The two door guards stationed outside the 'luncheon' hall were sweltering in the devastating heat. Though Princess Celestia had control of the movement of the sun, she had no say in the temperature. Thus, during summer, she was still forced to adhere to the strict timing guidelines set in place by her forefathers, and that meant that the absolutely incinerating heat of the sun would still stay in the sky for about 17 hours. Even Celestia herself had issued an order to all guards, stating that for days in summer in which the temperature exceeded 50°, no guard would have to wear armour or stand at attention all day: though a minor relief, both Corporal Sharp Eyes and Corporal Shining Armor were still roasting to the brink of fainting.
Even referring to each other by their regimental names was difficult in the heat, simply 'Shining' and 'Sharp' would do for the communication required. Sharp, a red stallion with a short brown mane and compound bow for a cutie mark, sat on a nearby statue mount, spear clutched in his hoof as a pole to give his hooves a resting point. Next to him sat his sunglasses he had won from Shining in a bet; a very nice pair of aviator shades usually worn by aerial teams when they were above the clouds. The beauty came as Shining continued his explanation of how they were able to rapidly adjust to an enviroment's lighting, causing Sharp to smirk even more at his new prize.
"Those things cost over 400 bits." Shining whistled, leaning against a nearby wall. "You take care of them, or I'll take care of getting the funeral director some work." The white stallion's blue mane was matted with sweat, occasionally one droplet hitting the floor. Sharp raised his hooves defensively.
"Crikey," laughed the thick accented Austallion, "That all I'm worth, Shiny? Four 'undred bits?" His white unicorn friend nodded with a smirk. "Faust above! I'm offended. I thought we was friends!" Sharp cried in an overly-dramatic way, reclining back, closing his eyes, and placing a hoof to his forehead. "Blimey! What am I gon'a do? I'll 'ave ter qui' me job, live in a camper van, an' go an' 'un' wild game! Woe is bloody me!" Shining chuckled. Since he joined the guards at the age of 16, he'd made some pretty interesting friends from all trots of life. His good friend Sharp, for instance, grew up in rough-tough South Canterlot, a stark contrast to the well-known high society of east, west, and north sides of the city. This also meant the stallion had a more cheerful outlook on life compared to other stallions of the regiment; while they complained about everything from pay to duties, Sharp enjoyed his job, and acted as a reminder to always look on the bright side of life.
It'd rubbed off on Shining, that was for sure; when he first joined, he was insistent on rules and regulations, and always wanted to succeed himself. He never did think about his squad-mates back then, Shining thought to himself as he paced from the doorway to the opposing wall, a few metres at best, and repeating the action. He'd been assigned to guard the doors to the Princess' weekly lunch, more specifically Princess Cadence; he was one of the few stallions she had hoof-picked for the job, since she knew him well from when she would always foal-sit for Twilight. Shining would always answer the door, get her a drink whilst they waited for his parents to come downstairs from getting ready for their night or day out, then he'd wish her goodbye and head off to wherever it was he needed to go to. He knew back then she had links to royalty, but he'd never expected them to end up with her as a Princess. Smiling, he continued his pacing, still trying to remember exactly what Sharp had taught him about speaking in Cockney.
On the other side of the door, Corporal Star Flare let out a yawn. Since he'd been personally pulled into the room to ensure things, whatever they were, didn't get out of hoof, that meant he was inside a room that had thick, closed curtains, low ceiling, and a damaged enchantment that was originally meant to allow light breezes from the coast into the room via an invisible portal to transport the wind; after a solar flare, it simply pumped heated air from Saddle Arabia into the room. Even more embarassing was the fact that it was the only room available for the weekly lunch due to business meeting being held in the other rooms of its sort, as well as the same enchantment being placed on the other rooms, so there would have been no difference. However, the heat, in spite of likely conditioning themselves against it for centuries (or in Cadence's case, 25 years), still had a bad effect on the Princesses. Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were getting more irritable by the minute, but Star had no idea what they were arguing about: The summer heat, combined with the blasting heat of the desert that wasn't even in the room, was blurring his judgement as to what was and wasn't important.
For example, he had picked up on the fact that Luna had woken up at 4 in the morning to get down to breakfast earlier, but hadn't picked up on the fact that Cadence was a Princess of Love. His mind believed the importance of things was an inter-changeable in the heat that was confusing his grey-matter. He was also very tired, but thankfully his drill instructor had taught his whole squad how to sleep whilst standing up.
It wouldn't hurt to get some sleep whilst the Princesses were otherwise occupied, right? Slowly, the grey, white-maned stallion let himself slowly drift into Luna's realm.
Star jerked awake as something clutched his tail and dragged him out of the room, causing him to yelp as the doors were slammed oprn. Panicking, he was about to spread his wings and fly off, before he realised he was lying on the back of his regimental commander: Princess Luna. She looked incredibly annoyed: what if she'd seen one of her guards sleeping on duty? What if she was going to punish him? He swallowed hard as he was carried away from the room, watching Shining and Sharp stare at him in confusion. He mouthed the words 'I have no clue' to the duo, before turning and looking at the Princess. "M-Ma'am?" he stuttered.
"Not a word, Corporal." she said firmly. "Just stay away from Celestia and Cadence, and it will all be fine." The night-guard lay on his back open-open, bouncing up and down on his Princess' wing bases as she trotted down the halls to the looks of confused Guards. Star noted how several of them gave him the 'spank her' gesture, or the universal male's 'good catch' gesture as he went past, and contemplated it. He'd had a marefriend before, but didn't enjoy it that much. What if this was leading up to something between him and the Princess? He admitted, like absolutely every male guard, and even some female guards, that Princess Luna had some of the finest flanks in Equestria. While Celestia's were large and soft, as guards noted when they watched her trotting down the corridor as her flanks shook, Luna's seemed more toned. Star now had confirmation, as he was having his face smacked against them as Luna bounded down the corridors with him on her back. She didn't seem bothered; either she was unconcious of her own butt, or she was enjoying it.
Either way, she entered her chambers, closed the door, and dropped Star to the carpet. He was stunned for a moment; first he was having every stallion's fantasy happen to him as the mare in question was unaware of what she was doing to him, then she brought him to her chambers. The carpet was fluffy, and smelt of jasmine fragrance, but that smell was cut short as Princess Luna picked him up by the scruff of the neck using magic.
"I hope this did not cause you any alarm, Corporal," she began, dusting him off, before beginning to pace back and forth in front of him. "But my sister and niece have finally decided we are to cease all social contact within the castle." Star blinked. "I detected that you had fallen asleep in the corner of the room, as did we all when you fell over sideways onto the floor." Luna smiled playfully. "So, I feel it is necessary to get you up to speed, Corporal. We began arguing over the...um...hm. I can't remember what it was, but I know it was a bad argument since my sister said I'm 'eye-candy'. None have dared to call me that as of now, but I am aware that many guards, you included, agreed in the Guard's Canteen that I had a nice plot." Star coughed, blushing hard. Luna turned to him with one slender eyebrow raised and a small smirk. "Is this true?"
"Permission to not answer question, ma'am?" he asked hopefully, desperate to avoid all eye-contact. Luna giggled.
"Of course." she beamed. "Now, before I ask this next request of you, I must know: are you willing to spend your day as my personal bodyguard?" Star's jaw fell open, and he thought for a few seconds. He was basically being asked if he wanted to stay in Luna's chambers every night, get high pay, and the latest equipment, as well as run personal errands for her. Pretty much a job in the Secret Service.
"Why me, ma'am?" he asked instinctively, mentally slapping himself. Luna raised a brow.
"Well," she began, circling the stallion and eyeing him up and down. "You were the only stallion to hoof that I was able to give such orders to, or carry away from the room in such a manner. Alongside that, by the time I had found another Night-guard, they may have already heard my sister's twisted version of the argument and refused to work with me. Since you were busy sleeping, I know that you couldn't POSSIBLY have heard the argument, and that meant you would be less biased. Plus, I'm aware that you have been excited by the prospect of working as my guard, judging by your recent interviews, so this was also a good thing for you. So, what do you feel you should do?" Star thought. The white, grey-haired pegasus tapped a hoof to his chin.
"Umm...I'd...willingly take the offer, ma'am." he said finally. Luna then emitted a loud 'squee' of happiness in reply as she hugged her new personal guard.
"Thank you, dear Star Flare!" she said happily, clutching the stallion close to her chest. "I must give my utmost gratitude for this; it may have helped prevent civil war!" Star felt a strange warm sensation inside himself as she held him tightly against her chest. He also noted how soft her fur was; the musk carried with it was rather drowse-inducing, but it was highly likely nopony ever got close enough to her to notice it. Within a one-minute long hug, Star had already managed to lose conciousness, falling asleep, rather embarassingly, in the Princess' hooves. Luna heard his quiet snores, and smiled as she gently moved him to a sofa on the opposite side of the room, placed him down, and magically summoned a blanket to place over him. "Rest well, my guardian. For tonight is when you shall truly be tested." she whispered, before moving over to her dressing table to comb her mane, remove her regalia, and prepare for the night ahead.