Apprentice

by macXtreble

In the Midnight Hour

Celestia followed her sister through the streets of Canterlot, Luna looking for something unseen as they traversed their town in the way of commoners.

Luna stopped as she saw a crowd surrounding a bit of wall against a nearby building, her heart racing in desperation and need to find her target, every moment of the search in vain only causing her more anguish. Celestia had only been so afraid of and for Luna once, back when she had first become the Nightmare.

The dusk time was approaching, and the princess of the night stepped forward as if reminded of such things, walking into the crowd as their subjects bowed and parted, honored by the presence of their sovereign rulers. As the Alicorn day princess approached her sister, she could feel her excitement as she stared hungrily at the poster gracing the wall.

It was an advertisement for a concert, and there were two mares in central focus, one yellow with a blue mane, and the other much plainer, but eye catching in a more subtle way, with a tan hide and red mane.

"It's her!" Luna said softly in excitement.

"Sapphire Shores?" Celestia asked in confusion, looking at her sister as if it were a joke.

"No, the unicorn." Luna said, turning to the nearest of the subjects watching them, a grey young stallion with a short tuft of orange mane holding a Sapphire Shores saddlebag. "You. Come forward."

The pony stepped forward, his wings folding back shyly." Y-yes, y-your highness?" He stuttered. Luna put her hoof on the poster under the unicorn mare.

"Tell thy princess the identity of this mare." She commanded.

He looked surprised. "T-that's S-sapphire's new p-p-partner. They call her... T-Treble. Treble Score." The stallion shook nervously.

"Thank you." Celestia said, smiling reassuringly to the poor pony as Luna began trotting off. "You've been most helpful." She told him before going after her sister. The guard looked over the poster, his grey muzzle turning in a smile before following after his charges, who were arguing with each other.

"I MUST see her." Luna said with a pained expression in her eyes.

"Not tonight." Celestia replied. "Her Concert is tonight, and you don't want to interrupt her life like that. Tomorrow morning, she will be summoned to the castle. You." Celestia turned to the guard, who looked surprised to be addressed. "I want you to follow that mare. You know where to find her now. In the morning, approach her and order her to have an audience with the royal sisters."

He nodded." Shall I go now, your highnesses?"

"Yes." Celestia said before Luna could speak. "OUT of uniform. You must be discreet."

The grey stallion guard saluted, and turned, trotting away.

He began thinking as he walked, his intelligent golden eyes surveying everything around him.' She hasn't changed much.... Why is she here, at this time?' He thought as he navigated through the busy streets, passersby able to see the look of deep concentration that he himself could not. 'I just started this job, why would the princesses give me such an important job?'

He wondered, spotting the concert house ahead, but turning instead into the doorway of an inn, tossing bits onto the counter.

"I'll be in and out until morning." He told the innkeeper pony, who nodded and gave him a large, ornate key with a tag that said '6' on it. The guard took the key in his mouth, and went up the stairs to locate the room.

Once inside, he stripped off his armor with his hooves, letting each piece fall to the floor with a soft clang, the last piece was his helmet, and he shook out his stark white mane as he dropped that into the pile with the rest, his charcoal fur matted and roughed up from the armor.

He sighed, relieved to be free of it, and headed towards the shower. He needed to look decent to get into the concert.

The water poured over his body, shimmering in the golden mark on his flank as he thought of her, his hooves quickly and automatically scrubbing the shampoo into his fur. He had thought about her from time to time throughout the years, but he could've never guessed that he might see her again.

Her luminous eyes danced through his mind, haunting him with their beauty as he moved his soapy hooves up to his mane, saturating it in shampoo as well. The stallion believed in something called Fate, quite firmly believed in it, but shook his head under the stream as he rinsed the shampoo from his mane.

'Soon enough, your job will be over, and you'll go back to humble garden patrol, and even if she does recognise you, she'll go back to being famous and distant soon.' He reassured himself, shaking as he rinsed his fur. He turned off the water with his hoof, stepping out and beginning to towel off, the assurances doing nothing to surpress his quickening heartbeat.