//------------------------------//
// And Chill 
// Story: The Number One Patient 
// by RushyFiction 
//------------------------------//

"Star!"

Shaggy winced instinctually on the sound of his last name. Though he was not yet awake, his brain had been trained to know what it meant by experience. 
Maybe he'll go away if I sleep. His drowsy brain thought. 

"Star!" The voice whispered more urgently, and he felt a hoof roughly nudging him. "Patrol!"

Bollocks!

Hissing loudly, Shaggy threw his covers off and smacked his lips, forcing himself in a sitting position on his bunk bed. Using his teeth, he pulled his set of armor out of a small alcove behind his pillow - the heavy, tight stuff since it was winter and the bitter cold on the towers of Canterlot Castle cut through even the thick fur of a creature of the night. And of course the spear. Can't forget about that stupid thing. 

In the light of his colleague Sapphire Glint's impassive blue eyes, Shaggy wrapped his armor around his bristling fur. As usual, he pulled out a few hairs trying to attach it. "Horse-apples!" He mumbled to himself, before finally getting it right and plopping the helmet on his head. Resting his weight on the heavy spear, Shaggy gave Glint a humorless smile. "Nighty-night."
Satisfied that Shaggy was ready, Glint merely waved him off, not even bothering to respond. Shaggy gave one last wistful look at the rest of his unit, all bundled up like happy foals, and clambered out of the door. 

Despite the restoration of Princess Luna and a renewed respect for the night, Canterlot Castle was mostly deserted at this hour. Even if ponies had a complaint to bring to their leaders at this late hour, they'd rather wait for the snowy weather to be slightly tolerable under Celestia's sun. As such, the bat pony didn't encounter a soul as he trotted out of the barracks and made his way up the stairs(flying was out of the question in the mountains with this cold) to the observatory tower. It had a variety of purposes - to allow Luna to directly observe the stars as she worked on the constellations, to allow powerful unicorns to learn more about astronomy and, at times, to help the Lunar Guards keep a direct eye on the surrounding terrain with the telescope. 

With a bitterly slow gait accentuated by the occasional thump of his heavy spear, Shaggy made his way through the warm glass dome library, heading towards the exposed stone-walled battlement where they were stationed. His partner was already there, and even through the foggy glass, he could recognise her piercing yellow eyes glaring out into the night. 
Someone tolerable, at least. Shaggy thought with a modicum of optimism. Her name was Lustre Dawn, a batmare with an inky dark blue mane and blazing yellow eyes. Not particularly friendly from his perspective, but not unbearably dutiful either. 

The library and the battlement were separated by a stone door, a small corridor and finally a spiral staircase leading up to the latter. To her credit, Lustre pulled the hatch open and pulled his spear out of the way for him to get through. Shaggy shivered as he felt the frosty air nip at his ears. Snow was drifting slowly from the clouds above, leaving the wooden floor under their hooves irritatingly slick and cold. 

Shoving the hatch shut, Lustre gave him his spear back and the two took up positions side by side. "Hi." Shaggy said. 
"Hi." She nodded.
Shaggy bit his lip, staring out across the seemingly desolate capital city. Using his teeth, he unlatched a small pouch attached to his belt, and used his tongue to pick out a mint to suck on. 

Lustre raised an eyebrow and humphed. "It isn't cold enough up here for you?" 
"It helps." Shaggy shrugged and pulled the pouch open again with his snout. "Want one?"

The batmare rolled her eyes, but relented. "Well, since you're offering..." she stuffed her face into the pouch and pulled out another mint for herself. To Shaggy's slight irritation, he could hear Lustre grind the candy down into powder rather than savor it. After half a minute, she spat the remains over the crenels and wiped her mouth. "Pah! There goes the last memory of heat. Thanks, dude."

"Anytime." Shaggy muttered. Lustre grinned for some reason. "You're a silly colt. Don't take it personally."
That caught him offguard. "I wasn't..." he began to say, but Lustre nudged him. "Anytime." she mimicked in a cartoonishly deep, standoffish tone. "You sound like I nicked your Power Ponies." 

Shaggy gulped. He had a lingering affection for the series, and still bought the monthly issues, but it was one of those things you were supposed to outgrow years back. Not wanting to appear weak, he sounded as stern as he could and said: "I don't read them."
The mare just snickered. "Lying doesn't suit your pretty freckles. I saw you reading a copy in the park when I went to visit Ponyville for a weekend! Would've said hello too, but I was awfully busy that day." 

Lustre Dawn was almost truthful - she had indeed gone to see the famed home of the Elements of Harmony on her free time and just by sheer coincidence, run into the happy-go-lucky stallion from her garrison. But on that particular day, Crimson Star had been relaxing with his pretty white marefriend's head on his lap. Lustre had no intention of bringing her to the bat stallion's mind. Not when she was freezing her plot off on a high tower, guarding an empty castle from nonexistent threats night after night.
The least I can get in return is that cutie to warm me up when no one's looking. Lustre thought with a smirk creeping on her face. The thrill of it! Already, she could feel the blood rushing through her veins from the anticipation alone. 

Meanwhile, Shaggy was reeling - not from what Lustre had revealed, but the compliment she'd casually thrown in his direction. "Pretty freckles?" Redheart of course pointed out the things she liked about him all the time, and it was truly lovely of her, but being noticed as attractive by someone else, someone he barely knew had a different effect on the small bat stallion, filling him with confidence. Instinctively, Crimson Star straightened himself. 

Lustre laughed out loud now, her voice filling the silence like the sound of icicles cracking up. "Yes, colt..." she said slowly and mirthfully, as if talking to an errant foal. "You have good looks. Come here!" In the guise of a friendly gesture, she snuggled up to the stallion and draped a hoof over his neck. "It's getting colder..." 

"Yeah." Shaggy agreed. The proximity of Lustre and the feel of her furry cheek rubbing against his made him tense and uncertain, but her kind words had essentially melted the ice between them. She's a friend. I trust her.

Gotcha. Lustre thought and turned slightly so her lips touched against the stallion's neck. Daringly, she took a quick lick. 
"W-what are you doing?" Shaggy asked, his eyes darting around. Suddenly, he felt the batmare's teeth pulling down his ear. Every pony knew the gesture. Foreplay. 
Lustre hummed. "It's cold as the Nightmare's heart, everypony's asleep and we're up here for the next three hours. If you've got a reason not to get cozy with me... it better be a reaaaally good one. I'm not one for second chances."

No second chances. Her words rung in Shaggy's brain as he watched Lustre pull the helmet off of her head, releasing her beautiful dark blue bangs. A slight wind blew it around her face. Next, she unclipped her set of armor, letting it drop to the floor with a loud metallic clunk. No second chances. I can have this. I can have her. For me.

The faint glow Luna's moon accentuated her beautiful, mesmerising features. She was a guard before, but now... a potential mate? Shaggy almost salivated at the thought. Redheart was his love, but thestrals had an innate connection that couldn't be duplicated. Lustre could read him, and he could read Lustre.

The batmare latched onto the handle of the hatch with her teeth and pulled it open. "Nobody'll find us down here. Come on!" She kissed Shaggy, the second mare he'd ever been that close with. It was a very different experience from the kisses he shared with Redheart. The white nurse was slow and delicate in showing love, like the instrument of a surgeon. Lustre Dawn was everywhere in his mouth at once, flicking at his teeth, making her mark like a wild thing. 

And then suddenly, she pulled away. Dazed, Shaggy could only watch as she pulled off the helmet from his own head and used her teeth to unclip his set of armor. "So tell me, Crimson, what does a proper stallion say when a mare asks... what do you want?" She turned around and whipped her tail against his muzzle before disappearing down the hatch. 

Shaggy snarled, pawing at the icy floor with his metal shoe instinctively, the sound of a stallion ready to mount. The frosty wind still prevented total loss of faculties though. What about Redheart? She was so dear to him, he couldn't possibly let her down like that.
Could he?
"Are you coming or what?!" Lustre grumbled from below, and Shaggy could see her disgruntled expression as she tapped her hoof impatiently against the stairs. "I ain't staying wet forever, colt! You want this!"

He did, that much was true. He wanted to give himself over, to let Lustre decide what to make of him and at the same time, to bend the wicked batmare to his will, to punish her for making him feel so conflicted...

She's angry at me, for keeping her waiting. Redheart wouldn't be angry at me. She loves me. Shaggy thought. If I do this and keep it a secret, it'll eat me up. And if I tell her, we're done.
Logic dictated only one choice. 

"I'm not coming." Shaggy finally said, and released a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding.
Lustre looked up at him disbelievingly. 
"What???" She growled, so furiously that Shaggy took several steps away from the hatch and grabbed one of the spears they'd dropped. He didn't even know if it was his own or not. "I'm not... c-c-coming." he stuttered.

With a gust from her wings, Lustre Dawn emerged from the hole, glowering. "I practically raised my tail for you, you stupid idiot! What do you mean, you're not coming?!?" 

Shaggy didn't like being accused. Even though he was almost certain he'd made the right call, he felt like crying a little. "I... I just d-don't want to hurt Red..." he mumbled quietly.
"I just don't want to hurt Red." Lustre mimicked in a mocking baby voice. "Cretin." She grabbed her helmet and put it back on, along with her armor set. "How they pick losers like you to join the Lunar Guard, I've no idea. I don't want to hurt Red. You're no stallion, you know that? You know what a herd is, right? Oh sweet Luna..." she shook her head. 

"Thou called?" 

Shaggy and Lustre Dawn, so caught up in their own affairs, both yelped as Princess Luna floated towards their battlement, her starry blue mane wafting around her crowned head. As her hooves touched down on the floor, she looked them both over. "Crimson Star, thou armor is discarded. Might we inquire why?"

The bat pony gulped. He didn't appreciate Lustre's behaviour, but he hardly wanted to get the Princess involved in something like this. What to say, what to say?
Ultimately, however, his fear of directly lying to his monarch won out. "Um, I'm very, very sorry, your Grace, I didn't... didn't mean to, but err..." he looked up to see if Luna was about to snap at him, but the alicorn's expression was neutral and patient as always. Both sisters had a way of making everyone around them feel welcome and appreciated and that same kindness gave Shaggy the strength to continue.
"... Lustre Dawn took it off of me, Princess."

The other guard looked aghast. "What?! No, no, I didn't! Why would I do that?!"
"She wanted me, to, um, to, to, m-mate with her... your Grace. I swear I'm telling the truth." Shaggy admitted, his ears drooping in embarrassment. 

Equally red-faced, Lustre backed away. "I did not!" she shouted petulantly, and cowered as Luna looked at her. 
"Then what dost thou suggest?"
Lustre looked at Shaggy, and then back towards the Princess. "H-he wanted to mate with me! Yeah, that's why his armor's off! He told me I'd... that I'd become his broodmare!" She hid her face under a wing. "I was so scared..."

The explanation made Princess Luna scowl. "Then why art thou the only one of the two aroused? We smell it on thee, Lustre Dawn, and sense it in thou mind. Disregarding thou duty as Lunar Guard is one thing, but we do not tolerate deception under our command... particularly not an attempt as feeble as that. Crimson Star, thou art dismissed."

Shaggy blinked in confusion, not sure if he heard right. "W-what?"

"By our royal command, thou will return to the Lunar barracks and recuperate after this unsolicited ordeal. Lustre Dawn and us will manage in your absence. Off thou trot, my little pony." The alicorn's horn came to life, and reattached Shaggy's armor around his barrel as well as giving him his helmet and spear back. 

Not wanting to argue with a kind offer like that, Shaggy bowed and walked down the spiral staircase, after which the hatch door sealed behind him.