Relief, a welcome feeling the princess had long since forgotten since the start of the war. Despite how long of a grueling day it had been for the Solar Deity of Equestria, it had all been worth it. Over a dozen ponies now resided deep within the dungeons of Canterlot Castle, including several of her close political advisers. To say the least, Celestia couldn’t have felt more exhausted or joy from how her day had turned out. She had managed to capture more spies in a day than years of filtering and screening those close to her, along with the added bonus of new evidence from several of the homes her guards searched. Suffice to say, it was a good day for the princess and she owed it all to Twilight’s little magical mishap.
“I should find a proper way to thank him for what he did,” the princess thought to herself before collapsing onto her bed. She had to admit, she did owe a great deal to the human, even if he did try to extort her for the information. Though could she really call what he did extortion? With a soft sigh the mare rolled around on her bed, grasping a large body-length pillow between all four hooves as she did so.
“I suppose it doesn’t really count, but still…” Just the thought of trying to be extorted annoyed the princess, though it was for the right reason. With a low groan the princess rolled her way onto her back, wings splayed to the side as she tightened her grip on the pillow.
“Regardless, I am bound by my word. He has certainly granted me a slight reprieve in my stress and besides, maybe a day off is exactly what I need right now,” the princess thought before closing her eyes. To her surprise and utter enjoyment, the mare passed out like a rock. She hadn’t slept that well in months, and it showed when Twilight returned the next morning to the still slumbering princess.
“Princess Celestia, please wake up,” the soft and angelic voice of Twilight spoke.
“Mmm, five more minutes Lulu,” the white alicorn responded. Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile before using a small portion of her magic to nudge the princess awake.
“Princess Celestia, please. It’s half past seven and the sun isn’t even up?” In her sleep-deprived state, the notion of forgetting to raise the sun shot the mare out of bed as she gazed about her room. She noticed that it indeed was half past seven though the sun was situated perfectly high overhead.
“W-Who raised the sun?” the disoriented mare asked.
“That would be us dearest sister. We see that you have finally managed a good night’s rest,” the familiar voice of yet another alicorn responded. Turning her attention towards the source, the princess of Dreams stood before Celestia in all her battle-scorn armor and glory.
“Luna, I did not expect to see you back so soon.” The younger sister waved a hoof nonchalantly before walking towards her sister and nuzzling under her chin.
“We wish we could have come back on better terms sister. We have managed to repel yet another attack from the border, but do not know how long we will last. They seem to know our every move even before we do. It is not a favorable situation.” Celestia was quick to wrap her hooves and wings around her sister, returning the nuzzle with a quick peck on her forehead.
“I apologize Luna, but things had been progressing slowly since your departure. It seemed that our ranks were infested with spies even I had no knowledge of. Though I do have to say that thanks to a certain individual, we no longer have to worry about that too much,” The solar alicorn added. Luna quickly let go of her sister with a questionable expression.
“What do you mean by that sister? Have you caught all of the spies from within? And who is this individual you are speaking of?” The mare shook her head, knowing that there were probably another few spies littered throughout her ranks. Granted, it would be much easier to ascertain their true identity now that many of their brothers and sisters were behind bars.
“Not all of them Luna, but a vast majority. It seems Twilight’s new friend was able to help do something about them.” Luna quickly took interest in this ‘new’ friend of the alicorn’s.
“Is that so? Well, we must pay them a visit to properly thank them for their due diligence in dealing with the problem. Perhaps I shall introduce myself later today,” the mare thought aloud.
“Just remember not to scare him Luna. He is a guest of ours and I do not wish for anything to happen to him like the last time we had one of Twilight’s friends as a guest.
“Oh, so it’s a ‘he’ this time? Perhaps this individual will prove more interesting than we previously thought,” Luna said before growing a grin.
“Luna, I can assure you that you will find this individual nothing but interesting. You two would probably get along very well. He does seem more like your type of stallion,” the older sister teased. Luna could only scoff with a giggle at the attempt to embarrass her.
“Please sister, do not jest. We have yet to meet a stallion of a high enough caliber to interest us. Though perhaps miss Sparkle has taken in interest in her ‘friend’.” The way Luna iterated the word was more than enough to get her meaning across.
“Princess Luna! Please don’t say stuff like that. I’m too young to be thinking about a relationship right now,” Twilight fervorously refuted.
“We merely jest young Twilight. Please take no offense. However, we were about your age when we started looking for a suitor, though that was during a different time. But if you will excuse us, a shower and good night’s sleep are long overdue for this mare. Farewell sister and young Twilight. We shall see you in the morrow.” And with that, a dark flash of blue magic left only two alicorns in the room. Silence soon descended between Twilight and her mentor as Celestia used this time to stretch her wings and hooves before making her way off the bed.
“So Twilight, what sort of activities have you planned for us today?” Without missing a beat, the young alicorn smiled brilliantly towards her mentor.
“You will see princess. Now come on or we will be late for our first activity!”
Princess Luna slowly found her way through one of the many winding corridors of Canterlot Castle. It had taken some time to get used to them all, and even more to memorize where they all led. Though after years of familiarizing herself with the layout, the princess was confident in her ability to find her way to her destination no matter where she started. The same couldn’t be said about others.
“Excuse me miss,” a young male voice called out. Turning her attention towards the source, the princess noticed that a strange creature was walking towards her, obviously being the one that called out to her.
“Yes?” Luna instantly replied, taken in by the abnormal features of the creature before her. He resembled that of a hairless minotaur with clothing. He stood erect on two feet with a height to match the tips of both her and Celestia's horn.
He lacked any bulging muscles common on most minotaurs. His hazel green eyes displayed a wealth of intelligence, while his facial features portrayed an embarrassed expression.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but could you point me in the direction to the dining hall? Princess Twilight told me I could go there to get something to eat, though I have seemed to have gotten turned around in this place,” the human stated with a short chuckle. Luna continued to look the human over, wondering why he had yet to display any action of respect towards her royal lineage.
“Does he not know who I am? I suppose with the cloak obscuring my wings, I could pass myself off as a tall unicorn guard,” Luna thought before clearing her throat.
“Yes we can. If you were to go down this hall and take a left, just follow along the windows to the right until you see a set of large double doors. That should be the dining room, though if I might ask, who and what are you?” The princess made not attempt to hid her curiosity, though if the human was offended by such he didn’t show it.
“Oh, sorry about that. My name is Devin and i’m a human,” Devin responded before holding his open hand out. Hesitant at first, Luna soon remembered the action of extending an open hand and shaking it was a way to greet one another in a minotaur’s culture. Lifting a hoof to the outstretched appendage, Luna couldn’t help but shiver as the digits of the human’s hand wrapped gently around her hoof before shaking.
“Well, Sir Devin, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria and current military director of our armed forces,” the mare boasted, propping herself up on a pedestal. It took a moment, but the human’s eyes soon grew wide as he realized just who he was talking too.
“Oh, well damn. This is a surprise. Sparkle Butt told me you were off fighting on the front lines, so I never expected to see you during my trip here,” Devin honestly added. The mare couldn’t help but laugh with an unlady-like snort at the mention of the nickname for Twilight.
“Well, we just arrived from our time on the front lines for a few days of rest and relaxation. Also, we do hope you don’t mind us using that nickname when referring to miss Sparkle. We find it rather refreshing change of pace.”
“Of course I don’t mind. She also responds to bookworm and nerd if that name ever gets boring for ya.” Luna couldn’t help but let out another giggle before mentally filing away the other two nicknames. It wasn’t that she disliked Twilight or anything, though the princess did love poking fun at her when she could. It’s what friends do after all.
“Thank you Sir Devin. I apologize, but I must make this meeting brief. There is still much I must attend to today. Farewell Sir Devin, and may our paths cross again.” With a single wave from the human, Devin continued on his way to the dining hall, while Luna mused to herself along the way back to her room.
“He seemed rather nice, if not a bit odd. Perhaps this is who Twilight was referring too as her ‘friend’? Well, we know one thing at least. I’m sure the next few days here are going to be rather interesting.”