The train ride back to Canterlot was agonizingly long. As he watched the scenery go by from the window, Thomas had never missed cell phones so much in his life as he wondered how Celestia would react to his letter.

“Why so glum, chimp?” Talon gently punched his shoulder. “You’re a hero, for crying out loud. And the way you kissed Sparklebutt back there, I’d swear you’d been trained by a master.”

“She’s right, you know,” Moonlight looked up from her notes. Almost immediately after Spike sent the letter, Celestia sent a reply asking for her to write up a report on the incident. “You saved that filly’s life. And enlisting Celestia’s protégé like that was a stroke of brilliance and you handled it masterfully.”

“He’s not the only one,” Talon beamed at the guard. “That shield you made was a work of art.”

“Not at all,” Moonlight dismissed sheepishly. “What about how you lead those pegasi to distract the ursa? That thing might have smashed half of Ponyville if you hadn’t stepped in like that before Miss Sparkle managed to subdue it. It’s rather encouraging to see the old training never really dies.”

Talon beamed in pride. “Ya know what, we were all awesome back there. In fact, I’m so pumped I don’t care if Leste’s asleep right now or not. The minute we get back to the castle, I’m gonna take that mare and give her the ride of her life.” She looked down at the human. “So why the hay do you look so worried?”

Thomas finally turned from the window and sighed. “You’re right and I am pretty excited for what happened back there.”

“You mean how you expertly smooched that cute mare?” Talon teased. “Actually, the taking can wait. First thing I’m gonna do is tell Leste and Luna what you did. The looks on their faces will be priceless,” she tittered giddily.

“Miss Talon is correct, though,” Moonlight put her hand on Thomas’ knee. “What you did with Miss Sparkle may not seem like much, but you really did accomplish quite a bit back there. Also, and I can’t stress this enough, you saved a filly’s life. I’m certain both Princesses will be proud of you.”

“Yeah. So why are you still so bummed?” Talon asked irately. “You worried Leste won’t like you kissing Sparklebutt or something? Cause I can tell you right now, worst thing she’ll do is ask you not do so anymore; which she will only do after asking for details.”

“Does this have something to do with these secret orders of yours?” Moonlight inquired.

Thomas hesitated, and then gave a meek nod.

Talon sighed as she threw her arm around Thomas’ shoulder and pulled him close. “I’m pretty certain an ursa attack doesn’t have anything to do with a concubine’s discretion, unless Luna’s into some really elaborate role play stuff…” she trailed off. “So what’s with all the secrecy?”

“You told Miss Sparkle that the Princesses want you to keep details on the human country secret,” Moonlight added. “Is this matter related?”

“Sort of,” Thomas admitted.

“Then I think this line of questioning is over,” Moonlight nodded. “If the Princesses say it’s secret, then it is none of our concern.”

“Maybe not for you, but I still want to know,” Talon whined before composing herself. “I can’t ask ya to go against an order from the Princesses, but I don’t like my friends keeping secrets from me. When we get back, I think me and Leste are going to have to have a long talk. But first,” she turned to look at Moonlight. “You. Care to share why you look so glum?”

Moonlight blinked back at the griffon. She looked ready to deny the accusation, but a solemn glare from her friend told her it was pointless. “Before the ursa… I failed.”

Thomas sat up straight and looked worriedly at the unicorn. “Failed?”

“I failed to protect you, Sir.”

Thomas grimaced at the way she’d called him ‘Sir’. It sounded strangely accusing.

“Not just with the ursa, but before that, when that Lyra pony got past me and knocked you down.”

Thomas blinked. “But I already said it was…”

“It’s not!” Moonlight cut him off curtly. “I mean… your words are appreciated, but that doesn’t relieve me of my mistake. That’s why I’m going to report myself.”

“Report yourself?” Thomas asked in disbelief. He looked to the griffon for assistance, but Talon had folded her arms as she regarded Moonlight seriously.

“You sure?” Talon asked neutrally, to which the unicorn nodded. “Good soldier.”

“Good soldier?” Thomas repeated in shock. “But-but-but…”

“Not this time,” Talon shook her head. “She made a mistake. It’s only right that she owns up to it.”

Moonlight blinked in surprise, but then realized that her griffon friend was ex-military, so this response shouldn’t have surprised her. She felt she should smile, but that didn’t seem appropriate. Instead, she just gave a firm nod which the griffon returned.

Despite his displeasure, there was an unspoken agreement to not bring up the matter further. The remainder of the train ride was conducted in relative silence.

**********

“The buck is this!?” Talon screeched outside Celestia’s office, her wings and feathers flared in anger.

“I’m sorry, Tali,” Celestia bobbed her head apologetically as she blocked the door with her body. The guards on either side of the door were tense, uncertain of how they were supposed to react to a concubine yelling at a Princess like this. Even Moonlight looked worried. “But this is a matter of national security.”

“The buck does that mean?” Talon snarled at the larger white alicorn. “What does a random ursa attack and the chimp have to do with national security?”

“Talon,” Celestia said in a tone that made Talon pull back. “I promise I will tell you and the others, in time. But for now, Thomas, Luna, and I have very important matters to discuss.”

Talon continued seething for a moment until her feathers and wings settled back against her body. “I’ll hold you to that.”

“Until then,” Celestia continued, “I’ll trust you not to press Thomas to defy a royal command.”

Talon dipped her head in a nod. “So long as you can promise you’re not getting him involved in anything dangerous. Despite tonight, the little guy’s not exactly the most capable on his own.”

Celestia gave a warm smile. “It makes me happy to see you’ve taken such a liking to him.”

“Don’t do that,” Talon glared. “I know you. You can’t dodge me like some petty noble.”

“Indeed,” Celestia sighed. “You have my word that I will do what I can to keep him safe.”

“I’ll hold you to that too,” Talon nodded and walked off.

Celestia turned to look at Moonlight and took the report from her. Moonlight was practically shaking as she watched the Princess lift the papers to her face and begin skimming. Moonlight could not bring herself to move for, within their confines of that report was a rather harsh critique of her own performance during the day. Not only did she describe her every shortcoming during the attack, but she did not leave out her pitiful reaction when Lyra had tackled Thomas. At the time, she had rationalized that what Lyra had done wasn’t that severe. After all, some ponies were just overenthusiastic about certain things, meaning that what Lyra had done wasn’t that rare. It was still socially unacceptable to be so forcefully physical with strangers, but the orange unicorn had caught herself overthinking the situation and suppressing the impulse to react as a guard should. She’d noted this in the report, but it was not an excuse, just one more detail to explain her failing.

Finally, Celestia looked up and Moonlight braced herself for the worst. Celestia wasn’t known for yelling, but a look of disappointment from the Princess of the Sun would be just as devastating. Moonlight resigned herself for whatever the elder alicorn had planned. If she was lucky, really lucky, she’d be asked to leave the guard in order to avoid a dishonorable discharge.

“Thank you for your services, Private Moony,” Celestia said with a warm smile, unaware of how the other mare’s heart had briefly stopped. “You did fine.”

Moonlight froze in shock. No one but her family had ever called her by that nickname. And Celestia hadn’t done that since the young filly had stopped referring to her as ‘auntie’ at her father’s request. What’s more, Moonlight was having a very difficult time rationalizing those last three words as anything other than possible forgiveness for her failure. “Y-yes, Princess,” she eventually acknowledged. Celestia lingered in the doorway, staring down at Moonlight as if she wanted to say something more. In time, Celestia departed and closed the door behind her. In a daze Moonlight took up her position beside the door, repeating the Princess’ last three words over and over in her head, each time making her feel a little bit lighter until she had to stop herself from bouncing like a filly.

**********

Celestia’s office was dimly lit as she made her way to her desk. The furniture was arranged much as Luna’s with an alicorn sized desk in the center and a smaller one for the currently absent secretary by the door. However, the normal guards and aids were absent. Tonight, the only ones in the office were Celestia, Luna sitting to her right, and Thomas sitting across from them both.

Thomas was visibly shaking at the sight before him. He’d grown used to seeing both Princesses, large, beautiful, and powerful sitting side by side, but they had always seemed so relaxed and inviting while joking with the other concubines. However, there were no jokes this time. Both were smiling, but it was the sort of smile that always preceded a lecture on all the things you’ve done wrong. Up until now, Thomas had gotten the impression that the alicorns wished to be looked at as any normal mares, but right now they were Princesses. Their postures and powerful eyes reflected the centuries of experience they had ruling the mightiest kingdom in the known world. Celestia, as the larger of the two, was especially intimidating. Ignoring her magic, size, and strength, Celestia held an intense beauty which caused the average pony to bow before her out of pure reflex.

“Sorry for the delay,” Celestia shrugged as she looked over the report. “Tali seems quite protective of you.”

“She’s been really nice to me,” Thomas said, glancing nervously between the Princesses.

“Hmm,” Luna hummed as she joined her sister in reading the report, turning the pages rapidly as she read. “Seems like you had quite the day off.”

Celestia nodded. “Even before the ursa, there are a number of details which differ significantly from your original description of the, as you described it, episode. For instance, Rainbow Dash was not present during Trixie’s show.”

“She was off consoling Fluttershy, I think,” Thomas nodded.

“Which only happened because of her meeting with Lady Talon,” Luna pointed out. “It seems that the key difference between this and your original recounting of the episode was yourself. Your presence had an unintended ripple effect. Quite interesting,” she said with an intrigued smile.

Thomas shrunk in his chair, feeling like he’d been called to the principal’s office after doing something wrong. I fucked up. There’s no other way of putting it. My just going to Ponyville nearly caused the entire town to be leveled by a freaking space bear. If it weren’t for me, Twilight would have been able to react faster and Apple Bloom wouldn’t have been in any danger at all. And that’s just her. If the other ponies in town knew what I’d nearly done, Moonlight would have had to use the shield to save me from a lynch mob. Thomas was so deep in his negative thoughts that he didn’t notice Luna’s frown at his reaction.

“However,” Luna continued with a mildly optimistic tone. “You, Moonlight, and Talon made up for it by leading a defense and snapping young Twilight out of her… I believe ‘funk’ is the word. And, if I am reading this correctly, you were quite daring in your rescue of the filly,” Luna beamed proudly. “Do not be surprised if your next trip to Ponyville is significantly more amicable.”

“They balanced themselves out,” Celestia added, returning her attention to the report. “However, it may be prudent to restrict your movements to Canterlot, at least for the time being.”

“You mean like how I was under house arrest before?” Thomas asked bluntly, surprising himself by the sharpness of his own words. Normally he kept such snide remarks to himself, especially when Luna was involved.

Luna snapped to attention away from the report. “We… I… yes,” she slumped a bit into her chair. “It says right here,” she pointed at the document, “that you were told as much.”

Thomas stared blankly back at the Princess of the Night. “Moonlight and Talon told me I was being confined to the castle for my own good.”

“It was.” Luna insisted somberly. “We needed to take precautions to ensure your safety.”

“I get that,” Thomas admitted, trying to keep his tone calm. “Especially early on, I get that you would have been concerned for my safety and that of others. I just wish you would have told me.”

Luna opened her mouth to speak, but found no words. Celestia eyed the both of them in silent judgment.

“It’s not the house arrest thing that bothers me,” Thomas explained. “You’ve got a pretty nice house and I wouldn’t have had anywhere to go anyway. But…” he trailed off.

“But?” Celestia repeated, breaking the silence.

“Talon said that your…” he hesitated, bracing himself for Luna’s reaction, “possession-thing,” Luna remained surprisingly stoic, “might have led to some adverse effects, so I’m not mad. But I wish you’d have at least told me where I stood.”

Luna winced. There was no excuse for failing to inform him, not even the adverse effects he had mentioned. As his mare, she had a duty to be open with him, especially on matters regarding his person.

“You’re right,” Celestia set the report down and leaned forward. “It seems there have been a number of oversights as of late. Sister,” she turned to Luna. “I do believe you owe Sir Thomas an apology for not informing him of his previous confinement to the castle.”

“Oh no,” Thomas protested, fearful that he’d overstepped his bounds. “She doesn’t need to say…”

“I’m sorry,” Luna cut him off. “You are mine, my love. And as such, it was my responsibility to inform you about such things.” She hesitated, but the next words eventually came. “My mind has not been as keen as it once was since my return, but that is hardly an excuse. Please forgive my terrible negligence in this matter.”

Thomas was taken aback. The seriousness of Luna’s tone told him that she was being genuine. She loved him, sure. He felt as much to be true. However, the human still couldn’t help but feel surprised at how the prospect of her hurting him was in turn hurting her just as much. A part of him wanted to stay angry, to just tell her how upset he was and revel in her response, but that part was pushed aside. “No. I’m sorry,” Thomas said, surprising both alicorns. “You’ve been really patient in how you’ve been helping me adjust to this place, but it never occurred to me that your situation, coming back after so long, might require some patience on my part too.” As the alicorns stared back at him, Thomas silently congratulated himself for his mature response.

Luna smiled, elated and relieved at hearing those words. “Apology accepted. Thank you, my little human,” she said in relief. “We shall speak more on this later.”

Thomas flushed at having his pet name spoken in front of Celestia, but he was also thankful to have that weight lifted from his chest.

“As I said,” the Princess of the Sun continued, “it seems you did manage to balance out much of the unforeseen effects of your interference. Perhaps restrictions would be too much, but at the very least I ask you to be a bit more cautious the next time you return to Ponyville.”

“That’s, um, fair. Thank you.” Thomas lightly bowed his head. He figured such a thing was probably a given, but it made sense that Celestia would say it out loud anyway.

“What about Lady Talon’s courting of the Element of Kindness?” Luna asked.

“It’s not a courting,” Celestia dismissed unconcernedly. “That’s just how Tali gets when she’s around cute mares. I don’t imagine anything serious will come of this. And if it does, I will simply have a talk with her about ensuring that little Fluttershy is not distracted from her friends. All in all, while tonight was quite the scare, it seems that there’s nothing more to worry about.”

“But it happened completely out of order!” Thomas stood. “That means everything I’ve told you could be wrong. How can you say that there’s nothing to worry about?”

Celestia beamed at Thomas until he sat back down. “Was it not you who said we might not be able to trust the order of events, what with Winter Wrap up happening before,” she checked one of the other stacks of paper on her desk, “Fall Weather Friends? For the record, this event has not happened yet either. Further, Hearth’s Warming Eve, a winter holiday, occurs in what you referred to as the second season after Winter Wrap Up, yet you also say that all of these events take place within a single year.”

“But that was just a broadcasting error,” Thomas protested irately. “That’s like if a printer accidentally made a book with chapter four coming after chapter seven.”

Celestia listened calmly. “Why should this be any different?”

“It means you can’t trust the order for anything,” Thomas seethed, frustrated that the Princesses didn’t seem to be taking this as seriously as he was.

Celestia nodded stoically. “I have already considered this possibility since the day you told me of your knowledge of Equestria.”

“Sister,” Luna frowned.

“Starswirl created a number of mirrors to alternate realities,” Celestia explained casually. “Places so near our own Equestria that you could search for years and not find a difference, and yet more worlds that go beyond the scope of mortal imagination. Even you have suggested that the world you described could merely be another parallel reality. The fact that we look nothing like the ponies you observed should be evidence enough of that.”

“But… if this really is just some alternate reality, then you can’t really trust anything I’ve told you.” Thomas slumped in his seat and pressed his hands to his face. “I’m just completely useless.”

“Enough!” Luna shouted, stopping just short of the Royal Canterlot Voice as she stood from the desk and angrily stomped around it to Thomas. “Thou art forbidden from saying such foalish things about our stallion. Thou art not…”

“Sister!” Celestia raised her voice and motioned for Luna to back down. “Sir Thomas, the ‘Sir’ was not awarded to you lightly. You are an asset to the crown. Regardless of the accuracy of your information, this very report proves you are an upstanding citizen of Equestria. It would serve you well to take some of the advice you gave Twilight for yourself,” she grinned, glancing at Luna. “Besides, I’m certain my sister is just itching to explain, in great detail, all the reasons why you are, in fact, not useless.”

Thomas looked back up at Luna as she gave him an affirming nod while her eyes plead for his understanding.

“I’d say your eventful day is catching up with you,” Celestia smiled. “Perhaps you could do with some rest to restore your strength. However, do not mistake my calm demeanor for lack of concern. Further precautions will be taken to ensure that Equestria and her citizens are protected. You have my word as a Princess.”

“Thank you,” Thomas sighed gratefully before a yawn took him. “Yeah. I think it is time for bed.”

“Moonlight will escort you back to my chambers,” Luna instructed after exchanging glances with Celestia.

“Moonlight!” Thomas blurted remembering one last thing he had intended to say.

“What of her?” Luna asked, ears twitching anxiously.

“In the report,” Thomas began. “Did she… bring up what happened with a unicorn named Lyra?”

Luna exchanged quick glances with her sister. If this was going where she thought it was, she might accidentally shatter someone’s eardrums with her squee. However, she managed to stay composed and keep a neutral expression as she answered. “That she did.”

“It’s just…” Thomas hesitated as he searched for the right words. “She’s not going to get in trouble, is she?”

Luna tilted her head. “Why do you ask?”

“It’s just… I think it’s been bugging her all day how she, I guess, didn’t react like she should have.” Thomas’ practical side was screaming at him to just shut up and let the guard be disciplined for her failure. However, once more that part was pushed aside by something that felt strangely unfamiliar to the human, like a compulsion to say and do certain things. “Nothing happened, so I don’t think she should be punished.”

It took all of Luna’s self-discipline to keep her tail from wagging like a dog’s. Thomas’ concern for his friend, along with apparent willingness to stand up for her if need be, was nothing especially unusual to any outsider. However, as an insider, Luna could see something else at play and it filled her with warmth and excitement. Alas, that would have to wait. “I do not think the young guard will get much more than a simple write up,” she said casually as she moseyed back to her chair behind the desk.

“So she will get in trouble?” Thomas asked worriedly.

“No more so than if she was late to her shift a few too many days in a month,” Luna said dismissively. “If this report is any indicator, Private Moonlight is quite aware of her mistake. The Lieutenant might have her perform a number of menial tasks as punishment, but I suspect she will appreciate the alleviation of any lingering guilt. What this Lyra pony did, while inappropriate, was not all that unusual.”

“Seriously?” Thomas deadpanned.

“Indeed,” Luna nodded. “In any case, Moonlight’s career in the guard will not be damaged. On this, I can assure you.”

Thomas let out a small sigh of relief. “Glad to hear it.”

Luna was thankful that the desk now served as an exceptional shield to block the human’s view of her wagging tail. Her tail wasn’t twitching in sexual frustration. Her tail was wagging the same as any dog upon hearing something it likes. “I’ll join you shortly. My sister and I have some other matters to discuss.”

Thomas agreed and departed, sleep threatening to take him before he could find the bed. For a moment he considered mentioning the tingle in his wrists and the spark-kiss, but he dismissed it as nothing but an embarrassing coincidence. If Moonlight hadn’t seen fit to write it in her report, then it wasn’t worth acknowledging.

Uh, oh. Houston, looks like we got us a problem. Not only was Thomas not the only one having issues with just coming out and being honest, but now he’s starting to question a thing he’d been silently placing a considerable amount of his self-worth in.