3

Toby and Kira had been sound asleep in the sumptuous bed provided by their hosts when Tia's servant had come knocking at the door of their suite in search of Princess Luna. The princess had awakened at once, and she had been embarrassed to realize that she'd fallen asleep in the suite that her sister had provided for their guests. She was also alarmed by the realization that it was morning and that she had neglected her nightly patrol. But Toby and Kira assured her that they weren't offended by the fact that she'd slept in their parlor, and the servant assured her that all was well in Equestria. The princess then left for breakfast, still offering apologies to the two guests as she stumbled drowsily out of the admiralty suite.

"What time was it when you came to bed?" Kira asked her mate.

"I don't know," he admitted. "It was late. Luna was having so much fun, I couldn't bear to tell her that I wanted to stop playing. And besides, she's royalty. It's hard to tell royalty what to do."

"Must be nice, being royalty," the fox mused.

There was another knock at the door. A look of annoyance crossed Kira's face; it seemed that no one in the castle would leave them alone and let them rest. Some vacation! But her attitude changed when Toby opened the door to reveal another servant bearing a huge platter heaped with bacon, eggs, toast, butter, jelly, strawberries, grapes, hash browns and orange juice. "Are you ready for breakfast?" asked the servant.

The two guests cried "Yes!" at the same time. Lions and foxes are always ready to eat.

Twenty minutes later, the two vacationing adventurers were feeling much more cheerful, as they often did when their bellies were full. They decided to return to bed; they hadn't gotten a full night's sleep, thanks to the late-night gaming session. So they were quite ready for a nice nap.

It was nearly noon when they awoke again, nestled in each other's arms like the newlyweds they were. There was bright sunlight streaming into the bedroom through a nearby window by this time. After a good-morning kiss or two, they rose from bed. They made their way to the bathroom, where they showered and carefully groomed themselves; after all, they would be spending the day among royalty, so they felt that they needed to look their best.

Kira had gotten dressed and was running a brush through her hair when she stopped and looked at her mate. "What do you think about these ponies?"

Toby beamed. "I think they're great. They've been even nicer than I'd expected. Letting us stay in the royal castle, feeding us, playing games with us … I can't see how they could be any nicer."

The fox pondered for a moment. "I agree. Last night, when we first settled into the room, I started wondering whether they had some ulterior motive for insisting that we stay here. But they seem too nice for that."

Toby laughed. "You're always suspicious."

She shrugged. "I'm a fox. That's the way we are. And with good reason, most of the time."

"We lions aren't like that."

"No, because you figure that if someone tries to harm you, you can just roar at them, then watch them run away. I can't do that. So I always keep one eye fixed on an escape route."

"You want to escape from this wonderful place?"

"No, not at all. I love it here. I think I'd know if we were being spied upon, and I don't see any evidence of that. It's not like they've got guards watching us, or spies listening in on our conversations. They really are treating us like honored guests." She smiled. "I could live like this forever."

The lion grinned. "Somehow I don't think Tia would want us to stay quite that long."

"Probably not," the vixen agreed. "But it looks like we're finally going to have a nice vacation. And I hope it lasts for a long, long time. I don't know when I've ever been this happy."

They finished making themselves presentable, then left the suite. As soon as they stepped into the hallway, however, they found themselves facing a guard who was lounging against the wall just a few paces from the door of their suite. And suddenly the expression on Kira's face turned from brightest sunshine to darkest night.

"Hello," said the guard, who had a pair of wings sprouting from beneath his armored jerkin. "I'm Sergeant Cloudrunner. I've been assigned to you today."

Kira and Toby looked at the guard for a moment, then at each other, then back at the guard. They said nothing, because they were too shocked to know what to say.

The guard broke the awkward silence. "Where would you like to go?" he asked. "I know you're not familiar with the castle, but I can take you wherever you like."

"We can find our own way, thank you," Kira replied in an icy tone.

"Oh, no, ma'am," said Sergeant Cloudrunner. "I've been ordered to stay with you at all times."

The fox's eyes grew even colder and darker. "Who gave you that order?" she demanded.

"Princess Celestia," he replied.

There was another long, awkward silence. Once again the guard broke the silence, though he was now becoming as uncomfortable as the two visitors. "If you're hungry, I can lead you to the smaller of our two dining halls, the one where lunch is served."

Kira just continued to glare at the guard, but Toby shrugged and decided to make the best of the situation. Eating lunch sounded like the best option. "Sure," he said to the guard. "Lead the way."

So the lion and fox followed Sergeant Cloudrunner through a maze of corridors and down a flight of stairs to an informal dining hall set with a dozen small tables rather than the one long, ornate table which was used in the formal dining hall. It was true, both Kira and Toby had to admit to themselves, that it would have been very difficult to find the place without the guard's assistance. Even so, they weren't cheered by his presence. On a more positive note, they were welcomed by a servant who encouraged to order whatever they liked. Soon they were enjoying a flank of roast boar. But they still weren't able to fully relax, because Sergeant Cloudrunner stood nearby throughout the meal, never letting them out of his sight.

When Kira and Toby announced that they were ready to leave the dining hall, the guard asked them where they would like to go. They replied that they had nothing in mind, so he offered a tour of the castle. Kira decided that this was an excellent idea; it would allow her to familiarize herself with the place in case it was necessary to escape later. And indeed she was beginning to feel that it was time to formulate an escape plan. So the sergeant led the two on a tour of the immense fortress.

The visitors found themselves deeply impressed. The castle was even larger than they had realized, and whereas it had been a quiet place with lots of empty rooms and corridors when they'd arrived the previous evening, they found it a lively place now. The classes provided for gifted unicorns were in progress in one wing of the castle; the fox and lion found dozens of young unicorn ponies staring at them as Sergeant Cloudrunner led them past the classrooms where various spells were being practiced, often incorrectly. At one point a young pony's attempt to impress the visitors with a small burst of fireworks instead resulted in a cloud of black, reeking smoke that struck Kira directly in the face. She coughed and choked as she hurried away. "I hate amateurs," the fox wizard grumbled.

They were leaving that wing of the castle when they came upon Princess Celestia, who was stopping by in order to see how her teachers and pupils were doing. The princess greeted the visitors warmly, said that she hoped Sergeant Cloudrunner's services were proving useful, and invited them to join her in the formal dining hall for supper at six o'clock.

Kira decided upon a little test. "We hope that we're not putting you out by staying here," she said to the princess.

"Not at all," came the reply. "Please stay for as long as you like."

"Thank you," said the fox. "But we really don't want to overstay our welcome. So perhaps we should be on our way after supper?"

Tia seemed horrified by this suggestion. "Oh, we really don't want you to leave us so soon. Why, we haven't had a chance to hear very much about your adventures in Aloria. And Luna would like to play more games with Sir Toby. I must insist that you stay with us for at least a few days."

"All right," Kira replied coolly. But then she aimed a meaningful glance at Toby, and the lion swallowed hard. It was definitely starting to appear that his mate had reasons for her suspicions. Princess Celestia seemed to be indicating that they were not going to be allowed to leave.