yet again as he struggled to speak louder than a whisper. "Princess, If I have offended or hurt you in ANY way, shape, or form, I-"

"You are not in any trouble Thunder Shock." she interrupted firmly.

"Oh. Well then why did you summon me?"

"I wish to discuss something...private with you."

"Private? What do you mean?"

Celestia stood up and began to trot over to her nightstand.

"I cannot discuss it here, for my sake and yours."

She quickly opened the shelf of the nightstand and riffled through it's contents. A few seconds later, she magically pulled out a dark blue potion bottle.

"What is that?" Thunder asked.

"It is a deep sleep potion. I would like for you to drink it. It will allow us to have our discussion without anypony eavesdropping."

"I don't understand. How will that help us talk?"

"I cannot go into the specifics right now. What I wish to talk to you about has to be handled very carefully. I know that you have no reason to go along with any of this, but I assure you that you will come to no harm in my charge. If you wish to leave after we talk, I will think nothing less of you."

Celestia hovered the bottle onto the table where Thunder continued to sit. He gazed at the bottle for a few seconds as he attempted to comprehend the situation. 'OK, let's think this through. I highly doubt the Princess wants to hurt me, but why all the secrecy? ...well, one way to find out.'

He quickly picked up the bottle and slowly drank the potion inside. It tasted surprisingly sweet as it went down Thunder's throat. The bottle now empty, Thunder turned back to Celestia.

"So, how long does this...this take...ta...taaaaaaaaaaaaaa..."

Thunder began to wobble and lean as he desperately attempted to keep his balance. Finally succumbing to the potion, he fell onto the floor on his side just as a dark wave of oblivion began to consume his mind...