“What about this one?” Moonlight asked as she switched between the dresses held in her magic. “Or this one? Does the V neck look a little tasteless?”

“I like the red one,” Thomas said from across their room as he slipped on a pair of black slacks, although getting so dressed up and going without shoes still felt strange. “It hugs your body in, from what I’ve been told, all the right places.”

Moonlight rolled her eyes. “Of course you’d say that,” she dismissed as she turned back to the mirror and resumed nervously switching between dresses.

“Wanting to make a good first impression?” Tali asked from the bed as her legs swung idly off the edge. “‘Cause I think you’re a little late on that front.”

“Oh hush,” Moonlight shot back. “You’re no help at all.”

Talon chuckled to herself. “You want help? How about whichever dress is easiest to take off? That’ll probably come in handy.”

Moonlight paused in her alternations as she did a double take on her dresses, apparently giving Talon’s words some thought.

Thomas furrowed his brow as he looked at his own clothes in the same way. It was a simple set of a vest and dress slacks, attire which most would consider quite suitable for a date, but it was all admittedly constricting in a lot of ways. “We didn’t actually agree to sex tonight, right?”

“Not outright,” Moonlight said distractedly as she dismissed most of her dresses to her closet, leaving her with only two options left. “It’s supposed to just be a friendly outing, but you never know.”

“Aye!” Talon crowed. “You’ll never know, but I might.”

**********

“Aye, indeed,” Firestorm agreed as he focused intently on the viewing crystal. The only sounds in his dimly lit office were the cracking of flames in the distant hearth and the faint scribbling of a pencil against paper as his spell recorded everything he saw and heard.

Normally he didn’t mind that his tracking spell only worked on Thomas, especially since the human’s role allowed him to be present in just about all interesting events regarding the Princess. This, however, was one of the few times he was tempted to risk exposure with a second tracker.

“Nah,” he said to himself. Between the unicorn and the bat mare, he figured both had received proper training in detecting whenever a spell was cast on them, Moonlight through her guard training and Silver from being drilled in how to fend off rival nobles. Talon wasn’t around as often anymore, but she had probably gone through her own detection training, so that avenue was probably closed anyway. He could always try with the two applicants, but it’d be a waste if one or both of them didn’t make the final cut.

“Just gotta be patient. After all, the human’s my real target, here.”

**********

With her dress chosen, Moonlight quickly applied a modest amount of eyeshadow and red lipstick for added flare. The knee-length red dress was sleeveless with a low v neck that showed off a modest amount of cleavage, and slits cut high on the hips to both show off her cutie mark and allow ample movement. Thomas straightened out his black slacks and semi-formal vest. Given that they were going out with Surprise, he’d opted for the less formal attire, which would allow him to move more easily in the likely event that movement was necessary. She and Thomas then stood before the mirror to give themselves one last once over as Talon watched.

“You guys,” Talon sighed as she strolled over and pressed herself between the pair, wrapping her arms over their shoulders. “You are just too cute sometimes.”

“Duly noted and appreciated,” Thomas said flatly as he patted the wrinkles out of his vest.

A knock at the door startled all to attention.

“Probably for you,” Talon said as she stepped back. “Best not leave your lady waiting.”

“Thanks for stopping by,” Moonlight said as she set a hand on Thomas’ back and gently pushed him forward. “We’ll have to do this with you next time.”

“Sure thing,” Talon agreed casually. “Or, ya know, you could just bend over and let me have my way with you right now.” She snickered as her eyebrows bounced suggestively. “I’m honestly fine with either.”

Moonlight shot the griffon a warning look over her shoulder as Thomas shook his head in good humor. The mare decided to just let it go, breathing deeply as they arrived at her door.

Thomas opened the door cautiously, angling himself behind the door in case someone was in the mood for tackles. Instead, his jaw dropped as he beheld Surprise. The pegasus was wearing a strapless aqua dress with the same slits as Moonlight cut along the sides. The dress hugged her body very nicely, seemingly redistributing the mare’s pudge to make it less noticeable. Surprise’s mane was limp and partially hiding half her face. Her makeup was light overall, though her ruby red lips were delightfully eye catching as she struck an alluring pose.

“Well hello,” Surprise greeted in a deep, seductive voice.

Both Thomas and Moonlight gulped in noticeable shock and disbelief. Was this really Surprise, the same airheaded mare prone to flights of fancy and bottomless giggles? It was almost too much to fathom; that is until Surprise’s face split into a wide grin and a torrent of giggles burst from her lips.

“Oh my gosh!” she squealed, clutching her belly. “You should see the looks on your faces.”

The realization that they’d been had was only compounded by the chortles from Talon in the background.

Thomas was the first to recover. “Well played,” he congratulated as his eyes roamed over her sexy body.

Surprise bowed cordially. “Well thank you, Sir Thomas.” As she did, her mane pomphed back to its usual fluffiness, assuring all that the world hadn’t been turned topsy-turvy just yet.

“You’re gorgeous!” Moonlight blurted, only to catch herself too late.

Surprise smiled appreciatively at Moonlight’s words. “Oh! I got something,” she declared as she started snapping her fingers in thought, much to the confusion of her dates. “Uh… pot calling the kettle black!” she professed, only to trail off uncertainly. “Did I say it right?”

Thomas smiled good naturedly and took the mare’s hand, kissing the back of her knuckles. “Technically correct, but not the best timing,” he explained.

“Oh!” Moonlight realized as a blush took her cheeks. “Well, thank you very much.”

The date seemed off to a pretty good start.

**********

“So your clothes are really that strong?” Thomas asked as he and the mares rode in their carriage.

“Nope,” Surprise said perkily. “It’s the same basic durability spell I’ve got on mine.” She gestured at her dress. “Costs a little extra, but it’s well worth it.”

“The guards have a more advanced version on our armor,” Moonlight explained. “With it, it’s like the plates are three times as strong, but without the added bulk.”

Thomas nodded along. Just because he couldn’t use magic didn’t mean he couldn’t find it fascinating. “Sounds like the spells Luna has on me to keep me warm and stuff. Don’t those spells need recharging?”

“Essentially,” Moonlight confirmed. “The frequency of the reset depends on the nature of the spell.”

“You could also get an energy crystal,” Surprise chimed in and motioned to a tiny red gem embedded in the fabric below her cleavage. “You can shape a crystal to hold a longer charge, but even that needs to be replenished eventually. I heard some wizards can enchant the crystals to draw in ambient magical energy, but that still takes forever to recharge.”

Thomas smiled as he considered. “Sounds like unicorns have a built in safety net against unemployment.”

“Basically,” Moonlight agreed. “So long as there’s enough of a charge left, just about any unicorn of a moderate skill level can recharge the spell. Although, if the magic runs out entirely, the spell usually unravels and you have to get it completely recast all over again.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like the other tribes don’t have safety nets too,” Surprise pointed out. “There’s always clouds that need pushing or seeds that need planting somewhere. And if ya can’t find any,” she whispered, “it probably means you’re not looking hard enough.”

“What about bat ponies?” Thomas asked. “What’s their safety net?”

Moonlight tapped her chin in thought. “A little of column B and C.” She smiled affectionately at Thomas’ concern. “Bat ponies are most closely related to pegasi, giving them a fair amount of weather magic. However, they also borrow a little from earth ponies with nature magic.”

“I heard they’ve also got their own, special kind of magic,” Surprise added, her voice shaking with spooky overtones. “A dark, mysterious magic that they share with no pony outside their tribe.”

Thomas caught himself leaning forward at Surprise’s words, intrigued by the prospect of some new category of magic that existed outside his understanding of the show’s canon. “Really?”

“I don’t know,” Surprise admitted with a shrug before snorting her laughter.

“Don’t go spreading rumors like that,” Moonlight chastised before looking at Thomas. “Bat ponies have been plagued by misunderstandings like that for generations. Stupid ponies fear the dark magic that no pony has ever proved even exists.”

“Oh come on,” Surprise dismissed. “I heard that story from a bat colt I knew in primary school. He used to love telling us about all the spooooooky things bats would get up to when no pony was looking.”

“And that makes it better?” Moonlight asked chidingly.

“Sounds like it,” Thomas spoke up. “Being ultra-sensitive about stuff might seem like the polite thing to do, but it actually just draws attention to the problem in the worst possible way. Trust me. Race baiting was a big problem back home.”

“But I thought humans didn’t have tribes?” Moonlight queried. “You just came in different colors.”

Thomas sighed his disappointment. “That’s our race. Folks back in the human country thought they were just being moral by drawing attention to all the past crap everyone did to each other, but they oversimplify it so that everyone’s just left with a victim complex and a warped sense of reality. Say, for example: you think the most qualified person should get the job. You end up getting called a racist because it’s assumed you’re talking about one particular group getting some imagined privilege over the others. ‘Ists’ and ‘isms’ are so overused back home that they’ve lost just about all meaning.

“Best thing I know of is to do what your friend was doing,” Thomas said to Surprise. “Laugh at it. Just relax and give everyone the chance to prove we’re all equally assholes.” Thomas’ philosophizing was met, surprisingly, by light applause from his audience. So he did the only rational thing he could think of: standing in the carriage and taking a bow.

The trio continued to talk amicably about magic. Surprise proved quite knowledgeable and managed to catch Moonlight off guard with a few tricks and tidbits she’d learned from her unicorn friends. Thomas mostly limited himself to light commentary as he listened. He’d always enjoyed reading the backstory of fictional worlds and these mares’ explanations felt quite similar.

“Ya know, all this talk about different kinds of magic got me thinking,” Thomas interjected in a moment of quiet. “Well, in some of the stories I read back home, a lot of authors put together these really complex power systems. I remember this one guy mentioning how important it is with this stuff to keep the different kinds of powers balanced so no one character can be super overpowered or anything.”

“Makes sense,” Moonlight nodded.

“Well, I was thinking about this one anime, Hunter x Hunter, where you had this one guy who was able to use his aura to make this kind of rubbery gum that he could use to keep his arms in place, even after they’ve been chopped off.” Thomas smiled his amusement at the mare’s discomfort, Surprise more so than Moonlight. “A lot of the characters in that show had creative powers like that. Anyway, on that thinking, I was wondering if there was a spell or enchantment to make armor grow.”

“Grow how?” Surprise asked, enraptured in his explanation.

“Well, let’s say a guard’s been captured and tied up, but they’ve still got their armor on. Wouldn’t it be useful if, say, the armor had a spell on it to make it grow out, like a couple inches, just enough to break whatever’s tying them up?”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Moonlight admitted.

“Bet that crooked crook would’ve really liked something like that,” Surprise chirped. “Why don’t the guard have something like that already?”

“Mass alteration is tricky business,” Moonlight explained. “A lot of non-unicorns ask why the guards don’t just make ourselves bigger and squash all the bad guys. Simply put, it takes a lot of magical power to defy the laws of the conservation of mass. Making an inanimate object grow is hard enough, but it only gets even more complicated when you’ve got living things. One miscast and you’ve got a pony whose a hundred feet tall but with a regular sized heart.” She shook her head. “It’s not pretty.”

“But I’m just talking about the armor,” Thomas clarified. “And you wouldn’t need to do very much for very long. You’d just make the armor,” he made a bloating motion with his hands, “swell out a bit for just a few seconds, long enough to break whatever kind of binding’s they’ve got, and then it goes back to normal.”

“But then there’s still the power requirements,” Moonlight reminded. “Crystals can only hold so much energy and the kind the guard use aren’t cheap.”

Surprise turned to Thomas, silently waiting his rebuttal.

Thomas furrowed his brow in thought. “What if you just use the same crystal?”

Intrigued, Surprise turned to Moonlight to hear her expert take on the matter.

“What?”

Beaming excitedly, Surprise switch back to facing Thomas.

“Yeah. I admit I don’t know squat about how magic actually works, but what if you just cast multiple enchantments on the same armor, like you and Luna do with me,” he suggested, motioning to himself. “Like, you’ve got the default durability enhancement which is on all the time, but what if you had the option to switch to different kinds of enhancements if you really needed them?”

Surprise was about ready to bounce out of her dress with how much excitement she was feeling. She could only hope Moonlight would keep this idea train going.

“That kind of spell weaving…” she began thoughtfully. “If they’re not all active at once, I suppose switching between them might be feasible.”

“Sounds like somepony’s gonna need to make another stop at the patent office,” Surprise practically sang.

**********

“Hot damn!” Firestorm cheered as he double-checked to make sure his notes had gotten all that. “This kid just never fails to impress.”

**********

When they arrived at the restaurant, Surprise had elected to pay before they even sat down. The waiter, a bat stallion, arrived and they quickly gave their orders and drinks. Both mares had ordered alcohol.

“Not sure how this sounds,” Thomas began, “but have you guys noticed that there’re more bat ponies around lately? Not just in the castle, but Canterlot in general.”

“Now that you mention it,” Moonlight trailed off as she looked around the restaurant. “I suppose there are a few more of them around these days.”

“Eight percent,” Surprise chirped. “Preliminary census data shows the bat pony population of Canterlot has increased by eight percent in the last five months, bringing them up to ten percent of the total population.”

Surprise’s dates were stricken momentarily dumbstruck by her informative words.

“How…” Thomas began.

“I read, silly,” Surprise said with a dismissive shrug as she pulled out a newspaper from under the table and pointed at an article. “See? ‘Bat Ponies Migrating to Canterlot,’” she read.

“Huh,” was all Thomas managed to say. “Guess I should keep better track of current events.”

“I also talked to Silver about it,” Surprise continued. “She says that ponies in Nocternia are finallyconvinced that Luna’s return is the real deal, so more and more have started coming by to, as she put it, do their duty.” She snorted a laugh. “Ha. Duty. Never gets old.”

Before the others could reply, Surprise’s expression went stiff, save for her twitching right ear. She quickly excused herself and dashed across the restaurant, leaving only a faint gust in her wake that barely even made the candles flicker. Before anyone had even realized what happened, she had caught a waitress and her tray in mid-slip, averting a very nasty spill. The surrounding patrons, after realizing what had happened, all applauded their approval. Thomas and Moonlight, however, were momentarily struck speechless. The white mare gave a quick bow of acknowledgment before returning to her dates.

“Sorry about that.” Surprise patted down the wrinkles of her dress, only to pause as she noticed the way her dates were looking at her. She pursed her lips, worried she might have caused some sort of cultural faux pas without realizing. “I’m really really sorry, but I couldn’t just let her fall.”

“Don’t be,” Thomas laughed, finally clapping his hands. “That was awesome.”

Surprise sighed her relief. “Thanks. It would have been super awkward if I screwed things up after all the stuff we’ve been through. I really like you guys.”

“And we like you too,” Moonlight affirmed. She reached across the table and grabbed Surprise’s hand and gave it a soft, assuring squeeze. “If anything, I’m even more impressed with you. How did you move so fast, anyway?”

Surprise giggled and shrugged. “Eh. When somepony needs help, I just feel the need to do my part, you know.”

“I do, but I’ve rarely seen such altruism practiced so… swiftly.”

“Aww, shucks.”

Food arrived shortly after that, leading to a momentary halt in the conversation.

“You know, you remind me of somepony,” Moonlight said after finishing up her meal.

Surprise’s words were muffled, what with her cheeks puffed out like that of a chipmunk’s. At the other mare’s disapproving look, she swallowed and let her tongue flop out with a satisfied sigh before giving a proper reply. “Do I?”

“I’ve been thinking about it ever since we first met,” Moonlight explained. “There’s just something about you that’s just so… familiar.”

Thomas chuckled softly. “You haven’t figured it out yet?”

Moonlight cocked her head in question. “You noticed too?”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “Ponyville,” he hinted, but Moonlight’s confusion remained. “Run for your lives?”

Moonlight’s lips formed an o as it finally clicked. “The pink one!”

“Pink’s a weird color for a pony,” Surprise commented idly. “Don’t know why, but I’ve always thought that pink fur was kind of silly.”

“Funny you should say that,” Thomas commented as he mentally braced for the mare’s reaction. “Because in Ponyville, there’s an earth mare named Pinkie Pie. She basically looks exactly like you, just with different colors. Her mane and tail are the same kind of poofy as yours and you even act kind of similar.”

“Ooooh!” Surprise voiced her interest. “Is she a pegasus, too?”

“Earth pony,” Moonlight answered. “Though there is this one pegasus mare who was even more full figured. I think her name was…” she trailed off.

“Fluttershy,” Thomas finished. “Is Talon still writing her?”

Moonlight chuckled. “I think she’s actually been paying the mare visits from time to time.”

“Ooooh!” Surprise said again as she leaned forward, pressing her breasts to the table. “Sounds spicy. Do go on.”

“Where’d you hear that?” Thomas asked.

“Tali told me,” Moonlight replied simply. “It was a couple nights ago, I think, while you and Honey were working out.”

Thomas nodded. “Alright. Was wondering if the two of you were sneaking around, too.”

Moonlight scoffed and flipped her chin up. “As if I’d ever sneak around,” she snorted. “If I like somepony, I don’t go lurking in the shadows as if there’s something to be ashamed of. I confront them directly.”

“Yeah. Of course you do,” Thomas agreed, not sounding very convinced.

“After the Princesses spend months of work contriving scenarios intended on bringing about that outcome,” Surprise stated matter-of-factly, much to the surprise of her dates. “What?”

“I don’t recall telling you that story,” Moonlight said.

“No.” Surprise shoveled another forkful of food in her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “Silver really likes to gossip.”

**********

After their meal, the trio’s next stop was a dance club, which was reached with minimal stumbling. The lights were dimmed and the beats were low as ponies of every sort in every state of dress took to the floor. Some were alone or in groups, dancing to the beat or doing some weird interpretive stuff. A familiar mare with an electric blue mane and red shades was the DJ.

Surprise’s mane had poofed out to almost double its usual fluffiness as she dragged her dates onto the floor where she began coaxing them to join her. Her moves were wild, but not entirely uncontrolled. That was Thomas’ impression, anyway, when he noted the way she was shaking her rear at him. Moonlight quickly joined in with much more reserved moves, but quickly got into the spirit of the freeform dancing.

Thomas was the last to catch on, suddenly struck by an onset of self-consciousness. More than a few ponies in the club were staring at him and his dates. Though none of their stares were malicious in any way he could detect, it still left him feeling uncomfortable. Then, before he realized what had happened, a hand had grabbed hold of his wrist and yanked him into something soft and warm. He looked up to see Surprise smiling down at him. Peeking over his shoulder, Thomas saw Moonlight dancing behind him.

As the mares continued to move, keeping him between them at all times, it didn’t take long for the human to realize that the mares had deliberately sandwiched him between them to act as living shields against prying eyes. For a moment Thomas felt downcast at the mares’ protection of him. It hurt to think they felt the need to walk on eggshells around him. But then, as if reading his mind, Moonlight motioned for him to look over at another group of ponies.

It was two stallions surrounded by five mares. Thomas couldn’t tell if they were all together, but they’d definitely grouped themselves into a similar formation as himself with the stallions sandwiched protectively between the mares. Suddenly curious, Thomas glanced around further to study the groupings more intently. Mares danced about with one another or alone with no clear formation in mind. Mare and stallion pairs featured the mares often pressing themselves against their stallions, occasionally giving dirty looks whenever other mares tried to intrude. There were a few stallions traveling alone or in pairs, but they rarely stayed lonely for long before being surrounded on all sides by mares seeking to win their attention.

“So this is normal?” Thomas asked over the music as he gestured between the two mares.

“You bet!” Surprise spun around, squatted low, and began aggressively twerking at Thomas, causing her vast booty to ripple as it shook. “You’re all ours, tonight, and everypony’s gonna know it.”

“Come on, love,” Moonlight encouraged as she ‘not’ accidentally pressed her breasts against Thomas’ head. “Cut loose a little.”

Thomas smiled back and soon joined the mares’ movements. He decided to rotate between the two, alternating between who he was dancing with. Then, as he was accustomed to, he was struck by worry and turned to face Moonlight. “You sure this is alright? I mean, aren’t you still on duty?”

“Thankfully no,” Moonlight replied. “I talked to the Lieutenant the other night, just to be sure, and he confirmed we’d be getting some extra support tonight.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “See that black stallion back there?”

Thomas looked and momentarily lost his footing as he caught sight of the bat stallion. “The one doing the,” he hesitated, “pinwheel with his…?”

“He’s an undercover guard,” Moonlight explained matter-of-factly. “Just one of a few who’ve been following us since we left the castle.”

“Oh good,” Surprise said in relief. “I was worried we were gonna have to take him and the rest out back and teach ‘em a lesson about stalking without permission.”

There was an undeniable menace in Surprise’s voice that, once more, caught Thomas off guard.

“I was wondering if you’d noticed,” Moonlight said. She approved Surprise’s threatening posture. It showed she was taking the protection of their stallion seriously. “Though I have to wonder what stalking with permission looks like.”

**********

The sun was just poking over the horizon as the trio staggered tiredly to their carriage. Surprise splayed out over an entire seat, using Moonlight’s lap as a pillow. At the same time, feeling a bout of playfulness, Thomas sat himself down upon Surprise’s bottom, thus putting himself nearly at eyelevel with Moonlight.

“This was fun,” Thomas said as he playfully bounced on Surprise’s rear, looking far too pleased with himself as he did.

“Here here!” Moonlight cheered quietly as she stroked her hand through Surprise’s fluffy mane, earning a contented coo from the white mare.

“Oh yeah,” Surprise sighed. “Definitely doing this again.”

And so Surprise has had a date with Thomas and Moonlight. They talk about various things, including Thomas exercising his creativity with magic, all while Firestorm finally comes back to spy creepily on them. Overall, a very successful date, I’d say.

Oh, and I’d just like to say this in reference to this part and all the others in this dating sub-arc. I have no color coordination. I don’t know what kind of dress looks good in what color, so all of these designs were pulled expressly from my own ass. With that in mind, please show mercy on my evident lack of taste.