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Groans could be heard down the halls, where the resting chambers of the Night Princess Luna resided. She rested through the days where her sister, Princess Celestia, guarded all of Equestria from the evil that may come, but sometimes evil may not be seen, nor heard anywhere; but found instead, deep inside ourselves. "N-ngh, no..." Groaned Luna in her sleep, as the nightmares of her former self, haunted her in her dreams. "No! I am not you; I don't want to be you. Stay away!" Luna demanded, talking in her sleep as her former self, Nightmare Moon, tries to corrupt her in her dreams. Poisoning her mind slowly, Nightmare Moon wanted nothing but to make Luna submit to her hate and jealousy once more. "Ahhh!" Luna screamed out, waking from her dream sweating profusely. She examined her surroundings while breathing heavily; she covered her face with her hooves trying to calm herself. This was not the first of Luna's nightmares; they returned when she came back to her sister's side and restarted her rituals of raising the moon during the night. Due to her groans and screams, rumors of the nightmares and their content began to spread throughout the Canterlot Castle. It did not take long for her over protective older sister to begin meddling in Luna's affairs again.

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"Luna, you need a personal guard," Insisted Princess Celestia, concerned about Luna's nightmares. She could not confront her sister about them directly though for two reasons: one being it was all hearsay to her. Celestia had yet to hear Luna's night terrors for herself, but trusted her guard's word that something was ahoof. The second reason remained, mainly the fact that Luna would never admit to such a folly, the protector of dreams, unable to protect her own dreams.

"We do not need a guard to protect us, dear sister," replied Luna with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Even if she felt she might, Luna was far too proud to admit it. "We also do not need to be protected, we can take care of ourselves now, thank you very much." The arrogance and pride that came with her reply is what perturbed Celestia.

"It will simply be as a precaution Luna, please at the least, just one guard. I don't want to take any more risks after the changeling attack. Luna please, I just need to be sure you will be safe," Princess Celestia replied trying to reason with her sister.

With a look of disdain, Luna shook her head, "We do not need a guard!" Luna retorted. "Now please, dear sister, leave us be, we have our duty to the night to uphold and we require our rest."

Princess Celestia knew there was no dealing with Luna when she is in this state. Celestia let out a sigh of disappointment and finally left her sister's chambers. Once Celestia left her, Luna let out a little sigh of relief before lying on her bed and closing her eyes to try and rest for what time she had until night was ready to come once more. Flashbacks of her nightmares began to haunt her as soon as she started to doze off. "Nghh not again," Luna groaned unable to drift off due to her visions. With little option left, she forced herself to stay awake throughout the remaining day, until the night finally arrived.

The day faded away, very slowly, as Princess Celestia figured her sister had cooled down after her rest. Celestia went to check on Luna, only to see her sister in a disoriented state of mind.

"Are you...okay?" Princess Celestia asked

"We are fine sister, thank you for asking," Luna lied as she got up wobbling. Her tone was low and agitated, "Now if you would excuse us, we have a moon to rise."

Soon after that incident, Celestia had reached a dead end. With nothing left to try, and no way to confront her sister without being met by a forked tongue; she resorted to snooping herself, needing to verify the claims against her sister, before taking further action. It did not take long for her to hear of what the guards spoke. Luna would scream, shout and cry out in terror as she slept and was seemingly caught in Moon's web of deception and lies.

It was true; Celestia had noticed a change in Luna only a few weeks after Nightmare Moon's armor was brought back to Canterlot for storage. After Luna had regained her full power this seemed different, but Celestia never thought it would be this bad. Luna's decline really sped up, once she heard of Celestia's plans for her student Twilight. Normally this would not have been an issue, but in Luna's mindset, she was sure her sister was prepping Twilight to permanently take her place.

With fear and paranoia setting in, Luna's relapse to becoming Nightmare Moon again, seemed all to certain. Celestia would now lay awake through sleepless nights, listening to her sister cry out in fear, yet powerless to help. If she tried to approach Luna, Celestia knew Luna would push her away. Any attempt to force Luna to cooperate would of course be folly; well that would only speed up the process. Celestia though, was not going to give up so easily, and as luck would have it, she hatched an idea of how to help her sister without directly getting involved. As long as she was off the radar, for the most part, it should work. Tricky as it was, Celestia had no choice but to put her trust into another.

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Another sleepless day ended for Luna, once again plagued by nightmares that she could not explain. She makes her way to the altar of the rising sun and moon, to raise the moon once more, but she was intercepted by one of her sister's guards. "Your highness!" the guard called out.

"What do you want guard? Make it quick, we have duties of our own to complete!" Luna snapped. She was in no mood to deal with one of her sister's messengers. The guard flinched and hesitated a bit before replying. "P-Princess Celestia requests an audience with you, your highness." Although he stuttered in his reply, he managed to convey his given order.

After raising the moon, the sleepless Luna makes her way to the throne room. Upon entering, she looks at Celestia, their eyes meeting for a moment. Celestia could tell Luna was close to her breaking point, her eyes hardly able to stay open and filled with, "Is that malice growing in her eyes?" Celestia thought.

"What is it that you request of us dear sister?" asked Luna in a sarcastic tone.

Though annoyed at how Luna talked to her, Celestia put up with it knowing giving an attitude back would be counterproductive. "Though you will not like it, I am placing a guard with you whether you want it or not; you need to understand safety must be of top concern, and I will not risk you being caught alone should another attack come." Celestia replied in a firm tone.

"WHAT?!" Luna exclaimed glaring daggers at her sister. She greatly disliked the idea of being protected, as she felt it makes her look weak. "We decline for the final time! Let us make this clear to you! We do not need a protector!"

"Like it or not, I will assign one to you. I had hoped you would come around on your own, but you are leaving me no choice. This guard will accompany you everywhere you go, protect you with his life. He will follow any order you give him, except one that requires him to leave your side; unless a greater duty beckons him away." Celestia lost the bite in her voice and resorted to a more calm tone, trying to endure her sister's burst of anger. "Cielo, please come in." Celestia called out, looking to the hall set off to the right.

"Yes princess," replied a sturdy built pegasus stallion in royal Canterlot armor as he walked into the throne room. The stallion took off his helmet and held it under his wing, revealing a black mane with two neon yellow stripes meeting at the widows peak of his forehead and spreading out into a V shape as they get further back. His tail had but one solid golden stripe running through it and his eyes were a unique color of bluish green.

As the stallion stood before the princesses, Princess Celestia smiled at Cielo before turning her attention back to Luna whom was not amused by any of this. "Cielo has been my trusted guard for 3 years alongside Shining Armor; he has proven his loyalty to Equestria and earned both Armor's and my respect. I am quite sure he will be able to protect and be of great service to you." Celestia smiled with high hopes that perhaps with such a prestigious guard ordered to her side, Luna might see that Celestia truly meant to see her safe.

At this point Luna's anger had reached its peak, she burst out in her royal Canterlot voice "WE DO NOT NEED A GUARD!" She snapped, glaring at Celestia with hate and true malice again in her eyes.

Celestia closed her eyes and remained calm, "Like it or not, as I said, he is now your guard and will remain at your side until we can be sure the changeling threat has been dealt with, and any stragglers cleared out of Canterlot." Cielo being in the middle of the argument, flinched the moment Luna used her Canterlot voice pinning his ears back; never in all his years had he ever heard anypony so loud as her.

"FINE," Luna screamed angrily at the top of her lungs. Her voice was now echoing throughout the castle, "HAVE IT YOUR WAY THEN SISTER!" She said with a bit of a hiss, as she stormed out of the throne room and out to the altar to finally raise the moon.

Celestia let out a deep sigh and looked to Cielo. "I deeply apologize for you having to witness that Cielo, but do accompany my sister. Please Cielo, I'm counting on you. I know it will be tough, but stick with her; I trust this vital task only to you."

"Y-yes your highness, I shall not fail you!" Cielo replied as he nervously makes his way to Luna's chambers. Cielo approached the door with caution and gave an apprehensive but sturdy knock. There was no response, for a moment Cielo thought she might still be out at the altar, but a loud crash rang out from inside after a few more seconds had passed. Without thinking, he burst in. "Your highness, are you okay!?"

Luna shot him a glare from her floor bed; a tea pot lay broken on the floor next to the door, tears clearly streaming down her cheeks. "LEAVE!" she commanded.

Cielo gulped and closed the door behind him remaining in the room and ignoring her order. "Princess, you know I can't do that. I don't relish the thought of you angry but... I cannot follow that order."

"No! of course not, what would a worthless grunt like you know? Can't think for yourself, only follow your orders blindly...pathetic," Luna growled in disgust. Cielo pinned his ears back and shot her a glare and for a moment she seemed suppressed. "Dost thou have something to say to us?"

Cielo bit his lip and pushed his anger down keeping it in check; never in his life had he been disrespected like that. "No, no I don't...your majesty." He replied with a bow.

"Wise... if I must be stuck with you, then take off that armor, you won't need it. Besides, that's Celestia's armor." Luna put emphasis on her sister's name mocking her name like a child as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You can start by protecting me from filth," she said pointing to a cleaning bucket, having kicked her servant out weeks ago. "I order you to clean."

Once more, Cielo swallowed his pride as he took off his armor and neatly set it down out of the way. "Right away, Princess Luna," and with bruised pride, he picked up the cleaning bucket.

"You may start in our powder room, then come back in and sweep up that tea kettle," Luna pointed to the bathroom wanting to get him out of her site for now. Cielo did as he was told and disappeared into the bathroom. After about an hour, he had most of it cleaned; Cielo took his time making sure not to miss a single spot. A few more minutes passed, when suddenly Cielo's ears perked up hearing a faint whimper coming from the bedroom. Peeking around the corner, Cielo saw Luna was tossing and turning on her floor bed, whimpering in fear. Having fallen asleep, she had fallen prey to Nightmare moon once more. Cielo walked out and watched for a moment; there was a part of him that took a little pleasure in seeing her rive helplessly, especially after the treatment he was just dealt.

The moment did not last long though; Cielo may not have liked her, but he did have a job to do, besides he knew Luna was lashing out on him because she could not do the same to her sister, her intended target. Placing his hoof on her shoulder, he gave her a shake causing her to jolt awake. For an insightful moment, her eyes met his, and he got a true glimpse of Luna for the first time. Cielo did not see a mean spirited mare, but a scared soul desperately seeking an escape; one who needed comfort and support. "Sorry to wake you princess... are you ok?"

"F-Fine," Luna replied, her body shaking; her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to catch her breath.

"It was just a bad dream Princess Luna," Cielo whispered softly. He gave Luna's shoulder a little pat before moving down the day bed and pulling the blankets over her, tucking her in. Luna looked at Cielo unable to understand why he was being so nice.

"Did you finish cleaning?" Luna asked her voice much less aggressive now.

"Almost done in the powder room Princess, then I shall pick up the broken glass and continue to clean in here."

"Wake me in two more hours than servant; I should really be awake," Luna's voice started to drift off as her eyes closed. Night after night of no sleep had caught up to her finally, "But, my eyes... won't..." Without finishing her sentence Luna dozed back off, unable to fight any longer; though she needed sleep, she could have forced herself to stay awake. She would never admit it, but for the first time she did not fear closing her eyes. Now that there was somepony to wake her from the nightmares, Moon's power over Luna's dreams seemed so small.

"As you wish," Cielo whispered with a smile. Going back to work, he finished up the bathroom and cleaned most of her room. For the first time in a long time, Luna slept soundly for the full two hours she asked for: no dreams, no nightmares, just deep sleep. Cielo woke her, as instructed, two hours later. Luna got up and showered to wake herself up a bit more. She herself was far more reserved now; she was able to get two hours of uninterrupted sleep for the first time in days. With a new-found energy, Luna once more had a foothold to fight back; making her not feel so weak. She still disliked this guard Celestia put at her side, Cielo, but she did see one good use for him. Now with Cielo at her side, perhaps she could finally start to catch up on some much needed sleep.