My brain was numb, my hands were unsteadily holding the phone as I stared at the picture of the mare standing behind me in my post. I did manage to get some answers I was looking for, but I didn't think that it would come to this unpredictable revelation. I had to find myself a place to sit because of one primary factor.

She wanted to exchange sexual favors with me.

Some part of me was sickened at the thought of being involved with the possible daughter of Count DuMoneé. Another part was laughing at the irony of being liked by the daughter of the man who wanted to see you dead. But since his daughter was over the whole 'Hooves for Humans' organization, I suppose he would've been highly disgusted at the fact that I was simply existing for his daughter to fawn over.

But why would he be angry? He obviously didn't give a damn about her if he did what we think he did to her. And it wouldn't surprise me if his animosity towards me was more personally driven than anything. It explains a lot about the way he tried to get me out of his life, he probably got tired of his daughter championing this strange creature who had so much to share, so many possible conversations to start off with, who got a better running start than many ponies who have worked their entire lives to get where they are.

It's a classic case of cognitive dissonance.

That was all the information I needed to hear for today, more than I was ready to hear, less of what I intended. I concluded our questioning and left him in the apartment to mull on the thoughts of that mare still finding the time to smile after what happened to her. I'm sure he would go back into looking up a myriad of subjects about this world before wearing himself down for sleep. All we had to do was ensure that there was no more coffee for him to consume.

Mel and I simmered on what we were told today on the way back to her apartment. I needed to get back to Canterlot, so I had to go to her place. When we showed up to the door, she stopped fiddling through her keys, took a deep breath, and dropped her head. "Hey, Nondis."

"Yeah?" I softly answered.

The woman closed her eyes as she spoke. "I'm sorry for spazzing out at you earlier. I let my personal feelings get in the way of what we were trying to do. I should've controlled myself a little better."

"You're fine." I responded, nudging her with my elbow. "I know where you're coming from."

She looked at me for a moment, sizing me up before starting to unlock the door again. "Yeah. So what now, Romeo?"

As much as I wanted to take a moment to slow down and just allow all of this to sink in, I couldn't take a break on something like this. The only time I'd ever dedicate myself to something like that is when I'm about to close my eyes to sleep tonight. For now, pushing was my best option. "I guess I'll keep at it until the job is done. Even if she is who I think she is, then I have to keep in mind that she's not like him."

When the door opened, I started to make my way towards her room. She stopped in the living room, looked off to the corner and then called for me. "Hey, Nondis. Can you come here for a bit?"

I looked back to observe her body language. Her arms were loosely hanging as she pointed to her couch. I recognized her posture as her being casual, I wouldn't have to worry about any attempts of her being amorous. "Sure."

When I got closer, she grabbed my hands and guided me towards the couch. In the corner, I could see something covered in a thick purple comforter. She glanced over at it before playing with her fingers. "Well... it's been a while since you've been riding around on your own. And I know running around Canterlot is a different kind of get-around with how big it is. I know you're used to walking everyday and you run a lot in the mornings to keep in shape, but I don't think you should just keep walking when you've got to be someplace in a hurry... or when you're chasing down someone important."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Mel, I can turn into a pony... that still sounds weird when I say it. But I can manage the struggle just fine."

She walked away from the den and moseyed into the kitchen, opening one of the drawers before pulling out a small oddly-shaped key. She dangled it beside her. "Well you can manage the struggle, but we wanted you to be able to move around faster."

She tossed the key to me, I barely managed to catch it. She pointed to the corner with the purple comforter. I turned around and started to walk towards the sheets that hid something large underneath. I began to chuckle. "Aw, so you got me a scooter?"

"Not quite." She replied.

She started to clap her knuckles together, watching me as I started to pull the sheets off. As soon as I peeled the sheets back, I saw a set of black handle bars with silver grips a little further out. My eyes bulged as I threw the sheet off, revealing a black motorcycle with purple trims. I could see out of the corner of my eye her jumping up and down with excitement, clapping her hands as I stood in place, completely slack-jawed. I was completely nervous as I was about to touch it. "Mel... What the fuck is this?"

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" She ran up behind me, throwing her arms around my body as she rocked from side to side. "A Christmas gift from us over here in the human world to you over in Equestria. We went on a website to see which would be the best model to get you. We were actually talking about this for three weeks since you didn't like taking the train, mainly due to past traumatic experiences. So we wanted to let you have a little taste of home for you to ride around on... well, a taste of Italy in this case."

I bent down to look more in detail at everything that made up the bike. I couldn't help but to gasp at everything I was looking at. "What is this and how much did it run you?"

"Well, if we look at the tag still on it..." She said a giggle, pulling out a laminated price tag on the side of the seat. "It says it's an Aprilia RSV4 R APRC ABS... whatever all of that shit means. It's a 2013 model, we got it a while back, but we tried to hide it from you up until now. Even had a little bit of help in getting it up the stairs... illegal help to simply put it."

I paused my excitement for a second as I questioned her. "What do you mean illegal help?"

"Well, Princess Luna helped us get this up the stairs using her magic. Alex and Cliff gladly provided the manpower to keep things moving while Luna helped with the weight reduction. We actually got this up here yesterday, had it hiding in a U-Haul truck for a few days until we could surprise you with it. But you had some other things to do other than worry about Christmas."

As much as I wanted to be angry about the fact that Luna just blatantly risked revealing herself out in public, I was more thrown off by her statement after that. "Wait, what?"

She pointed down at my pants with a giggle. "You might wanna check the date on your phone."

I pulled out my phone and quickly read the date below the time. December 26th. "SHIT, I MISSED CHRISTMAS!?" I screamed, almost yanking my hair back with how rough I planted my hand on my head.

She grabbed my hand off of my head, grabbed the key off the floor from my dropping it, and curled my fingers around it for me. "You were pretty busy, I can understand if you got a little distracted because of all the hoopla. We all wanted to surprise you yesterday, but you just up and left so quick that you didn't even give me a chance to slow you down. I just figured that you were going through a lot with all of this and I just put it off until the next time."

Even though I was upset with myself over my missing a family holiday, I was still perplexed over what was being given to me. "But how did you even get this?"

"We all threw in a little something. I think Rick was a second shy of buying the damn thing outright. But since we wanted this to be a gift for you from all of us, we decided on something that you could probably use. The bike was your parent's idea, don't ask me why this thing in particular and not something a little safer. They wanted you to have something to ride around on if the train still gave you the shits."

I almost felt like pouring my heart out to her as I held the key to this black beast in my hands. "Why are all of you so awesome to me?"

"Because you're an awesome person doing awesome things for others, we just decided that it would be better for you to have something that matched you. You live a wild life, it's only fair that you get all the perks of doing so."

It was the first time when my hands touched the cold rubber grips, the fresh smell of a brand new vehicle and a slight hint of gasoline. I wanted to sit on it, but I decided against it due to spacial restrictions. However, I still couldn't shake the fact that I missed Christmas. "A damn motorcycle for my Christmas present, and I open it a day late."

"That's just your life, it's pretty fast. Maybe this will at least help you slow down a bit." She said with a playful shrug.

I looked at the monster and raised a finger. "Just one question. How the fuck do you ride this?"

Canterlot Castle
Three Hours Later...

After looking up a series of instructional videos on motorcycle safety and the basics of how to operate the beats that I was both excited and terrified to ride, I proceeded to take my new gift across the portal and stash it away in the armory at the barracks. I also had to submit a request to restrict access to the vehicle to my higher-ups. One of them decided to be a smart-ass and sit on it while telling me that nothing appeared to be restricted about this device. In fact, they were genuinely interested in seeing what the thing could do. It had two wheels and I was keeping it locked away, so it piqued their curiosity.

I then explained to them that this was a device meant for humans to use. It was also a dangerous one to use without any kind of training behind motorized vehicles. I also made the glaringly obvious point that operating a train engine or an airship was not a license to touch it. But since they wanted to see what it does and how dangerous it could possibly be, I decided to cave in and show them a demonstration in the morning after breakfast.

Basically, they would be sitting in while I took this thing off the castle grounds and tried to keep it in first gear around the streets. Oh won't it be fun to publicly embarrass myself or at least get a good scare out of the superiors who think that this thing shouldn't be a concern for the guards in the barracks.

I also made my report to the others, but admittedly coming short of naming any possibilities as it wouldn't be conducive to add any details that would be misleading or unproven. In other words, I withheld the information of Blue Royal being a possible relative to Count DuMoneé. If I can't produce any evidence of it being the truth, then I can't bring that up for the time being.

But still, it lines up so damn easily.

Celestia discovered that I had missed out on the festivities of yesterday and the day before. She became upset with that and decided to set aside some time to take me over to her room to have a miniature celebration. I emphasized the warning my superiors had given me in regards to her, but in typical fashion she elected to ignore it. She was determined to share with me the pleasantries of Hearth's Warming, even if it was a day late.

"Come on. Hurry along."

"You know you dragging me around the place makes it look even more suspicious."

The princess opened her door and pushed me in with her horn tapping against my lower back. "As if I'm going to let you work yourself through the holiday without any semblance of well-wishing. How fair would that be if you were made to work through a family holiday with no compensation?"

"I got a Christmas gift already. Really, I'm fine." I said politely, still getting nudged inside of the room.

"And not a single Hearth's Warming gift to your name? Let's address that." She said, closing the door. "I swear do you even know what Hearth's Warming is all about?"

I tried to summarize it quickly. "All races come together to love the Wendigos away."

The princess giggled at my fairly dry answer. "Sure, if you want to be a spoil sport. Now, wait there." She instructed.

She walked over to a section of her room where there appeared to be a large rug sitting in front of a few fresh logs. She lowered her head, allowing her horn to spark for a moment before the logs quickly caught fire. She looked around the room, removing every light source other than the one given off by the fireplace. Her eyes glanced over to me as she sat herself on her haunches. She used a single wing to invite me over to her side while patting her hoof on the rug.

"You should be more comfortable here."

I rolled my eyes and gave in. "Okay. But something tells me you're trying to set a mood."

"Mind you we're only courting. This is one such method of practice." She replied, waiting patiently as I sat myself down. As soon as I landed, she started to make room for herself as well as leaning against me. I watched her tilt her head back to look at me with her lavender eyes. "Are you comfortable?"

"I think the question should be if you're comfortable?" I replied,

"Hmm... I could use a little more of your arms, If you don't mind, would you alleviate that issue for me?"

I wrapped my arms around her, covering her back with my chest. I could feel her wings shuffle underneath me while she leaned down to a lengthy pillow. As our heads rested, she adjusted herself further to fit the form of my thighs rubbing against her haunches. The princess softly cooed. "You okay with this, Cella?"

"More than." She answered with an endearing tone. "I've grown quite fond of this feeling, but this one seems to be much better than the last time we did this."

"Why?" I asked.

She snuggled herself into me some more, trying to diminish her size. "Because I'm not the one trying to hold on to such a big beast like you. You get to hold on to me this time."

"I don't know. You turn into a human and I'm pretty short in comparison." I answered with a chuckle.

The princess hummed. "But I don't want to feel like I have to be big and powerful all the time. I like having the chance to feel vulnerable... to a degree."

"You like the size difference between us right now?" I asked.

"Like it?" She scoffed. "Love it, I live for it. Every crush I had, no matter how few they may be, I have never had one who has made me feel physically small."

"Not even Sombra?"

"He was always a few inches shorter." She replied before she started to rub my arms with her hooves. "But he made me feel small in other ways."

My mind had quickly veered off into a questionable direction. "I won't ask."

Her hindlegs fluttered as she wiggled. "Well if you won't ask, I'll tell you instead." She said with a giggle. "With him, I felt like he had possession over me, as if I had the fleeting rights of a young mare. He made me feel small in that regard."

"And Fair Charity?"

"He made me feel small in the course of his passing." She answered in a melancholic tone. "Like the hope I had was gone because of his absence."

I shook my head, thinking of those other two figures. "Well I only got a physical height advantage, compared to those guys I'm nothing."

"Oh no, you are wonderful for me right now." She responded, guiding my hand towards her chest with a foreleg, using my hand to cover her scar. "You make me feel small in many ways I never imagined. I wouldn't have ever found the courage to remove my regalia with anyone else. You make me feel more natural, instead of feeling like the princess of a nation, you have me feel like a mare who's in need of a good talking to. When you hold me like this, when I see the world you're from, it makes me feel like I have so much to learn and many more things to look forward to in my future. I almost can't imagine going back to the status quo after finding myself being ensnared by your arms."

"I wouldn't quite say ensnared." I said, trying to make an example by holding my hand against her throat. "If I 'ensnared' you, it would be something like this."

The princess used her magic to grasp at my hand, gliding it up her neck to stop at her jaw. "Now this here, this is the one thing I'm sure many would be scared to do."

"Just hold you, you mean?"

She lifted her head to look at me once more. "I don't trust a lot of those around me, not with me being like this."

"Is it self-restraint?" I questioned.

"Theirs." She replied. "It's quite easy for a stallion to be turned on by something like this. With you, it feels more like what I want it to be. Sometimes I just want the sensation of being held in certain places, sometimes in specific ways."

I shifted myself while moving a lock of her mane from around her ear. "Yeah, sex and intimacy can be synonymous in many cases, but you don't find yourself calling for that. You like the closeness between two beings."

The princess chuckled with a scoff. "Finally, someone gets it."

"What makes you say it like that?" I asked on the verge of laughing.

"Suitors, politicians, nobles, hard-pressed guards who swore their service to me for the marginal fraction of a possibility of winning me over. How many of those have tried to whisper nothings into my ear saying how they would help me usher in a bright and prosperous future for Equestria? All I can say is that there were more than enough looking to cozy up and find themselves looking for an opening to take me. Sometimes, their imagination can lead to much more sinister or sadistic ideas."

"How did you respond to them?" I questioned.

"Ask your older brother." She replied with a smirk. "I'm sure he'll tell you it was a chilling experience."

I do remember Alex telling me that she dumped cold water on him to control his newfound sense of arousal while in equine form. "Oh... yeah he told me about that."

"Well in case you have ideas, you know what to expect." She warned with a smile.

I looked over to the fireplace and smiled. "Well at least I'll already be in a good spot. The fireplace is pretty warm."

She promptly went back to snuggling against me, pointing to the fireplace I mentioned. "Hey, look at the fire."

I stared at the flames dancing, sending a number of smoldering embers up through the chimney. The ash that once was the wood started to settle beneath the fire itself. But I saw nothing different. "Okay. So what am I looking for?"

"Just watch the fire." She instructed.

I did as she asked and watched closely as the flames that danced started to form flickering shapes. The shapes flickered slowly until they started to act almost like a roll of film, allowing the figures and shapes to become animated. The shapes then started to define themselves as small figurines of ponies who all bowed before a sizable throne, with a single pegasus stallion who had a swirling mane and a brilliant set of armor on. "Who is that?"

"That is my father, King Primordial. He was a strict stallion, judging many fairly yet cruelly according to their transgressions. He did not like the segregation of the pony races, nor did he like the many crimes that came after the great unification of the lands. He was seen as a stern pony, unwavering in his convictions and blind to emotions. One could say that he would look as if he were to be stone. Steadfast and strong-minded, he was a fitting pillar for the young nation that stretched as far out as Everfree could reach."

Slowly, another figure flickered onto the scene, one that started to appear from behind the throne. It was a stunning unicorn mare with an ever-flowing mane. She poked her head from over the side of the throne, her hooves covered her muzzle while she giggled. "And who is this one?"

"My mother, Queen Gaia Valkyrie. She was a kind soul who was a great scholar. She would research the many ways magic was utilized in all of the races and offered advice on how to optimize them. It was said that she was a lively ruler who swore to warm the heart of the cold king. Her family's lands were to the north, taking the entirety of Mount Faust and the adjacent lands to the west of it, basically known to be the Crystal Empire today. But as of this time you're seeing, she was a young princess who was eager to make her feelings known. This is yet another Hearth's Warming story my mother loved to tell."

The princess smiled as I simply responded. "I take that it's one very few know of?"

"You could say that." She said, wrapping her forelegs around my arms, holding herself closer to me. "But she fawned over the king, hoping to make him see her as the beautiful mare she was. She desired to spend the rest of her life with him." The mare then poked a hoof from one side, tapping the king over his right shoulder. He immediately look to his left to see her giggling. He didn't seem impressed with her joke while she was positively exuberant. He turned his head back forward, not even acknowledging her. The mare pursed her lips, pouting over his lack of a response.

"It obviously worked out because the two of you were born."

Celestia tapped her hoof on my arm. "At least let me get to that first." She said while reaching another hoof for my other hand, locking my arms around her body. As she did so, the figures grew to the size of a large doll. The two walked beside one another with her constantly trying to get his attention. Meanwhile he kept his head straight and his eyes locked to the world in front of him. "Now to continue from where I left off, the king had a fear of falling in love, saying that whomever he would love would be exposed to grave danger, leaving him to tend to the kingdom alone. But what he did not see coming was the extent of danger she placed herself through to stay at his side no matter what happened. So he tried to push her away. For months, he was annoyed at the mare, seeing that she was far too meddling for his tastes. But as a year passed of them together, she started to become worried that he would never see her as more than a nuisance."

"I can imagine anyone being discouraged after something like that."

The ponies continued to walk along, the unicorn slowing her pace until she had completely faded away with sadness on her face. "She left him to rule alone for a while. He initially enjoyed the quiet that came after, but started to miss her company. Little did he know, she had left so much of an impression, that he began to quietly enjoy her antics. And yet... he desired to stay himself away from her out of his fear of loving her. So he waited and waited and waited for weeks, hoping that she would come by and fill his courts with her voice. But she never came back. So he left, he ventured far west, as far west as one could possibly reach. It was rumored that he walked for three days and three nights, through the cold and frozen snow to reach the driest, furthest reaches of the land. To the very ends of Equestria he wandered to, he reached out to the setting sun, screaming out that he wanted her to return to him. He screamed with every last ounce of his being. For hours, he stood by the unsetting sun, refusing to call for it's departure until he could find her again. Finally given up hope, he wept in fear of him not ever seeing her again."

The pegasus king unfurled his wings, crying out to the world, pleading even. "That isn't how it ends though."

As it seemed like he gave up all hope, breaking down into his hooves. The unicorn reappeared behind him with a warm smile and tears of happiness on her face. "Not in the slightest. He poured his heart out, screaming into that sun that he wanted it to rewind the hours he spent without her, pleading that he'd give everything to have her back in his life. And yet... with a tap of his shoulder, she appeared behind him. He saw her and became frightened with joy, but quickly tried to hide this newfound happiness with the usual stoic exterior. But she read right through him this time. She also revealed that she simply became his shadow, following him everywhere he went, even as he searched for her. He tried to hide his passion-fueled words, but she heard every last one."

"Guess it's a bit too late to hide it then."

"The two returned to the kingdom to rule together as two, promising to uphold the land as a pair, never one over the other. And so, on the day of Hearth's Warming, they exchanged their vows and united their families as one, giving each other the gift of... well... each other. They would go on to be married to one another, and raised two young unicorns fillies until it was their time to surrender the kingdom. But another problem arose."

"Well that doesn't sound too promising." I said.

The figures then grew to the size of actual ponies. The pegasus stallion being taller than Shining Armor, laid in a bed adjacent to his wife. The husband held his youngest daughter with his hooves. The wife hugged her eldest daughter, both of the parents trying to comfort the crying unicorn siblings. "With the declining health of the King and Queen, many suitors lined the halls to try and convince them that their sons would be ideal for the two unicorns to marry. Each would come with their own desire, their own ambitions for power. Seeing this, the two decided that their power would not be succeeded to two unicorns... but to two higher beings that had proven their strength. And with their waning strength, they combined their magic and bestowed it upon two unicorn sisters, their own daughters. When the two left their parents' bedside, they were then pronounced as high rulers of the kingdom, forever to hold power over the land until a new successor was chosen."

The two figures mustered whatever strength they had left, standing side by side to one another until the queen's horn began to glow white. The kings wings started to glow the same until they were removed from their own bodies, leaving the two as incredibly frail and unquestionably terminal. Instead, the two young teenagers were anointed with the new gift of some additional height, and a pair of wings for each. The powers bestowed upon them had left their bodies, transferring to
their beloved offspring. After that, the king collapsed and withered into dust, much to the horror and sadness of the others. But the queen soon found herself so enamored with grief that she fell to collect the dust of her husband, only to turn to ash herself.

I grew confused over the development. "Forgive me for asking this, but how exactly did they pass?"

The princesses held each other, weeping over the pile of ashes. As the two held each other, Celestia started to wipe a few tears from her eyes. "It was simply the weight of their powers being far too great on their bodies. They could no longer live with such power. But given our gifts of controlling the sun and moon, we could, so we did just that for as long as I could remember. That was well over eleven hundred years ago."

"I know that must weigh on you." I said, starting to rub her ears.

The princess grew warm to my touch. "Not as much as it used to. You have to remember that I had a lot more to cry about."

"I wish you could somehow raise a family of your own. Maybe that will truly make you happy. I know it won't remove the stigma of the past, but I feel like the therapy of passing on what you know and have to offer would be great for you."

The princess flipped herself around as the figures made of the flames quickly flashed out of existence, leaving only the flickering fireplace behind. She looked at me with a purely innocent smile. "Hmm, I guess I could do with eight foals."

I reeled back as I damn near chocked on my own spit. "That's a bit much, don't you think?"

"If I have a husband, I expect him to love me that much." She said with her cheeks reddening over time, her hooves clopping together as she looked away from me with embarrassment. "Or maybe he would be bored of me after so long."

As much as I wanted to comfort her with something she wanted to hear, I decided to give her the truth. "I think you'll keep it interesting for the first ten years. But marriage gets old over time, it never not gets old. You can ask anyone, they'll get tired of each other but can't live a day without them, just like you said with Luna. But in the end, some will look at it and either decide that it's just not for them after all or they'll get comfortable enough to say that it was worth it in the end. I don't really know, it's all about perspective and homestead."

"And what about you?" She asked, starting to become worried.

"I looked at my family for an example. My grandparents were high school sweethearts for life, things were much different then. My parents met at a diner, my mom was working to help pay for her tuition while my dad was in for a lunch break. But it's different today. We all can get to know each other from distance, but some of us don't know how to deal with people in person. I was honestly worried that I might fall into that kind of cycle, but I'm starting to see that I might not be in that loop. I kinda have dreams of having a family of my own someday. Might not be ready for it with the world being the way it is now, but that's a chance many have took and it worked out all the same." As soon as I looked up, I could see Celestia staring at me with a love-drunken expression. "Now to be fair, I ain't trying to have kids right now. Maybe later."

She blinked, tilting her head while she leaned hers into mine. "I know. But in the time when you would be ready, how many would you see yourself wanting?"

"I guess two or three is fine." I admitted.

She giggled at the idea. "So I want eight, you want two. Any reason why you'd want so few?"

"For the reason of having more opportunities to engage in extracurricular activities, if you know what I mean. I feel like eight would take away from that. One's already hard enough to deal with."

Celestia moved in closer, wrapping her forelegs around my shoulders. "So you think that having eight would stop me from entertaining the idea of going for nine or ten more? You have to remember that your world is full of distractions. Mine is a lot more secluded, so it wouldn't be unusual to have something akin to a middle ground between us."

I joked at the princess. "You seem like you want kids right now at this point."

The princess chuckled. "No, but you do give me a good reason to invest in that idea."

I started to mock the princess. "Careful, your fangs are showing."

The princess' eyes grew as she pushed herself away from me, immediately running for a mirror. I was a bit surprised that she had left me here while she seemed almost ghostly pale. For a moment, she stared in the mirror and inspected her teeth, trying to make sure that she hadn't turned into anything. She frantically checked her body, making sure that nothing appeared out of place.

I got up and walked up to her. "Cella, what's wrong?"

"You said my fangs were showing!" She said worriedly, still trying to smile in the mirror to inspect her teeth.

I shook my head. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant that your aggression was showing a bit."

"WAS IT!?" She questioned.

"Sensual. Aggression." I replied slowly, reaching down to hug her and hold her in place. "Sorry if I scared you, though I don't quite understand how I did it."

The princess finally realized that my words were more directed to her as a means of flirtation instead of my pointing out a specific flaw. Her eyes showed the sadness within her heart, realizing that the mood she had taken the time to carefully cultivate was broken by her own actions. She tried to swallow her emotions again. "I... I'm so sorry."

"Head up, chest out." I reminded her, placing my hand under her chin to raise it. "Keep at it."

She looked at the mirror, staring back at herself as I held her. She looked down to the hand on her chin, staring for a while as her horn started to glow. The next thing I felt was her pushing my head down to stand at level with hers. She leaned into mine, quietly showing her appreciation for what I was doing. "Two different creatures we are, and here I am wanting to give my heart to this tall lanky thing that keeps grabbing my chin."

"You gotta keep your head up." I said warmly. "I know it's hard looking at yourself at times, especially if your past wasn't exactly great. But you got a support system in me. So each time I do this, you make sure to look ahead. You got your father's pride and your mother's looks. Don't waste those things on sadness."

She turned herself to me and placed her hoof on my cheek, tilting my head towards hers. And just as quickly as she did that, her lips found mine for the second time. I wasn't as surprised as the first time, but I still had my initial reservations. Instead of allowing it to be as one-sided as the first, I made for a counter-attack against her and danced over the line we established between ourselves. She separated herself briefly before bringing me into her sole focus. Her eyes attentively remained on me as her lips remained honest to mine. My eyes quietly watched her hoof wander onto my chest, seeming as if she was ready to pull me in.

But instead of being dragged in, I was being pushed away. She didn't shove me off, just drawing some separation between us before speaking. "You know, you have a lot that's missing in this."

"What am I missing?" I questioned.

"Hmmm... Tongue." She replied before partaking in me yet another time.

The princess didn't even allow me a chance to breathe before taking the charge. Her hooves started to nervously twitch, working their way down my arms and sides. I offered to restrict myself, but her magic had guided my hands to her sides, feeling the warmth underneath where her wings folded. There was no rush to what we were doing, no acknowledging the legal boundary we were walking past. The fire crackled while she and I took turns on who's lips we were enjoying, who's tongue was invited to where. It was just us, finally having the moment we wanted since our being on the rug. Her hooves draped over my shoulders while she eagerly licked the tip of my nose before continuing. My hands began to wander about, rubbing her sides and back before they ventured upward towards her cheeks. My thumb cradled against the curves of her jaw, my fingers spanning the length of her face while our tongues circled one another. The princess reached in one last time, bringing our lips together before separating in a final chirp.

The princess moaned quietly under her breath. "I need to stop."

"Why?" I asked.

"You know why." She replied, using a little more strength to push herself away from me. "I've already moved the goalposts for tonight. I don't think there would be much of one left if we kept going."

"I guess that's an indication that we're doing something right." I rebutted.

The princess bit her lips, glancing off to the side. "I thank you for showing restraint, not trying to further the issue right now. And I know that our exchange has left you with more to be desired, as I feel the same way. I think the both of us are quietly trying to negotiate with ourselves on if we would be willing to see how far we can take this tonight, but we already know what's at stake."

I already had beaten her to the punch on what she was trying to ask. "Next Thursday evening is when we bring in the new year. I'd like to spend some time with you then."

Celestia was even quicker to a location. "Your world, in Austin. I want to experience it from your point of view."

"Sounds like a date to me." I said. "You sure Equestria will be fine without you that night?"

She scoffed back at me. "Come on, it's been a thousand years of the same fanfare and fireworks, I've been to each town at least ten times now, each visit as lonely as the last. I want this to be something we experience together, even if it seems to be old to you."

"You'll be a human again." I jokingly warned.

"That's fine." She answered non-chalantly.

"You'll have to wear underwear again."

The princess wasn't as care-free on that one. "I mean... I've done it before."

"It will be a bit crowded."

That was when she decided to voice her opinion. "I want to be out on the boardwalk. I want to watch as the city celebrates from across the river."

I sighed and shook my head. "That's what I was talking about. The fireworks will be over the river, no doubt the boardwalk will be crowded with onlookers, no matter how noisy it gets."

"Done." The princess said, clopping her hooves together. "Gracious me, I can't believe I'm going on a date for the first time in over a thousand years. I don't know what I'm going to do or wear."

"Something warm." I advised. "No point in trying to look sexy while catching a cold. Don't need you getting sick twice in a week."

The princess glanced over at me and started walking towards her bathroom. "I'm going to take a bath. You should be able to find your way out."

"Aw, no goodnight?" I teased.

"Goodnight, captain." She said, disappearing into the bathroom.

I guess she was for real about me leaving out of here.

Meanwhile, the princess strolled over to the pool-sized tub, stepping inside to sink inside of the perfumed waters. Her eyes wandered slowly while her mind was more fixated on what she had just experienced. Her hoof found the places on her neck where the human had grabbed her, touched her, teased her. As soon as her hoof had wandered to the bottom of her jaw, her horn began to spark uncontrollably. The princess' eyes halfway closed as she allowed herself to be consumed by the idea of her being held the way she was, the memory of every moment he spent touching her. She started to shiver, shaking while the taste of the humans lips lingered on her, the feeling of his fingers being embedded in every indent her body had to offer. The thoughts alone were far too much for her.

The princess started breathing irregularly, her eyes rolling back as her head tilted back. Her magic then simulated the five fingers he possessed, grabbing her by the chin and lifting her head up from both sides. She could feel the sensation, the idea of his thumbs pressing against her throat lightly as she imagined him looking at her from above. The alabaster princess quickly found herself lost in the idea of his warmth surrounding her. Her hips rocked back and forth as she unleashed a stifled moan from her chest, suppressed by her own throat, her wings shot forth as the climax she suffered through had rendered her incapable of maintaining balance. She sank into the water, submerging herself until her final wave was ridden out. Slowly, her head reappeared above the surface as her mane swirled around her head. She breathed heavily as she started to relax from her sudden influx of lust. She pressed her hoof between her haunches, feeling herself throb from the afterglow of her sudden orgasm. Her eyes looked to the door as she thought to herself.

"Ugh... Damn you, I want you so much."

I don't think I've ever had a proper moment to celebrate a kiss. Not once in my life have I had that opportunity. The first time I kissed Twilight, I got choked out by her brother. The second time I did it, I was mulling the choice of either staying put or going home. The first time I kissed Rarity was when I got slapped by Twilight, the second time was when I was in the middle of a shaky situation romantically. The first time with Pinkie, we were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Cheese. Luna was one I couldn't truly count on because I had to report to someone immediately after, while roaming the halls smelling like sweat and shame.

Honestly, Celestia is the first one where our first contact left me with a lot to think about. And her second left me with a lot to look forward to. It feels easy to put this one to chance, possibly to give it a serious go like I did with Twilight. And the funny thing is that I'm sure to have SEVERAL assassins at my neck if that were to happen. It would be damn near scripture to expect someone coming for my life if I were to suddenly threaten the image of Equestria's most beloved princess. A human with a previous history of another princess deciding to try his hand at wooing the highest ruler in all of the land. And It would be the first time where I truly did not give a fuck about it.

I wonder if Luna has been seeing my dreams as of late. I'm sure she's seen her sister in a number of them.

Morning came and I went through my usual rituals. Breakfast was pretty quiet today, it appeared that Luna elected not to attend this morning. Celestia had a measure of concern, but her focus for most of her conversations with the others was on me. She wasn't so much talking about me, but rather allowed me to be a distraction to many of her conversations. I could already see her having a countdown timer in her head over the week. And it wouldn't surprise me to see that she made sure that my Thursday would go uninterrupted by work.

But after that, I had to report to the barracks for what my superiors had labeled as an 'asset evaluation'.

The moment I wheeled the black beast out of the barracks, a significant number of guards watched as I continued to go over video after video to learn how to run the monster I guided to the courtyard. Ultimately, I decided to give my go-overs the Single File treatment, absorbing as much as I could to prepare myself. After an hour of looking through the manual and seeing the do's and do-not's, it was time for me to gain some experience while simultaneously explaining to these guys why this damn thing ain't for general use. I had to treat it like a weapons exhibition.

"So the purpose of this thing is to move on it's own, transporting you from one place to the other? What's the distance?" One guard questioned.

"I guess around 160 miles. Can't really tell you how far it is between here and the nearest town, never measured it. But I suppose it should get me there fairly quickly."

"Ponyville is the closest and can be upwards to 45 miles." My superior announced. "The train at maximum speed and optimal travel conditions clocks out at around two hours."

I then questioned the bullish superior. "So what is the time to walk from Ponyville to Canterlot, or vice versa?"

"That should be around six to ten hours of travel."

"Road conditions?" I questioned further.

"The tunnels used by pedestrian traffic should be a lot safer than that of the train traffic because of the concerns of travelers and merchants. It's safe to say that the roads are fairly smooth all the way down the mountain. The incline angle is no more than fifteen degrees."

I started doing some commuter calculations and how long it would take to cover the distance from what one could call home-to-work commute. In short it would be the same distance between Austin and New Braunfels. And that while traveling at the speed limit would be no shorter than around... "That's forty-five minutes to an hour then."

The entire crowd gasped and started murmuring to themselves as one guard stepped out to question me. "Sir, are you saying that this thing can move twice as fast as a train moving at top regulated speed for the accommodated traveling conditions?"

I could probably clock it in thirty minutes once I get the hang of it. "It will definitely be twice as fast as a train."

The crowd ooh'd and awe'd as I started to position myself on the motorcycle. The superior walked beside me, watching me and my every move, even as I put the key in to start the ignition process. He almost loomed over my shoulder while trying to figure out how to ride a monster that was almost as tall as he was. Meanwhile I proceeded to follow the instructions to the very last detail of how to turn over the engine, which was admittedly a bit tedious in comparison to a car. But when it turned over...

The entire guard started to ready up like they were about to fight a monster, but thankfully withheld any spear throwing. The superior who caught himself trying to get all close and personal was the first one to fall back into the crowd. When I started moving, I kept myself at the recommended gear. I had to put myself in the best position to learn how to navigate the controls smoothly. Keeping my feet off of the ground, I rode around in a wide circle slowly. inching past a few onlookers with no sense of danger.

They also got used to the sound of the black monster purring like a cougar. Though the slow travel didn't seem to impress my superior all that much. "You say that this thing could go as fast as a moving train, yet all I see is a filly's merry-go-round." The others chuckled at his joke before he continued. "So why is this so dangerous to us exactly?"

I realized that I was at least able to ride around in first. So I swapped it to second gear. By then, I started to feel the speed jump a bit to outpace any stallion trying to trot alongside me, namely my superior. While my speed started to increase, he started noticing that merely trotting alongside me was no longer an option, having to gallop next to me to keep up until the speed was too much for him to keep up with.

On my end of things, I started to see just how much fun it was to ride on a motorcycle. I've rode bikes before, trikes, bikes through the neighborhood, motorized dirt bikes when our cousins came down for a family reunion in Wimberley, broke my left wrist trying to pop a wheelie, stuff like that from years ago. You'd think that I'd have a bad experience with stuff like this, but that was because I was doing something that even my cousins were telling me not to do if I didn't know what I was doing. I was ten when it happened, grandma wouldn't let me touch another bike at her house for a while because of it. So I did have some experiences, but never anything like this, and this was mine to use.

It wasn't even that long before I was headed for the checkpoint, bypassing security before kicking things into third gear. I took a casual ride through the streets of Canterlot, watching as the buildings swept by. Of course, I did my best to stay on the main road where all the carriage traffic was heavily based on. In the sum of maybe fifteen minutes, I reached the outside wall, past the bridge and started heading down the mountain.

I finally kicked it into fourth, letting the wind really brush past me. It felt absolutely liberating to know that I was finally free of having to take a train to leave the town whenever I needed to make a trip to Ponyville. Then again, I always had that option, but this was from a whole new perspective. By this point, I was just simply clocking the time it took to leave the city limits of Canterlot and enter Ponyville.

The road conditions were as advertised, it wasn't as smooth as a city street or the interstate, but it was a relatively smooth ride down the mountain and through the countryside, sans a few bumps and knocks that almost made me fall off and become even slow to start back up again. But once I got it going again, I started getting comfortable with my new ride. And in typical fashion for newer experiences, that comfort soon turned to excitement and ambition. I finally found the freedom of speed, the freedom of not having to worry about running a few red lights or slowing down for some ticket-happy state troopers sitting behind a bush. The freedom of breezing through the countryside was mine to enjoy. Even if I was ground-bound, I had the same freedom of a pegasus pony looking to put their wings to the test.

The world looked a tad darker through my tinted visor, but I could see everything just fine. Everything in the distance moved so slowly compared to the trees and leaves that were closer to the road. If I wasn't also nervous about my first ride through, I would've been having my eyes closed, letting the air hit me while I rode on.

It didn't take much time at all to get past the welcome sign. I was looking at the speedometer to see how fast I was rolling, a solid cruising speed of around 65 mph. After that, I started to perform the several methods of taking myself back down to a more comfortable driving speed in the low thirties. As I weaved through the streets, I noticed that I had to barter with the pedestrian traffic a lot more, which meant that I had to slow things down again to school zone traveling speed. That was without a doubt the main issue I had to adjust to the most.

Since Canterlot was more of a hub than Ponyville, the streets were better optimized for vehicular travel. Granted, the cobblestone in Canterlot was a lot more worn down and flatter, almost functioning like pieces of concrete. Here the cobblestones were more like rocks in the road. It wasn't really like off-road driving, but it still felt like I was out in the country riding this bike on a gravel road leading up to a cow farm.

In spite of that, I timed my arrival to approximately fifty-two minutes.

The first place I thought I should hit up was Rarity's boutique since I was in town for no apparent reason. Besides, I needed to commission her for a uniform jacket I could wear while riding this thing. After riding through town on the purring beast, I finally stopped short of Rarity's mailbox. When I rang the doorbell, I could already hear a pair of squabbling siblings.

"Sweetie Belle, answer the door!"

"Why don't you answer it!? It's always for you anyways!"

"I'm busy with my summer collection right now, just be a dear and answer the door!"

"Rarity, it's winter, your summer collection can wait!"

"And what exactly are you doing that's equally as important as what I'm doing now!?"

The younger sister groaned out loudly. "Ugh, fine! But they're gonna come for you and I'm just gonna have to go back to my room again! Each and every time it's been like this for the past three weeks!"

"Stop bitching and answer the door!"

"Fine!" The door cracked open as Sweetie started mocking her older sibling. "Stop bitching and answer the door. Stupid Rarity."

"Sibling growing pains, huh?" I said quietly, she didn't even seem to pay attention to the fact that it was me standing here. "I feel you."

"They're the worst─" She began before she finally turned her head to see me standing in the doorway. As soon as she recognized me, her whole complexion changed. She immediately held her hooves to her face and started fanning her eyes to stop the tears from falling. "Oh my gosh! You're... you're─"

"Hey, Sweetie Belle, growing up with siblings huh? Tell me about it." Instantly I heard a glomp as her forelegs wrapped around the one leg she could hold. As I looked down, I started to notice the purple shield on her flanks with a music note at the center. "Oh my gosh, is that what I think that is?" I quickly picked her up and hugged her back. "Come here! Congratulations, you've got your cutie mark! I'm so fucking proud of you! Sorry for the language, but... wow!"

While I was stressing the appearance of her mark, she was focused on one thing that seemed to have bothered her for quite some time. "You're alive. You're alive and here again..." Her chin quivered as she looked at me. She then swapped her attitude and gave me a light punch in the chest. "Why haven't you come by sooner to let us see that you were okay!? We were worried sick! I'm tired of hearing about you from Rarity! I don't wanna have to hear another update about you from somepony else!"

"Fair enough." I replied. I then looked over to see the motorcycle being crowded around by several other ponies passing by. "Give me a sec." I started to put her down to tend to the crowd. Before one of them could put their hooves on it, I snatched the key and wheeled it to the front door. "I'm sure your sister doesn't mind me leaving this in here for the time being. I don't want ponies to start messing around with it."

Her eyes lit up as she started to become just as curious as the other ponies in the area. "What is it?"

"It's a motorcycle." I answered. "It's basically a bicycle with a motor on it. I use it to get around."

The young filly watched as I wheeled it into the foyer. "Wow, it's pretty menacing looking. If Rarity saw that, I'm sure she'd throw together something around the whole scheme of the thing."

I laughed lightly as I replied to her. "Yeah, Actually that's another reason why I came here."

"Yeah, of course, I'll call her down." The young filly bobbed her head as she trotted to the stairs and hollered with a loud voice. "Rarity, get your ass down here!"

The look on my face was pure shock and amusement over how this little girl just blatantly cussed out her older sister in front of a potential client. If there was no other way to get her sister to immediately drop what she was doing and get down here, it had to have been just that. Rarity almost stampeded down the stairs, furious with her little sister as she shouted back at her. "Sweetie Andalusia Belle, where do you get the nerve to use such vulgar language!? How dare you do this to me again!"

She's done this before? "If you'd answer me the first time I call for you, then maybe I wouldn't have to!"

The fashionista glanced over to me, blushing slightly before pointing at the stairs. "To your room, young lady! And don't come out until you've thought about what you've done!"

"Whatever." She said, trotting back up the stairs with a proud smile on her face.

Rarity shook her head as she apologized to me. "I'm sorry, darling. Ever since she got her cutie mark, she's been really trying to push the envelope. I can't believe she did that. I don't know where she's even learning that kind of language."

I pointed to her and quietly whispered her own words. "Stop bitching and answer the door."

The mare then coughed and rubbed the back of her head, subtly turning her head away. "I suppose I've been having to enforce a few things more frequently."

"You think?"

After an hour of posing next to my new toy and her getting my measurements, she started to draft an outfit that would match the requirements I explained. Of course, I had to set aside some funds to her to work with instead of letting her try to do this for free. But after that, she told me that she would drop off my jacket as soon as she'd finish it and have it under same-day transport.

I quickly got back on the road, riding back to Canterlot within the hour. The travel was as smooth as before up until it was time to make the way back up the higher part of the mountain path. That part I had to take a little slower, but it still timed to around forty-eight minutes. The only reason it was faster than my initial approach time in Ponyville is because I was more confident in my riding. As rode through the streets, I had a number of pegasi guards fly in from behind me, almost like they were racing me. When I had gotten back, the crowd had thinned out a bit, but my superior was still waiting with the same face I left him with. When the beast fell to silence, I pulled my key out and started walking it towards the barracks. And as soon as the other pegasi that chased me down had started talking about how challenging it was to keep up, he started to see the weight of my warning.

Safe to say he ordered that the bike was to be issued an authorized-personnel-only classification, an APO for short.

When I had arrived back in the castle halls, I had seen another envelope sitting in the crack of my door. I walked in the room, opened up and saw the profile of another potential interest that would aid me in my efforts to remove the royal marriage law. And to my surprise, it was none other than a picture of Single File with a folder filled with every transaction he was involved in when it came to Count. After reading through the material and how he was limiting himself to castle appearances over the past two days, she issued the request to meet up at the Canterlot Arena.

After dinner, I quickly made my way to the location. From there, I had seen that the gates leading into the venue was closed. I checked the details of the folder I was given and confirmed that this was the location I was given. I started to try to find a way in before I was levitated and phased through the iron gates. Standing behind the admissions box, I recognized the face of the blue unicorn walking towards me with a pretty bright smile on her face. "You know, you never got back with me about that contact from last Wednesday."

While she walked to me, I spent a lot of time observing her every move, her every feature, trying to discern exactly how it was possible that she was even remotely related to that dead bastard. She caught me staring, tilting her head out of curiosity. But I finally snapped to and answered her. "Sorry, had a lot of things to get around. You know, clandestine meetups in a food joint, emergency escape plans, assassins, witness protection programs, all sorts of stuff."

"Did you learn anything new?" She asked.

"Not really anything substantial outside of a few things." I lied. "This place is pretty big for just two of us."

She started to make her way through one of the doors, phasing through it like she was a ghost, when in reality it was a spell she was using. "That's exactly why I chose it. Here we'll have a lot of space to talk about things without being heard. Follow me."

She phased me through the door as well, entering into what appeared to be a fairly exclusive hallway leading towards several locker rooms and even the press box that overlooks the venue. As soon as we entered into the press box, I could see the blinding lights shining out to the field of clouds below. In contrast, the press box was just as dark as the majority of the unpopulated mountainside. It's only light came from the outside, and since there was so much light out there, it was going to be hard for any flyovers to see inside of here. From our perspective, just as long as we weren't in the beams, nothing could be seen outside the multiple silhouettes of pen holders, desk wedges and the microphone to the PA system.

I looked around while she closed and locked the door behind us. Her eyes remained fixed on me as she continued our conversation. "It seems like you might have picked up on a few things from Wednesday. What did you learn?"

"Your guy wanted to call a hit on the guy you ran a profile on just earlier today." I answered, sitting myself on one of the pillows stationed at a desk. "It seems that he knows a few things, bits of actionable intel."

"Does he happen to be the one I sent you the information on?"

"Exactly that guy." I confirmed.

The mare hopped on a desk, casually walking around as she spoke. "So it goes without saying that you should probably look into getting a hold of that particular contact then. If you remember his face, he was the one you spoke to in the park recently. I think you were trying to cheer him up over something."

"A bad breakup." I recalled. "And yeah, I've already spoken with him. That is why we have him isolated to the castle only." I lied once more.

"Do you have him isolated and secured properly?" She asked.

"No one's getting to him. He's pretty much locked up in that bastard's office for the time being. Sleeps there, eats there, I wouldn't be surprised if he shits there."

The mare didn't seem too thrilled to be on the subject of the office. "I suggest you get as much valuable information out of him as possible. He may be of use to you."

"Again, I already did." I answered as she stopped in front of me, placing a hoof under my chin.

"You know... I don't think he's really in Canterlot anymore." She whispered, rubbing my cheek. "If I remember my sources correctly, he wandered off to the train station with the Captain of the Royal Guard. The last place the two were seen together was going into a old run-down motel sitting adjacent to Ponyville Castle. Maybe you have more information as to why he would last be seen in Ponyville before suddenly reappearing in Canterlot."

Her logic was spot on, there was no denying it. However, the royals and I had already rehearsed a story to stick to. Stay with the specifics, and we're just as good as ever. "Actually, my sources have come from the checkpoints around the castle. Since I found out about that situation on Wednesday night, I had him placed on a watch list. My guards reported him leaving from Ponyville at around 6:46 pm. He was then seen at the Canterlot station entrance at approximately 8:51, reported through the checkpoint at 9:14, and entered into the office at 9:29. From there, he stayed in the castle per my instruction to remain safe. He's not allowed to leave the castle or it would compromise his own safety."

She gave me a single nod, tapping me at the top of my head like a child. "Good boy, I see you've been trying to stay on top of it all."

"I've been doing my best to keep him alive. May not like the fact that he tried to forge my signature at the request of some shady-ass bastard, but I am more than willing to compromise on a few things."

She sat on her haunches, grabbing at my head with both of her hooves. "And just how shady do you think he is?"

"Shady enough to try and put me out there for dissection. I know he paid a hit on me to make the voices go away in his head. But instead it only got worse since he wasn't able to pay for his meds."

The mare's horn began to glow softly as she brought my head against her chest, rubbing my head gently while nuzzling me. "So tell me what else you've been told."

"I was told that he has some pretty fucked-up vices dealing with Canterrot."

The mare continued to caress my head. "Ooh, that's some pretty spicy intel. It would do a lot of damage to his reputation if that was to be revealed."

I knew that I wasn't really in a good position to bring up the possibility of her family relations with my head being buried in her chest, so I kept it a shade vague. "I also know that he has a pretty flamboyant son I've met at the funeral. But that's not the only thing I found out."

"What else was it?" She whispered soothingly into my ear.

"I heard he had a relative he didn't treat too well. A girl who came to him one day."

Almost like clockwork, the mare stopped rubbing my head. Her tone had changed slightly as well. "I'm sure she was given justice in knowing that he died the way he did."

"They do say that death is the highest form of justice. To take the life of one in consequence to another is pretty substantial in it's own right. But I do have to ask, is it really justice for the one who's dealing with the scars of that moment?"

She began to slowly separate herself from me. "I think that it works just fine."

I then decided to hit her where I knew she couldn't avoid it. "Single File told me of his vices, how he would desecrate the girls he came across, hurting them in ways unimaginable. I also heard that when he finished, he had a certain glow about him that appeared to be ethereal. But the one girl, the girl he met with that one day, he came back from meeting with her and it was said that his face had the most brilliant glow about it. Safe to say that it was a girl he either wanted from the jump or hated from the start. My take, possibly both with the added familial tie being the cherry on top."

The mare quickly backed off of me, hopping off the table with disgust. I couldn't get a good look of her face in the darkness aside from the piercing glow in her eyes. It was obvious that I was hitting every last button she didn't want me to press. She stared at a nearby desk for a moment before blasting a nearby pillow seat to smithereens. "I knew that monster hated her, but never that much."

Finally in a position that was a lot less awkward for me to deal with, I finally decided to break the code to her. "Who is this 'her' you're talking about?"

The mare threw another bolt towards an adjacent pillow, leaving nothing but a pile of smoldering ash in her wake. She was furious, her eyes appeared incredibly tundra-like as she vented her anger. "My best friend. She committed suicide after that! She lived believing her father would come to love her after not seeing her for so long, and then he betrays her. She died no longer wanting to hold on to hope."

I grabbed her hooves and calmly spoke with her. "I don't think she's dead. I think now, she's as strong as ever."

The mare looked at the hands that grasped at her hooves. And when she looked to my face, she finally realized exactly what I meant. She quickly withdrew from me and ignited her horn. "I don't know who you think I am, you don't know me!"

"Was it wrong for me to try and know you, Blue?" I questioned, revealing my palms to her with my hands held up high. "I don't have any animosity towards you. Instead, I just wanted to know the truth. Who was this wonderful heiress that offered the world to me to try and make things right? And what could I give her to make her happy? Where could I possibly begin? These are the things I started to ask myself."

"And the answer was to go behind my back and investigate me!?" She angrily replied. "How do I even trust you if you won't even take me for what I can offer to you? You should just be happy with what you've got and take what you can get. You pushed your luck on this one."

"I'm not investigating you." I replied.

"Bullshit!" She snarled.

"Single File told me it was you who came into contact with Count. It was you who looked so bright and hopeful, only to have your expectations destroyed by someone trying to silence their own inner demons by appeasing their own selfish desires. I'm in no position to try and claim to be your savior because what happened has already happened, but I can say that I will keep what is said between us here and now in this room and nowhere else."

Her horn began to buzz with a powerful magic, almost as if she was ready to put a quick end to our conversation. "I'm not his daughter! He even said it to me! So why are you even acting like this is another one of your crusades, like you can come and sweep me out of whatever mess I'm in? Oh I bet that you like to imagine that you can change the world for the better with something as simple as a dream, maybe a little hard work, a bit of effort, and a touch of wishful thinking. Maybe you can save every mare who's gone through it all, but that's not what reality says now is it!?" Her magic started to become unstable, fizzling in and out of focus while she spoke. "You want to know the truth about me, fine. I have to pretend that I'm strong enough to survive, when really all of this takes a toll on me. I HATE my magic because of where it came from. I HATE the fact that my knowledge all stems from the source of the one that wronged me, that wronged my mother, the one and same monster who ruined our family forever, along with many others!"

"Blue..." It was starting to become apparent that she was showing herself, the mask she wore for all this time had taken some damage, enough to where essential pieces were falling off.

Her magic started to intensify once more, she started to force herself to keep up her display, when in truth it was failing. "You don't know me. You don't know anything about what I went through, what WE went through. What we endured was hell unlike any other. My mother saw the monster he had become early on, it's only recently that I've come to realize that her suicide was to save us, not just for her to escape from him. She gave us everything, and left him with nothing. She knew he would target me if that were to happen, she knew what he would do to me, for years I wondered why she suddenly started grabbing on to us a little tighter, holding us a lot more, sleeping alongside us for that one night before she died, the entire time she knew."

Her magic began to waver again, this time tapering off while she lost the strength to stand. Her hoof tapped against her chest while she tried to suppress her sadness. Not a tear yet, but there was a lot she had to express.

"She knew that he would attack me just as easily because he NEVER wanted me! I had to live my earliest years never knowing why my mother gave him the gift of me, and he never took it! I was never supposed to be here, I was supposed to be the offspring of some poor maid, but she loved my mother enough to give her what he left behind in her. She offered that and I was created, she wanted the gift of a daughter to appease her son's wish for a sister and he refused to do that. For the longest time she hid me to protect me. When she finally told him, he tried everything to make sure that I wasn't going to exist! Before I was even BORN I was a target. And in the years after, I tried to be the best daughter I could be, I learned quickly, I drew pictures of her and daddy being together, I screamed for 'dad' when I came home from school wanting to hug him each time I saw him. Can you imagine now having to go to bed with those memories, when each time you get in bed you see his legs locking you in a cage while he rapes you?" Finally, for the very brief second, her tears began to manifest as her voice broke. "Can you imagine having been brought up to love and honor your family, only to see your father going to town on top of you? Could you possibly love and honor that?"

She cleared her throat, sniffling and shaking her head to drive her tears off. She strengthened her resolve as her magic completely faded away.

"I wouldn't expect you to. Your parents loved you enough to fight for your withdrawal. My mother loved me enough to leave me behind with my aunt instead of with him because he would've done everything in his power to show his power over me. He would've toyed with me, teaching me how to never trust, how to abandon love, how to stop seeking hopes and dreams... the very damn thing he did to me after so long, after I foolishly wanted to try and be his daughter again. For years I could never see my brother until he came into his inheritance. For the past six years I had to take therapy, to help me move past this and not go through with killing myself, that was enough to give me the ability to walk forward. That's the truth."

The mare, appearing frustrated, angrily wiped her eyes as she started to walk up to me.

"That is what it truly means to be the castaway offspring of a monster. This is what it's like to be a daughter to the monster you know as Count DuMoneé, to have to hide that shame for the rest of your days. That is my life..." She didn't even stop walking forward, burying her head into me. "...And I loathe every breath of it. That's the truth."

My worlds, wherever and whichever, were brought to a halt. Feeling her buried into my abdomen, she lazily reached a hoof up. I simply hugged her back, bending down to do so. I stayed holding her for a while, hoping that she'd feel some comfort in this one moment, at least giving her what I felt to be a father's love to his own daughter. Even if she was older than me, she deserved that of someone, anyone. I won't even call myself being able to give that to her, but I sure as hell would try my best.

"I'm not gonna cry." She whispered softly, her voice trembling as she spoke. "I am stronger than that. I'll cry the very few tears I have when I get to bed tonight. If I start crying now, I'm going to go to sleep. I came here for a meeting, not to be a baby in your arms and fall asleep at some random desk."

"I understand, though I think indulging yourself every now and then is fine at times." I started to quietly soothe the mare, much to her chagrin.

"Not now. But I appreciate what you're trying to provide." She said, pulling herself away from my arms. She took a few deep breaths and turned her attention to the subject she needed to devote her time towards. Those few breaths was all it took for her to realign. "This is like the second time you've seen me like that, going from one mood to the other. I'm sorry if that inconsistency has vexed you to any degree."

"Nah, you're fine." I replied. "I'm just giving you the information Single File gave to me. And I think he's willing to change his life around. True enough he's done some terrible things that will be answered to later on, but using him as an ally would be useful."

The mare cleared her throat as she looked away from me. "Well as much as I don't like him for working with my father..." She stopped herself for a second, almost in shock that she actually admitted it so easily. But she carried on, knowing that the secret was revealed to me already. "His testimony could be useful in nabbing some other parties who associated with them in the past. It's fair to say that he also offered some other sensitive information."

"Like how you shared a joint account with your father. Single File made it clear that he was given a writ of consent to make any withdrawals. But he also revealed that he wasn't the one to pay the griffon assassin that came after me. He does happen to have his suspects."

The mare took yet another deep breath and turned completely away from me. "...Guilty as charged."

"Why?" I asked calmly, despite the anger that started to turn in circles within my mind. "You hated your father for what he did to you, then why would you help him?"

The mare held a hoof out, still not looking to me. "It was to punish him more than it was to help him. I didn't want to give him the chance of having a fall-back should things fail. If he would've paid out in installments, then your coming out alive would leave him with half of his savings, way more than enough to live till the next paycheck. I had to make sure that there was no possible way for him to rebound from that. He didn't deserve an easy way out for doing everything he did to you." Her ears fell back as she glanced at me. "I know what I did was put you at an even greater risk than anything else, but I had to stop him. Who's to say he wouldn't come back with another plan after seeing you live. And with that much money left, he would've hired someone to put you to rest while you were in the midst of your recovery. They would've succeeded and your body would be nothing more than research. I know you're angry for that, but I had to take that chance on you, believing you were going to pull through."

I quietly asked her. "So you have no ill-will towards me, no kind of resentment or lingering doubts about my being alive. I only ask because you showed me those other assassins a while back. How do I know I can trust you?"

The mare turned around, pleading with me. "Because I want you to succeed where I cannot. I don't know politics outside of money, I don't know fighters worth a damn. I only know magic because I had to learn it to be able to defend myself from my father. And if I had any hatred towards you, then why would I even think of helping you like I am now?"

"Then what's your motivation for helping me?" I asked.

"I want to undo my father's legacy, I want to make him a footnote in the pages of Equestria's history, a forgotten political voice with no face. That's why we urged for my father to be buried next to the mare he hated so much instead of the national cemetery where prestigious nobles and politicians have left their mark. If there was ever a justice, it would be to lay my father's bones next to the mare he forsook, the one he ran from for all these years, so he could see her face in both life and death. That part is done, but the policies he's left behind continues to fester among the ranks of like-minded politicians." She summoned a manila envelope, pulling out a photo of Cadance and Shining Armor dancing at their wedding. "And I'm sure you'd agree, for their sake."

I proceeded to take a step back and look around the room, expecting some confirmation to come from somewhere. After a moment, I asked her another question. "So there is no other motive? No other purpose than to limit your father's influence?"

"It's more than that. I know I'm asking you to do a lot just to simply be able to rip up a piece of paper, but it's only to be thorough. And I know you're angry with me for paying the assassin and coming back to ask you to trust me, you have every right to be cynical. But I want nothing else than to stop more of those monsters like my father from being at large. I can help you put away your resistance, you can help me put away his inner circle, expose them for the dirty frauds they are."

"And what about me?" I asked, folding my arms.

The mare extended a hoof to me, offering a shake. "I won't force you into anything with me that you'd feel uncomfortable. After all, I'm sure you'd have some second thoughts about getting physical with the daughter of your worst enemy."

I stared back at the hoof she held out, thinking for a second before I met with her halfway. "My worst enemy is dead for the time being. As long as he stays that way, we're just fine." I stopped shaking her hoof, pointing at her. "Oh yeah, no more assassins."

"No promises on that, but I only seek to hire lobbyists from here on." She said. "My word doesn't mean much to you considering the stains on my family name, so consider my loyalty as a suitable replacement."

"Fair." I replied as I started to look out the window to the cloud field down below. "So since I've managed to get the jump on you for this one, what else do we discuss?"

She smiled as she replied. "Maybe... a visit on next Friday. I'm thinking you can come by my place earlier in the evening and we'll discuss our next move there."

"Your place, huh? Anything I should wear while I'm there?"

"...Your guard uniform? I would really like to see you in that again."

I shrugged my shoulders at her suggestion. "Basically, you want me to wear your scent again?"

She looked away from me, blushing. "It's okay to wash it. I'm sure you wouldn't want to smell like week-old estrus in the presence of the maids."

Not so much in contrast to Celestia getting a complaint about it. "Yeah, I kinda learned my lesson about that one."

After our discussion, Blue and I parted ways and I wandered back to the realm of royalty. As I arrived, I could see a begrudging Celestia being shadowed by a guard. She appeared to be quite annoyed about the idea of having another guard being in charge of her evening escort. But there was no complaint from her, not a mumbling word as she marched on with her eyes closed. The princess had several guards along the way wishing her a good night's rest, none of which she answered to. When the maids did so, her words appeared to be kinder towards them. When she passed by me, she kept her eyes closed.

I then offered to see if her treatment of the others would be congruent to me. "Good night, Princess."

The guard behind her saluted me while she turned her head back to the young stallion. She then turned to me with a pretty cold gaze. A hoof came down and she then proceeded to tear into me. "I am beginning to feel that you have some vein of disrespect in your system. Since when do you ever salute me in my appearances, captain?" I started to answer her, but she had found herself just inches away from me, hollering at me. "Never is when! If I ever catch you not saluting me when I pass by again, I will have to personally reeducate you on the proper decorum!" She used her magic to drag me down, her muzzle was practically touching my nose as she warned me. "I am not Blueblood, you will not show me such blatant disrespect! Do I make myself clear!?"

While the others mumbled towards one another, she gave me an atypical staredown almost like she was ready to fight me at the drop of a coin. I wasn't quite sure as to why she was being so nasty towards me, so I held composure and saluted. "Yes, your highness."

She then marched onwards, not even bothering to look at me a second more. But her voice started to echo through my head again. "Trying to keep the so-called rift convincing is hard when you have a date planned for later in the week."

That was pretty much her way of saying goodnight. I think she did that for my superiors. Either way, I scurried off to my room and laid down for the day.

The next morning was the usual cold affair. When I arrived for breakfast, I showed up in enough time to watch as Princess Luna seemed to have left in a bit of a grumpy mood. She also seemed to have some bags under her eyes, indicating that she had very little rest overnight. Meanwhile her older sister was a complete opposite juxtaposition of her. Celestia sipped on her tea with the most refreshed smile any morning person could offer. As I walked up to the table, it was as if her eyes had motioned for me to sit where her sister once sat. I didn't really take her on that offer as it would've added a lot of conversation about the issue.

As soon as the chef came up to me with a menu, she had already picked out my blend of coffee for the morning. It also came complete with a sticky note.

Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me that she's trying to push us to be together.

Today was my usual off-day, leaving me with the choice of either going back to my world for a bit or resting up here. Possibly traveling to places unknown. I instead opted for more magic lessons. And since I had an entire day of getting beat up like a ballistics dummy, it only served to purpose my improvement.

Shining, on the other hoof, had other plans for me.

The Crystal Empire
5 Hours Later...

HO. LEE. FUCK. IT IS COLD AS BALLS HERE!

That's about the first impression I gained when I stepped off the train and into the station. When I walked outside, I could easily tell that my coat wouldn't be enough to keep me warm. But what completely amazed me was the fact that the other ponies wandering about was completely unbothered by the low temperatures. Never mind the fact that their bodies had a very crystalline shimmer about them, it was the fact that it seemed like they were completely adapted for the cruelly cold climate.

The train ride itself was a very long one, despite the fact that it was a high-speed private line they used to move us from Canterlot to here. Even the platform was located in a different place, it was located to the back end of the castle. From what was explained to me, it was for the purpose of aiding in the escape of the royal family in times of crisis. To their advantage, it worked from a strategic standpoint. Ain't no army with a competent commander is gonna brave this for more than a month. If they tried to hold a siege, they would probably either die of hypothermia or severe dehydration along with contesting against the thin air of the mountains. And judging from what I saw for miles, that's a lot of permafrost and tundra to be marching through.

Only Napoleon and Hitler would do something that stupid.

When I wandered through the town square, I had several questioning eyes on me while I quietly observed the happy citizens of the city. Many vendors had set up shop, trying to get me to buy whatever souvenir was lying in plain sight. But to their misfortune, I wouldn't be able to properly give them the time of day. Instead, I made my way towards the largest standing tower in all of the land, the highest architectural structure to be considered as a place of living in the world, the castle of the Crystal Empire. If I could compare it's height to anything, it would be the size of the Fifth and West.

As I approached the main entrance, my eyes were drawn towards a spinning heart shaped of crystal. My mind became drawn to the idea of investigating the strange phenomenon. But as I got closer, Shining called me over to one of the entrances to the castle. When I walked inside, I saw the multitude of stairs spiraling upwards. Even if I was physically fit to make the trek upwards, I was not really looking forward to the idea of having to climb up the equivalent of forty floors to reach the top. Thankfully, Shining had me stand on a circular seal as two crystal ponies approached each side of the platform. As soon as the crystalline guards stood in place, they inserted two green crystals into either side of the seal. Without warning, the floor rattled before we were being lifted up slowly to the upper levels. I was relieved that the place had some semblance of an elevator, but I was not reassured any comfort by the glaring lack of guardrails. One wrong move and I could easily plummet to my death.

Not a fun thought to keep as you're going multiple stories upwards.

The floor rattled to a stop. As I looked upwards, I could still see a few floors up. It seemed to have very few floors above this, but the distance between each floor was astronomical, logistically speaking. It almost appeared that the equivalent of three stories was the separation space between floors. And that was more than enough to possibly discourage any invader from trying to run for the stairs as an alternative.

While we walked, Shining started to discuss with me all the security features of the castle. "And below the throne room is a labyrinth where the stairs can take you, had you walked up those. It's meant to confuse and disorient any invaders who don't have the proper disenchantment crystals. The way we came in is the true entrance, the other three ways are a feed-way into the labyrinth."

I feel sorry for those who just recently get assigned here. "What do you do about the new guys?" I asked.

"Only the guards who have been loyal for a minimum of five years are allowed to serve in the castle. By then, they would've learned the entire layout of the castle for the rare instance that an intruder is called to be present. In short, no pony is going to come after us if they don't have any idea of where to go. The only one who could successfully pull off an infiltration is long gone, and that's King Sombra."

...Well that's a familiar name. "This King Sombra─"

"He's not the one you've been told about. That's another from an alternate universe. This King Sombra was the bad one."

My mind went back to that first alternate timeline, where I was trying to guide Twilight and Shining to the throne room. It was probably against that King Sombra and his forces. And I also remembered that he was controlling the Crystal Empire in that timeline. Best to ask what happened for my sanity. "So what did he do and what happened to him."

Shining opted to keep his story short. "A long time ago, a young pony born of darkness was found out in the wastes. He was brought in as a mistaken orphan. But when he got older, he realized the purpose and the truth of his existence. The truth was that he was a creature called an umbrum, his purpose was to set his kind free to the world by taking away the crystal heart."

I thought back to what I saw in the entrance plaza. "That spinning rock at the center?"

"That." He confirmed. "He then abducted the heart but was quickly confronted by Princess Amore. She pleaded with him to reconsider his choice, but he made his choice by turning the princess into brittle pillar of black salt. Immediately after, he shattered the princess into pieces and assumed the throne. There, he enslaved the Crystal Empire and the ponies within it. For years his reign would go uncontested, that was until Princesses Celestia and Luna were brought in to dispel him. They succeeded, but it came at a cost of the entire empire being lost to the world for over a thousand years."

I don't know why it's always a thousand years with these things. Seems like a lot of shit had to go wrong for a pair of siblings who were just then put into power. "How did that happen?"

A familiar voice chimed in as Celestia made an unexpected appearance right beside me. "King Sombra cast a spell upon himself that tied his fate with the crystal empire, a bond of forbidden magic that deprived the ponies here over a thousand years of history. Many of them have had to adapt to the sudden change in technology and magic. But they have remained resilient in spite of discovering that they have woken to a world a thousand years in the future."

I pointed at the princess and questioned her. "Um... How did you─"

She winked at me as she answered. "You never know, I could be hiding in your very shadow. Meaning that I am affluent to light does not disqualify me from knowing dark magic as well."

I remained statuesque while the princess passed by me. Meanwhile Shining shuddered at the thought of her words. He waited until she had walked further down the hall before nudging me and whispering. "That right there, that is why I was terrified of her during my engagement with Cadie. She knew about everything if I was in town."

For me, it seemed to be another one of her mother's traits coming out for me to see. "Yeah, I see what you mean."

Without fail, we heard her voice booming in our heads. "How about you two come join us in the throne room instead of standing like a pair of scared puppies."

The both of us looked at each other before jogging down the hall to catch up with her.

Shortly after our arrival into the throne room, Celestia wasted no time in setting me up for magic practice. While I wanted to explore the place a little more, she was more interested in making sure I had the basics of magic combat beaten into me. If anything, she was taking the same approach that Alabaster had, but further intensifying it with her own natural abilities. And for some parts of it, it almost felt like life or death.

Cadance and Shining watched as they grew entertained with my progress. It wasn't so much for how far along I came, but rather how much or little I was getting thrown across the room. It didn't seem like much of an issue to throw me around, but Celestia made sure that I wasn't placed in any dire straights. If I looked like I was about to give way, she'd call for a break to let my magic recharge. If I was putting out too much to do one maneuver, she'd stop the whole lesson and stress the importance of finding the time to withdraw for the sake of energy conservation.

Our training session had a lot of damage incurred. But Cadance's magic allowed the castle to be rebuilt however many times. Since her specialty was crystal magic, it was nothing for her to allow the throne room to become a warzone. When we finished each set, the room would reset and the walls would be repaired. It was amazing just how easily she could cause crystals to form from seemingly nowhere.

Even if Celestia didn't appear tired, Shining offered to step in for a more offensive-based session. Up to then, my sessions were primarily defense-orientated. Instead of having to work on counters, predictions, and dodging, I was allowed to dish out some hurt.

Or so I thought.

If there was anything I could say about Shining before today, it was that his abilities were there but I wasn't really seeing what got him the job. I mean he was strong, and he had some ways of terrifying me with his killing instincts at certain moments. Today, I learned that Shining is more of the tank of the group. Whatever I threw at him, not a fucking inch of him moved. His magic was barely even activated as I sent bolts barreling his way. He merely used the tip of his horn, just that much magic, to throw up a shield the size of his entire body. And when my magic hit that, it either bounced off to a wall or completely broke apart like rain to the stones that lined the streets below.

He didn't even have to counter anything I was doing. He just took whatever hit and taunted me for not being strong enough. And when I tried to throw my best attack at him, that shield started to form into a spherical shape surrounding his entire body. He simply stood like a statue before dusting off his shoulders and flicking his mane back. As he pointed to his cutie mark, his eyebrows jumped a few times. All while he was taunting me, I was blasting him with almost everything I could muster, at least before I felt my hands getting hot.

Cadance summoned up crystals made of ice from the floor before she and Celestia announced that our training session had come to an end. I placed my hands on the pillars of ice, watching them steam through some of the surface. It took no time for my hands to leave an imprint.

Dinner was handled by the personal chefs of Cadance's choosing. And though the food was good, it still didn't have that same punch Lemon Drops gave it back in Canterlot. After that finally came our accommodations. Since the rails frost over real bad at night this time of year, I would have to wait until morning before we're allowed to go back. So we had an overnight stay in the palace.

To my fortunes, room service was readily available to me at any given moment. They had a bell on every night stand of every guest room, and they had a system. Ring once for warmth, twice for food, thrice for bedside, continuous for medical emergency. So all I had to do was walk out into the hall ring that bell twice for a quick midnight snack.

But just as I was about to ring my bell, a curious princess stopped by. "Can't sleep?"

Celestia appeared in her usual regalia, possibly to hide her scars from the other maids and guards. She yawned once as I answered her. "I just wanted a little something from the kitchen. I know I don't know my way around, so I can't really leave the hall."

She smirked as she replied. "Give it a week, you'll get used to the layout. Would you like for me to escort you to the kitchen? I was feeling a bit peckish myself."

"Let me guess, they have cake." I said with a deadpan look.

"Ice cream cake."

"Ooh, I think I shall partake." I said with curiosity driving my every step beside her.

The princess easily guided me through the halls and down a few flights to reach the kitchen, located on the same level as the rotunda, the throne room, and the main balcony access. Our venture towards the kitchen yielded success in our pursuit of midnight sweets and we celebrated by sharing some out on the main balcony. Celestia threw her head back as she took her first bite. "Oh, now THIS is good."

"Gotta admit, Sugarcube Corner might have some competition with this one." I stated, taking another bite of mine.

The princess and I stared out into the quiet city, seeing nothing but the stars above, the mountains ahead, and the crystal-lit city streets below. Looking outward, the layout of the streets resembled that of a large snowflake. The homes were dimly lit, indicating that many of the residents had taken themselves to sleep with not even one prowling the streets. Obviously this place had zero nightlife, so it wouldn't really be all too attractive to travelers looking to prowl around for a chance to prey on some local girls. But the strange thing was that the city was almost the size of Ponyville, and that place has more of a nightlife there than here. I guess I could chalk it to the conservative mindset of the citizens, a thousand years and some new streetlights wouldn't exactly instill confidence in the dark.

The mare hummed as she looked out. "I can only imagine my aunt Amore standing here, gazing out into this and proudly saying that this would be the crown jewel of Canterlot." She then started to mimic the mare's voice as best as she could. "It's so much more beautiful to look out at the mountains as opposed to seeing a bunch of trees everywhere. Everfree Castle is just an obelisk in the woods. Perfect for your straight-faced father."

"I take it she and your father didn't get along?" I asked.

"They did after a few years. She was always protective of her beloved cousin. She poked fun at him each time they met."

"And what about you and Luna?"

"Loved us as her own. She formally crowned us as the high princesses of Equestria moments after our parent's passing. Needless to say our coronation was a very sad one."

I glanced over to her and asked quietly. "So, is Cadance your actual niece or is that a title you gave her for being in the royal family?"

"Well, she is a descendant of the royal family of the Crystal Empire. She's not just a filly I picked up like Blueblood. She's actually from the youngest sister of the family who left a while back. She eloped to marry the stallion she loved, despite her mother's wish not to do so. The family line continued all the way down to Cadance." The princess cleared her throat as she looked away. "So she's really more of my great grandniece... with about forty of those 'greats' thrown in."

Yeah I'm sure I wouldn't like to say that out loud either. "Well you did good in finding her."

"It was only fate that brought us together. I know that side wasn't really keen to their heritage, especially since their main keepsake had been lost to the ice for so long. And it wouldn't really matter anyhow. There were few who knew of this place way back when. Only family and famed wizards would recount of this place's splendor."

My mind wandered to the bottom of the castle, what rested at the ground level of it. "So what exactly is the crystal heart and where did it come from?"

The mare sighed. "There are many tales that my mother told me of this place, but I am ashamed to not know that one. As I've once told Twilight, my knowledge of this place is limited. I only found out more as time went along, as well as the reemergence of the city. I found more of my heritage, much of which will remain undiscovered and the little that I know will be lost to time as I pass on eventually."

I walked over to her and questioned her, almost perplexed. "But why would you keep that hidden? I'm sure the world would love to know what or where you'd come from."

The mare glanced to the sky. "Let's just say that my mother's vein runs deep into the creation of this world. If that was to be discovered, then I'd never be able to know true happiness. My sister and Cadance would suffer the same. Better to let legends die to the way of myths."

It appears there was a lot more than the weight of a nation on her shoulders. "Okay, I'll buy into that one." I said before I felt a chilly breeze nearly permeate my skin and bash against my very bones. "Hoo, it's cold."

The princess didn't waste any time in trying to comfort me. She levitated me towards her, wrapping my arms around her chest and allowing me to embrace her entire body. Her wings fell loose to warm my arms. Her eyes remained fixated on the world beyond the balcony. "Is that better for you?"

I couldn't argue any reason why it wouldn't. Her body gave off a comforting heat, almost like she was radiating the air around the two of us. Her wings almost felt like a warm blanket keeping the bitter cold wind at bay. The sweet smell of her scent made me want to embrace her even more. "This is fine. I like where we are now." I stared out at the scenery in front of us. "Hell of a view."

The princess nuzzled her head into my chest, looking up at me. She whispered. "Come. You know what I want."

I cleared her brow of her mane, kissing her above her horn. The princess seemed to squirm with glee for just a second before falling limp against me. Her hooves started to pet my arms. As my legs crossed under her, she melted in the embrace and quietly rocked from side to side. I could tell she was at peace with this moment, more than willing to drift off to sleep like this. But I had a few thoughts that disturbed this moment for me. I enjoyed it, really I did, but I had one individual in mind who wouldn't want this. Of course, she's a jealous one and understandably so.

Celestia noticed the vibes that seeped into her, reaching a hoof back to rub the back of my head. "What is wrong, my dear?"

Even the endearing names she called me had felt bitter with my thoughts, despite her voice asking it to me in the loveliest motherly timbre. "It's nothing." I initially lied.

Her hoof pushed my head forward, leaning me beside her, our cheeks rubbing against one another as she nuzzled me again. "Come now, you know I've been honest with you. Be the same for me."

While the wonderful scents of the princess' perfume and the softness of her hoof pressed lightly towards my cheek, I couldn't help but to feel concerned. I began to tell her what was on my mind for the moment. "Do you ever feel like you do something that feels right, you know it's right, but it still feels like it's wrong in some places?"

The mare looked out to the mountains. "I have... once."

"Can you tell me about it?" I asked.

Celestia's eyes remained locked towards the mountains as she asked me in return. "So you want me to tell you about it so that I can somehow give you a blueprint for how to deal with it yourself?"

"If that's okay with you." I said with a quiet whimper.

Her wings started to rub against me, each feather tickling me as they brushed past. "There was this one fellow I drew interest in. I know that he had a lot going on in his life and he had more going on in his mind. I also know that he had a wonderful sense of humor. And when we kissed for the first time, I was so elated that I felt like the burdens of my job had suddenly paled in comparison to the emotions I felt with him."

"The good King Sombra?" I guessed.

"Nope." She whispered.

"Fair Charity?" I guessed again.

"You." She answered quietly. "I know that each time I've kissed you, I felt the bond between Twilight and I weaken in some places. The more time we spend like this, the more it feels right... but it also feels wrong."

In other words, we've been quietly dealing with the same issue. "So what goes through your mind then?"

She looked down to the wings she used to cover my body. "I think about the times we share as student and mentor. I think about the times she came to me for advice on her studies, dealing with her brother's deployment, even asking for comfort when her brother was dealing with the aftermath of that deployment and her mother found herself imprisoned for a short time. I remember each letter she wrote me when I sent her off to Ponyville. I remember how it felt to watch her grow into the princess we all wished her to be. I could easily remember the look on her face when you made the decision to stay, as if it meant the world to her that you did. Most of all, I remember the night she came to me to announce her intention to separate from you, how hard she cried over that moment. I think of her each day when I find myself wanting to see you again."

And suddenly my conflict seemed like a damn joke in contrast to the long-built years of trust established between these two. It wasn't any easier for me, but still... "That's a pretty harsh reality to be living in."

"Now, what do you feel? What goes through your mind when you think of the both of us?" She asked.

I started to simplify my answer by saying whatever came to my mind. Even if I had to ramble on and on, I needed to just air things out. "I mean... I've been with her. I know it hasn't been nearly as long as you, but I feel like I know her in a different way than you. I know what some of her emotional triggers are, I know that she hates certain things, I still don't understand some of her irrational fears of quesadillas and ladybugs, but I know that she's a jealous girl. I also understand that her life wasn't filled with the most promising romances, and I've been in her shoes for much of my life in that regard. But I also know that it will hurt her to know that she is losing out to her friends. She'll go to whatever length to compensate or compete with someone who has moved on me. I guess my main thing is that I don't want her to keep trying to compete, because I know that shit doesn't do anything for anyone but hurt their confidence and self-esteem in the foreseeable future."

The princess then asked. "Have you talked with her about that?"

I shook my head. "I know I should, but I feel like she's going to try even harder to win. I mean I understand love can be a bit of a competition at times, but I don't want this to turn into a race where she burns herself out over me. All that does is ruin every relationship that follows after ours. I don't want that to happen."

"And I don't want you to burn out on trying to keep everypony happy." The princess said before highlighting her own experiences. "Let me tell you something, there's nothing worse than trying to feed a wish, you lose a lot of food that way. That means that you end up putting a lot into the uncertain future of others that you don't put in enough time to do what is best for you. I know it's rich coming from somepony like me, but at least I'm sharing the lesson that was recently taught to me. It's fine to want the best for others, but what they do along the way for their future is THEIR decision, not yours. And I know Twilight, she can be clingy to a fault. If you don't believe me, then ask Shining Armor."

I started to look up to the sky, marveling at the beautiful night sky with streaks of magenta and pink. "I guess the truth ain't ever easy."

"No it's not." She replied. "You have to make that decision. If you can't do that much, then how can anyone trust you to lead, much less my trusting in you." She placed a hoof under my chin. "Eyes forward, chin up, keep your head tough. You've made more crucial life-changing decisions on a whim, this is no different. You don't believe me when I say this, but you're paving the road I'm walking on. Where you go, I'll follow."

I turned to her and questioned the princess. "How far will you follow me?"

"As far as reason will allow." She answered truthfully, not holding back any punches. "I'm not going to say that I will chase you to the ends of the Equestria, I won't stop the sky for you, I won't break the bank to rescue you, I know that I won't die alongside you, I can't promise you forever because you won't live that long, I know that I may not give you anything physical right now and you'll have to bear with that for a time, I refuse to entertain the idea of sharing you with somepony else but I won't stop you from making whatever decision in regards to that, I won't stick around if you hurt me in any way. Having that said, if you guide me in the right direction, you treat me well, you give me adoration and praise every once and a while, as long as you respect me... I will summarily become the very shadow to your being, I will be nothing less than your support, I will settle for nothing less than what you will allow me to have. I think that's a fair trade."

"More than." I said with a chuckle. "Gotta admit, I don't think I've ever heard a confession as realistic as yours. It's like you have a contract in your head, you already came with what you want in this, and you won't settle for anything less."

"In life, you get what you negotiate for, not what you deserve." She replied with a smirk. "Twilight deserves happiness, but I know that she made the decision to leave you behind in spite of your efforts. As I see things from my father's point of view, she conceded you to the world. From that moment on, your decisions were and are no longer subject to answering for. That's the cruel truth, but only you can make the decision on if you move forward or not."

The princess rose to her hooves, removing her wings from around me and standing as her regal self.

"If you choose to remain, I will understand and will no longer pursue you. If you choose to move on, then I do expect you to be mine when this is all over."

"Only yours?" I asked.

The princess giggled for a second. "I'm more into the traditional relationship. All this herding mess just makes no sense to me."

"I know what you mean. I can't be second to any other guy, so I wouldn't subject any mare to that." I responded with a light smile. "...I'll talk to her. I'll let her know that I may be looking into other options."

Celestia's smile quickly faded to a more serious expression. She lowered her head, giving me a much better view of her eyes. "Now a word of warning. She is my former student and my friend, almost my surrogate daughter at this point. I seek no animosity between us. If you do tell her about this, be as honest as possible. If you lie to her, you will be lying to me, and I do not like conspirators. You will speak with her first, then I will speak to her after. Be absolutely certain with your decision, have I made myself clear?"

I walked by her and knocked on the wall of the balcony access. "Crystal. You both deserve that much of me."

She walked from the balcony and levitated my head down to her, giving me a quick peck on the lips before pointing down the hall. "Alright. Now let's get to bed. We have a long day of travel tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am."

As the pair walked down the hall, past the massive crystal pillars that lined the walls, Cadance grasped at her chest as she stared at the couple bug-eyed. While they disappeared down the hall, the princess looked to the other side of the hall where her husband shook his head, holding his forehead with a hoof. The two gathered together as they started to share their thoughts to one another.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Cadance whispered. "Those two, hitting it off?"

"Twily is gonna hate this." Shining muttered with disbelief.

"Hate is putting it nicely, Shining Armor. We're talking utterly devastated past the point of a damaged emotional psyche. What I want to know is who started this mess."

"Who else?" Shining replied. "Nondis is only doing what he needs to do to keep her happy. We tried to stress that to him for the sake of the assignment. But I didn't expect for Celestia to become a player at the cost of possibly compromising this whole thing."

"If the press finds out about this, we are done for and our daughter will be getting touched by every shady doctor from here to Canterrot."

"But here's the problem, Celestia is genuinely happy. You said that she gave off an unusually pink aura when looking at her. You know her better than I do, so you knew that there was something that had her prancing around the place. I just can't believe it's... THEM. I was honestly betting on her starting an affair with Alex first."

"Right! I mean the two were just bouncing ideas off of each other when they were trying to come up with the human transformation spell. Everything they did together, they just clicked and it went. This is beyond unexpected."

The prince closed his eyes, sitting on his haunches. "Oh, poor Twily. Losing out to your homeroom teacher."

"How are we going to tell her?"

"I thought they planned on doing that themselves." Shining replied. "And as much as I'm gonna want to break that man's legs, I'm gonna have to suffer in silence while Twilight takes an afternoon to drown this one in ice cream."

Cadance rolled her eyes as she held her belly. "...But there's no denying it, she's truly happy with him right now."

Hello to all, it's been a minute. Sorry for the not talking for a while, kinda fell into a bit of a funk. It's kinda hard not to have your mind on life when you have a hole in your ceiling the size of a 10'x12' tarp, health insurance that bleeds me dry every month, and a bit of a COVID scare. I took a last minute gig hoping to make back some of the money I lost on health insurance payments and ended up in the middle of an outbreak. Yeah, got the test results yesterday to come back negative, so there's that.

Other than that, I've been starting to game with some friends online hoping to distract myself with some much-needed laughs and some vented frustrations. But it's easy for me to say that I am happy that things are looking up for me emotionally. Now enough of the personal bullshit.

Now in terms of what's to come for next chapter, well.... it's already finished. But I still need to go through and see if there's anything that needs to be changed or edited. It will start a new arc, some that many of you have been waiting for. Granted it will be a pretty long one I'll have to condense, but I won't be releasing that until at least five days from now. As for why, I know these chapters are pretty long (no shit) and some readers will need some time to read through this and process it before moving on to what comes next, which by any indication in this chapter is a hell of a step, a controversial one no less.

I'm at least warning (and possibly spoiling) you now, it might get a little edgy at times, a lot of frustrating, and quite possibly some sad.

If you're willing to keep on this journey, I will appreciate you for sticking around. If you're willing to put it down for now, I understand. But I only ask that you gamble what you can. Thank you for being here this far.

And thank you to those who gave me a chance up to this point. I know this journey started off a lot brighter, but I can only try my best to reward you along the way. Let me know your praises, thoughts, gripes, and especially complaints in the comments below.