Chapter 7

Dave left Strong Shield to repair the rest of the medical wing as he walked back to Celestia’s quarters, his bare feet slapping against the cold floor as he hurried along

“I suppose having hooves would be helpful,” He groaned as he continued along the white corridors, his hands in his coat pockets. He looked out the window and saw the naked branches of trees, the leaves gone and the green grass was short

Dave assumed autumn was in its final stages but the way the sun sank below the horizon made him hum the entire way to Celestia’s quarters. As Dave walked up the stairs he occasionally looked around for any more intruders or the two that attacked in the medical wing

Finally, Dave walked into Celestia’s quarters and wandered over to the bed where Celestia was sleeping, Nox was sleeping in her mane. The soft flowing of Celestia’s mane accompanied Nox’s quiet snoring as Dave snuck under the bed covers

“Aaaand…” Dave removed his trench coat as he made himself more comfortable “Safe” He whispered as Nox and Celestia continued to sleep. As Dave closed his eyes he felt a pair of small hooves wrap around his neck

Dave cracked open an eye to see Nox crawl onto Dave’s chest and fall back asleep, with a smile Dave attempted to join him in dreamland. As he began to drift off to sleep, Dave felt a larger pair of hooves go around his neck and a soft nuzzle against his neck

Cracking his eye open again, Dave saw Celestia shuffle closer as she made herself comfortable again. Dave rolled his eye as he attempted to sleep “Finally, nothing bad is going to happen to me” he whispered thankfully

His smile disappeared as he remembered Strong Shield’s old colleagues were potentially going to hurt him. Dave gave a final sigh before managing to fall asleep

The next morning…

“You are definitely his father” Celestia smiled happily as she looked at the pair sleeping next to her. Dave was clutching the pillow tight as he refused to face the morning sun. Nox had wrapped himself in the bed covers so only his horn was visible

Celestia stretched as she climbed out of bed and walked around to nuzzle Dave’s neck “Wake up honey” She said softly, she giggled as Dave and Nox both groaned and held their soft prisons

“No… Sleep is good” Dave pressed his face into the pillow as he groaned. Finally he gave up and climbed out of bed, staggering into the bathroom

Celestia unrolled Nox from the bed covers and he landed on his feet, but shut his eyes as he assumed Dave’s old position of holding the pillow. The princess of the sun rolled her eyes as she set about dressing herself in her regalia

As Dave walked out of the bathroom, in slightly better direction than before, he picked up his trench coat and lazily put it on “So are we going for breakfast?” He mumbled as he struggled to button up his only piece of clothing

“Yes then you can take Nox around the castle and introduce him to everypony” Celestia finally managed to wake Nox up and he clambered into her mane, his grey head poked out and rested against his mother’s horn

Dave opened the door for Celestia as they walked out of the bedroom and headed towards the dining room. As they walked, Nox finally managed to properly awaken and occasionally would dive out of Celestia’s mane to fly around before landing back in the flowing mane

“So how was Strong Shield yesterday?” Celestia asked as they walked along the white corridors, she smiled as Nox spiralled in the air and missed Dave’s panicked expression

“Oh… Um… you know” He chuckled “just thinking of his glory days heh” Dave rubbed the back of his neck as they reached the dining room. He opened the door for Celestia and quickly followed her in, taking a seat that was closest to the white alicorn

The head chef quickly took Princess Celestia’s and Dave’s order but paused when Nox poked out of Celestia’s mane and gave him a confused stare

“So… is this the newborn prince?” The head chef asked as the grey alicorn hopped onto Dave’s lap. Celestia nodded and ended up asking the chef to use his initiative for the prince’s first breakfast

“Prince Noxporta?” Dave scratched the back of his head “Don't names have some relevance to talent in Equestria?” He looked up at Celestia as he playfully wrestled with Nox

“Well yes” Celestia nodded gently “But I am sure that his talent will be great no matter what it is” She reached over with a hoof and rubbed Nox’s cheek “After all he is our son”

Dave smiled “That is something I never imagined hearing” his smile faded as Nox gasped and clutched Dave in fear. Dave turned his head to see Strong Shield standing beside him “And I didn’t hear you at all”

Celestia used her magic to bring another chair to her end of the long table so Strong Shield could sit opposite Dave. As the unicorn took his place, the head chef returned with Celestia’s breakfast, the chef quickly took a small order from Strong Shield before hurrying away again

As Nox realized that the sudden addition to the table was the same unicorn from the medical wing, he eagerly bounced over the table to greet him. As he neared Strong Shield, Nox was suddenly having his wings felt by magic and the black unicorn held his mouth open and peered in

“Healthy” Strong Shield looked over at Dave’s unimpressed face before sighed “And very… full of potential”

Dave rolled his eyes “Can you compliment him without it sounding like a guard analysis?” He looked back as Strong Shield almost seemed to struggle at the idea

“He is very…” His eye looked back to the grey alicorn that was chasing his tail “Playful” He looked back to see Dave nod

“Thank you for the compliment” Celestia smiled “As for the health check, I think Nurse Redheart would be more than happy to do that for you”

Strong Shield groaned “Not that blasted Nurse” He thanked the chef that brought out a slightly nicer looking version of guard rations “She insisted on putting on some new bandages when I can put them on by myself”

Dave quickly tapped the chef’s shoulder “Excuse me but um… is my apple pie almost ready?”

“We are trying to find some clean apples for you” The head chef rolled his eyes “Two of my chefs mated on a pile of them because they saw a skeleton and assumed that it was their final few moments alive”

Dave chuckled “You don’t say” He returned to his normal sitting position as he wondered what other fruit he accidentally caused ponies to mate on top of. After a few more minutes his pie and a small bowl of porridge were brought in

The human hastily dug into his meal whilst the princess of the day and the ex-guard ate theirs in a more dignified manner. Nox tapped the bowl of porridge with a hoof before staring at it like it was a strange animal

As Dave finished his pie, he brought the bowl closer to him and sat Nox on his lap, picking up a spoon and getting some porridge along the way “Alright here comes the airplane! Nnnneeeauwwww!” Dave made attempted to make noises as the spoon neared Nox’s closed mouth

“What is an airplane?” Strong Shield asked as Dave groaned, Nox moved his head away from the spoon as Dave gave up

“It is a large metal bird that humans pilot and allows us to fly” Dave sighed, “What is your equivalent?”

Strong Shield rubbed his chin “We have hot air balloons or the air barges” He looked at Dave’s new smile with curiosity

“Alright” Dave got the spoon ready again, “Here comes the air barge! Nnnneeeauwwww!” his smile disappeared as Strong Shield coughed “What?”

“Air barges don’t make that noise” He stared at Dave whilst Celestia kept eating her breakfast quietly “At least try to sound realistic so he doesn’t get confused when Nox is older”

“If I made things sound realistic then it would be like this” Dave placed the spoon in the porridge bowl before speaking in a bored monotone voice “We are sorry for the delay as a woman has not put her tray in the upright position”

Strong Shield glared at Dave “Are you trying to be funny?”

“I never try, I am” Dave smirked but his smile faded as Celestia rose an eyebrow at him “FINE!” He groaned before picking up the spoon again, “This is a spoon not a plane, train or automobile” he shot a glare at Strong Shield “The substance on the spoon is porridge, an easy to eat source of nourishment that is mostly eaten on cold days or for breakfast as it is typically served hot”

“Yum!” Nox leaned back against Dave’s chest as he ate the porridge from the spoon. His large grin and child’s voice made Dave give the smug Strong Shield a stare

“I really hate you sometimes” Dave eventually smiled along with Strong Shield and Celestia as he fed Nox some more porridge “Choo Choo! Here comes the cutlery with a source of calcium!”

As Nox finished eating all the porridge, he kept shuffling from one being to another in an attempt to find a comfortable place to nap. Finally he found a nice spot on a very serious unicorn

Celestia had to hold back a laugh that Dave was openly enjoying, as she saw Nox rest on Strong Shield’s head “I find this degrading in more ways ever imaginable” he sighed. His depression was short lived as Celestia stood and moved over to him

“Strong Shield, would you do your princess a favour for one…” Her eyes moved over to a confused Dave before moving back “two hours” she smiled sweetly before Strong Shield nodded. As the unicorn reluctantly played with the grey colt, the white princess pushed Dave out of his chair “Come with me” she ordered

“Wait… why?” Dave asked as Celestia’s horn jabbed him towards the door “Why does dad have to look after Nox for two hours?”

“It has been four months since I have last seen you,” She continued to push Dave to the door “I am going to make up for lost time” her sly grin made Dave pause

As the human scratched his head, Celestia winked at him that confirmed his suspicions “OH! Wait now?”

“Yes now” Celestia said more irritably

Dave waved to Strong Shield as he placed an arm around Celestia “See you in two hours!” he said happily as he left the room with Celestia

Strong Shield looked at the confused colt that sat on the table “Yeah your parents are going to do secret things like that a lot” he sighed “Or mating, which ever you would prefer to say”