“So chimp, wha’chya wanna do tonight?” Talon asked as she sat across from him at their usual table in chow hall.

Thomas shrugged as he swallowed his mouthful of pancake. He was wearing a comfortable set of his more casual clothes for his Monday off, though his uniform still made for decent underwear. If they were going out to the city, as expected, he’d be more comfortable not showing off his bare chest. “I thought you’d want to go into the city again. Got anywhere special in mind?”

“I’ve got a few ideas, but you’re kinda missing the point. I’m asking you what you want to do. Tonight you get to decide,” the griffon beamed.

“Indeed,” Moonlight added. “Tonight, you get to be the one to drag us around. Anything you want.”

“Anything?” Talon asked with a mischievous smirk as her eyebrows danced at the glaring mare.

Thomas stared intently down at his remaining pancakes before letting out a sigh. “Like I said, I never really did all that much back home. Frankly, you two dragging me around has been the most social activity I’ve had in years.”

“Come on, chimp. There had to have been something you liked to do.”

Thomas shrugged. “I guess I liked to walk.”

“Walk?”

“Yeah. Just walk around under the sun and just let my mind go wherever it wanted.”

“The public gardens,” Moonlight interjected eagerly. “There’s the maze and all those lovely sculptures. Plus not too many ponies go there during the night, so we shouldn’t be bothered by anypony.”

Thomas’ expression brightened. “That sounds perfect.”

“If Moonlight’s up for a romantic stroll under the moonlight, then count me in,” Talon said, lightly banging her fist onto the table for emphasis.

The three quickly finished up their breakfast before heading down to the gardens.

“Hazy Lance. As depicted in his last stand against the diamond dog marauders. His brave sacrifice was critical in buying the Princess’ forces the time they needed to rally for a successful counter attack.” Thomas read the inscription out loud. There was more, but he skimmed down until he found the name of the artist. “Stained Marble. Neat.” He looked up to see an earth pony stallion clad in nothing but chainmail trousers as he wielded a spear with a curved blade, swinging it at three diamond dogs who wore rags and wielded rather misshapen swords.

“Gotta love the classics,” Talon commented as she admired the sculpture.

“Agreed,” Moonlight nodded with an awed grin. “Marble’s work is especially beautiful. Just look at those faces. It’s like they’re reaching out across time to try and burn each other with their glares. Especially Hazy Lance.”

“That’s not too far off,” Talon added. “The marauding tribes of old were a problem even for us griffons. Hazy Lance protected an awful lot of our villages. In fact, if I remember right, it was the griffon king’s request to attend his funeral to honor the mutually respected warrior that pretty much started positive relations between ponies and griffons.”

“Never took you for a scholar,” Moonlight commented.

“What can I say?” Talon shrugged. “Griffons get stiff wings for heroes, so we make sure our schools teach us about all of them. What about you, chimp?”

“I’ve always considered history like a story. Heroes and villains doing great things, though it all kinda depends on your perspective. What makes a story interesting, at least to me, is the realism. And it doesn’t get much more real than history… well, assuming the people who wrote it didn’t rewrite too much to push some sort of agenda.”

“Humans have that problem too?” Talon asked. “For a while our scholars had a bad habit of rewriting everything to make whatever current dynasty look perfect while dragging all the old ones through the mud. It’s been hard getting away from that and even now we still have some work to do, but at least heroes remain intact.”

Thomas gazed down at the inscription before looking back up. “Sort of reminds me of the Alamo. The state of Texas was fighting for its independence from Mexico. A tiny garrison of soldiers managed to keep the Mexican army distracted long enough for pretty much what happened after this,” he gestured to the statue. “But I guess heroism like this always ends up as the focal point in war stories.”

Having nothing further to say, the trio moved on in search of the next thing to catch their interest. The night was quiet and the gardens were all but deserted save for the occasional gardener. It was peaceful, if a bit spooky. The light from the moon wasn’t as bright as usual and the lamps cast rather unsettling shadows against the statues. However, Talon was walking a lot closer to him than usual and the regular brushes of her arm against his were reassuring.

**********

Meanwhile, in Luna’s office, the Princess of the Night was delivering some bad news.

“I’m sorry, but it has simply not been working out,” Luna explained as calmly and sympathetically as she could.

“What the hay does that mean?” Midnight Chain shouted.

Lunar Stone was torn between tending to the whimpering Starry Sky and holding back a very irate Midnight Chain. “Now calm down, sweetie.”

“Celestia herself chose us and we did everything you asked, even putting on those silly swimsuits just to keep the human happy.”

“The human?” Luna repeated, ear twitching irritably as she stared unamused at the unicorn.

“That’s right,” Midnight Chain sneered. “It was bad enough when you gave that puny foreigner the honored position of Senior Concubine, something that should have been mine, but I kept my mouth shut. But if I’m getting sacked anyway, then I might as well hrmph…” the unicorn was cut off by a zipper magically appearing on her lips and sealing her mouth shut.

“No. I do not think you should,” Luna sighed disappointedly. “Lunar Stone. Starry Sky. If you choose, you will be allowed to seek alternative employment here at the castle. I shall offer you both favorable references for your professionalism. However, Midnight Chain…” she paused to glare at the unicorn. “It saddens me to hear that you held such feelings for dearest Thomas. For your outburst, I am afraid you shall not be allowed back into the crowns’ employ.”

Midnight Chains expression changed from anger to shock, and then gradually melted into sorry. She finally managed to undo her zipper. “I… I’m sorry.”

“Your apology is noted,” Luna nodded. The Princess dismissed her former attendants and let out a sigh of relief when the doors closed behind them. “I suppose that could have gone better.”

“Could have been worse, too,” Attentive Eye added from her desk. “Figured this would happen, though.”

“Did you now?”

“Read up on how new concubines are usually inducted, and these three were substandard at best.” Attentive Eye paused, but the look Luna gave her suggested she go on. “They made no move on Sir Thomas apart from banter which, if I’m honest, always sounded a little forced. Even though his title technically means his say on new concubines is just as important as yours. It’s like courting a herd, but none of them even bothered. I suppose now we know why.”

“Indeed,” Luna nodded solemnly. “Tis sad to say, but it seems far too many are far from accepting of dearest Thomas. Lady Moonlight’s assignment as his bodyguard seems less and less superfluous by the day.”

Attentive Eye eyed Luna intently. “He’s protected,” she assured. “Everypony knows he belongs to you. While they might be less than warm, I don’t imagine any would be stupid enough to actually try anything that might incur the wrath of the moon.”

Luna chuckled. “We can only hope.”

**********

“What do we have here?” Talon asked in intrigue as another statue caught her eye. “That’s a hay of thing.”

“He seems… happy?” Moonlight’s face scrunched up at the towering work of stone. “What… what even is it?”

There it was. One of the most powerful monsters in all Equestria, a thing that not even the Princesses could defeat on their own. He had the same mismatched parts and slender body as he did on the show, though his chest was a bit broader. He was also anatomically correct, with his cock thankfully pulled back into its sheath; though it still looked rather weird, especially when Thomas loathingly noticed the left testicle was significantly larger than the right. The statue stood at his full height, mouth open as if he were rejoicing and arm outstretched to make sure all could see just how happy he was.

“Discord,” Thomas said under his breath.

“Oh yeah,” Talon snapped her claws. “The bastard of chaos.” She leaned in to examine the statue more carefully, specifically what was beneath the belt. “Can’t really see, but I hear the freak had both sets of genitals naturally.”

“There’s no way a thing like that can be called natural,” Moonlight shook her head in disgust. “They say he’s a draconequus, a dragon horse. The idea that they felt the need to give such a thing a name like that is especially unsettling. It’s a species name, implying that there might be more.” She shuddered.

“Nah,” Talon dismissed as she pulled back from her failed exploration. “Think some pony just wanted to give ‘em a name like that to make him less scary. But I gotta say, just looking at ‘em, I can’t rightly see why. He’s not exactly nice to look at, but exactly something a foal would fear coming out of their closet.”

“Th-think we can move on?” Thomas asked, unable to hide the worry in his voice as his friends looked at him with concern. Thomas had been staring at the statue, or rather the petrified form of Discord in complete silence as his mind raced. Discord was, is, alive. Even before he told them, the Princesses had always suspected his imprisonment would be temporary. However, they had assured him that they had already taken appropriate precautions. Smashing the statue and scattering its remains only increased the risk of encountering the last bit of chaotic energy he needed to break free. Even sealing him up in a vault would, at best, only delay his resurrection. Celestia and Luna had both promised that the best solution would be to let things happen as destiny intended and allow Discord awaken just long enough to be defeated by the Elements. The human was uncomfortable with such a lax plan from the normally proactive alicorns, but, having no better alternatives, he deferred to their judgment.

“Sure,” Talon bumped his shoulder in the direction of the rout they’d been taking just a moment ago. They walked in silence for a couple minutes until the statue was out of sight. “So, chimp. Where’d your mind usually go during your old walks?”

The change of subject was less than subtle, but still appreciated. “Mostly ideas I had for stories, I guess.”

“Stories?” Moonlight asked, ears perking to attention. “You were a writer?”

“It was just a hobby.”

“Don’t matter,” Talon leaned in close. “What’d ya write about?”

“Adventure stuff, mostly, but I tried dabbling in a bit of romance too. Mostly I took inspiration from some of the stuff I read.”

“Ya don’t say,” Talon nodded along. “Smarty-corn here like’s to read that sort of stuff. Maybe you two can do some bookworm bonding or something?”

Moonlight glared at Talon, but she turned down to Thomas with a small smile. “I, uh, have quite the collection. If you’re looking for some local inspiration, I could recommend a few things. Maybe you could get back into your, erm, hobby. I’d love to see some of your work.”

Thomas blushed. His first instinct was to say that his writing was nothing special, but something told him all that would do is earn him a lecture and a smack. “Couldn’t hurt.”

Deciding there was nothing left in the garden worth seeing anyway, they departed for the barracks and found Moonlight’s room. Instead of the barren walls Thomas had expected for a soldier, the walls were hidden by shelves filled with books.

“Damn, filly,” Talon awed as she approached on of the shelves. “Ya know, Leste’s not gonna be happy if she finds out you raided her library like this.”

Moonlight rolled her eyes. “Here,” she pulled out a book and shoved it into the griffon’s chest. “If you must, consider it a bribe to keep your big beak shut.”

Talon held out the book and her eyes bulged as she read the title. “Seven Stallions? No way! I’ve been looking for a copy of this forever. And first edition too.” She looked up at Moonlight. “How?”

The unicorn set her helmet down on her dresser and smiled playfully over at the griffon. “Oh, a mare has her ways,” she tittered. Truth was it was just a birthday present from her mom. It might have just been a gag gift, but it was her first introduction to erotica, this copy specifically. “Just make sure you give it back in one piece.”

Talon straightened to attention and saluted proudly. “Aye aye, sir!”

Shaking her head, Moonlight motioned for Talon and Thomas to take a seat on her bed. Thomas’s butt was barely on the sheets for a second before Talon wrapped her arm around him and pulled him against her chest. He looked up to see the griffon focusing intently on Moonlight as she explored her book shelves. Her grip was tight, but he didn’t struggle, only shifting enough to get comfortable. The human was loath to admit it, but he actually liked when these big girls held him like this. There was a sense of security in their strength and warm bodies.

“Ah hah!” Moonlight exclaimed as she pulled her target from its shelf and turned around. She paused to stare as the griffon held the human, the latter doing nothing to resist. It was sweet. The mare had to stop herself from dawing as she shook her head to keep her mind from wandering. “I was thinking,” she held out the book, “maybe you and I could write something, you know, together?”

Thomas took the book from Moonlight’s hands. The cover was blank and inside was rather sloppy handwriting rather than printed text. “You wrote this?”

Moonlight was nodding so enthusiastically that, if she were still wearing her helmet, it’d fall off. She looked at him expectantly.

Thomas scanned a few lines and instantly his critical side took hold as he spotted several errors. However, he refocused his attention to what was written rather than how. It was about an earth pony stallion named Gold Chaser looking for gold in a newly established prospector town. Thomas turned the page and found several notes written off to the sides of the pages. From them he gleamed that Moonlight had gone through much debate with herself over exactly where to place the first meeting with the love interest, Sure Prospects. “Romance?” he asked.

Moonlight blushed and looked away. “Not… exactly.”

Talon whispered in a hushed tone loud enough for all to hear. “Filly’s got a thing for the naughty stuff.”

Moonlight bared her teeth at the griffon, horn sparking to indicate her barely restrained anger. But to her surprise, Thomas gave no reaction. He just kept reading. Well, skimming by how quickly he was flipping through the pages, but he definitely seemed to linger on each one long enough to take the story in.

Several minutes passed in silence. Talon tried reading over Thomas’ shoulder, but he was going too fast for her liking. Moonlight, more than once, had to remind herself to breathe with how nervous she was. She’d never shown her writing to anypony outside her family, not even her past filly friends. Even then, what she had shared was tame compared to what Thomas was currently holding. It was her first real work, a book she’d been working on and off for years. As Thomas continued to read, she silently scolded herself for showing him something so personal. Was she trying to get him to open up to her by opening up first? Would he even get that if she didn’t say so outright? Probably not. Stupid mare. She looked at the turned pages and calculated that he was just about to the first sex scene. Sweet Celestia, he was going to think she was such a freak for writing this.

“I like the detail,” Thomas said casually into the book. “Really captures the realism. Even that part where you describe the rock after he wakes up with a hangover.”

“You…” Moonlight gulped. “You like it? H-have you gotten to the tent scene yet?”

“Skimmed it,” Thomas confessed, never taking his scrutinizing eyes off the pages. “Kinda felt a little rushed for the first time, though. Maybe you should have them drink a little first?”

“D-drink?”

“Yeah. They start drinking, lower their inhibitions, and then you have them cozy up.”

Moonlight’s mouth was agape. “I… I didn’t feel the tent scene was too rushed, but now that you mention it, throwing alcohol into the mix does make it feel a bit more natural.” Her lips slowly pulled into a smile. “They actually do a lot of drinking, come to think of it. Maybe I can make a running theme out of that or something.”

“Hold on,” Talon stopped them both and turned the pages back till she found what they were talking about. “Huh. Ya know, I think the chimp may be on to something.”

“Your grammar and spelling could use some work though,” Thomas added hesitantly.

“Oh, I know,” Moonlight agreed nonchalantly. “This is all first draft material. I can refine that stuff later.”

“Mind if I make a few marks?” Thomas asked.

“Certainly.” Moonlight’s horn lit and a pencil levitated over to Thomas.

The three idly conversed as Thomas went to work on what had been written, correcting misspellings and making suggestions for grammar issues. When lunch rolled around, they left the book behind and went back to chow hall, continuing to discuss the book and what Moonlight’s plans were for the future. There was some measure of humor to be found in just how seriously they discussed some of the raunchier scenes. While Talon would occasionally interject with her own opinion, mostly it was Thomas and Moonlight who discussed the mechanics of what they were doing. On their way back, Talon couldn’t help but notice how often the unicorn was bumping into the human, specifically, how her hip was trying to bump his. The unicorn’s contented face suggested she hadn’t noticed, and Thomas certainly wasn’t going to speak up, but Talon knew. Moonlight was acting subconsciously, and if Thomas had been a pony, they’d be walking with their cutie marks pressed together. The intent, even if not conscious, could not have been more obvious and Talon was grateful no one else seemed to notice.

Thomas is helping Moonlight write a book. That should prove an interesting diversion. And the tiniest hint of differing cultural views. A pity the former attendants had to react so poorly, especially Midnight Chain, but them’s the breaks. Also, Discord. The Princesses have a plan for his return, and so do I.