The past twelve hours had been a blur of hastily given and taken orders, brave faces and generally trying to avoid giving into panic on the day the old prophecies came true. He was mentally exhausted and disoriented, but the sad song echoing through the hallways of Canterlot Castle spurred him onward. These were days history would be made and Guard members like himself could prove their true value beyond a shadow of a doubt.
There was an image that would not leave his head, searing his conscience and moving him to pity. Mere hours ago, he had been part of an honor guard for the return of Princess Luna to residence in Canterlot Castle. A thousand years of legend had proven horrible truth, but also that the Elements of Harmony wielded by Princess Celestia's personal student Twilight Sparkle and five others had defeated "Nightmare Moon" and restored Princess Luna.
All that was abstract, and to some extent rumored, knowledge. What was searing his heart was the image of Princess Luna walking beside her sister between the honor guard. She seemed so weak and fragile compared to what she was supposed to have been, and when his eyes briefly met hers he felt the shock of a thousand years of guilt, shame, and agony in them. His heart invisibly broke, and he was moved right then and there to defy the spirit of aloof hesitation that was expected of the Canterlot Royal Guard. With his shift over, now was his chance.
The low, mournful tunes echoed through distressingly empty hallways. Even though the sun had already set on the unexpectedly abbreviated day, there were no guards posted patrolling the area in the castle where Luna was temporarily staying until a proper wing could be cleared for her. The guard knew the halls well - this was an area he frequently was assigned to patrol. Still, the fact that he seemed to be alone in this concerned him - was it from hesitation to tread so near the one once called "Nightmare Moon"? Or was it out of fact that patrol schedules and assignments had been jumbled and nopony wished to act without orders? He pushed the thoughts out of his head and stepped onward.
After some minutes he arrived at Princess Luna's temporary bedroom suite, listening from the open door at her mournful and sad singing framed from light of the full moon she had recently been freed from. He waited until she had finished a song before acting...
The last notes, heavy with sadness, had just faded into echoes when Luna heard the young and confident voice of the guard behind her: "You sing so beautifully, Your Highness. It 'tis a shame thou only uses it to sing laments."
Startled by the voice, she weakly turns to look behind from where she lay, facing outward to look at the night sky: "Who goes there?"
"I am but a guard, thou art a Princess of Canterlot. What more does thou needest to know about me?" the guard's voice came in answer as he slowly entered the chamber, beginning to strike up a conversation with the surprised Luna.
"... Has thou been assigned to our personal chambers?"
"Sadly, the Captain hath not given such assignments. I have come here of my own volition, after the end of my own regular duties."
"... Does thine commanding officer know of what you are doing?"
"He doth not. Even if he did, however, there is no excuse that thou has not been given assignments proper to thine position. Is thou not entitled to the same treatment as thine sister?"
"Thou makest an excellent point, as we hath not seen or heard a guard patrolling past the door in hours. Please, feel free to lay beside us and watch the night, brave guard."
"I thank thee very much, Your Highness."
The guard kept his helmet and armor on as he lay beside Luna, watching the night sky with the full moon, now shining undimmed by the profile of the monster that had been contained in it. Princess Luna could not identify the particular guard with her because of this, but her curiosity was quickly directed toward how much of the night sky he seemed to know - pointing out and telling story after story about the stars arranged in the sky.
"Guard, how doth you come of such knowledge of the night sky?" Princess Luna finally asked.
"Mine family would regularly observe the night sky as a tradition." the guard begins to explain. "My father grew up with an intense passion to learn about the moon and the stars, sometimes spending hours documenting the positions of stars and the movements of the skies. My mother is one of a line of unicorns that assisted Princess Celestia in populating the night sky with stars. They met at a library, both of them researching the constellations. The shared interest brought them together and eventually lead to them joining in marriage. My mother gave up her job when I was born, but she and my father passed the tradition to me and my younger sister."
When he stopped, he noticed a weak smile and a few joyful tears trickling down Luna's cheeks. "That is a most wonderful story, and thou art a most noble and kindhearted soul to share it with us. May you live to see the third generation after you!" she says, clearly moved by the guard's story.
The guard gives a sincere, broad smile in return, but does nothing else. He is then invited to lay beside the royal bed and guard Luna in her sleep - it would be several days at least before she would be able to resume her duties, as her powers had been weakened to a large degree by "Nightmare Moon's" defeat - and he accepts. He sleeps off and on beside the royal bed the rest of the night, providing a comforting presence to Princess Luna at a moment when she needed one the most.
When Celestia brings up the sun again over Canterlot, the guard is gone, but in the place where he was sleeping is a parchment. Luna looks at what is on the parchment and is overwhelmed with joy - she is convinced that it is a sign someone is watching out for and wanting to help her.
"Indeed, I do think this is a sign, dear sister. But perhaps not in the way you think it is." Celestia says with a smile after seeing the parchment herself a short while later.
"How do you mean, sister?" Luna asks curiously.
"The parchment contains two symbols on it. One is obviously meant to be you, it matches your cutie mark. The other one shows the Element of Magic - Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark - on a shield with three stars above it. That is not mere symbolism, it matches the cutie mark of a member of the Guard force."
"Who then would it be? The one that guarded my chamber last night?"
"Yes. And I know his name. He tries to be judged on his actions alone, so that's why he wouldn't say who he was or take off the armor to show you his face."
"Well then who is he so that he may be acclaimed before an assembly of his peers?"
Before Celestia replies, she breaks out in the smile of someone who is pleasantly and wonderfully surprised: "I have known him for a long time now, and he has never failed to live up to the ideals of service in the Canterlot Royal Guard. He's a Lieutenant, serves the afternoon shift. The same strong, noble blood that runs through Twilight Sparkle runs through him as well. As it should, considering they are actually blood siblings. His name... is Shining Armor."
