Chapter 4
The dinner, or in Princess Luna’s case breakfast resumed without much incident. Despite there being no more shouting and secret conversations in the kitchen among sisters, you knew things weren’t yet back to normal. Princess Luna sat across from you, jabbing and cutting her pancakes with a knife and fork with the intensity of a warrior fighting an enemy, muttering something incomprehensible between mouthfuls. You watched as syrup and pieces of pancake clung to her perfect dark blue lips, her making no attempts to immediately clean herself up. You wondered if all the times you saw her was a lie, that the refines façade was just one put on for the public where here in the privacy of her sister and you it was going to be anything but. You didn’t say anything at all, afraid that the slightest thing you say will annoy her enough to scrap your entire chance at being her bodyguard before you even had a chance to begin.
“So, from what Shining Armor has told me you were born and lived in Canterlot, correct?” Celestia said sensing the tension between you and Luna and hoping to rebuild the bridge between the two of you.
“Oh, yes, Canterlot has been my home my entire life. Funny, I never imagined as a colt that I’d find my job here.”
“Oh, why not?” Princess Celestia asked after waiting for Luna to respond and receiving nothing. The Princess was more interested in her meal than getting to know anything about you.
“I guess I thought when I was you that I’d be somewhere else. Don’t get me wrong, I love here but I guess it was my interest in the unknown.”
“I understand. I have live a long life and have seen many things, but both the world I see and the ponies I meet never cease to amaze or surprise me. I assume that being a guard changed your mind but why did you decide to be one in the first place?”
“Well it all relates to my cutie mark actually. I got it after defending one of my friends from a very strong and very annoying bully. It was then I realized that I can protect others from being harmed, and having lived here I of course saw the guards in and around the castle So that was the best job I can think of.”
“So you think that now that you are my bodyguard that you can protect me?” Princess Luna suddenly spoke up surprising you that despite her apparent lack of interest she was listening to your entire conversation.
“Yes, as your bodyguard I can protect you.”
“Then you think I am in need of protection, that I cannot handle myself in combative situations?”
“Not at all,” you said as you began to wonder where this line of questioning was going, “I think that you are certainly more than capable of defending yourself and protecting others.”
“Then you admit that this position is unnecessary, that it is merely ceremonial at best. Is this why you chose this, out of the prestige of being my guard and flaunting your new position amongst your friends and fellow guards as one would win a trophy?”
“Luna, I don’t think that he feels comfortable with the way you are questioning him now,” Celestia said subtly towards her sister, hoping that she would ease up on you.
“Sister,” Luna interjected, “I feel that after you forced this position upon me then I have a right to interview him as much as you did at least.”
Celestia said nothing about the sound logic that her sister had about the interview. It was strange to think that the Princess of the Sun could so easily decide on this position that involved her sister while at the same time not allowing Luna to have her say until the deed was done. No doubt about it, Princess Celestia did seem to work in strange ways, ones in which that maybe not even her sister could understand.
“To answer your question I don’t consider you or the title of being your bodyguard to be something taken lightly as a trophy. I in all honesty do wish to protect you, and even though I know that you are more than capable to handle anypony or creature that threatens you wouldn’t it better to have somepony who is there to help you just in case?”
Princess Luna paused as she examined your words as one would examine something under a magnifying glass. You knew that just simply saying that you wished to protect her would begin the cycle of her stating her case that she had no need of you or your position as bodyguard. Admitting that she was right in thinking this would only jeopardize your position more and show that you caved into challenges like mere debates easily. But you knew the mind of the Princess as much as you did knowing all the stars in the sky, but you hoped that what you said and what she felt weren’t poles apart.
“You have answered truthfully and thoughtfully and made me consider your position in a new light,” Princess Luna said as her stoic face softened into something more casual, “I see that you are more competent than most guards in that you are willing to defend what you believe even when I questioned it. In all honesty I had no intentions to remove you from your position as bodyguard when you had yet to prove yourself as I trust the judgment of my sister and Captain Shining Armor. So we shall continue with your duty providing that you answer one final question.”
“Sure,” you said relaxing a little as you doubted any question she threw at you would be worse that the ones before.
“Do you think I am pretty?” Princess Luna said.
“Wait, what?” You said almost spitting out your drink. Surely she didn’t ask what you thought she said, right?
“My question wasn’t a hard one,” Princess Luna said as she levitated a napkin and wiped the last of her breakfast from her mouth before setting it down near her empty plate, “Do you think I’m pretty?”
You felt like a rat caught in a trap as you struggled to come up with a decision. You couldn’t say no as that could unravel everything you were trying to do. Saying yes was also tricky because you didn’t want to be some pony who fantasized being with the Princess. There was no doubt that she was gorgeous even sexy, but you couldn’t admit that much.
“Yes,” you finally squeaked out which you realized by elevating your voice at the end it sounded more like a question than an answer.
“Oh, and is there a specific part off me that you think is pretty?”
“Um… I can’t say.”
“Why not?” Luna said with a smirk looking over at Celestia who rolled her eyes at the way she toyed with you.
“Because all of you is beautiful,” again making the statement into a question.
Luna then let out a laugh and said, “And modest too. I can see that this was a tougher set of questions than the one before and you are blushing too. And you said sister that I couldn’t make any stallion I met blush?”
“I said you shouldn’t try to make every stallion blush like that,” Celestia said while finishing her dessert, “but the hour is getting to sunset and moonrise so we must be going.”
“Indeed it is,” Luna replied before saying to you, “Well as my new bodyguard I believe that we shall start with this first. This will surely be something that you won’t forget.”