Thomas awoke with his face nestled between Moonlight’s chest pillows, his morning wood pressed against her stomach. Reflexively the human snuggled into the comforting warmth of his mare’s breast flesh. As his fingers softly glided over the silky fur of her sides, he felt the mare stir and blearily open her eyes to meet his. They shared a contented smile.

“Ya wanna know something?” he asked.

“Sure,” she answered groggily.

“I think I’m addicted to having mares as sleep aids.”

Moonlight chuckled and sat up, carrying her human with her. They stared at each other for a moment, his arms wrapped loosely around her frame. At the sound of the alarm, they climbed out of bed and went through their usual routines.

“Do you think Silver ever sleeps in her own room anymore?” Thomas asked as he and his mare stretched their stiff, sticky bodies.

“Now that you mention it, I really don’t know. I’m not sure if she’s even been to her room since her induction,” Moonlight replied as she bent down and sniffed Thomas’ hair. “Phew! You’re rank,” she declared as she stepped back.

“Really?” Thomas lifted his arm and sniffed his pit. Asparagus. “Oh yeah. Probably not the best idea to go without a shower.”

“I told you,” Moonlight chided gently as she began pushing him into the bathroom.

“Hey, I can walk you know,” Thomas protested as the mare set a hand on his shoulder, holding him in place as she adjusted the shower. He brushed her hand away.

“Yes, and I can smell,” Moonlight countered irately as she magically lifted him up and set him down on his little stool. She plopped down on her own, much larger stool behind him. Soap, shampoo, and wash cloths all floated into reach as Moonlight put them all to work in getting her stallion’s smell presentable.

“Agh!”

“Sorry!” Moonlight winced as she and the items pulled back. “Did I hurt you?”

Thomas sighed. “You were being a little rough,” he admitted as he rubbed his sore scalp. His eyes were closed as he felt water and shampoo run down his face. “Think I can just wash myself?”

“If you insist,” Moonlight conceded as a wash cloth levitated into her stallion’s hands. “Just make sure you get everywhere.”

“I know,” Thomas agreed tiredly. “I know.”

The two just sat and washed quietly for a while. Thomas’ eyes were still closed, but he still knew his own body well enough to know the important places to wash. After finishing his face and pits, he trailed down his stomach to his groin, finding that he was hard. He paused, realizing that Moonlight had forgotten to relieve him. The human opened his mouth to say as such, but found he couldn’t bring himself to give voice to the words. He wondered if it was because he was mad at her for pushing him around earlier, unsure if he preferred that to be the cause or if this was just his ‘preference for quiet’, as Luna put it. Though he couldn’t speak, he hoped Moonlight would remember on her own.

“Sorry,” Moonlight eventually admitted, breaking the silence. “I didn’t mean to be so rough with you.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Thomas agreed, still hoping she’d notice. Tasting his first release was something Moonlight, and mares in general, enjoyed and he didn’t want her to miss out on. It wasn’t as though he couldn’t bear to go without release; at least he hoped that was the case. He didn’t want to become a sex addict who only cared about the women in his life because of their physical appeal. However, he also didn’t want Moonlight to think he was acting selfishly, that he was whining that she didn’t do her job like some entitled brat. His thoughts and emotions were confused, uncertain of how to best react, so he kept silent, hoping she would remember on her own and free him of such responsibility. “I shouldn’t whine so much.”

“No. I was at fault,” Moonlight insisted. “I was impatient and should have known better than to be so rough with… Not that I’m saying you’re fragile!” she added urgently.

Thomas sighed. “I’m not, huh?”

Moonlight swallowed, realizing she’d said the wrong thing.

“I know I’m not as sturdy as a pony, but could you at least try not acting like you have to walk on eggshells around me?”

Moonlight leaned forward until her chin was atop his head and her breasts were pressed to his back. The way his skin bristled told her she’d achieved the desired effect of putting him, and herself, at ease. “Better?”

“Yeah,” Thomas conceded with a relaxed sigh. “Also, maybe don’t use magic on me so much? I kinda like walking on my own.”

Moonlight smiled as she wrapped her arms around the human’s torso. “Sure, but only if you agree the importance of proper hygiene to concubines. Deal?”

With his eyes still closed, Thomas grinned and wrapped his arms around Moonlights, sharing her hug. “Deal.”

The pair quickly wrapped up their shower, drying off and moving on to dental hygiene. Having long gone flaccid, Thomas remained quiet as he brushed. He told himself it just wasn’t meant to be, but the thought continued to aggravatingly assert itself. They then dressed, with Thomas in his uniform and Moonlight in her new set of light armor.

“That set’s new, right?” Thomas asked as he watched her slip her grieves on.

“Yup,” Moonlight huffed. “Light armor’s less bulky and easier to maintain, so I traded out. Let some other guard who needs it have my old set.”

“What kinds of armor are there?” Thomas asked, noting how mundane Moonlight’s actions were. Back when they’d become official, the mare wouldn’t have missed such an opportunity to shake her rump for his pleasure, but it seemed that she’d forgotten that, too. Guess that means the honeymoon stage is over. This thought also left the human conflicted, wondering if he should say something, but decided complaining about the lack of a show would be just as entitled as whining about the lack of a blowjob, so he kept silent. Besides, wasn’t this sort complacency supposed to be good? Was it a sign of their contentment with one another, or a warning that things were getting stale?

Even as he listened to Moonlight, Thomas wished he had someone with whom to talk about this stuff who wasn’t intimately close with Moonlight.

“I can lend you the manual for all the specialty types, but really there are just three basic models,” Moonlight explained as she magically set the breast plate into place. “Light, medium, and heavy, depending on what’s needed. Guards at the front gate are required to wear heavy armor since they’re meant to be like living shields. Those stationed just inside are a mix of light and medium to be more versatile in dealing with whatever threats make it in.”

“So the heavy armor guys are like the tank?” Thomas asked to Moonlight’s confusion. “Gamer terms. The strong tank holds the front and acts as a damage sponge. While the bad guys focus on them, you have support units using things like ranged weapons and magic to help keep the tanks from being overwhelmed.”

“I’m certain I’ve heard my brother talk about than in his O&O games.”

“Ogres and Oubliettes?”

“That’s the one,” Moonlight affirmed as the straps and belts were locked in place. “Anyway, beside the specialty armors, the three main sets are also divided up for the three tribes.”

“Oh,” Thomas said with a nod as his eyes trailed up and down Moonlight’s armored body. The armor wasn’t as formfitting in most areas, making the mare look cool rather than sexy. “I guess that makes sense, given how different body types are.”

“Exactly,” Moonlight said with a grin. “Different tribes have very different builds and needs. What qualifies as heavy for a pegasus wouldn’t even count as light for an earth pony.”

“What about bat ponies?”

“Their body types are pretty much identical to pegasi,” Moonlight explained. “You know, I almost never meet somepony not in the military who understands these kinds of things,” she said with a beaming grin, excited by the prospect of this new discussion topic. It warmed her heart to know that she didn’t fully know her stallion, that there were still things to be discovered that they could share.

Thomas, meanwhile, felt a similar relief from the casual conversation.

Additionally, Moonlight hoped his intrigue would distract him from how she’d forgotten to give him his morning relief. She cursed herself for forgetting one of her favorite routines, something she was normally so careful to remember. Besides the taste of his seed, just the idea of making her stallion happy would fill her with satisfaction. He didn’t say anything, so she figured he either hadn’t noticed or it hadn’t bothered him. In any case, she had a sneaking suspicion that this was going to bug her all night.

However, that train of thought was stopped by a knock at the door. Not expecting company so early, Moonlight nodded for Thomas to get behind her, just to be on the safe side. She opened the door and beheld a bat mare that neither of them recognized. She had jet black fur and a stark white tail with a silver streak running through it. Her armor was that of the night guard, of the light variety, which hid her mane beneath her helmet.

“Private First Class Moonlight Shield.” The mare gave a salute that Moonlight promptly returned. “Corporal Jet Black, reporting for duty.”

“Corporal?” Moonlight asked, still saluting. “Duty?”

“At ease,” Jet said and both mares relaxed. “They just posted the duty roster yesterday, so you probably haven’t seen it,” she explained authoritatively.

Jet glanced over to where Thomas had been standing. They locked eyes, studying one another for a moment. Thomas knew enough about military rankings to know that this mare was Moonlight’s superior. She had gruff, angled features, almost like that of a stallion. Her tone was equally gruff and a bit crackly, as if she’d spent a decent portion of her life yelling at others. Her yellow slit eyes were hard as stone and Thomas very nearly flinched away before she resumed looking at Moonlight. He could only guess what she thought of him, but he doubted it was positive.

“Starting next week, you and I will be on a rotating roster for guarding Senior Concubine Thomas.”

Thomas and Moonlight blinked in surprise.

“Ma’am?” Moonlight asked.

“Princess Luna’s guard is growing. That means more ponies to shore up necessary duties,” Jet explained pragmatically. “By order of Lieutenant Smokey Iron, you and I will have rotating shifts guarding Senior Concubine Thomas.”

Moonlight’s brow scrunched in puzzlement as she took in this new information. “I wasn’t aware of such a change being made,” Moonlight stated skeptically. “You’d think I would have been told beforehand. Has my performance been lacking in any way?”

“Not that I’m aware, Private,” Jet stated neutrally. “I’d recommend talking to the Lt. if you’ve got concerns.”

Moonlight’s ear flicked. It was silly, but she couldn’t help but feel insulted by the implication of Jet’s words, as though she didn’t already know the procedure. Even Thomas seemed to notice there was something off about the bat mare’s tone, like she was talking down to the unicorn.

“I’ll do just that. Thank you for informing me, Corporal.”

“Private,” Jet nodded, but remained in the doorway.

“Was there anything else?” Moonlight asked.

“While my duties don’t officially begin for some time, I was instructed to shadow you and Sir Thomas. This position is unique and requires skills they don’t teach in standard guard training.” She blinked surreptitiously. “At least that’s what the Lt. said.”

Moonlight couldn’t help but softly chuckle at the bat mare’s description. Having what she did described as unique felt oddly flattering. It also presented her with an opportunity to show off her expertise in the matter. “Why do you think that is, Corporal?” she asked as evenly as she could.

Jet’s expression remained neutral. “While it is unconventional for concubines of any station to receive personal guards, Sir Thomas is the only one of his kind in all Equestria.”

Moonlight nodded. “That’s certainly one way of putting it. I was told something similar when they offered me the position.” Moonlight ran her vision along Jet’s frame once more and settled back on her stone face, able to discern little from her expression. “Very well. I suppose we might as well settle this now.” And she nodded at Thomas to follow her.

As they walked down the halls towards the barracks, Thomas and Moonlight side by side, Jet remained one step to Thomas’ left and two steps back. “Why aren’t you walking in formation?” she eventually asked.

“Besides being off duty tonight,” Moonlight began, “that’s only necessary for formal occasions.”

“You so readily disregard regulations?” Jet asked judgmentally. “I expected more from Luna’s personal guard.”

“Pretty sure you said something about unique skills they don’t teach in standard training?” Thomas spoke up, trying to sound authoritative as he defended his mare.

Moonlight smiled appreciatively.

“Sir.” Jet nodded in affirmation, straightening up as she maintained her position.

“Moonlight follows regulations, but she’s also got permission to be a bit more flexible,” he informed. “Besides, I thought you were supposed to be watching to figure out how we do things.”

“Sir. As you say. Sir,” Jet replied, seemingly at attention despite continuing to walk.

Thomas theorized that Jet was probably a thoroughbred guard, trained since early foalhood to carry on a long running family tradition; not unlike Silver’s lineage. In contrast, while Moonlight’s mother was a soldier, her father was not. They had mated for reasons other than breeding the next great soldier. Of course, Thomas conceded that this was probably just his imagination running away with him, but argued with himself that this explanation was both plausible and went a long way towards illuminating why Jet was the way she was. Equally likely, she was probably just a soldier fresh out of training and a bit standoffish about her new job.

Moonlight and her human met eyes several times on their walk, each clearly wanting to say something, to chatter as they normally would. However, their eyes would always turn back to the mare following them, and the awkward silence would persist.

Finally they arrived at the Lieutenant’s office, and they were quickly shown in by the secretary. Smokey Iron was rather burly as far as pegasi went, with a body that demonstrated the benefits of a lifetime of fitness. His fur was a mint green and his short mane was three shades of red. He was currently hunched over his desk, partially hidden by a small mountain of paperwork as he read something.

“Take that you fiends,” he muttered to himself, clearly unaware or unconcerned that he had guests. “I see you there. Trying to skimp out on your duties, eh?” he chided aggressively and began scribbling with a mad fervor. “Well, we’ll just see how you like bathroom duty for the next two months.”

The tone of his narration led Thomas to believe the Lieutenant was picturing himself fighting some kind of real enemy in an effort to alleviate the monotony that must have been his standard work. While it had been a while since the human had had to deal with such work, he could still empathize with the stallion’s plight.

Eventually Jet cleared her throat and Iron looked up from his battlefield.

“Ah. Private Moonlight. And… Corporal Jet?” He stood and both mares saluted, which he returned. “At ease.” And he stepped around his desk, showing that he was dressed in full armor. “Gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting to have this conversation for at least another week, though I guess it saves me the trouble of calling you here myself.”

“Sir?” Moonlight asked.

Iron nodded with an understanding smile. “This is about the change in duty roster, yes? The Corporal wasn’t actually supposed to start her shadowing until next week.” He narrowed accusing eyes on the bat mare.

“I had no other duties, Sir,” Jet said flatly. “So I took the liberty of getting firsthand knowledge of my new assignment.”

Moonlight frowned. Looks like I’m not the only one who takes liberties.

Iron sighed. “Fair enough, I guess.”

“Sir, what’s this all about?” Moonlight asked. “Has my performance been lacking in any way?”

Iron shook his head. “Not significantly. No. I would’ve called you in for a private talk if it were.” He smiled at the soft exhale Moonlight gave. “However, as I imagine the Corporal might have mentioned, the night guard is swelling and we’re finally able to fill slots that’ve been vacant for far too long. Captain Armor just put together a plan to have our division operating to the same standard as the day guard this time next month.”

“Sir,” Moonlight acknowledged.

Thomas nodded his understanding as well.

“That said,” Iron continued with a hint of remorse, “I’m afraid Thomas’ particular situation poses an interesting quandary that must be addressed.”

“I’m… sorry?” Thomas asked.

“Sorry,” Iron said, holding up his hand as he shook his head. “I’m not much for this cloak-and-dagger stuff. Corporal Jet. Would you care to explain your role here?” At her hesitation, he added, “It’s not like they don’t already know.”

Jet nodded and turned to face the others. “I am Corporal Jet Black of the CEI. I have been assigned to guard Sir Thomas because of his status as an oracle.”

“You what!?” Moonlight hissed. Her panicked eyes darted from side to side, fearful of who else might be listening in the closed room.

“Hold on a second,” Thomas added. “I thought only the Princesses knew.”

“Correction,” Jet stated, completely unfazed. “The Princesses, their inner circle,” she glanced at Moonlight, “and the highest echelons of military intelligence are all familiar with the exact content of your visions, Sir Thomas,” she said to him. “Such information is considered on a need-to-know basis and thus unnecessary for regular officers,” she gestured between herself and Iron. “We have been informed only that your visions exist, not their contents, and will act accordingly. As an oracle, you’ve been deemed an asset of national security, as per military protocol.”

Moonlight furrowed her brow in thought as she looked to Jet. “I see. So they’re informing you from the start.”

Thomas flinched, recalling how he’d initially kept the secret from Moonlight. Granted, he’d been told to do so, but suddenly it seemed as though it was something to feel guilty about.

“Of course,” Jet said as though it should have been obvious. “When guards are assigned to protect a vault, they need not know what it holds, only that it exists. You were not informed because you were not trained for this assignment.”

“Excuse me?” Moonlight asked, assuming a more aggressive posture.

“The duty of protecting oracles has always been the domain of Central Equestrian Intelligence, not the standard military. However, because of centuries old protocol encouraging cooperation between the military and harem, we encountered a slight obstacle.”

Thomas’ eyes widened, recalling how it was Celestia who had asked that Moonlight be assigned as his personal guard.

“That’s a bit oversimplifying things, don’t you think?” Iron asked tiredly as all eyes turned towards him. “Yeah. The Princess’ request was a little bit of a hiccup, but it’s not like CEI didn’t manage.”

“Correct,” Jet agreed. “Standard protocol for dealing with oracles is to have one agent in the forefront and another guarding from the shadows.”

“From the…” Thomas trailed off. “So you’ve had someone watching me from the beginning?”

Jet nodded.

“That I didn’t know about?” Moonlight added angrily.

Jet nodded again. “Despite royal interference, it was deemed acceptable that, in this case, the guard operating in the open need not be informed of CEI operations to serve as a deterrent to lesser threats while we handled the greater dangers. You, Private Moonlight, were granted this role by royal decree. At the same time, agents such as myself have been watching from the shadows.”

Thomas wasn’t bothered by the idea of unknown agents watching from the shadows. Moonlight had told him she got extra help when going out, which he had already interpreted as spies in the shadows. Besides, his overactive imagination had always figured his unusual arrival would attract some manner of clandestine attention. However, he did feel anger rise within him at the way this bitch was talking down to his mare. His hand balled into a fist without him realizing, though Jet noticed well enough. Iron did too.

“That’s enough of that!” Iron barked at Jet, though she was the only one not to flinch at his booming voice. “I don’t care for you implying that the military just rolls over for the whims of the crown. We might answer to the Princesses, but there are procedures in place to prevent serious abuses. We needed a guard for the little guy and, given your exceptional marks,” he indicated Moonlight, “Princess Celestia asked us to assign her. We accommodated because she was already in our top ten for the job and, frankly, it was more or less a coin toss between her and the others. Besides, CEI agreed.”

“They did,” Jet concurred. “And you are correct.” She turned to bodily face the other mare. “Private Moonlight Shield. I look forward to working with you in the future,” she said in a way that didn’t even convince herself, let alone anyone else.

“Ma’am,” Moonlight acknowledged with the faintest and least friendly of nods she could manage.

Finally she turned back to Thomas and gave him an approving grin. “Well played.”

**********

“So you’re just going to wait out here?” Thomas asked as the trio arrived outside of Luna’s chambers.

“Sir,” Jet acknowledged as she took her place beside the two remaining door guards. The others had already gone off to follow Luna.

Thomas and Moonlight shared questioning looks. They knew the mare was just following protocol, as Moonlight had done when she had first been given this assignment. The question was whether or not they should try to break this new mare of her habits and invite her to join them. Moonlight answered the unasked question with a gentle shake of her head and the two entered, leaving Jet behind.

Thomas silently concurred, also not feeling up to forgiving the mare for her earlier rudeness.

“Hey guys!” Honey greeted warmly as Surprised waved eagerly from the breakfast table. “Why the long faces?”

“It seems Thomas is going to have a new guard to help ‘take up the slack,’” Moonlight explained as though the last phrase left a bad taste in her mouth.

“Uh oh,” Silver stated.

Moonlight and Thomas sat down to join the others for their morning meal of pancakes, all the while explaining everything they knew.

“Goodness,” Silver said thoughtfully. “This mare sounds like quite the brute.”

“How ya takin’ this, sugar?” Honey asked as she set an affectionate hand over Moonlight’s arm.

“The Lt. says I shouldn’t take this as an insult to my performance,” Moonlight replied evenly. “I know it’s nothing personal, though. She’s new and just needs to learn how we do things around here.”

“Oh!” Surprise chirped. “Maybe we just need to throw her a welcome dinner or something?”

“Not a party?” Thomas asked.

“Either or,” Surprise allowed as she wobbled her hand from side to side. “I’m flexible,” she baited.

“We know,” Moonlight agreed with a laugh. “Although there’s something that still bothers me.”

“Which is?” Silver asked.

“Well, I had only been assigned to you as a prelude to joining the harem.” She waved her hand around the room. “I hope the same doesn’t go for Jet.”

“We’ll ask Luna when she calls, but I don’t think that’ll be the case,” Thomas replied certainly.

“What makes you so sure?” Silver asked.

“Because we’d have been told,” Thomas said firmly. “I know there were a lot of secrets in the beginning, but we’ve talked with Luna. She said she’d be honest and up front with us from now on, and I trust her to do just that.”

“I hope that’s the case,” Moonlight agreed. “My dame ran some jobs for the CEI before. Said they were the biggest loads of horse dung she was ever forbidden from giving a deserved stomp.”

There were nods all around the table, Thomas noted, as the mares all seemed to share this distrust to some degree.

“But it makes sense,” Surprise pointed out. “If Thomas is an oracle, it kinda is their job to make sure he can do his job of seeing the futuuuure,” she said with a deliberately wavy voice in a bid to sound mystical and ominous.

“Sounds ta me like ya’ll are stuck with this mare, whether ya like it or not,” Honey concluded stoically. “In that case, ya’d be better off tryin’ ta make nice ‘stead ‘f talkin’ behind pony’s backs.”

Thomas and Moonlight met each other’s eyes.

“Today is your day off,” Thomas reminded.

“We could do something and invite her along,” Moonlight suggested.

“A fine idea,” Silver congratulated, focusing on Moonlight. “Good on you for being the bigger mare.”

“She’s already the bigger mare, though,” Thomas pointed out.

“Don’t be a smart mouth,” Silver chided gently as she took a sip of her tea, looking quite dignified.

And so, with the conclusion of one arc, we begin the next one with the addition of a new character. Or rather, the formal inclusion of one I’ve been hinting at for a little bit. Yes, this is, as many of you might have guessed, the same Black introduced conspiring with Firestorm some time back. She also might have been spying on Thomas and Honey in the orchard. What she’s actually doing here should be pretty obvious, but I won’t spoil anything.

Also, Thomas and Moonlight are being a little stupid regarding the progression of their relationship to the post-honeymoon stage. They’re bugging each other in little ways and not communicating as much as they should. I’d figured these two had been a little too perfect together, so this seemed like a natural hurdle for them to face.

Also, way back in September 2018, this was Chapter 118, although it might have been first written as far back as May of 2017. Basically, this installment is LONG overdue.

Tier 1: None at this time
Tier 2: Jake Nelson
Tier 3: Drake565