Frederick walked out of Luna’s chambers, gripping his hand. Luna wandered out behind him, “So, what time should I come by?”
Frederick turned around, “Um, how about you come round at six.”
“Sure, that sounds great. Did you need any more funds?” Luna asked, moving closer to Frederick.
“I don’t think so,” He said, placing a hand to his chin, “at least not yet.” He stood there for a second before saying, “I think this will turn out well, Twi, you, Smart Glass and me. We might actually figure something out,” He grinned.
“Smart Glass?”
“Oh, Celestia said I have to be supervised. She doesn’t seem that bad, maybe a bit rough around the edges, but I don’t mind.”
“Well, if you’re sure we can work with her. I’ll trust you.” Luna replied, forcing a smile. “You had better get going, I’m sure Twilight will get worried.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you later then.” Frederick said, walking away down the hall.
___
Twilight sighed and stretched, she felt mentally drained. Her mind had been working non-stop to process this new information; not letting her have a moments rest. “I should go, you said you need to talk to Frederick.”
Celestia shrugged, “You’re more important right now,” She said, rubbing Twilight’s back, “How are you feeling?”
Twilight hesitated for a moment, “I’m alright, and I just don’t want to think about this anymore, it’s frustrating.”
“Well, how about we spend some time together, just mares?” Celestia suggested, grinning, “We can let Frederick wander around Canterlot, he looks a bit pale and should get out more.”
“What about your duties as Princess?” Twilight asked, “You can’t just stop for the day.”
“Who’s going to stop me?” Celestia whispered, and let out a laugh, “Come on.” She said, pulling Twilight up from the bed.
Twilight groaned and shook her tired head, “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Now come on, I think we both need this!”
Smiling, Twilight followed Celestia back into the hallway and out into the throne room. Celestia turned to the guard, walked up to him and whispered in his ear. He nodded and saluted before walking in front of the throne and sitting down.
“What did you say to him?” Twilight asked, looking up at her mentor.
“Not much; just that I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Oh, ok.”
The Princess turned and wandered over to the throne room doors and pushed them open with her magic. Standing outside was Frederick looking slightly impatient. With a small but unnoticeable grin, she walked over. “Well, hello there Frederick. How was Luna today?”
“She was, good.” He turned to Twilight, “Are you alright?”
Twilight looked away, “Y-yes, I’m ok now.”
“Good to hear,” He turned back to the princess, “I take it everything in in order for my research to continue?”
“Yes it most certainly is,” She replied, “In fact, that’s what we were talking about, I think it would be beneficial for you to take a look around my fair city. Maybe a bit of sightseeing?”
“I... Sure, I don’t mind.” Frederick looked about, “I take it this is the way out?” He asked, pointing down one of the hallways.
Celestia nodded, “Just take a right, then a left and you will see the signs; you can’t miss it.”
“Okay, I’ll see you later.”
“Oh, one second.” The princess summoned a small bag of bits and handed them to Frederick, “You might need these if you’re going to be going around.” She said, smiling.
“Thank you, Princess.” He bowed, making her roll her eyes. Frederick turned around and wandered off down the hallway and took the first right, out of sight.
___
Twilight and Celestia walked off down a different hallway than Frederick. Celestia knew the best way to really help Twilight is to keep her away from him as much as possible for the time being; he was a distraction and soon enough they would have to work together, which she was beginning to regret allowing.
“Princess, where are we going?” Twilight asked, following behind.
“We are going to have a little mare time, just the two of us. It’s time we caught up, I’ve missed you.”
“So have I,” Twilight replied as she moved around to Celestia’s side, “but surely we could simply talk somewhere, we were just in your chambers.”
“I know, but I feel like pampering you for once, it’s nice to look ones best, even if you’re worrying.” She smiled, looking down at Twilight.
They made it to a quite unassuming door and the Princess knocked. A few seconds later, the door opened and out walked a unicorn mare. She wore her light grey hair up in a bun and had her blue coat elegantly combed, “Princess, it’s a pleasure. How may I help you?” She said bowing.
“I’m here to get some much needed attention for my Friend, Soft grip.” Celestia replied, smiling.
Twilight looked up and smiled softly, leaning against Celestia’s leg.
“Most certainly. Come inside.” Soft Grip moved aside and let the pair pass through the doorway. She closed it behind her as she went in herself. The room looked like any typical spa setting, except it had hundreds of different bottles, all labelled in different languages and symbols.
Along one wall stood a small cabinet with a gold lock on one side, Twilight stared at it for a bit, trying to understand why it would need a lock in a spa, but soon gave up as the masseuse walked over. “What would you like?” She asked, “Facial scrubs, oil rubs or maybe the full service?”
Celestia coughed, “I think the facials and rubs will do fine, no need for too much fun today...”
“What’s the full service?” Twilight asked, looking up to her mentor.
Celestia leaned down and whispered, making Twilight face beam red, “oh my...” she suddenly understood what was in the cabinet and looked away, trying not to imagine them.
“Indeed.”
“You have this a lot?” She asked, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer.
“Sometimes,” Celestia replied non-chillingly, “I get, lonely...”
“Oh.”
“Never mind that, what have you been up to since we last spoke?” Celestia asked, sitting in one of the seats.
Twilight walked over to the seat next to her and jumped up; they were made for Alicorn in mind, meaning most of the stuff in the room was a little too large for her, in more ways than one. “Not much really, Rarity started a new line of fashion, Rainbow is her usual self, Applejack has started harvesting, Pinkie Pie is... well, Pinkie and I’ve been studying, like usual.”
“Well it doesn’t seem like you’ve done anything fun lately.” Celestia said, “Maybe you could use a vacation, to get out of that stuffy library?”
“But, what about the research, I can’t just abandon it...” Twilight fretted.
Celestia let out a short laugh, “I didn’t mean right now, especially with what you’re going through. I’m just saying, maybe it would be best to enjoy other things, let alone studying.”
“But what, I’m only good at that...” Twilight looked down at the floor.
“Twilight Sparkle.” Celestia said in her motherly voice, causing Twilight to look over, “Don’t you ever say that, you helped saved my sister, defeat Discord, saved cadences wedding and stopped King Sombre, least of all, you figured out Star swirls spell.” Celestia softened her gaze, “You are my friend; you are amazing, and don’t ever forget that.”
Twilight gazed up at Celestia, “Princess...”
“I’m sorry for that,” the princess looked away, “It won’t happen again.” She held her gaze at the wall, not ready to surrender her point of view.
“Thank you,” Twilight whispered.
___
Frederick walked down the hall and around the corner. He headed to the castle entrance and after a surprisingly short time, found it. “Huh, thought I would have gotten lost...” he muttered as he passed by a couple of guards that were looking at him funny.
He walked out of the castle and down the path leading to the gate. Passing through, he noticed the guards tense up slightly at his presence; either they were new, or they lacked proper discipline.
“They would never allow that on my world...” he thought, eying one of the guards up.
Frederick walked down the road and into the city. He felt a little nostalgic from the cobblestone streets and quite modern architecture; in some ways it easy surprisingly similar to New Haven, but it had the rustic feel of Shregrove.
He passed one coffee shop and paused, “It’s been a while since I’ve had a good coffee...” he mumbled to himself. He took a look at the bag of bits and shrugged, “why not.”
Pushing the door open, Frederick walked inside and lined up behind the counter, waiting for his turn to order. After a few minutes of waiting, he got his turn and was greeted by a bright pink earth pony, the name badge read: Bright eyes.
“Hi, Bright eyes. Can I get a regular coffee please?” Frederick asked, “With a little cinnamon and nutmeg?”
Bright eyes smiled over the counter, “Certainly, to go?”
“Yes please.”
“Okay, that’s three bits please.” She said, holding her smile; it was actually brightening Frederick’s day.
He pulled out three bits and placed them in her hoof. She put then in the register, “It will be a couple of minutes.”
“Take your time.” Frederick replied, smiling back. He waited for the coffee by the side of the counter and watched as she masterfully operated the machine pouring almost perfect coffee into the cup. After she took the cinnamon and nutmeg and poured a little of each on top, placing the lid on afterwards.
“Thank you very much, have a great day,” she said, waving him off.
Frederick took a sip and walked out of the shop, as expected it was as good as any in New Haven, but the whole experience felt... better, like she had actually enjoyed making the drink; it made Frederick feel good.
He carries walking down the street, not really wandering anywhere in particular. Eventually he made it to the local library and finished his coffee while sitting outside on a bench. Naturally he got a lot of looks, like the first time in Ponyville; these seemed different though, almost with more malice.
Everywhere he looked, Frederick saw at least one pony staring. He began to feel self-conscious and wondered if it was the right idea to wander around Canterlot; he should have stayed with Twilight, she didn’t judge.
“Why am I even thinking of this? They just haven’t seen a human before, it’s natural.” He thought to himself.
Finally finishing the coffee, he stood up and wandered over to the bin, throwing the cup away and walking away. He followed the general crowd around until he made it to the central marketplace.
It was crowded, as expected, but he didn’t realise that it would be seriously packed. Thankfully, due to his height and build, most ponies parted for him, meaning he had a relatively easy time walking about.
Wandering about, he checked out various stalls. He wanted to get something for Twilight, to say thank you for letting him stay at her Library and for generally putting up with him; he knew it wasn’t easy.
He spotted a nice book seller near the middle of the market and made his way over. He looked over the selections, but really didn’t know what to buy; he didn’t know any of the authors, for obvious reasons.
“Looking for anything in particular?” The vendor asked, looking slightly nervous.
“Um, yeah. A present, my friend is a BIG reader, but I don’t know if any of these are good... no offense.” Frederick replied.
“None taken,” the vendor calmed down a little, giving a sigh, “what kind of books does her like?”
“Uh... old ones, I hope.” Frederick looked at the vendor with a look that spoke volumes.
“That, doesn’t help much.” She muttered, “Well, I have a few select specials, just in stock.” She pulled out the first book, “First edition, Star swirl the bearded almanac. Very rare.”
“Ok... some sort of mage?”
“Oh yes, only the most important pre-classical conjurer, he alone made over two hundred spells!”
“Wow... how much?” Frederick asked. He didn’t know much about magic in general, but making spells back in Alaria was HARD; to make two hundred, this pony must have been a genius.
“Only fifty bits, a bargain,” the vendor replied, holding the book in her magic.
Frederick looked down at the bag and shook it, he didn’t know how much was in here, but hopefully it was enough. “Sure, I’ll take it.” He held the bag up and started counting the bits out.
Eventually he had the book bagged up and was making his way back out of the market, his bag of bits quite a lot lighter, but a genuine smile on his face. He couldn’t wait to see Twilight.