***A Waffen Pony Short***

Luna let out a sigh of relief and exhaustion as she set the moon in its place among the stars. From her balcony, she looked out over the vast land of Equestria stretching out towards the horizon down below. To her, it looked beautiful a it glowed under the light from the moon.

Her first task of the night was now complete, and she decided to head back inside and closed the doors behind her.

The palace interior was quiet with the exception of shuffling papers coming from Princess Celestia’s office down the corridor. Luna investigated, having figured her sister went to bed right after lowering the sun. Following the corridor, only dimly lit by a few torches, she arrived at the open door of her sister’s room and bumped into an unsuspecting pony standing just outside.

“Oh!”

Luna stumbled back with a look of shock on her face. Her expression of surprise quickly turned into remorse as she eyed the stallion she towered over.

“I’m sorry, little pony... I didn’t see you.”

The stallion brushed the incident off and forgave her quickly.

“It’s alright, your majesty. I’m here to see Princess Celestia.”

He sounded honest enough and handsome to boot. Luna nodded approvingly and stepped inside.

“As am I. I shall tell her you are waiting.”

Leaving the stallion by the door, she walked into the office.

It was a large, circular room with an impressive desk in the center. The entire wall behind it consisted of grand windows that overlooked Canterlot, but the most ornate feature was the giant, golden sundial that made up the floor.

Celestia sat at her desk, only illuminated by couple of candles. She looked up from the stack of papers in front of her at the sound of her sister’s approach and smiled.

“Luna, good evening.”

The moon princess returned the kind greeting and smiled back.

“Hello, sister.”

Her eyes shifted to the papers.

“It’s later, Tia. You should get some rest. Leave the rest until tomorrow.”

Celestia, despite the bags forming under her tired eyes, shook her head.

“Not quite yet, Luna. This is important. Besides, I’m waiting on somepony I need to see.”

Luna immediately thought of the young stallion outside.

“What’s the nature of this meeting?”

Celestia pursed her lips and pushed the towering stack of papers to the side. She then raised a hoof, inviting Luna to come closer.

“If you promise not to tell Twilight, I’ll let you in on my plan...”

With her curiosity peaked, she leaned in to hear what Celestia had to say.

“The truth is, I’m worried Twilight is overworking herself. Her friends can’t seem to pry her away from her royal duties. What she needs is just one night off, a night of fun to get her mind off of everything. That stallion outside is the key to accomplishing this.”

Luna was very interested, now. Still, questions lingered in her mind.

“As much as I like this idea, what does he have to do with anything?”

This was the moment she saw a wide grin form on Celestia’s face. The sun princess looked proud of herself, like a filly who’d just aced an important test.

“I’ve rented this pony and his services from someplace called Sadri’s Escort Agency in the upper district. He’s to be Twilight’s companion for the night.”

Luna’s mouth fell open, and she stared at her sister with disbelief in her eyes.

“Tia, you didn’t...”

It was too late to voice any objections. Celestia stood up from her desk and quickly made herself presentable.

“Come in.”

At her call, the stallion Luna had bumped into earlier walked inside and stood in front of the desk by her side.

“You may have a seat, Mr. Jet.”

He did as instructed and found his way into a chair opposite to Celestia’s.

“After doing a little research into this agency, I found that Jet here comes highly recommended and is the best in his field.”

Luna shook her head vigorously.

“Tia, this is ridiculous. I agree that Twilight needs some time off, but... but this? You seriously hired an escort?”

Celestia waved a hoof, dismissing her concerns.

“It’s only for the night, Luna. Everything will be remedied by the time I raise the sun in the morning.”

She then turned her direct attention to the stallion, ignoring Luna’s flaring nostrils and narrowed eyes.

“Now, as your your assignment... I’ve picked you out, because I’ve been told you’re the very best Sadri has to offer. There’s a princess I want to to accompany tonight. You should take her out to dinner, maybe a movie. You know, have fun and get her mind off of her work. If you do this for me, I’ll double your fee. What do you say to that?”

Luna looked as though she were about to burst, spurting incoherently and twitching.

Jet smiled and bowed his head as a sign of respect for the sun princess.

“Of course, your majesty.”

Then, he turned to face Luna. Standing up from his chair, he approached her and bowed slightly before taking her hoof in his and bringing it to his lips, planting a gentle kiss.

Luna froze like a statue, but her heart thundered in her chest.

“I’d be honored to accompany you tonight, Princess Luna...”

She squeaked before tearing her hoof away from his.

“Me?!”

Celestia quickly intervened to stop her sister from throwing the escort out of the window.

“No, Jet! This isn’t the princess I want you to entertain. You’re assigned to Princess Twilight in Ponyville. I already have a carriage outside to take you there.”

The misunderstanding left Jet red with embarrassment.

After recovering from her initial surprise, Luna was still unconvinced that such a foolish plot could ever work.

“Tia, listen to reason. Hiring an escort is not the solution to Twilight’s problem. Besides, once she figures out that he’s an escort, she’ll be furious with us!”

Again, Celestia brushed her concerns aside.

“Dear sister, Twilight won’t know he’s an escort. I’ve already thought this through, and I’ve come up with a disguise.”

Then, Celestia reached behind her, and with the magic from her horn, she revealed a large chest and placed it on the floor in front of Jet.

The stallion opened it and pulled out a guard’s helmet.

The golden metal gleamed in his hooves as he observed his own reflection looking back.

“He will pose as a Royal Guard.”

Luna shook her head and closed the lid of the chest swiftly.

“We’ve been over this, Tia. Twilight has wanted guards. She’s refused them at every turn.”

Celestia smirked at her younger sister and opened the chest again with her horn.

“Not this time.”

She motioned for Jet to try the rest of the armor on, and he did just that. Piece by piece, he placed the plates of metal on his body and tightened the straps.

“Now, since you’re just as much of a part of this plan as I am, you’re going to help in the execution of it.”

Luna rolled her eyes and blew her mane out of her eyes. She had a feeling of dread swelling inside of her.

“Now, when you get to Ponyville with Jet, here’s exactly what you’re going to tell Twilight...”

***Up Next: ???***

Author's Note

This story was meant to be a short from its conception, but I now realize it has the potential to continue. Let me know through comments or messages if you want to see me write more. As always, I appreciate your support, and I do this for my fans and readers!