Mostly Routine Patrol

Shadow gave a final wave to the guards that had taken over the town. She was elated, knowing she’d done a great deed, with a little help from a stubborn stallionShe practically pranced around Sterling once they’d left the town behind them.

“Can you believe it? A whole bunch of creatures, saved by me… oh, and you. I’ll make sure you’re a big hoofnote below my name,” she bumped into his side, “unless there’s something else you’d like to do below me…”

He didn’t miss a beat, but averted his eyes. “Nope, not a thing to speak about. We have two days to the next checkpoint. Let’s not waste any more time with distractions, okay?”

She scoffed and took to the air. “What are you talking about? That distraction just turned out to be a changeling nest with a cave full of glowing pods under it. That’s not just amazing, it’s awesome. And it’s because of a distraction we stopped there, right?”

“No, actually. If you recall--”

“I don’t care! Look at me,” she landed and used her wings to remove her helmet. “Do you see these eyes? My muzzle? What do you see? What emotion am I feeling?”

He stopped and looked down at her, noticing how petite she looked in her uniform for maybe the first time. The memory of his dream was fresh in his mind, and he’d never seen her naked before. She was always wearing something covering her lithe body, making her look larger than she actually was.

“Well?”

“Uhm, happiness?”

She snerked. “You said penis… no! This isn’t about how jokes, I’m not happy about this… okay, I’m kinda happy. But that’s because I joined the guard for that reason, back there. But I’m also upset at you.”

“Me, why me? What’ve I done?”

“Nothing! I just don’t get how you can be so by the book all the time,” she turned and started to pace while blocking him from moving on, “you don’t flirt with me when I flirt with you, even when it’s harmless. You’re always quoting the rules and regulations, even when you don’t have to. I’ve been to boot camp. I’ve worn those old shoes with a broken nail in ‘em like everypony else during the marches in training.

“I gave up traveling the nation when the Night Mother returned and was cleansed,” she winced and look at Sterling. “I mean, Princess Luna, of course.”

“Your cultural preferences won’t be treated any differently as long as they don’t directly interfere with the assigned unit or mission.”

“There it is again!” she pointed at him. “You coulda just said something normal, but you quoted the manual again. Don’t you ever loosen up when on duty? What happened to that stud I went to the bar with? The same one who sang karaoke with that fat guy who smelled like spiced onions and sang like he was under water?”

Sterling snickered.

“A-ha! You do have a fun side, I knew it,” she moved swiftly until her muzzle was near his by a hoof length. “I swear that before we lay in our bunks back home, I will make you laugh at the very least.”

He turned his head away from her slightly and took a serious tone she had hoped was gone. “If that’s what you wish to put your freetime effort into, then you may do just that. For now, though, replace your helmet and scout ahead; we can’t afford to run into another trap like yesterday. We probably won’t get out of it so easily.”

“Yes, sir!” she maneuvered the helmet onto her head with her tongue stuck out and eyes crossed while it situated, then hopped into the air to look ahead of them while staying under the canopy.

He looked up and noticed her relaxed posture when flying, not showing him anything he’d been shown the past few days. He sighed in relief, the dream alone being enough to hold him over for the next few days, certainly.

***

Watching the path was proving distrating since his focus was on her behavior; she seemed to be less flirty and more focused on her job as the rest of that day led into the next couple days. They’d reached the next town, then the next without much ado. The same applied to the rest of their patrol.

She did her best to be happy and flirt as little as possible, he stayed the military professional he was, and together they hoped the pony they’d begun to know the night of the town would come back.

It was a comfortable trek back and over the intervening week they’d become closer as friends than as the lovers she’d hoped for. On their return path a flock of pegasi landed before them, giving them salutes and a scroll signed by Princess Luna herself. They both read it three times while the pegasi asked them questions about the grand battle with the changeling army they took down with the magically enhanced scream of a thestral ending an incoming invasion by themselves.

Shadow and Sterling looked between one another and finally they both broke down laughing. A short explanation of what really happened followed by a series of autographs left the duo alone, watching the messengers flying away jabbering to one another. Shadow couldn’t land after that encounter.

“Can you believe it, Sterling? We’re national heroes, and all we had to do was save a little itty bitty town from some bugs I didn’t even get to snack on,” she giggled. “I mean, gross, but still, what would they taste like? I really don’t think they’d be that good.”

Sterling groaned at the thought of seeing her eat anything larger than a grasshopper, refusing to see the mare munching on a sapient bug creature in his mind’s eye. “Can we not talk about eating those bugs? It’s disgusting and offensive to real food, tiny crunchies especially.”

She cooed and flew over him, landing on his back standing to lean over him and look into his face. “Aw, you called them crunchies… have you sneaked a few when I wasn’t looking, or are you just teasing me?”

She bucked and he laughed, flapping her wings to stay off the ground. “Neither, I just wanna talk about something else.”

“Well, how about the regulations? Page three hundred two, know it?” He glanced up at her and shook his head. “Well, it says something about how high a flier can fly when in city limits if the city has a population over so many. Darn, I thought I remembered that.”

“Was that really on that page?”

“I’unno. Probably, or somewhere near it. Within a hundred pages or so, I’m almost sure.”

He chuckled, not for the first time. “Ha, almost a laugh! What about a riddle or ten thousand?”

“How about no.”

“Boring! Oh, I know! I know,” she flew higher and started to sing. “One hundred beetles on the wall, one hundred beetles…”

“Sweet Celestia, no,” he grumbled and walked faster until he was galloping with her chasing him singing loudly. He smiled and loved her chasing him, even though the song was borne from the evils of Tartarus itself.

Eventually, they tired and walked side by side, their merriment gone as the sun set. She yawned and stumbled into him with an apology. “Let’s make camp.”

“Sounds great,” she mumbled and moved off the path to find a spot. He followed her, the scent of her was strong and he bit his lip, thinking of the dream not for the first time that day. Her shapely hindquarters swayed opposite her tail and nearly begged him to get closer. He shook his head and turned to a different path, circling around to get away from the trail of sweet scent behind her.

They set up camp, and she quickly crawled into the tent, not wasting time asking. He watched her go in while he started a small fire with anticipation, thinking of burying his nose under her tail and inhaling without regard to her privacy. Waking her with his tongue lapping her lips and tasting the source of both their pleasure.

The growth beneath him was a curse, reminding him of what he couldn’t do, regardless of how much instincts told him otherwise. He had desired her body and being since the dream that had woken him up that night. He had turned away to hide the wet stain across his underbelly and when he’d gotten up shortly after he was thankful and upset she’d fallen asleep.

His armor dripped and leaked his essence as he rushed from the room and stripped in the next, casting cleaning spells to remove the first wet dream he’d had in years. He returned to the room and lay on the bed, watching her sleep. Imagining waking her by being a feral beast and pouncing on her.

His cock ached to be set free and he shook his head, the image of kissing her while her hooves reached between them and grabbed him hard member, stroking up and down. He pranced around the campsite, trying to distract his thoughts.

After half an hour, he went to the tent and hesitantly poked his head in. He looked at the sleeping mare and watched her furry ears twitching as he inhaled deeply the scent of the small room.

He moved his hips a little, the urge to be inside her was calling to him and he nearly gave in before backing out and moving to the far side of the fire. The rest of his shift was difficult, his mind too distracted to keep watch on the forest around them. When it was his turn to bed down, he made it a point to loosen his barding and let his cock out, the hours pressed inside the suit was aching him and the release from the pressure was as good a feeling as the cool air on it.

He slept too deeply to notice the mare enter the tent, and smell the length of his exposed cock, resisting the urge to wake him with it in her mouth.

…

They passed the town and waved at the several guards as they approached. They stayed for a celebratory meal and a short tour of the cavern that was turned into a storage area and emergency shelter, given how many times the nation had been under siege over the past years, it was a good idea in everypony’s opinion.

Gryphons and ponies now called a town home, and the duo knew they’d done a good job.

Later that night, as he lay in a bed opposite hers in the new room they shared, he broke the silence that had befallen them. “This is nice, what they’ve done over the past week.”

“Yeah, the fact they’re talking about naming the town after us is awesome, too. What if in a hundred years this little place turns into the next Ponyville, without the monster attacks. I mean, we can see them happen from Canterlot! Why don’t we just set a patrol between home and there, am I right?” Sahdow asked with a giggle.

He hummed and moved his helmet over his chest in his magic. “Sterling Shadow, population two thousand. Personally, I just think of how happy my family will be to hear about what happened from me over some report given to the papers.”

“I know,” her bed squeaked as she rolled to her side to look at him in the single lantern light, “I’d love to be there. I’d like to see their reactions.”

He looked at her. “What about your family? Won’t you tell them, or do you think the reports will be enough?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really know. Bat ponies aren’t like pegasi or other tribes, after we’re born and weaned we join the community. I have an idea of who my parents are, but the whole clan is my family and they all raise the foals. When I get back I’ll tell them all in our gathering hall. It won’t be the same as telling my own parents, though.”

“Hm. That’s actually kinda cool,” he looked at the helmet as it spun slowly, “having a whole clan to help. My family is supportive, but seeing my parents is hard enough. My extended family might get together once every few moons for some event, like a festival or Summer Sun Celebration.

“With Luna back, the Winter Moon Festival might bring us all together, at least for the first couple.” He lowered the helmet to the floor and sighed, rolling off the bed and unclasping the belts holding his armor on. With a smooth motion he slid the back plate off, then the chest piece and finally his greaves, arranging them on the floor by his bed, ready to be put back on in seven seconds, tops.

She looked at him from front to back, his white barding all he wore now to cover his body from water and extreme heat or cold. “Why’d you take your armor off? We’re not home yet.”

He lay back in his bed on his side, facing her. “Because I trust you to keep me safe, and if you wake me in an emergency, I’ll be ready to do the same,” he confessed and they shared a heartfelt smile.

“If this town is really full of changelings that’re trying to fatten us up with feelings, they’re doing a great job.”

He chuckled loudly and nodded as his eyes closed. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

She watched him fall asleep, her ears listening for any scurrying into the night until sleep claimed her too, even though she made it a point to sleep as lightly as she could while peeking into his dreams. She blushed when she saw him with her, lying side by side beside a river and nuzzling.

Not as sexy as she was hoping for, but certainly more than she expected.