“What do you mean you’re working today?” Thomas asked in disbelief.

“Sorry, chimp.” Talon shrugged. “But we can’t just go leaving our Princess unattended like we’ve been doing. Her cravings are getting stronger and somebody’s always gotta be on standby in case the old gal gets that itch.”

Thomas frowned. After that speech about alicorns being in constant heat, the griffon’s words made sense. And while he knew she wasn’t leaving or anything, it still felt a little odd for him to have a day off without her joining in. She’d been accompanying him on his day offs since the beginning, after all.

“Buck up there, little buddy.” Talon encouraged as she set her claw on his shoulder. “You’ll see me again later tonight. For now, try thinking of this as the next part of your training. See what fun you can stir up on your own when the life of the party ain’t around.”

Thomas chuckled. “What do you mean? Moonlight’s still coming along, right?” He indicated the mare.

“Absolutely.” Moonlight beamed proudly, stealing an anxious glance of Thomas when he looked away.

“Right.” Talon rolled her eyes. “So why don’t you two run off and make your own fun for a change while I get back to the grind.”

“Double-entendre,” Thomas said flatly before turning away.

Seizing the opportunity, Talon reached out for Moonlight’s wrist and pulled the mare’s ear close enough to hear her hushed voice. “This is your chance.” She whispered urgently. “Don’t buck this up.”

“Chance for what?” Moonlight whispered in befuddlement.

Talon stared dumbfounded at her friend. While she’d like to smack the mare upside the head for being so dense, there simply wasn’t the time, so she leaned back in. “Just take him out for a nice night and see what happens.” Talon released her grip on the mare and quickly slipped a small note into her armor before taking flight to catch up with Luna’s entourage.

Left standing in confusion, it didn’t take long for Moonlight to realize that she was all alone and at risk of dereliction of duty. She rushed down the opposite hallway to catch up with Thomas, taking her rightful place just behind him.

**********

Talon set down beside Silver, her momentum carrying her forward a bit until she came to a more even pace beside the mare as they followed Luna, who was pretending not to have noticed what had happened. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Talon smirked as she could see the question on Silver’s lips that she was too polite to ask on her own. “Something ya wanna ask, sweet wings?”

Briefly glancing back at the retreating pair, Silver faced Talon curiously. “If it’s not inappropriate, what was that about?” She gestured to the pair behind them.

“Nothing much.” Talon shrugged. “Just trying to fulfill a centuries old prophecy, is all.”

Silver blinked incredulously. “I think I was less skeptical when Moon Lover said she was really a he.”

“And look how that turned out.” Talon beamed at the now frustrated looking mare. “Look, you’re still a recruit, so there are certain things I can’t tell ya yet. Hay, there are some things your boss-to-be hasn’t even figured out yet.”

Silver blinked again. “Not to seem rude, but…”

“Ya know,” Talon cut her off. “You could probably save a lot of time by just saying what’chya mean.”

“Very well.” Silver huffed, trying not to come off as too indignant. “What does it say about Sir Thomas if he has attained the rank of Senior Concubine and yet still doesn’t know all the facets of his duties?”

“That there was no real competition?” Talon offered with a shrug. “I told ya how the last three worked out, remember.”

“Fair point.” Silver conceded, adjusting the frills in her dress. “Then, if I follow your line of thinking,” she began as Talon motioned for her to go on. “Sir Thomas now accompanies Private Moonlight in the hopes of learning these additional facets?”

“Bingo!” Talon nodded.

Beaming with pride at her successful guess, Silver decided to test her luck further. “In that case, perhaps I could be of use to the Sir for the next step?”

Despite her smile, Talon leered down at Silver. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, sweet wings.” She warned, causing the mare’s ears to droop. “You just want a hint for when you get to this stage. I get it. But there’s no need to get your socks in a knot. It’s not like you even need to cheat, anyway.”

Silver’s ears perked back up at this.

“Yeah.” Talon grinned. “You don’t have the job just yet, but you’re doing just fine so far.” Talon’s grin widened as she saw the mare’s tail wag excitedly. “And don’t worry about the chimp. You’ll get your turn with him soon enough.”

**********

Breakfast went by with relative quickness and quietness. Thomas had made several attempts at striking up a conversation, but none felt quite right as they all died on his lips.

Moonlight noticed this and wanted to help, but in all honesty she liked this bout of quiet time. For her, it was enough that they simply sit and enjoy each other’s company. She expressed as much during the fifth time the human failed to speak by gently bumping his shoulder and smiling warmly. The way he smiled back, filling her with such tender warmth, left her stumbling to catch herself before she started leaning on him. Don’t get ahead of yourself now. You have no way of knowing how he’ll react to that kind of flirting, she scolded herself while she ate, continuing to run through scenarios in her mind.

I’m covered in armor. It would be terribly uncomfortable for him, she reasoned. Then again, if he were wearing armor too, they could lean on each other all night. That might be nice. He’s my charge and I’m his guard, but the taboo just makes things more exciting. She reminded herself about all the romance stories she’d read about guards doing that very thing and how well it usually worked out. Most of those stories are based on real life events, so that might mean things could really work out. On the other hand, how do I know if he’d even want to do that sort of thing with me anyway? Moonlight continued to reflect on these thoughts as she followed Thomas from chow hall back to Luna’s chambers.

“So.” Thomas began as he sat on the edge of the bed and let his legs swing idly as his guard stood beside him. “What’chya wanna do?”

Buck! Moonlight cursed. He’s looking to me for ideas? What am I supposed to... calm down, filly. Calm down. She soothed herself, endeavoring to think rationally and not about what a mare and stallion could do alone in a Princess’ bedroom for an indefinite amount of time. It’s no big deal, right? Just gotta think of something we’d both enjoy on his day off. Now let’s see here. She pondered. We could try writing, just spend the night all alone and work together on the book? No. We already do that all the time. Besides, we already had a lazy day that one time, and look how that… worked… out. Moonlight quickly shook that thought out of her head. My friends and I used to just go out for tea or something all the time. This lead Moonlight to wonder if she should invite Grace to join them and what that imply. Thankfully that line of thought was cut short when she remembered the bat pony was working tonight, so at the very least that was one less complication to consider.

Thomas was also stumped thinking of something to do. Usually it was Talon who chose their activities. As he unknowingly encountered the same brick walls as Moonlight, he glanced at the window and spied a strange looking bird fly across the night sky. “Does Canterlot have a zoo?” He asked.

Moonlight’s ear flicked. “I think so.”

“Do they have any nocturnal exhibits?”

Moonlight felt her lips begin to curl into a smile. “I think they do, yes.”

“Well alright then!” Thomas announced as he went over to the dresser and donned a heavier set of his civilian clothes to combat the cool night air and grabbed his bit bag. “Let’s go to the zoo.”

Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes! Moonlight cheered. The zoo’s a perfect idea. It’s public, but not too crowded this time of night so we should have the run of the place. Only ponies we’re likely to encounter at night are students studying for their exams, zoo staff, and the odd romantic couple come to watch the daytime animals curl up with their mates, safe and secure beneath the romantic light of Luna’s moon. She knew this for a fact because word around the castle had said that the zoo had become quite the popular destination for young lovers since the opening of so many new nocturnal exhibits. Besides other couples helping to set the mood, the relative privacy and the love songs of the animals as our primary ambience, we’ll have a splendid time looking at all the cute and exotic animals, reading the exhibit descriptions, and maybe share some cotton candy. Then after we’ve walked ourselves tired, we’ll grab a spot on a nearby bench. The chill of the night air will cause us to snuggle up for warmth. Then, as we gaze into each other’s eyes, as those tiny little emeralds stare into my very soul, I’ll say…

“Coming?” Thomas asked.

Moonlight just about jumped out of her armor, causing the human to snicker at her reaction. “Oh. Uh, yes. I’m c-coming,” she said as she rushed to catch up beside him.

“You alright?” Thomas asked. “You were zoning out a bit back there.”

“Don’t mind me.” Moonlight laughed uneasily. “Just thinking about… stuff.”

“Stuff’s good,” Thomas remarked as he pushed the door open. “What kind of stuff?”

That I just thought of a perfect destination for our first date where I’ll hopefully confess my feelings for you, only to realize I’m probably going to be a nervous wreck the entire time. “Nothing much.” Moonlight tried to play off casually. As she followed the human down the hall, she caught herself staring at his small human rump for prolonged periods of time, and yet felt absolutely no guilt.

**********

“Something ya care to share with the rest of the class?” Talon asked as she led Silver down the corridor away from the royal dining hall.

“Just a bit of relief.” Silver answered. “I’m used to getting less than pleasant looks from others for eating meat. It’s just nice to be without that for a change.”

“I’ll bet.” Talon agreed. “Yep. We’re pretty open minded around here, especially in our line of work.”

“I noticed,” Silver chuckled. “Is a minotaur climbing onto the table and dancing like that part of the norm around here?”

“More so than he would like.” Talon grinned back as she recalled the way Steel Hoof, after much encouragement from his fellow concubines, did as Silver described, but also subjected them all to his awful singing voice while everyone, including the Princesses, cheered him on. “But you should see how Amber dances. Now that’s a real sight to behold.”

Silver pursed her lips together to keep from bursting out in laughter as she’d done back in the dining hall. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one, so she’d been spared what would otherwise have been the most embarrassing moment of her life. Eventually she calmed down enough to continue speaking. “It was nice to see the Princesses enjoying themselves like that.”

“Ain’t it, though?” Talon chuckled as she regarded the mare. “Anything in particular?”

“Just… I’m not even sure I can describe it.” Silver admitted with an air of whimsy.

“Try it.” Talon encouraged.

“Well…” she strained to think of a way to put her thoughts into words. “It was like the sound of happiness, if that makes sense. It’s just,” she sighed romantically as she gazed off into space.

Talon could almost see what the mare was imagining, but almost wasn’t good enough. “What does it look like?” She whispered, hoping not to startle the bat pony from her mental image.

“A full moon casts its light overhead.” Silver described wistfully. “Just enough to make out your lovers’ features as you gaze into one another’s eyes. A gentle wind brushes by, causing his mane to blow across his face. You reach out to clear it away, only for your hand to meet his. There’s a brief pause before you all burst out into giggles and collapse into each other’s arms.” She sighed longingly.

“Under the Harvest Moon?” Talon asked without thinking, breaking the mare of her waking dream. “Sorry. But I swear I read that line in ‘Under the Harvest Moon’.”

“Oh, uh.” Silver hesitated. “That was one of my favorites, growing up.”

“No kidding,” Talon nodded as she leaned in close, well within Silver’s personal bubble. “Just between us, which Princess’ laugh did ya like more?” She asked as if they were sharing a dirty secret.

Silver just gave the griffon a deadpan glare. “Is that even a question?” She asked incredulously. “You do realize if I don’t answer Princess Luna, I’d be a disgrace to my entire tribe and have to forfeit my wings, right?”

Talon did a double take to make sure she’d heard correctly. “Seriously?”

“I’m almost certain there’s a law about it somewhere.” Silver replied confidently.

“Ah,” Talon nodded as she caught on. “Any other bat pony rules I need to know about?”

“As a matter of fact…”

**********

After removing several plates of armor to create a more casual mood, the pair set off and soon found themselves at the zoo. Moonlight had insisted on paying the cab, as well as their entry fee. This seemed to bother Thomas, but he made no comment. Thankfully Luna’s spell to insulate his body heat, combined with his thicker clothing, managed to mostly protect the human from the increasing winter chill. As they made their way through the relatively thin crowds, the mare never ceased in her internal chastisement of herself.

Just tell him already, you dolt! Here she was, a mare taking a stallion out for a date, and he probably had no idea. She wanted to tell him that’s what this was, or at least what she hoped it was, but there was that ever present fear of rejection all mares suffered when dealing with cute stallions. It’s like a bandage. Just tell him and get it over with. But she knew it was never that easy. We’re already out together. Maybe… maybe I can just drop hints here and there and hope he picks it up on his own?

“Where do you wanna go first?” Thomas asked as they stared at the map just past the entry way. The zoo was shaped like the number eight with several roads branching off along with various colored areas scattered about. Checking the legend, it seemed black was for bathrooms, yellow was for concessions, and green was for gift shops.

Moonlight was torn between the map and the fact that Thomas had bent over slightly to read it, unknowingly sticking his rump out just enough to be noticeable. “W-whatever you think is best, s-” her teeth clicked as she slammed her mouth shut. You almost said ‘sweetie’ you moron. That’s more of a hammer than a hint. Why don’t you raise your tail while you’re at it? She snarked at herself.

“Alright.” Thomas said as he straightened up and pointed at the map. “How about we go left,” he traced his finger along the main road, “and loop around here. We can see the whole thing in no time. What’d ya think?”

“S-sounds fine.” Moonlight nodded, debating with herself whether to let her tail wag.

“You don’t have allergies, do you?” Thomas asked as he stepped forward. “It sounds like you’ve been sniffling for a while now.”

“Really? I, uh, hadn’t noticed.” Maybe the hammer’s not such a bad idea after all, stupid thick colt. She chided herself before realizing how impatient she was being. She’d been raised better than to even consider pressuring a colt into a relationship he wasn’t ready for. Silly filly. He’s a human, not a colt. He probably just hasn’t fully grasped our signals yet. Luna said we needed to be more straightforward and he told Sun Dancer he preferred verbal, so all I have to do is tell him. Moonlight’s mental revelry was short lived as she realized she’d found herself back at square one. The whole idea of saying her feelings out loud like that was just too embarrassing. Maybe I’ll just try the date and see how he feels at the end?

Her mind made up, Moonlight was pleasantly surprised by how much she was enjoying herself. There was a surprising number of active animals out tonight and the mare couldn’t help but coo over Thomas’ foalish excitement at seeing so many animals that were apparently not native to the human country. In all fairness, she was not immune to such excitement as it had been years since she’d last been to the zoo herself.

“And these are called manticores.” Said a tour guide they’d come across as she indicated the lion-like creatures behind the glass.

“I-is it safe?” A young unicorn colt asked as a filly wrapped her arms protectively around him. Neither saw the envious look Moonlight shot them. “Th-they have wings, so can’t they fly out?”

“Not to worry,” the tour guide assured good naturedly as she shared an encouraging look with the filly before indicating the area above them. “If I might direct your attention to the dome cage.” She addressed the group as a whole. “These metal wires are not only enchanted to be strong enough to hold back a belligerent manticore, but they’ve also been laced with special oil that the manticors find quite foul.” She giggled. “In essence, not only can the beasts not break through the cage, but they wouldn’t want to go near it anyway.” The tour group shared nervous laughs as the guide continued her rehearsed lecture on the creatures, pausing to answer the occasional question.

“No need to fear, Sir Thomas.” Moonlight bragged as she and her date lingered along the outskirts of the tour group. “If one of those beasts should break loose, you can be sure I’d give my life to protect you.” Moonlight whispered, hoping her speech had sounded as cool as it did in her head.

“I appreciate the thought, but I’d prefer if you could do that without dying.” Thomas said as he regarded her thoughtfully. “I’d miss you if you had to go.”

It took Moonlight a second to remember that she needed to breathe. “I… thank you.” She smiled at his kind words. “I’d miss you too.” While experience told her to brace for the inevitable follow-up joke to lighten the mood, instead all she got was a brief human-shaped bump to her side. Moonlight focused her mind on reciting her training regiment from the academy, along with anything else to keep her armor from sounding like a bell while her heart thudded in her chest.

Unfortunately, the mare was brought down from her excitement when she spotted a few ponies shooting a few dirty looks her way. Donning her scary face, Moonlight shot back dirty looks of her own as she warningly tapped her hoof to the ground. For no reason at all, the ponies decided their time was better spent looking elsewhere, thankfully before Thomas noticed. Never let your guard down. Moonlight scolded herself. You’re still his guard, only now you don’t have Tali for backup. Gotta be extra careful.

The pair continued to follow just behind the tour group down the well-lit brick path. Only twice did Moonlight have to grab Thomas by the shoulder to keep him from moving too far ahead. The first time he looked confused, so she warily scanned their surroundings. He got the message and stuck by her side from then on, which she appreciated, especially with how close he was. Most ponies looked at him with either confusion or polite smiles, others warily kept their distance, but it was the minority who sneered at the human that the mare kept her eye on. It was as though they were indignant that such a creature would dare walk around in public without a leash. Some joked that it was only a matter of time before the zoo went to retrieve their missing exhibit and Moonlight was grateful for the human’s lesser hearing.

Now Thomas may have been thick, but not as thick as most people seemed to think. He might have been slow to pick up normal social cues, and most aspects of pony body language still eluded him, but he wasn’t blind to the various looks ponies shot him, nor was he numb to the fact that Moonlight had been gently batting at his backside and legs with her tail for the last half hour or so. Damn it to hell! What the hell is wrong with me, and her for that matter? Granted she’s always been a little reserved. That’s part of what made her so approachable to begin with. Come to think of it, I guess it’s always been a bit easier for me to talk to the quiet ones. Talon being the exception since she started talking to me, but Luna was pretty quiet at first so my point still stands. And that was when Thomas made the connection between Moonlight and how things started with Luna. There were a number of other similarities. Tread lightly dude.

“Moonlight.” Thomas said softly while keeping his eyes trained forward.

“Yes, Sir Thomas?”

Thomas quickly glanced up at her and back, too afraid to meet her gaze for what he wanted to say. “I, uh…” *Gulp*. “Y-you know you…” Way to do Shakespeare proud, numb nuts. Thomas chided himself, trying to ignore the feeling that he was cheating on Luna by doing this. She said she wanted me to have a life, and herd, outside of her, so that makes this alright, right? Thomas wasn’t sure whether to take the increasingly loud thudding in his chest as confirmation or not.

Moonlight felt her lips dry out and wetted them, telling herself that he couldn’t possibly be trying to say what she was thinking. “Is there something you wish to-”

“You have pretty eyes!” Thomas blurted, keeping his eyes fixed on the group up ahead as he felt an armored hand shakily grasp his shoulder and hold him in place. Chancing a glance back, he found the armored mare’s eyes seemed to have glazed over as her entire body trembled. After a period of silence, he figured that grabbing him was more out of reflex and not because she could think of anything to say. “You, uh, wanna sit down somewhere?”

The mare blinked, bringing her eyes back to their natural shade of blue and nodded. They found a nearby bench and awkwardly danced about who would be the first to sit. Eventually Thomas sat down, with Moonlight taking the spot about six inches to his left. After another period of silence, as neither party felt like saying much, Moonlight dared to scoot an inch to her right. Feeling daring, Thomas decided to raise her two inches to his left. Moonlight only dared another inch, though she did curse the way her tail kept trying to swat his backside through the bench.

Inhaling deeply, Moonlight soon recognized the scent of fresh flowers and realized their bench was located next to a lovely flower bed. Further awareness revealed somepony was playing a rather romantic song nearby. Meanwhile, a not at all suspicious mare in a trench coat was briskly retreating from the window of the facility where the music was coming from, where another mare could be seen counting her recently received bits. And as the light seemed to hit the pair at just the right brightness, Moonlight recalled the letter Talon had given her. Quickly fishing the note out from her armor and, making sure Thomas wasn’t looking, opened it to reveal… Celestia’s writing!?

That last line was surrounded by hearts and smiley faces.

Moonlight blinked in shock as she drank in the words of her royal aunt. She’d indeed been worrying about rejection and rationalizing why she shouldn’t bother. On the other hand, who was she to argue with a Princess on matters of the heart, especially given how familiar this all was to Cadence’s speech the other night? She also had to agree that it was silly of her to compare herself to an alicorn like that, but was also left to wonder what Celestia meant about Thomas being ‘more stallion than you might think’. Deciding to put that matter aside for later, Moonlight smiled as she recalled the times she’d caught him staring, only to rationalize that her eyes must have been playing tricks on her. I… I should just come out and…

“Moonlight?” Thomas asked meekly, catching the mare off guard.

“Y-yes?”

“I, uh…” Thomas gave an audible gulp. “This is kind of embarrassing.” He admitted through a forced smile.

“There’s no need to feel shy,” Moonlight assured as she scolded herself for being a hypocrite. “You know you can tell me anything, right?” The mare added, only to internally kick herself for the way that sounded.

“I do,” he nodded. “And that’s sorta what I wanted to talk to you about.” Thomas’ heart felt like it was ready to burst from his chest. A soft breeze nearly chilled him to the bone thanks to his nervous sweating. Thankfully the aphrodisiac nature of his scent was still being suppressed.

Seeing her little charge begin to shiver, Moonlight didn’t even hesitate to wrap an arm around his shoulder and pull him close. Instantly the mare’s mind went wild with panic. You fool! He’s shivering so you wrap an armored hand around him? The buck’s wrong with you? She reasoned that she’d already removed most of the plates on her arm and that her armor wasn’t that cold anyway, thanks to her natural body heat, but she was in no mood for her own excuses. But Auntie Celestia, it still felt weird to say that after all this time, said I should just come out and confess my... Her internal debate was cut short when she felt Thomas snuggle up closer, causing her mind to go blank.

“Moonlight.” Thomas exhaled deeply as he found a comfortable position against her armor. “I know it might be kind of late, and feel free to say no.” He added. He’d been trying to find the best moment to tell her all night, but had eventually concluded that moments aren’t found, they’re made. “Moonlight Shield,” Thomas stated authoritatively, breaking her from her temporary stupor. “I said it wrong.”

Moonlight blinked in confusion. Of all the things she was expecting him to say, this was definitely somewhere near the bottom of the list. “Said what wrong?”

“Back at the castle.” Thomas continued, unable to meet the mare’s eyes. “I said ‘let’s go to the zoo’, but that was wrong. I shouldn’t have said it like that.”

Moonlight swallowed the lump in her throat. “Then… how should you have said it?”

“Moonlight Shield.” Thomas blurted as he turned to face her. “D-do you want to g-go out with m-”

“YES!” Moonlight cut him off, her volume earning a few extra sideways glances from passersby. “I mean… yes.” She answered much more quietly. “I’d love to go out with you… to the zoo.” She added at the last second before removing her arm and turning away to hide her flushed face.

“Th-that’s great to hear.” Thomas said, also as he turned away. “B-because I…” Fuck! “I really like your eyes.”

“You said that already.” Moonlight chuckled.

“Oh. Right.” Thomas remembered, joining the mare’s chortles.

Feeling the stress leave her body with each joyous breath, Moonlight found herself feeling rather daring. Closing her eyes, she quickly turned to lean down for a swift kiss to the cheek. It was a friendly enough gesture, the sort shared between mares all the time, and not at all romantic. At least it wouldn’t have been if Thomas hadn’t picked that exact moment to look up and try to say something, only to have his mouth completely blocked off.

Moonlight instantly recognized the sensation of lips as her eyes shot open to be met with the shocked expression on the human’s face. The pair pulled back almost immediately and turned away from one another. The pair’s minds raced in panic at what just happened, but one managed to recover faster than the other.

“Y-you…” Moonlight stuttered. “You have nice eyes too.” Grateful she’d managed not to say ‘lips’, she chanced a look over at the human who was also staring back at her. Slowly a grin grew across his lips, which the mare found just too amusing. Soon both of them were grinning like idiots, which inevitably turned to awkward chuckles and then guffaws at how ridiculous the whole situation was.

“Oh?” Thomas asked with a chortle. “You like my eyes, do you?”

“Y-yes.” Moonlight chuckled. “If this were a scene out of ‘Lotus Blossom’, I think now’s the time to say something sappy like,” she blushed, “your eyes sparkle like emeralds, or something.”

“Really?” Thomas tilted his head, chuckling. “I was actually just thinking the same thing, only with sapphires instead.” He shared, blinking in confusion when he swore he saw a twinkle in the mare’s eyes.

“What is it?” Moonlight asked. “Something on my face?”

“Has anyone ever told you that your nose is cute too?”

“N-no.” Moonlight felt her lip quiver. “A-and you?”

“Can’t say they ever have.” Thomas shook his head.

“Th-then if I were to do so, I’d be the first, wouldn’t I?”

Snuggling back up to her side, Thomas barely noticed the sharp edges of the metal plating. The act also felt somewhat submissive, like he was being the girl in this relationship, but he also found himself caring very little about that too. “If you were the first, what would you say?”

Was this what Auntie meant about Thomas being like a stallion? Moonlight questioned as she compared his behavior to the previously observed colt and filly. Somehow, I had the feeling she was alluding to something more profound. But the mare hardly complained as she brought her muzzle just above his hair and took a deep inhale of his natural scent. “I’d say,” she giggled. “I’d say it looks an awful lot like a mare’s button.”

Thomas looked at Moonlight with a mix of amusement and bewilderment. “Mare’s button?” He asked with a chortle, still processing where the mare’s mind had gone. “And what, pray tell, do you intend to do with this button?”

Pulling back a ways, Moonlight smiled before leaning her muzzle close, only to stop less than an inch from his own. “This.” And without warning she shot her tongue out and gave his olfactory organ a brief lick.

Thomas pulled back a bit in surprise. “Oy. No fair.” He argued before reaching out and pressing his finger into the middle of her nose, causing her muzzle to scrunch in the most adorable manner. Naturally, he snickered at her expense.

“Oy, yourself.” Moonlight chided in good humor as she rubbed the spot he’d poked.

The pair tried to stare each other down in mock condemnation, but soon gave in and burst out into giggles. For the time being, the awkwardness had been banished away. As they recovered and stared into one another’s eyes, for that briefest of moments, all seemed right with the world. At least, that was the opinion of the mare in a fedora, sunglasses, and a trench coat who’d been watching from afar.

And there you have it folks. After much awkward stumbling, the pair has finally gotten together. I had not expected this to happen, in all honesty. Originally I had planned for them to just be friends, but after considerable demand from the public, I got to thinking and found I liked the idea too. Originally this was meant to happen much much earlier in the story, but I changed things around to give Talon first go.