Spike had made a grave mistake in his attempt at leaving Canterlot Boutique with confidence and bravado; he had forgotten to ask Rarity if he could borrow her umbrella. As a result, the poor dragon stood sopping wet on the sidewalk, the rain pouring down on his scales as he walked the last few metres. Internally, he cursed the Canterlot weather, whose managers were a lot less forthcoming about their plans than the ones in Ponyville. If only he had known, he would have brought an umbrella of his own.

Yet there was little he could do about it at that point, so instead he focused on what lay ahead: the gate to the castle and two stallions, one on either side. Both had dark grey coats and wore distinctive helmets of golden metal, as well as plated armor on their torsos that signaled that they were both members of the Royal Guard.

"Erm, hello," Spike said as he neared the one on the left. He had a claw held over his face to shield his eyes from the rain.

"Good morning, sir," the guard said, continuing to look forward.

"I was wondering if... I could enter the castle?" Spike said.

"Do you have business in the castle?" the guard asked, finally looking at him. Spike noticed in his peripheral vision that the other guard was fidgeting nervously.

"I do—I am here to meet with the princess about some... important business." Spike leaned in and whispered, "It's important."

The guard nodded. "I'm sure it is, sir. Do you have an appointment?"

Spike blinked. "Er, no, but—"

"Deepest apologies, sir dragon, but I am under express instructions to only allow through these gates such ponies who have appointments or other clearance—" He was cut off by the other guard, who cleared his throat. The first guard blinked and glanced over at him. "What is it, Root?"

Spike immediately recognised the other guard as Turnip Root, a guard who had been at the castle since before Spike had lived there with Twilight Sparkle. Instead of addressing this other guard, he turned to Spike. "Deepest apologies, Sir Spike; Private Panel here is brand new—just joined the force last week." He then turned to Private Panel. "This here is Sir Spike, assistant to Princess Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville and a good friend to both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. His business is his own, but I'm sure it's quite important for him to have come all this way. Now, c'mon, Spike," Root finished. "I'll take you inside."

"Really, there's no need—" Spike started.

"No, I insist. Always happy to help an old friend," Root replied as he magically unlatched the large golden gates, leading Spike inside before shutting the gate. Spike looked over his shoulder for a moment to see Private Panel continuing to stand there proudly in the rain, the drops making plink, plink noises on his helmet as they made impact.

"So, how have you and Princess Twilight been?" Root asked once they had reached the overhang of the castle entrance, saving them from the rain. It loomed high above them, immaculate white stone that headed the tall wooden doors. "I swear, I don't think I've seen you two since her coronation."

"You might not have, sir," Spike replied. "Twilight and I have been pretty busy, what with her being a princess and all."

Root leaned forward and, nodding at one of the guards at the door, used his magic to open it a crack. He stood aside to let Spike squeeze through the small opening and then he followed right behind, closing the door with a soft thud.

"Now, Sir Spike, let me ask you: where do you need to go?"

"If it's alright, I'd like to have a chat with Princess Celestia on the behalf of Princess Twilight. She's not busy right now, is she?"

"Hmm..." Root contemplated. "No, she shouldn't be. She had a meeting this morning with some of the nobles about proposed Trottingham metropolitan expansion, but that ended a few hours ago and I don't think she has anything planned until court convenes in the afternoon."

"Awesome—thanks, Root. You think she'd be in the throne room or her bedroom?" Spike asked.

"Definitely the throne room," Root replied immediately. "She hardly ever goes to her quarters during the day unless she isn't feeling well, but I haven't heard anything like that. If she isn't there, though, we can definitely check her room next."

"Oh, erm, yeah," Spike said, scratching the back of his head. "You know, I, uh... I kinda already know my way around the castle. Since I lived here for a buncha years and all."

Root blinked. "Oh, right. Heh... sorry. I'm sure you'll be wanting to go on your way then, yeah? And I should get back to my shift."

Spike nodded. "But it's super cool to see you again, dude! And I'm... I'm glad to know you're still here."

"Mhm," Root mhm'd. "See you around, Spike." He did a little bow and then trotted off out the door, which Spike heard close behind him.

Spike couldn't focus on that for long, however; he had a princess to find.

Princess Celestia had not been in the throne room. And, as far as Spike could tell, she wasn't in her quarters either. Or, if she was in there, she had sat there silently for ten minutes without answering as Spike intermittently had knocked. No, the princess was elsewhere, and Spike didn't know where. Well, at first.

Then, as Spike had started walking away from Princess Celestia's quarters in search of her scheduler or even Princess Luna, he happened to glance out the hallway window that overlooked the main courtyard. Rain still fell heavily from the sky, muddying the grass and soaking through all of the benches. At first, he thought there were no ponies out there, so he glanced away. But as he looked away, in his peripheral vision...

It was her. Spike looked back out and leaned forward onto the sill, letting the water splash onto his face. It was definitely her; the regal, slender form of Princess Celestia sat on one of the benches, sipping from a teacup held within her twinking yellow magical grasp. She looked as if she didn't even notice the rain; sure, her mane was completely soaked and hanging flat against her back, but she just sat there on the bench among the grass and shrubbery, taking sips.

Confused, Spike did all he could think to do; he pulled back out from the windowsill and started running down the hall and down the stone steps, careful not to slip (as parts were still slick from ponies' wet hooves). He earned a few strange looks from guards and nobleponies as he passed by, but these didn't concern him. The dragon didn't stop until he reached the entrance to the courtyard, whereupon he paused and put his hands on his knees, panting. Then, he stood straight up and walked out the door, standing tall.

He had the urge to put his arm up to block the rain as the drops of water hit and slid down his face, but he felt like it would be impolite, somehow, if the princess wasn't doing it. So, letting himself get soaked once more, Spike continued down the wet gravel path until he reached the centre area of the courtyard, a gravel circle with a small fountain in the middle that, at that moment, was overflowing ever so slightly.

Once he reached the centre, Princess Celestia looked up from her teacup. "Oh, good morning, Spike!" she greeted in a warm, cheerful voice. "What a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Heh... good morning, Princess," Spike said with a smile, blinking a lot to keep the rain out of his eyes. "I've come with a message from Twilight, actually."

Princess Celestia tilted her head. "Oh, really? Well, I'm quite interested in what the princess has to say, but first: please, have a seat." She beckoned with a hoof at the empty spot on the bench to her left. The wood was soaked through but they were already in the rain, anyway, so Spike shrugged and took a seat. His claw on the armrest, he tapped his talons one by one on the soft wood.

"Would you like some tea?" the princess asked, looking down at Spike.

"Nah, I think I'm good, but thanks for asking," Spike replied. "I'm staying with Rarity, anyway, so I'll probably be having a lot of that stuff tonight and tomorrow."

"Oh, true. That mare does love her tea, doesn't she?" Celestia mused. She didn't speak again for a few moments, allowing the rain to fall over them. "So," she finally said. "What is it that Twilight sent you here to discuss? I mean, not that I'm not glad to see you, but I hope she knows that I don't mind writing letters."

Spike could feel himself tense up; he hadn't realised it, but he felt pretty anxious talking about something like this to the princess, and by himself at that. "Oh boy... now where do I begin..."