Silver avoided being close to any of his would-be servants for the remainder of the trip. Never cruelly, or so he hoped. He had kind words for any of them, but he avoided intimacy entirely. Fortunately it was only a day and a half before they were drawing into the Arabian-looking dock. There were many ponies in sight, all large and most lean, though there were some bulkier examples to be seen. The sky above the city was mostly clear, except for the occasional pegasus who was much smaller than their ground-bound neighbors.
One of those pegasi flitted across the water and landed on the deck of the ship, bowing to Silver. "Hello, princess. It is an honor to serve you today."
There was a soft snickering through the crew as Silver smiled a little nervously. "Prince, actually. We're happy to be here, Celestia and I."
Her wings shot out. "Prince? And Princess Celestia is here too?! Pardon me, your majesty." She bolted off, wings flapping rapidly as she retreated.
Bright Eyes moved to stand beside Silver. "You just unleashed the storm."
Silver swiveled an ear at her. "Hmm?"
Bright Eyes pointed at the retreating pegasus. "Expect quite a stir. The local ruler will probably be there waiting for us, and a crowd. If you planned to enter quietly, forget it."
Silver nodded at Bright before going to find Bottom. He ran into Celestia on the way, and reported. "They know we're coming and are kicking out the red carpet even as we sail in."
Celestia nodded lightly. "We would act the same for any official visit from here. It's good to see one of our neighbors knows how to be polite." She looked across the foreign city. "We should have a much easier time with this country than the last. Be at ease, Silver Stars."
Silver smiled at her, then moved on. He found Bottom in the dining room, chewing softly on something. Silver paused, amazed at the simple fact that Bottom was eating. He wasn't sure he wanted to interrupt, lest he ruin the moment, so he was silent and watched.
Bottom swallowed and looked over the spread of food before reaching for some bread that had already fallen off the rest of the loaf and was sitting directly on the table.
Silver perked an ear. "You know you can have whatever you want from there."
Bottom jumped in place with a frightened squeak. "Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to upset you, sir." His head ducked low, ears spinning out flat.
Silver approached Bottom and set a hoof on his shoulder. "You didn't upset me. What do you like to eat most?"
Bottom glanced between the table and Silver and shrank a little. "You'll get angry."
Silver tapped the ground lightly. "I promise, I will not get angry. I will never be angry about you honestly talking with me."
Bottom rubbed his forehooves together lightly as he turned his eyes on Silver. "I prefer you, sir."
Silver flushed dark. Was he really that... tasty? He tossed the thought aside. "Alright, second to me?"
Bottom pointed at the bread.
Silver shook his head. "Bread doesn't have everything a pony needs to be strong and healthy. I want you to be healthy, and happy. Don't you want to be happy?"
Bottom shrank a little. "If it would make you happier, sir."
Silver grit his teeth subtly, but that was enough to make Bottom shiver in fear. He was frightfully perceptive of Silver's tiniest of reactions. Silver fought back the clench and went relaxed. "Bottom, you are a beloved and worthy pony. You will make everyone happier by taking good care of yourself."
Bottom suddenly smiled, perking up. "Y-you love me, sir?"
Silver realized he had stepped right into that. "I care about you, Bottom. I want you to be happy, for yourself, and to consider your own needs and desires a little higher than you do right now." He advanced and pointed at a large bowl of salad, filled with bright green, purple and yellow plants. It looked delicious to Silver. "Try some of this for size. If you don't like it, try something else, but experiment a little. Nothing on this table will hurt you, and you're allowed to have it. Variety is important."
"I-if you say so, sir." He reached out with his snout for the serving bowl, about to eat directly from it.
Silver used his magic to gently halt Bottom and showed how to serve the salad into a plate with a soft smile. "Then everyone gets their own." Bottom nodded slowly, seeming to understand, and began chewing on the vegetation, at first hesitantly, then with growing eagerness.
With Bottom seemingly handled for the moment, Silver turned for the door, then stopped. "There's going to be a lot of noise and celebration, most likely. The ponies of Saddle Arabia are very happy to see us, so don't be worried."
Bottom smiled timidly. "Do you want me to stay out of sight?"
Silver sagged a little. When Bottom said it like that, it sounded so demeaning. "You can come with us if you'd like? I thought you'd want to avoid all the noise and fuss."
Bottom hopped to his hooves and quickly advanced on Silver, bowing his head. "I want to be with you, sir."
Silver took a slow breath, "Then let's go. Have you seen Shei?"
They found her in her room, looking nervous. She smiled briefly when Silver entered. "Hello, master... So... we're here..."
Silver nodded. "We are. What's wrong?"
Shei tapped her hooves together lightly. "The polite thing to do would be to say hello to my family while I'm in the country, but I don't want to... Someone should tell them, about Aila, but I don't want to do that either. I... they'll blame me, master. They'll blame me, and why shouldn't they? I fed my sister poison. They'll punish me, and take her. They'll bury her in this place she doesn't want to be!" She began to sniffle and hiccup, clearly breaking down. "I don't want to, but I must!"
Bottom looked baffled, shrinking back away from the emotional outburst and trying to get out of sight. Silver didn't see such an option. He advanced and put his nose to hers. "I'll go with you. We'll face them together, tell them what happened, and Aila is not leaving this boat. She is still my responsibility until she is peacefully set to rest, in the manner that would most honor her."
Shei burst into relieved and silent tears, hugging Silver tightly as she dampened his neck.
Silver nuzzled back against her. "Where are your parents, er, family, and when should we see them?"
Shei drew back a little. "We should probably talk to Princess Celestia about when would be good, but they aren't terribly far. A day's hike, shorter by carriage, shortest by flying carpet. Thank you..."
Silver smiled brightly. "We'll make it through this. And it was not your fault."
Shei stomped a hoof. "You keep saying that, but I... I can see her wonderful face as I slipped that deadly candy between her lips. I could see her choking and dying in the evening. No one was there to help me. The crew just stared without understanding. You and Celestia were dying as well, but you... were made of tougher stuff than she was." She sagged onto her bed. "I killed her as surely as the cat that laced the food. She would have left it alone. She wasn't even tempted by it."
Silver thought to himself, 'What would Aila do?' He bonked Shei on the noggin with a hoof. "You stop that right this instant! Do you think Aila would want to see her sister like this? She wants you to hold your head up high, admit to, then move on with your mistakes, and see that she gets where she needs to be. We have to be strong, Shei, together."
Shei gave a numb little nod, wiping her nose with a fetlock. "Yes... of course. I won't let her down, again. Thank you... for standing with me. We'll face the challenges... together." She cracked a soft smile. "Aila would want that."
After a parting nuzzle, Silver slipped into the hallway and trotted for the deck. Bottom trailed afterwards almost silently, making Silver jump when he realized he was being followed by the stallion. "You're good at that, jeeze."
Bottom tilted his head. "I didn't want to bother, sir. Should I get dressed, sir?"
Silver nodded. "That's a very good idea. Let's stop by my room and get you into something." Silver felt a little happy that such an idea came from Bottom, and eagerly led the way. When they arrived, he began rooting through his clothes. "Saddle Arabians like bits and bridles, right?"
"Yes, sir." Bottom advanced a little at a time until he was beside Silver and pointed into the depths of the clothing bin. "That one looks good, sir?"
Silver tilted his head at it. "That one's rusted. You deserve better than that." He reached for it anyway, then pulled out his book of spells and quickly found a cleaning one. With a flash of magic and an uncomfortable swelling, the metal was clean as the day it was forged. "There we are. Fit for a prince, or a prince's servant in this case."
Bottom blushed as Silver slid it into place, and it only grew worse as Silver threw another robe over Bottom, making him look a little more dignified. "Now you're looking better. Come, look." Silver led him to a mirror and pointed at the pony being reflected.
Peering at himself in the mirror, Bottom looked almost confused as he turned left and right. "I-is it alright for me to be wearing your clothes, sir? No one will get angry at me?"
Silver shook his head. "If they do, they'll have to answer to me first. I'm giving you these. They're yours now, and no one can get angry at a pony for wearing their own clothes."
Bottom smiled and snuggled into his new cloak, looking delighted. "Thank you, sir. It's... I've never gotten such a thoughtful present before. I'll take good care of it, sir."
Silver saw an episode of drama coming into being. "If you get a hole in them, bring it to me straight away and we'll fix it. I will not be angry. Same thing for spills or anything else. You are a lot more important than any gift."
Bottom nodded stiffly, looking unsure what to even think about the kindness being offered to him. "Are you ready, sir? I can help you dress if you like."
Silver shook his head. "Thank you, but I'm already as ready as I'm going to be." He repeated the cleaning spell, banishing dirt from his cape and chest piece and feeling that much randier, which he studiously ignored.
"I could help with that, sir?" Bottom leaned in, eyes dropping towards the hidden source of Silver's discomfort.
Silver nudged him towards the door. "No time for that, we're going to be late." He wasn't actually sure if they would be late or not, but it was an excuse as fine as any other, and they were on their way to greet the ponies of Saddle Arabia.