In The Line of Duty

                                                                                             In The Line of Duty

  Guard Captain Shining Armor walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle, near the end of his evening watch, bored yet alert. Though he usually had the natural sense of caution a royal guard would have while on duty, he was even more on guard for two reasons which he never imagined would be going on at the same time. First was an Equestrian Summit,  which opened opportunities of all kinds for foreign tempers to flare, and the other reason being a recent acquisition of "royalty" into Canterlot, that being a "reformed" Discord. As much as he disliked doubting the work of his sister and her friends, Shining Armor did not see Discord as being very reformed. Pranks were pulled nearly every other hour of the day. The castle was apparently much calmer at night, or so Armor's counterpart Night Captain Permafrost told.

  "At least he isn't killing anypony", Shining Armor said to himself, trying to keep a good spin on things. As if on cue, there was a scream from down the hall, followed immediately by hooting laughter. Shining Armor gave a sigh and began to canter at a brisk pace towards the sound. This was an unfortunate routine of the day now, Discord plays a prank, laughs a bit, runs away, then repeats. If they did catch him, Celestia (Or Luna, depending on the time) would be called, Discord would get scolded, and he wouldn't pull another for the rest of the day. It was better than doing regular patrol work, though, which Armor supposed he could thank the draconequus for. Another thing was the array, or rather arsenal, of tricks the Spirit of Disharmony had. In the week and a half of his non-petrified life in Canterlot, Discord had done over 50 pranks, and not one was a repeated case. From rooms filled with invisible whoopie cushions to a miniature cotton candy tornado in the kitchen, there wasn't one not in the mischievous devil's book.

  Luckily, the chaotic spirit was staying away from pulling one on the Princesses or foreign visitors, though Shining Armor thought this more of a healthy dose of intelligence instead of a lack of bravery. The most recent trick, being the one he was arriving to, was a silent bomb that coated everything in the room, including one very unlucky maid, in a thick rainbow powder, which was identified as simple flour. Shining Armor let out another sigh, the cleaning staff were going to have a hoof full tonight. Again. He made sure the guard present, a stern corporal, had everything well in hoof before departing for the Officer's barracks.

                                                                                                    ...

When he arrived, everything was, unsurprisingly, calm and boring. Two lieutenants were chatting by the coffee maker, one ensign working vigorously on paperwork, another passed out on his desk. Various other officers were going over various things, signing forms, answering inquiries, arranging watch lists, and a few were even looking over criminal files, some new, some old. The most out of place thing was the large, armor bound, very pale-blue unicorn standing at the desk opposite of Shining Armor's own. Night Captain Permafrost was a sight to behold by those who did not know him. He was tall, about an inch above Armor himself, and he wore different armor than that of regular night guards. Not by rank, but request. Where as most guards, both day and night, wore much the same armor besides smaller details, just with respected colors. Permafrost, however, wore a heavier variant. Fit with fleece lining on the inside to enhance his icy arsenal, making it much bulkier. His helmet, on the rare occasions he wore it, did not have a plume, but rather icicle like formations hanging from it, usually covered with real ice. These spines were also on each piece of his armor, besides his boots.

  Permafrost was looking over three reports, a displeased look on his face. As Shining Armor took a seat at his own desk, he raised an eyebrow to his counterpart.

  "Everypony's favorite draconequus, of course." Came the deep, uninterested voice.

  "What happened this time?" Armor asked.

  "A garden of water spitting flowers, fun irony, a self-shattering window that reconstructed itself, scaring no less than 4 ponies, and, oh, fun one, a tripwire that changed an unlucky corporal from a mare into a stallion for half an hour. The only three of last night." Permafrost answered, chuckling at the last one listed.

  "You're kidding. He gender swapped one of your guards?" The Day Captain asked, not needing to fake disbelief.

  "Yes, unfortunate mare. It took her half of the transformation period to comprehend what happened. She, or he, perhaps? Either way, they had a short breakdown, and I sent her off to get some sleep afterwards. She needed it."  The Night Captain summarized.

  "Seems he gets more crafty ideas at night. Lucky he doesn't play too many then, huh?" Armor chuckled.

  "Indeed." Permafrost returned with a chuckle of his own. Banter like this was routine, even more so now that there was something to discuss. Permafrost was the first of the Night Guard to wake up, all of whom shared their princesses schedule. And therefore the most social outside of his own regiment, being able to meet with daytime officers. Sometimes Frost would be awake during the day, as well, on rare occasions watching recruits train. Fewer times stepping in to teach, usually magical combat to a (un)lucky class. Shining Armor had witnessed one such class, and made a mental note to restrict the amount of water given out during class.

  Now in the present, Shining Armor took note of the time, and, with sunset approaching, decided to retire for the night. He said his goodbyes to his fellow officers, bid Permafrost good luck through the night, and began the walk to the room he and Princess Cadance shared. About a half hour later, Captain Permafrost decided it was time for himself to take leave, and began his own walk, moving to begin his night assisting Princess Luna with the nightly court. The real party, some of his allies said,  starts with a high moon.