My Little Guard

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her Alicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger Alicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both Sun and Moon. And harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since...

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100 years later....

"You summoned me, Princess?" Asked Starlight, bowing to Princess Celestia. Starlight had been summoned to the Princess's room, for an unspecified reason. Starlight didn't mind. It was an honor to serve the princess in whatever way she could.

"Yes I did..." Said Celestia in a melancholy voice. "I have many issues on my mind, and I wished to speak with you privately..." She said, looking out her window onto the city of Canterlot.

"M-me, your highness?...." Asked Starlight, not sure she heard right.

"Of course..." Celestia said, turning towards Starlight. "I've taken note of your… excellent service record, and decided to make you my personal guard and adjutant. I'd feel much more comfortable having somepony like you close to me at all times..." She said, smiling just a bit.

"I... W-well I'd..." Starlight stammered. "I'd be honored, your Majesty..." She bowed again,   barely concealing the joy she felt inwardly.

"Please, do stand up..." Celestia said. "You'll be seeing me far too often to bow every time."

"O-of course... Sorry, your highness..." Starlight blushed.

"Excellent." Said Celestia, clapping her hooves together. "I look forward to getting to know you better." She said, smiling happily. "It gets very lonely being the Princess. You can't really speak to anypony normally. It's always 'yes, your majesty!' Or 'no, your highness.'" Celestia said, frowning. "Could you just call me Celestia? Oh, and what's your name, private?" She asked.

"Starlight, your highness." Said Starlight, and looking at the princess with the utmost respect.

"Celestia." The princess corrected.

"Yes, princess. I mean, uh... Celestia...." Starlight blushed even deeper than before. It was lucky half her face was covered by her helmet.

"We'll have to work on that..." Celestia said with a stifled giggle.

“Yes, your highness.” squeaked Starlight.

“You’re free to go now. If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me. Also, if I need your assistance… I’ll send somepony.” Said Celestia.

“Yes, your majesty…” Starlight bowed again, and exited the room, closing the door gently behind her.

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   The next day, Starlight was summoned to the princess’s quarters once more. This time she was eager, wanting to please the princess. She promised herself she’d call the princess by her name, rather than her title.

“Good afternoon….. princess Celes-....” Starlight trailed off. The princess had her back turned, and was looking out the window. All Starlight could focus on was Celestia’s flank. It was a gorgeous flank, decorated with the Princess’s cutie mark, the sun.

“Oh, hello, Starlight.” said Celestia, turning her head to look at Starlight, smiling slightly. “How are you this evening?”

“I’m… I uh… I’m f-... Doing great!” She stammered, trying to look at something other than the Princess’s rear. Majestic, glorious, regal- so many words could be used to describe it.

“Are you okay, Starlight?” asked the princess, knowing she was tempting the blue mare.

“Yes, I-... D-doing great!” Starlight said, blushing, finally looking the princess in the eyes. She’d never been this physically attracted to another mare before.

“I hope so. I’ve gotten some… disturbing news recently… News I neglected to inform you about in our meeting yesterday...“ She looked out across the cityscape.

“Oh?...” asked Starlight. “What’s troubling you, Princess?”

Celestia sighed. “As you know… about 100 years ago, I was forced to banish my sister to the moon.” she paused. “Luna… Nightmare Moon, was jealous, and so she refused to lower the moon, her royal duty…” She frowned, and looked to the sky. “She attempted to overthrow me, and rule Equestria in eternal night…” She looked to Starlight. “I won’t waste your time, you know the story…” She said. “Recently, we’ve seen a resurgence of the same dark magic that I believe corrupted Luna; the reason for her transformation into Nightmare Moon…” She closed her eyes and sighed.

“What do you mean, Princess? What kind of dark magic?...” asked Starlight quizzically.

Celestia reopened her eyes and continued. “The Zebras believe that the stars are evil, that they possess a dark and mysterious evil that corrupts ponies and causes them to do terrible things…”

“And you believe this is true?” Starlight questioned cautiously.

“Well, no, not exactly…” Said Celestia. “But there are many dark and mysterious powers in this world, Starlight,“ She said. “I’ve had many dreams in recent days of Equestria falling into great chaos, and anarchy. Of suffering and death for Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies alike…” Celestia continued. “I fear for Equestria… I truly hope that they’re just nightmares.” She said, looking at Starlight. “But we must be cautious all the same. Whatever you discover about anything that could be a potential threat to my little ponies... make sure to let me know immediately.” She said, putting her hoof down.

Starlight bowed but quickly got up. “Of course Pri-… Celestia.” She said.

“Excellent.” replied the princess, smiling. “I’m sorry we didn’t have more time to talk about less stressful things… But I do have my duties as the Princess of the Sun to attend to…” She smiled kindly at Starlight. “Would you mind speaking with me at the same time tomorrow?”

“Of course, Princess.” Starlight replied, trotting out the door carefully, leaving Celestia to lower the sun, and raise the moon, beginning the night.