~~~~A few days later...~~~~

Sunset Shimmer didn’t necessarily enjoy humming for any particular reason, and she hadn’t been given to doing it while in the other world or as Princess Celestia’s student. But there was something about Ponyville that was just simply… upbeat. And it made the desire to hum impossible to ignore. Something about Ponyville just screamed out for musical accompaniment. So she did, murmuring a little tune that she made up as she went along.

Of course, her current attire and pleasure with such attire might have been responsible for her mood just as well. Courtesy of the ever observant Rarity, Sunset had procured a full dress and cute hat worn by the maids of upper class society. This of course meant it was lacy at the edges and provocatively revealing of her flank. And Sunset was right proud of her flank, as it seemed was Mistress, as she had taken a liking to Sunset wearing a vibrant pair of purple panties at any given moment. This was one of those moments.

Unfortunately, Mistress wasn’t at the library to admire Sunset as she worked, having said something about running out to ‘deal with the local chaos buffoon’. The work before her was easy enough, cleaning the library, especially with Spike helping. But unlike Spike, who wasn’t all too cheery about trudging up and down stairs with stacks of misplaced books, Sunset actually enjoyed dusting and polishing and, oh how much fun it was to maintain the shelving! Mistress liked a clean library and home, and if she could satisfy that desire, she was happy too.

“Ya know, that ridiculous getup you’ve got on,” Spike’s voice intruded into Sunset’s thoughts of Mistress in her nightgown and fuzzy slippers and stroking her mane slowly, “doesn’t it just get in the way of all the cleaning supplies?”

“Yeah, it does,” Sunset replied rather absently. He might not be outright rude to her anymore, but when Mistress wasn’t around, he still made it a point to be difficult. It was rather like having a little brother, or at least how Sunset imagined it would be like.

“Then you’re being pretty stupid for wearing it. Just get the job done already,” the dragon grumbled, putting away the wash bucket under the sink.

“I do it because Mistress Twilight likes to watch me while I work in it,” Sunset said pointedly. “And if she wants, I give.”

“Yeah… you know, I was gonna ask what you got in return, but I don’t even want to know,” Spike sighed in a frustrated way before walking off again. Ah well. Perhaps when Mistress decided to more thoroughly educate him on relationships and sex, he would understand. For now though, Sunset merely had to deal with him. She adjusted her skirt slightly and resumed her humming, even waggling her flank a bit to the beat. Mistress would certainly enjoy it if she came back right then. She idly considered taking a free moment to continue studying those cookbooks she found earlier, when…

Knock-Knock, Knock-Knock, Nocka-nock-nock!

Hum! I wonder who that could be. Most ponies didn’t knock at the door to the library, they just sort of walked in. Which might have been kind of fun given how she was dressed right now, but still. Odd. “I’ve got it, Spike!” she called out and received no verbal response. Likely he’d already retreated to his little bed and his comic books, which was just fine with her.

She trotted cheerfully over to the door, summoning up her best sunny disposition before swinging it open. “Good morning, and welcome to the Golden Oaks Library! How can I help… you?” Midway through her greeting, she actually looked at the two figures now towering in the doorway. “Oh, g-good morning Princess Cadence!” Sunset squeaked, feeling a little stab of dread at the stone-cold, serious look on Cadence’s face that was only slightly marred by her obvious surprise at Sunset’s dress.

Prince Armor, on the other hoof, was just outright staring at her, his jaw hanging slightly open as though he had begun to speak and couldn’t find the words. She had to admit, even as the Princess loomed over her, there was a little pleasure at still being able to make a stallion stop and stare like that. But as Cadence was looming over her, she refrained from leaning to the side to accent her thighs.

“Where’s Twilight?” was all the princess said in her hardest, most serious voice, advancing inexorably and driving Sunset back several steps to give way to her advance. Quite the far cry from the way she’d been the first time Sunset had met her. Sunset had her eyes swept across the library, and the princess spoke again. “Not here. That will make this easier.”

“Um, I’m glad to see you’ve come all this way to see…” Sunset hesitated. To request Mistress’ permission to address her as Mistress when around Spike was one thing, but Princess Cadence was quite a different cup of tea (it wouldn’t be a bad idea to go make some). Sunset would have to have been blind not to see the princess was upset about her. Not necessarily at her, just because of her. But in the spirit of remaining honest as Mistress stressed she ought always to strive to do, Sunset went ahead. “Mistress is off running an errand right now. I don’t know when she’ll be back. It’s why I was cleaning.” She waved the duster in her magic for emphasis.

That got a shocked look from Prince Armor, and only a cold shake of the head from the princess. “We’ll have to talk to her later then, but as for you missy…” Then she did it, the princess wheeled upon her and bent a hard, hot gaze upon Sunset. The princess’ voice descended into a hiss as she started to advance on her, her wings flaring out to their widest extent. “What have you done to my little Twily?” she snarled, her voice seething in its rage. “What kind of scheme are you plotting?”

Wonderful. This was just what she needed. Apparently Mistress had sent that letter. “I haven’t done a damn thing to Mistress,” Sunset protested, her own voice settling back into a tone she had almost always used in the old days. It was condescending, confident, and self-righteous. It was her defending her honor. To her credit, Sunset did keep her voice down and managed to reign in some of the edge, but it was still quite apparent. “She’s… I…”

“She’s a sweet, innocent little filly!” Cadence’s voice thundered, apparently not nearly as concerned with keeping her voice down as Sunset was. “I haven’t even had so much as the merest hint that she needed to be instructed on sexuality, and all of a sudden she’s talking about heavy kink? And you think I’m too stupid to see something is going on here?!” She was almost a force of nature in this attitude, and everything about her exuded power and control over her world. “Now if you do not start telling me what is going on, I’m going to...” She trailed off, leaving the threat hanging in midair.

Not that Sunset couldn’t be any less intimidating, and if she was being honest with herself, she could outdo Cadence if she really wanted to go down that route. But, Mistress would be very unhappy with her if she let her old self take control. So it was with a great exercise of self-discipline that Sunset answered. “For one, sex isn’t all it’s about. It’s a lot more than that, and both Mistress and I love each other more because of it. Second, so what if something is going on? I mean, ponies change right? I’m proof of that. And if a relationship is part of that change, isn’t that normal too? That’s what I always thought.”

“Relationship? Relationship!? Okay, I’ve had enough of this drivel. ” Cadence gave off an angry snort and stomped her hoof into the floor. Her eyes narrowed and she reared back, the full power of her position practically pouring off of her in waves and screamed, “TELL ME WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO HER YOU MANIPULATIVE CHANGELING SLUT OR I WILL-”

Sunset wasn’t even listening anymore. Oh… wow. Cat’s outta the bag now bitch… “So now I’m the slut! That’s rich! I’d love to know how you of all ponies found out your special talent was love! Can’t imagine it wasn’t anything to do with seducing and fucking every Celestia damned stallion you laid eyes on! Just because you don’t get it doesn’t mean it isn’t any less real.. for me or Mistress. So you can FUCK OFF now!”

Even through the haze of anger, she noted the prince backing off toward the doorway as Cadence came nose-to-nose with her. “I get it just fine! I get that a sweet little pony is suddenly fascinated with whipping and spanking, probably on the road to some scheme to turn her into a tyrant! Oh, and don’t even presume you know what it’s like doing what I do. Seeing countless broken hearts and shattered dreams because of creatures like you who use others up and then spit them out when you’ve gotten what you want!”

“Could’ve fooled me bitch!” Sunset was now screaming at her. “Half the broken hearts you’ve healed is probably from guilt after one night stands and the other half from accusing a pony in love of trying to… Oh! Just get the fuck out! I don’t even want to bring myself low enough to argue with somepony as sensitive as you. I’d break you like a twig, then I’d break HIM too!” She threw a rage-filled hoof in the direction of Prince Armor.

Cadence was almost on top of her as she said that, and suddenly the alicorn’s horn blazed to life with vibrant pink magic. It was magic potent enough that she could almost hear it vibrating in the air. “If you so much as touch my husband…” she whispered, her power pulsing in the air like a heartbeat. “I won’t hesitate to break your neck, little pony. Auntie Celestia or not, no one will threaten the one I love ever again.”

“Heh… sore with our incompetence are we?” Sunset simpered. Cadence may have been straddling her with a horn ablaze with furious magic, but Sunset had more than brute force in her arsenal. “You won’t let anypony threaten him, well guess what you ass…” Sunset hissed before popping right out from beneath Cadence’s stance and teleporting to the top of the stairs. “I WON’T LET YOU INSULT MY MISTRESS, AND THE LOVE WE HAVE!” Sunset knew a lot of spells that would make most mages cringe in distaste and even more that would leave psycopathic killers vomiting, and several hundred ran through her mind as she aimed her horn at Cadence...

The door slammed open with all the force of a hurricane, and a dark-garbed figure elegantly marched through it. The sight took the wind completely out of Sunset’s sails and given the gaping jaws on both Princess Cadence and Prince Armor, it was having a similar effect on them. Mistress wore a dress in a vivid midnight blue, as dark as Princess Luna’s coat, and a matching featureless slim silk collar. Her mane had been artfully styled up into a bun held together with a vibrant red ribbon and a silk rose. The dress she wore was tailored tightly to her body, sleeveless past her upper shoulders in ripples of silk that gave the illusion of the sky after the sun had fully set. Her legs were all clad in tight fishnet stockings and ending in sleek raised heel boots.

Her voice was quiet, but the power in it was as unmistakable. “Sunset. Down.” Her voice rolled through the library, and Sunset could have sworn the walls shook with the power of it. She was reminded in that moment that this was Mistress’ personal domain… and, belatedly realizing it, the literal heart of her power. In a haste she had previously only ever reserved for Princess Celestia, Sunset extinguished her horn and flew to her stomach, maid dress flaring out as she did so. A little, unintentional whimper escaped her lips as she gazed at Mistress, and she gazed back. She wasn’t happy with her, but neither was she about to let her pet be mistreated.

Mistress strode across the room with a liquid grace to where Cadence stood still gaping at her and came to a halt a few feet away. “I’m going to presume…” Mistress began, her voice still rumbling through the walls, “that this is all one very large, very awkward misunderstanding on your part, Cadence. And we’re going to proceed from that thought, because if I come to the conclusion that you came here to insult Sunset’s feelings when she has given every conceivable effort to improve herself as a pony…”

Mistress leaned up, and her growl did shake the walls, a rumbling that Sunset could have sworn would qualify as a minor earthquake. “You and I are going to share very unkind words, and then I am going to throw you out of my home.” She glanced around to see her brother staying well away from the conflict, and added, “And you too buddy for letting her.”

Cadence swallowed visibly, and the glow vanished from her horn. “I… Twilight, I’m…” She looked lost, glancing back between Sunset (still obediently crouched) and Mistress several times as the anger and rage ran out of her like molten metal from a cracked crucible.

Fortunately for her, Shining Armor rallied in the moment of awkward silence and quickly strode into the middle of the fray. “Twily, even you’ve got to admit that letter was straight up… um...” Was it Sunset’s imagination, or did a little color go into his cheeks then? “Well, really out of character for you, Twilight. Seriously.” Both of his eyebrows went up, trying to convey his shock. “I mean, I knew you were a little sheltered but-” He smacked his hoof over his mouth mid-word and looked sheepish. “Sorry, that was unfair of me.”

To her credit, Mistress took it in stride. She actually laughed softly and showed a touch of blush. “I realize that, Shiny. But I’d have thought you two would trust me to know when something wasn’t on the up and up.” She fixed a beady glare at Cadence, her eyes narrowing. “I have had more than my share of experience at dealing with clever manipulators, in case both of you have forgotten all of the insanity I’ve gotten up to the past few years. I very much doubt Sunset at her worst could have compared to what Discord could do.”

Princess Cadence winced away from Mistress, rubbing at her forehoof in shame. “I… I suppose that’s true. I just…” Then she stopped and really looked at Mistress’ dress. And then she really looked at Sunset’s attire. It was incredibly amusing to see the pieces fall neatly into place in real time, and Princess Cadence gave off a groan of frustration and sank down to her flank. “Oh, buck me, you two were going to have an evening together.” She smacked her face with her hoof, dragging it down to her chin in a comical manner. “By the Goddess, why didn’t I actually look at her?”

“We still are,” Mistress said with dangerous simplicity, her eyes narrowing.

Shining Armor planted his hooves on his waist and gave his sister a stern look. “That can wait, Twily. And don’t give me any guff, or do neither of you realize the can of worms you two have opened with this?” For the first time since she’d walked in the room, Mistress looked a little confused. Shining Armor nodded once at her. “Yeah, didn’t think so. Cadence, can I trust you to play it cool while I have a talk with her upstairs?”

Princess Cadence nodded numbly, still sitting near the stairs and looking like too many thoughts were running through her head. Mistress opened her mouth, probably to object, but shut it at the very serious look on Shining Armor’s face. Without another word, the two of them swept up the stairs past her, with Mistress pausing only to stroke her cheek with an encouraging smile before shutting the door firmly behind them.

The silence that followed was the most awkward one in Sunset’s life.

The Princess blew out a deep breath and hung her head. “I’m sorry, Sunset.” The words came utterly without prompting, or even without comment on her part. They were actually so sudden she jumped a little in place.

“I… I’m sorry too,” Sunset reciprocated. “I shouldn’t have let the old me come back so easily. I’m glad Mistress came though, ‘cause I would’ve only gotten worse.”

The princess nodded a little. “Did Twilight tell you about what happened at my wedding?” She turned around to face Sunset, the naked worry in her eyes instantly shocking.

“Um… yeah, just a bit. The important parts,” Sunset said, tilting her head to the side to rest it on her hoof. Fights always left her tired, even if they were short, and she won. In a way, she took it as Harmony’s punishment for ever getting into one in the first place.

Princess Cadence blew out another deep breath, her hooves tapping together nervously. “Ever since then, I’ve been… I’ve been scared that Chrysalis would come after Twilight. I knew she didn’t know much about sex, since Celestia never really got around to that part of her education… and I know better than anypony how vulnerable the untried can be to seduction.” She shivered a little. “I… I overreacted, and I’m sorry.”

Sunset actually allowed a cute string of giggles to come out. “You overreacted. I talked smack about your cutie mark… But I think Mistress knew more about sex than you gave her credit for. I just don’t she cared all that much about it before… welll…” A mischievous grin split her lips. Cadence was still obviously perplexed by the concept of bondage and the like, so why not needle her a bit to lighten the mood. “... until she found a new pet to keep her entertained.”

And then… Cadence reacted unexpectedly, a slow and gentle smile crossing her lips. “You really fell hard for her, didn’t you.” That wasn’t a question, it was a statement. Probably the only pony who would phrase it like that without assumptions. Cadence sighed dramatically, and gave off a surprisingly beautiful laugh. “Oh, Goddess. We’re all in so very much trouble now.”

“Look at the bright side though,” Sunset said, a real note of relief coloring her words as she actually thought about them. “At least we didn’t end up shooting at each other and blasting apart Mistress’ books. Oh, and what do you mean ‘trouble’?”

~~~~~~

“So, before you say anything, can I at least ask why in Luna’s night you didn’t stop the two of them?” Twilight sighed at her brother, more exasperated than angry at him. “And what’s the trouble? It’s done, over. They’ve probably already apologized at this point.”

Shiny shook his head, making sure the lock on the door was thrown and glancing around the room before speaking. “One, because I know my wife when she gets mad, Twily. If I’d tried to get between them, you would’ve come home to your poor brother pasted across one of your bookshelves.” Twilight visibly winced. So they’d gotten to that point. “Shields or no shields, Cadey packs a wallop when she’s got her mad on. As for the second bit…”

Shining Armor sighed, trotting over to her desk and chair and bonking his head into the desk. “I swear, when I get to Canterlot next, I’m going to have some words with the Princess.” Shiny looked up, wearily humorous. “Twilight, stop for a moment and think. What’s the big difference between you and every other pony out there? I mean, aside from your brains.”

“I wield one of the six most powerful magical artifacts in the world?” Twilight guessed. The Elements of Harmony weren’t exactly making duplicates of themselves, but Shiny was giving her a flat look that told her she’d guessed wrong. “No? … I… uh, I’m the only pony in Equestria raising a baby dragon?” Shiny raised his hoof, his jaw opening as if to speak before he simply face-hoofed. “Well, what in the world are you talking abou-”

Shiny’s horn came to life and Twilight felt a firm tug on her… Wings. Oh. Those. “But… but why does being an alicorn matter? I’m still a normal pony in here.” She tapped a hoof against her chest where her heart was (which she supposed in retrospect wasn’t a good idea given she was wearing heels). “I can still choose to love somepony.”

“Twily… I love you, but sometimes you really miss the obvious stuff.” Shining leaned against the desk with his head in his hoof. “Didn’t you ever wonder why me and Cadey took so long to make things formal? I mean, we’d been dating since Canterlot Academy.” He waved his hoof in the air, a look of weariness passing over his face. “We know you’re not any different, Twily. And I’m incredibly happy to see you’ve found somepony you consider special. But we’re not the ones who you need to worry about.” He pointed his hoof out the window, toward Ponyville. “They, on the other hoof…”

“It’s… I guess it’s not appropriate for a princess to be… ah, spanking her special somepony, even if we both like it…” Twilight answered with realization, though it was decidedly harder to look her brother in the eye, and a blush crept into her cheeks.

“Kinda, though it has a lot more to do with…” He sighed, and grinned faintly. “Politics sucks, Twily. Try to stay out of it if you can. Look, I’m not going to tell you to stop being with somepony you love and doing the things you love. Celestia knows me and Cadey…” He coughed, once, his grin not faltering. “Well, we get up to some interesting hijinx ourselves.”

“So what was that all about down there?” Twilight couldn’t help sounding offended. “If Cadence isn’t upset about the kink, why… I mean aside from Sunset herself. There’s more to it than that.”

Shiny rubbed his chin slowly, obviously trying to summon the right words. “It’s like this, Twily. You’ve been pretty insulated here in Ponyville. I mean, this place is weird even by Equestrian standards.” He eyeballed her, and there was an amused grin on his face. “But outside of here, things are a lot more complex than that. Cadence and I both know that the rumor mill can get pretty damn savage, even if you’ve been protected from it.” He folded his hooves together and gave her a frank look. “I don’t give a buck what you do in bed, Twily. Someponies, however, will use that as an excuse to advance other agendas.”

“It’s… it’s more than just at night, BBBFF,” Twilight said, trying to find words to accurately and succinctly explain Sunset, and why she loved her for that matter. “It’s… we’re like this all the time.”

Shining Armor tilted his head at her, nodding slowly. “Hm. Okay. Then if you’re really committed to that, we’ll do whatever we can to support you.” He stood up and crossed the room to stand next to her. “But you gotta be aware, there’s gonna be issues. Canterlot especially’ll eat you two up, crunch a bit, then spit you back out on a silver platter for the whole country to gawk at. There’s gonna be nasty letters, as many as there will be supportive ones. There’ll be tabloids and worse. Someponies really don’t know when to keep their noses out of otherponies’ business.” He smiled at her. “To be honest, me and Cadey have been dealing with that crap for a long time now. It does simmer down eventually, but you’re gonna be put through the wringer. Can you handle that?”

Twilight wanted to assure him that she would be fine. No problem. That she’d faced down the God of Chaos himself. But the way Shiny talked about it, the fact that he was her brother, made her stop to think a bit before answering. But in the end, she had still faced down the God of Chaos himself, who she imagined would be worse on any scale anywhere than some random magazine used solely to insult ponies. “I’ll be okay big brother. And it’s my job to make sure Sunset will be okay too.”

He nodded and gave her a fierce hug before pulling back. “Then you gotta promise me you’ll do two things. The first, is you need to write to Princess Celestia. Explain everything, and make sure she understands how important this is to you.” He arched an eyebrow at her, even as she felt blush creep into her cheeks… again. “And yeah, I know it can be hard to talk about that sort of thing with her, but trust me. It’s important. the second thing you need to do is make sure your friends know what’s up. I know they’ll stick by you, but they’re gonna be a part of the scrutiny. Scrutiny that could get awfully heavy in public opinion, and given that at least two of your friends have very public profiles, you might want to make sure they know what you’re getting into here.”

“I’m pretty sure Rarity already knows,” Twilight reassured him. “Applejack I”m not looking forward to telling, and Pinkie probably knew before either of us did, knowing her. And Rainbow and Fluttershy… heh, they kinda egged us on and, um… showed us things.”

“Okay, okay,” Shining cut her off. “And that’s another thing. I get that you needed to get your thoughts out on paper when you wrote the letter, but geez Twily, you don’t have to tell us everything.” He chuckled a bit at that… and had a decidedly bright blush in his cheeks too. “I mean… seriously, when did you learn how to write like that? It was… um.” His voice halted, and he held up his hooves helplessly.

“I just wrote what I felt and thought,” Twilight replied. “I didn’t mean to… well… Wait… Did you? Oh!” She felt shock course through her, as she put the pieces together. “You did not! And I bet Cadence was right there too!”

Shiny tapped his hooves together sheepishly, almost muttering. “She was the one reading the letter. And she was just as bad off as I was.” He glanced to the side, looking the most embarrassed she’d ever seen him. “Not my fault it sounded really, really hot the way she was reading it…”

“I’m gonna tell her you… you… oh Celestia,” Twilight breathed out, half amused, half bewildered. “Just give a straight answer Shiny. Did you clop off to my letter?”

“Well, um…” He winced a little, and put on his best friendly grin. “Kinda, yeah. I mean… I sure as heck wasn’t the only one who did either!” he huffed out, crossing his forelegs over his chest. “When Cadence gets like that, it’s really, really hard to control little Shiny. That magic of hers does things to me.”

“You know you just gave me the best ammo a sister could ask for right?” Twilight now fully laughed. “I’m never gonna let either of you live it down! Haha! C’mon BBBFF, I want to talk to Cadence, and I’m sure she wants to talk to me.”

~~~~~

“So. That’s how things will stand,” Cadence said quietly, her hooves folded over themselves and a serious look on her face. “Celestia will be able to help some, and so will we, but the entire world is going to come down on your heads here. I need… I’m asking you, Sunset, to promise me you will take care of her.” The princess ducked her head, her eyes squinting shut. “I know Twily. She’s not going to let this go for anything, and I know just how far she’d drive herself to protect others… but… but…”

“You never had to ask, Princess,” Sunset replied, her words somewhat muffled against her hooves and the wood floor. “I’ll always want to take care of Mistress.”

Cadence smiled faintly. “Tell me truthfully, Sunset. Is she really that natural of a dominant? Given how she always acted around Celestia, I was convinced she was a submissive at heart. It actually kind of concerned me.” She blew out a sigh, plopping her head in her hoof. “She gets so worked up over the oddest things, to the point of anxiety attacks and panic.”

“Oh, Mistress is a great mistress!” Sunset positively beamed. “She pets me all the time and does my mane and tail up. And, Mistress always thanks me for everything, even the little things. She tells me what to do and is always very clear about it, but even when I mess up, she just comes over, shows me the right way, and orders me to do it again. And…” she felt her blush and was glad it was harder to see in a golden coat. “... she spanks me awfully hard…”

Cadence threw up a hoof and laughed softly. “I know! I read that in her letter.” She rolled her eyes a little, but there was a tiny smile on her face. “Sunset, I meant what I said last. She’s prone to anxiety and panic when things start getting really out of control. I need to know you can handle her when she gets that way. She’s been prone to do some very, very irrational things in those states and with what you two are going to face...” She winced. “I don’t need reports of her turning a crowd of reporters or protesters into rocks.”

“It… it confused me the first time it happened,” Sunset confessed, remembering that day in Fluttershy’s cottage. “She was hitting me one second, and I was almost going to finish, but then she bolted out the door. Rainbow Dash went after her, and I don’t know what they talked about or did, but she came back, just the way she’d been before. I guess it’s just a temporary thing.”

Cadence shook her head slowly. “Sunset, I need you to focus. Rainbow Dash knows how she can get, and she can definitely calm her down. But there will be times when you two are alone, and she gets that way.” Cadence leaned in toward her, coming almost as close as she’d been earlier. “I need you to promise you’ll talk to her friends, and also come up with your own methods. The last few times she got really fixated, she cast a Want It, Need It spell and a Time Travel spell developed by Star Swirl. And that was before she ascended. I do not wish to contemplate what she might cast now.”

“Mistress told me about the Want It Need It,” Sunset said in pure awe. “But she never said anything about Star Swirl’s Time Travel! I didn’t know normal ponies had enough power to…” She smiled sheepishly at her own tangent, switching back to the topic at hoof. “But… what would I do? Just, stroke her back? Sleep?”

Cadence’s voice was soft. “She loves you. Give her something to focus on other than her anxieties. Break the self-perpetuating cycle somehow. I can’t tell you what will or won’t work, you’re just going to have to learn that yourself.” She tilted her head to one side, then blew out a breath. “They’re coming down, I can hear the door.”

“Do you really think she’ll be cross with us, Princess?” Sunset asked with a little shiver of dread. It was only made worse knowing she would deserve it.

“Knowing Shiny? Hopefully not,” she replied musingly as the door to the upstairs swung open to the sound of gentle laughter and a weary sigh from Shining Armor. The pair of them descended the steps, with Mistress stopping next to her, and Shining going all the way down. “So?” Cadence asked sharply, her eyes on her husband.

“Yeah, she’s sticking to it. So what’s our next move?” Shining Armor replied just as swiftly, his tone all business as he came down to ground level.

The princess tilted her head and stood up quickly. “Damage control. I’ll handle the mayor and the pegasi. You go deal with any journalists that are lurking around, tell Pinkie Pie to politely keep her mouth shut, and see if you can’t wrangle some co-operation from Filthy Rich.”

“I love not being on duty anyplace,” Shining almost sang. “No rules, no restrictions.”

“I’m not going to hide, Cadence,” Mistress declared. “And neither will Sunset, or our relationship. We’ll take the fire and come through.” With the barest movement, Sunset wrapped her forelegs around one of Mistress’ own netted forelegs. It made things feel better.

Cadence smiled brilliantly at the both of them. “Oh, I am fully in support of that. But that doesn’t mean buying a little time for us to get some protection for you and your pet in place isn’t a good move. You’ll want some time to get more settled into things, before those fires come… Besides. It gives me an excuse to stay in town a little longer and further your education.” Cadence clapped her hooves together with a positively wicked grin on her face. “Now that I don’t have to worry about Auntie’s silly restrictions on teaching you, I can finally give you some real lessons in my speciality!”

“You said your specialty was mending broken love,” Sunset smirked from between Mistress’ legs.

Cadence tossed her mane very fetchingly as she grabbed her husband by the collar and hauled him toward the door. “Why, it is,” she idly commented, stopping at the door to turn a blazing eye toward the pair of them. In that moment, Sunset could not help but feel a strange burning heat of desire in her stomach as Cadence spoke in a low, smoky voice, “And I’m certain by the time I’m done teaching Twilight, she will be very good at breaking you and putting you back together.” And with a sly smirk, she whisked out the door and into the night.

Author's Note

Hey guys, Inky Jay here! As this is a clopfic, Lapis and I are right proud of the sexy bits we cooked up for this story, but as a personal note, this chapter (particularly the argument scene) was my favorite portion of this fic to write. I hope you guys are still enjoying the work we've put into this, and are anticipating the chapters to come.

Cheers!