The gate guards at the castle entrance nodded to Starstep and Scootaloo as they passed. As long as they had an official escort, guests were welcome to the massive building. The Princesses enjoyed sharing what they had, within reason. It also helped the guards from feeling too cut off with the outside world and reenforced the need to present a favorable image.

Down the long polished white corridors, Starstep led his friend. She gasped and marveled at the huge archways, guided paintings on the ceiling in the hall of stories, and was dancing on her hooves in giddy excitement at the cloud fountain. After tearing her away from the strange fountain that sprayed tiny clouds like water, he nudged her down a much more traveled hallway.

“Like it so far Scoots?” He smiled at the orange filly.

She laughed and spun around with a flourish of wings, “Oooh my gosh, this is, wow. I mean, Cloudsdale is cool and all, but this is really something else. The Princesses have an awesome home.”

Starstep chuckled at her delight, “Well, one more great spot to show you and then we'll grab a beer or something, cool?” She nodded as he led the excited pegasus into a massively broad hallway, a line of ponies stretching from a roped off queue and stopped at a massive double door. The doors were currently open to admit petitioners one at a time. They could hear the rich, loving voice of Celestia carry out into the hall. He nodded to one of the door guards, who returned the gesture and escorted the wide-eyed Scootaloo quietly into the throne room, off to the side to join the rest of the crowd of watchers.

Upon a throne of gold and red silk, Princess Celestia was looking down on a pair of pony petitioners, a faint smile upon her lips, “The court has heard both of your arguments and shall now pass judgment. Ironnails, you will pay half of the damages to Newsflash's cart. Newsflash, because you did not have the proper license to sell merchandise on the street, you will owe the city a fine of fifty bits and ten hours of community service. While the court wishes for all to have an opportunity to ply their trades, we must have order in how business is conducted. No pony is excluded from the rules, rich or poor.” A small black, with white mane unicorn nodded sadly as the verdict was handed down.

Celestia turned her gaze directly on the other pony, a thick legged olive coated earth pony. Her expression hardened slightly “And Ironnails, the next time somepony decides to illegally set up in front of your shop, do not take it upon yourself to buck their cart into pieces. Please contact the city guard, it's what they're paid for. Understand?” The earth pony grumbled softly but bowed his head in respect. “Very well, court is now in recess. Clerks, please prepare the next cases to begin in half an hour.”

With recess called, the crowd began to talk amongst themselves. Celestia was calmly sipping from a cup, watching those in attendance. Starstep slipped a wing over Scootaloo and pulled her out of the crowd and towards the throne. At first Scootaloo resisted, but her friend's assurances that it was fine, soothed her reluctance. A respectful distance from the princess, Starstep bowed, followed by Scootaloo. The princess stepped off her throne and approached the two, “Please rise my little ponies. Starstep , showing around a guest today?”

The blue-grey pegasus grinned up at the sun goddess and nodded, using his wing to slightly push the orange filly towards the towering princess. “This is one of my best friends from school. I'd like you to meet Scootaloo.”

The regal white alicorn nodded with a welcoming smile to the smaller pony, “Hello Scootaloo, how do you find the castle so far?”

The nervous filly glanced over at her friend then back up at the alicorn, “Oh, it's wow, Princess, it's like the best house ever! I wish I could live in a place like this. Of course I uh, might make a few adjustments.”

Celestia giggled softly, “Oh? What improvements might you make, my dear?”

A broad grin spread on Scootaloo's face, “Oh, nothing fancy, knock out some roofs, set up a racing course for pegasus in these massive halls. Replace the throne with one made of storm clouds so it's all cool and electrifying!”

Her suggestions were met with soft laughter and a smile, “Well, when it comes time for redecorating, I shall remember your suggestions.” She glanced over at Starstep , a twinkle in her eyes, “Well it was very nice to meet you Scootaloo, I unfortunately have more business to attend to. Please, enjoy the rest of your visit.” Her request was met with an excited nod, and both of the pegasi gave her a parting bow before Starstep herded the bouncing filly out of the room.

“Ooooh my gosh that was soooo cool!” She preformed a flying back-flip over Starstep . “I mean, she's come to Ponyville before but, I never got to actually talk with her.” She gave her friend a kiss on the nose and giggled, “Thanks Star, you're an awesome friend. So, how about that drink?” She smiled at the speechless colt.

Starstep cast a sly grin at Scootaloo and motioned with his head to follow. As they wandered down a few side hallways, Star broke the quiet,“I'll save the rest of the castle if you want to visit again sometime, that cool?” the filly nodded. “Well, now, about that drink, you got two spots to choose from. Our local guard watering hole, or the little stash I keep in my quarters.”

The orange pony pondered for a moment, playfully bumping flanks with her friend as they walked, soft click of their hooves resounding down the empty passageway. “Well...would be kinda nice to see how you colts let your manes down. Lets start off with the bar, and then later, you can show me how you look in uniform, deal?” She stuck out her hoof. The colt chuckled and hoof-bumped her, “Deal.”
_____________________________________________________

A short pegasus flight later, Starstep held the door for his friend at the entrance of the Ol' Rowdy. A stark contrast from yesterday's crowd, it was only early afternoon and most of the patrons were the midnight guard-ponies. He knew the rest of morning crew would begin to trickle in soon. He led them to a booth towards the back, noting instruments on the stage, “Hey Rowdy?” He shouted at the bartender as he slid into his seat, “Band tonight?”

The grizzled old earth pony behind the counter nodded as he mixed a drink, “Yah, Cover band O' some type. Classic rock aye be thinking. Figured you colts would liken a bit of a ditty or two after a hard work week.” He hooved the finished drink to one of his girls and glanced back at the pair, “Hey, ye see Sherry about? I know she was'a flirtin with you fellers last night. She done late for her shift.”

Starstep shook his head, “Nah, Rowdy, besides, I got a pretty filly right here.” He winked at Scootaloo who blushed lightly at the teasing complement. “Couple of hard green ciders if you would please.” The old bartender nodded and Star leaned close to Scoot's ear, “Sherry's one of his daughters. He a tough ol pony but he understands his girls have their own lives. He looks the other way till somepony keeps them from work. Sadly, I think my buddy Lighthoof might be to blame for that.”

Scootaloo giggled softly, “Is your friend going to be ok?”

Starstep smirked, “That depends on how late Sherry ends up being.”

Their drinks arrived and the next hour was spent reminiscing about the past and story swapping. Scootaloo telling a bit about her try-outs and how she ended up delivering cargo by accident, Starstep talked about guard-training and the reluctantly told her about his encounter with Luna the previous day. They shared laughs, finishing the cider and moving on to Cherry Ale as a band began to set up on stage. True to Rowdy's word, it appeared to be collection of classic rock players. A guitarist, bass player, drummer and a keyboardist. As the afternoon faded, the bar filled with off-duty guards, and the band kicked into full gear. the volume of the noise increased till the two friends were speaking loudly in each others ear.

“And then I said, Sir, I can't transport your wife to Fillydelphia. And he said, why not? So I looked him straight in the eye and said, sir, that's a boulder.” Scootaloo finished her joke and the two friends were hanging off each other laughing. As Starstep caught his breath he noticed Sherry slip in under the glare of her father, and shortly thereafter, Lighthoof wandered in. His friend tried to hide from Rowdy's ever present gaze as he noticed Starstep and wove his way through the crowd to join them at the booth.

“Hey Star, and heyyyyy, new girl?” He flicked his eyes between the two in surprise, curious at how they were both dangling off each other after the shared laugh. “So Star...gonna introduce me?”

The blue-grey colt grinned, “Lighthoof, meet a classmate of mine from Ponyville, Scootaloo. Scootaloo, meet Lighthoof, my buddy from the guard who will soon be meeting Rowdy's hoof.” He smirked at his guard-buddy. Scootaloo giggled at the introduction and the politely shook hooves.

“Dude, Star, keep it down will you? Geeze. I don't think he suspects anything yet.” Starstep looked over his friend's shoulder, noting Rowdy was giving Lighthoof a death-glare.

“I wouldn't count on that bud. If I were you, I'd come up with either an excuse as reality shattering as Discord's invasion or a ring to ask for Sherry's hoof. Either way, I'll let the Princess know you might have to take a medical day.” He chuckled and winked at Lighthoof.

The evening wound on, Lighthoof ignoring the evil-eye aimed at the back of his skull, and Sherry slipping him a drink or two with a wink. The three swapped embarrassing stories for a bit, laughing at each others crazy antics till Starstep could tell he was rather buzzed. It was at that point Scootaloo leaned into him and yelled over the crowd into his ear, “Hey, Star, can we head out? I'd like some fresh air, cool?” he nodded in agreement, slapping down enough bits to cover the tab plus tip.

As he swung out of the booth, helping Scootaloo to her hooves, he noticed Sherry arguing heatedly in a corner with her father. The father glancing from her to Lighthoof. Starstep patted his buddy on the shoulder reassuringly, “Well bud, you reap what you sow.” He shouted in his friends ear, motioning with his head back towards Rowdy who was now making his way over to the booth. Lighthoof followed the head nod, noting the approaching bartender and groaned. He looked up pleadingly at his friend who unfortunately just shrugged as he lead Scootaloo out of the bar into the crisp night air.

The two pegasus leaned against each other for warmth and support as they headed back towards the barracks. He wasn't drunk, and he didn't expect Scootaloo was either, but it was nice to share each others company and affection after so long. Despite anything else, Scoots was still a good friend of his, and he took comfort in that fact. It was a quiet walk the whole trip till they arrived at his doorstep. The door unlocked with a loud click and he held it wide to allow his friend in first.

His quarters were very simple. A bed, a small fridge, a small desk with chair, a simple bathroom with shower, a nightstand and a sturdy mirror resting on a set of clothes drawers. He nodded towards the neatly made bed as he shut the door behind them and pulled out a couple of beers from the mini-fridge.

Scootaloo wandered over and plopped her haunches up on the bed, glancing about the sparse but comfortable quarters, “Wow, it's not much is it?” Starstep chuckled and popped the caps off the beers with his wings before handing her one of the cool beverages.

“Nah, I'm still a new guard. Officers have some great quarters, and if you get married you can use some larger ones, or move off-site. Us new guys, well, they like to keep us close till we get used to the routine. But, despite all that, it's comfortable enough and thank Luna the walls are thick.” Scootaloo arced her eyebrow at the comment and tipped back her beer for a swallow.

“Oh yeah? How do you know? Do you bring all the hot fillies back here?” She smirked at her friend's blush.

“Ah, no...but my neighboring guards do...a lot. Guy to my right is a newlywed, so yeah...” he laughed and took a swig of his own drink. There was a quiet pause as Scootaloo regarded him.

“Hey, Star? Have you ever...you know...?” She tilted her head curiously, then blinked in surprise as he shook his head. “Really? You can't be serious. I mean, with that uniform, and your job, how is that even bucking possible?” She blinked, “Wait, am I allowed to curse in the castle?” She looked around, perhaps afraid the princesses would pop out of no-where and scold her.

Star finished his beer and rose to slide up next to his friend on the bed, “Haha, it's cool Scoot. The Princesses are far more understanding than most ponies realize. Seems like too many ponies see them for what they are, and not who they are.” He gave a gentle sigh, “Kinda sad really.”

Another long pause and Scootaloo finished off her drink. It clinked as she sat the empty bottle on the nightstand and glanced at the colt. “Hey...Star?”

“Yeah?”

“This is going to sound really weird but... if you haven't been with anypony, what are you going to do if you DO catch Princess Luna's eye?”

Starstep turned his head to see Scootaloo's curious eyes and he sighed, “I'm not sure I follow."

Scootaloo gave a playful smirk. "You're oblivious sometimes, Star. Let's say that one day you manage to start dating the Princess. At some point she'll want to get intimate with you, right?"

The colt raised and eyebrow, trying to ignore the warmth in his belly at the thought. "R-right."

"Well, she's way older than you, with probably a lot of experience. While you have none. You'll probably be too nervous to do anything and it'll be a disaster."

"I would not."

"Uh-huh, well I say you should prove it." She smirked as she crept forward and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. Images of the times they would sneak kisses behind the schoolhouse came flooding into his thoughts. They hadn't shared one of those since the disastrous night at Sweetie's.

Reluctantly she pulled back slightly from his kiss and smiled at him, “Hey Star?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you like to?”

The colt tilted his head in confusion, “What...what do you mean Scoots?”

She giggled and booped his noise, “I mean, would you like to...you know...” She searched his bright blue eyes, he couldn't find himself looking away. She smiled reassuring to Star, “Just a couple of friends sharing a night of fun together, no pressure, no commitments. Unless you want it to mean something more.” She put a hoof to his lips as he opened his mouth, “I'd like to teach you a thing or two. That way, if your dream does come true one day, you wont be a completely clueless colt."

“I dunno...” He said as she removed her hoof. "I've always liked you Scoots and I love being your friend, I just... I wouldn't want it to get... weird. We both know I really want to be Luna's Special Somepony."

"Well, duh. That's the point you goof. I want to help you."

He thought about her offer for a few moments and realized that, in some respects, Scoots was right. He'd never been with a mare. He honestly had no idea what he was doing and here was his best friend offering to show him a few things. Would it really be so bad to accept her offer? With a smile he touched noses with Scootaloo, “You swear that no matter what, we'll still be best friends after this?”

She giggled and nodded. “I Pinkie-Pie swear, Star. Like I said, this is just between a couple of friends having a little fun. Besides...” She pushed him over onto his side and crawled up to rest her chin on his folded wing, “I think you REALLY need this. It might open your eyes to things you've been missing. Now, just relax, I promise it'll be fun.”

(Out of respect for readers who may not like clop. The sex scene between Starstep and Scootaloo follows in IV. While not necessary for the overall story, it reinforces their bond and is a lot of fun. If it's not your thing, skip on to Chapter V. But you will miss some minor character development.)