In the early hours of the morning, Crimson makes his way towards the adorned doors of the throne room. Just before retiring for the night yesterday, Moonlight and Celestia exchanged memorandums which elucidated the events of last night's field operation, and while Crimson is aware of this, he wasn't informed of what they wrote to each other. He reckons he's soon to find out as Celestia had beckoned for his presence just after breakfast.

He presents himself at the front of the doors, greeted by a familiar orange stallion in silver armor. With a quick and acknowledging raise of his eyebrows, Bulletpoint orders his buckram post mate to open the door with his magic. They swing wide for Crimson's entry, where he can see Celestia sitting at her throne much like the first time he made his appearance. He strides in with haste, keeping his eyes locked on her form as he moves forward. He takes a courtly bow once he stands at her front, keeping himself quiet to listen to her heed.

"Good morning, dear Crimson."

He rises from his humble salutation, smiling tiredly at her as he replies, "Good mornin' to you too, Princess."

Celestia's eyes rest on his figure, tracing him up and down without further speaking. Her running gaze causes him to look down at himself, curious as to what she's scrutinizing. He doesn't find anything particularly remarkable about his current appearance compared to what he usually looks like, now looking back up to Celestia with the same inquiring regard. He catches a smile forming on her lips as she tilts her head.

"Undeniably," she begins, "you proved to be an outstanding choice for the task of guarding my researchers. Your trodden appearance speaks more words than those sent in Moonlight's letters."

"I swore I'd do anythin' I can to keep Moonlight safe. I don't fall back on my promises."

"Even in the face of a menacing, fire-breathing dragon?"

"Even in the face of a thousand of 'em."

Celestia's smile grows wider at his aplomb. "And I believe you fully. I must thank you, dragon attacks have heightened in Equestria recently, and because these wayward stragglers are not officially under the affiliation of the Dragonlord from the Dragonlands, we cannot wage war against a kingdom for a fault that is not theirs. Slaying these delinquent dragons who pose a threat to my subjects is a favor I struggle to ask for even my best combat teams. As you experienced first-hoof, their ferocity is not something to be discounted. Moonlight made her distress about your safety very prominent... but I believe you are more capable than she imagines. You have my gratitude."

"No need to applaud, princess. After seein' what that overgrown bastard did to an innocent little farmin' village, he needed to die."

"And we all agree. I am very pleased at your dedication and willingness to put yourself in the line of peril. You have done well to ensure Moonlight's trust, and now, mine as well. Unfortunately, the objective of the field operation was not successful. Moonlight reported that the relic in question was not acquired and is still in the claws of another dragon."

Crimson's brows furrow slightly at Celestia's awareness of Storm, though he keeps himself hushed as to continue letting her speak.

"To our dismay, Moonlight was unable to deliver a clear report on this dragon's appearance or whereabouts. Even her portable ANA was incapable of tracking the signature as they fled from the scene. Would you, by any chance, have more information about the dragon that still holds the relic?"

"... Many pardons, princess, I'm just as blinded as Moonlight."

Celestia's domineering gaze weighs down upon him as she cycles his alibi. Crimson maintains eye contact with her without a break in poise, possessing the assertiveness she dawns on him with full return.

After a moment, she closes her eyes and nods once, embracing his words. "Worry not. Scouts are regularly patrolling Equestria from dawn until dusk. It is only a matter of time before the dragon will be found. Now, onto further matters. I have a turnover in duty for you, dearest Crimson. Please do not mistake me for lacking trust in you, but you will no longer protect Moonlight in her endeavors..."

Crimson's distaste visibly grows.

"... as she will no longer partake in outside operations. I am ordering her to remain in the city and perform research here. We already have enough bodies undertaking the tasks found outside Canterlot walls, and I do not wish to put my researchers in purposeless endangerment. I am confident in your ability to protect Moonlight, but I would rather ensure her safety whilst placing your talents in another, much needed, area of expertise. Your new position involves mission integration with the Royal Guard."

"I thought you said I didn't have to join 'em."

"And that stands true even now. You will not officially join the guard, but as you have proven to fear neither danger nor death with a skill-set to accompany your abandon, I would like you to consort with the Royal Guard Elite. The missions they are deployed on are physically and mentally strenuous, where only the best of my troops are burdened with the task. Instead of protecting a researcher, you will now protect a team of skilled individuals that will, in turn, protect you as well."

"When do I start?"

"Tomorrow. There is a mission currently in development involving an expedition to the Smokey Mountains in western Equestria, near the White Tail Woods that you had recently visited. Your debriefing will be issued by the Captain of the Royal Guard before leaving Canterlot."

"Hmh. You think I'd make a good addition to their team?"

"I have faith in your abilities."

"I appreciate that you hold a simple man so highly," he grins as he pockets his hands.

"A simple man?" she questions with an equally brash smile. "The furthest from simple. There is no need to be so modest... my angel."

"Guess Moonlight already told you all about that."

"Indeed. Our dearest little Moonlight made quite a detailed fuss about your power. Ahr-ch, was it?"

"Spelled like how you said it, but the 'c h' is pronounced as a 'k.' Don't ask me why, it's just what I was told. It don't surprise me Moonlight's twirlin' over my Arch in the letters she sends. Ever since I told her about it, she's been real piqued."

"With good reason. Even excluding your power, there are many wonderful aspects you hold that she has informed me of. Since you were first sent to her up until now, she has had nothing to say than positive qualities about you."

"It's an honor that she thinks so well of me."

"She isn't the only one, my angel, it would appear that the Guard is also quite enthused by the talking human. As well am I. I share Moonlight's curiosity to your power. I wish to see what you're capable of and if your abilities can be found in other parts of Equus. Unless your existence is truly beyond this realm, where your Arch is completely absent in any other creature here, there is much research to do alongside the magical anomalies that have appeared."

"That's a good point. I'm also interested to know whether I'm the only guy 'round here that's got Arch. Believe it or not, there's a lot I actually don't know about it. I just do what my father taught me, which wasn't very much."

"Mm, Moonlight's letters detailed your inexperience with your own power. Perhaps one day you could join the Court of Magic here in the high society to train and perfect your Arch alongside Equestria's most esteemed magic users. While I understand your Arch is not the same as our magic, there may be some fruit to be held from speaking to the wise mages."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"That is all I ask. Regardless of your inexperience, she reported that what she had witnessed when you fended off the dragon was nothing short of astonishing. I would wish for a demonstration of your Arch, but Moonlight also highlighted the idea that it is very taxing on your body. I could not argue against it. You look considerably more worn this morning in comparison to when we had first met."

"Not everythin' I can do gasses me out right outta the gate. There's a few things I can do here 'n there that I learned which don't poke a hole in my boat."

With tempt, Celestia smiles, "Lovely. As a teacher in magic studies, it is difficult to contain my curiosity. Could I bother for a spectacle?"

"With pleasure." He walks towards the base of her throne's stairs and stares up at Celestia from below, receiving her fully absorbed gaze. The coloration in his irises suddenly sheen with radiant golden light, and his body follows suit with the flexing of his muscles.

Celestia's brows raise in beguilement to the energy that gently churns in his orbs.

Crimson bends his knees before he huffs, "Up!" and he springs into the air like a coil. Proceeding to perform a menagerie of complicated aerial acrobatics, he spins and twirls in the air as he falls to land back down onto his toes at the very top of the throne stairs, standing only feet away from Celestia's front.

Delighted with the display, Celestia giggles with her hoof in front of her mouth. Crimson closes his eyes and bows to her, where she gives rejoinder by clapping her hooves together and complimenting, "Your finesse is remarkable. Truly, I am impressed."

"Obliged, princess, but that wasn't what I wanted to show you."

"No?" her mouth remains in that same syllable.

"You alright with physical contact?"

"That is an intriguing way to ask whether or not you may touch me. How bold." She turns her head to the right slightly in a audacious manner, keeping her eyes fixed on him. "You may."

Crimson simpers at her ingratiating nature. Being a mare of her stature and status, it isn't unanticipated that she would be so unvexed. She doesn't look too much older than other mares, but her mannerisms aerate a certain maturity that is found uniquely in her.

With her verbal approval, he approaches Celestia until there is but inches separating them. He comes down onto his left knee to level his eyes with the sitting princess, gazing into her beautifully-lashed pink orbs. He can see in her large, reflective pupils, the sheen from the golden light produced by his own eyes. Celestia and Crimson share a moment of silentious blinks, only beaming into each other in the amber of the morning sun which lightens the throne room through the stained glass.

Crimson reaches his right hand towards her face, causing Celestia to briefly break eye contact in order to look at it approach. He brings his hand to her left cheek, cupping the side of her face into his palm.

The small smile present on Celestia's lips grows slightly wider as she settles into the touch. While she tilts her head to lean into his palm, his fingers gently and pleasantly scratch the bottom of her ear, sending shivers of delight through her body. Though comforting, the most prominent sensation of his touch isn't the caressing, it's the tide of surreal comfort that fills her form from her head to her hooves. Her flowing, feminine eyes blink slowly as they fall closed on their own accord, resting blissfully in the wave that drowns her woes away, even those that she is entirely unaware of. She tilts her head further into his hold, causing a lock of her luscious pink mane to fall from behind her ear over her left eye.

While channeling his power, Crimson admires the innocent beauty of this elegant mare as she sinks into his embrace. Through this physical contact, his Arch runs like an electrical current from his body to hers then back to his. As it leaves his body and rides into the person he touches, the molecules of golden light flow through their bloodstream as invisible, temporary passengers that carry out several tasks before returning to him. They snatch and encapsulate excess stress hormones caused by the natural over-worrying that sentient creatures make habit, replace them with a nearly insignificant amount of serotonin, and then return to him with the stress bottled up. Since there is no other deposit for the stress hormones, he releases it into his own body and rides the discomfort. In essence, Crimson is stealing her stress away, untensing her locked and strained nerves and muscles, and giving it to himself in return. Unbeknownst to his partner, his body is tightening from the newly added distention, his body completely abhors what he is doing to it, but he doesn't care. He only cares for the comfort of those he holds dear.

"You're tense, princess," Crimson murmurs.

"Mn," her eyes reopen slightly to ogle his, "perhaps a little. Though I try not to worry about menial things, so many burdens constantly demand my attention."

"As the ruler of a country, I wouldn't doubt it."

As they fall back into reticence, Celestia's amicable smile fades while she evanesces into repose. But before she could truly wane into tranquility, Crimson's hand excuses itself from her cheek delicately, leaving her ample opportunity to straighten her posture and return to reality. Her blinking eyes watch his hand pull away, silently wishing it would stay.

Crimson's eyes cease their glowing, but his smile remains on his face. Celestia's serene expression lingers even after he has pulled away, keeping them in a gaze of silence before he speaks. "... What'cha think?"

"I think..." she sits up straight to reassert her formal sitting posture, "that you are marvelously gifted. It seems that your abilities span wide in versatility, with the strength to dispatch a dragon, but also the care to lull a weary soul into a peaceful slumber."

"Glad you like it."

"Moonlight was telling the truth about you once more. I found it rather peculiar that she described your touch as 'surreal' and 'comforting.' I had believed that this was one of her personal illusions derived from her admiration to you... but now I understand. Your touch truly is what she described. If I may say, I'm a little jealous of Moonlight that she has your company. She must be ecstatic to have found such a unique pairing for herself."

"Pairin' for herself? ... You sayin' me 'n Moonlight are a thing?"

"Is that not the case?"

"Mm-mm," he shakes his head, "she's got a thing goin' fer one of them researcher fellas. Magnifying Glass, I think his name was."

"Magnifying Glass the scribe?"

"The very one."

"How peculiar that Moonlight is still interested in him."

"She is, and our pal Glass is pretty riled up on Moonlight too. I ain't lookin' to be a home-wrecker, so I'll keep my reservations. To boot, Moonlight's a pony and I'm a man. I don't think it would work out either way... at least, I don't reckon it would... less you ponies are into humans," his tone reflects his impartial expression as he recalls a certain previous happening, where Celestia immediately latches onto his bemusement.

"When it comes to humans and ponies, you might say that there is a particular... niche. Speaking for the entire, ponies do not perform elicit actions with their humans. It is frowned upon to have relations with any pet at all, humans included. Intercourse with animals who are unsanitary and unable to speak a language are not to be ravished, but of course, there are outliers in all things."

"Mm, so it's a taboo." Celestia nods at his assertion. "... 'N what do you think about it?"

"I have no opinion on the matter. As long as nopony or no creature is hurt, it does not bother me. ... I know what you are thinking, my angel..."

Crimson furrows dubiously.

"My subjects who boast the royal bath house are, in fact, apart of the niche I am referring to."

"So you knew what I was gettin' into when I got cleaned up."

"Partially. I have already told them not to perform sexually explicit acts with the humans that they clean, and I do believe they've become better with it over the past few years, but it is not a rule I actively enforce. I only fear for their safety, humans can be very unpredictable."

"Yeah, I've gotten familiar with that. A lot of the scratches you see on my body are because of my own kind. ... Well, I ain't one to judge. Looks like everyone's got a kink in 'em, and them spa gals likin' to shag humans must be theirs... and Moonlight's, if I take what you said as gospel. Guess I find it bizarre, is all. It's like the equivalent of me layin' in on a horse from back in my home-world."

"Oh no, do not mistake me, my angel. I don't believe Moonlight has ever considered relations with an Equestrian human before. Unlike the humans we ponies are familiar with, you are their opposite. You posses many qualities of an intelligent pony, and that is very attractive regardless of species. I'm very surprised that Moonlight chose to keep her old love interest even after so many years."

"Maybe they're good for it. You know the sayin', 'if it leaves you and it comes back, it was meant to stay.' I reckon it's somethin' to that effect. Plus, a mare like her deserves a family. I don't reckon I could give it to her if she chose me as her significant other, so, good fer Glassy-boy on his nab of an intelligent, wonderful partner. I hope nothin' but the best for 'em, but, eh... y'know, I never did find out why she had to move from Canterlot in the first place."

"Has Moonlight kept it a secret from you?"

"I wouldn't say that. I feel like she'd have told me by now, but a good opportunity to really talk about it hasn't come up, 'n I don't wanna clamp an unnecessary conversation. Plus, it might be a memory she don't like thinkin' on very much, so I'd rather not force her to re-live it all in her head."

Celestia quietly ponders on his words, resting her eyes on the diagonal gash that rides from his right lip corner to his ear. "... Are you aware that Moonlight trusts you very dearly?"

"Yeah. I am."

"... The only ponies who know what had happened to her are her parents, my sister, and myself. Should we include you, you will keep this knowledge only to yourself as a reflection of your friendship to her."

"Then that's exactly what I'll do."

Celestia tilts her head up, lifting her chin to stare past Crimson, while he himself leans back to sit on the carpet in front of her throne, keeping his knees in front of him and his inner elbows rested on top of them. The princess reminisces onto memories from nearly a decade ago, pulling them back up from the recesses of her mind to the forefront of her ideation. As the events realign, she begins her descant, "Let us go back to nine years in the past..."

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