That evening, Twilight Velvet sat at her desk scribbling her quill upon some arcane paperwork. Her personal chambers in the Canterlot Castle were modest, by castle standards. It was little more than a studio bedroom apartment with a small bathroom. But it was lavish compared to her old bedroom in her family home where she grew up. Understandable, since the cost of living was so high in Canterlot. As an only child, her parents were her whole world. It was her mother that got her into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

Velvet looked at the bonsai tree next to her ink well. It was small. But with time, care, and patience, it would grow. One day it might even be as big as her mother's. She looked back at the arcane paperwork she was supposed to be transcribing. It was tissue-thin, and falling apart from the ravages of time.

"More like archaic paperwork, by the looks of it," Velvet said, chuckling to herself. She looked over at the mirror on her vanity. "Great, Velvet, the best joke you'll make all night and nopony was around to hear it," she said to her reflection. The pale-furred mare in the mirror looked back at her with those blue eyes under her white-and-purple-striped mane. She looked at the bonsai tree again. She needed a distraction.

She got up from her desk to stretch her hooves and paced around the room. Outside, she could see the sun was about to set. The library would be closed by the time she got there. But the royal kitchen would still be open. She opened her chamber door and walked out into the hallway.

"Ma'am," Lieutenant Night Light greeted.

"Holy-Bucking-Hell!" Velvet nearly jumped out of her fur, surprised by the pony standing just beside her door. He was clearly alerted by her reaction, but he didn't share her surprise. He looked after as she nearly tumbled to the floor.

"Ma'am? Are you okay? Do you need help?" he asked.

"What? Yes. I mean, no! I mean- I'm fine. You just scared me," she said.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," he apologized.

"I just wasn't expecting you," she said.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am."

"Well, I remember that you were posted here when we came back, now. But I forgot when I came out. I'm still getting used to this whole... guard thing. It wasn't your fault."

"..."

"Not much of a talker, eh?" she asked.

"Not really, Ma'am," he said. Velvet just stood there for a minute, looking him over. From what little of him she could see under the Royal Guard armor, he was a stallion of average build. He wasn't as physically imposing as some of the other guards. But he was a unicorn after all. She recalled her own scuffle in the city. Strength had different measures. His blue fur was accented by his dark blue mane and tail. His eyes were the color of golden amber. They reminded her of her father's eyes. Velvet pushed the thought away.

"You don't need to call me 'Ma'am', you know," she said.

"As you wish, Madam."

"That's- no, that's not better."

"Understood, Mrs. Velvet," he said.

"Miss Velvet," Velvet corrected. Night Light shifted his stance slightly. Velvet suddenly felt her face become warm with her blush. "I don't know why I said that."

"To indicate that you are not married?" he asked.

"No- I know what it means! I just- never mind."

"..."

"Have you really been standing there this whole time?" she asked.

"Yes, Ma'am, er- Miss Velvet."

"Do you need to use the restroom?"

"No, Miss Velvet."

"Well, I mean, would you like to?" she asked. He hesitated.

"... yes," he admitted. Velvet opened the door to her room.

"The door on the left," she said, directing him inside.

"I don't think that would be appropriate. We have facilities at the barracks."

"I'm offering."

"...Thank you, Miss Velvet," he said. He walked inside and made a hasty bee-line to the bathroom. He did as the Royal Guard does all things: Quickly and efficiently. Velvet stood outside the closed bathroom door while he washed his hooves.

"Just 'Velvet' is fine, by the way," she said. He opened the door and adjusted his armor a bit.

"I... don't think that would be appropriate, Miss," he said. Velvet shrugged.

"Maybe. But I don't really care. Ma'am and Madam make me feel old. Titles make my fur crawl."

"Okay... Velvet," he tried. He excused himself. Velvet watched him walk past her toward the chamber's door. Her eyes lingered a moment longer than she had intended as he resumed standing his post out in the hallway. She looked at her desk, feeling bored just thinking about resuming her work. She opened her door and walked out into the hallway again. She closed it behind her and stood on the opposite side of her doorway, mirroring his post. She stood and stared straight ahead at the far wall as he was doing. Occasionally she glanced over at him. Mostly to see if he was glancing at her. He didn't.

"Doesn't this get boring?" she asked.

"No, Ma'am," he answered on reflex. "Er, I mean-"

"Relax. You don't have to lie. I don't care. I mean, it obviously is boring. And I thought my paperwork was boring, but this! This is worse than watching paint dry." She pointed at the far wall. "It's just watching... dry paint." Velvet could see Night Light deflate a little before righting himself.

"No- it's not like that. Or, it's not just that," he said.

"Really? Then what is it like?" she asked.

"It's... it is boring to look at a wall all the time. But we are still on alert with all of our senses. Not just with our eyes. We listen for sounds of distress. Feel if the floor rumbles from a monster attack, smell if there's smoke from a fire."

"What do you taste for?" she asked.

"That... doesn't really play a role in being a guard," he said.

"Huh." Velvet clicked her tongue against the top of her mouth and leaned against the wall, already fed up with trying to stand at attention. "Well, speaking of taste, are you hungry? I'm hungry."

"They feed us well at the barracks."

"That's not what I asked. I asked if you were hungry," she said.

"I- I could eat."

"I'm heading down to the castle kitchen. You have to follow me, right?" she asked.

"Yes. That is correct."

"Alright, let's go." Velvet headed down to the castle kitchen with her new guard in tow. It was adjacent to the massive dining hall. The inside of the kitchen was like a diner restaurant complete with a serving bar. Usually the waitstaff would come in and fetch orders to deliver to the dining room for esteemed guests. The bar kept them from sullying their suits in the kitchen proper. It also served as a means to get food on the off schedules of faculty and guests. Twilight Velvet technically counted herself somewhere in between. Not a guest visiting for pleasure. Nor was she an employee in the strictest sense of the word. She was Celestia's protege. But Celestia put her protege to work.

"Hey Velvet," the line cook greeted her, ignoring the guard. "Grabbing something for dinner?"

"Yes," she answered. "What do you have that's ready?"

"We have this soup," he said. "Here, try it." Velvet levitated a spoonful of the soup to her mouth. She grimaced as soon as it touched her tongue.

"It's cold!" she complained.

"It's gazpacho, Miss. It's supposed to be cold," he said.

"Oh." Velvet took another spoonful of the tomato soup, tasting it despite the unexpected temperature. "It's good." Velvet turned and motioned to her guard, Night Light. He stepped up to the counter.

"Heh, try again buddy," the cook laughed. "Guards eat in the chow hall."

"Sorry," Night apologized and backed away. Velvet walked over to him and whispered.

"Are you hungry? What did you want?" she asked. His eyes looked at the items on the counter.

"That basket of hay fries looks really good," he said.

"Go wait out in the dining room," Velvet ordered. She turned and went back up to the counter. "I'd like a basket of hay fries, too. For me. To eat myself." The cook grabbed the basket of hay fries and pushed them across the counter. She went to grab them, but he held it for a minute.

"Don't make it a habit," he said sternly before he released them. Velvet took the basket and smiled.

"Thank yooou!" she sang as she walked out into the dining room. Night Light was waiting for her at the end of the table. He pulled a chair out for her. "Heh, think again," she giggled. She walked up to the head of the table, pulled Celestia's chair out and sat in it.

"That's Princess Celestia's chair!" he said.

"I'm so glad I have you around in case my eyes stop working," she said, setting the soup on the table in front of her. She put the basket of fries in front of the seat next to her. "Come on."

"I shouldn't. You shouldn't!" he said.

"Wow, you're really bumming me out."

"You could get in trouble with Princess Celestia!" he said. Velvet looked around the empty room.

"Well, it's a good thing she isn't here then." Velvet resumed eating her soup.

"Are you always this reckless?" he asked. "Because I feel like I'm going to have a busy job looking after you."

"Come on. Sit. Eat."

"Velvet-"

"I command you! Sit. Eat. If we get caught, just tell them I ordered you to," she said. Night Light cautiously sat down in the ornate dining chair and ate the hay fries as quickly as he could. "Wow, that is... not attractive. Do you do everything this fast? It's like watching somepony barf, but, in reverse."

"It's food. You don't make love to it, you eat it," he said between mouthfuls.

"But if you were making love to it, would you take your time?" she asked.

He froze.

She froze.

She felt her face turning red again.

"Ignore that question," she said.

"Thank you," he sighed with relief and finished eating as politely as he could. She tried to hurry as well. A risk-taker though she may be, she wasn't the attention-seeking teenager that wanted to get caught. She gathered up her bowl and placed it in his empty basket. She sat there and waited for him. "What?" he asked.

"Bring them back to the kitchen," she said.

"I'm your guard, not your slave," he said.

"Would you please bring them back to the kitchen?" she asked.

"Okay. I would. But don't you think that would look suspicious?"

"No. It would look chivalrous."

"Ugh. Fine." He carried their dinnerware back to the kitchen, earning a glare from the cook. Night ignored him and walked back into the dining room. "Are you ready to retire to your room for the night?" he asked Velvet.

"Hmm... no. I need to get something to read," she said as she started walking. He followed her to the Castle Library.

The door was locked, and the sign on it said, "Closed," he read aloud. "Oh well."

"Oh heavens," Velvet feigned, laying her hoof across her forehead for effect. "Whatever shall I do?"

"Retire to your bedchambers?" he offered.

"After."

"After what?" he asked. She didn't answer. Her horn glowed and so did the lock. After a moment it clicked open. "Hey! You can't do that!"

"Really? Then how did I do it? Because I did it. Riddle me that!" Velvet taunted as she pushed the door open and walked in. Night Light just stood there. Basic Training and the Officer Academy had prepared him for a lot of scenarios: combat tactics, first aid, and wilderness survival. But nothing could have prepared him for her.

"I've been assigned to a crazy pony," he muttered to himself under his breath. Velvet turned and vanished around a corner inside the library. "Hey, wait!" he called out as he trotted in after her. "We're not supposed to be in here after hours!" he whispered loudly.

"Well then, we better not get caught!" she whispered back with an irritated edge to her voice. She knew the layout of the library practically by heart. Her horn cast a dim light to help guide her way. "The princess needed me to cross-reference the paperwork I'm currently transcribing. I was supposed to get this book earlier. I didn't think I needed it. But it's proving to be more difficult than I had anticipated," she said as she scanned the book shelves.

"So you're like, what? Her secretary? A clerk?" he asked.

"No. I'm her protege. Her 'most faithful' student," Velvet recited. "I've been a student in her School for Gifted Unicorns since I was a foal.

"So why do you need a guard?" he asked.

"I don't," she answered tersely.

"..."

"I presume that she assigned you to me to assuage her worries that something might happen to me. I think she worries too much," she explained.

"Maybe she assigned me to keep you from getting into trouble," he said.

"Like what?"

"She asked, literally in the middle of breaking and entering," he mocked.

"We haven't broken anything."

"Burglary then."

"I'm not stealing anything. I'm just borrowing. A book. From a library. That's literally a library's entire purpose." She ran her hoof along the edge of the shelf, scanning the titles. "Besides, I don't see you trying to stop me."

"What do you expect me to do? Try to put you in hoof cuffs and drag you out of here? No thank you. I read the report about what happened to the last ponies that tried that with you."

"Oh? You heard about that?" Velvet asked, unable to keep the grin from her face. He nodded. "I was on my way back to the castle from visiting my parents. They tried to mug and foalnap me. They messed with the wrong unicorn."

"Clearly."

"So what about you then?" she asked.

"What about me?"

"Well, for starters, why did you join the Royal Guard?" she asked.

"Well, mostly because of my Dad," Night Light said. "He was a Royal Guard officer."

"Mine too," Velvet said.

"Huh, small world. Okay, so you know what its like then," he said. "Anyway, my brothers and I all looked up to him. So we all wanted to join the Guard when we were growing up. My older brother, Air Tender was in the Pegasi Air Corps. They said he was on his way to becoming a Wonderbolt until he lost his wing."

"Oh no! What happened? Was it a combat injury?"

"No. It uh, heheh, he got too drunk during his bachelor party. He tried to do a flip off of a bar table and he ended up hitting the ceiling fan. We had to cancel the whole wedding, and everypony had to cram into the hospital room while he did his wedding vows in the hospital bed."

"So much for being a Wonderbolt, I guess."

"Yeah, he was pretty bummed out about that. But he quit drinking that day. And now he's a bartender."

"Air Tender the bartender?" Velvet said.

"Yeah." Night snorted. "You should tell him that if you meet him. It never gets old.

"And your other brother?"

"My younger brother, Mage Star, is a unicorn in the City Guard.

"Let me guess, he's a 'star mage'."

"Funny enough, no. He's actually a pretty crappy spell-caster. But he's got a pretty good set of tracking spells. He's on his way to probably becoming a detective one day. We wanted to enlist in the City Guard together, but since we're family, we can't be in the same chain of command. So, that's why I'm in the Royal Guard. 'Conflict of interests' sort of thing," he explained.

"Right. And your mom?"

"I never knew her."

"But... you have a younger brother. You must have known her at least for a little while."

"Oh! Right! Uh, I'm adopted. I uh, probably should have led with that."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm not. They're as much my family as anypony could be. I wouldn't trade them for anything." He smiled. She smiled back. "So, that's me. What about you?"

"Only child."

"You don't say," he said. The quirks of the strange mare suddenly made a little more sense.

"My dad is retired Royal Guard. My mom used to be a student of Celestia. She had a knack for potions. She used to run the Canterlot Apothecary."

"I know that place."

"She met my father while he was a Royal Guard and she was a student under Celestia."

"Huh."

"What?"

"No, nothing. It's just... an interesting coincidence."

"What do you mean?"

"Well your mom was a student of Celestia, and met your dad, a Royal Guard. You're a student of Celestia and I'm a Royal Guard," he said. Velvet gave him a shove with her hoof.

"Easy there, Casanova. I also met your Commander today, and a dozen other Royal Guards. It's not fate. It's statistics. And there are a hundred students enrolled in her school. And they all meet Royal Guards every day. Some of them may end up going on a date and getting married. I'm sure it happens all the time."

"Yeah. I guess you're right," he admitted.

"Yeah, well, get used to it. Because I'm really good at it." Velvet's eyes lit up as she spotted the book she had been searching for. "Ah, here it is!" Velvet pulled the book off the shelf. The one beside it flopped down. Velvet picked it up to set it back upright. "Hold on, you don't belong here," she said, taking the book out.

"Neither of us do, we broke in."

"Again, we didn't break in. And I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to the book."

"Talking to the book. Yep, definitely an only-child."

"This book doesn't belong on this shelf. This is the reference section. This book is... fiction," she said, grimacing as though the word left a bad taste in her mouth.

"What's wrong with fiction?" he asked.

"The purpose of a book is to impart knowledge onto the reader. Facts and figures! History and spells! Fiction is, by its very definition, fabricated! What is to be gained by reading that!?" she said. Night Light almost couldn't even process what he was hearing.

"Oh. Wow. That is messed up. Well, clearly you've never tried it then. What, did your parents never read to you?"

"Yeah, when I was a foal! I'm a grown mare now. Such things are- well, they're beneath me quite frankly."

"Who doesn't enjoy a good story book!?"

"Well here." She gave him the book. "I was going to put it back in the right section. But if you love it so much you can read it yourself." Night Light flipped over the book and read the title.

"A Knight in Satin," he read aloud and flipped open the cover and read the synopsis inside the sleeve. "Princess Satin falls in love with her knight. He is sworn to be her protector, but becomes her lover." He looked up at Velvet. Even in the dark library, he could tell that she was blushing. "Do you still say that there's nothing to fate?"

Velvet closed and locked the door to the library. It was late at night and the evening sconces had been extinguished. The halls of the castle were shrouded in darkness. Night Light escorted Velvet back to her room, his horn lighting the way.

"Night Light," Velvet said.

"Yes?" he replied.

"No, I mean, literally." She motioned to his horn illuminating the hallway.

"Oh... Yeah." Night rolled his eyes.

"Hey, we don't get to pick our names," she commiserated. "Like, me, 'velvet', I don't even like the material."

"Really!?"

"Yeah, I'm more of a S-" Velvet stopped herself from saying Satin, remembering the storybook that was accompanying them. "I'm more of a Silk gal," she said, which was also true.

"Well I love velvet," Night said. "The fabric I mean," he needlessly amended. "I think it feels really good. It's actually what lines our armor."

"Really? I never knew that."

"Well, yeah. You can't just have bare metal plating on you when it's so cold out. Or if a dragon is breathing fire at you," he explained.

"Have you ever had a dragon breathe fire at you?" she asked.

"No. I've- I only just finished with officer school recently. I haven't had a chance to see any action," he said with an edge of disappointment to his voice. A square of light poured onto the hallway floor through a window. As they walked by, Velvet could see the Mare in the Moon shining down from the night sky.

"Equestria is so peaceful," Velvet said. "I don't know what kind of action you were planning to see. Do we even need the Royal Guard to be as large as it is? It just seems so unnecessary."

"We don't exist in spite of Equestria being peaceful. Equestria is peaceful because we exist. Nopony loves the warrior until the enemy is at the gate. You civilians have the luxury of not having to know the truth that we know. The truth that we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by ponies with spears. Who's gonna do it? You!? We know the truth that there are monsters under our beds, even if we choose to not believe in them. The truth that there are things that go bump in the night. And we have to be the ones that bump back. We have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. And I can assure you; We are entirely necessary."

"Wow. You really drank the punch in officer school, huh?" Velvet said.

"What?"

"Never mind." They arrived back at her room. Her opened the door for her and let her inside.

"Will that be all for tonight? Can I trust you to retire in your quarters until morning?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm not going anywhere."

"Goodnight, then." He turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to report back to my section chief at the barracks and get some sleep."

"Would you like to stay and read with me?"

"Uh, no. Not tonight. In fact..." Night Light took the book from his bag. "I can't bring this to the barracks. Is it alright if I leave it here?"

"Sure," she answered. He walked back into the room and set the book on her night stand and walked back out of the room.

"Goodnight Velvet."

"Goodnight, Light." He nodded and closed the door.

"... and that is why when you are magically banishing specters in teams you must never cross the beams," Celestia explained to the classroom. The bell rang, signaling the end of the last class of the day. "Remember to finish your term papers by the end of this week!" she reminded everypony. Velvet stayed after the class emptied, as she usually did.

"Your guard will be waiting for you," Celestia said to Velvet. "You mustn't make him worry." Night Light had met her that morning at her room and escorted her to the schoolhouse. He would return to collect her at the end of the school day.

"It's okay, Princess. I told him that I usually stay after for a bit," Velvet said.

"Did you finish your transcription I assigned?" Celestia asked.

"Not yet. But I'll have it done by tomorrow," Velvet replied.

"Okay. And you'll have your term paper done by the end of the week too? I don't want your schedule spilling over into your availability this weekend."

"Why? What's happening this weekend?" Velvet asked. Celestia gave her a blank look.

"It's the Grand Galloping Gala," Celestia reminded her.

"Oh, right-right-right," Velvet said.

"I've told you about this several times," Celestia scolded.

"I know. I know."

"Aren't you looking forward to being by my side and greeting everypony that evening?" Celestia asked.

"Of course. I always love our time together." Velvet froze for a moment. "Buuut I'm going to have a date this year, aren't I?"

"Oh?" Celestia said in surprise. "Is it your lab partner, Bunsen Burner? He seems to have eyes for you." Velvet sneered.

"Yeah, and halitosis. No, I mean Night Light. Isn't he going to be accompanying me?"

"No. There will be plenty of guards for the event. You will not need your personal guard. Lieutenant Light will be assigned elsewhere for the evening," Celestia explained.

"Well, I really don't want to show up alone again. The other mares all made fun of me. Maybe I could invite him to accompany me unofficially, posing as my date?"

"No!" Celestia said sternly, her usually stoic face upturning into a jagged scowl. "You are in no way to become involved romantically with your guard! I forbid it!"

"What!?" Velvet recoiled. This was unprecedented. Celestia had always been so lenient with her in the past. Her memory struggled to remember a time when Celestia had ever explicitly forbidden her from doing something. She couldn't think of a single instance.

"You heard me perfectly well. Take somepony else. Or nopony at all. You are not to get involved with the lieutenant. Do I make myself clear?" Celestia said. Velvet gritted her teeth.

"Crystal."

"That will be all," Celestia dismissed her. "Be sure to have that transcription to me as soon as possible."

Velvet trotted out of the classroom without another word spoken. However there were plenty of words on her mind. All of them would have landed her bits in the swear jar.