The door closed behind me and I suppressed a shudder as a chill went through my coat.
It didn’t fool Celestia through, “Cold?” she asked as we moved towards the stairs.
I shook my head, “Not really,” I lied, “But that wind is a bit much.”
She nodded, “I’m told it can be cold. This was not a popular posting, especially during the winter.”
The shiver at that thought I couldn’t suppress. It was the middle of summer, the sunlight outside was nice and warm and even now the wind was chilly.
In the middle of winter, this place would have been horrible.
“How was your journey?” Celestia asked as we reached a heavy oak door set into the side of the stairs at a stone landing, the stairs continuing curving up before us.
“Well enough,” I said before I smiled up at her, “Bit boring though, but I like my train rides being boring. The alternative is worse.”
“So it is,” she admitted and lit her horn, pushing the door open, “This is your chamber,” she said and led the way inside, ducking to pass in through the door without hitting her horn.
I followed her inside and looked around. A fireplace at one side next to a desk and bookshelves, mostly empty but for some books.
A couch and a table, the chamber mostly lit by candles. The air was chilly and I shifted a bit closer to Celestia's side as I looked around.
No bed, but I could see a tail perch had been installed close to the fireplace.
Somepony had put quite a lot of thought into this to make it as bat friendly as possible. Not a lot of candles either and the only window was high and narrow.
I briefly wondered how much exactly Sunshine could see in here, it had to be pretty gloomy.
“Looks nice,” I said and shifted away from her, doing a circle around the chamber.
“It’ll be warmer once the fire is lit,” Celestia reassured me with a smile, “And there are plenty of blankets stored.”
I smiled at her and nodded, “And your chamber?”
“Similar,” she said and glanced upwards, “The floor above. It will double as our main classroom.”
Nodding, I followed her out of the chamber and up the stairs to the next level. She opened the room and ducked in through the opening. Her chamber was very similar, but with a Celestia sized bed and the bookshelves were filled.
Her fireplace was crackling away already and the air was warmer, even if I’m not sure I would describe it as warm.
I may have to wrap myself in a blanket while sleeping. Never done that while hanging from my tail, so that’ll be interesting.
“Everypony else in the other tower?”
Celestia nodded, “That’s where the main barracks are,” before she smiled, “These used to be armory, storage and offices.”
“What’s above us? There’s more than two chambers in this tower.”
Sunshine smiled, “Come,” she said and led the way up to the top floor. The stairs continued on to a hatch which likely led to the floor.
Pushing the door open, Celestia allowed me inside first.
This floor was… not anything. It was a chamber the same size as the lower ones and it was completely empty. Just bare rock, not even a fireplace. It was clean and dust free, but other than bare rocks and wood supports for the roof, it was empty.
I glanced back at Celestia, shifting my wings against the slight chill as I wondered if my cloak had been packed, “Spell practice?”
“Spell practice,” she confirmed and ducked in through the door to join me, “Enchanted similar to the practice rooms at my school for unicorns.”
“Oh, '' I said, nodding, “I just assumed we’d be doing that at the courtyard. Is the spells going to be dangerous enough to require this? I didn’t think I was at that level of spellcasting.”
Celestia flicked one ear and shrugged her wings, “No,” she admitted, “But some of the spells we will be doing are complex and can be energetic if they fail. We had the room and it’s better to keep things safe if possible.”
Ah.
Well, that makes sense. Best keep things safe I suppose. That was why we were here instead of Canterlot after all, at least according to the ‘cover story’.
“So,” I said and smiled faintly up at her, “...We’re keeping the cover story then?”
“We are,” Celestia said and smiled back, “Even if they think they tricked us into a vacation, we should make use of the time.”
I nodded, “We should,” I agreed and grinned, “...To be honest, I have been looking forward to what I will be learning. Magic is cool.”
Celestia smiled and nodded, “I see Twilight is rubbing off on you.”
“Mmm,” I agreed with a grin, shaking my mane back, “Sometimes. What about you?”
Celestia stretched her wings with a small smirk, “Maybe I will while we’re here.”
Moving up next to her, I felt the cold fade away as I got close to her sun warm side, “I rather like that idea. Do we start today?”
She shook her head, “Best start tomorrow, Page. It has been a long day for you. It’s best to learn when fully rested and relaxed.”
“That sounds kinda nice actually,” I admitted as we started down the stairs again, keeping close to the hot sun goddess to ward the chill away.