Twilight entered her tower as she shut the door behind her. The mare was unaware of the royal guard assigned to watch over her as he seemed invisible. The studious unicorn walked up her flight of stairs as she set her rented-out books on the nearby table. The mare mumbled to herself as she looked about the place.

"What a mess," said the mare as she had her horn light up and began to tidy up the place.

Within minutes, everything was neatly put away. The books were alphabetized and cataloged according to the Pony Decimal System. With all that taken care of, Twilight made herself some tea as she pulled up a chair and prepared for a long night of late-night reading. Today was a near-perfect day. Well... apart from the guard.

Morning came as Emerald was already up. Following his first day as Twilight's protector, the mare treated him daily as if he didn't exist. And every night, when he returned to his room, he would vent to Onyx about how rude Twilight was and treated him like he was invisible. The Lieutenant could see his friend getting rather annoyed at his job as he reminded his friend that the week was almost over. The day after tomorrow would be the final time he would have to deal with the princess' student as he would see if he could find a replacement for him and move his buddy to a better position that would surely get him recognized. If it weren't for the promise of his friend that he would try to help him out, Emerald would have lost his mind that same day. But as his duty as a guard, he knew that he had to carry out his duties to the fullest, even if it meant getting disrespected by the princess' prized pupil.

The guard had gone for his daily run to relieve some stress. After his workout, the unicorn dressed for another day of being Twilight's babysitter. He took a moment to look at himself in the mirror.

"Another day to be ignored," said the young guard as he slipped on his helmet. "At least, after today. I'll be tomorrow, and that's it." Emerald was looking forward to finally being done with Twilight as her babysitter so he could move on to bigger and better things. All he had to do was suffer for two more days, and if he made it this far, then that would be easy.

Emerald exited the barrack as he was met with an immediate light in his eyes. The guard put his hand to cover the sun shining bright as it allowed his eyes to adjust. In addition to the light, the temperature was a bit hotter than usual.

"Great. It's going to be sweltering," groaned Emerald as he could already feel the heat from the sun's intense rays and knew it would get worse as the day rolled on. "Stupid pegasus for missing our rain delivery."

With enough complaining about the beating heat, Emerald began to walk toward Twilight's tower. Speaking of the mare, she had fallen asleep at her table as her head gently rested on a book. It seemed she had done another late-night reading that had taken its toll on her as the unicorn managed to finish all the books she rented out and passed out the moment she closed the final book. Her snores echoed across the room as she awoke from one of them, Twilight mumbled to herself before lifting her head and yawning.

"Morning already," said the mare as she stretched her limbs. She noticed the sundial in the corner of her room as, by the shadow's indication, it was only a few minutes before the library opened.

"Better get ready to return the books after my study session with Princess Celestia," said Twilight as she began getting ready.

At that same time, Emerald had made his way to the tower and went to open the door. However, he found that it was still locked. Trying to pull as hard as he could, even using his magic, he found that it was locked from the inside, and the only way in was for Twilight herself to unlock it. Emerald had no choice but to wait outside for the mare to come out... if she came out. The guard leaned against the tower while waiting for the unicorn to appear. The heat from the sun began to take a toll on the young guard as he ran the back of his hand against his forehead to wipe some sweat.

A while passed as Twilight still hadn't come out. Emerald could feel the sweat rolling down his body as the heavy armor he wore didn't seem to make it any easier. As if by some saving grace, the door unlocking sound was heard as Emerald looked to see Twilight stepping out, as she wore a satchel carrying all her books.

"Finally!" stated Emerald as he unintentionally spoke his mind. He quickly put his hands over his mouth to avoid the mare getting even more displeased with him.

Twilight looked to the side and saw Emerald; she scoffed at the guard before walking forward. The guard followed the mare to the castle as they seemed to be heading toward the princess' school. Twilight walked into a classroom, as the door shut again in Emerald's face. At least this time, the guard knew why, as he didn't want to bother the mare with her meeting with the princess. So, for the next two hours, he stood outside and waited patiently for the unicorn to finish.

---

Eventually, Twilight's lessons ended as she was shown walking out of the classroom and out of the building. Emerald, who had decided to scout the perimeter, saw the unicorn leaving through the front door after he'd helped a local mare get her cat down from a tree. He quickly hopped down and began to follow the lavender mare. To no surprise, they wound up heading in the direction of the library. The princess had given her student some assignments, and Twilight wanted to get started on them as quickly as possible. The bookworm entered her sacred place, followed by her guard as she returned the books she rented yesterday to the librarian mare at the front desk.

They chatted a bit as Emerald deduced that, given Twilight's constant visits, they had formed a relationship with one another. Soon, Twilight began to head to a flight of stairs as she was looking to go to the upper levels of the building to study in silence. Just as Emerald was about to follow up the stairs, he was stopped as the mare finally turned around to acknowledge him.

"Let me set some ground rules, guard."

"Emerald!" responded the unicorn to the rude mare as he stared back at her. "My name is Emerald. Put some respect on my damn name!"

"Whatever. Look... I'm sure you're aware that I don't need a babysitter. I can take care of myself. And I know this is just standard protocol. I receive a guard every moon to watch over me by order of the princess. So I'll tell you the same thing I tell every guard watching over me. Leave me to do my things in peace. If I need anything from you, I will call you. Understand?" stated Twilight rather snootily.

"Crystal," stated Emerald as he saluted to the mare, now knowing the boundaries of this relationship.

"Good," said the unicorn as she began to climb the stairs with Emerald following her.

The pair made their way to one of the upper levels as, based on how empty it was, it seemed like nobody ever came up there. Twilight probably liked it because it meant she couldn't be disturbed and could get all the studying she wanted done. The pair made it to a section of the level with a small table and a couch. Twilight sat down and set some books.

"This is where I'll be. So don't distract me or bother me. Got it!" said Twilight as Emerald nodded. "Now, go do whatever you want."

"Yes, ma'am," said Emerald.

The studious mare was already starting her readings as Emerald silently walked away. The unicorn stallion was walking among the different rows and shelves of books; he couldn't fathom how someone like Twilight would go gaga about books. Granted, he was a bit of a book geek, his time at cadet school confirmed that as he often accelerated his own intellect in being a guard. But it was never to the point where he could live in a library 24/7 like Twilight showed she could. Regardless, the stallion put that thought out of his mind as he began to scan the shelves. His eyes stumbled upon a book's cover as he reached and pulled it out. The unicorn blew on it as bits of dust flew, signaling how long it'd been since this section was cleaned.

With nothing else to do but wait for the mare, the stallion read to pass the time. Twilight was reading her books as she also had a journal to take notes on what she read. The mare had instructed Emerald to leave her be as it all stemmed from her grip that Princess Celestia felt she needed some overseer. While she was thankful that the princess cared about her well-being, Twilight felt she didn't need a babysitter, especially when she wasn't a little filly. She was a young mare, well past the point where she could make her own decisions and do whatever she wanted. However, she didn't want to argue with Celestia's decision as she knew that it was for the best if Celestia wanted her to have a guard look over her.

She could only say she didn't expect that Emerald was roughly around her age. All the past guards since Celestia had given the order turned out to be stallions that were way older than her. Twilight assumed that, given their age, they were probably some of Celestia's most trusted officers, so she knew she could count on them to keep an eye on her. But here, Emerald was young. Likely, his rank was a private, but given his stature, she could tell that he had some years under his belt, so he wasn't fully a rookie. Either way, the guards must have given it little thought or, after hearing the many reports from the past guards, that it didn't matter who watched her as long as they had someone. It was likely that Emerald just so happened to be nearby that he was chosen to be her protector. Or it was a punishment.

Either way, why she was thinking too much about the issue? It was standard protocol and nothing more. The mare disregarded the thought and went back to reading. She felt a bit hot, given that no windows were nearby to let some air vent, so she began to fan herself using her shirt.

After a while, Emerald returned to where Twilight was as he had a book in his hands. The guard saw the mare as he sat on the couch and removed his helmet to relieve himself of the heat. Twilight noticed Emerald returning from the corner of her eye while knee-deep into her reading. She also noticed him sitting behind her on the couch and removing his helmet. The mare didn't look at his face well beside his chocolate-colored mane and caramel coat as she returned to reading.

Man, I'm burning up. And this armor isn't helping.

Emerald was starting to feel the effects of the heat as he could feel the sweat being soaked into his clothes under his armor. He looked over at Twilight, who was still kneeling in front of the table, as he looked to ask her if it was alright to remove his armor to cool off.

"Uh, Ms..."

"I don't care," responded Twilight as she didn't bother to let the stallion finish his question as she wrote down an entire page of text onto a scroll.

"Okay, then," said the young stallion.

Emerald slowly removed the remaining armor pieces and placed them beside the couch. Twilight glanced up for a moment and saw Emerald removing his armor. With his chest plate off, the mare now had a full display of her protector. She already saw his chocolate-colored mane and tail and cameral-colored fur. But now the studious bookworm saw that the stallion before her had green eyes and his physique. She expected the unicorn to have some muscle on him, but just one look at him made her feel something. She noticed his abs through his shirt, visible from the sweat sticking to his fur.

Entrancing as they were, Twilight couldn't take her eyes off of them. She tried to refocus her mind and not let this young stud distract her. And yet... no matter how often she tried to look away, she couldn't. The mare felt a certain urge in her as it seemed to be affecting her in a way she'd never experienced before. Eventually, Emerald lay on the couch, holding the book above his head and reading. The mare finally regained her composure as she returned to reading to drown out the images of the amazing muscles she just witnessed.

---

The bookworm had finally finished her assignments as she closed the final chapter of her book.

"And done," stated Twilight as she closed her journal, rolled up the scrolls she wrote on, and placed them all in her satchel and the books she would take back to her tower.

The studious unicorn looked over at the couch as it seemed Emerald had fallen asleep. The book he was reading covered his face as a small snore was being silenced through the object. Twilight scoffed and felt disgusted by the guard as she wanted to leave him there so badly. But knowing her mentor wouldn't be too keen if she learned about that. So she got up and walked around the table to approach the couch. The mare grabbed the book off the stallion's face and saw the guard sleeping peacefully. She then began to attempt to wake him.

"Hey, wake up," said Twilight as she shook Emerald's shoulder.

The unicorn felt the shakes of the studious mare as he rolled onto his side. Twilight continued to shake him, but he didn't seem to respond. At this point, Twilight was getting furious.

"Wake up!" shouted the mare as she shook him as hard as possible.

Emerald's body acted on its own as he felt like he was being snuck up on and instinctively grabbed Twilight's arm and pulled her toward him. A moment later, the guard began to wake as he felt his head resting against something soft. He put a hand out to feel the couch he was sleeping on, only to find it squishy... and... bouncy. That woke the guard as his eyes were face to face with some objects. Emerald stared at the two round objects in front of him; he brought a finger up and pressed into one of them as it made a sound. A yelp was heard as it didn't come from in front of him but rather above. Emerald's eyes trailed upward as he soon found his target. It turns out that Twilight had fallen on top of the guard, and his face was buried into her breast, and he had inadvertently touched them.

"You... you... you..." Twilight was flustered and at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" said Emerald as he tried apologizing to the mare he was supposed to watch. He was now staring at Twilight's face as he feared what the unicorn might tell the princess about him touching the mare's breast without her consent.

"I'm gonna inform Princess Celestia and your superior about this!" shouted Twilight as she stared down at the unicorn below her. "I'll make sure you pay for touching me without my permission. I'll... I'll... I'll..."

At that moment, Twilight stopped speaking. The mare lost her thought as she stared into Emerald's eyes. The mare didn't know how or why. Maybe the heat or the sudden course of action had just happened, but Twilight felt herself being silenced. Her purple eyes looked into those green eyes of Emerald and got lost in them. As if she was staring into the soul of the young guard she had pinned down. And Emerald was also taking in the view before him. His gaze was now solely focused on the mare's eyes as they seemed to highlight her beauty.

The two young ponies were too lost in their gaze as their bodies moved independently. Their brains shut off as they let their bodies take over. Emerald placed his hands on Twilight's hips and sat up with the mare in his lap. Twilight didn't try to get off as she was no longer in control. It was like her spirit had left her physical body, and something else was controlling her. She kept her eyes locked on his as she settled in his lap. Emerald kept his arms around the waist of the mare as she, in turn, brought both of her hands to cup either side of his face.

"I'm... I'm going to... tell..." Twilight began in a soft hush tone, almost like she knew what was coming.

"I... I'm sorry... for..." Emerald answered in the same calm tone, almost like he was drunk off some alcohol.

"Maybe we could..."

And after that... everything got fuzzy for both individuals. Looking at Twilight, having the mare so close to him, feeling her, all of this put Emerald in a strange state of mind. It was alien to him, but he didn't care for some reason. He... liked how this felt. Twilight seemed to mumble something, but he couldn't tell. That's how far gone the guard was as he just found himself keeping his gaze on the studious mare and both getting closer. The next thing that happened shocked both. In a matter of seconds, they made contact with their lips. Emerald pressed his lips against Twilight as she made no hesitation to kiss him back like she wanted to.

The pair soon opened their mouths, allowing their tongues to meet each other for the first time. The contact from both sent shivers to both ponies as they relished it. A slight moan escaped Twilight's mouth as she gently pushed Emerald back to lay on the couch with her on top of the guard. Their mouths were still firmly connected as they didn't once break away. The studious mare was now upping the ante as she took charge and was kissing the unicorn stallion rather furiously, like her body hungered for this. For Emerald, in his mind, he was wondering how and why this was happening, but those thoughts faded away. His mind, neigh, his world was nothing more than just a series of feelings, tastes, and scents, all focused on the mare he had on top of him.

Unbeknownst to each other, this was their first-ever kiss. And the feeling was... incredible. The best way to describe it was beyond anything their dreams and imagination could come up with. To Emerald, kissing and tasting Twilight's lips was like biting into a peach: delicate and supply, juicy almost to the point where he thought juice would dribble down his cheek, and sweet, so very sweet. Despite all his pleasure and warmth, this brought a question to his mind: How did she taste so sweet? That was probably a stupid question to think of in the middle of something like this, but he'd probably find out the answer later. Maybe.

At the moment, he was focused on the mare he was kissing and how good it felt. It seriously was good. Soon, Emerald saw his body acting on its own once more as he noticed his hands getting dangerously close to the mare's thighs. They soon fell on the unicorn's thighs. Twilight seemed to feel the initial contact as she moaned while kissing Emerald. The guard used his eyes to tell Twilight whether she was uncomfortable, but her eyes told him she wasn't. If anything, they encouraged him to go forward with his action. With no attempt to stop him, Emerald's hands began to rub Twilight's thighs. That set off the studious mare as she found more drive and passionately kissed the guard. The more Emerald rubbed Twilight's thighs, the more they moaned in each other's mouths.

Eventually, his hands began to move upward as they were under the mare's shorts, and he found a new target to play with. As if on instinct, the guard's hands touched and grasped Twilight's butt cheeks. The result was a surprised moan from her throat. It was clear that Twilight didn't expect that, but not knowing added more to how she was feeling. The adrenaline of not knowing added more fuel to this burning passion. Looking into Twilight's eyes again, he looked for some sort of dissatisfaction about him touching her ass, but she never gave it to him. Like before, she egged him on to keep going. With her consent, Emerald kept molding and kneading Twilight's ass in his hand as that set off the mare the most since they began.

The young guard was touching one of Twilight's most sacred treasures, and she was all for it. The best way to describe how it felt was firm and soft. It was a soft pair of pillows but also developed to the point where it had some depth and fill. And definitely big and round, as it jiggled a bit every time Twilight walked or swayed her hips. Emerald then firmly grabbed Twilight's bubble butt as it sounded like a slap and echoed a bit. It was at that moment that Twilight and Emerald finally broke their kiss. The mare looked down at the guard with a surprised look. How she looked at him made her want to confirm what Emerald had just done. To which his answer was a confident smirk. She didn't know why, but... she returned the expression with a smile of her own. The studious mare dove back in and pressed her lips onto his as they continued their makeout session. This time... it was her turn to have some fun as she found her hands going under Emerald's shirt.

Twilight immediately found her target as she felt and touched Emerald's muscles, specifically his abs. As she expected from just seeing them for a quick glance, they were strong and developed. The tips of her fingers skated over his mid-section and up to his chest. The best way she could describe the guard's muscles was that they were heard like diamonds but so soft. Soft enough that she could find herself sleeping into them. Emerald could feel her lips curl into a smile as she traced a path over his body. She was enjoying this. Suddenly, the guard's body and mind took over as they instinctively grabbed Twilight to flip her over, so they changed positions. Twilight was on the bottom, and Emerald was on the top. Like some alpha male who had conquered his prey, nothing could stop him from having his way with her. Seeing the guard act so dominantly turned Twilight on even more as she made little to no effort to stop what Emerald had planned. She likes being vulnerable with the stallion before her.

In the end, the pair broke apart once again. They ceased their kissing and just stared into each other's eyes. The guard looked down at the pinned mare below him, staring deep into those moderate purple eyes. Both panted as they were breathless, almost like they had just finished running a marathon. As they tried to take in as much air as they could to replace the amount they spent in their little tongue wrestling, Emerald was taking in Twilight's scent. It was a light and airy smell, almost like she had just chewed some bubble gum, and the smell lingered on her breath with a hint of lavender, which was fitting given her color. To the unicorn, Twilight was like a feast, and like the animal he was at the moment, he hungered for a feast.

Emerald's hand began to reach up, resting his palm across her face, with his thumb rubbing her lips. Her tongue darted around a little, flicking at his digit. She reached up and ran her hands through his mane. He then slowly leaned in and gave her a light kiss on her lips, which she returned. It lacked the passion and intensity of their earlier one, but it was as an inmate as ever. They were enjoying the feeling of their lips on each other. His hand reached up to find her hand above her head, and almost on instinct, their fingers interlocked with each other. It felt natural for them.

What followed was silence. Neither did or said anything for quite a while. The only thing that was happening was the two young individuals as they kept staring at each other. When Twilight removed her hand from Emerald's, the guard got off the mare to allow her to sit up. The studious unicorn sat up and kept her gaze on the guard metered before her. Her eyes were locked on his lips as she felt drawn to them, and she wanted to capture them with hers again. But she didn't. She didn't know how, but her mind and body soon fell back under her own control as she stood up. The mare got her satchel and slipped it on. Giving one last look at Emerald, she quickly left and didn't want to look back.

Emerald didn't chase after the mare as he had so many thoughts coming into his mind. The guard sat on the couch hunched over as he brought his hands up to his mouth. Everything that had just happened, all of it, just registered in the guard's mind. He was lulling over it as he didn't know what to do or how to act. Ultimately, he could only put his armor back on and leave as it was already getting late.

---

The walk back to the barracks was a rather long one. Emerald had decided to take the scenic route as he thought the long walk would help him put things into perspective. And somehow, it didn't. It did the opposite. There was just so much to try and make sense of that every time Emerald did, he felt his brain melting down and having a headache. The unicorn arrived at the barracks as he entered his room, and inside was his best friend.

"Hey, bud. Kinda late, huh?"

"Y-Yeah. Sorry, I just... went for a walk, is all. Need to get some air." said Emerald as he sort of told the truth.

"Well, some good news. I managed to find your replacement. So tomorrow is your last day to babysit the princess' student, and then you're going to be guarding the royal treasury." said Onyx with a smile.

"O-Oh... right. Tomorrow," said Emerald in a rather deflated tone.

The guard had completely forgotten that tomorrow was supposed to be his final day of being Twilight's guardian. However, after what happened today involving the mare, he'd completely forgotten about that. It seemed his friend picked up on his tone.

"You good, bud? I'd thought you'd be excited about this," stated Onyx.

"Huh? Y-Yeah, I am. Can't wait to finally not be a babysitter, heh." stated Emerald, though he wasn't fully behind what he said.

"Well, good night, bud."

Lieutenant Onyx exited his friend's room as Emerald sighed when the door closed with a heavy thud. The guard removed his armor as he looked at himself in the mirror. The young unicorn raised his hand and touched his lips with two fingers. Emerald was now thinking back to what transpired in the library with Twilight as her scent filled his nostrils. The scent of the studious mare was all over him; the taste of her lips remained on the guard's. Lavender.

He made his way, sat on the edge of his bed, and buried his head into his hands. So many thoughts plagued his mind. So many things to consider. And the guard wasn't the only one thinking about today's events. In her tower, Twilight was on her bed as she hugged her knees. Upon returning to her room, the studious mare didn't feel like reading. Instead, she had just sat in bed and rocked herself as she lulled over what transpired with the guard who was to protect her. The mare couldn't wrap her intelligent brain around what went down or the concept of what she was feeling.

"What have I done?" said both individuals as they spoke out loud.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Consensus and Independent Study Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 57 Minutes