Title:           An Off-Duty Patrol [Twilight Sparkle]
Author:          Woofr
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/s41PqApR
First Edit:      Sunday 13th of November 2016 11:57:16 AM CDT
Last Edit:       Sunday 13th of November 2016 11:57:16 AM CDT

“Situation is normal Your Majesty, all guests are accounted for, all guards are at their stations.”
>You held your salute after speaking and kept your sharp, attentive and calculating gaze trained on Her Majesty and Immortal Radiance, Princess Celestia of the Sun.
>She was lying on Her large divan pillow, before the hearth.
>Her Majesty’s eyes gleamed like twin amethysts from the fire and Her fur caught the light like untouched snow would, shimmering and pure.
>Nodding gracefully, and with a gentle smile on Her muzzle, Her Majesty intoned.
>”Thank you Gleaming Star, sleep well.”
>You brought your hoof back from your head and planted it firmly with a clop.
“It is my duty Your Majesty, may your sleep be deep and restorative.
>You spun on your hooves and left Her Majesty’s chambers promptly, marching out the door and down the hall.
>You were certainly allowed to walk much more casually since you were officially off duty, but…
>Ruffling your wings and furrowing your brow, you peered around in the darkness of the palace attentively as you walked.
>You’d passed the Solar Wing into the guest apartments now, where you knew Princess Twilight and her friends were sleeping tonight.
>There were banners on the walls here, of the various old pony, dragon and griffin nations, along with the occasional busts of famous ponies throughout the ages who lived here.
>Cast by the intermittent candelabra, your shadow trotted along next to you like a solemn phantom guard, sharing your off duty patrol.
“…”
>There was something off-putting about the silence.
>Your hoofsteps and the wind whistling by the occasional window were the only noises you could hear.
>You stopped trotting and strained your ears.
>Silence, silence…
>Parchment rubbing, pages turning.
>You stared at the nearest door.
>It had a neat little scroll pinned to it with a sticking spell, it read: Princess Twilight Sparkle.
“Studying.”
 
>Yes, Princess Twilight Sparkle must be studying, she’d done it every night since she’d arrived after all.
>Suddenly though, you heard something else.
>A magical crackle, and to your trained ears you knew it was the sound of a rune or magical circle being activated.
>Your thoughts immediately jumped into potential assassination plots and with practiced care and haste you opened Princess Twilight’s door silently.
>You did a visual sweep as you entered, checking every corner, window and potential hidden position.
>Nothing out of the ordinary, but for a glow coming from the four poster bed to your right, under the sheets.
>You walked over to it, all of your muscles were taught and countless centuries of combat had you sharp as a razor’s edge.
>Holding up a glare like most would hold a sword, you rounded on the glowing spot and blew off the blankets with a single flap of your wings.
>And immediately you paled and stuttered like a lost little colt at the sight.
>Twilight Sparkle stared at you.
>Her eyes were glowing brightly like a pair of demonic lamps.
>She didn’t blink and her empty, pupil less gaze didn’t shift at all.
>Every muscle in your body screamed run.
>RUN.
“What the f-“
>”Oh hello.”
>The Princess smiled slightly, bemused and still staring.
>You blinked and recoiled a few steps before falling back into your professional air with a bow.
“Good evening Princess, I apologize for my impertinence, I heard the sound of runes and thought that you may be in danger.”
>Twilight shook her head, poking at the book that was open in front of her with a hoof.
>You saw a little piece of parchment paper inscribed with a rune in black ink was laying on top of the pages.
>”Just casting a spell to help me read in the dark.
>Your focus turned to Twilight Sparkle’s staring, glowing eyes again, and it took quite a bit of will to suppress the urge to look away.
“I see. And this…”
>You motioned to Princess Twilight Sparkle’s eyes with a wing.
 
“Is the normal, expected effect.”
>Still staring, completely unerring, Twilight nodded again and her smile grew.
>”Yep! Glowing eyes and invisible eyelids.”
>She said, cheerfully.
>You nodded slowly, your gaze was still locked on Twilight Sparkle’s empty and soulless stare.
“And your lack of pupils, that is also normal?”
>Twilight’s smile turned into a ponderous frown.
>”No, actually, I’ve been trying to fix that for weeks now.”
“I see.”
>You coughed to try to clear the air a little, but Twilight just kept staring at you with her vast glowing orbs.
“Well…”
>There was an evil pit of despair and torture inside those eyes, and it felt like a piece of your soul had left your body to stay there for all of eternity.
“I shall let you read in peace Princess, once more I offer my sincerest apologies.”
>”Oh, it’s fine.”
>With a final bow, you spun on your hooves and promptly made your way out.
>You made it a point to assign only the most fearless guards to Princess Twilight Sparkle’s quarters from then on.