In The Comfort of Her Majesty

The world was only shadows and muffled noises as Thunder slid in and out of consciousness. His eyes fluttered wildly as he sat up slowly and stretched his body.

'What a dream. Meeting the Princess, seeing the castle, going to that garden, stuff like that doesn't come around a lot.' he thought.

He blissfully rolled over on his right side and began to close his eyes to catch a few more minutes of glorious sleep...until his eyes shot wide open at the sight next to him. Sure enough, Celestia was still resting just a few inches away. Gently rising up, he quickly took a look around and realized he was still in Celestia's room; only now he was in her gigantic bed.

'OK, this REALLY needs to stop happening. I can't take much more!'

A few seconds later, Celestia began to stir and snort as she too started to wake up; her yawning echoing throughout the room.

"MMMMMmmmm. Good Morning Thunder Shock. Did you sleep well?" she said.

"Y-Yes your highness. I-I didn't mean to wake you." he nervously whispered.

"Oh, you didn't. I need to get up anyway."

As Celestia began to rise up from the bed, Thunder began to take a mental inventory of everything that had happened in the past day or so. 'Alright, so that WASN'T a dream. I'm the consort now. How's this gonna...wait. Morning? What time is it?'

Thunder frantically turned his head looking for a clock. Finding one on the nearby nightstand, he was taken back at the time: 6:33 A.M. 'Six thir-We slept the ENTIRE DAY?! Faust, that potion was strong stuff.' As he was gazing at the clock, he could hear the muffled sounds of metal clicking and shifting into place.

"Um, Celestia, I don't mean to be difficult, but I really need to take care of-"

Turning back around, he saw that no one else was in the room.

"Celestia? "Princess?" Looking further to the right, he noticed an open door that lead onto a nearby balcony. Cautiously, Thunder rose from the bed and trotted towards it. He peeked outside to see Celestia attired in her regalia with her eyes closed and her horn alight with magic. Soon after, the sky began to shift from dark blue and indigo to muted shades of yellow and orange, and before long the sun began to slowly peek above the eastern horizon and brightened the land below. Thunder shielded his eyes as the sun continued to climb higher in the sky. Her work complete, Celestia relaxed her magic and sighed.

Thunder could only stand in awe at the majesty of her work.

"That...that was beautiful." he remarked

Celestia turned towards him with a smile. "Thank you."

She quickly rose to her hooves and trotted back inside. "Now, we have to properly introduce you to everypony before the day court starts. This way."

As she trotted towards the bedroom door, Thunder quickly stood at attention. "W-Wait! I still need to take care of some things!" he said with urgency.

She immediately stopped and turned her head back around to Thunder. "Like what?"

"Well, I have to let the weather office know-"

"Your resignation letter will be sent later this morning and your former coworkers will be informed."

"O...kay. And what about my apartment? I'm gonna have to give notice..."

"The remainder of your lease will be paid and your things moved in by the end of the day."

Thunder was locked in stunned silence at the depth of Celestia and Luna's foresight.

"We like to be thorough around here. Now, I'm sure you would like to freshen up a bit before the staff meeting. You can use your new bathroom. It's already stocked with the basics. Follow me."

'...just...go with it.' Thunder mentally chastised.

They quickly trotted out of Celestia's room and headed downstairs. One floor down, they came to a long hallway with a set of double doors on the right and another set at the end. They stopped at the doors on the right as Thunder continued to look down the hall.

"What's through there?" he asked.

"The dining room. You can order meals there whenever you're hungry. You may be called to share meals with us from time to time." Celestia said as she unlocked the doors. "Here we are."

Thunder followed her into the room and immediately took stock of it. The room itself was about three times as big as his old bedroom. It was completely devoid of furniture aside from a bed that was twice as big as he was. Like Celestia's room, a balcony was connected on the east side giving a sweeping view of the city and valleys below. A simple wooden door adorned the far side of the room.

"The bathroom is right through there." she said while pointing to the wooden door. "Well, what do you think?"

"This is very nice. Thank you Celestia." he replied as he bowed respectfully.

"You're very welcome." Celestia said with a warm smile. "It's important to Luna and I that you be comfortable and well rested. Now, the meeting will start in about an hour. I will send some guards to get you just as soon as we're ready for you." She then gently closed the doors leaving Thunder alone with his thoughts.

'Well, this has all been very...interesting. Oh for Faust's sake, how am I gonna pull this off?! Pleasing the princesses? I can barely please myself! The whole thing is just-'

Thunder then took a very deep breath and brought a hoof up to rub his temple slowly. 'Baby steps Thunder, baby steps. Just...take this whole thing slowly and keep calm. I'll figure it out as I go...I hope. Well, might as well get freshened up.'

He trotted across the room going through the doors and into the bathroom. It had all of the essentials: toilet, sink, medicine cabinet, shower, bathtub, towels. However, upon opening the cabinet, he saw a plethora of medicines, soaps, shampoos, deodorants, vitamins, and other assorted potions. Quickly looking through them, he pulled out some passion fruit scented soap and shampoo and trotted towards the shower. He firmly turned the knobs and sat back as the pipes behind the shower groaned and creaked alive. The water soon came pouring out in a hot steaming cascade.

He timidly stuck his hoof in front of the shower head to gauge the water's heat. Finding it satisfactory, he carefully maneuvered his body towards the water and let it soak his entire body. He sighed contently as the powerful stream relaxed his muscles and dampened his mane.

'Now this. This I can get used to.' he thought contently.

After fifteen minutes or so of relaxing and washing, he shut off the water and quickly dried himself off. He trotted back into the bedroom and laid flat on his back on the bed. 'I wonder what everypony at the weather office is up to? Heh, I bet Sky is getting reamed by Titan for picking on the nobles or something.'

He began to recall all of his years at the weather office as visions of the past raced through his mind. His many years of park duty; his friendship with Sky; even his work with a few impressive storms all came flooding back. 'What a time. What a time.' he thought with a grin.

A sudden knocking at the door roused Thunder from his recollection.

"Yes?" he called out.

"The staff meeting has begun. You're needed in the courtroom." a dutiful voice called back.

He quickly trotted to the door and opened it to find two royal guards at the ready. Closing the door behind him, Thunder and the guards traveled through the castle until they reached the courtroom. Gently opening the door, Thunder saw Celestia and Luna on their thrones presiding over rows upon rows of guards and maids who had filled the delegates' benches.

"Next, I'm sure I don't need to remind you all that the crystal ponies have endured great hardships over the past few years to rebuild their society. Many of them are still recovering from the effects of King Sombra's horrid magic. If anypony wishes to donate a portion of their pay towards helping those who are still in need, please speak to your immediate supervisor. Any help would be greatly appreciated." she said as the staff in attendance murmured in agreement.

Thunder was led to a seat right in the middle of the princesses. Quickly sitting down, he looked on at the massive crowd and couldn't help but be slightly overwhelmed. Noticing that he had finally arrived, Celestia smiled and quickly cleared her throat.

"Now, onto a bit of better news. I'm sure a few rumors have been spreading around, and they are true. Luna and I have selected the first new consort in over a millennium."

The room immediately filled with the hushed mutterings and whispers of the castle staff.

"Please give a warm welcome to Thunder Shock." she said as she and Luna turned their heads towards him.

"Hello, Thunder Shock." the staff called out in unison.

"H-Hi everypony. How's it going?" he managed to choke out. He could feel the eyeballs of at least thirteen dozen ponies looking over him as though he were some strange alien that had just landed in their backyard. Celestia and Luna turned their heads again to face the staff.

"As the consort, he will be accompanying either myself or Luna from now on,” Celestia began. “Please read the material given to you as to how he will fit into the royal hierarchy and his exact duties. Also give his description to the off-duty staff so we can get everypony up to speed. However, you are NOT to mention this information to anyone outside of castle staff. If you have any questions or issues, please consult with your immediate supervisor. We know this is a big change for us all, and we must do all that we can to make this transition as painless as possible."

Her face then took on a look of absolute seriousness. "We also know that due to the nature of his duties, some of you may be slightly...uncomfortable with his presence around the castle. To anyone who is thinking about doing anything that may make him uncomfortable or question his decision, let me make it very clear that this will NOT be tolerated.

"Indeed." said Luna with a nod. "Anypony caught either disrespecting him or making back hooved comments behind his back will be dealt with in the proper manner. Understood?" she called out.

"Yes your majesties!" the staff responded.

Celestia's warm smile returned as she nestled in her throne.

"Good. Now, the day court will be starting in about an hour and the delegates will be arriving soon. Let's make this a very safe and productive day. Dismissed."

As the room began to clear out, one very prevalent thought was on Thunder Shock's very rattled mind.

'I need a cup of tea.'

Thunder gracefully sipped the warm brown liquid with calm serenity. The dining room was completely deserted aside from himself and the maid who had served him his beverage.

"Do you need anything else?" the maid asked.

"Uh, no. Thank you." he responded.

"As you wish, sire." said the maid as she quickly bowed her head and trotted back towards the kitchen.

'Sire? Well, might as well start getting used to it.' he thought as he continued to drink his tea. As he basked in the peaceful silence of the room, Princess Luna quietly trotted in.

"Ah, there you are. One of the maids told me they saw you come in here. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." she said.

"I'm fine. Just...trying to enjoy a cup of tea through all of this." he responded.

Luna trotted up next to him and took a seat. "So, how are you doing?"

"For a pony whose life has been turned inside out and upside down, I like to think I'm handling it pretty well." he quipped back. He quickly brought his hoof over his mouth, afraid he had committed a massive verbal gaffe. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's fine. It was funny." she responded with a slight giggle. Thunder could only moan and throw up his hoof in defeat.

"Anyway, I wanted to give you a proper tour of the castle I would rather you not get lost during your time here." Luna said.

"Sure. One sec." he responded as he quickly finished off his tea. The two of them began to trot through the great hallways of the castle; enjoying the splendor of it's design.

'OK Thunder, be calm. Just...try to strike up some conversation.' he thought nervously.

"So...what do you do around here?” Thunder asked, while internally rolling his eyes at himself and thinking, '...smooth.'

"Well, during the night I raise the moon and monitor the dreams of ponies in distress. During the day however, that is a different story. Officially, I am on standby in case Celestia cannot attend to her duties of the day court. But she almost always performs admirably, so I find other ways to pass the time." Luna responded.

"Really? What do you do to keep busy?"

"Well, we-" Luna caught herself slipping and groaned in frustration. "...I...have been taking courses to be more modern in my way of speaking. Old habits die very hard. I also read, write, take long walks, anything to keep myself active basically."

"Ah. Anyway, thank you for choosing me as the consort..."

"You're quite welcome. I was actually surprised that you accepted the position."

"Why?"

"It takes a special kind of pony to become the consort. Many have turn down the position when offered in the past. Some can't handle the strain and resign or run off in the night. The fact that you're even standing here says a lot about you."

"I'm just hoping I can live up to the challenge."

"Oh but you already have Thunder. And you have done so quite well."

"...what do you mean?"

Luna stopped in front of him and flared her horn. "Tell me, does this look familiar?" Her magic wrapped around her body; contorting and shaping it until it resembled a certain purplish blue earth pony. "..W-Well, I just broke up with my coltfriend and I don't have anywhere to go." she said feigning a few sobs.

"...you...you were..." he managed to choke out.

Luna quickly changed back into her regal form and took on a devilish grin. "Clever, aren't I? Now come along; there is a lot more to see."

The two spent the day trotting around the castle; taking in the sights as they went. The castle was bustling with it's daily activity with maids cleaning here and there to guards dutifully patrolling the halls. From the high conservatory to the royal library, Thunder was amazed at the shear size and scope of it all.

As the two of them finished their tour, the afternoon sun was slowly setting in the sky.

"Wow, we've been this all day, huh?" said Thunder.

"Indeed. The day court should be adjourning soon. Celestia will want to talk to you, I'm sure." Luna replied.

"Um, if you don't mind your majesty, can I take a short side trip to my room? I just want to make sure that all my stuff got here safely."

"Of course. And you don't need to be so formal in front of me when we are alone. You can call me Luna."

"Thank you your...Luna."

He trotted down the steps towards his room and quickly opened the door to check on his room. Sure enough, all of his furniture had been moved aside from his old bed. Stacked here and there on top of the furniture were a few of his things: his clothes for special occasions, his books, his alarm clock, his teapot. However, as he looked around the room, one thing was missing.

"Where-Where is...?" he inquired worryingly.

"Thunder, is everything alright?" Luna inquired while trotting in behind him.

He quickly dashed to his dresser and began to frantically open the drawers; searching through them like a mad pony. "Where is it?! Oh sweet holy FAUST, WHERE IS-"

His calm demeanor returned when he opened the bottom drawer and found his missing item: an old picture of a small dark blue colt with his parents at the park. He carefully lifted the picture from the drawer and set it on the nightstand next to his bed.

"I-for a second I thought I'd lost this." he said.

"It's alright. Celestia and I know how much that picture means to you." Luna responded.

As he continued to gaze lovingly at the portrait, the two of them heard a gentle rapping at the door.

"Come in." Thunder called out.

The door quickly opened and a petite emerald maid came trotting into the room.

"F-Forgive my intrusion Princess Luna, but there is a situation in the main hall." said the maid.

"What's going on?" Luna inquired.

"There is a Sky Hopper wanting to see master Thunder Shock, and he's creating quite a disturbance." the maid replied.

'Sky? Sky's here?!' thought Thunder anxiously.

"Please tell Mr. Hopper that master Thunder Shock is busy at the moment and to make an appointment to see him later." said Luna

"We did, and he says that he will not leave the castle until he speaks with master Thunder Shock." said the maid with a small frown.

"Well, tell Mr. Hopper that if he does not leave, he will be arrested and thrown in the dungeon for the night."

"We did, and he says that if we try to force him out, he will 'kick our flanks from here to Las Pegasus and have a smile on his face while doing it.'"

"Look, let me talk to him. Maybe I can get him to calm down and leave." Thunder implored to Luna.

"...Very well." she responed.

"Thank you! I won't be long! Promise!" he called out as he galloped out of his room and through the halls of the castle...

"Sir, if you do not stand down in the next minute, we will be forced to place you under arrest." Thunder heard a guard dutifully calling out he approached the main hall.

"Take your best shot there big slick! You touch me, you're entering a world of pain!" Sky's voice called back.

Thunder raced into the main hall to see Sky hovering defiantly over a large group of guards.

"SKY!" he called out.

"Thunder! Dude, am I glad to see you!" Sky called back.

Thunder galloped towards the guards and managed to push his way through.

Thunder galloped towards the guards and started to push his way through them. "It's alright. Just let me talk to him. Please," he pleaded. The guards soon stepped away, though not without a bit of grumbling, then scattered to a respectful distance, leaving him alone to deal with Sky. "Sky, what are you doing?! Do you want to get thrown in the dungeon?!"

"What am I doing?! What are YOU doing?! Titan told us this morning that you had quit. I went to your place after work to get answers, but I saw these guys moving all of your stuff out. I followed them back here and they said they couldn't let me see you. Now, what is going on?!" Sky exclaimed.

"Sky, relax. Everything is fine. It...it's just a little complicated-"

"Complicated?! What are you talking about?! I want to know what's going on RIGHT NOW or I'm not going anywhere!"

Thunder's mind raced with fear and anxiety as he tried to think of a plausible excuse to please Sky. "Well, uh...You see, uh...t-the thing is that..."

"I see that you've met our new national weather adviser." a regal voice called from behind the pair.

Sure enough, Princess Celestia came trotting towards them with a air of authority about her.

"National weather adviser?" Sky inquired.

"Uh, YEAH! That's me! National weather adviser. You know, advising the...national weather...and all." said Thunder as he smiled dubiously.

"I've never heard of a national weather adviser..." Sky said disbelievingly.

"Not surprising. There hasn't been one in over a millennium. However, with all of the chaos in our weather patterns in recent years, Luna and I felt it was high time to appoint a proper one to help deal with the issue at hoof." Celestia responded

"That...is...so...AWESOME! Dude, why didn't you tell me about this?!" Sky exclaimed.

"It was a very deliberative process in choosing Thunder Shock. I told him to keep our conversations a secret for the time being. I didn't want any outside interferences affecting his decision." said Celestia.

"Yeah, that's it. Sorry I couldn't tell you sooner Sky." Thunder responded.

"Aw, I can't stay mad at ya. Glad you're finally moving up in the world. Proud of you dude." Sky remarked as he gave Thunder a firm bro hug.

Thunder quickly reciprocated with a small smile on his face. "Thanks Sky. It was good to see you again. I'll be seeing you around, don't worry."

"You know where to find me. Hey, don't forget the little ponies who got you to the top!" Sky then trotted out of the main hall and took to the skies.

With the ordeal over, Thunder breathed deeply and faced Celestia. "I-I'm sorry you had to see that. Sky can get that way sometimes."

"No problem. I've faced threats far greater than a disgruntled weather pony. Now, it's getting late and I wish to retire for the evening. Shall we?" she responded.

"Oh sure. Lead the way." The two of them trotted back through the castle towards the living quarters. "So...national weather adviser?" he whispered.

"A simple cover story to explain your presence in the castle. A formal press release will be sent out tomorrow." she whispered back. The two of them continued on until they reached her chamber doors. "You know, I wasn't completely lying. Luna and I sought out many stallions to fill the role of the consort. Out of all of the candidates, we asked you."

Thunder stood by her in stunned silence as she gently opened her chamber door.

"I know today has been especially nerve wracking for you. You may have the rest of the evening to yourself. However, tomorrow is Saturday, so please be sure to make yourself available. Have a very good night." she said.

"T-Thank you...Celestia." he responded.

She smiled ever softly and gently closed the door. Thunder breathed deeply and trotted back towards his room. The emerald maid still walked the halls as he neared his room.

"Will you be needing anything else this evening, sire?" she inquired.

Thunder opened his mouth to answer when a loud growl and gurgle escaped from it.

"Um, if it's not too much trouble, may I have three daisy sandwiches with mustard and mayonnaise and a glass of water?" he asked humbly.

"Yes sire." the maid responded as she trotted towards the dining room. Thunder quickly entered his room and laid down on his bed.

'Well, looks like this is gonna be home for a while. Wonder how long it will be for?' he thought.

A few minutes later, a gentle knock came from the other side of Thunder's chamber door. He quickly hopped up and opened the door to find the maid standing with a silver tray of food.

"Your sandwiches, sire." she said.

Thunder quickly took the tray and sat it down on his coffee table. "Thank you." he said as he gently closed the door.

Thunder quickly grabbed one of his books and settled in on the couch. He finally began to truly relax as he nibbled on his sandwich and read.

'As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle, the wet heat sapped her energy and slowed her every step. If only she could escape this oppressive atmosphere and fly up into the cool blue sky. But her crash landing in the jungle had injured her wing and she was grounded for a few days...'