"Good Morning Madame Feu." Morgan had just left her room to find a golden armored guard posted at her door. "Do you need any assistance around the castle?"
"No," Morgan replied, a little puzzled by his presence. "I was just going to get some breakfast."
"Very good Madame." The guard replied with a nod. Madame nodded back, still confused, and decided to ask Celestia about it when she reached the dining room. She began down the hallway, but stopped when she saw the grey unicorn follow. He stopped as well, standing stoically as ever.
"Are you following me?"
"As your personal guard, I am to accompany you wherever you may go." The guard's explanation was clipped and exact, almost like he practiced saying them.
"I don't remember asking for a guard."
"It is a policy that started when a Zebrican delegate was attacked by radical purists. Any and all foreign guests are to be escorted by at least one guard, so as to discourage any retaliation the public may have against them." His response was immediate and flawless. It was too good. This stallion was starting to scare her with his military precision.
"Okay, if you are going to accompany me wherever I may go, I believe proper introductions are in order." Morgan performed a curtsy. "I am Morgan Le Feu. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
The guard similarly bowed his head. "I am Chief Warrant Officer Sterling Saber. Thank you for the opportunity to know you." She would have believed his gratitude if his words didn't sound so rehearsed. Did he even feel emotion?
Morgan continued her day. She got breakfast, had her morning discussion with Celestia, Luna and Kenny, went back to her room and studied Equestrian magic for three hours, and finally wrote a short report on her findings to send to Alfred. All the while Sterling Saber was never far, keeping guard and remaining vigilant. Morgan was a little perturbed by how standoffish he was. She swore she heard one of the maids whimper when he looked at her. In a world of colorful, friendly, affable ponies, he was a bit of an anomaly. So, seeing as she currently had nothing better to do, she decided to figure out her introverted guard. See what made him tick.
"Officer Sterling? Would you please come in here?" At her call the door opened and Sterling marched in. Morgan watched him from the edge of her bed. Morgan took note of his mechanical movements. Sterling seemed to decidedly never do anything naturally, like he was constantly aware of everything in his body, never letting himself relax.
"Yes Ma'm?" Sterling asked. Again, his words were hollow and his question came out a statement.
"I, in lack of things to do, have found myself in a state of boredom. So, to alleviate said boredom, I have decided that we should get to know eachother. If you are to be my personal guard in the long-term it will be an inevitability. 'Don't do tomorrow what can be done today,' I always say. I'll start, where are you from?" Morgan had been sure that her words came out as mildly interested. She didn't want to reveal her true intentions. The statement also, being true at its core, wouldn't be perceived as a veiled lie.
Sterling showed his first emotion that day, shown through the way his eyes widened a fraction. This announcement had caught him off guard, Morgan took a mental note of this for later. "I grew up in Vanhoover, Ma'm."
"My early childhood was a nomadic one. Me and my mentor constantly moved from one place to another. It was an enlightening existence, and I learned many things during my adventures. Sadly, such a lifestyle meant I had few friends and grew up awkward when confronted by others." Sterling shifted a little when she was finished, this didn't go unnoticed by Morgan. Did she make him uncomfortable? "Tell me about Vanhoover Sterling, I'm sure it's a wonderful place."
Sterling was visibly shaken now, he shifted his weight from one hoof to another and he kept breaking eye contact. It was small, but it was there. The question was making him uncomfortable. "With all due respect Ma'm, I fail to see why you wish to do this."
Now he was trying to get out of it. "Because I'm bored and need something to do. I've already explained myself earlier."
"Permission to speak freely?" Sterling asked. His voice remained level.
"Go right on ahead."
Suddenly he relaxed, all the robotic tension leaving his body. "It was a wonderful place to grow up. The winters were cold, but fun. The summers were splendid memories I cherish to this day. Not a day goes by where I don't stop and think about my hometown." His voice mirrored the nostalgic expression of joy that graced the guards features. Morgan was blown away, ehat happened to the stoic, stone-faced stallion before?
"That is nice to here, but I must ask. Why the duality?" He had opened up a lot more than expected already, it wouldn't be unwise to push for a little more.
"You must mean the way I turn into an introvert. It's a defense mechanism I developed over the years. My psychiatrist told me it stems from when I got picked on for being emotional as a colt. My wonky brain shuts down emotion when I feel threatened now, that way I wouldn't provide something for bullies to pick on. I'm supposedly a rare case and I participate in experiments at the Canterlot Psychiatric Society once a month. I even get payed for it!" He gave Morgan a reassuring smile before continuing, "Now, as long as I am conscious of it, I can control when I go into 'Guard Mode'. It's a boon really, I can keep a level head in even the most stressful of situations! When the changelings invaded, I was the only one in my regiment that didn't freak out! I got promoted and now I even live in a real house!" He turned to find Morgan was watching intently, a notepad in hand a pen in the other.
She nodded to a couch that Sterling swore wasn't there before. "Continue."
Sterling shrugged and laid down on the couch. "Well, it started when I was seven-"
Morgan was furiously scribbling away at the notepad she had managed to yank out during Sterling's monologue. Screw Kenneth, she thought, Sterling's psychosis is tons better than any secrets that lovable moron has...
Celestia was doing her daily duties as Princess, attending events, going to meetings, and various other Royal duties. While taxing, Celestia enjoyed most of her work, safe in the knowledge that every action she takes is another step in insuring the longevity of her peaceful nation. But, like in anything, there are things she does not enjoy doing. Things like banishing her sister, dealing with Blueblood, and diets. The list went on.
One of the worst, however, was finding an ambassador who had the stomach to visit the various nations of the world. It wouldn't be an issue if ti weren't for the many traditions other national leaders had. Griffon nobles went on bloody and daring hunts for wild boars, dragging along ill-prepared Equestrian Officials with them as a show of brotherhood. Minotaur had contests of strength that would break all but the strongest of her guards. The many Zebrican tribes chiefs each had their own rituals and methods of welcoming guests to their lands, each more troubling than the last.
Finding a trusted and well spoken pony who can stand having their bodies painted with the blood of an eagle mixed with a lion's milk was difficult to say the least.
The last ambassador was now getting professional help, seeing as he had come back from Greifland muttering something about blood and the many applications of a boar's intestines.
Now Celestia found herself, yet again, without an ambassador. If this persisted, she would have to resort to directly contacting them through letters, a lengthy process when the second party could not receive mail by fire. Brave Heart was the best canidate she had found, and he barely lasted two years. She couldn't keep sending ponies to their psychological dooms in good conscience.
She didn't even need the pony to be very good at negotiation, seeing as all the other leaders were very amiable. She just needed someone who could deal with their eccentricities while remaining respectable, but she couldn't think of anypony who could kill a boar, wrestle a minotaur, and eat locusts and still remain sane.
Celestia sighed in defeat. There was no point in finding a new ambassador, he would only be back in a year and Celestia would have to add on more to the twenty-three other victims who had their psychiatrists bills paid by the Crown. She would have to work with what she had, and hope it doesn't cause problems in the long run.
Celestia pulled out a piece of parchment and began composing a letter to explain the situation to the other world leaders when a distraction presented itself. Kenneth came bursting into the room on Holly, carrying a small package in his arms, followed by a unkempt and distraught Luna, who was begging for him to give it back.
"It was supposed to be a surprise and you ruined it!" Kenny steered Holly expertly around the throne room, dodging Luna's dive bombs.
"I'm sorry I took it from your bag, I was only curious! I promise it will never happen again, just let me open it!" Luna dive bombed him again, Holly leaping away just in the nick of time and into a vase, smashing it. Now it had gone too far. Celestia halted all present bodies in the air. Celestia had to withhold her laughter when Holly kept moving her legs in little circles as the Sun Demigod levitated the woody creature and its rider.
"What is the meaning of this?" Celestia gave them both a reprimanding look. Luna shrank away in her sister's gaze. Kenny remained adamant, safe on his high horse.
"Luna had purloined the gift I had intended to give her, ruining the surprise and my trust in her." Kenny turned his head away, arms crossed. "Then she has the balls to ask if she can still open it." Celestia was about to make a retort on his foul language when Luna cut in.
"We have already said sorry!" Apparently the situation has Luna to fall back into the royal plural. "We were simply curious as to the contents of your large, enchanted bag! We had found your gift and had intended to ask you about it later, but it slipped our mind." She attempted to give Kenny her best puppy eyes, but he was still refusing to look at her. It was then Celestia noticed the package, wrapped tightly in the crook of the man's left arm like a football. She attempted to weasel out the box for a closer look, but Kenny was quick to notice it and quickly drew up a rune to repel further attempts. Hardly an obstruction for one of her power, Celestia knew, but she would prefer staying on his good side.
"Is this the gift that you speak of?" Celestia calmly asked Kenny, receiving a reluctant nod in return. "While I understand that you are disappointed with my sister, I am as well, that does not justify the horseplay being enacted in these halls. I am blown to an ague when I think of what harm you two might have caused." Luna chuckled at the reference as it flew right past Kenny, who was still clutching the box like it was the Holy Grail.
"I was originally going to put it back in my bag," Kenny began. "But a certain Loony summoned it before I could even reach it myself." Luna's face gained an embarrassed blush. "When this same Loony teleported to my room to retrieve not a minute later, the real fiasco began."
Celestia turned to Luna and asked, "Is this true?"
"...Yes..."
"How embarrassing it must be for a mare your age to act like such a bratty foal." Luna turned away, shame overtaking her. "Surely you knew better, Lu-Lu. Tell me, what compelled you to chase him through the castle?"
Luna was silent for the moment, then began with a sigh, "I'm bored Celly. Back in my day the nights were filled with my conquering of dangerous beasts in the Everfree. I was the Sword of Equestria. Now there are no more monsters to face and Twilight and her friends take care of everything else. My nights are spent in my room wishing for something to entertain me."
"... I don't get it. It's like noon. I woke you up, remember? If this was all a ruse to get me-OW!!!" Celestia had sent a piece of the broken vase flying into the back of Kenny's head, conveying her message of 'Shut Up You Brainless Dolt' through her glare.
"I know that things have been slow Lu-Lu, and I'm sorry for that, but that still doesn't excuse your actions. If you are so desperate for things to do, maybe you should consider waking earlier to assist me in my work."
"NO!" Luna blurted out. "I have already seen what horrors you must attend to on a daily basis, and I do not intend to get involved in such matters again."
"Ahh, I thought you at least had some fun that day, I heard you even got to play a rather interesting game of chess."
"That hardly makes up for the rest of the day's events."
Celestia gave a concerned sigh. "I don't what I'm going to do with you Luna..."
"Uhh, can I go now?" Celestia gave him another dirty look. "Nuh-uh, not this time. This is between you and Luna. As boyfriend I can only do so much to keep her busy. I can't last for 12 hours, as awesome as that would be." Celestia was about to relent, if only to stop his crass humor, when an idea struck her.
"Actually, there is something the both of you could do for me that would solve all of our problems. The last ambassador has just quit and I find myself without any proper applicants. The job is demanding, but if you two were to except, Luna would have something to do, Kenny would get to see more of our wonderful world as well as assist Luna with some of the more eccentric nations, and I would have a pair of Ambassador's I can rely on. Everybody wins."
Luna was hesitant. "I don't know Celly, I would have to change my sleeping schedule, and it would interfere with my work fighting nightmares."
"Lu-Lu, you know you are just making excuses. Nightmares are a rare occurrence nowadays, usually solved with the help of a professional psychiatrist. What is the real reason?"
"Idon'twannagetupearly..." It was so quick and so quiet that it was rendered near impossible to hear.
"You don't want to get up early?" Kenny asked. Luna nodded.
"You know what, Celestia, sign me up. If the 'Sword of Equestria' can't do it, then I will probably get a medal for it." Kenny raised his arms in the air and yelled, "Let it be known from this day forth, that I, Kenneth W. Lee of the U.S. of A., am totally braver, stronger, and all around more awesome than Princess Lazy-Ass."
"Now if you would," Kenny continued as Luna looked on in shock and embarrassment. "I will take back the bauble that Looney has proven unworthy of and prepare for the never-ending quest that is diplomacy and goodwill between nations." Celestia, too stunned by his actions to argue, levitated the package in question. "Release me fair Princess, and I will depart as soon as mine squire returns from his vacation!" He even thrust his finger into the air as he spoke to punctuate his point. Celestia released him and Luna, Holly whisking him away to other parts of the castle.
Then Celestia realized Kenny's true reasons for acting like a total ass.
3...
Luna fidgeted and fumed.
2...
She huffed and puffed.
1...
Luna's Royal Canterlot voice caused the castle to vibrate. "INSUBORDINATE INGRATE!!!! WE WILL SHOW THOUGH!!!! MARK OUR WORDS!!!!" Luna turned, positively smoldering in unbridled rage, to her unperturbed sister.
"I take it you will be joining him?" It wasn't even really a question by this point.
"Indeed."
"You do know that this is exactly what he wants right?"
"That is what angers me the most. The apprentice has become the master."
"I have to ask. How did you and Flash meet? I mean, a Griffon Princess and a Royal Guard? That sort of stuff only happens in fairy tales." Edith had been expecting the fellow Princess to be like most of the nobles back home, snooty, bitchy dingwads with iron poles shoved up their bums. Princess Cadenza was actually pretty cool. Though this had been the fifth question about her and Flash.
"At a party. Why are you so interested in my love life anyway?" Edith and Cadence were both having their appendages assaulted by files and talked to pass the time.
"Oh, Edith, you should know that love lives are my specialty. To hear that my husband's good friend and colleague was visiting our humble nation with a griffoness in tow was quite the news, and you know how old mares like me love to gossip." They shared girlish giggles before Cadence continued, "Anyway, you still haven't really told me what happened. When exactly did you hit it off?"
"After a ferocious night of humping." Edith waited for the inevitable reprimand. It never came.
"Okay, now what is it you like so much about him?" Cadence continued.
"You don't have a problem with the whole 'Had sex before we even started dating." thing?" Cadence began to wholeheartedly laugh.
"Goodness no," Cadence began once she had stopped. "A little known fact is that there is no such thing as 'love at first sight.' Love takes time to develop. All relationships start with nothing more than an infatuation, or more commonly a desire to 'hit the hay' so to speak. That you began your courting after sex is of little surprise, and I also believe casual sex is important to one's health."
"Wow, I had already realized you were cool, but not this cool."
"Thank you Edith, as Princess of Love I aspire to be well learned in my subject as well as all its nuances. I know more than one-hundred ways to make any male crazy, and my husband is the best test subject I could ask for. But enough about me, I want to hear more about you and Flash!"
"Well, it started at one of my father's parties..."
"Then the bloody thing sat on me! It was the worst nightmare I have ever had! I woke screaming so hard I woke Edith and the people in the room next to us." Shining Armor only nodded in sympathy as Flash gulped down his beer. Once he had drained half the mug, he continued. "Thanks for listening Shining, I needed to get that out."
"No problem, what are friends for?"
"There for foreign vacations and getting rid of wives and girlfriends so we can drink at a pub," Flash said with a raised glass.
"Amen to that, brother!" Shining said as he rose his glass as well. The clinked them together and polished off the rest of the first drink of the day.
"So, a question. Why do call Princess Edith your 'girlfriend'?" Shining asked as the bartender handed him a second drink.
"My wingman, Kenny, came up with it. When I realized I couldn't call her my marefriend he told me that females where he comes from are called 'girls', which is much shorter than 'griffoness'. It's stuck ever since."
"Who is this Kenny guy? I've been kinda out of the loop all the way out here," Shining asked before taking a cautious sip of his drink.
"He's an alien from another dimension who bones Luna," Flash answered without skipping a beat. Shining's hoof was the only reason the sip of alcohol he had taken hadn't drenched the counter.
Shining quickly gulped down and whipped on his comrade. "W-What!? You're joking. You have to be."
"Nope, I also forgot to mention he performs magic. So he is essentially a magical, super-evolved, giant monkey."
"...Fuck, Flash. If it weren't for the shit my sister goes through on a weekly basis I wouldn't have believed you."
"Hardly believed it myself, but he's a real cool bro. He's my best-friend now."
"Aaaw! I thought I was your best-friend!" Shining mockingly moaned.
"You lost best friend status when you got married, moved away, and only sent me a letter once a month, if I was lucky."
"Yeah, that's why when you told me you planned to come here for your vacation, I set all this up with Cadence. We could catch up and hangout like we used to, and Cadence could have some girl talk and get out of the Palace. Seriously, she works way too much. She needs the break."
Flash looked warily out the window. "I hope they're getting along..."
"I'm sure it's fine!"
"Die, Empire scum!" Edith lobbed a clawful of mud at Cadence.
"My armor is to thick for blasters!!"
"Yeah, your right. I shouldn't worry so much."
"And that is why I'm happily married and Prince of a nation."
They clinked mugs together and drank to their health, happiness, and future endeavors.
"Kenneth, what are you doing?" Morgan had come to Kenny's room, Sterling in tow, to borrow a bottle of dragon's blood for a magical immunity elixir. She had found him shoving his glaive into his bag. The process was comical, but Morgan was more focused on the implications of said action.
"I am preparing for a trip across seas and borders as the newly appointed Equestrian Ambassador with Luna as my traveling companion," Kenny said with pride once the glaive had been secured in his enchanted bag. "I will be leaving as soon as Flash Sentry returns. I'm sure you can manage without me here while I'm gone?"
"Kenneth, we have been here less than a week and already you plan to leave me to fend for myself in an alien country?"
"A country full of colorful, friendly, cute ponies might I add. You'll be fine. Just study like you always do. Believe me when I say that you will meet no dangers while you are here. Besides, Celestia told me I'll only be gone for a couple weeks at a time. What did you need?" He knew Morgan would only come to his room if he had something she needed.
"I need a vial of dragon's blood." Kenny whistled into his bag, and a crystal flask filled with the thick red substance hopped out and into the air where he snatched it before it could fall. He lobbed it to Morgan, who deftly caught it with one hand, and Kenny peered around his room with a hand on his chin.
"I think that's all the essentials. Send me a message if you need anything else while I'm gone and I'll be sure to send it over."
"Of course. Have fun on your trip." Morgan moved out of the doorway and began to close the portal.
"I always do." She heard as it shut.
"Anything else Ma'm?" Sterling asked in his robotic drone, having returned to his previous state.
"No, Officer Sterling, I think that is it for today. Come, I need to get back to my room."
Morgan didn't like this at all. She had no doubt that Kenneth would make an excellent Ambassador. He had a natural charm as well a ingrained etiquette, no doubt from the high-class parties he attended as a child. No, it was Kenny's disposition towards flaunting his power and skills. He reveled in the power he had acquired and was fond of showing others the extent of his strength. Morgan knows what such a thing is followed by. It is almost always followed by those who wish to have it. It is why her brethren are forced to keep their powers hidden from the world. When magic had been practiced more openly, people had wanted to learn.
But not all that learned deserved that knowledge.
And not all who want power are of the material plane.
That is why she is so afraid for Kenneth. The nature of his power relies on the cooperation of spirits, constructs born entirely of the natural energies found only during Creation. Morgan knows that Kenneth's natural amiability made working with them easy, but she does not know if Kenneth would be able to resist the temptation that more sinister and malevolent spirits may offer. There were entire tomes listing the dangers of interacting with such things. There were lists of honest mages who had been turned into harbingers of death and destruction. And now Kenneth was leaving where she could keep an eye on him. If she followed, she would arouse suspicion in his significant other, and in doing so she may jeopardize their relationship. She couldn't do that. She knew her worry was illogical, that the Tibetan Monks would have taught Kenneth the greatest in self-discipline so such a thing could not happen.
That he had been assaulted, and successfully repelled, such spirits in the heart of the Black Forest.
Morgan had overheard Kenneth's explanation to Alfred years ago. She had never found the courage to tell Kenneth that she knew why he had sought tutoring to detect and repel such beings. To tell him that she wanted to help him through it, and hopefully find a way to shut such things away from him for good.
Admit that she cared for him in way that scared her.
But she never could, and so he decided that the best way to deal with them was to learn to control them. She watched as he opened himself to the very things that assailed him before. She watched as he dispelled them with little effort after two years of intense training.
She also remembered when, just as she had found the strength to tell him how she truly felt, he announced that he would return back to his second home.
Back to the love he had left behind.
She had felt so stupid after that. All of her knowledge, all of her studies and she didn't notice the way he seemed to constantly pine for something. Something that his birthplace didn't have.
Something Morgan Le Feu couldn't give him.
And now she stayed quiet out of her respect for him and Luna. To harm Kenneth and Luna's relationship by trying to insert herself was something she could not bring herself to do.
She prayed to whatever gods existed that Luna would keep him safe in her stead.