A Visit to Canterlot Castle

Featuring Princesses Celestia and Luna, along with the main characters from the webcomic Chivalry and Knavery, which can be seen at .com.

1

It was about an hour before sunset on a pleasant summer day at Canterlot Castle. The classes for gifted unicorns, which were held in one wing of the castle, were finished for the day. The day's royal visitors had been dismissed. The castle's residents had finished supper, and servants had cleared away the dirty dishes. Princess Celestia was busy with paperwork in a small, tidy office tucked away behind the throne room; Princess Luna was reading a novel nearby, stretched out on a cushioned couch on the castle parapet beneath the clear blue sky, where she could watch the sun dip toward the horizon. When night fell, Luna would fly away in order to make her usual nightly rounds, ensuring that the kingdom was safe throughout the hours of darkness. For now, Luna was resting. In truth, she was spending more time dozing than reading.

A guard appeared in the open doorway of Celestia's office. "Princess," he said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have visitors whom I think you should see."

Celestia looked up from her paperwork. "It's rather late for visitors," she remarked. "Anyone I know?"

"No, Your Majesty. They're strangers from some other kingdom. And they really are strange."

She blinked. "In what way, guard?"

He pawed the tiled floor, searching for the right words. "Well, Your Majesty, it's kind of hard to describe them. I haven't seen anything quite like them before."

"Are they dangerous?"

"Uh, well, I guess they might be," the guard admitted.

"Then why do you think I should see them?"

The guard became even more nervous. "Well, you see, Your Highness, it's just that we don't know what to do with them, so we were thinking that maybe you could … uh …"

Tia sighed. "I see. Well, please describe them as best you can, so I'll know what to expect when I receive them."

"I'll try," he shrugged. "There's two of them, a male and a female. The male is kind of like a lion, and the female is kind of like a fox. But the lion is a little smaller than a regular lion … though he's not much smaller. And the fox is bigger than a regular fox, although she's not nearly as big as the lion. They both walk on two legs. Oh, and they wear clothing." He paused. "I guess that's about all I can think of."

"Hmm," Princess Celestia mused. "They do sound strange. Do you know what they want?"

"No, Your Highness. They were found wandering the streets, frightening everypony. So they were brought here. But we can't decide what to do with them. They haven't done anything wrong, so far as we know, but we don't feel comfortable about just turning them back out onto the streets, so the captain said that it would be best if we bring them to you and let you … uh …"

She interrupted the guard with a wave of her hoof. "I understand. Fine. Give me a moment to prepare, then bring them to the throne room, and I'll receive them."

The guard bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."

Luna came striding briskly into the office. She had overheard the conversation, and she was now fully awake. "I'd like to be on hand to see these visitors as well," she announced.

Tia smirked. "Anxious to see the show, Luna?"

The other princess seemed offended. "Of course not! That's not why I want to be there! It's just that, if they prove to be dangerous, you might need my help."

"We'll send a full contingent of guards," the guard insisted. "We won't leave either of you alone with the strangers."

"That's good," Tia nodded. She turned back to Luna. "You're welcome to join me in the throne room if you like, sister."

"Thank you," came the reply.

The guard left to summon the strangers, and the two royals took their places in the throne room. Celestia ascended the throne; Luna sat on the plush red carpet to the right of the throne. The two sisters had a moment alone while they waited, and during that time Luna turned to her older sibling. "What do you plan to do with them?"

Tia sighed. "I'm not sure. I suppose the main thing is to determine whether they pose any sort of threat." Suddenly she had an idea. "Could you cast a truth spell before they arrive? I'll ask them some questions, and it would help to know whether or not they answer my questions truthfully. If they lie to me, I want to know about it."

The younger royal nodded. "Good idea, sister." Her horn flashed and glowed for a few seconds. The spell was cast. It wouldn't last long, but it would let Luna know if any untruths were spoken in the room.

A moment later the captain of the guards entered the throne room. There were two other guards behind him, and behind those guards strode the two strangers. There were two more guards behind the strangers. Clearly the captain was taking no chances. The guards were stern, and also somewhat nervous, as if expecting trouble. But the visitors were calm, and they seemed to be behaving like tourists being led on a guided tour.

Celestia saw that the guard had described the strangers quite well. Even so, their appearance was somewhat startling. The guard had never seen humans, so his description had of course omitted any reference to humans; but Celestia had seen humans, and these visitors seemed quite human-like in many ways. Perhaps the best description would be that they appeared to be half human and half animal. Like humans, they did not have four legs; they had two legs, on which they walked in an erect fashion (they wore no shoes), and they had two arms. Their faces were not human-like, however; the male, as the guard had said, had a lion's face, while the female had a fox's face. The lion, who was mostly golden in color, was quite large, and he was obviously very, very strong; he wore trousers which covered his legs, but from the waist up he wore nothing, thus providing a clear view of his powerful muscles. He looked as if he could pick up a guard with one hand and hurl him from completely out of the throne room, a fact of which the guards were nervously aware. But the lion's expression was pleasant, even rather gentle, and he seemed innocently fascinated by the stained-glass windows in the throne room. The fox walking alongside him had a vivid orange-red coat. She was much shorter; the top of her head barely reached the lion's shoulder. Like the lion, she wore trousers, but she also wore a black halter top, trimmed in white lace, around her breasts, which were human-like and quite large. The fox wasn't muscular like the lion, but she was slender and fit, with a pronounced hourglass figure. She had a long, bushy tail; the lion, oddly enough, had no tail. Tia noticed that, while the lion seemed fascinated, even somewhat overwhelmed, by the majestic appearance of the throne room, the fox seemed far less impressed. There was cunning in her face, and her eyes glittered with obvious intelligence. The princess made a mental note that, while the lion looked more dangerous at first glance, the fox was the one to be wary of.

The guards halted a dozen paces from the throne, and the visitors did the same. The captain of the guards turned to the strangers. "Bow to their glorious majesties, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna."

The visitors bowed deeply, then rose again and faced the two princesses. The lion was smiling; the fox's face wore a slight smile as well, but her eyes were narrowed and tightly focused as they carefully moved from one royal to the other.

Tia spoke in her best formal voice, a voice which was polite, even friendly, but also powerful and authoritative. "I bid you greetings," she said. "If you will, please introduce yourselves."

The fox was the one who answered her. "I'm Kira, Your Majesty. I'm a wizard from the kingdom of Aloria." She nodded to the lion at her side. "This is my husband, Sir Toby."

"Hi there!" said the lion. Then, noticing a frown on the face of his mate, he added, "I mean, hello, Your Majesty."

The fox turned back to the princess seated on the throne. "Toby is a captain in the order of knighthood known as the Holy Brotherhood, Your Majesty."

"Very impressive," Celestia replied. "May I ask why you have to come to Equestria?"

"We're adventurers, Your Majesty," said the fox named Kira. "We've traveled to many different lands. And when we heard about your kingdom, we decided that we'd like to visit it."

"I see," the princess replied. "And please, let's not be so formal. You're my guests, so I hope you'll just call me Tia." She smiled. "I'm afraid we may not have any adventures for you, however. Everything is peaceful at the moment."

"That's what we heard," said Kira, "and that's another reason we chose to come here. You see, we need a vacation."

"There's a third member of our adventure team," Toby added. "He's a barbarian warrior named Ulf. But he didn't want to take a vacation, so he didn't come with us."

"That's a shame," Princess Celestia replied.

"No, it isn't," the fox retorted. "Let me tell you, Your Maj - I mean, Tia. You're better off not meeting Ulf."

"Now, love," the lion admonished his mate. "Ulf's not so bad."

"Compared to what? A rabid hellhound?"

Toby sighed. "Look, I admit he's a little rough around the edges."

"Rough around the edges!" the fox exclaimed. "He makes Conan the Barbarian look like Casper the Friendly Ghost!"

"What a shame that he hasn't come," Luna remarked to her sister.

"Yes, isn't it," Celestia replied in an ironic tone.

Toby turned to face the two princesses. "Please don't think that Ulf has anything against your kingdom. He just said that he didn't want to go on a peaceful vacation. He - uh - he likes lots of action."

"He likes killing monsters," Kira huffed. "And that's about the only thing he likes. He isn't really happy unless he's up to his elbows in blood and gore."

"He sounds like a charming person," Tia ventured.

"Oh, you have no idea," Kira groaned. "And I have to put up with him because he's my husband's friend." She glared at Toby. "I love you, dear. But you have terrible taste."

"No, I don't," he replied. "After all, I married you."

"True. I guess you only have terrible taste when it comes to choosing friends … not when it comes to choosing a mate." The fox turned back to the two princesses. "Anyway, your kingdom is safe. Ulf refused to come here because was afraid that he wouldn't find any monsters to kill."

"Actually," Princess Luna noted, "we do have monsters here."

The fox was surprised. "You do?"

"Certainly," Luna answered.

"Well," Tia hurried to explain, "not here in the castle."

"Not as far as we know, anyway," the other princess added.

Her sister frowned. "Luna, what are you insinuating? You know very well that there are no monsters in Canterlot Castle."

"Do I really? Some of the dungeon passages beneath the castle haven't been explored in years."

Tia rolled her eyes. "All right, that's true. But if there are monsters living down there, they're awfully quiet monsters."

Toby took a step forward and bowed to the two royals. "If it would be of service to you, Your Majesties, we'd be happy to explore those dungeon passages for you."

An expression of horror crossed Kira's face. "Dear," she said through clenched teeth, "we're on vacation, remember?"

Princess Celestia smiled and shook her head. "Thank you, Sir Toby, but that won't be necessary. I'm sure that there's nothing more dangerous than spiders in our dungeons. And we wouldn't think of asking guests to perform chores for us. You're here to rest and refresh, after all."

Kira seemed deeply relieved. "Thank you, Tia."

"Excuse me a moment," Tia replied. She leaned down so that her face was only a few inches from her sister's. "Have they been truthful?" she whispered.

Luna nodded. "They haven't told any lies yet," she whispered back.

Tia gave a satisfied smile and turned back to her visitors. "May I ask where you plan to stay while you're here in Equestria?"
The two adventurers shrugged. "We haven't looked into that yet," Toby admitted. "Are there any hotels nearby?"

"Of course," Tia replied. "But I'd prefer to have you to stay here in the castle."

The lion and fox seemed quite surprised by this offer, and Celestia noticed that Luna and the guards were even more surprised - they in fact appeared rather shocked by the suggestion. But Tia was not deterred. The visitors had come to her kingdom for a vacation; they had stated that, and Luna's spell had confirmed that it was the truth. Moreover, they seemed pleasant enough. They clearly had interesting stories which she would like to hear. And besides, she couldn't send them out into the street; it would be rude, and the strangers' appearance would frighten the citizens. The only solution was to house them in the castle. There they could rest without frightening anypony. There she could hear their stories and learn about their kingdom. And if they were in the castle, she could keep an eye on them. Yes, that was for the best. Luna and the guards might not approve, but Tia's mind was made up. The strangers would stay here.

The fox, for the first time, seemed as overwhelmed as her mate. "Your Majesty, we greatly appreciate your kind offer, but we certainly don't want to put you to any trouble."

"It's no trouble at all," the princess replied with a smile. "We entertain guests all the time. We have plenty of guest rooms where I assure you that you will be very comfortable. And I couldn't think of sending you out to search for a hotel. It'll be dark soon, and you aren't familiar with the area. No, you'll stay here tonight. I insist." She turned to the guards. "Please lead our honored guests to the visitors' wing. The admiralty suite on the top floor is vacant, I believe; take them there. And see to it that they have everything they require in the way of food and drink."

The captain bowed. "As you command, Your Highness."

Kira took a step toward the throne. "Thank you for your hospitality, Tia. We really didn't expect this, and we're very grateful."

"Think nothing of it," the princess replied. "Go and make yourselves comfortable. I'll come by soon to make sure that you have everything you need."

The visitors bowed again, and the guards led them out of the throne room. The two princesses watched them go. As soon as they were alone again, Luna turned to her older sister with a dark frown. "Tia, have you lost your mind?"

Celestia sighed. "Look, what would you have me do? Turn them out so that they could go spread panic in the streets? It's better to let them stay here. Your spell proved that they were telling the truth; they came here for a vacation, not to make trouble. And besides, I'm a firm believer in hospitality."

"All right," Luna grumbled, "but just to be safe, we need to keep an eye on them."

"Of course," her sister replied. "I'll assign a guard to watch them."

"The lion looks like he could be dangerous if he chose to be," Luna continued. "But the one who really concerns me is the fox. There's something about her … I just don't trust her."

Tia nodded in agreement, and her expression became solemn. "Neither do I," she replied.