Night Watch Romp

Chapters

Holding the Door
Following Orders
Keeping Watch

Holding the Door

Author's Note

Coauthored with Mr101.
Notes on current cover art:
During the making of this, we requested an original piece be made, but unfortunately, the artist has gotten caught up with the holidays. So, until he's finished with the actual cover art, or further notice, what's up is merely a place holder. It has little to do with the story except that there are bat ponies, and sexiness to come. Hope you enjoy the story!

Holding the Door

The snowstorm outside furiously raged on, all the while, a lone, indifferent pony flew onwards to Canterlot. She fought against harsh winds the best she could, gasping for air as she kept pushing forth, the pieces of her purple mane and dark, smoky coat that could be seen through her armor and helmet wet with ice cold slush. What made her so different from normal pegasi were her wings, not to mention her extra furry ears and sharper than average, protruding fangs. She was unique to say the least. A bat pony, the most common of her kind; one with wings.

Just like regular, everyday ponies, the bat pony species has three distinct kinds as well. One is pegasi, which are the winged. Then the unicorns, which oddly enough usually have more magical prowess than normal unicorns do, and finally, earth ponies. Needless to say, unicorns and earthly bat ponies are born without wings, because typically, wings aren’t the only thing that make up a bat. They also have furry ears that grow wild with fur in the winter time, and gnarly, sharp fangs useful for biting into fruits and sucking them dry without the need to eat the skin.

Along with the typical, cat-like eyes, so long as they have these features, they’re generally enrolled into the Lunar Guard if found. It’s naturally their choice, but despite their aggressive nature at first sight, they almost always concede after hearing the details. Being greeted by a fellow bat pony sometimes helps in the matter as well. Nopony really knows exactly how the bat ponies came to be, not even themselves, but Luna found their characteristics and nocturnal behavior quite useful, and shortly after her return, she made the discovery while investigating a cave one night, but that’s another story for another time.

The pony currently being addressed is one of the first bat ponies she’d ever met, just getting up there in her prestigious ranks, and had since become one of the few guards to reach the rank of flight lieutenant in the Lunar Guard. She’d been very recently promoted from officer cadet at an alarming pace. Her name is Moon Dancer; her name resembling the cutie mark of a cloud twirling around the moon itself in a dancing fashion.

Moon Dancer was on yet another mission entrusted to her by Princess Luna. This time, it being outside the castle. A simple delivery and pick up was normally welcomed by her, but this time around, she’d rather be doing something more demeaning like kitchen duty. So long as she was inside the warmth of the castle, it didn’t very much matter which job she needed to do. Anything would’ve been better than having to fight this storm of frost that nearly blanketed her vision.

She would've be alright with the job assignment had there been no snow to speak of, and she was so thrilled to do it at first, too. Not because of what she'd be doing, but because of who she'd be seeing again after what seemed like such a long time, too. She was never very fond of the cold, always moaning and complaining during the winter months back when she was with her family. The fact that she’d been flying for a while in the wind and cold didn’t help her mood, either, but she put up with the conditions just for him.

As the mare tried to make light of where she was, she remembered an important ability her kind had, one that she somehow nearly forgot: sonar. Moon Dancer opened her mouth and let out a small series of quick screeches that were beyond the range of regular ponies. The screeches bounced off objects that were ahead of her, giving Moon Dancer a better picture of what was beyond the blizzard, and how to strategically navigate around them. The mare continued to do this whilst battling the snow, dipping and diving to avoid obstacles such as heavy clouds and clusters of hale in her path.

After what to her seemed like hours, the mare was able to get a faint image of her destination up ahead, despite the barrage of snow and wind. She smiled to herself, already picturing in her mind what it would be like to relay her mission reports and enjoying a nice bowl of skinned fruits, maybe with a side of hay before climbing into her soft, warm bed at the end of her shift. Not before seeing the pony who'd let her in, though, and maybe she'd catch up with what she's missed ever since her advancement.

She spotted the long stone runway completely covered in snow, typically used by the night guard to land after a flight mission, or for when Princess Luna would occasionally inspect her troops. Moon Dancer landed on the snow with an unbalanced skid, but stuck it nevertheless, shivering slightly as the snow came near halfway up to her legs. She trudged through it, heading for the large door that separated her from the warmth she so desperately needed at this time.

The door itself was enchanted by Princess Luna to only open with the magic of her royal guards, and them only. By heart, her soldiers knew the order in which the runes on the door needed to be placed for activation, to let the unicorn on the inside know whether it was friend or foe requesting entrance. Princess Luna had done this as to ensure that no enemy could sneak into the castle and take them by surprise, despite her sister’s claim that it wouldn’t be needed due to the thousand years of peace the kingdom had held since her banishment. Still, though, the lunar alicorn remembered the battles of old and had refused to budge an inch on her decision.

The way the door worked was thus. A unicorn guard of the lunar branch would use his or her magic to open and close the door for incoming and outgoing fliers, or for the princess herself. The hours were long and often very boring, so some of the unlucky posted guards viewed the task to be a punishment if anything. That’s just what Druid Shield felt like at this time. It was his turn to hold the door for whoever might be entering or leaving, but there was just one that had left that day. That was awhile ago, and she was nearing her return quicker than he, or anypony else had anticipated.

He stood behind the structure, his head lowering as sleep began to overtake him. Still, he fought the urge to simply drift off to dreamland, and shook his head to stay awake. Like most, he had only just gotten his first of many promotions, but considering just how long he’d been amongst his own kind, that was a feat rarely seen so early on. He had the typical, blue mane, a coat just a pinch darker than Moon Dancer’s, and a cutie mark of a waning moon, curving along the edges of his flank followed by a star in front.

He’d been there for much too long, and even started to worry about Moon Dancer, but only a little. Whilst the two weren’t best friends yet, they did know each other and had been in the same training program, too, serving under the same wing commander before Moon’s promotion. However, Moon Dancer was always somewhat more comfortable whenever they saw one another.

She’d told him before leaving that she’d be a while, but with the storm just recently arriving, things became that much more uncomforting to him. As he checked out the wide, tall window found to the left of the door, he could only see snow piled up against the glass, and on top of that was even more snow mounting over rather quickly. “If only I had wings,” the horned bat pony commented.

“Hey, Druid,” a familiar voice called to him from the shadow of a hallway. “Got a job for you, Cadet.”

“Sir, I’m on duty, per Princess Luna’s orders.”

“And I’m overriding those orders,” he said with a sneer. Wing Commander Mourning Wind was another pegasus like Moon Dancer, commander of her squadron, though not that many could give him a proper bodily description due to all the armor he enjoys wearing all the time, save for when he was in his own quarters. An ebony mane and brown coat was the best anyone could say, but along with his stern attitude and sharp, pointy ears, the fur sticking straight up in an intimidating way, that alone made up for his lacking of appearance. Anypony could spot those menacing ears from a mile away.

“Sir, Flight Lieutenant Moon Dancer will be arriving soon, I think. I’m not leaving my post.”

He continued to antagonize his subordinate with little regard for Moon Dancer’s possible, close arrival. “She’ll probably not be around until another hour or so. Wouldn't you agree? This will only take a second,” he lied. “I just need you to journalize a few of the jobs I’ve had ponies like Moon Dancer do, and seeing as how you’ve been the doorman for all this week, you’d be doing your fellow guards a service. Now, follow me.”

“But-”

“I said…” He turned around, walking off already. “Follow… Me, Druid Shield. This isn’t a request. It’s a direct order.”

The unicorn looked from the door to his commanding officer, and sighed, “Ohhh, I hope Moon Dancer doesn’t show… Knowing my luck, though…”

“Druid! Did I not make myself crystal clear with you?!”

“Alright! Coming!”

He resiliently galloped off, and just as he rounded the corner, with the most absurd timing, Moon Dancer showed just outside the door desperately wanting in.

She huffed to herself as she trudged her way to the doors, the snow making the walk a little bit more difficult from the sheer amount that fell non stop. With a determination that was fueled by the desire for luxurious heat, and just to see Druid Shield once more, she made it to the door, grinning smugly before performing what she had done so many times before. To signal her return, and to confirm it was her and not an imposter, the runes were moved in accordance to her repetitive training.

Muttering to herself as she moved the runes around on the door, something Luna had prided herself on doing as the runes were naked to anyone outside of the guard, she waited for the confirmation on the other side by Druid who would then let her in. The process didn’t take too long, usually being done in under three minutes. That depended on how quickly the guard on the inside responded, though. She could picture it in her mind, too. The glow on the knob would shimmer brightly with a loud hum, possibly waking whoever might be asleep or distracted, and then, the door would undoubtedly open for her.

She took a few steps back, fighting back the overwhelming urge to shiver that much more while the cold wind and snow battered against her. She even began to move her legs up and down to keep them warm and active, plus to fight off the cold as she looked at the door, a small irritation growing inside her head.

“Come on, Druid…” she muttered under her breath.

Moon Dancer started to get more and more worried with each passing moment. She knew that it would take a small amount of time for the doors to open, and she understood that sometimes the guard on the other side might not have immediately seen the runes, but in this particular instant, she didn’t care. She knew he had to have at least heard it by then.

All she knew, was that Druid was either being intentionally mean to her, and taking his time, or he’d left his post, and Luna protect him if the latter was the truthful case.

The mare began to trot in place as the cold started to chip away at her will, to where she flared her nostrils in rising anger. She tried to re-do the sequence on the door to see if maybe, on an off chance at that, she might have gotten it wrong, but that was highly unlikely. When this yielded nothing for another couple minutes, she stomped her hooves hard into the cold ground, and cursed under her breath.

“For the love of the moon, Druid. Open this d-damned door!” she roared, hoping that somehow the stallion on the other side would hear her, but that was unlikely. It was solid, reinforced, enchanted steel, but she had to try. The storm was getting worse.

It proved to be as effective as drying a paper towel with a wet sponge. The wind easily overpowered her voice with its own, terrifying noise, and by then, the mare growled as she started to shiver even more nervously, her tail wrapping around her exposed lower legs. She began rubbing up and down against them in an effort to generate what little warmth she could. Normally, Moon Dancer was a calm and collected guard. She would always try to act with a clear, level head, almost always calculated the best way to circumnavigate a problem such as this, and for the most part, was always able to remain professional around her underlings and peers.

This was unbearable, though. With the constant barrage of snow combined with harsh gusts of freezing winds hitting her the way they did, she started to lose her mind. Her breathing became slightly ragged, and her tail flicked about behind her nervously.

“Druid! Open this damned door, or… or I s-swear to Luna! I will break your legs with a f-frying pan!” She screamed at the door, now bashing repetitively at it with her hooves as hard as she could.

After what seemed like half an hour of banging and shouting enough curses to make a manticore blush, Moon Dancer began to tire herself out, only to come to a sudden, defeated stop, panting heavily as she rested against the door and huddled her body as tightly as she could to beat off the gathering frost. From what it felt like, she might as well have been out there for hours, judging by how much snow was now sticking to her body. Moon Dancer was starting to panic. Maybe Druid had left his post for whatever reason, and maybe there genuinely wasn’t anyone on the other side.

“N-no… not again… p-please, not again… it’s so cold…!” She went silent again, her teeth chattered lightly.

By now, she could have simply flown down to the front of the castle, only to enter there and berate Druid for his incompetence afterwards, but because she’d spent too much time and valuable energy waiting on him, her wings had become too frigid to remove them from her sides, and it hurt to even try to open them in the slightest. What’s worse, the only way off the platform was to fly, glide, or to jump the hundreds of feet it was to the lower levels.

Moon Dancer was going to freeze to death if nopony showed to save her.

“D-damn it… Druid… Thought you said I could… t-trust you… To think, I liked you, too...” She whispered softly as she shook, being buried by snow, a tear escaping. By then, she was at the brink of passing out. It must’ve been at the last minute that the door finally opened for her, but her savior wasn’t Druid at all. Instead, it was a local recruit, just barely into the Lunar Guard. Nevertheless, it was somepony to say the least.

With the door cracking ever so slightly, and Moon Dancer rising to her numb hooves, she heard his immature voice through the opening crackle from the strain, “Need… some help over h-here! Can’t open this thing by myself!”

“Hah… C-coming!”

With all her might, she forced herself to push against the slippery steel, putting all her weight against it, eyes squinting and tears on her cheeks stinging. Little by little, it budged more and more, until finally, it opened just enough for her body to pass through. She flopped to the floor, yelling, “Close it!”

He did his best, using his body as well to seal away the outside weather from the inside’s cozy conditioning, and the second it was all done and over with, Moon rose to her hooves, and the colt looked at her with some sweat running down his forehead. “Wow, that was close! You alr-”

He didn’t even get to finish his question without her lunging at him, ignoring her professionalism, just grateful for his arrival. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I thought I was a gonner! What’s your name?”

He wheezed from her squeezing, “N-no problem, Flight Lieutenant! My name’s Blacky Berry… and, you’re crushing me!”

“Oh, sorry!” She let go, but not wanting to. If anything, his body could’ve been used for extra warmth, but she chose to mind his personal space. “Umm, I’ll be sure to give your name to Princess Luna, and let her know you literally saved my life… Now…” Her toothy smile soon withered away as she regained her composure. “Where. Is. Druid. Shield.”

“Uhhh, I… thought he was supposed to be stationed here, to… open the door?”

“Where is he?” she asked more calmly, and by then, he could guess what was going on.

“I don’t know. I was just passing by, and, and then saw the green-ish… yellow-ish, and purple light, and, well… Here we are!”

She turned abruptly, a scowl forming across her face. “Thanks, and sorry to leave so suddenly, but I’ve got a lazy, good for nothing to hunt down!” With that, she was off.

Following Orders

Meanwhile, Druid was just finishing up his job, and left in a hurry. “That all? Okay! Gotta go!” Just when he was headed out the door and away from Commander Wind’s presence, he saw Moon Dancer trotting down the hall, spotting him immediately. “Oh, no… I’m too late.” He could've retreated to the room he was just in, but instead, knew better than to delay the inevitable.

Moon Dancer stopped the second she saw him. Normally, if she was disciplining someone, she would act calm and clear headed; loud, and angry when needed. However, seeing how these weren’t normal circumstances, she wasn’t in the mood and didn’t give a damn at the moment.

“You,” she shouted scoldingly, pointing a hoof at him that shook with anger. “What the hell did you think you were playing at?!”

“M-Moon, please, let me explain!”

“That’s Flight Lieutenant to you, Cadet Shield!” she hissed, her fangs bared and gritted as she stormed towards him like a wolf leader homing in on its prey.

“This isn’t what it seems! I mean, I got distracted. No! Err… What I’m trying to say… is...” His hoof rose in a defensive nature upon her coming to arm’s reach.

Moon’s eyes went wide with anger before she suddenly exploded with rage, “Distracted?! You left your goddamn post because you were distracted?! I could have died out there, you stupid, insubordinate moron! If it wasn’t for Cadet Blacky Berry passing by, I still be out there, maybe even frozen solid! What in all that is holy with this night did you think you were doing whilst I was stuck out in a blizzard?! What ‘distracted’ you so?!”

By now, she had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and was inches away from his nose. At that point, he knew Commander Wind was listening beyond the door right beside them. With a glance towards it, Druid saw his peering face, curious if Druid was going to rat him out. This would surely mean a demotion, or even a reprimand on the commander’s part if Luna ever found out, so with the boldest of actions, Druid took one for the team.

“I got hungry,” he merely said, now emotionless in the face. “So, I headed off to get something to eat. I didn’t think I’d be this long, though, and I am sorry, Lieutenant.”

Moon just stared at him with a blank and emotionless face as well, something that sent a shiver down the cadet’s very spine. She would have understood if he had nipped off to the loo or something similar, despite how much it would have been wrong for him to leave his post. Though, to get something to eat? That was just unexpected, not to mention plain irresponsible.

“You… were hungry…?” she asked slowly.

“Yes, I was,” he said as clearly as possible, ready for whatever was to come his way.

She let go of him haltingly, looking down slightly, just enough to cover her eye from view. By now, a couple guards had shown up, curious about the shouting, and were seemingly giving Druid a look of ‘you dun goofed’ while some silently prayed for the stallion’s well being.

Now, Moon was a somewhat responsible mare. She followed the rules when she could, and as best she could for that matter. She respected her peers. Even liked to think she treated her underlings with the proper respect and equality someone in her rank would do since her promotion. All of that went out the window, though, for all she could think about was why he had left his post. In her perspective, she would have died… over a guard wanting a bit of chow.

She looked up at Druid, her pupils dilating, and the lower lid of her eye twitching like crazy as her body began to visibly shake. Suddenly, she snarled his way, grabbed him with both her hooves and began to choke the stallion whilst shaking him violently.

“You left me to freeze to death while you went to get something to EAT! I was out there for over two hours you dunderhead! When I’m fucking done with you, I will make you choke on your unexcusable excuse!”

“Wai-” Druid tried to say, but was cut short by her physical attack, and was then hurled through the small crowd to the wall. She’d let go of him for just one second, enough for him to cough while holding his throat, and to say, “I’m s-sorry!”

“SORRY?!” she spluttered, still seething with rage as she started to further advance on him, her torso low as though she were getting ready to pounce. The other guards took a few steps back, no one really wanting to get involved but most enjoying the show.

Unbeknownst to anyone present, a particular individual had furtively arrived after being informed of a heated argument going on in the barracks, and had witnessed the entire argument from the start.

“Y-yes, it’ll never happen again! I swear!”

“You left me to freeze! To die! You told me I could trust you, that you had my fucking back! Do you remember? DO YOU?!”

“Yes! I do, and I meant it!”

Moon continued with her spite, eyes watering, but still, she fought back her salty tears. “Obviously, you didn’t, because you left your post because you were HUNGRY! How can any of us trust you again if you’re happy to just sod off whenever your tummy rumbles? ANSWER ME!”

The stallion noticed that in the corner of her eyes, small tears had escaped her, and before Druid could say another word, Moon suddenly swung at him landing a blow across the face with her hoof, dropping him to the floor with a loud thud.

Had there been no intervenience, who knows how far Moon Dancer would’ve gone. After all, she was standing right above him, her hoof rising to beat him down to a pulp, but alas, this had gone on long enough. With all the windows around everypony bursting open, and distanced sheets of snow whistling in through the air, Moon stopped as Druid looked down the hall with blurred vision. Through the mismatched lines of hooves, he saw a pair unlike the others, just a few steps away from everypony else’s.

“Enough!” Luna demanded to her squabbling guards. “I’ve seen quite enough…”

“L-Luna… Oh, shit,” Druid Shield mumbled to himself while holding his blackened cheek, a squiggly line of blood dripping to the floor from his bottom lip.

Moon’s eyes went wide with her rage quickly subsiding for the time being. She backed up a little, and swallowed a lump in her throat, and then saluted, “Y-Your Highness!”

“I’ve watched the whole thing… Moon Dancer, Druid Shield. Stay.” She spoke like a master to a pack of wild huskies. “Everyone else, leave us this instant.” Obediently, the lot took the command without hesitation, and left the three alone, all except Commander Wind who still watched behind the cracked door.

“Good,” Moon exclaimed softly to herself. “Then you know good and well how irresponsible this filth acted upon!”

“Now, Moon,” Luna said in the most calming voice she could possibly muster, but Moon just wasn’t having it.

“Princess, I could have died!” She continued, “I was freezing to death waiting for him to do his job, and… and, he couldn’t even do that! And to even think that having something to eat is ever a justifiable reason is just… just...”

Moon struggled to finish the sentence, her anger returning, and this time, boiling up too much to let her think properly. She just let out a cry of frustration, and then flared her nostrils as her breathing got heavy. Luna raised a hoof and gently placed it on the mare’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. She then looked over to Druid, who still laid on the floor. “Rise.”

“Yes, Y-Your Highness…”

After he got to his hooves, Luna offered to him, “Why don’t you let her know what really happened?”

Moon’s ears flickered a little as she looked from the princess to Druid, a look of confusion on her face. “What do you mean, Your Highness? You know what happened!”

“More than you know, Lieutenant.” She looked back at Druid, and then to the door next to everypony. “Come out, Commander.” Boldly walking, Mourning approached from the room he was just in, a serious look on his face. He didn’t say a word, but instead, allowed Druid to do the talking. Though, even he didn’t wish to speak. That is, until Luna finally commanded it so. “Talk!”

“Alright!” Druid huffed with his head averting to look at the ground, his own teary eyes hidden by his hair. Upon looking back up to the commander, though, he began speaking the truth. “I… lied, to cover up the commander.”

Moon’s eyes squinted a little as she stared at Druid, then to the commander, “You, Commander? You told him to leave his post?”

Luna looked down to Druid, her face still calm. “Druid, who gave you the orders to remain at the door and to stay there until Moon had returned?”

“You did, Princess.”

Luna nodded. “Commander, do you have the authority to overrule my orders?”

“No, I do not,” he said before taking a deep breath. “Admittedly, I needed his reports for who had gone through the entryway for task briefing. I didn’t think Moon Dancer would’ve been back, not for another hour at best. To answer your question bluntly, I broke the rules with little doubt, Your Highness.”

The alicorn looked at the commander, her face still remaining neutral, and voiced, “Indeed… and, tell me something. Did it not cross your mind to wait till the end of the night shift to ask Druid of this task? Or, better yet, to simply have somepony else take over for him while you had Druid Shield do this task for you?”

“Unfortunately, I hadn’t been thinking about the great importance of protocol, and was too focused on my own devices to worry about Moon Dancer. To her, I apologize and expect no forgiveness.”

“One final question,” Luna said, her face at last becoming animated. “Were you going to just… allow Druid Shield to be yelled at, beaten, or worse for your negligence?”

Like that of a stone ever unchanging, the commander simply said, “Yes.”

Luna closed her eyes, and with disappointment in the tone of voice, said, “I’ve heard enough.”

Moon Dancer, who had remained quiet throughout, stared at the commander with a blank face, mouth agape. Very slowly, her face starting to contort into a look of rage.

“Commander…” she said softly.

“Moon Dancer,” Luna said sternly, seemingly reading the mare’s mind and intentions, keeping her hoof on Moon’s right shoulder to stop her from moving any closer. “Stand down. He shall receive his own form of punishment, as will all of you.”

Moon fought back against her desire to beat seven bells out of the commander. Reluctantly, though, she started to back away, but not before giving the commander a threatening look as she turned her attention back to the Princess.

“Wait,” Druid Shield said. “All of us?”

“We each deserve it,” Moon replied, looking up at Druid. “You, for following an order you knew was not permitted… Not to mention, covering up for the commander, and lying... The Commander for breaking all protocol and for possibly leaving me for dead…” She looked away as she paused, far too ashamed to properly look Druid in the face before finishing. “And me for assaulting a fellow member of the Lunar Guard…”

Luna nodded sadly before she took it upon herself to guide each one to their designations. “Commander, you shall wait in your private quarters for me to handle these two. I’d say a reprimand is fitting, but unfortunately, it’s not enough this time. This isn’t the first instance I’ve seen you do this very same act, by the way. You thought I wouldn’t have known, but I did, and was just waiting for something like this to occur.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I’ll need to think about you. As for you two…” She looked down at Moon and Druid, only to merely instruct them to follow her. “Commander Wind, you’re dismissed until further notice.”

When Luna turned around to walk off, Commander Wind gave a hideous glare to Druid, making the stallion swallow a lump in his throat. As the commander left, the two followed after Luna in silence, both wondering and dreading what the princess had in store for them.

The walk to Luna’s private grounds in the back of the barracks was a long one, and was filled with nothing but the sounds of their hooves echoing from wall to wall. When they arrived, Luna indicated the two to stand in the center, snow falling from the absence of a roof above head. Moss grew on the old, purposefully designed pillars, some still standing, some laying down in crumbles. To the far ending section of this room held one opening with no door, where stairs could be seen ascending to the top.

“What punishment would be suitable?” Luna stood in undeterminable thought, the crystal flakes gliding in front of her, and disappearing where the light dared not shine. “Moon Dancer, you claim you almost died in the cold, but would one of my sturdy knights have really fallen so easily?”

Moon sensed Druid’s sight upon her, but didn’t look back at him. “Maybe not… but, then again, I was out there for at least an hour or so, Your Highness. I couldn’t feel or move my wings, so I didn’t have any real means to get down to the lower levels. I admit… I may have exaggerated the truth a little, for which I do apologize.”

Luna then faced the two. “Exaggerated… Yes, and even now, the truth is still just that. Moon, believe it or not, you were only out there for fifteen minutes. Isn’t that right, Druid Shield?”

Druid gulped, but nodded. “That’s, uh… Yes, that’s how long it must’ve taken to relay those reports.”

Moon blinked at the princess and swallowed before repeating what Luna had just told her. “F-fifteen…?”

Luna raised a hoof, silencing her guard with just that motion alone. “Perhaps I might be harsh on you two, but this will be a test as well, to determine how hardy your winter coats are towards the more cold weather. This is one of the first winters I’ve experienced in a thousand years, and I have yet to determine what sort of resilience your species of pony can handle. Based on Moon Dancer’s reaction, though, it doesn’t look good.”

Druid again looked at the exit found just behind Luna, a cold feeling washing over him. “You mean…?”

“Yes, Druid. This is more of a mission than a punishment.” She explained, “Your mission is to remain in the western tower on night watch duty. You will be provided with basic rations such as refreshments and food.” Moon remained silent, trying not to fidget on the spot out of anxiety, something that Druid noticed out of the corner of his eye.

“That’s it?” Druid asked, making Luna raise a hoof to signal she wasn’t done.

“I will be checking up on you two every hour or so, and I don’t want to see any slacking from either of you.” Luna continued, giving the pair a stern look, and in return, received a silent nod of confirmation. “Good. You may wait here while I have Blacky Berry gather some gear for you, such as some scarfs, a tent to sleep in, and anything else I believe you might need. All that and the rations, too, will be brought up by the cadet himself, and then you may begin your mission as a team.”

Moon’s ears twitched slightly at the mention of his name. “Princess… could you please pass a message onto the cadet for me? I want him to know as soon as possible, that I know I was only out there for fifteen minutes… but, Your Highness, it did feel like over an hour, or maybe even more. I genuinely thought the young cadet had saved my life. I just want him to know that his actions were greatly appreciated, given how he’s still in the beginning stages.”

“I think I can do that,” Luna replied, and then with the extensions of her wings to knock some frost off her feathers, she passed them by, and then closed the door to the castle behind her.

Druid wandered off afterwards to the stairs to inspect the path upwards only to get a chill from the winds blowing into the clearing. He was about to say something, but decided it best to keep quiet. By Moon’s moody appearance and her recent impression on him, she probably didn’t want to talk to him at all. So, he sat by a pillar to watch some snow breeze down to the cemented block floor.

Moon remained where she was, running her mind over what had just occurred. “Was I... really only out there for fifteen minutes?” It bothered her that she’d let it get to her again, after how she had vowed not to let that memory effect her military career, nor show the weakness she thought she had gotten rid of because of it. Turns out, it’s still there. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn’t notice that Druid had begun talking to her.

“The Commander just needed very basic intel.”

“Hmm, what?” Moon replied as she came out of her thoughts. She stood across the dense ray of light that illuminated the white bits that fell.

“You… asked if you were only out there for such a long time, and I was… just confirming it again.”

“Right… but, Druid, it doesn’t forgive what he did, though. The commander should have known better.”

Druid nodded, but looked down. “So should I… Moon, I want to say sorry for what I did. Lying, leaving you out there, and misleading your trust. But, uh…” He looked up to see Moon’s pained facial expression, and made an attempt to change the subject. “W-what do you think will happen to Commander Wind?”

Moon hesitated for a moment before she snorted, and then looked away. “Personally, I think a demotion is too good for the bastard… had you taken more than fifteen minutes and had Blacky Berry not arrived. Well, things could have turned out a lot worse.”

He nodded solemnly. “Sorry… Y’know, he sorta… shot me a look before we headed down the halls. You don’t think—?”

Moon raised a hoof to stop him mid-sentence, while at the same time, saying, “He won’t try anything. I won’t let him do that, and neither will Princess Luna. So, don’t worry about him, okay? Besides, if he does do anything, you report it to me straight away. I’ll handle it from there. Okay?

“Okay,” Druid said, raising his hoof to rub his now somewhat swollen cheek. “Hell of a punch, by the way.”

Moon smiled softly, a very light blush forming on her cheeks. “Thanks… Also, I’m sorry about that, Druid…”

“Mmh, it’s alright. Still hurts. Say, how’s it look?” He stood, coming into the light.

She inspected his cheek, and winced at the sight. Seeing the slight swelling, her ears splayed back a little. “Sheesh… it’s gonna look bad in the morning, I think… I’m really sorry, Druid.”

She made a movement to feel the wound she had inflicted, but he backed away not because her touch hurt, but from residual fear, and she could see this in his worried eyes. Along with the lowering of his frame, the way his ears gradually kept going down, it was all signs that she’d caused him great trauma, just from spite alone.

Moon bit her lower lip as she backed up herself, which in turn made Druid posture himself normally again. Without warning, the mare rushed him. Druid shut his eyes tightly, bracing himself for a beating he wasn’t sure was to come or not. He yelped when he felt himself being squeezed slightly, but soon opened his eyes to find Moon tugging at him, forcing a hug for some reason.

“I mean it… I’m sorry, Druid…” Moon whispered softly.

He just stood there, three of his hooves in the light snow, and the front left hoof raised, him thinking about what to say or do. Hesitantly, he returned the hug, feeling a little unsure as to what was going on. Though the stallion heard Moon sniffle softly while she continued to gently squeeze him, he still waited to speak, unable to find the right words. He felt his nervousness melt away in the embrace after a time, feeling a sense of sincerity behind it, and closed his eyes as the two continued to hold onto one another in the snow.

After a few moments of relishing in the moment, Druid coughed lightly, and the two let go of one another. “We should, uh… probably head up now, and wait for the Princess.”

“Y-yeah… might be a good idea,” Moon replied.

The two stood there in an awkward silence for a few moments more, neither one looking directly at the other. Druid idly rubbed the back his his head whilst Moon poked at the ground with her hoof.

“Should I go up first?” they both asked in unison. “No, you first.”

The two stopped talking as another round of silence hung over them before Moon silently headed for the stairwell to the western tower, Druid close behind her. However, just before making it to the first step, they were stopped by a recognizable, childish voice. “You’ll need this if you two are going up there so soon!” Blacky Berry called, smirking shyly.

Druid, being the closest came over to him, and Moon followed closely behind. As they were given the supplies, Blacky informed the two, “You’ve got canned fruit, water, slipped you guys some apple cider just in case you feel like you could use some extra warmth…”

Moon smiled at Berry before nodding with gratitude. “Thank you, Cadet. We appreciate it.”

Berry smiled as he handed over the supplies, splitting it between the two evenly. “So… is everything okay between you two now? I heard it was a pretty nasty fight, am I right?” Moon lowered her ears a little, as did Druid, neither pony looking at each other as Berry looked at them, one after the other. He’d seen Druid’s bruise, but hadn’t said anything until now. “That bad, huh? Well, Luna’s expecting you two to cooperate. Don’t tell her I told you this, but that’s all part of the ‘mission’, is to be a team.”

Druid looked back up. “Yeah, figured. Anyways, I suppose we should be on our way.”

The mare quietly walked towards the stairs with her set of provisions, her ears a little flat against her head as she ventured into the oncoming, chilly winds hesitantly. Druid bid farewell to Blacky, and followed suit timidly, noticing that she was looking more nervous now than ever before. Despite his better judgement, he decided to not say anything, and just walked up the stairs with her. It took a minute of climbing in the dark for them to reach the very top, but when they did, it was hardly a sight to behold. Little could be said for the temperature, too.

Author's Note

Coauthored with Mr101.

Keeping Watch

Druid trotted in the dense snow, the blizzard in front of him almost hiding his companion. Though, through the sleet that whipped his mane to the left, he watched Moon Dancer circle to him, and say while holding a hoof out to try and find him, “Holy… I-it’s worse up here than at t-the landing bay!”

“Haah,” Druid wheezed, huffing his breath into his hooves. “I c-can’t even see you! Where’s the edge, anyways?!”

Aimlessly, the two trotted in near circles, trying to get their bearings. Suddenly, with the howling of the winds coming to a momentary stop, the snow ceased blowing so rapidly, giving them the opportunity to look around. It was a mere, circular platform with walls aligning the rim, only to create a pool for the snow that fell upon it. The two had little doubt of there being vents beneath for water to escape flowingly, but those were sure to be clogged by the ice. Still, the surface just wasn’t solid enough to maintain a tent, but thanks to prior training, they knew that underneath all this slush were hooks used for the lookout party.

“I suppose,” Moon began, her tail holding onto her hind hoof to generate what little heat that would come. “I’ll get started on the tent?” She and Druid both relieved themselves of the weight each one carried, placing their bags and supplies down on the snow, if only for a few to figure out how they were to do this with as minimal difficulty as possible.

“One second…” Druid walked along the edges, looking down at the snow beneath his hooves with a critical eye. “We’ve been taught about this. Remember? There’s gotta be hinges somewhere around here… Right here, in this small corner of an area.” He pointed down along the high rising wall of the neighboring tower, and looked at Moon curiously.

Moon nodded, and then carefully made her way to the opposite edge, peering as best she could through the snow for any sign of the hinges. After about a minute had gone by, she'd trip over something, bringing her attention back to what poked itself through the lumps below. Her ears shot up as she spotted something barely visible due to the snow, and quickly dusted away what she could to reveal one of the metallic, rusty bolts. “I’ve found one! Druid, try looking nearer towards the start of the battlements.”

Druid looked back to where he was standing and began to inspect the ground much closer to the nearest gap. It didn’t take him too long to find one, now that he knew where he was supposed to be looking. “Got another over here!” he called over the sound of rustling wind. “Alright… Stand back.”

After Moon Dancer did so, Druid adjusted his posture to point his horn directly at the ground below, and with the faintest of beams, shot the slush away with a moderately adequate heat spell. Slowly but surely, the section they desired was melted away within five or so minutes, and the cold even kept its distance with the ray of black magic for the most part staying in a perfect circle. The moment all four rods were visible, Druid stopped with a cold sweat, and rested on the balmy blocks.

“I… did my part,” he panted. “That isn’t easy, you know… Think you can take care of the tent?” he asked with a mumble from the fast, dropping temperature.

Moon nodded to him, and said, “No problem, give me a few minutes.”

As quickly and carefully as she could manage, Moon gathered up the components of the tent to begin setting up camp, trying to get it sorted before Druid’s magic would fade completely, and before the winds would attack their position once more, too. With a few grunts, she managed to get the holding ropes tightly and safely fastened to the four rods, and then quickly set about propping up the supporting frames. She saw Druid starting to waver a little, and could feel the cold picking up again. She took this as a sign to get her flank moving, and fast.

Grabbing the tarp with a determined grunt, she quickly unfurled her wings while hovering. She placed the tarp over the supporting frame of the tent before fastening it down to the four sub rods that sat beside the main ones. With a hearty tug, her fangs biting through the thick rope as if it were thinner than in actuality, she fastened the tent securely. Moon nodded with approval of her work.

“Alright, that should do it! L-lets get the gear inside,” she said to Druid, but he didn’t give a response. Instead, just beyond the thin cloth entrance, she could see him nodding off.

Quicker than before, she entered the tent and hoisted one of his front legs around her neck to help awaken the unicorn inside. She laid him gently down on one of the bed rolls as she left again, but only to quickly start up their heat lamp that was standard issue for cold stakeouts in the guard. Before she could do that, though, Moon decided she might as well finish gathering up their things. Seeing as how there was also undoubtedly a fire crystal in one of the pockets of the bags, it wasn’t like she could start the fire until she got the other priority taken care of first. The lamp acted as a campfire for them, or perhaps a miniature fireplace without the risk of setting ablaze to anything due to the protective glass dome surrounding it. When she was done, the mare helped Druid get close enough to the lamp to warm him back up.

“Any better?” she asked softly.

“A l-little… Thanks, Moon,” Druid replied with a kind smile as he inched his body closer to the lamp, but not to where he burned himself.

Moon sighed and smiled back, sitting straight on her rump next to the lamp. As she brought her hooves up to her head, and in one quick movement removed her helmet, she gave her mane a little shake before placing the headpiece down, more outside the tint rather than directly beside her.

Druid had nearly forgotten that Moon’s mane covered up, for the most part, her right eye, and smiled seeing it bounce lightly while she shook her head to release snowdrops from her bushy locks. He continued to stare at the mare, whose features were being illuminated by the glow of the lamp. Something he found himself unable to take his eyes away from was the fact that Moon’s ice blue eyes were gently glowing, combatting the light of the lamp that was trying to overpower her, but failing all the same.

Moon soon noticed that the stallion was staring at her, his mouth ever so slightly agape, and blushed a little. “Uh... Druid? You alright?”

“Huh?” he replied before shaking himself out of his daze. “What’d you say?”

“I asked if you were alright… You were kinda spacing off there for a moment,” Moon said back to him.

“Oh, r-right. Sorry, was just thinking of something, you know? I’m f-fine, thanks.” He rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof softly and gave her a nervous smile.

Moon felt there was more to it than that, but decided to not bother pressing any further. “Alright. Well, why don’t we rest up for a bit before we take turns on the watch? I s-suppose I can go first if you like.”

Druid could definitely hear a small amount of hesitation in Moon’s speech. Swallowing a little, he decided to take a gamble, and asked her a question that had been on his mind ever since she left for her mission. “Moon… is there something about the cold you don’t like?”

The mare looked at him as if she were a startled foal hearing the scary sound of thunder not too far off. “W-what do you mean?” she asked, shivering slightly from the sudden gust of wind.

“W-well… you did overreact to being outside for such a short amount of time… and, what’s more, you seemed hesitant about going up to the watch tower…” Moon remained silent, the stallion taking this as a sign to continued talking. “Moon Dancer, are you afraid of the snow or something…?”

The mare looked away from him, not giving an answer to the stallion, but seeming to think on that with agitation setting in. There was a long, stagnant silence that fell upon the two all too suddenly, with the wind occasionally breaking it apart. Druid began to wonder if he had crossed some invisible line with his question, and even began to feel nervous again, fearing Moon might just have become angry with him all over again. Then, with a heavy sigh, Moon looked up to the top of the tarp.

“When I was just a filly… my family used to live in Stalliongrad. Mostly woods, you know. One winter, I was playing in the nearby forest with my sisters when the snow started to get a lot heavier, a-and the winds got worse and worse as time went by. For a moment, y’see, none of us kids noticed. We were too caught up in our little games.”

Druid commented, figuring where this was leading, “But, you were having too much fun to realize what was going on around you.”

She looked to him with those worried, glassy eyes, and nodded after blinking, turning her gaze again to the flickering fire before them. “Eventually, we did realize just how bad the weather had gotten, and made a beeline for home as fast as possible. But… I struggled to keep up with them! I couldn’t maneuver in the snow as well as they could… I was just so young, and I ended up becoming lost.”

She paused as she looked down to the sparkling floor, her ears slowly laying flat against her head. “What happened then?” asked Druid.

“I was so… scared, so helpless. I called out for my sisters, for mom and dad, but nopony could hear me over the wind. It was so... c-cold… The wind whipped at me like it was angry, and for no real reason, too. The cold clung to me like a stranger trying to squeeze the very life out of me! So much so, that I felt completely numb all over.”

Druid’s ears matched Moon’s as he spotted a tear forming in her eye.

“Eventually, Druid, my mother and father found me not too far from our cozy cave, funnily enough… My siblings had gone to go get them, so that they could find me. I was in bed with pneumonia for a while because of it, and… I guess afterwards, just became frightened of the wind and cold. Especially the snow. Eventually, though, as I grew older, I did somewhat managed to get over my fear… but it’s still there, still gnawing away at the back of my mind.” She gave a chuckle, more saddening than cheerful before finishing, “Guess I was wrong.”

She shifted closer to the fire, her hooves dragging it that much closer between them while sitting beside him under the tent, her head still fixated at looking to the floor. “So, that’s why…?” Druid questioned on.

“Yeah. E-earlier… when I couldn’t get in… everything just came flooding back to me, and I was that same, helpless little filly… Not even that, but a foal, trapped in the snow. I know it was never your fault; that you didn’t know about what happened when I was so much younger… and, Druid Shield, I-I’m so sorry I took out my pathetic breakdown on you, and—”

Moon choked back a sob, gritting her teeth as she clenched her eyes, fighting back the bitter tears that just kept forming. At that, Druid huffed, wrapping his hoof around her for comfort, and said, “It’s alright.”

“... There’s more,” Moon Dancer admitted, her head leaning against his shoulder. “Before taking off, you said that I could trust you. At that particular moment, I’d actually thought back to that very same instance, because that’s what my siblings had told me. They said that if a monster came from the woods to… heh, gobble us all up, they’d protect me. That I could trust them… and I did, a-and they saved me from a monster that day. I just didn’t know winter could be so harsh, you know?”

Druid held her even more, feeling her salty tears on his other hoof that sat below her chin, and made an attempt to further assure her, “You can trust me, and this time, I mean it. I won’t ever let this happen again.”

“There’s still more, that I t-think it’s time you knew about…”

Druid looked down curiously. “What’s that?” he asked.

“Well, more of a question, really. H-have you… been feeling heated lately? I mean, in the castle, where it’s always warm, and there’s always a plentiful supply of food. Not to mention, our own kind…? Because-”

“Don’t tell me,” Druid voiced, his left ear perking as to make sure he hadn’t misheard her. “You’re… looking around? At this time of the year? You know our kind… m-mate during spring. Right?”

She glanced up to him, her cute eyes slightly amazed. “You’re not looking around, Druid? Bats mate when it’s warm, where there’s food, a-and… It’s just not how it used to be, in the wild. Am I making sense?”

At that, they just stared at one another, lost in their suggestive questions. Druid took a chance after a moment, and confessed, “Haven’t found the right one.”

Moon’s eyes relaxed, concentrating on him alone. “That’s why, when you told me that I could trust you, I was that much more upset when I’d thought you had let me down. To be honest, I’d t-thought… I’d been thinking about you as the days went by, and you know how our kind acts. When the girl’s decided who she wants, that’s pretty much the end of it. Not to mention, ever since my promotion, I’d been missing you, too. Seeing you less and less didn’t stop that, either.”

Druid’s simper grew with this in mind. “Yeah, I’d be lying if I said I hadn't missed your company, even though we never really hung out that much.”

“But then, Druid, after so long of not even seeing you, this assignment I got today made me so excited. You know why? Because I knew you were on door duty! The moment I reached the door and saw you, that little talk we had… You just don’t know how unbelievably nervous, a-and happy I was! I could hardly believe it myself. So, I guess what this boils down to is, do you feel the same way? About me?”

The stallion was at a lost for words. Would he say yes? Could he say no? Of course, there was no way he could tell her he wasn’t interested in her, because in truth, he was. So, instead of giving an awkward, verbal answer, he gave her a more physical reply. By leaning down with his eyes slowly shutting, he’d already let her know of his mutual feelings, making her react the same way.

With eyes calmly closing, and their lips touching ever so tenderly, Moon embraced her new special somepony gladly, shuddering more from the kiss than the snow. For a good while, they sat under the tent like that, their lips connected with one another. Every few seconds, Moon would give off a slight, pleasant moan, happy to know she would get what she’d been secretly desiring. Druid wouldn’t understand just how much she needed a mate until after they parted, and then, she pushed him further into the tend, her tail closing the way out to hide their activities.

“M-Moon Dancer, now?! I mean-”

“Yes, now! Right now! Why not?”

Druid was held down after another kiss, by both of her hooves. “But, we’ve gotta watch the night like Luna ordered!”

She again came down on him, her tongue intruding through his lips, making him blush even more. In between their kisses, she told him, “Don’t worry, nopony’s gonna show. Nothing ever happens! Plus, if you’re worried about Luna, don’t be. She may have said she’ll check up on us, but I’m betting she’ll just do that through her telescope.”

Again, with her hooves wrapping around the back of his neck and her lower portion pressing down on his waist, she kissed him vigorously, unstoppable at this point, and it was all his fault. He didn’t really mind, though. It was just happening so fast, how else was he supposed to behave? Regardless, she knew how to read him, and he, too, knew good and well his lust couldn’t be hidden for long, not at this rate.

“Oh?” Moon asked, her attention being redirected to the pressure that presented itself behind her. “What’s this?” Druid gulped, watched her back up while still hovering over him, and blushed at what she had freshly caused while she simply touched the summit with a hoof. She held his ever growing groin like that for a moment before teasing him a bit. “Thought you said you hadn’t found the right one yet.”

“Heh…”

Slowly, she laid down with his balls nestled underneath her torso while the shaft was gripped by her hooves. For a few minutes, she played with him, minding her time as she tasted what might as well be officially her’s. Starting from the base, and streaking all the way up to the very tip-top, her tongue dragged against his skin, and she relished in his scent. Then, after a moment of what she considered foreplay, she took a deep breath, and blew softly, blowing cool air onto his pulsating growth. “If at any point, though, you hear hoof steps coming up the stairs, let me know. I’ll take the watch. Princess Luna won’t suspect anything if it’s me, y’know?”

“Alright,” he voiced quickly. “I’m fine with that… I just wish she’d get outta my mind for a little while, or at least while you do this.”

She looked back down from his cute, worrisome expression, and before resuming her fondling, she rhetorically asked, “Think this’ll help?”

With a powerful, downward motion, she took nearly a quarter of his stallionhood in. Druid gave off a gasp of surprise, and shut his eyes tightly. “Ahh… T-that might just do the trick…”

She pulled herself up, and dipped down yet again, taking on that much more. This time, Moon Dancer made sure she submerged half of his still growing cock deeper down her throat. Holding it there, her painful sounding groans could be heard, but she refused to lighten up. Of course, soon, she had to pop her lips off to inhale a fair amount of cool oxygen, but then rapidly sank back down the second she had recuperate from her extremely bold action.

This time, she decided to bob up and down for just a minute or two, being sure to coat every inch of his length up with her rather warm spit. Every tiny movement she made was complemented with a small, shivering sensation coming from her companion. Eventually, Druid had to start holding onto the back of her ear while the other hoof adjusted himself against one of their cargo bags for leverage. Things became all too rough for him due to never having a better treatment in his life, but as time went on, and with the docile storm playing its peaceful song just outside, he slowly but surely started relaxing more and more. That helped Moon out tremendously.

Soon, he bucked upwards, sending that much more of himself into the very back of her maw. “Mmh!”

Druid looked down, slightly embarrassed by what he’d just done. “S-sorry, a-are you… okay?”

She nodded with his hardening throbber still lunged deep down, well passed her reddened cheeks. For only a few more seconds, she slicked it out again to say, “I’ll get by, just don’t get so carried away! Let me do the work for now.”

She looked back down at his slickened, carbon black stick while licking her lips delightfully, and just when Druid was about to offer the suggestion of hoofing him off the rest of the way, she slurped the shady thing right back down, and deep, too, with tightly shut eyes. “Ahh-hey, you don’t need to keep doing that. You could just… Moon?”

She ignored him, bobbing her head up and down without even thinking of stopping. That was hardly an option at this point. At that, Druid didn’t mind, either. He wasn’t about to try and stop her a second time, because the feeling was simply far too exhilarating for him to even think straight anymore. Her mouth retreated to say, “I’m not stopping until you cum!” Then, she hastily returned and resumed her duty, efficiently smothering his head while also taking her precious time.

Before long, she managed to get the rest of him in, making her breathing against his belly frantically more frequent, though not enough to make Druid worry much. Her eyes closed as she repetitively suckled away at his rock solid prick. Just a few loose strands of her mane fell in front of her face, interfering with her task. She began grunting at this distraction while trying to move it out of the way, still concentrating on her slurps. Like the gentlecolt he was, Druid decided it best to help her out by pulling the troublesome locks of hair out of the way, giving Moon Dancer that much more of an opportunity to focus on her tempo while he let out another small groan of amusement.

She just kept stuffing more and more of him as far as he’d go, a feat that Druid Shield considered extremely impressive. He couldn’t be sure just how much experience she’d had in the past, but with him being her selective choice, it was hard to believe she’d done it at all. His entire mass had been forced down further than Druid at first anticipated, forcing her to cough a little with his rod practically drowning, but she persistently fought the urge to lighten up. She sucked as hard as she could, making her Cadet throw his head back in unbelievable euphoria. His lips began to tremble almost as much as his hindlegs did, and once he tried to speak, it came out as one long, disoriented sigh. Moon got the unspoken message, though.

She pulled back all the way to the tip of the head, flaring some more steam out from her nostrils. Being about as prepared as she possibly could by that point, she nearly gobbled the whole thing down again in one fast, startling slurp. Unable to take that last, hardcore decision on her part, he climaxed within her, spewing some of his spunk down her throat. She could feel every thick spurt of cream sinking for a moment, some of it even leaking out through her mouth as she nearly became overwhelmed. Just when she believed the endless streams of her lover’s spunk would never end, Druid let out a satisfied pant, and she yanked free from his hold.

Even more shots of his clear, white load landed on her smirking face, one hitting her eye just as she closed it, and even more settling on her hair. With a happy huff, she grinned playfully again, and brought some of the leftover essence up from her hoof to take another taste. Using an almost limp hoof, Druid leaned up to reach into the soft bag he’d been leaning on. When offered a few napkins, Moon wiped herself as clean as she’d get, but still has bits of his stains on her coat and mane.

“I’ll use my magic,” he bagan. “You know, to get that, uh, sticky stuff-”

“Forget it!” The mare exclaimed before standing, and then turning around for him. “Just hurry up! It’s my turn!”

With what little energy he had left, Druid stood as well, his flaccid dick returning to its thick state just from the sight before him. However, instead of returning the service right away, he just sat there staring blankly, making Moon blush. She didn’t say anything about his hesitance, though, because it kept her captivated, letting her new lover see her, taking in every little, pretty, and kinky feature she had to offer him.

He came closer after waiting, looking, admiring, and swallowed the water that’d salivated in his mouth. Cutely, for effect, Moon’s tail motioned out of his way, inviting him to take a drink. Neither could he resist doing so, and with both hooves latching over her cutie marks on either side, his muzzle censored her naughtiest of parts, tongue prodding her clit, and then her slit. As he continued his progression, his mare brought the upper portion of her frame down excitedly, her own muzzle scrunching from the anticipation.

Although she wanted so desperately by then to be easily mounted and pounded, especially by a subordinate, she held onto simply allowing Druid his free reign over her, and enjoyed his taunting caresses as best she could, and it wasn’t at all that bad by the by. He apparently knew how to work his taster in a way that got her off, but it wasn’t as if she was all that far from being ready for him. If anything, she could’ve taken his entire growth with absolutely no problem then and there, but still, she persisted to be a good, patient bat pony, despite her lust kicking in with every passing second.

At last, his mouth receded, a strand of her sweet juices holding onto his chin. Moon resisted the need she felt to look back at him, hearing his lips smack together from the yummy taste. “You gonna…” She had to let out a huff from being both cold and intensely turned on before finishing her question. “You gonna rut me now?”

She didn’t get an answer. In contrast, she was abruptly toppled dominantly, Druid’s summit laying right in between Moon’s tail and her right sided cutie mark. He felt along her wings gingerly, loving the way they were slowly starting to extend. After a second or so of letting her calm down more, feeling along her almost translucent ends and extending them to spread wide, helping them to touch the cloth beside her, the unicorn bent down slowly and delayed the best part tauntingly. Druid knew well enough how much Moon had wanted him by now, and began rubbing his muzzle against the back of her ear. Before beginning, though, Druid felt it only proper to ask her, “Ready?” He rubbing his knee against Moon’s wetness, just for the fun of it.

After her nod, Moon’s eyes tightly shut, and in her love went, penetrating her opening without so much of a defying screech. Typically, the mare began to struggle, her hooves knocking against Druid’s, but she stayed in place. Without question, she was enjoying this more than she thought she would've. With every shake she gave came a glare, and then a blink of longing. So, delaying the best part was the last thing Druid wished to do, but to do so was just so enticing, he couldn't help himself.

Moon Dancer looked up at her stallion, her head angled cutely while breathing deeply and staring at Druids fine lining. She took a moment to make eye contact, but smiled when she did, and with a little quiver of her lower lip, too, Druid's all too eager smile grew even wider before he nervously warned her, “I’m gonna put more of it in now, and start moving, okay?”

“Okay, Druid...”

Even before he was inside, Druid could feel the heat coming off his mare. It was an unbelievable warmth, probably made due to the long periods of waiting for this precise moment. If he didn’t know better, Druid might’ve thought it was emanating from something much too heated to be part of a bat pony’s body. This warmth drove him to get a little carried away, and as Moon held a hoof to her mouth, he slid his member further inside, first just to the halfway point, and then all the way after another second went by.

“Ahh!”

“You alright?” Druid checked.

“Y-yes! Just don’t stop!” the mare pleaded.

He followed along with the courtesy to start thrusting at once. The look on Moon’s face, too, said she’d never felt anything better in her whole, young life. Not only that, but her pussy was clenching around him like a hot tunnel, squeezing that bat cock of his so desperately, it must've been begging for him never to leave, not for a second. Soon, his rhythm picked up the pace, and while the thuds of his thigh against Moon’s flank became more and more repetitive, he asked once again for good measure, “You okay with this?”

He asked this while almost grunting. The scrunching up of his face as Moon’s clenching hole massaged his prick helped him ask it, minding Moon’s level of pleasure and enjoyment. This was mostly for her after all, even though Druid couldn’t help but to feel giddy with the experience as well. Had he had it his way, they would’ve waited until within the barracks, in utter privacy and without fear of Princess Luna randomly showing up to see their naughty antics. Still, this was arguably better because of the cold, but that still didn’t stop them from wanting each other then and there.

After three more thrusts, and another adorable whimper, followed by a thankful smile, Moon nodded. “Yeah,” she said, almost whispering her answer, breath nearly absent from her lungs. She gasped after another powerful pump, and then sighed, “You’re doing great!” After a brief lingering with just his tip inside, revelling in the tug of Moon Dancer’s grasp around it, Druid buried himself again, and this time, he wouldn’t hold back. This time, the contact made a snug, slapping sound, bringing Moon to pant for air yet again, and Druid in return groaned, their mouths just barely open with amusement.

Finally, it was time to finish this bit of action up. With his speed increasing, and every thrust being more powerful than the last, he noticed Moon’s head waver upwards as this happened, and all she could do was glare forward, a half huffing, half sighing sound leaving her lips. “Ooooohhh, yessss, Druid…!”

“Gonna… go fah-faster!”

Much easier than before, his piece plopped out, but not before Moon gripped it tightly, almost fighting to keep Druid’s length inside. Of course, Druid wasn’t having this, so keeping with his masterfully played tempo, he forced himself just about out, but the crown stayed in. At the same time, he inspected her two front hooves swing forth, pulling the folds to the entrance to her chest as she did. Druid then listened to the welcomed noises she made. “Hah… ha-ha…”

“Wh-what’s so funny?”

She thought about that for a second, and mentally asked herself the same question. “I… d-don’t…”

“Perhaps it was this?” He forced the whole entirety of his rod back in, and again, the pegasus of a bat pony below heeled over with pleasure washing over her, to where he could hear the beginnings of a screech. What was Druid to do? “Get ready!” he warned her again.

As one might be able to guess, Moon was about as ready as she’d ever be for this, and just laid there, her rear raised while her torso stayed flat against the cool cement, her world rocking and the tent spinning, but then, something unexpected happened to her. He’d actually left her, but only for a second, so that he might invade her other, upper, more neglected looking hole. A sinking, sloppy feeling brought about tension in her back, and instantly threw her over the edge. Druid had dipped himself down her ass, all the way while hitting her much more tender, sensitive core like it was nothing to him.

For well over a minute, the two gasped for air, moaning every step of the way like a duet pair trying to sing in unison, but just missing the correct tones by a few keys. Their song, however, was beyond harmonious to them. It was a perfect melody in their opinions, if only a tiny bit flawed; each sound more lively than the other. Lost in such a pleasurable moment, Druid brought one of his hooves up and quickly swung it across Moon’s rear, making the mare inhale sharply, and gasp as he smacked her. With a coy grin, he repeated the motion every so often to coincide with his thrusts, the noises escaping the bat pony below him freely as his hoof connected with her ass seemed akin to mewls and moans which only served to fuel Druid’s lustful drive even further.

At the end of their cries brought about by sheer pleasure and enjoyment caused by one another, Druid yanked himself out of his mare’s second hole, some clear, white liquid fighting to escape. Immediately, she dropped to the floor, panting restlessly with eyes closed, and a silly, rutted facial expression clearly visible to Druid. As gently as possible, he too came down to lay atop, holding onto her for hospitality, and complimented, “You were… awesome.”

“Y-you, too.” She sighed off, her mind feeling mucky and extremely tired from that ordeal. “How’d you know, though… T-that I liked anal?” she asked, her words a bit muffled, but he'd heard what she had questioned about regardless.

“Lucky guess,” he confessed honestly, holding her more tightly than ever. Thanks to his magic, a few blankets came wafting over to them, and shortly after, they fell asleep in each other’s embrace, but not before Moon Dancer was able to say to her new special somepony, “Love you, Druid Shield…”

“I love you too, Moon Dancer.”

They’d sleep more peacefully after that, in defiance towards the snowstorm that rampaged outside. Though the bitter temperatures dropped more and more as the night pressed on, they’d keep one another content all evening. Morning wouldn’t come for hours, still, but when it did, they’d begin their new day with a kiss, and as for Luna… Well…

She watched from the telescope at what was going on over there. Even though this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind when she told them they’d need to work as a team, it was better than them fighting like they were earlier in the halls. Still, it proved to be a most enjoyable show for her, which brought her to consider the relationship arrangements for the Lunar Guard. Leniency, however, would be more preferable. “They can have their fun, I suppose.” She retreated back to her room shortly after, leaving the two to their night alone while also magically ceasing the storm as best she could for them. A kind gesture, as well a much deserved one, too.

Author's Note

Coauthored with Mr101.