"Cousin! I didn't know you were here!" Starlight looked at the Pink alicorn approaching Blueblood, the confusion as to why another Pony royal was in Caninia quickly replaced with the need to appear professional.
Starlight walked over to block the Princess's path from her boss, only to hear him say her name with a tone of voice she never heard from him.
"Cadance," Blueblood said, his eyes staring into his so-called cousin with an indescribable emotion that seemed almost foreign to Starlight.
"I am sorry, but the prince is mighty busy today," Starlight spoke up, standing protectively in front of her boss and friend, "If you wish to speak with him, an appointment can be made by talking with his secretary,"
"Wha-?" Cadance tried to ask, only for Blueblood to jump into Starlight's plan.
"Apologies, Cadenza, but I am indeed mighty busy today, perhaps we can catch up another time," He smiled at his cousin, "Preferably not on foreign soil,"
"Bluey," Cadance said, using a word that almost made the prince freeze, "You're acting strange, is everything alright with you?"
"Everything is fine, Cadance, I am merely stressed over work, you know me, always moving around, haha," Starlight cringed at hearing the dry tone with which her boss delivered those words before he turned around and quickly walked away, not bothering to wait for her, his bag levitating behind her.
Starlight prepared to follow, only for the Pony to interrupt her.
"Excuse me, Miss Bodyguard," Starlight froze at being addressed, "I know he probably doesn't want to hear from me, but can you pass this over to him, I always carry some with me," Princess Mi Amore Cadenza said, levitating a chocolate bar over to Starlight.
"You want me to-?" Starlight took the floating piece of Chocolate from the pink Alicorn.
"Yeah, I try to always give him chocolate whenever I come back from a trip," Cadance giggled a bit, "He's always so grumpy about everything, but I know he secretly loves these, I'm sure of it,"
"Okay," Starlight nodded at the Princess, "I'll give him the chocolate,"
"Thanks," Cadance said and turned back to the group of Diamond Dogs that came with Queen Katherina, "Oh, and good luck with your job," Starlight could almost swear she received the friendliest smile she ever received from someone at that moment.
She didn't know whether to be enchanted by how nice of a pony the princess was or be perturbed.
"Yeah... You too..." Starlight whispered before turning and walking after the rest of the New Castle party.
----------------------
Starlight stared dispassionately as she saw her boss sneer at a Bar of chocolate and throw the thing into the bin, not even bothering to open the snack.
"Damn her!" He said loudly as he paced around the room that Queen Jennino had given him for his stay at the castle.
"She seemed nice enough," Starlight said, trying to bring up some sort of defense for the Pink Princess.
"Well, she's not!" Starlight jumped at the volume Blueblood used, "She's mocking me! Flaunting around her wings and horns, telling everyone "Oh look at me! I'm better than Blueblood! I'm an Amore and he's just a measly Platinum! Look, He Isn't even an Alicorn!" She's the worst!"
"I really don't think-" Starlight's eyes widened as she quickly dodged and caught a chair being thrown at her, "What are you doing?!"
"Don't try and defend her," Blueblood sneered, a tone of voice Starlight never heard from him leaving his mouth as he grimaced and frowned, "If she managed to get you under her spell, why don't you go and talk with her tomorrow during the meeting? It's not like you actually do your job,"
Starlight sniffed and straightened her back, "You know what, I will go and talk to her, just to prove that you're wrong," Starlight smiled at the idea, of helping the royal cousins find a way to solve whatever disagreements they might have and be a happy family, she might even get to write one of those Reports that Celestia receives from her Pupil every week.
"And once I do, You'll apologize for talking to me like that," Starlight frowned at her boss, her eyes meeting with his as a fierce battle raged inside the bedroom, neither contestant moved, but they both knew the importance of their fight.
And as Starlight glared into Blueblood's eyes, she could see a flicker of emotion in behind them.
He was... Scared?
Starlight smiled, knowing she won the battle of glares, and left for her own room, leaving her boss to be angry in his lonesome.
----------------------
After waiting for both his roommates to fall asleep, a certain Earth Pony(?) exited his room and started walking towards the back of the small ship.
"What are you doing?" He stopped, his body freezing perfectly in place as his head slowly turned to look at the voice.
"I am feeling tireless, I am going on a midnight stroll," Hughbert Jellius said in his almost robotic way of speaking.
"Tch," The Griffon who stopped him clicked her tongue before she pushed past him and entered her room, "Don't make too much noise, Creep."
Seeing Gilda leave him, Hughbert smiled widely, a sick and unnatural smile, forced onto his face, almost as if trying to mimic an expression of excitement.
And seeing as the course was clear, Hughbert was more than excited.
He was downright euphoric.
----------------------
Leaving the shower with a towel around her hair, Princess Indiana Ambereyes whistled to herself a nice tune as she made her way to her bed.
The VIP remained protected, Her little sister came back without any harm, and Katherina was none the wiser to her even leaving the castle.
All in all, It was a good day.
Knock knock knock
Indiana paused, taking off her towel and walking over to the door, a frown on her face as her paw moved to open it.
"Who is it?" She asked as she opened the door.
And froze as a flash of green light covered her body.
-----------------------
Starlight frowned at the door to the meeting room, her talk with Blueblood from the night before still fresh on her mind.
The face he made when he yelled "She's mocking me!" Still etched in her brain.
But right now he was on the other side of that door, talking with the leaders of Caninia about trade and politics, and here she is on the other side of that door, ready to visit a Princess on the other side of the city.
"Why don't you go and talk with her tomorrow during the meeting? It's not like you actually do your job," Starlight frowned as his words once again rang in her head, but she pushed on.
She had to prove to him that he was wrong.
-----------------------
"You're the bodyguard from yesterday! Please, come in," Princess Cadance smiled warmly at Starlight as she invited her into her room.
It was surprisingly easy to reach her, all she had to do was tell one of the guards at the Old Castle that she was there to speak with her, and she was let in without another question.
"Thank you," Starlight said and bowed to the princess, who quickly stopped her from doing so.
"Please don't bow to me, just because I'm an Alicorn doesn't mean I'm not just a regular pony," Starlight couldn't help but want to smile as she heard that.
"Sorry," She said as she straightened her back, the black suit Celestia forced her to wear for her job creasing as she sat on a sofa in front of the princess, "I have a few questions I need to ask you, I hope you'll be able to answer."
"I'd be happy to," Cadance answered simply and got ready to answer her questions.
"Thank you," Starlight started, "The first question that I wanted to ask is, and I hope this doesn't sound offensive, but are you mocking Prince Blueblood?" She asked, getting straight to the point.
The smile that was on Cadance's face fled her as she frowned at that question, "If this is your attempt at humor you have reached the wrong crowd,"
Starlight quickly tried to defend herself, "I mean! When you give him Chocolate, are you signaling that you're more generous than he is?"
The frown on Cadance's face worsened at that question, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave." she told her plainly.
"Wait! I just need an honest answer!" Starlight said as an aura of light blue magic wrapped around her and started dragging her out of the Princess's room.
And as Starlight was thrown into the corridor, she said words that caused the princess to pause.
"He thinks you're mocking him!"
Cadance sat on her chair, looking at the open door to the corridor, and at the Mare breathing heavily outside of it after she yelled those five words.
The frown on her face was replaced with a worried look as she asked for her to explain.
And so Starlight did, repeating what Blueblood told her the night prior.
"Thank you for bringing this up to me," Cadance then told Starlight the truth, and her eyes widened.
"I was right..." Starlight said to herself before she thanked the Princess and ran out the door, hurrying back to the New Castle.
Leaving Cadance alone to frown at what she heard.
"Do you really think I'm mocking you?" she whispered to herself, her eyes moving to look out the window and at the castle on the other side of the city.
-------------------------
Once the talks were finished and the deal was formalized, Prince Blueblood returned to his room to ready for departure.
Who knew signing deals was easy when the other party was infatuated with you?
"Blueblood, I was right!" The Prince paused as he turned to look at the purple Unicorn at the door, breathing for air as she pointed a hoof at him.
"Starlight, I wish to apologize to you for how I acted yesterday. I know that-" "Wait with the apology!" Starlight interrupted him.
"Because I listened to what you told me, And I spoke with Princess Cadance," Starlight told him, ignoring how he rolled his eyes at her use of 'Princess'.
"Save me the talk Starlight, she lied to you," Blueblood wasn't willing to listen to her, "Whatever she told you was fabricated to make her look better than me,"
"But she didn't!" Starlight said, quickly getting tired of the way Blueblood treated Cadance, "She was nothing but nice to you and you, and you call her a manipulator! Did it never pass through your mind that she might just be a nice pony?"
"No, It never did, and I suggest you watch your tone," Blueblood told her.
"Why not?!" Starlight yelled at him, not noticing his face contorting into a snarl, "Why can you not see that all the times she's tried being nice to you, were because she's just a genuinely nice pony?!"
"Watch your tone," He warned her.
"Just why?!" Starlight yelled, and Blueblood was glad he cast a soundproofing illusion on the room.
"Because nice people aren't real Starlight!" He yelled back at her, "They're not real! Especially not in such high positions of power! Cadance isn't a genuinely nice person because Nice people don't exist!"
"You know what?!" Starlight yelled at him, "You're being a doucheba- oh..." She froze as she saw the face Blueblood was pointing at her.
"...Did it really take you so long to figure out that the guy who decided to bend the rules to get a shitty bodyguard might not be such good of a guy?" He asked her quietly, sitting down on the nearest chair, his eyes not leaving Starlight.
"Blueblood I-" Starlight wanted to defend herself, to explain that she didn't really mean what she said, that it was a spur of the moment choice of words.
"Get out of my room Starlight, we're returning to the ship tomorrow morning," He told her, his tone offering no room for arguments.
"Please Blueblood I-"
"Out."
"I'm sorry I-"
"I Said OUT!" He yelled at her, and so she left.
Returning to her room in the castle, tears silently trailing down her face.
-----------------------
Dammit!
God Fucking dammit!
Can nothing go to plan?!
Go to an art museum? Beat the shit out of a group of thieves!
Find a missing person? Get sent to fucking magic Alaska!
Once a year special celebration? Get tackled by some crazy chick and cut your night short!
Get a Nautical Science degree? The City is flooded with FUCKING CHOCOLATE MILK!
Get Kidnapped to the moon? Gee! I wonder if that turns out fine!
"Every time! Every single time!" I scream out as I kick the chair beneath me, almost two months of living as a fucking midget horse tearing at my mind.
"Can I not get, I don't know, Just one week where nothing goes wrong? Where nothing crazy or stupid happens? FUCK!" I stomp angrily at the floor, feeling the illusion I placed on the room to keep the sound in waver as someone knocked on the door,
"Holy fucking shit what do they want," I whispered to myself before giving myself a strong slap to the face, the persona of the elegant and wonderful Prince Blueblood Platinum plastering itself onto me like a carefully crafted mask.
"What is it?" I ask, receiving no response from the person on the other side.
knock knock knock
"I said what is it? Do you need something?" I asked louder, the fake smile I forced onto my face wavering as I kept talking.
knock knock knock
"Fucking- WHAT?!" I Yelled at the door, not in the mood to deal with any of this bullshit.
knock knock knock
And so, with a snarl of anger on my face I open the door.
And freeze as a green light comes over me.
------------------------
Next thing I know, When I open my eyes, I'm in a mostly empty void.
"Cosmos?" I ask aloud, hoping the talking head who appears in my dreams might answer, "Are you here?"
I walk toward one of the few visible things in this empty void, one of six large levitating rainbow-colored crystals floating around me.
"What the hell is this?" I whisper to myself, looking closely at one of the six crystals and seeing what looks like a body levitating inside the crystal.
"My my my," I freeze as an unknown voice echoes out around me.
"I was wondering when you will visit," The voice said, sounding like a relatively young man.
"Who's there?!" I quickly ask as movement returns to my body.
"Me? Wait a minute..." The voice paused and I felt its gaze lock onto me from somewhere inside the space between the six crystals.
"You don't know?... Hahaha! You don't know!" The voice laughed, echoing around the darkness before I spotted it.
Two glowing white orbs, eyes, staring at me from the surrounding darkness.
"Me? How could you not recognize me?" The voice said and the two eyes grew closer before the body of the creature revealed itself in the weak light formed by the nearest floating crystal.
A Pony with a body almost as dark as the void around it, a smooth black horn that edges off into a dark grey, a mane, wings, and tail of dark grey fire, moving and flowing in a nonexistent wind.
A mouth opening with sharp teeth of darkness to reveal nothing but more darkness inside.
It seemed less like a real creature, and more like a sheet of magic covering the real creature.
"How could you not recognize your dearest uncle?" The creature smiled down at me, and I only had a few words to say.
"I am NOT dealing with this bullshit right now."