"I apologise. I should not have yelled at you."
"And?"
"And I should not have split you and Luna apart."
"Aaand?"
"And I should not have kicked you, an esteemed guest, out of my castle, when we should have talked about our problems like adults."
"Aaaaaannnnd?"
Princess Celestia rolled her eyes and sighed, "And. . . 'I am a big, ol', meanie sun-butt'."
Grey chuckled and heaved the giant bag of candies over his shoulder, "Apology accepted." He placed a hand on her withers, "That wasn't so hard, right?"
"There is a coach waiting for you to take you back to Canterlot," Princess Celestia monotonously stated.
Princess Celestia and Grey walked down a dim, decrepit hallway. The years and forest not being too kind on the ancient castle; the marble and limestone walls ragged and crumbling; the ceiling giving away to the starry, night sky.
A weighty sigh escaped Grey, "I remembered everything, " he confessed, "when Onyx called me by name; when Darqlon told the story, it all came back to me. . . I think. That is why Luna was with me. I. . . needed someone to talk to."
Princess Celestia gave him a sombre expression, "I see and can empathise. Luna has always been my confidant. I want us to be like we used to."
"That's never gonna happen unless you stop blaming yourself for what you did. Yeah, you banished her, but you thought it was for the best," Grey placed his arm around the white alicorn. "Luna has already forgiven you. You need to forgive yourself."
Celestia smiled feebly, "You are right. I do still blame myself."
"Dwelling on the past will never move you forward," Grey removed his arm. "That's why I want to move on and forget about my past, to live for a new future." After a long moment of silence and walking, Grey quipped, "She's really comfy and cuddly, right?"
"Yes," Celestia laughed.
"And now I have her all to myself," A wide grin pulled at his lips. That comment earned him a sideways glance from Celestia.
She rolled her eyes, "We'll see."
"You know, I wouldn't mind having two wonderful alicorns to sleep with," he winked playfully.
"Fat chance."
"Better than no chance," he retorts.
Celestia huffed and ignored him.
They soon found themselves descending the steps of the archaic castle. A black coach with black curtains and four-night guards attached to it waited for him.
"It can be any colour as long as it's black," he chuckled.
Princess Celestia smiled politely , not knowing his reference, "We have much to catch up on but we can do that tomorrow when Kyllgorr arrives."
Grey deflated, "Great." He tossed his bag of goodies into the coach. The coach groaned and tilted as he got in. "Let's not keep Princess Luna waiting, boys."
Grey rubbed his arm, "It was a general term! How was I supposed to know you were a mare? Lift up your tail?! Sheesh! I've got more class than that." The female ponybat huffed at him, continuing to walk away with her nose in the air. He turned to the last ponybat guard, "Mares."
The stallion chuckled, "Can't live with them."
"Can't live without them," they said in unison, laughing.
"Princess Luna is still in court but said she will meet you in your room as soon as she is done," the stallion informed.
As they walked Gray nudged him, "If I put a sock on the handle. . ."
The stallion snickered, "We put a rock attached with a string on the handle. 'If you see the rock, don't bother to knock,'" he winked knowingly.
"You night guard are way more fun than the stuck up day guard. What's your name anyways, stud?"
"Vinter Solace, sir."
Grey wrapped an arm around his new friend's neck and pulled him in close, "Oh, we are going to be the best of friends."
Vinter Solace laughed, "Everyone calls me 'Vinny'."
"So, what was that chick-with-the-stick-up-her-butt's name?"
"'But'?" Vinter Solace asked confused.
"Yeah. . . her rear, posterior, rump, ass. . ." listed Grey.
"Oh!" Vinny finally understood, "you mean her plot?"
"Sure, her 'plot'. . . what's her name?"
"Noir Aerialis. Everyone calls her 'Ariel' though. Why do you want to know?"
"I'm going to report her to Luna!" Grey harrumphed, "She punched me. I bruise easily," Grey pretended to be hurt.
Vinny laughed loudly, "Sir, you're a character."
"You can drop the 'sir' crap, Vin," Grey yawned and shifted the bag of sweets to his other shoulder.
"Whatever you say, Grey."
"Sooo. . . you and Noir ever. . ." Grey insinuated with his eyebrows.
"What?! No! She's my cousin!"
"Kissin' cousin?"
"No, bro. Besides, she's a fillyfooler."
"Come again?"
"She likes other mares."
"Ah. Got'cha. Where I'm from we call them 'hœmœs', for both males and females. Same sex relationships are accepted by the majority of my people. Me? I don't care. The heart will love who the heart decides to. As long as they love each other, that's all that matters," Grey explained.
"'Ho-e-mo-ies'? Anyways, it doesn't matter to me either. But. . . her family took it hard and disowned her."
"That's ricidulous," Grey stated, shaking his head.
"Yeah, well, what can you do about it, right?" Vinny sighed.
"Kill 'em?"
Grey and Vinny shared a glance and laughed.
They reached Grey's room. Grey waved Vinny good night. When he entered, he sat the bag beside the door. He went to the restroom, knocking on the bed post and dresser as he passed them. Before going to the restroom, he pulled some fresh clothes out of the dresser. He shed the worn-out clothes he had hand washed for the past week and turned on both faucets in the bathtub. He examined the scar on his back in the mirror.
How did I get that?
A sound from the door, made him wrap himself in a towel and investigate. When he opened the door, he saw a small stone wrapped around a string; looking down the hall, he saw Vinny wink. With a smirk, Grey took the gift inside with him and set it on a table below the window of his room.
A groan escaped him as he sank into the tub of hot water. The tub was a little cramped but it was better than dips in a stagnate pool. The stress of the past weeks seeped out of his bones and muscles. He mused at that. Two weeks? It felt more like two months to him. A knock at the door disturbed his thoughts.
"Come in only if you're nekid!" Grey joked.
Onyx leant against the doorway, smiling, "You're not really my type, Grey."
"Yeah, you're too damn ugly for me," he quipped.
That made Onyx laugh, "Anyways, I just wanted to tell you that Princess Celestia has a big announcement for all of us in the dinning hall in the morning."
"Ah. Okay."
"Night, Grey," Onyx left
"Do svidaniya."
Grey was a little disappointed Luna had not arrived yet. He got the wash cloth and began to scrub himself.