Twentifourth of Harvest, 189th Greensfounding
My Dear Diary,

Two days ago, after writing the prior entry, I did attempt to visit Cloudshield at the Guardship Tower. She was unavailable, by the word of her superior, Gold Meadow, Captain of the Border Guard. She was “on patrol”, or something like it.

“Would you like to wait for her? She should be back in a few hours. The Border Guard tries not to be inhospitable, especially to those courted by our members.” She was polite.

I accepted her offer, largely due to anxiety. The Guardship Tower, ~~besides having the excellent roof (both for stargazing and other activity) which I was already familiar with,~~ was well furnished. The lowest floor is still well above the ground, situated more than halfway up the border wall.

Gold Meadow and another guardsmare, Ebongaze, seemed company fair enough. They didn't seem to appreciate my presence, but a stallion's presence is appreciated only when appropriate, and I'll admit mine was only marginally so. Still, the mares were very polite, as guardsmares ought to be.

Eventually, the two grew tired of sitting in silence and took up casual conversation. They avoided certain topics, perhaps, seeming altogether uncomfortable at moments.

I was not waiting in such an environment long. After perhaps twenty minutes, Cloudshield and another guardsmare, who I later learned was called Grasswhistle, entered the tower rather unexpectedly. They brought with them a stallion, though he may have been even younger than I. He was skittish, like a frightened colt.

Cloudshield rushed me out of the room (not that I complained). On a walk back to her house, she spoke to me cautiously.

“I apologise for that. Perhaps it would be best if you not speak of it. That stallion was wandering about outside Greenstable. He was delirious, it took us some time to get him inside. No more of that, though, dearest. Guardsmare's business. How are you?”

I answered that I was good. I had just been wondering about the sudden and inexplicable cancellation of our plans.

“I apologise for that as well... Gold Meadow asked me to take extra shifts on patrol. She wants us out in pairs now, even at day, and the timetables for guard duties might be unpredictable for a while.”

At this point, she'd lowered her head. I was unprepared for something such as this; I hadn't meant to cause her ~~grief~~ sorrow. I was only questioning the occurrences, I hadn't intended to place even the slightest inkling of blame on her. Before I could speak again, she embraced me gently.

“If you'd like, dearest, you could simply come to the Guardship Tower on any day of your choosing and wait for me...” she'd said, smiling at me. I smiled back, perhaps despite myself. Her implication was pleasing. “I'm not required for duties until tonight, and even then only well after sundown. Would you appreciate some time with me, love?”

At that word, my emotional state could perhaps be best described as “unbounded ecstasy”. Analogous to a puddle would not, by any means, be an inaccurate assessment, either. She hadn't yet spoken it to me, and the sound of that delightful word was euphonious, to say the very least.

I imagine my expression brightened considerably. We had an early supper with my family, which my father appreciated greatly. To my surprise, Cloudshield asked my herdmothers if I could spend more time with her that evening... I cannot be certain, as they had me leave the room, but I do not think I imagined what I heard in her voice. I do not think I imagined the implication of “nightly activities”.

Whether or not this was her implication, it is indeed what occurred. Herdmother Ivory told Cloudshield that she and I could go wherever she liked, and I am certain of the subtle indication in those words. I was free to be away from home until well past dawn...

Cloudshield led me slowly, meandering towards her house. Initially, it seemed quite unintentional, but as we wandered I became more suspicious of her motives. She and I found our way into the grove of trees alongside the west edge of Greenstable.

Greenstable, surrounded by a circular wall, is relatively large for its size. There may be as many as seventy five herds in our village, but they all dwell in the northern, eastern, and southeastern portions of Greenstable. The west and southwest are instead filled with a well-maintained grove... Perfect for the current purposes of Cloudshield and myself.

The woods are far enough from the ~~clut~~ village centre, and quite large, enough so that there is little chance of us running into anypony. Ponies on strolls through the grove are themselves quite unlikely to meet another pony on the path, and if one strays far enough from the path, meeting another pony would be ~~a once~~ ~~akin to bei~~ so remarkable as to be slightly alarming.

It came as no surprise to me, then, that Cloudshield, walking so close that her tail rested on my flank, led me away from the path and through a thicket. At this point, I was perhaps growing annoyed... And this is in retrospect. I believe, at the time, that I was quite irritated.

Cloudshield wouldn't hear of it. She had me ride on her back, a difficult way to travel in good conditions. In this bramble, I can only imagine her difficulty. ~~Yet after a while,~~ It didn't take long, despite any difficulty, for us to come to a little clearing, barely large enough for six ponies, but pleasantly roomy for two lovers.

By this time, it was nearly sundown. With the leaves acting as filters, (though not for much longer- It is Harvest, and Leafsfall Day comes fast) the wood seemed very dark indeed. ~~A pleasing precocious dusk, a pleasant precursor to a period of pleasure.~~

We lay under the shade of a tree. It was unbelievably comfortable there, entwined with my lover and kept safe in her hooves... Hooves that were, to my excitement, moving as if they possessed their own minds.

Positioned as we were, with my head resting at the base of her neck, I could not look my lover in the eyes, but I believe I imagined her expression accurately- One of love, aggressive love, with an urge to possess, to own, to have me.

She certainly demonstrating such aggression. Her hooves moved lower and lower, exploring what little had remained unexplored after our ~~pri~~ impromptu moment of passion atop the Guardship Tower. Soon, her aggressive urges, the urges to own her stallion, could have seemed fulfilled. She had familiarised herself with her stallion, her herdmate.

Yet, to my still-present delight, she did not feel satisfied even then. ~~To recall detail would be diffi~~ ~~I cer~~

Regardless of how it happened, ignoring the wonderful minutae of the events immediately before and indeed after-

“Rut me,” Cloudshield growled, almost angrily.

I obliged. I think I did so wordlessly, in fact.

It was an ecstatic bit of spontaneity for the pair of us, though I ~~am~~ have suspicions that it was too short-lived a moment for her liking.

We stayed there a while, collapsed in sweat and the remains of a heated moment. Eventually, after an eternity that, if I were honest, was too brief, she lifted me again. I protested, claimed that I could manage my own way, but Cloudshield insisted. She always insisted.

I slept in her bed that night, she was holding me... It was wonderful. Quite possibly my favourite memory in recent years. I woke up, turning around, and she was gone, of course. She'd left in the middle of the night, without waking me, to guard Greenstable. Before I'd gotten all the way out of bed, however, she'd returned and made me breakfast to eat in her bed. She wouldn't let me go home until well after the sun had passed its midpoint in the sky. A glorious day, certainly... An intimate one. Again, one of my favourites now.

Happily In Love,

Flamehearth

Author's Note

First chapter that's more than borderline NSFW, YAY! Been an awfully long time since I wrote the last one, but it's still a labour of love, not a job. And I hope you all enjoy.