Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of the Sun and the Inventor. Enjoy the 2600-word chapter. I don't own MLP, Hasbro and a few others do.

Maverick looked at the former princess of Equestria. The alicorn looked relaxed, comfortable in her own home. This place felt like a second castle in his opinion. It counted at the least in his mind. Maverick thought it did, at the very least? He'd be able to enjoy it when it came down to it.

"I'm sorry, I'm still a little tired from waking up," Maverick said while shaking his head. "It's been a few moons since I got proper sleep, honestly. I don't know what it is anymore to be truthful." Maverick stated while he shook his head.

"That isn't good news to hear," Celestia said with a frown before Maverick held a hoof to his face. "Is your work that consuming that it leaves little time for you to be up?" Celestia asked as Maverick shrugged to himself at the moment.

"No. It isn't that, Celestia." Maverick stated while he rubbed at his head with his good hoof. "I'm sorry that is weird still…. I've dealt with orders that lead me to stay up for a little bit of time. I do get sleep, but it sometimes seems like it's less than I need. How about you?" Maverick started to say before his wing rubbed at his head.

"Sorry. I wasn't very clear on what I wanted to say." Maverick stated, clearing his throat. "How are you holding up? I haven't lived in the inner cities, but I'm well aware of the fact that Luna is the night pony." Maverick said as Celestia climbed onto a sofa.

"True, but retirement means that I can remain as in control of my time as anypony," Celestia stated to which Maverick hummed. "Plus? Silver Shoals is a far nicer place than it seems. There are very few things I DON'T want to end up knowing about city life around here. I'm honestly glad I had run into you. It made getting around the city much easier." Celestia added as Maverick fell silent.

"Well, that's one way of talking about how we met each other at the moment," Maverick said with a chuckle as Celestia snorted a chuckle to herself. "Anyway. I feel like I'm intruding. It's quite clear that both of you need some time to settle into the city. Not to be rude, I don't want to cut into something." Maverick added before Celestia waved a hoof next to her while she shook her head.

"Maverick? Sit here." Celestia said as the Pegasus blinked before Celestia gently nudged him with her wing. "I'm not bothered to be retired. I will admit that it's odd. I didn't expect to be retired. Still? I had plans for when this was done and completed. I don't regret it." Celestia said as Maverick slowly climbed onto the sofa.

"It's still odd. Not to be rude. I guess that I'm still dealing with it at the moment." Maverick stated while he shook his head. "I'm usually shy when it comes to stuff like this. I'm sorry. I'm trying not to be an idiot. It comes with the flaw of dealing with stuff like this." Maverick added to which he cleared his throat as he sighed.

There was so much he wanted to ask, though. He was entirely happy to see somepony like her, but Maverick didn't consider meeting her, to begin with. How did one talk with someone who had been around for more moons than anyone on the planet, sans her sister?

"You're not stupid, Maverick," Celestia responded as she looked at the smaller pony. "To be honest? While I am happy my faithful student took over? I didn't expect to retire in my lifetime." Celestia stated to which Maverick nodded.

"Yeah, being a leader is a lot of responsibility," Maverick said as he tucked his hooves under him. "I'm worried Tirek or them might return. The only one who's powerful enough to stop him in battle would be you or Luna." Maverick added while he cleared his throat.

Celestia sighed at that. The idea of Tirek, Cozy, and Chrysalis returning had crossed her mind. Two of them had come back from being banished or constantly defeated. The fact TARTARUS didn't stop Tirek bothered her as well.

'They've come back from worse. A stone statue probably won't hold them. Still? If they come back? I'll make sure Twilight and the others can find a way to beat them.' Celestia mentally thought to herself before she shook her head.

Celestia shifted her weight on the sofa while she relaxed. Maverick couldn't help but laugh to himself while she did so. It was enough to bring a smile to her muzzle as well.

"Not as comfy as other chairs, hmm?" Maverick asked to which the alicorn rolled her eyes.

"I miss my comfy pillows, I won't lie." Celestia joked as the two laughed at this. "I'm somewhat glad I retired. There's a lot of things I wanted to focus on before I had the chance." Celestia added before she closed her eyes.

"Ah," Maverick responded while he nodded to himself. "Sounds like a good idea for a memoir. It'd be interesting, 1000 years of ancient rich history." Maverick joked which earned a playful slap from Celestia's wing.

She rather enjoyed Maverick's whimsical nature at the moment. Celestia was SO annoyed and tired of the idea of her subjects being terrified of her and constantly worrying about what to say around her. She wasn't a tyrant; she wasn't someone who lost it if things weren't PERFECT. She adored her people and the idea that they feared her and Luna back as rulers? It was enough to make her scream.

"I'm surprised that more ponies don't talk to you more often, Maverick," Celestia stated as the Pegasus shrugged to herself.

"I'm not the most outgoing person, Cel… If I can say that." Maverick stated to himself.

"Cel is fine, just don't tell Luna to hear it," Celestia stated while she flexed her wings. "There's very little she won't be annoyed at," Celestia added with a small smile.

"Very funny, sister!" Luna added as she shook her head. "Forgive my sister, Maverick. She's still adjusting to the fact her faithful student doesn't send her letters anymore." Luna stated with amusement in her voice.

Celestia stuck her tongue out in mock amusement at her sister. Maverick laughed while he shook his head. There was a small of amusement in his voice. Still? It was amusing to him considering that he hadn't seen this side of the sisters before.

"I'm beginning to wish I brought popcorn," Maverick stated while he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry I was a bit shy before," Maverick stated to himself before he shook his head.

She cleared her throat before she looked at her friend who drew his wings to his body. He looked at her with a bit more eagerness when it came down to it. She giggled to herself as her wings before she cleared her throat and tapped her wings on the edges of the sofa.

"There's a lot of things that ponies are shy about," Celestia said while she looked up. "I don't know what to do next when it comes to activities. There's more I want to do with life yet I don't know what comes on the list after this. I honestly don't at the time." Celestia said while she slowly started to think of what to do next.

Still? She wasn't bothered. She was well aware of the fact that Maverick was probably worried he'd slip in the wrong word or simply say something that'd end up offending. She was no stranger to having to dance around her words in order not to offend someone.

"How did you guys find the manor? Or estate? I don't know what to call this place." Maverick said while he scratched at his head. "I honestly didn't think Silver Shoals had any mansions in it," Maverick added to which the Alicorn simply rolled her eyes away from him.

"One of the homeowners showed it to us," Celestia responded with a sigh to herself. "And while both of us wished for a less spacious place to live? He refused to show anywhere else. That? And the fact we didn't have anywhere else to place the possessions we did bring? That was how." Celestia stated while she frowned to herself.

"Well, ponies seem to be adapting to your frequent appearances well enough," Maverick stated as he folded his hooves across his chest with mirth filling his voice. "There isn't a lot that happens in Silver Shoals. We're just a little town on the water that trades with neighbors. It only takes a small appearance of something new and interesting to throw us off." Maverick said while he raised an eyebrow towards her.

The wounded Pegasus and former Alicorn Princess sat in silence for a few minutes later to reflect on their next words. It helped that there was needed time to do so.

"Silver Shoals was the furthest from Cantorlot," Celestia said as Maverick tilted his head towards her. "When I and Luna wished to retire? We wished to bow out and live somewhere where nobody would notice or concern themselves." Celestia stated while she smiled at the memories.

Maverick simply said nothing while he tried his hardest not to smash into the princess who seemed to be rather amused by his efforts.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Maverick. Sit closer if you want. It doesn't do a lot to bother me." Celestia said with a smile as she slowly parted her wings.

"It's not that. It's the couch is a lot comfier than it seems." Maverick said while he cleared his throat as he did so. "The number of times I've been able to relax like this isn't exactly a lot at the end of the day. It's not something I'm used to if I'm entirely honest. Comes with the fact I've had to deal with less work at the moment." Maverick stated while he sighed and rubbed at his chin with his wings.

He sighed to himself as he realized there was more to be done after he left here. there were to be more orders he'd need to complete in advance which didn't help that many of them were also custom orders. He liked the idea of helping someone and also the idea of being able to not constantly worry for the rest of his livelihood, but it came secondary to a lot of his woes. He didn't want to be in a spot where money was constantly tight. If he was able to work without money being an issue? He'd do it in a heartbeat.

The more he had to do? The more he worried that he'd not be able to do much for the time.

"Something wrong?" Celestia asked before she titled her head.

"Thinking about how stupid I had done something when it came down to it," Maverick stated to her while he brushed off his wings which seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. "Work is demanding at times the more you try to do something about it if I'm entirely honest. It's not the easiest to do something about it for a time." Maverick said before he frowned and took another breath to clear his throat and speak once more.

"Comes down to how good someone is at working the metal the way they want it I suppose. I expected it to be easier to handle. it doesn't seem that will be the case anytime soon which does bother me a bit." Maverick said while he cleared his throat once more. "Still doesn't mean I'm going to let my guard down. work isn't hard to do at the end of the day." Maverick stated while he tapped his hooves in front of him.

He cleared his throat and gazed at the former princess who had been silently watching him. It was a rather interesting day for him as of now and he didn't wish to be bothered by this as of this second.

He had been rather annoyed as of how this had been when it came down to it. He hadn't expected to be in this type of situation and it wasn't as if he was used to sitting next to the princess of the day who had retired.

To him? the retiring part was something he still didn't expect anytime soon. He had been a foal when she had still been in power and she had ruled for 1000 years. It was the last thing anyone expected to happen and it was something they'd need to get used to as of this moment. Some pause was to be expected as they adapted to a new era in their history. It simply wasn't something people had been aware of happening anytime soon.

He rubbed at his snout while he glanced around. This place had been rather odd and it seemed to show.

"Your sister seems well-rested for someone who's had to adjust to not needing to sleep at the day," Maverick stated before he smiled to himself.

"She slept this morning," Celestia stated while she glanced towards the door. "She's not the type to be awake in the daytime. She is the type to constantly be checking the town for something to do. She's still trying to see what to do at night when it comes down to it. She wanted to see what my new friends were doing, yet it seems she has more options at the moment." Celestia stated while she sighed to herself.

The amount of time that has passed in this place. He had pondered what had bothered her when it came down to it. There was more time for him to slowly. Still? He cleared his throat while he tapped at his nose and sighed to clear his throat before he smiled as he rolled his eyes. He tapped his snout while he closed his legs under his body and started to ponder what to do next.

He smiled to himself while he tapped at her wings before she sighed to himself. He was rather interested in how to best plan this.

"What comes next?" Maverick stated before he tapped at his snout. "There's a lot of money in these places and this town was rather interesting. I'm not often in this place when it comes to topics. Not this part of town I mean. It's rather weird when I consider it. Not the place I'd retire unless you wish to drop off the face of Equestria." Maverick stated while he sighed to himself.

"Some people want it to be that," Celestia stated while she leaned backward. "I don't want to be in the public eye when it comes down to it. I don't entirely wish to in their lives. It will be rather interesting how they're adept without anything of this moment." Celestia stated while she tapped her hooves on the sofa while she prepared before she sighed to herself.

She was well aware of what to do if they did need her or they weren't in a position to move forward as of now. She wasn't a heartless leader and she wasn't at all to had

Author Notes

Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be in 2-10 months when it comes to it and will show more of Celestia and Maverick talking and all that. The next chapter will be 900-6500 words and such. Until then, Lighting Wolf out