Alabastards

Chapters

Purplexed
White Noise
Duet, Filly!
Knighting Ale
Ménage à Wha!?
Elite and Sweet
False Truths
Colt Icarus
White Wedding

Purplexed

"You're supposed to be shuffling them, not playing with them." Lieutenant Sea Cay said across the green felt table to the captain. Sea Cay was a pegasus with a yellow mane and beige fur. His eyes were a dull green. He grew up on a small coastal island in a banana plantation village. He was a brilliant navigator. You could plop him anywhere in Equestria and he'd be able to find his way. That was, until you put a map in his hooves.

"Whatever. We're still waiting on Camisa Roja anyway." Shining Armor said, adding the last couple of cards to the apex of his tabletop structure. Just as he was setting it in place, Sergeant Aegis kicked the bottom of the table with his hoof, causing all the cards to fall in a heap. "Hey!"

"Oops." Aegis deadpanned. "Now shuffle. I'm tired of waiting. We can deal him in when he gets here."

"I'm sorry, did you get a promotion while I wasn't looking? I hadn't realized that you were giving the orders now." Shining said as he begrudgingly gathered up the cards and began to shuffle.

"Hey, rule number one." Aegis said, pointing at the sign over the doorway to the bar.

Within these walls, there is no rank.

"Hmf. No wonder why this is your favorite place. I bet just you love that rule." Shining said.

"Not as much as I looove you, sugar buns." Aegis reached over, flicking Shining's ear. "Come on, deal 'em." Sergeant Aegis was just an earth pony cadet in the guard when Shining Armor commissioned to a become an officer. Before then, Shining was enlisted himself. His peers agreed that prior enlisted experience made a better officer. Aegis had no such plans. He planned on becoming a senior enlisted from day one. His tan fur and olive mane gave him a much more hard-boiled appearance. And everypony under him knew for certain that he was a tough-as-nails, no-nonsense military machine. Those above him knew better. He was a different pony on the inside. Somewhere. Probably.

"All right boys, the game is Appaloosan Hold'em. Put your blinds in." Shining instructed. The others threw in a couple bits to start off the night.

"Hey everypony, I'm here!" Camisa called from the doorway.

The group put their cards down and looked to the door as the junior enlisted walked in. "Oh good. He didn't die." Sea Cay said sarcastically. Camisa Rosa was just about the unluckiest pony in history. His personnel file showed that he was born on a Friday the thirteenth. Rumor had it that when he was born, it was under a ladder while his mother held an open umbrella indoors, as a black cat crossed in front of her, knocking over and breaking a mirror while spilling salt. It was almost a weekly occurrence that he would nearly come to an early demise. Others argued that his luck was karmic counterbalance to being a pony of one of the richest families in a city full of rich ponies. As the yellow furred earth pony sat at the table, he brushed his messy orange mane from his eyes. Aegis greeted him.

"Hey kid. You want a cider?" He asked.

"Sure!" Camisa's eyes lit up.

"They're over at the bar. Get me one too." The sarge said.

"Okay!" He stood back up to head over to the bar obediently.

"Me too."
"Me too." The officers said in stereo.

As he made his way to the bar, the chandelier fell from the ceiling. The sharp spire at the bottom impaled the wooden floor behind him, missing by a hair's width. The group jumped at the sudden crash. Camisa turned and looked at the fallen light fixture and carried on as if nothing had happened, used to such things now.

"Damn Camisa, you're like a damn accident magnet!"

"What can I say? I've got nine lives." He chuckled, paying for the drinks.

"Shit, more like nine hundred by now." Sea Cay said, turning back to the others at the table. "Remind me again why we keep hanging out with him?" He whispered.

"Because he's loaded, buying our drinks, and he can't bluff worth a shit." Shining answered quietly. The others nodded. After a moment, Camisa returned with their drinks, hoping to slowly buy his way into their circle of friendship. And in all fairness, it'd been working so far.

"So, what's the game tonight?" He asked, taking his seat.

"Well right now it's the waiting game for you." Shining said "We've already dealt. So just be quiet."

"I can be the dealer!" He said.

"Already with the not-being-quiet." Aegis barked. "He just said we already dealt." Aegis "Just drink your drink."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Sea Cay asked knowingly. All three of them knew that once he'd had a few, Camisa would get a terrible case of verbal diarrhea.

"Meh, it'll make it not hurt so much when I clobber him later." Aegis said.

"Hey!" Camisa said. Aegis gave him a glare, raising his hoof at him aggressively. "Okay" He mouthed, putting a hoof across his lips in a zipper motion, sipping his cider in silence.

The bid came back around to Shining, who tapped the table, indicating a 'check'.

"A check. Oooooh." Sea Cay feigned shock. Shining laid the first three cards on the table. Aegis raised. Shining called. Sea Cay folded.

"Hmmm, let me use my magic..." Aegis said theatrically, closing his eyes and putting a hoof to his hornless forehead. "I see a two and a four, off suit." Sea Cay just crossed his hooves. His face was expressionless. "And for the captain..." Shining Armor pushed a hoof full of bits forward. Aegis squinted for a moment, trying to get into his head. That much money this early in the night probably meant he had no better than a couple of face cards. And as much as he loved taking the Captain's money... "Eh, screw it. I'm out." Aegis pushed his cards. "So what did you have?" He asked as Shining gathered up the cards.

"So sorry," he said, passing them to Sea Cay to shuffle, "I seem to have forgotten." He smiled.

As the night wore on, the biggest pile of bits moved around the table. Starting with Camisa in the beginning as usual. Then, predictable he lost the bulk of it to the others. They let him win a few small 'pity pots' as they called them, to keep him from becoming completely discouraged from coming back next week with more bits and cider money.

By the end of the night, the other three had a fairly even split, and Camisa was down to his last two bits, waxing philosophic.

"... so I guess the moral is, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. But who even does that? A gift horse? Is that even legal? Why would you look in their mouth?"

"It's your bet." Sea Cay reminded him.

"I'M ALL IN!" Camisa pushed his last two bits into the middle of the table. The others called. Camisa swayed in his chair, a bit off balance.

"Here, let me get those for you." Shining said, flipping his cards. "Oh, wow. A flush!" Shining pushed the eight meager bits toward Camisa.

"I WIN!" He shouted triumphantly, and proceeded to fall backwards out of his chair, unconscious before he even hit the floor.

"Alright guys, wrap it up." The barkeep said, indicating last call.

"Well I guess that does it." Shining said, collecting his share. "You got him?"

"Yeah, yeah." Aegis said, slinging the passed-out pony over his back. Outside, the group made their separate ways home. The others had never been to Shining's home. Nor would he ever let them. None could know the terrible truth about the Captain they all respected. That at the end of the day, he still lived with his parents.

The streets of Canterlot were lit well enough along the route to his home. But there was a fog on this cool evening. Combined with his less-than-sober state of mind, he found himself in unfamiliar territory. He peered through the haze, both physical and mental, seeking some kind of sign or familiar landmark. His salvation from disorientation came instead from an unexpected source.

One of night guards patrolling the sky must have spotted the wayward drunk. He appeared before the unicorn from out of the night sky, but before accosting him, he recognized the captain.

"Captain Armor, the Princess needs you right away!" He told him without pretense.

"Princess Luna has her own guards. I'm off duty." Shining said, still trying to figure out which way he should be headed.

"Not Luna, Princess Celestia! She asked for you by name sir!" The guard said.

"Really?"

"Yes sir! She said it was urgent!" Shining could hear the words of the Royal Guard oath echoing in the back of his mind. Service before self. He groaned and nodded.

"Okay, where is she?"

"This way sir. Follow me!" Shining followed the pegasus on hoof. After passing a few of the taller buildings that had been obscuring his view, Canterlot Castle came into view. From the angle he was looking at it, he had a rough idea of where they were in the city. It was curious how he'd managed to get all the way over here though.

The physical exertion sharpened his senses, giving him a feeling of sobriety. Deep down he knew it was a fallacy of thinking, and in truth, the only thing that would rid his system of the alcohol was time. And if he didn't re hydrate after all this sweating, his hangover would be all the more fierce in the morning.

Soon, they were back on more familiar grounds. His mental map was a few hubs of regular visit. From each, spokes of the most direct routes to one another. But in between the well tread paths were large gaps of unexplored parts of the city for him. Sure, he had some idea of what was there, even the names of the major thoroughfares therein. But having never been there before, he had no visual reference points. This concept was a foreign one for the pegasi corps. Masters of all they surveyed, they had the added advantage of the third dimension on their side.

Years of conditioned running got them to the castle in very little time. The outer perimeter had the standard night patrol of pegasi and unicorns alike, as well as Luna's night guard. Soon it would be entirely Luna's guard. But this was a time of transition after all. Everypony was very happy for the Princess of the Night's return. But there were logistical hurdles to be overcome when switching from the stable monarchy that they were accustomed to, to the new, two princesses ruling.

And of course, there was the matter of the Lunar Guard themselves. Bat ponies all. The bat ponies weren't so different from normal pegasi. The main differences being their wings were leathery skin, not feathers, their ears were bigger, and more pointy, with long tufts of fur at the tips, and their eyes. Their eyes were slit like a cats. And of course, there were the fangs.

Shining's hair on his neck stood up when one smiled at him as he passed.

Princess Luna did not make the resident royal guard privy to the origin of them. And the bat ponies themselves were forbade by the moon reagent to divulge such information. Celestia assured her officers under her that they were of no threat. It was not a ploy at overthrowing the throne through some elaborate subterfuge. She insisted that the secrecy surrounding them was simply Luna's coy attempt at being mysterious, as was always her way.

But that was only the start of the problems. Luna had insisted that her guard be bat ponies. But in addition, they were all mares, except for her two personal bodyguards. Before Princess Luna's return, the Royal Guard had contemplated the idea of integrating both genders into its ranks. And now the issue was foisted upon them en mass.

Any doubt as to their ability to perform the required tasks were instantly quashed when Luna had them perform all of the qualifying obstacle work and physical benchmarks of the stallion counterpart. All either met or exceeded the requirements. In fact, most exceeded. Shining pitied the thug who dared to tangle with one of these fem fatale of the night.

Even before, with an all-stallion force, there were no rules against those enlisting who were of a, say, alternative lifestyle. As such, there were strict rules against fraternization within the ranks. But what was once an annual reminder briefing became a monthly all-call. And it was at least a weekly reminder when taking role now.

Gentlecolts, please stop flirting with the night guard.

There were severe repercussions for any infractions. Even so, there were still incidents at an alarming regularity. To their defense, bat ponies did not experience estrus like normal ponies. There was no excuse for them to 'become overwhelmed by their urges'. On the other side of the fence, well, as they say, colts will be colts. But that never held up in a Court Marshall.

It was happening much less often now though. Once the system had ferreted out the few bad apples, as it were. Or, more likely, they'd been getting better at hiding their relationships. Shining was realistic, and knew that the latter was far more likely. But as far as he was concerned, if nopony was getting hurt, and he didn't see it, it was not his concern. He had enough paperwork do deal with as it was.

And now there was this.

Shining groaned as he entered the doorway into the main entrance of the castle. It seemed like he was just here. Albeit six hours ago, but still, it was Friday night. Though by the looks of the moon, it was already after midnight. It was so late it was early. Early Saturday morning. And he was sweaty from running through the city, now walking the dark halls of Canterlot Castle.

It wasn't the first time he'd been in the castle after hours. When Princess Celestia had disappeared on the night before the Summer Sun Celebration last year, there was a massive search party that he had to head up. Of course they know now that it was the herald of Luna's return. But at the time it was really quite scary for them all.

Night in the Castle was something he'd actively avoided though, then and now still. It wasn't fear per se. He'd been in most every part of the castle before, many times. He knew the layout like the back of his hoof. But there was just something different about it at night. That sort of uncanny, unfamiliar familiar.

He took a right turn to the throne room. His pegasus escort turned left. He stopped, and looked at the pegasus.

"This way sir." He told Shining.

"Is she not in the throne room?" Shining asked. The pegasus shook his head.

"Princess Luna is residing over the night court currently. Princess Celestia is this way." Shining followed after the pegasus down the hallway, in the opposite direction of the throne. Suddenly his escort stopped.

"What's wrong?" Shining asked.

"By orders, this is as far as I am permitted to go." He said, motioning forward. "She is around the corner, waiting for you in the room on the left." Shining's mental map unfurled in his mind. He knew where she was. She was in her personal chambers. Up until this point, he'd been running on an automated pre-programming, hardwired by his training. Simply doing, without stopping to question why. That is until now.

"This is very unusual." Shining said. "Did she say what the nature of the matter was?"

"I'm afraid I'm on a strict need-to-know basis with this assignment, sir. I was not privileged to the details beyond what was required of me. And my involvement in the matter ends here." He said, before doing an about-face, dashing back down the hallway toward the castle entrance.

Shining stood there a moment, unsure of what to do. It was an unusual experience, for one who was usually a stallion of action, to be at a loss of how to act on this. His time as a cadet had given him a healthy paranoia for these sort of things. His gut was telling him that this was all an elaborate ruse to get him to entreat on the princess's personal chambers as she slept, thereby landing him in hot water at the amusement of all.

But he pushed such worries from his mind. It had been a long time since the academy. The pony, or ponies pulling a stunt like this on an officer of his rank would have to have a pretty big pair of stones. Most likely in their head where a brain ought to be. Shining walked forward, toward Celestia's chambers.

He turned the corner of the hallway. Just beyond was the doors to Celestia's private quarters. Her personal guards were markedly absent from their post outside her doors. Though closed, a sliver of light from just under them cut across the floor of the hall, illuminating a patch in front of her entrance. It was like a glowing welcome mat in the otherwise dim hallway. As he walked in front of the door, the tips of his blue hooves were aglow as they cut swaths of shadow into the floor. He brought a hoof to her door to knock, pausing for just a second.

It was not fear that gripped him, but excitement. The princess had requested him by name. Clearly this was an important matter to herald him at this hour. The light from under the door wavered ever so slightly. He heard the softest of noises from beyond the door, movement for sure. Her light was on. She was clearly awake. He steeled his nerves and gave the door a solid rap.

"Your Highness. Captain Shining Armor reporting!" He said confidently. He waited a moment. There was no response. He took a silent breath. He carefully counted the seconds, contemplating whether or not he should knock again and repeat himself. No, he decided. He was quite clear when he spoke. If she was in there, she had heard him. Perhaps she needed another moment. Perhaps she was eating and was unable to respond right away. Perhaps-

-click-

The doorknob turned almost imperceptibly. The bolt, just barely sliding free of the strike plate on the frame. It shifted but a few hairs width, but move it did.

"Your Highness?" He called again. Still nothing. After a moment more of dead silence, he put his hoof to the door, applying the slightest of pressure. The perfectly hung door hinge opened in slow, steady silence. He'd only ever caught glimpses of the interior in passing when Princess Celestia was just finishing her day court and retiring for the evening. The lavish space was filled with ornate pieces of antiquity. Artifacts from pony civilizations, whose name was now forever lost to the sands of time. The sheer size of the room rivaled that of the square footage of entire homes for some.

The centerpiece, of course, was her massive canopy bed. The wood was hoof carved by artisans centuries ago. The craftsmanship standing the test of time. The carving in turn was covered in gold leafing. And the bedding itself, a rich purple quilting, plush and full. It looked like it would be like sleeping on a cloud. He took another step inside the room, looking around. Princess Celestia was nowhere to be seen.

"Princess?" He said again, as he walked into the room. His eyes caught a glimmer from the bed. The air shimmered and waved. Out of nowhere a white hoof appeared, seemingly from thin air! The hoof pushed aside the shimmer like a drape. Shining understood now. They were magic invisibility curtains surrounding her bed frame. Pulling them back fully, Celestia revealed herself on the bed, unclad of her usual gold accouterments and helm of office. She looked- bare.

"I did not give you permission to enter." She said in a neutral tone. Shining bowed immediately in her presence.

"A thousand apologies Your Highness!" He said, keeping his eyes averted to the floor. He quickly back peddled towards the door to make a fast exit. Celestia magically closed the doors with a solid -thud- before he could reach them, halting his retreat.

"Nor have I dismissed you." She said. Her smirk went unseen by the penitent stallion. "Captain." He hazarded a glance upward from his bowed position. Celestia gave him a 'rise' motion with her hoof. Shining snapped to attention. Back straight and eyes forward. "At ease solider." She said, smiling. "You're off duty after all."

"I am a Royal Guard twenty four seven." He said proudly.

"And I feel very safe knowing I have such dedicated guard ponies looking after my well-being." She said, shifting herself on the covers. "But it is not in that capacity for which I've called upon you this evening." She purred. She waved him over to her with her hoof. Shining saw the gesture but pretended he did not. He didn't want to risk misinterpreting her signals. Celestia could see the indecision in his face. So she spelled it out for him to ensure that she was crystal clear of her direction. "Approach me."

Shining did as he was told, closing the distance between himself and the edge of the bed by exactly half. Enough to fulfill the requirement of her command but still a safe distance away in case of the contrary. Celestia was clearly unsatisfied. "Ah ah." She scolded with a shake of her head. "All the way." She said. "Ah. Proach. Me." Shining took a few more steps, standing at the very edge of the bed. His shins barely grazed the skirting of the mattress.

There he stood, awaiting whatever it was she wanted to tell him. She looked down at the spacious bedding beside her. His eyes followed hers as she patted the bedding with her hoof. Shining stood fast where he was. "Captain." She locked eyes with him. "I will not repeat myself again." She said, patting the bed once more. He gulped and slowly extended a hoof up to the bed, stopping for just a second, checking the bottom to make sure it was clean. It looked so, but he gave it a solid couple of taps on the floor to be sure.

"My patience is wearing thin." She said. Shining stepped up onto the bed, sitting beside her. He found it difficult to concentrate. The pounding of his heart in his ears was very distracting. He prayed that she could not hear it. "Ah, that's better." She said. However, she could see the discomfort of the stallion beside her. "Here," she said, "why don't you get more comfortable?" She pulled back the covers from under him in a single, deft tug of her magic.

The sheets were silky smooth against his fur. He became increasingly confused as she began to tuck him in under her blanket, even as she remained on top of them on her side of the bed. There was certainly something maternal about the act. Though he could not fully appreciate the sentiment in that moment. This was her bed after all. He was IN Princess Celestia's bed. He was being tucked in by the princess of Equestria!

"I imagine you must feel quite confused." She said. He could only nod in response. "Fear not. I will make everything quite clear to you soon." She took hold of the blanket's corners, pulling it tight across his chest, and tucking them firmly under the edges of the mattress. She slinked across the top of the covers and slipped a leg over him, sitting up as she straddled his hips. Even through the thick material, he could feel the heat radiating from her loins. Shining was silently grateful that his metal armor uniform would keep her from feeling-

Shining suddenly became acutely aware that he was not before the princess in any official capacity. He'd been pulled from his drunken stagger homeward and was without any coverings, save for the duvet as the only barrier between them. "Mmmm." Celestia purred, as she rolled her hips slightly as she ground into him. There was no disguising what it was she could feel harden between them. His excitement was quite clearly evident.

"What do you think of me Shining?" Celestia asked. "A benevolent Princess? A beautiful goddess? What do you really think of me?" Shining's mouth went dry. Words failed him. A beauty, a princess, a goddess indeed! She was all these things, he thought. But he found speech eluding him. What words were there? Were there even words that existed, that could ever exist to describe her?

"Please Shining, speak freely." She said "I would be most offended if you did not." He certainly didn't want that.

"B- beautiful, yes!" Shining started. "G- good mane and fur and warm." He stammered. He would have smacked himself in the face with his hoof if it were not pinned to his sides under the taught covers.

"It's okay my dear." She said in an encouraging, maternal tone. "Take a breath and relax." Shining focused on trying to steady his breathing. She smiled warmly from on top of him and ran a hoof through her mane, flourishing it for him. "Do you really think me beautiful?" She asked, fishing for compliments.

"Y- Yes! Very!" He said, more clearly now.

"A fair ruler? A benevolent Princess?"

"Yes Your Highness!" He answered.

"No more of those titles. Call me Tia."

"Yes... Tia." He said firmly. Her eyes ran over his form under her. She ran a hoof down his chest, feeling the firm muscles of the guard pony.

"Hmm... So obedient." She mused to herself. "Would you really give your life defending mine?"

"Of course Your Hi- I mean, Tia. Any one of us would."

"Do you really think of me as a goddess?"

"Yes."

"Would you- could you think of me as a..." Her face turned the faintest shade of pink. "...as a mare?" She asked. Shining was confused for a moment. A mare? Of course. Everything about her was the very essence of the feminine. She could see the confusion on his face. "I mean, as a mare, and only." She said. She looked off, to some distant point and sighed. "I'm no goddess Shining Armor. I am a mare just like any other. I am not made of light or magic but flesh and blood. I eat when I hunger, I sleep when I tire. I am a mare with wants-" She looked him deeply in the eyes. " and needs." She said, putting extra emphasis on the last word. He felt her hoof finish its slow journey down his chest, now gently teasing the tip of his member through the blanket.

"Nnngh" He grunted as her other hoof joined in, running up and down his shaft. She knew exactly how to touch him. She pressed and applied pressure in just the right places. The blanket served as a soft medium between the pad of her hoof and the ridges of his stiff cock.

"Hmm, my sworn protector..." She said as she continued to run her hooves over him. "You've served me so well for so long. It is only fitting that I serve you in turn." She smiled. He could feel her rocking her hips, rubbing herself into his lap. One of her hooves left his attention for a moment to attend to her own rising need. He craned his neck but couldn't quite see. Her hoof obstructed what little view he would have had anyway. His disappointment was short lived however, as her hoof, now wet with her desire, came up from between her thighs, dabbing his nose gently. He reveled in her musk, now flooding his senses.

His member began to swell and throb under her ministrations. With each moment of her caressing touch he grew unbelievably hard. His vision began to fade. She was getting him very close to orgasm. Maybe it was the lack of blood flow to his brain now, but something was pulling away his consciousness. And it seemed that the harder he tried to hold on, the faster he seemed to slip away. He could no longer make out the edges of the white figure on him. She diffused into a bright blur, growing brighter with each passing second. It hurt to look directly at her. It was like looking into the sun itself. His head began to pound.

"Nggghh." Shining groaned, stirring awake in his bed. The morning sun streamed through the open window, searing his retinas. His hangover from the card game last night hit him like a locomotive. He could feel his brain rubbing against the inside of his dry skull, which felt to have been replaced with sandpaper. His eyes, likewise felt like they had been replaced with cotton balls covered in saw dust. He struggled to breathe. The last malady of that list, he found, had nothing to do with his choice of adult beverage the night prior. Instead it had everything to do with his dream. Or rather, the source of it. His fantasy nocturne was no feat of alicorn dream magic on the part of the moon princess. But instead, something much simpler.

Between his legs, somepony was under the covers with him in his bed. It hurt to even move his head, but he forced his body to action in spite of the pain. He lifted the blanket to see who had their hooves pumping around his shaft while he slept. Noticing that her cover had literally been blown, the perpetrator looked up at her victim from between his legs.

"Oh good, you're awake." She said.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" He yelled, immediately regretting the decision to subject his ears to such a violent aural assault.

"Shh! Do you want everypony to hear us?" She hushed him. He scurried backwards away from her, practically crawling the wall of he headboard, trying to kick her away with her hooves. She fell off the side of the bed wrapped in a heap of the blankets. Shining stumbled to the opposite side as his skull rattled with the grey matter ricocheting about inside.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked again, not quite as loudly but just as angry. The mare stood from the blanket pile and looked down at her hooves, still slick with her saliva and his precum lubrication. She looked back and forth between her hooves and his still-hard stallionhood bobbing under him.

"Is that a serious question?" Twilight asked. "Because it seemed pretty obvious to me."

"What is wrong with you?" He asked, incredulously.

"What's wrong with me!?" She parroted indignantly. "Speak for yourself!" Shining was dumbfounded. "I came to Canterlot last night for the Grand Galloping Gala with my friends. Which, by the way turned into a complete disaster. I thought you'd be there!"

He growled through grit teeth, "I had the night off." He was still demanding an explanation for... this.

"Afterwards, I decided to come visit rather than stay at the Canterlot Hotel. Since I hadn't seen any of you since I left for Ponyville." She said.

"How sweet." He said sarcastically as he rubbed his pounding temple.

"Yeah, except you were out all damn night!" She continued. "And then you come stumbling in after midnight, trying really hard to act like you weren't drunk as you shambled up here to your bed and flopped in. It sounded like you had fallen and hurt yourself so I came to see what was the matter. But you were already passed out. So I stayed and watched you while you slept."

"Wow. That's creepy."

"It's not creepy! I wanted to make sure you didn't choke on your own vomit in your sleep or something." She said.

"Great. But that still doesn't explain why I woke up to you working my butter churn." He said, leaning against his bureau for support. Twilight blushed.

"Well, I nodded off for a bit, but I woke up when you started making noises in your sleep. You were having a dream, and then when your hips started to... you know... I could tell it was one of those dreams. And well, I guess I couldn't help myself but watch." She shuffled her hooves a bit. "I got a bit worked up and had to take care of things for myself. But you were still going even after I finished. I decided to help you along by rubbing through the blanket, but you had definitely had a lot to drink and it was a bit of a struggle to help you finish, so I shared a bit of my... inspiration." She rubbed her nose and pointed at his. It was then that he realized that she'd smeared her juices on his snout. His knees gave out as he vomited into his trash bin. Twilight rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to assume that that's from the excess of cider last night." She added. "But as I was saying, it didn't seem to be working, so I went for direct stimulation. That was when I got under the covers. And you had nearly finished when you woke up."

Shining wiped his mouth with his hoof. His psyche began to crack. He was beginning to calmly accept that everything was okay. Everything would be okay because he was still asleep. He was still asleep and this nightmare would be over soon. He just needed to bide his time and ride it out. He closed his eyes and waited a moment. Nothing. He opened his eyes. He was still there. And so was she.

Shit

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "So let me get this straight. You watched me sleep last night, noticed that I'd gotten morning wood, and you were rocked by the urge to jack me off in my sleep?"

"I was trying to be helpful." She said defensively, as her eyes wandered to between his legs again. "Help that you clearly still need. Are you sure you don't want me to finish-"

"You're the one who needs help, Twilight! In the form of therapy! Many, many fucking years of therapy! This..." He motioned with his hoof between the two of them. " ...is never, EVER going to happen! Now get the hell out of my bedroom!"

"But I-"

"NOW!" He threw his pillow at her. Twilight ducked it and scurried out. Shining followed her across the room and closed the door behind her, locking it. He slumped to the floor with his sweaty back against the wall. He looked down at himself. Bits of last night's partially digested food was now smeared into his white fur. Not the least of his reasons, but he felt like he needed a long, hot shower.

White Noise

Shining Armor opened his eyes. He had hoped that it was all just a bad dream. And he would awaken in his bed. Alone this time. But he was still sitting on the floor, slumped against the wall. The pillow he'd thrown at his intrusive sister still laid where it had landed. Everything still hurt. His eyes, his head, his stomach. He looked down at himself. He was still erect. In spite of the conflicting feelings, it hadn't gone away in the intervening time. Twilight didn't misspeak when she said that he was close to finishing. His balls added themselves to the list of things that were aching.

Shining found the willpower within himself to stand. He fumbled around through the pile of dirty linen to grab a towel. Shame in a state of undress among ponies was a foreign concept. Most ponies walked around unencumbered from such contrivances as clothing. Especially in the privacy of their own homes. Shining was no exception to this. He freely walked about his town and home wearing naught but a smile.

Mares had the advantage of their tales covering their lady bits to maintain their modesty. Stallions' equipment was kept out of sight in their sheaths. Though nature did take its course at times outside of a pony's control. Particularly with colts as they matured into stallions. But in the odd occurrence that a stallion were to become, excited, it was just common courtesy to avert your eyes. Shining had never felt self-conscious about it himself, especially in the short distance to the bathroom of his own house. After all, he had been through basic training. And after that many stallions together in one shower room, there wasn't much shame left to be had.

But with his perverse sister lurking about, he opted on the side of safety, wrapping the towel around his waist. He pulled the door open and poked his head out. Luckily nopony else had heard the commotion from earlier. He could hear the idle chatter of his parents downstairs, enjoying Saturday morning breakfast. His mom had the courtesy to let him sleep off last night's mistakes. He felt a chill run up his spine. He could only imagine what would have happened if their mom had caught them a few minutes earlier with her under the blanket, jacking him off in earnest.

He glanced to the right, toward the empty bathroom, and back to the left, at the bedroom next door. Twilight's door was shut. He crept out into the hallway and closed his door silently behind him, hoping to avoid seeing her for... the rest of his life. His pulse quickened as he snuck into the bathroom. Which was terrible because each beat of his heart felt like a blow to the head with a rock, now more rapidly.

He locked the bathroom door and opened the medicine cabinet. The biggest bottle was the one that got the most use, in big clear lettering, 'headache'. He tossed a couple in his mouth and filled a paper cup with water in the sink, washing them down. He felt a little better. He knew perfectly well that any effect he was feeling in the first few minutes was a placebo effect until the medicine could get into his system. But with how he was feeling at the moment, he took what he could get.

He turned on the shower, contemplating whether or not to let it get to temperature before getting in. His erection was still uncomfortably hard. A good dose of cold water would do well to rid himself of it. But in no time at all, steam began to rise from the curtain. He had hesitated too long. The shower warmed faster than he expected. Somepony else must have used it recently. Likely one or both of his parents. It was the only bathroom in the house after all.

He stepped inside and turned it up to scalding. He scrubbed and scrubbed but damn it, they didn't make water hot enough for the kind of dirty he felt. Or rather, whoever had used the shower before him had used much of the hot water, leaving him with what would otherwise be a pleasant temperature. It served the job of getting his fur and mane free of sweat and vomit. But did nothing to assuage him of his boner. He tried to think of something, anything to get it to go away. But the image of his sister with her hooves wrapped around his shaft was seared into his mind. Which should be enough kill his mood outright. But it included the sensation he'd felt in that moment too.

Remembering the feeling of a mare with her hooves on him in such an intimate way left him feeling conflicted. His dick didn't know the difference. It could have been a stallion of a manticore doing it for all it cared. His mind was sickened by the who, but aroused by the what. Before he even realized what he was doing, his hoof was on his member, idly stroking it with the slick lather of soap. No! He was not about to beat off to the image of his sister. He tried to think of something else. Something positive.

He let his mind drift freely now, accepting that this was going to happen. He recalled bits of his dream. It was a sexual dream for sure. The mare, she... had white fur, like his. She was... tall she had a... hat- no, a crown? The details fell into place in a flash. He had dreamed of Princess Celestia, his boss. A flash of shame crossed his mind but was quickly discarded. This was his space, here in the shower. Here he could think what he wanted, fantasize about whatever and whomever he wished. If it be Celestia, then so be it. His hoof quickened its pace.

He was on her bed, no, -in- her bed. She was on top. He was looking up at her.

Shining started to pant as he worked himself.

She was rubbing him with her hoof. She was rubbing herself too. He was watching her rub herself. Princess Celestia had her hoof in her twat like a common whorse while her Captain of the Guard watched. Then he would flip her onto the bed, and mount her from behind. He'd pull her wavy tail aside and shove his dick right into her royal chamber. He'd rut her harder than she'd ever had in her entire life. He would make her his mare as he would thrust deeper into her. "Please, cum inside me Shining! Make me an heir!" She'd cry out. And then- and then he'd-!

"NGGgghhh!" Shining grunted as his cum shot from his tip, splattering unceremoniously against the cool tile of the wall. Despite the arduous build-up to his climax that morning, he derived little pleasure from cumming aside from the ache leaving his loins, and the relief of his stiffness. The aftermath left him with an instant sobriety of the things that had happened that morning. He experienced the return of an ill displeasure of climaxing from the erection given to him by his depraved sister. At least now it had retreated back into its sheath.

The last trace of warm water had been exhausted as he made quick work of washing away the graphic evidence of his shame, wiping it away towards the drain with his hoof. He turned the knob to off and pulled open the curtain, half expecting her to be lurking just on the other side. To his mild relief, he found that he was still alone in the small bathroom. He found that the cooler shower prevented the mirror from fogging up, so he didn't need to wipe it clear. Levitating a brush from the bathroom counter, he began to style his mane into something other than the plastered-wet look.

He thought about how he had half expected Twilight to be ready to ambush him when he opened the curtain. Part of him wondered what he would have done if that had happened. Another part of him wondered what she yet planned to do. But the biggest part of him wondered how exactly you 'half expect' something. As he brushed his teeth, he thought instead about his dream. He had been fixating on Princess Celestia quite a bit in recent memory. But it certainly wasn't the first time he'd been infatuated with Her Highness.

Several Years Earlier

As a young filly in Canterlot, Twilight had always wanted to go to the Summer Sun Celebration, where Princess Celestia raises the sun. So finally, one summer solstice, her parents decided to grant her wish, and bring the family to see the event. And what an event it was.

"Twilight, wake up!" Shining Armor said, nudging his sister. As her older brother, he was in charge of making sure she woke up on time to go see the sun rise. Also, it just made good sense, being that they shared a bedroom.

"Nhgg- hmmf." Twilight mumbled, still half asleep, rolling back over.
"Come on!" He said again, louder this time. He pulled her covers away and shook her a bit more vigorously. "It's time to get going!" Twilight finally woke fully. She sat up in her bed rubbing her eyes, looking out the window.

"It's still dark." She mumbled, before stretching out her hooves.

"Of course silly!" Shining answered. "Princess Celestia hasn't raised the sun yet!"

"Oh my gosh!" Twilight bolted out of bed, fueled by a sudden surge of adrenaline. "The Summer Sun Celebration!" She said in realization of what day it was. She did a quick circuit, running around the room. "Oh- oh no! What do I bring? What do I need? Ahh!"

"Whoa, slow down there kiddo." Shining said, catching her in his arms. "Mom and Dad already have everything together downstairs. We just need to go down and have some breakfast and then we'll get going!" He assured her as he tussled her mane.

Twilight and her brother trotted downstairs to their waiting parents. A bowl of Wheaties was waiting for each of them at the table. Shining levitated his spoon from the table and immediately started to dig in. Twilight grasped her spoon in her hoof and scooped some of the cereal. She eyed it with contempt and dumped it back into the bowl.

"Come on now, Twilight," her mother chided, "eat up. It's good for you!"

"Yeah Twilie!" Her brother garbled enthusiastically with his mouth full. "It's the breakfast of champions!"

"Shining Armor! Do not talk with food in you mouth!" His mother scolded. He chewed and swallowed before apologizing.

"Sorry mom." He said bowing his head a bit.

Twilight did not share her brothers zeal for the processed wheat cereal. She was certain that he only requested the cereal to ogle the attractive Wonderbolts cheerleader on the box. He never did take his eyes off the thing.

"Come on now Twilight, eat your breakfast. I don't want you two filling up on the common carnival fare." Her mom said.

"Aww."
"Aww."

They both whined in unison. Their father looked up from his morning paper.

"Oh, come off it dear. It's a special day." He said with just the slightest hint of a smile. His wife gave him just the subtlest of glares. It was there, just barely in the corners of her eyes. Not enough for the children to notice, but it was loud and clear to the stallion who married her all those years ago. When she first became pregnant with Shining, they both agreed that, as parents, they would never fight in front of the children. But, that also meant not undermining each other's authority. They didn't want the foals being denied something by one, only to run to the other for it. He was treading dangerous ground.

"Fine." She conceded. "But just for today! You understand?" They both nodded. Twilight looked up at her father with begging eyes. He reached over and pulled the bowl of cereal toward himself, exchanging his doughnut with her. She held out the spoon in her hoof. He took it from her with his magic as he began to eat.

"When am I going to be able to do that?" Twilight whined, pointing with a frown at the floating spoon with her hoof. Her mom came up behind her and hugged her.

"Oh, Twilight, I've told you, you'll get your magic soon. Every unicorn does!" She smiled.

"I'm going to be the most magical unicorn ever!" Twilight said excitedly, before devouring her doughnut.

"I bet you will." Her mom said proudly.

Canterlot's city park was a flurry of activity when the Sparkle family arrived. Every building in the area was adorned with flags and streamers and balloons. The streets were lined with vendors and games. The air was full of the smells of fried food and the sounds of fun. Bells and horn punctuated the quiet roar of the growing crowd.

There were carnival rides assembled in the square. A dizzying tilt-a-whirl was still lit up in the dim light of the coming dawn. It was occupied by ponies who had assuredly been up all night at the carnival. There was also a beautiful Ferris wheel giving ponies a wonderful bird's-eye-candy view of the city.

"Dad, why is it called a Ferris wheel?" Shining asked his father.

"Well son, because it's made of metal. 'Ferrous' is the old kingdom name for iron." He explained.

"Actually Daddy, it was named after the great mule architect who invented it. F-E-R-R-I-S Ferris Muler. Not the metal. And back then it was called an 'observation wheel'." Twilight chimed in.

"Well, you learn something new everyday!" He father said. "When did you get so smart Twilie?" He asked.

"When you started taking me to your library, daddy!" She said with a happy grin, hopping up and down.

The tune 'Hail to the Princess' came blaring from the horns of the Royal Guards just outside the castle, announcing the Princess's arrival. All the guards went to attention, saluting in anticipation of the princess's arrival. Shining Armor turned to Twilight beside him, copying their salute.

"What do you think?" He said.

"My brother the royal guard? Nah. I can't see it."

"I know right!?" He laughed. Twilight dashed away from her family toward the crowd surrounding the solar podium.

"Twilight!" her mother called out, "Don't you go getting lost!" But the caution fell on deaf ears. Twilight wormed her way through the mob. Her small size allowed her to get to nearly the front row. Shining Armor ran after her into the crowd. "Shining!"

While searching for his sister, Shining saw Princess Celestia slowly walk out onto the stage. It was a feat she had done countless times before. But for just once a year, it was truly something special. She smiled gently at her adoring subjects. Her gaze passing over the crowd, pausing for just the briefest of moments on the lavender filly in the third row. Shining watched from several rows back, wide-eyed, seeing the Princess of Equestria for the first time, first-hoof.

He watched as the Princess's horn came aglow, her great wings unfurled. She closed her eyes and took to the air, her long, slender hooves outstretched. As she rose higher into the air, her magic brought the sun with her, pulling it up over the horizon. The brilliant white light pierced the dull haze of the pre-dawn sky. Celestia's form vanished into a silhouette in the sun's glare.

His eyes adjusted. He could see the Princess again. Having completed the spell, Celestia opened her eyes and looked back down at her audience. Perhaps it was by luck that her gaze once again came to a focus on little Twilight. He followed her eyes to Twilight a few rows ahead of him. The rest of the crowd cheered and stomped their hooves. After a few moments, Celestia exited the stage, back to the castle. Shining, for his part, knew in that moment what he wanted to do. He was going to join the royal guard. He pressed forward as the crowd dispersed passed him.

"Twilie! There you are!" Shining called out. He had finally managed to muscle his way through the crowd and find her. He took her hoof and walked her back to their parents. But all he could think about was how beautiful Celestia was. He couldn't wait for the next chance he would have to see her. As fate would have it, he wouldn't have to wait long.

Shining realized that he'd been brushing his teeth for several more minutes than was explicitly necessary to clean them. He spat and rinsed, putting his brush away and went out into the hallway. It was mercifully vacant. He breathed a sigh of relief and trotted downstairs. Despite it being rather late in the morning, breakfast was only just now hitting the table as his mom, Twilight Velvet, set out the plates for everypony.

"Ah, he is alive." His mom said, setting a place for him as well.

"Now now dear, I'm sure he's already had a rough night." His dad, Night Light chided.

"Or morning..." Twilight Sparkle murmured as she put the last of the breakfast cookware in the soapy water of the wash basin. She didn't turn to look at him upon his arrival. Shining took a hesitant seat at the table and regarded the meal in front of him. His stomach had been thoroughly emptied upstairs and he realized that he was actually quite hungry. He watched Twilight out of the corner of his eye as she dried her hooves on the dish towel and started to trot away. He mother stopped her.

"Where are you off to?" Velvet asked.

"Oh, I slept in late enough, I need to get started on my day." Twilight said.

"Not until you've had something to eat." She said.

"I uh, I'm not really that hungry." She said.

"Twilight," her mother started, "you've been away in Ponyville all year, and Shining has been working for the Royal guard. I hardly get to see you, and you see even less of eachother. Now come sit down and spend some time with your brother." Velvet pointed at the one empty chair beside Shining. He and Twilight tried their best to hide their nervous gulps. She slowly sat down beside him and joined him in eating in silence. Shining ate his meal with military efficiency. 'Don't make love to it, just eat it!' His drill instructors would yell back in basic training. "So Twilight, how was the Gala?" Velvet prompted, trying to break the awkward tension.

In Twilight's mind, the monotony of an evening of shaking hooves beside the Princess was overshadowed by the image of Fluttershy yelling at the head of a stampede of animals flooding the wrecked hall of the Gala ballroom. Pinkie Pie's stage dive had flung Applejack's cake at Rarity, with which she in turn, assaulted the prince. And despite Rainbow Dash's best efforts, the statue fell and caused a mess. The entire evening was a disaster.

"It was fine." She said.

"Oh." Velvet said, waiting for more. "Just fine?"

"Mmhmm." Twilight nodded, her mouth full.

"And what about you Shining? Anything new or interesting happening in your life?"

Twilight tried to rape me.

"Not really." Shining said. "Camisa almost died again last night."

"What was it this time?"

"Chandelier."

"Huh." Velvet said nonchalantly, quite aware of his near-death tendencies. The otherwise quiet breakfast concluded shortly after. Shining cleared his plate and brought it to the sink and headed for the door. "Leaving already?"

"Yeah, I uh, I've got things to do on my day off." He said.

"Well, bring Twilight with you. Honestly,you never see eachother and now off you go."

"No, Mom, it's okay. Really." Twilight said, trying to avoid making this morning any more agonizing.

"No, I insist. Now go. Hang out. Have fun like when you two were foals. Do you need bits."

"No Mom, it's okay." Shining said. "I have some."

"Oh. Good then. Go on Twilight." She said. Shining huffed and opened the door for the purple unicorn, letting her out first before following after. Outside on the front steps, he closed the door behind him and looked at her.

"Look, I'm not going to tell Mom what happened for the sake of the family. But as for right now, I'm leaving for the day. You can do whatever you want." He said handing her most of his winnings from the previous night. "As long as it's somewhere else." He turned to walk away.

"Wait, Shining!" Twilight called after him. He hesitated, but stopped and turned around again.

"What?" He asked.

"Look about this morning-" She started.

"How about we just forget about it?" He cut off.

"Look, I'm sorry! I just, I don't know what happened." She said.

"Would you like me to describe it? I'm usually not one for words but I could paint a pretty vivid picture from the memory seared into my mind."

"I mean I don't know what happened with me. I just, I couldn't control myself. I know it was wrong but I, I wanted it just the same. I've never had- a stallion." She said. Shining rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Twilight, that- that was not at ALL like practicing kissing. And even if it was, it would have been better if you had chosen literally ANY other pony-" he quickly amended the statement, "not living in this house, and it would have been a better choice!" He huffed, and looked at the clock tower at the end of the street.

"I've never looked at you like that before. I never thought of you as attractive."

"Gee, thanks."

"I mean, sexually attractive. I've always said you were handsome." She said, stepping closer. "I just don't want this to be a negative experience for us. Maybe you could start, if we were both awake for it..."

"What the buck! Have you spit your bit or something? No, never!" He backed away. "Just, no, gah! Seriously, go get an appointment with a head doctor or something." He said as he started to gallop away. He ran a couple of blocks and took a corner, checking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being followed. Once he was sure she wasn't following him, he slowed to a trot.

He checked his bag. He realized that he had, in his haste, given her more money than he meant to. Not that he had particularly expensive tastes of plans for the day. But Canterlot is not a cheap town. He had considered staying in for the day. But he didn't want to have to deal with Twilight again. But he realized that she couldn't go home just yet without their mom finding out that they were not spending time together. But then, he couldn't go home yet for the very same reason. He wished that they had made some kind of a schedule plan instead of her flirting awkwardly with him.

As he trotted and thought about what to do, he found himself unconsciously auto-piloting on the way to the Royal Palace. It was a walk that he'd made countless times before. It stopped feeling like a Saturday and more like a weekday as he passed all the familiar landmarks that he was used to. With means to do little else, he resigned to just head there. A little overtime couldn't hurt. And he rather enjoyed the company of his squad-mates.

"... so we're looking all over the town for the damn bird, right? And then, get this, it-" Aegis cut his story off as Shining Armor walked into the room "ROOM TENCH-HUT!" He called the room to attention as the Captain entered.

"Carry on." Shining dismissed, letting the stallions resume their activity.

"So what was I saying? Oh yeah. So we're looking everywhere for this damn thing. And the Princess ends up finding it first. And a soon as we get there, the thing falls of a statue and freak'n bursts into flames!"

Shining eavesdropped as he made his way passed them to the coffee machine.

"No shit?"

"Yeah, and the quiet yellow one tries to catch it, and ends up with her hooves full of ash. And I'm just looking at my squad-mate, and all I can think is, 'We just let her bird die on our shift!' We're all going to the dungeon!"

"Well you're not now. So what happened?"

"Check this, the damn thing pops out of the ash and comes back to life." He brought his hooves to his temples, and then lifted them away slowly, while making a whooshing explosion sound effect with his mouth, indicating that his 'mind was blown'. When he finished the motion, he looked back over his shoulder toward the kitchenette. "Hey Cap? Ain't it your day off? How did you get roped into weekend duty?"

"I'm married to the military. You know that. I live here." Shining groaned, pouring himself a cup. "So what's new?"

"I was just telling these guys about the Princess's phoenix." He said.

"Oh, you mean the Ponyville tea party fiasco? I love that one." Shining said. "What about last summer, when she went missing the night before the Solstice and everypony lost their minds out in the streets of Canterlot screaming 'The End is Neigh!" He laughed, sitting down at the table with the others.

"No, they haven't heard that one. You should tell them. You always tell it better." Aegis said.

"Alright, alright." Shining said, taking a sip of his drink. "Well, like he said, it was the night before the Summer Sun Celebration. It was also while I was still a First Lieutenant. The Princess had gone to Ponyville to raise the sun there for the one thousandth year..."

"... and it turned out that Nighmare Moon was actually her sister, Princess Luna."

"Wait, so your sister is one of the elements of Harmony?" One of the newer guards asked.

"Yes. And shortly after, I was promoted to Captain." Shining said.

"Which I'm sure is just a coincidence." Aegis said.

"By my own merit, thank you." Shining said. "My paperwork was already in and it was in the process of approval."

"Hey Cap, you forgot about the part with Camisa in the town hall." Camisa Roja groaned.

"Ugh, I hate this story."

"Well I wasn't there for that part Aegis. Why don't you tell it?" Shining said.

"Alright alright. So there we were, in the town hall, waiting for the Princess to show up. Camisa's there with a couple other boots. All three of them are fresh out of basic. Then right when Princess Luna, er, Nightmare Moon showed up, he gets the other two all riled up and they charge her without the slightest bit of tactical strategy or even an attempt at subterfuge. They just barrel right at her and she bitch slaps him with freaking lighting magic. Then she turned into smoke and went out the window. I can't even give chase because I am just -DYING- on the floor from laughing at this ass-hat. Funniest shit I've ever seen."

"Ha. Ha. It gets funnier every time you tell it." Camisa deadpanned sarcastically.

"IT DOES!" The sergeant was already cracking up. "I'm actually surprised that you didn't just go the whole nine yards and yell 'Charge' while you were at it!" Aegis nearly fell out his chair laughing at the memory all over again.

The guards traded stories to pass the time. They played several hooves of cards as well. It was a slow Saturday. It seemed that all of the criminal scum was taking the day off as well. Aegis was about to voice his boredom as the afternoon gave way to evening. But it seemed that fate was happy to oblige the stallion. Wings, one of the pegasi guards, came into the room with a sense of urgency. Wings wasn't his real name. But the silver furred pony had earned the nickname as the fastest flyer in the guard. He addressed the ranking officer in the barrack.

"Captain!" He saluted. Shining returned the gesture. "We have a report from the West District of a noise disturbance."

"Bo-ring." Aegis mocked, pulling a stale doughnut from the box on the table.

"I'll take it. Me and the two new guys." Shining said. "I could use the walk. Being stuck in here all day has me feeling claustrophobic." He looked at the Sargent stuffing his face, adding to his already ample posterior. "You keep making sure that the chair doesn't float away." He said.

"Roger that." He said, with food in his mouth muffling the response.

"Come on guys." Shining said as the two new guards followed him out.

The trio galloped along the cobblestone roads, weaving in between the ponies in the congested city. As they neared the West District, the crowds grew denser. He had regretted taking the two new recruits. A unicorn and an earth pony, neither could fly ahead and recon the site. But that wasn't the worst of it.

"Make a hole!"

"Clear a path! Royal Guard business!"

They were making asses of themselves shouting into the crowds.

"Hey!" Shining shouted at the other two as he followed. "It's just a noise disturbance. It's not like anything is on fire. There's no need for that." They ceased their yelling and eased their pace a bit to accommodate the civilians around them. They were about a block away from the reported site. They could feel the problem before they heard it. The ground shuddered beneath their hooves in rhythmic tremors. They turned the corner off of the main road and started to hear it in the distance. It was coming from a large, but otherwise unassuming residence. The windows had to have been made of sturdy stuff indeed. The shook and rattled in time with the music.

If one could call it music. Shining mentally complained. The front door had no response. Shining was not surprised. Most likely, whomever was inside was unable to hear them. Or, possibly, unwilling to acknowledge them. "You two, head left and see if you can find another way in." Shining directed. He went to the right to save time circling the building. As the other two vanished from his sight, the music inside suddenly went dead. He also finally realized that despite having been at the barracks all day, he had never gotten into uniform. And he was in such a rush to respond to this call, that he hadn't noticed until now.

But he wasn't expecting hostilities. If he found somepony inside, the others would be along soon enough to corroborate his official capacity there. The alleyway was dimly lit away from the lights of the street. Are the far end he saw a figure skulking around what looked to be a back door. He approached slowly so as to not cause them to become alarmed. The last thing he needed was hoof to hoof combat with a civilian in a case of misunderstanding. He kept his stride casual, as though he were just cutting between the buildings for a shortcut elsewhere. Once he was close enough, he could find out who the pony was and whether or not they they would be able to themselves, or get a message to a pony inside, to reduce the noise.

As he got closer, he noticed that the other pony was very well dressed. He was big. Even by Shining's standards, no small stallion he. But this pony was a head taller than even him. He had grey fur and a dark, short-cropped mane. He hadn't noticed Shining yet. He seemed preoccupied with a couple of mice squeaking at each other over something in the other direction. His ears perked up and her turned to the Captain, peering toward him into the darkness. His eyes lit up in recognition.

"What are you doing out here?" He said to Shining. Shining tried to figure out who this pony was who obviously seemed to know him. The haircut seemed to indicate military background, but he knew most everypony at the barracks. If not their name, he'd recognize their face for sure. But not this pony. Before he had a chance to say anything, the other pony threw open the door. The music inside hadn't really stopped. It just stopped being loud enough to reverberate through the whole house. "Come on, let's get back inside!" He ushered Shining into the door.

"But I-" Shining tried to speak up. But the crackle of a voice came over the up-until-now-unseen earpiece that the other pony was wearing. Combined with the music inside the house growing louder as they moved further inside, Shining's protests were drowned out. His eyes whirred about in his head at the psychedelic interior. Dimly glowing black lights lined the crown molding of the walls. It wasn't enough to make out the details of the exact architecture of the building. But certain decorations jumped out as being clearly designed to react to the special lighting. Shining's white fur included.

"Yeah, I'm on my way." The other pony said into, what Shining assumed was, an unseen microphone. At the end of the hall he opened a door into a room that was not any better lit.

"I-"

"Get ready for the next set." The other pony said, closing the door behind Shining, leaving him in the dark. Shining could hear the hooves rapidly departing. Shining reached a hoof out, fumbling around the doorway, looking for a light switch. Finally finding it, he switched it on. The sudden brightness of the light caused him to squint in acute pain as his pupils struggle to contract fast enough. The once-dark blur changed into a bright white blur. His eyes adjust once more to the change and came into focus. He scanned the room. It was somepony's bedroom. The bed made that much clear. There was also a large vanity with a big mirror and an assortment of makeup and mane product. He moved closer to the vanity to look at the variety of accessories. But before he had the chance, he heard a couple sets of hooves heading down the hall toward him. He strained his ears to listen for any clue as to who they were. He could hear one of them, a mare.

"... just need a break... in a few minutes... -eep the crowd going." The other set of hooves trotted away. The door opened and she stepped inside. She had white fur like his own. Her mane was a striped mix of bold blue and light blue, like his own. She didn't notice him immediately as she moved straight for the dresser, only then taking off her headphones and dark-tinted sunglasses. She placed the sunglasses on the dresser and then froze, pulling her now-empty hoof back slowly and walking in perfect reverse back to the doorway with a look of confusion on her face. She turned her head suddenly, looking at him and hesitated for a second with her mouth open, waiting for the words, as though questioning herself as to whether or not she was actually seeing him in her room.

"Who the fuck are you?" She asked.

"I-"

"And why the fuck are you in my dressing room?"

"I-"

"Oh fuck! Wait!" She cut him off again, smacking herself in the face with her hoof. "I totally forgot! It must be later than I thought." She looked around for a non-existent clock. "Or else you're early."

"I-"

"Actually, you know what? I've got time. I mean the coat and mane coloring combo is a little weird, but I can dig it. So let's see what you've got." She moved over toward him faster than he could react as she reached under him and started toying with his sheath.

"Hey! hey! HEY!" Shining hurriedly backed away, crossing his legs at her sudden advances.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you new? I keep telling them to not send me rookies." She said. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I appreciate the effort here." She said, flipping the end of his mane with her hoof. "You're clearly a fan and I don't mind. But they should have warn you about me. I can be a bit aggressive."

"What? No, I'm a Captain of the Royal Guard." Shining said.

"What? I-" She smiled and nodded. "Oh, I get it. Yeah I uh, I've been a bad pony officer. Are you going to hoofcuff me to the bed? Come on, get over here." She grinned, diving onto the bed, giving him a seductive look.

"Ma'am, I'm here on a noise complaint."

"Not breaking character? Okay, that's cool. Are you going to get out your 'night stick'?"

"I'm not joking." Shining said. "I'm going to need you to-" He lost his track of thought as the white mare slipped a hoof between her legs and started playing with herself right in front of him. "I'm going to need you to come with me."

"Fuck yeah, I'm gonna cum with you!" She said, rubbing her marehood faster. "Come on, get your 'spear' out!" She smiled as her horn glowed. He felt her magic teasing about with his testicles, stimulating him to a thoroughly distracting semi. He was slow on the draw to react, but he managed to summon enough willpower to slap her magic away with a counter of his own. "Hey, I like playing as much as anypony, but I don't really have time for this. Now get over here!" She said, spreading her legs as he felt a collar of magic around his neck pulling him towards the bed. Again he had the training to dispel her magic on him. "Alright, that's it!"

Without another word, she rolled and sprang from the bed, tackling the stallion. The move was so unexpected that he hadn't even the mind to put his hooves up in defense. She wrapped her hooves around him as she impacted, throwing him onto his back. He braced for the impact of the pair of them to his the floor. But a bit of magic on her prepared part softened the blow to nearly nothing. "Ugh, I need this." She practically growled as she ground her hips into his, trying, with some success, to get him harder.

"... she's in here gentlemen." Came a voice from out in the hallway. The door opened as the pair looked up and the well-dressed pony from earlier opened the door for Shining's two other Guard Ponies. The large pony in the suit averted his eyes quickly. "Oh, uh, I'm sorry Miss Scratch. I didn't know you were uh, um- these Guard Ponies are here to-"

"GET OFF THE CAPTAIN!" One of the grunts shouted, charging into the room. What happened next was a blur of motion above him as the two overzealous cadets apprehended the pony 'assaulting' the Captain. Before Shining could even react or say anything, they'd had her in actual hoof cuffs and a magic-inhibiting horn ring.

Vinyl Scratch tried to process what was happening. Her one on one action had suddenly become a gang bang. Lucidity returned to her as the shock wore off and she was thinking with her brain once more, rather than... other parts of her anatomy. She looked at the cuffs on her hooves. The guards helping the white stallion to his hooves. She looked at their armor. She'd had her run-ins with the law enough times before to know the difference between a costume uniform and the real McCoy.

"Oh buck." She muttered. They moved their attention back to her. "Hey! What is this!"

"Disturbing the peace and assaulting an officer!" One of them spat.

"YOU GOIN' TA JAIL NOW!" The other taunted.

"What!? NO!" Vinyl cried. "I can't! Platinum Record is out there tonight! The name of names in the music industry! I can't blow this! This is my big break tonight!"

"Save it for the juuuuudge!" He taunted again putting needlessly dramatic emphasis on the word like he just rolled off of a movie set.

"Give it a break guys." Shining said, regaining control of the situation.

"Sir!"
"Sir!"

They both saluted in unison. Vinyl could clearly see that he was the pony in charge of the others. He came to take her by the hoof as the others lead the way out of the room. In a final act of desperation, she pulled herself to his ear in a frantic whisper.

"If you let me go I will TOTALLY make it worth your while. Any hole. Any position."

She pulled away as fast as she'd approached. He cut a look at her. She raised her eyebrows and nodded to the affirmative. She mouthed the word, 'seriously'. Shining looked forward again. There was something about her. He clenched his eyes and grit his teeth. Something about that pure-as-the-driven-snow flank of hers. This is a bad idea. He thought. He acknowledged the thought. He was about to agree with it when his cognitive capacity to agree, fled his brain along with the rest of the blood as it was diverted to another part of his anatomy.

"Guys, wait!" He heard himself say. 'This is a bad idea!' He heard himself think again. This time it was easier to ignore. The two cadets stopped and turned to face him.

"Captain?" One asked as the stood, obediently awaiting instruction.

"Uh, I- I forgot to read her rights to her. Yeah, sorry, uh, your Captain dropped the ball on this one." Shining said. "So we can't take her in. I'll deal with the issuing paperwork for the noise ordinance fine. You guys are dismissed. But if you keep this little mess-up between us, the first round of cider is on me tomorrow night okay?" He said.

"Cap buying the first round? Buck yeah!"

"No prob, Cappy! Hoof bump!"

A clop of the cadets' hoofs later and they were already on their way out.

'This is a bad idea.' Shining ignored his nagging conscience and undid the restraints on the other white unicorn. "Now, you were saying?" He asked as he took the ring from her horn.

"Yeah, for sure!" She said. "But I really need to take care of something first." She grabbed her glasses, put them on and started for the door. She stopped suddenly, grinning with a wicked look in her eyes. "Actually, why don't you come with me!" She ran back, grabbing his hoof, pulling him along with her into the dark hallways.

Shining could barely see. He couldn't imagine how she could either, especially with sunglasses on too. They snaked their way through the dark hallway, the noise of the music getting louder and that of a- audience?

She stopped suddenly. Shining nearly crashed into her. She put her hoof to the wall, pulling it aside. Shining realized that it was a curtain. On the far side, he could see a sea of ponies, with assorted glowing accessories dangling from their necks and hooves, whirling around. On the stage was a large desk-looking thing, with fully enclosed sides and an open back. She grinned and looked back at him.

"Okay, go out there down behind the sound deck!" She said.

"What?" He simultaneously couldn't hear her and even if he did, he didn't understand what she said. She pulled him closer and practically yelled into his ear.

"Go out there under the table! Stay low! And don't unplug any of the cables!" She pushed him out through the curtain, down to the floor of the dark stage. He wasn't sure what she wanted, but he sure didn't need to be seen on stage by pony-knows-who out there. Under the table was a mess of wires. In a sudden fit of sobriety, he realized that this was crazy and turned to crawl back through the curtain and leave like he knew he should. As soon as he turned around, his way was blocked by a pair of white legs as he heard her hooves thump on the table above him. The spotlights came up, illuminating the stage. He couldn't escape without being seen now. She yelled out and the crowd cheered. The music went from loud to deafening.

Several ear plugs littered the floor around him. He didn't dwell on whose ear wax he was going to be stuffing into his. Only that they kept him from actually going deaf as the sound system whirred to life around him. She started in on her first set. Once the track got going, her hoof appeared under the table in front of him, feeling around for something. In her search, she bopped him on the nose. Her hoof ran up his snout to his horn, taking it in her grip, pulling him toward her. Where his head lead, his body followed as he shuffled his hooves under himself.

He didn't understand what she was doing until she blatantly pulled his face into her crotch as she stood there on her hind legs, running the DJ table. With a quick push of his horn, she cocked his head back a bit, making his mouth open reflexively as she mashed her marehood against his waiting snout. He required no further direction as he wrapped his hooves around her thighs and set to work.

Above the table, Vinyl moved like lightning. Her hooves were a blur on the mixing board as her magic set the next track spinning, synchronizing it perfectly with the beat of the preceding one. She strained and winced her eyes, struggling to focus with the stallion slurping away in her lap. It was a challenge to maintain her composure. But it was a challenge she very much enjoyed. Tonight's set was a special one for the talent scouts in the audience tonight. She had rehearsed it several times before and moved on muscle memory. Just the same, her leg twitched involuntarily, catching her off guard. Shining sure wasn't making it easy for her.

He was no stranger to a mares flower, this being far from the first time he had foraged in the pussy buffet. Vinyl realized right away that he was no novice. His varied directions and speed of his tongue on her sensitive folds were a far cry from the bland, uninspired licking of other colts. Shining understood that finding the clitoris was all well and good. You get a little trophy and a pat on the back the first time you manage it. But it was only the proverbial tip of the iceberg.

Unlike a stallion, whose pleasure was a swift, steady ascent to climax, and then rapid denouement; a mares pleasure was a slow and bumpy rise to a high plateau. And once at that level, they could remain there for a long, long time. Shining took great discipline in giving attention to every part of her nethers. His tongue slid and flicked up and down along her slit, caressing her lips, spreading them, pulling as he gently sucked kisses along her petals.

The beat of the music reached a fever pitch, culminating in a crashing crescendo as the beat dropped for a pause. Vinyl rewarded Shining's efforts with her hoof running through his mane, pulling him into her harder, craving more. She gave his horn a few gentle stroke before she brought it back to the busy table. Not enough to really get anything going for him. But rather, it was meant as a sign of things yet to come. He looked up her white, fuzzy tummy. Laser lights whirled around above her and then froze with the music, Then, the banks of black-lights came up all at once. Not a half moment after the music had paused, the sub-woofers went into overdrive as the second half of the song picked up.

(Opening this song in a separate tab will only enhance your reading experience.)

The very stage rumbled beneath them with the powerful rhythm. Vinyl Scratch practically glowed as her white fur reacted to the black lights. In the dark concert room, she was as radiant as the sun. His memory of the dream of Celestia that morning had faded with the passing of the time over the course of the day. But seeing the DJ glowing like that above him, with her flavor still fresh on his lips, brought the vision of the dream back in crystal clarity.

He closed his eyes and allowed the reality around him to slip away once more as he pressed his snout back into the mares lap. He cranes and rolled his neck in little motions, the tip of his nose massaging her pubic mound and clitoral hood. He opened his jaw wide, cupping her whole crotch as his tongue snaked down to her honey hole, probing around the entrance.

Vinyl bit her lip. She could feel herself getting closer with each passing moment. Time moved for her in the only way she ever knew; beat by beat. By the beat of the tempo of the music, of the stallions mouth on her loins, of her heart pounding in her chest. Others in the industry had offered her various mind-altering substances. But she always refused. She didn't need it, or them. This moment, here and now, this rush of energy and endorphin, THIS was her high!

On either side of Shining's knees, she stood up on the very tips of her hooves as every fiber of her muscles tensed. He had been working tirelessly so far, but deliberately avoiding the one spot that would send her over the top. He tilted his head back for a final assault on her nub for a big finale. He barely touched her swollen clit when he felt her hoof on his head again, this time more aggressively, grabbing his mane in her hoof and pushing him away and downward.

Fearing that he had somehow overstimulated her, he didn't resist, and complied with the motion. But just as quickly, she pulled him toward her again. She scooted herself closer to the table and pushed him between her legs, lowering herself from on her tippy-hooves flat onto her hooves again. Shining, for his part didn't really understand what was happening from where he was. His face was in the underside of her blue tail. His confusion was given explanation as he felt her take a hold of his horn, guiding herself down onto it.

"Oh, I see what you're doing there." He said, more-or-less to himself. He craned his neck to help meet her halfway. As soon as she felt the tip slide down her pussy to her wanton entrance, she wasted no time sitting right down on his head. Shining had no difficulty taking the weight. He could easily support her, even in this exceptionally strange position. Her slightly-squatted stance hardly looked any different from her normal appearance to the crowd. The gyration of her hips was easily interpreted as grooving to the beat of the music. The reality behind the table was a much different story.

Vinyl took his horn into her wet vagina in a single, smooth motion, right to the hilt. Even spiral-ridged as it was, a simple up and down motion would have been woefully insufficient for the lustful unicorns. Once impaled, there she remained, rolling her hips and rocking forward and back, grinding her clit into the top of his head. Shining no longer had a front row seat to the action as before. Visually anyway. But the sensations of her pussy clenching and squeezing on his horn more than made up for it. The feeling of her warm, velvety love tunnel against his sensitive horn. And the trickle of her juices running down his cheek to the corner of his lips didn't hurt either.

The motion of her hips became more frantic. Her orgasm, so close before, denied, now returning with redoubled vigor. Her hips went from rocking, to shaking, to full-on convulsing as her orgasm overtook her. Crushed between her clenching thighs, Shining felt like his head was in a laundry machine on tumble as his brain rattled about inside his skull.

After a minute or so, her legs relaxed as the end of the track came down. Her climax had soaked his mane, plastering it to his head. His horn slipping from her warm nethers, he slumped to the floor, waiting for his world to stop spinning. Above him, her winking pussy continues to drip droplets of her wetness onto his cheek. The lights cut out once the song finished. She tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for the curtain. He scurried low across the floor, trying not to trip over his own erection.

From backstage, he watched the ivory unicorn finish her set to a roaring applause. She threw a couple of glow sticks out into the crowd as she walked off the stage. He expected her to head in the same direction as him. But she went off to the side, talking to a couple other ponies in suits. He couldn't hear what was said over the noise of the ambiance music and the crowd. But judging from her smile and enthusiastic hoofshake at the end, it seemed that whatever it was, it had gone well. Vinyl trotted back over to Shining, exiting the stage.

She took his hoof to lead him back through the the back hallway. As Vinyl and Shining got away from the noise he pulled his earplugs out. "They loved it!" She said, hugging him. "I have a meeting with them tomorrow for the contract signing! This is great!" She let him go and continued on. "Listen, about the noise, tonight is just a one-time thing. With this new deal, I'll be able to get a proper studio."

"Well, that's good. I don't want to-" He paused. "I was going to say, I don't want to have to come out here again. But if every time I did went like this, I suppose I wouldn't mind." He smiled. She gave him a coy grin in return. She put her hoof around the back of his neck, pulling him close, whispering into her ear.

"Well there's plenty more where that came from." She punctuated the sentence with a nibble on his ear.

Duet, Filly!

Shining Armor and Vinyl Scratch reached her bedroom door. Before she opened it for them, she waited, turning back to Shining.

"Um, listen, could you wait here for just a sec? I need to take care of something first." She said.

"Yeah, okay." He took a step to the side, letting the other unicorn go first. Vinyl opened the door and stepped inside. He didn't remember them leaving the light on when they'd left.

"Tavia!" She said inside. Shining peered from around the corner, out in the dark hallway. A grey earth pony with a black mane was sitting at the vanity. She had a standalone white collar with a violet bow that matched her eyes, which were currently perusing a book from behind a set of red-framed reading glasses. Vinyl reared up and spread her hooves for a hug. Before being tackled, Octavia raised a hoof, requesting 'one moment please' as she finished the paragraph she was reading.

She nodded at the last three words and placed a bookmark in the page before setting it down, along with her glasses. Vinyl remained up on her hind legs, waiting patiently. Octavia stood and embraced the DJ. Vinyl pulled her in tight and kissed her passionately.

"It went well I take it?" She said, parting the kiss. Shining could tell that she had a distinct Trottingham accent.

"Yeah! I'm in!" Vinyl said excitedly, giving her best bedroom eyes to the earth pony. "So, I was thinking we could do that 'something special' tonight to celebrate."

"Certainly, my love. This is quite the auspicious occasion for it"

"Shining?" She called out. He poked his head into the light of the doorway. "Come on in." The grey mare looked him over with a critical eye.

"Your brother, Vinyl? Forgive me, but this is a bit much, even for you."

"What? No!" She refuted. "You've met my bother. This isn't him."

"Well dear, I don't want to question the fidelity of your father, but you must admit, his appearance is quite striking."

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence." Shining said, a bit nervous. He hadn't expected the night to go like this at all. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that you would be here. She just kind of sprung this on me. Tavia was it?"

"Octavia." She said. "And yes, Vinyl here has an nefarious habit of acting impulsively." She said. But she tempered the criticism with a gentle stoke of her hoof through her blue mane. "But it keeps me on the tips of my hooves."

"Um," Shining tried to find the words, scratching his head. "not to be too forward, but is this going to be like a three-way? Because that kinda seems like the impression I was getting." Down the hall the last of the music stopped as the crowd started to file out into the streets.

"Ugh. Finally." Octavia said, putting a hoof to her temple, enjoying the relative peace of the quiet. "No Mister Shining, I'm afraid not. Well rather, you're half right. About this half." She motioned to Vinyl beside her. "Nothing personal. But you're not my type." Shining looked back and forth between himself and Vinyl Scratch.

"Um, are you sure about that? White coat and blue mane?" He asked.

"She means that she's not into stallions." Vinyl explained. "I'm Bi."

"Oh."

"Don't misunderstand. Objectively you are quite a fine specimen. And if it pleases Vinyl, then who am I to deny her of that half of her sexuality?" She said. "Barring of course that I am at least tangentially involved in the process." Shining gave them a confused look.

"She likes to watch." Vinyl translated again.

"Oh."

"Would that be alright with you Mister Shining?"

"Um, yeah. That's fine, I guess." He said. The mares shared another passionate kiss, unabashed by the stallion looking on. Vinyl whispered something in her ear. Octavia looked at Shining one more time and then nodded to her. The DJ gave her another kiss and then walked over to the bed, settling on top of the duvet. Octavia, meanwhile, resumed her seat in the chair and replaced the glasses on the bridge of her nose, and picked up where she'd left off on her book.

Shining trotted past her, gaining not so much as a glance as he joined her marefriend on the bed. He sat beside her, unsure of how to proceed. That was usually the case when there were more than two participants involved in the bedroom. Not everypony was on the same page. This time, he was the odd pony out. She sensed his reticence, taking the lead. She grabbed his hooves and pulled him on top of her. She buried her muzzle into the fur of his chest.

Vinyl lost herself in the feeling of the stallion on top of her. She was in love with Octavia, no doubt. She loved everything about her, as a lover and a friend. But from time to time, she craved a stallion. It was no simple fix. They'd gone to adult stores and purchased a strap-on, and double ended phallus to fill her need, in both senses of the word. But the earth pony did not care for the penetration of the double ended one.

"It's just so blunt and... ugly looking, quite frankly. She complained after trying it for the first time. She reassured her that her tongue and her horn were sufficient to keep her satisfied. The strap-on fared little better. Vinyl was practically frothing at the mouth when Octavia wore it for the first time. It did the job all right. But the earth pony lacked the stamina of her male counterpart to make a complete event of it. "All that humping and banging, it's just so... not feminine."

Vinyl loved Octavia. Octavia had no doubt about that. If this would be the answer to her occasional stallion need, then so be it. But more than just having a penis, Shining had other qualities that just couldn't be reproduced with a mere latex toy. With her nose in his fur, she could smell the masculine musk of his sweat. The broad frame and heavy muscles of his chest and legs. The baritone grunts of his movement. She ran her hooves over his strong back muscles.

She moved further down, beneath him. His scent grew stronger where his hips rubbed against her belly. His arousal returned with a little coaxing, pressing into her chest, eventually growing to bump into her chin. After the show earlier, he couldn't help but reflexively roll his hips, grinding his shaft against her soft fur. A droplet of fluid appeared at his tip. She stuck out her tongue to lick the head of his dick.

Shining's mind became acutely aware of her actions as he felt her hot tongue licking his stallionhood. He glanced to the side. Octavia remained motionless in the chair. She hadn't moved at all since they'd started. "Likes to watch, indeed." He thought. Was it only enough that she be in the same room? His mental inquiry was extinguished the moment he felt Vinyl take the head of his shaft into her mouth and began sucking. He let out a stifled groan before she pulled it free with a 'pop'. She pushed him to the side, causing him to roll over.

On top now, she angled him on the bed so that they were both facing away from Octavia. If shining cared to look past the mare on top of him, He'd see her still reading. But he was more focused on the unicorn in his lap. Free to move about on top of him, she arched her back, taking a hold of his shaft and pointing it toward the ceiling. Never letting go, she started to slowly rub her hooves up and down his length. Her horn began to glow and he felt her magic tingle as she gently kneaded and massaged his balls.

Vinyl glanced over her shoulder. She never judged her marefriend for not being attracted to stallions. But she could never really understand it either. The 'liking mares' part she totally got. But to not like an entire gender was a strange concept to her. It seemed like it would be like missing out on half the fun in life. She wanted Octavia to see how much fun it could be. But how to get her attention? How does one get the attention of a mare who can tune out blatant fellatio less than six feet from her?

Vinyl diverted her magic from massaging his balls and flipped the corner of her reading glasses, knocking them from her nose. Octavia rolled her eyes, knowing perfectly well what Vinyl was playing at. She glanced over at the entwined ponies on the bed. Vinyl gave re a wry grin, wagging his shaft in her hooves like a metronome before sucking on it to an obscene amount. Octavia grimaced.

"Really Vinyl? Must you be so... ugh." She set her glasses back on her nose. "Am I to kiss that mouth ever again after that? Can't you just... use as intended?" She said in euphemism. Vinyl pulled his shaft from her mouth.

"But Tavi, this is half the fun. You like it when I go down on you. Can't stallions enjoy a little oral too?" She punctuated her sentence with a long lick along the underside of his shaft. Octavia's eyes turned back to her book. Vinyl flipped a few pages with her magic, causing her to lose her place.

"Vinyl I-" Her words fell short as she looked over again. Then her marefriend had flagged her tail to the side, flashing her nethers to her. She reached back and gave her white flank a solid smack with her hoof. Octavia was in a trance as she watched the ripple shiver across her firm butt. She'd fallen in love with those firm flanks the moment she'd laid her eyes on them. Now, as then before, they beckoned to her. Octavia's hooves moved out from under her, carrying her over to the edge of the bed. "Well, I suppose I should indulge before he ruins it." She took Vinyl's tail in her hoof, keeping it pulled out of the way as she planted gentle kisses on her marehood.

Vinyl resumed her work, sucking off the stallion. Shining looked down his belly at her. She just stared right back at him with those deep, magenta eyes. It was then that he noticed that her marefriend was no longer in her chair. He could see her head under Vinyl's tail, working her over with her tongue. She was clearly enjoying what he had already earlier that night. Vinyl moaned onto his cock, sending shivers up his spine. He was trying not to cum too quickly, but the vibration of her mouth on him was not making it easy.

Octavia could sense that he wouldn't be much longer. She gave her marefriend a subtle push with her hoof. The white unicorn moved up his body until her marehood hovered just above the head of his penis.

Vinyl help to guide his shaft, rubbing it against her slit a bit before pushing it lower into her wetness. Shining was gentle, applying a steady pressure at her entrance. Her obvious experience with his stallionhood belied any notion of her being a virgin with the opposite gender. But the resistance he faced could have fooled him otherwise. Bit by bit, she stretched around his swollen glans, until at last, the flared head popped inside. She let out a moan, a mix of pleasure and pain at the girth filling her entrance. It really must have been a long time for the sapphic mare. She was the tightest pussy he'd ever experienced.

Her saliva soaked the rest of his shaft. With the widest part already inside her, he gave a small push up into her. A bit more slipped inside her. He pulled back a little, keeping his head still inside before pushing again. This time a little more managed its way into her vagina. She helped by pushing back down as well. Being on top let her control the pace of her descent down his pole She was agonizingly tight. Though slowly but surely, more of his shaft began to vanish into her white tummy. With each thrust, the next took one deeper. After his medial ring slipped inside, she rode the rest of the way down, until her hips met his. She took a moment to just sit there and enjoy the feeling.

Much to his surprise, he felt the weight of Octavia shift onto the bed. His view of Vinyl riding his dick became occluded by the grey earth pony straddling his body. Vinyl didn't waste a second, grabbing her flanks and licking her pussy while bobbing up and down on Shining's penis. She was quite the multitasker. Octavia's eyes fluttered. Under her, Shining wasn't really sure where to look. So he just closed his eyes and focused on the sensation of Vinyl riding his shaft.

"So, Mister Shining, what do you do?" Octavia asked him. He opened his eyes again. She was looking down at him.

"Wha- what?"

"For work. Do you have a day occupation when you are not a consort?" She asked in casual conversation, as though neither of them were involved in a two-and-a-half-way.

"Consort!?"

"Well, whatever the term you use. Do you have other work?" She asked. Shining tried to form a complete thought in spite of the tight pussy milking his dick. It was a proving to be a Herculean task.

"R- royal. Guard."

"Oh? Enlisted?"

"C-c-captain." He stammered, feeling Vinyl's magic on his scrotum again.

"Mmm, an officer. So you would have to have gone to the academy."

"Yes."

"Did you do well?"

"Yes."

"Top of your claAAhhh-" Octavia moaned as Vinyl hit her sensitive nub. "Excuse me for a moment." She closed her eyes and bit her lip. Vinyl redoubled her effort on her marefriend's pussy. Octavia felt a tension in her belly reach its breaking point. "Ngh, ngh nghhhhmmmfff." She stifled her moan. Shining felt a bit of wetness drop from her onto his stomach. Out of curiosity he reached down with his hoof and brought it to his lips to taste her. This did not go unnoticed as she regained her composure. "Tell me, do you enjoy cunnilingus?"

"Uh..."

"Performing it, I mean." Octavia corrected herself.

"Yeah." He answered.

"Oh he's great!" Vinyl said from behind her, taking a short break from bobbing on his dick. "You should try him." Octavia looked back at Shining, unsure of what she wanted to do. "Come on! Your pussy can't tell the difference."

"Have you brushed your teeth today?" She asked him. He looked past her at Vinyl who was nodding her head rapidly.

"Uh, yes. Yes ma'am. Oral hygiene is a very important part of my life." He said a normally as he could with the two mares on him.

"I- I suppose I could try..." Octavia said, turning around slowly on top of him. She turned and kissed Vinyl. She could still taste herself on her lips. She didn't mind a bit. She lowered her hips to Shining's face, pausing at the last second. "Just- just don't do anything penis-y!"

"What!?" He asked at the absurd statement. Vinyl rolled her eyes.

"That's her super-adult way of saying 'don't somehow transform your tongue into a cock and fuck her'." She explained.

"Um, you got it." He assured her.

"Hmff." Octavia huffed before lowering herself. "Right then. You may begin." She sat down, shifting her hips from side to side, nestling herself onto his snout as though her were a favorite chair. Shining was a bit unprepared at first. But he'd managed to take a deep breath just before she mounted his face. It was pressed into her quite snugly. He wasted no time and set to work showing this mare just how well he could 'cunnilingus' her. His broad tongue ran down her slit. Vinyl watched as the tip of his tongue appeared and then disappeared between her legs.

Octavia, on the other hoof, was watching Vinyl squatting up and down on his massive length. She put a hoof to her white tummy, feeling the bulge it made move through her. It all looked so dreadfully invasive to her. But to his credit, Vinyl was correct about his mare-pleasing oral abilities. Even if it were not riding on the coattails of her previous climax, she was well on her way to a second.

KNOCK KNOCK

The Vinyl ceased her bouncing as two mares looked to the door. Shining was deaf to the world with his ears clamped between her thighs. The stallion that Vinyl had ordered earlier poked his head inside the doorway.

"Um... I'm here for the gang-bang."

Octavia and her mare traded glances. She looked down at the sizable bulge protruding from her tummy before looking back at the consort.

"The position had been filled." Octavia said, dismissing the latecomer. As the door closed, Vinyl resumed her bouncing, giving his shaft a powerful squeeze of her muscles. Octavia rubbed his shaft through her belly.

It was all too much for the stallion. The feeling of the extra pressure of her hoof on him through her stomach pushed him over the edge. He cried out into a face-full of pussy to try to warn them. "Mmff! MMFF!" The vibrations of his moans against her clit set Octavia off for the second time. His muffled cry of desperation was answered only with a flood of her marecum into his mouth. His cock flared inside the unicorn, signalling the point of no return. In a last ditch effort, he tried to pull out of her, lifting her off of him with his magic. Octavia was sitting with her plot against the side of his horn, the tip bumping against the base of her tail. She felt the tingle of his magic against her anus, further enhancing her orgasm. She saw him try to lift Vinyl Scratch off of his dick.

"Oh no you don't!" She said, lurching forward. As her hips lifted from his face, he got his first breath of fresh air. It was immediately taken away as Octavia landed on Vinyl, with her hooves landing on her shoulders, slamming her back down on his pulsing shaft. His flared head pressed squarely against her cervix as he exploded inside her. Vinyl cried out as she felt rope after rope of his hot seed spraying into her. Even though he'd taken care of himself that morning, his load was massive from the build-up of the evening. His magic effort fizzled in the overwhelming wake of his climax.

Octavia straddled his chest now, pressing a hoof into Vinyl's groin, against her clit. Combined with the sensation of him pulsating inside her and the mounting pressure, her pussy trembled in orgasm of her own, gripping and milking him for every drop, trying somehow to suck him even deeper into her. Shining's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he skirted the edge of unconsciousness.

As his vision returned, he found himself rolled onto his side, Vinyl was slumped on her side beside him. Octavia lifted her marefriend's hind end and propped it with pillows. He sat up and recovered from nearly suffocating, and then drowning. Lil' shiny retreated back into his sheath. Beside him, Octavia leaned over her marefriend, kissing her as she rubbed her white belly.

Shining stood up beside the bed, and straightened his mane. He ran his hoof through it. It was still wet with a variety of fluids. He would certainly need another shower when he got home.

Home

He realized that it was unfashionably, unreasonably late. So much so, that it was now early. He stank of sex. And he was dreading going back to his home in such a condition. But more than that, he was afraid of spending the night in the same house while his deviant sister was in town.

"Um, it's kind of late." He said. "Do you mind if I crash here for the night?"

"I'm afraid that could prove difficult." Octavia said. Indeed, she and Vinyl took up the whole of the queen size bed. And she'd given her all but one of the pillows for herself.

"We could go to your place." Vinyl said to Octavia.

"No. You stay right where you are." She said, and then looked to Shining. "I can't really offer you anything but the floor. Perhaps you would be better suited to find your own accommodations. Do you need-" She reached for her pouch of bits on the bedside table.

"Ah, no, that's not necessary. I really don't want to make this officially my moonlighting." He said.

"Oh. You really are a gentlecolt." She smiled. "Let me at least show you out." She stood from the bed, walking with him toward the door. Vinyl waved goodbye from the bed. Her butt on top of a pile of pillows with her nethers still on full display."

"It was nice meeting you. Thanks for not arresting me." She said. Octavia gave him a strange look.

"Eh, it's a long story. I'm sure she'll tell you later." He said.

The hallways were actually better lit now that the show was over. Sconces on the wall flickered as they passed.

"All this music equipment and yet, candles?"

"They're electric." She said. He looked closer. Indeed, the little flames were actually little bulbs.

"Oh."

"Vinyl had good taste in choosing you. I rather enjoyed it at the end. I must admit you were quite talented."

"Yeah?" He asked.

"For a stallion." She qualified her statement.

"Oh." He sighed. She bumped him with her shoulder.

"Take the complement!" She smiled. "It's the best you're going to get from this fillyfooler."

"Okay."

"But I don't think I'll indulging in it again in the foreseeable future." She said. They reached the exit and she opened the door. "Well, thank you for giving Vinyl... a lovely evening."

"It was my pleasure." He smiled. She returned a smirk of her own.

"I'm sure." She closed the door. Leaving him alone in the dark alleyway.

Author's Note

1037233

Knighting Ale

"ROOM, TENCH HUT!"

"Carry on." Shining wavered a hoof at the break room of the barracks, setting the other guards back at ease.

"Hey Captain, how did you get roped into weekend duty?" One of them asked.

"I already told you. I live here." He said.

"Um, when?"

"Earlier today-" Shining suddenly realized that it was tomorrow already. The evening shift had already retired and it was a whole different crew now. "Never mind." He walked through the room and out of the other side toward the shower room. His mane was plastered to his head. He hadn't slept for nearly twenty four hours. He was looking like five miles of awful.

After he exited the room, the other stallions traded whispers.

"Did you guys smell that?"

"The Cap must'a been rollin in mares last night!"

"Lucky bastard!"

Lucky indeed. Two mares at the same time. Who could argue that is wasn't every stallion's fantasy. The names of a few colt-cuddlers came to his mind as he turned on the shower valve.

"Every straight stallion's fantasy, anyway." He mumbled, putting his head under the water. It took a moment to warm up. The cool shock at first waking him from his half-asleep state. He took a mouthful to wet his whistle. And another to take the edge off his thirst before it warmed. The water did indeed turn warmer, relaxing his tired muscles. He was looking forward to the on-call cot in the back of the residence room for the first time since basic. It wasn't even close to comfortable. But at this point, he would sleep wherever he fell.

He took a single-serving shampoo from the tile shelf, lathering it into his mane. It was not his usual scent. He found it was a bottle of Splitting Maul brand combination shampoo and body wash.

"Great." He complained sarcastically. "Now I get to spend the rest of the day smelling like an overly-optimistic, angst-y colt." He continued scrubbing his mane. Some of the... fun from last night had begun to harden in his hair, making it a damn nightmare to unsnarl. Still though, two mares at the same time. He could only complain so hard. He smiled at the memory. But not at the novelty of two mares. Rather, he found himself fixating on the unicorn, Vinyl Scratch. There was just something about her.

He couldn't place his hoof on it. But the distinct memory of the evening was watching her sitting on his cock, her creamy white thighs straddling his. Their fur, blending together almost seamlessly. His mind wandered to the scene from under the turn table, looking up at her as the black-lights caused her ivory fur to practically glow in radiance. It was like looking into the sun and trying not to squint. Something he'd tried before...

While searching for his sister at the Summer Sun Celebration all those years ago, Shining saw Princess Celestia slowly walk out onto the stage. It was a feat she had done countless times before. But for just once a year, it was truly something special. She smiled gently at her adoring subjects. Her gaze passing over the crowd. Shining watched from several rows back, wide-eyed, seeing the Princess of Equestria for the first time, first-hoof.

His eyes adjusted. He could see the Princess again. Having completed the spell, Celestia opened her eyes and looked back down at her audience. The rest of the crowd cheered and stomped their hooves. After a few moments, Celestia exited the stage, back to the castle. Shining, for his part, knew in that moment what he wanted to do. He was going to join the royal guard. But for now, all he could think about was how beautiful Celestia was. He couldn't wait for the next chance he would have to see her. As fate would have it, he wouldn't have to wait long.

After studying a menagerie of books for several days, His sister proved to be quite the adept magical filly. His parents had signed her up for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. But there was just one problem. She had to pass an entrance exam. The entire Sparkle family walked together to the school. They found, with little difficulty, the room where the test would be conducted.

"Shining dear," his mother said to her colt, "why don't you wait out here in the hallway?"

"Yeah. Alright." He said, sitting on one of the hallway benches. He'd had tests before. There wasn't much exciting about them. He couldn't imagine watching somepony else take a test being any more interesting. His parents escorted his sister inside the classroom while he sat and looked out of the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the hallway of that building's floor.

He sat there, tapping his hoof on the marble floor in rhythm with the beat in his head. He tried to think of rhyming words for the latest song he was writing for his band. Suddenly, there was a flash in the sky. Concentric prismatic circles were radiating away from Cloudsdale, shimmering in the sky. The front passed overhead, accompanied by a deafening blast, shattering the glass windows. On reflex, Shining brought up a shield, protecting himself from the shards. But that was just the beginning of the problems.

No sooner had the glass been safely deflected did he feel a magical surge run from his horn, down his spine. The bits of glass were levitated up into the air all around him in a purple haze. And then there was a massive rumble. Above him he heard something smash through the roof. A large piece of stone structure fell through the ceiling above him. Stone bricks and wooden beams fell around him, piling on top of the shield bubble he held with all his might.

That was when she appeared. Princess Celestia glided through the empty window frame. Her broad, white wings held her aloft as she fluttered to the floor. The hovering glass moved aside as she moved through the space, clearing a path for her to walk, as though in silent reverence. She took the debris in her yellow aura and cast it aside safely away from him. He watched her go. She looked at him briefly as she passed, lifting him in her magic away from the carnage around him, placing him gently on the floor. She looked at him with those beautiful violet eyes and then walked into the classroom. He sat there a moment, surrounded by broken glass, rubbing his head from the magic strain. And partly from the daze of the majesty he had just witnessed. He shook it off and he scrambled to his hooves, running into the classroom after her.

"Yesyesyesyesyesyes yes yes!" Twilight Sparkle was hopping in circles around Princess Celestia.

"Shining," his father said, "Your sister passed the test! She's going to be enrolled!"

"And she's going to be Celestia's personal protege!" His mother added.

"And I got my Cutie Mark!" Twilight sang as she bounced over to him.

"Wow!" Shining said. "That's amazing!" Twilight blushed. Celestia turned her attention to the colt.

"You're pretty amazing yourself, Shining." Celestia said, walking over to him.

oh my gosh oh my gosh! The princess is talking to me!

"You have quite a talent there with that shield spell. A lesser pony would have been buried!"

"Thank you, Princess." He bowed

"I have use for a fine young stallion such as yourself." She said. "Have you ever considered joining the royal guard?"

I would do everything to you.
"I would do anything for you."

"Splendid! I can show you to our recruiter's office!" She smiled. "And as for you," she tapped Twilight on the shoulder with her hoof, "we'll be watching your career with great interest."

Shining blinked. His head was cold from leaning against the tile wall. His body was cold as the water had long since run exhausted of any heat. He must have nodded off there for a moment. He stirred his feet and yawned.

"Hey he's awake!" Someone yelled nearby. Shining turned off the water and turned around. There were several ponies standing there, staring at him. Several more came rushing in after the shout.

"Oh shit! What time is it!" One of them yelled.

"Twelve thirty four!" Another said. Most of the ponies groaned, disappointed. One jumped up and squealed in apparent delight.

"What the hell is going on?" Shining demanded. One of the ponies handed him a towel.

"You passed out in the shower. We had a betting pool to see when you'd wake up."

"Who's got two hooves and fifty bits?" The winner asked the crowd, still dancing. "This stallion!"

"You all have too much bucking time on your hooves!" Shining snapped, walking past the crowd as he dried himself.
.....

The rest of the afternoon was relatively uneventful. That is, until the evening rolled around.

"Hey Captain, you said you were buying the first round tonight right?" Said one of the two new guys from the previous evening.

"Captain's buying the first round!?" Another piped up. For the second time that day, he was surrounded by a crowd of uncomfortable onlookers.

"Yeah, that was what he said last night! That he would buy the first round of drinks tonight!"

"I meant for just the two of you. Not the entire squadron..." Shining growled through his teeth. It went unnoticed. The chanting had already begun as dayshift cleared out, carrying the captain to the bar.

"First round! First round! First round!"

"Captain, you rock!"

"Wooo Captain!"

Well at least it would be good for morale. Yeah, it would set him back a few bits. He tried counting the head of the crowd below him. Okay, maybe more than just a few bits. But what could it hurt in the long run? If only he knew.

Several hours later

"HEY GUYS! WATCH THIS!" Shining yelled out, extremely intoxicated.

Famous last words.

...beep...

Shining Armor opened his eyes. He immediately regretted the decision. The sun was glaring brightly at him. But at least he was in bed.

...beep...

"UGH!" That damn alarm clock. He tried to swing at it blindly. But his hoof refused to move. He squinted into the brightness. His hoof was tangled in the sheet. The beeping got faster as he struggled.

...beep...beep...beep...

"ARG!" He could only manage guttural utterances. He reached out with his magic at the noise. His attempt was answered with an excruciating bolt of pain.

beep! beep! beep!

"AHH!" He cried out.

"Woah woah woah! Easy now!" He heard voice come. It still hurt to try to have his eyes open. He couldn't see who it was. A white blur moved around him. "Try not to struggle, it'll only make the pain worse!"

"Vinyl?" He groaned.

"Do you know where you are?" She asked, moving around the other side of the bed.

"Wha- I, no." He said. As his eyes slowly adjusted, the edges of the world started to come into focus. The bright light was a ceiling light. She was an earth pony with light blues eyes and white fur with a pink mane, done up in a bun under her white paper hat.

"You're in the hospital. My name is Nurse Redheart. I'll be overseeing your recovery. Your friends brought you in here late last night. Do you remember what happened?"

"I- I can't." Shining struggled. A hospital? Well, that would explain the beeping.

"I wouldn't think you'd be able too. Your blood alcohol level was very high. You're lucky to be alive."

"Bah, my liver can take it. I've trained it well." He boasted.

"That's not what I mean." She said. His eyes finally focused. His hoof was in a cast, suspended in a sling.

"My leg!"

"I'm afraid that's not all." She held up a mirror. Shining squinted with one eye to stave off the double vision. Sure enough, he could see the crack running across his horn.

"Oh no."

"Don't worry. It just looks worse than it is." She said putting the mirror away. "Your leg and horn both suffered minor fractures. I've prescribed a healing salve that should save your horn. And bed rest to let your Radius fracture knit."

"Radius?" He asked.

"Your Radius bone." She explained. He still gave her a confused look. "Your shin bone."

"Oh." He sighed. "So what happened?" She reached into the tray at the foot of the hospital bed and pulled out the clipboard.

"Well, since you asked, I actually have the full report right here." She smiled and flipped a couple of pages. She read the report aloud,"Patient: Adult stallion with white fur and a blue mane. Identified as one, Shining Armor; was admitted with a fractured horn and leg. Blood test showed that his blood alcohol level was point three one." She looked up from the paper, speaking to him directly. "I don't care how well 'trained' you think your liver is. Point three one is no joke. Point three five tends to put most ponies into a coma, and point four zero is almost always fatal. You are lucky to be alive." She said in a very serious tone.

"But, how did my horn and leg..."

"I have a statement here from one of your... 'friends'." She smiled insincerely. She looked back a the clipboard, flipping the page. "Shortly after you were sent to triage, this statement was taken from one of the ponies who brought you in."

"Who?"

"The name listed is... Buster Colon." She glanced up as him and raised an eybrow. "I assume that that is an fake name. Ahem, one Buster Colon was recorded as saying thus:" She proceeded to read the statement in flat tone with a completely straight face.

So the captain buys the first round right? But we're all like 'dang he really shelled out a lotta bits for us you know? So me and the guys are all like, we should buy the cap a shot! So I did. And then they all did too. He took 'em like a champ too. We were totally shit-faced. But then he started getting all mushy and shit like a little bitch, crying and stuff! So I called him out on it. And he was all like, 'fuck you I ain't no bitch! I'll jump from the roof into that hay cart.' Yeah, well he jumped, but his aim wasn't so good you know what I mean? So he comes down bad and face-plants into the road. When he didn't get up or nothing we brought him here. He's gonna be alright though, right?

"When we assured Mr... Colon that you would be okay, he and his cohorts made themselves scarce."

"They're not cohorts. They're my friends."

"If you say so. But before the brought you here, they took the time to decorate your back with a black magic marker phallus." She held up the mirror again. He twisted his neck to look. Part of him couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship clearly put forth by a bunch of staggering drunks. His eyes were greeted with the biggest, veiny-est black beast of a horse cock running along the entire length of his back.

"Those fucking cohorts!" He yelled. Nurse Redheart replaced the clipboard to the basket.

"Get some rest. I'll be back shortly to run a couple more tests and begin your treatment." After she left the room. Time seemed to pass very slowly. But with no windows of clocks, he couldn't really yell if it had been five minutes of five hours. In either case, she returned just as she had promised. She pushed a cart with a tray on it. The tray in turn, had two bottles, two buckets, and a cup. She poured some liquid from one of the bottles into the cup, giving it to him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's a very effective, all natural diuretic." She said.

"What?"

"It's just water. Drink. I'm sure you must be thirsty." She said. He brought the cup to his lips and drank. Nurse Redheart was ready with the bucket.

BLAAARGHHHH!!!

Shining vomited into the bucket. It was jet black and made his mouth taste like an ash tray.

"What the fu- am I DYING?"

"No Shining. That's just activated charcoal that we gave you to absorb any alcohol left in your system." She refilled his cup. "Rinse and spit." He did so a couple of times. "But please do drink some water. We've given you IV fluids, but you're probably still very dehydrated." Several cups of water later, and he was feeling the diuretic effect of water.

"Um, I need to use the restroom." He said.

"That's good."

"Why?"

"Well for one, it means your kidneys still work, so there's that."

"Yay?"

"And two, I need a urine sample for the lab." She said, handing him the other bucket and pointing toward the bathroom. "Do you think you are able to walk on three legs?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to whoooaaahh!" Shining tried to sit up in bed but suddenly the whole room felt like it was spinning around him as he fell backwards onto the pillow again. He felt like he was going to vomit again, but he suppressed it.

"Dizzy?"

"Mmhmm." He groaned.

"Yes, well, that is a common side effect with horn injuries. Headaches, pain and vertigo." She opened the other bottle. "Just keep your head still. This should help." She squeeze some cream from the bottle into her hoof. "I'm going to apply this healing topical salve for your horn. It will expedite the time to heal, and also relieve some of the side effects."

"Okay." He said. She leaned over him, applying the salve to his horn, gently rubbing and spreading it all over his horn for complete coverage. Shining felt the effects immediately. The room stopped spinning, and his headache dulled. "Ohhh, it's a miracle!"

"No. Micro-suede is a miracle." She said. "This is just practical alchemy." She continued to rub in the salve. However, what she, as an earth pony could not understand, or at least not fully appreciate, was that for a unicorn, the horn is a sensitive, nay, erogenous zone. But she was about to find out first-hoof.

"Ngh." Shining grunted as his rapidly hardening shaft bumped into her soft underbelly through the blanket. They both looked down at the contact. "Uh, sorry about that."

"It's alright." She said calmly. "I sometimes forget that can happen for unicorn stallions. It's a perfectly natural reaction."

"Yeah. I know. My dad told me. When I was thirteen." He said nervously.

"Well, um, your horn should be okay for now. I suppose you can do it yourself in the futur-"

"No!" He blurted out a little faster than he meant to. "I mean, I mean I don't... mind you doing it. For me."

"Okay then." She went to leave with the tray. "Oh, I do still need a urine sample for the lab to check your levels."

"Uh, I don't think I'm going to be able to." He said.

"But you just said you needed to use the restroom a moment ago. If you feel like you still can't stand just yet you can lay on your side on the edge of the bed and use the bucket."

"Well, I mean because of..." He pointed at the tent in the sheet.

"Oh. Um, well do you suppose that it will- go away soon?" She asked.

Shining thought about that. He tried to not think about her giving him another horn job. He tried hard not to think about her white coat. He tried very specifically to not think about her leaning over him again while he dry humped against her soft white fur while she unfurled her royal wings and used her horn to raise the sun while he painted her flowing mane with his creamy-

"I don't think so."

"Oh. Well, if you need to... take care of things, I can leave and wait for you to call me back."

"But my horn and hoof are both broken." He said.

"What about your other hoof?" She asked. Shining rolled his eyes.

"Look, I don't know how it works for mares, but I've been using the same hoof my whole life. I can't just switch now." He said in a serious tone.

"Well then I guess we'll just have to wait until it goes away." She said, walking away with the cart.

"Wait!" He called after her. She stopped.

"Yes?"

"What if- what if it doesn't? Wouldn't that be bad?"

"Well, if it's still... an issue after four hours they-"

"Come on." Shining pleaded with doe eyes. "I'm in pain." Nurse Redheart was about to just ignore him and leave. But she couldn't deny that it was certainly the biggest tent she'd seen in quite some time. Her long hours made it very difficult to have any kind of a personal life. Let alone date one of the few single stallions out there. She glanced out into the hallway. It was early morning quiet still. She was curious to see it at full mast.

"Are you saying that you need me to... help you?"

"Yes. I need your help."

"Well, I am bound by my oath to help a pony in need." She said as she closed and locked the door. "Can you show me where it hurts?" Shining pouted and pointed at his demanding erection under the blanket. "Now, let's see what the trouble is." She put on a pair of latex hoof protectors, and peeled back the blanket, letting his shaft spring free. "Oh my, there seems to be a considerable of... swelling." She grinned, taking his shaft in her hooves. "I'll need to palpate the area." She slowly began to stroke his shaft.

She started slowly, applying a bit of the salve for lubricant. Her latex slid smoothly over his veiny ridges, sensitive head and medial ridge. She changed up her rhythm a little. She started going a little faster, then slowing again. She gave his shaft a good squeeze, applying a constant pressure. A bit of precum began to form at the tip. She was about to spread it with her hoof but she got another idea.

"Hmm." She looked it over intently as she stroked him. "So swollen. It could be the result of a venomous bite." She said. Stroking it faster. "I'll have to... suck the venom out." She said, licking her lips. "Do you want me to kiss the boo boo?"

"Mmh, yes please! Make it all better." He played along. She stuck out her tongue and ran it along his shaft from the base up to the tip, flicking it. Then she opened her mouth and took the head of his penis inside, closing her lips around it and bobbing her head. While her tongue swirled around on him in her mouth, her hooves kept up their frantic pace. Her mouth was heavenly. Wet and soft and very warm in stark contrast to the cold hospital room. He felt himself hitting the back of her mouth, causing her to gag a little. Clearly she was out of practice, but he could hardly hold it against her. She popped him out of her mouth to take a breath, and kept up her hoof job.

Ooh, but it's so cold in here." Shining whined playfully. "If only there was someplace warm I could put this all." He smirked. Redheart wavered for a moment. She already knew that this was getting out of hoof. The hoof job alone. She never intended to put her mouth on him. And now this? But still, after all this, she was starting to get really worked up herself.

"I'll- I'll rub it against it. But that's it!" She compromised. She climbed up onto the hospital bed with him, straddling his waist. She pinned his dick down flat against his belly as she rubbed herself with her hoof, getting it extra wet. Then she squatted down as pressed her hot pussy against the side of his shaft. She grabbed onto the rails of the bed and slid along the length of his shaft, getting it completely wet with her juices. As she rolled her hips forward and back with her motions, Shining bucked his hips a little in opposition to maximize the motion. It sent little shivers of electricity up her spine each time her swollen clit would bounce across his medial ridge. Each time it pushed her a little closer and closer. She reached down with her hoof and rubbed herself as she went. One last bounce across his ridge.

"Ohhhaagh!" She moaned as he felt her soaking his fur with her wetness. He reached up with his good hoof, running it through her mane and pulling her to him. She reveled in her orgasm, kissing him deeply as he pulled her higher up along his torso. A bit too high, and she slid up over the tip of his shaft. He tried to slide her back down onto it but it had lifted up, pushing into her hot, inviting entrance. Before she could react, his head popped inside of her wanting hole.

"Whoa whoa!" She stopped, pulling herself off of him. "Not inside." He frowned. She did too. She wanted it. She really did. But she couldn't risk having foals. And without any latex cond-. "Actually..." She pulled the latex covering from her hoof and stretched it over his shaft. It only covered about a quarter of his shaft, but it would do the job. Better still, leaving his sensitive ridge exposed.

She realigned herself, pushing back down against his tip, letting it slid into her freely this time. She relaxed, breathing heavily while taking more of him into her. She knelt straight up, straddling him as his medial ridge vanished up inside of her as she sat on his lap, bottoming out her hips against his. It took her a moment to adjust to having something that large in her after so long. Once she was used to his girth filling her, she got to really rutting him properly.

Each time she came down, he bucked his hips up into her, slapping their thighs together. The metal frame of the bed squeaked in time with their motion. The wheels, even locked as the were, pivoted and rolled, letting the headboard hit against the wall. Her paper nurse hat fell from her head as she bounded off of one of his more forceful thrusts. It tumbled to the floor as the bun in her mane came loose, spilling her pink hair. She continued to ride him with wild abandon. He hair whipped from side to side.

"Ngh, nggh, UNNGHHH!" She moaned through her grit teeth, stifling a scream. The sheets were already ruined as she added more of her marecum to the mess. Her powerful muscles rippled and gripped along his length, trying to suck him even further inside. Her thighs shuttered and her hips practically vibrated as she recklessly ground herself against his pelvis, desperately trying to prolong her pleasure peak. It was all so much for the crippled stallion. He felt himself teeter over the edge. The monitor beside the bed beeped rapidly along with his pulse.

"Gah, uh, ahhhAAH!" He grunted. She felt his cock flare wider inside her, stretching her further than she even thought was possible. She felt him throb and pulse inside her as he came like a cannon. She stayed still, waiting on his lap for him to finish cumming. He went on for some time. Nearly a minute later, she still felt the odd pulse of his shaft. He began to wither after a short while, letting her slide off of him. She didn't pause to look at the mess. But Shining couldn't help but see that the makeshift condom had slipped free of him, falling from her pussy along with its spilled contents. But much remained inside. She paid the sensation no heed, thinking it indistinguishable from her own wetness. Shining didn't have the nerve to tell her otherwise.

"Now then," she huffed, trying to catch her breath, "where were we?" She re-spun her mane into a tight bun and picked up her paper hat and returned it to her head. She reached down beside the bed and retrieved the bucket. "Do you think you can provide a sample now?" She asked. He nodded, rolling onto his side. His shaft flopped limply onto the mattress at the edge of the bed, dangling off of the side. She took in in her hoof, aiming it into the bucket. "Whenever you are ready." She said.

Shining closed his eyes and relaxed, letting nature take its course. Nurse Redheart felt his shaft twitch slightly as it began to trickle. It quickly went from a yellow trickle to a mighty torrent as he relieved himself into the bucket as she held his dick. She could feel the steamy heat from his stream. Despite the mess under her own tail from her recent rutting, and the eroticism some might attach to the act in such close proximity, she was back to her professional, clinical self. His stream slowed to a trickle once more. As soon as he finished he rolled back to the middle of the bed, on his back. She set his sample on the cart and pulled the blanket back up over him.

"Now this time, actually try to get some rest." She said. She wheeled the cart out of the room. He closed his eyes. Between his condition and his recent exertion, sleep came quickly.

Ménage à Wha!?

Shining Armor was laid up in the hospital from injuries sustained from drunken antics. Days fell off the calender as he recovered from the broken leg. His cast was suspended in a cast most of the time. His parents came by to visit once. They brought word that Twilight had since returned to Ponyville. He felt a mix of relief and regret. Relief that he no longer had to worry about her being around. Regret that they'd never fix why he was worried about her in the first place. Either way, he was still trapped here. But the walls were closing in around him after about two weeks. He never did get to buck Nurse Redheart again. It wasn't for lack of trying, either. She ended up moving on to another section of the hospital. Her replacement was even less receptive to the idea. And her replacement was not Shining's type at all. Male.

Shining's adherence to physical fitness was hardwired into him after years of being in the guard. He could not just lay in bed all day. Especially if he wasn't going to get any... horizontal aerobics. He demanded that he be able of move around, outside of the room. A small cart for his bad leg to kneel on was sufficient for the task. The hospital was a large rectangular ring, with an open atrium in the middle. The atrium had a wonderful garden with flowers and small trees, and even an artificial waterfall and pond with colorful fish. It was good for his soul whenever he visited. But the cart was clumsy and tiring for him to use.

On one particular trip through the park path, he saw a familiar sight. A white mare. And no, it wasn't Nurse Redheart seeking a secret rendezvous. It was Vinyl Scratch, and her marefriend, Octavia, sitting together on one of the benches. As he got a little closer, he saw that Vinyl was quietly crying into Octavia's shoulder. His first impulse was to see what was the matter and whether or not he could help. But he also considered if he should just leave them be. Whatever it was, it was probably none of his business. But then, he did have his dick in her not more than two weeks ago. And with that kind of carnal familiarity, he felt like it should be enough for him to at least say hi.

"Hey." He said, as he wheeled himself over. Octavia looked up at him, hesitating for a second before she recognized him.

"Oh, hello again." She greeted him. "Vinyl?" Vinyl looked up from her shoulder, and wiped her tears with her hoof.

"Oh, hey." She greeted in recognition. "What brings you here?" She asked. He motioned to the cast on his leg in the cart. "Oh."

"Yeah. But I'll be alright in another day or so." He said. "What about you? Is everything okay?" He asked.

"Eh, not really." She groaned. "I uh, I had a..." Vinyl glanced at Octavia, looking for guidance. The grey earth pony gave her a non-committal shrug. Her bloodshot eyes looked back at Shining. "Well, do you remember that night you came over?"

"Well sure how could I ever forg-" Shining's mouth froze as the puzzle pieces dropped into place. "Wait, do you mean- you're not- are you- pregnant?" He asked. She frowned.

"Well, no..." She choked up. "I, I uh..." Tears came to her eyes once more as she turned to sob into Octavia's shoulder once more. Shining felt like he had done something wrong to upset her like this. Octavia just put her hoof around her and held her.

"She had a miscarriage. I'm sorry Mr. Shining. But I'm afraid we were not entirely honest with our intentions when we first met you. You see, we have been trying to have a foal for some time now. You were not our first... how do I put this, donor." She blushed. "However, you were the first to successfully conceive. But, it seems that it didn't take." Shining felt like he needed to say something. He wanted to help. He needed to. He scratched his mane nervously.

"Um, listen, don't take this the wrong way, but, um, if you want to... try again? When you're feeling better?" He asked.

"We appreciate the sentiment. I know you mean well. But I'm afraid her doctor has just told us that she's barr-" She held her tongue of the word. 'Barren' left a bad taste in her mouth. It was such an awful word in their lives right now. She rephrased her sentence "He said that she may not ever be able to have foals." Octavia hugged her tighter.

"What about..." He motioned to the earth pony. Surely she could carry a foal.

"I- I don't really want to get into it right now. But suffice to say that it is just not an option for us." She gave him another pained look. Shining felt helpless.

"I- I wish I knew what to say. I'm so sorry. If there's anything, anything at all I can do for you two, please..." He said, barely getting the words out. Octavia nodded. Shining took his leave of the grieving mares. He'd never thought much about having foals himself. But the idea of not being able to cut him on a deep level that he wasn't prepared for. He quietly shuffled his way back to his room.
.....

The next day, he was cleared to walk on his hoof, still in a brace. His horn was fully restored as well, which meant he was free to be discharged from the hospital. A few signatures later and he was on his way out. The admitting waiting area shared space with the clinic's. It was, as usual, crowded. He tried his best to navigate the crowd. A pony called out to him.

"Fancy!? Qu'est-il arrivé à votre jambe?" He looked behind him. A ravishingly tall, slender, mare was looking at and moving toward him. She had light purple eyes, white fur and a long, candy-pink mane. Getting closer she paused. "Oh, forgive me, I mistook you for somepony else." She said, speaking Equestrian now in a rich, Maris accent. "I'm looking for a stallion. He looks like, well, like you."

"A handsome fellow, I'm sure." He said with a smug grin.

"I'm waiting for him to finish his appointment." She said.

"Ah. Well that makes sense." Shining said. He had been on his way out, but he found that becoming distracted by idle conversation was not so bad when it was with such lovely company. "What is your friend here for?" Shining asked.

"Oh, just an annual checkup. He's my liaison while I am in Canterlot." She explained. "But he was unable to reschedule this before I arrived."

"I see." He said. Her eyes lit up as she looked past his shoulder. Another stallion with white fur and a blue mane joined the pair. She greeted him enthusiastically.

"Fancy! Je veux monter votre visage jusqu'à ce que vous devez évoluer branchies!" She said. He blushed a bit. She nuzzled him with her snout. Shining on the other hoof had no idea what she said. But he took their nuzzling as hint enough that it was his cue to exit.

"I'm sorry my dear, I'm afraid that may be a bit of an issue." The stallion said in a heavy Trottingham accent, noticing Shining. "But we mustn't be rude now. It seems introductions are in order."

"Oh, I just bumped into her on my way out." Shining said.

"I though he was you." She said with a giggle. "He's cute." She whispered a bit too loudly.

"Yes, I suppose he is quite the handsome fellow." He said, mirroring Shining's words. "Sir Fancy Pants, at your service." He said to Shining. "Liaison to Princess Fleur de Lis of Prance." She nodded. Shining took a bow as best as his braced hoof would allow.

"Please, call me Lilly." She said. Shining smiled.

"Shining Armor." He said.

"I know that name." Fancy said, scratching his chin.

"Captain of the Royal Guard."

"Ah yes. Celestia had mentioned your name a time or two." He said.

"Oh, well, I deny everything." Shining said with a chuckle.

"To the contrary! She speaks very highly of you." He said. "I know I speak for both of us when I say how grateful we are for your service."

"Thank you very much. That means a lot to us in the guard." He said. "Well, it was very nice meeting you two, but I've got a bit of a walk ahead of me, and I don't think I'm going to get there anytime soon like this." He said motioning to his leg. Shining turned and walked out through the exit. Lily whispered something to her liaison. Outside, Fancy followed after him.

"Captain!" He called after him. Shining stopped and turned back around.

"Yes?" He asked. Fancy looked back at Lilly through the window. She was nodding at him enthusiastically.

"I don't mean to be to direct, but, are you attached?" He asked.

"Uh- tached?"

"Are you currently seeing anypony? A relationship?"

"Uh, no." Shining felt a little weird at the question coming from the stallion. "Why?"

"Well, the Princess has requested... *ahem*, certain services, during her visit."

"Oh?"

"I'm afraid I'm too old to meet her... needs. If you catch my drift. The old lieutenant doesn't salute anymore. The flag only gets to half-mast. The cannon lacks ammunition."

"Yeah, I- I catch your drift. I caught it the first time."

"It's a wet noooodle!"

"I get it! It's a euphemism for impotence and you have my condolences. What do you want me to do about it?" He asked, regretting the words immediately. "Actually, I'd like to retract that offer."

"It's not about me sonny boy, it's about her! She wants me to enlist a strapping young stallion with the virility to 'take her around the world' as it t'were."

"Um, what?"

"Sexually!"

"No, I got that part. I mean, this is all just so, strange and sudden."

"Well things work a little bit differently where she is from. The fact of the matter is that she's taken quite the liking to you, and requests your company in her bed this evening. Is it a matter of compensation? I assure you that you will be reimbursed for your time."

"No it's just- um, okay." Shining said, still a bit dazed by the entire thing. Fancy looked at the Princess again through the window and nodded. She very nearly skipped in lieu of walking out of the door.

"Est-il grand? Je ne peux pas attendre de le monter!" She said excitedly. Shining still had no idea what she was saying. Fancy gave him a look-over with a critical eye.

"I'd say so." He said. She grinned wider.

"Ménage à trois?" She asked. Okay, THAT part Shining understood.

"I'm afraid not my dear." Fancy said. "I haven't the energy for such games." He said as his chariot pulled up. "The next driver will take you to her suite." He said to Shining as he opened the door, and stepped inside. "Your Highness, I will rejoin your side afterwards." He said. "Captain, a word please?" Shining walked over and leaned close. "I trust that you will be ever the gentlecolt with our guest?"

"Yes sir."

"Very good. Well then good luck Captain. Just remember, the safety phrase is 'Baise-moi plus fort'." He said with a mischievous grin as the chariot pulled away.

"Wait! Safety phrase!?" He started to sweat. The next chariot pulled up beside them. Lilly opened the door before Shining or the driver could offer the gesture. Without a word, she took him by his tail and pulled him in with her, closing the door and the curtains. Ahead, in the other cab, Fancy Pants chuckled to himself.

"That poor fool has no idea what's about to happen to him."

The carriage shook and shuddered as it traveled down the road.

And it had nothing to do with the cobblestone.

"Princess, please! We should- Ah! We should at least wait until we get to your room!" Shining pleaded as he shifted around inside the spacious cabin. Her eyes were wide with desire as she pursued her prey, grabbing at he legs with her hooves. He could feel her magic toying with his sheath and scrotum. It wasn't unpleasant, objectively speaking. It was just more aggressive than he was used to.

"Call me Lilly." She said again, smiling. A spark glinted in the corner of her eye. "Or Mistress." She said in a sultry tone. She produced a small crop from her bag and gave him a firm swat on his flank.

"Oh Celestia!" He cried out. More from surprise than pain. She paused for a moment, tapping a hoof yo her chin, grinning.

"Yes, I suppose that can work too."

"What?"

"I will be your Princess. You may- call me Celestia... if you like." She said. Her magic abandoned the crop to her bag for a moment, moving again to his groin, playing and teasing his flesh. Shining did his best to resist for the moment. The carriage came to a stop then somepony knocked on the door.

"We have arrived at your destination madam." The driver said from outside. Shining bit his lip as he opened the door. He tried, and failed to make it look like she wasn't massaging his genitals as he stumbled to the entrance of her bungalow. It was already unlocked for him. She nudged him from behind as he walked inside.

"On the bed." She commanded. He trotted over and sat on the edge, curious of what she had in mind. She rummaged through her dresser drawers, looking intently for something. "Aha, parfait!" She gathered up the article before shining could see what it was that she had. She vanished into the next room. Shining leaned over, trying to see what she was doing. The bed creaked under him. "No peeking!" She called out. He sat back, waiting patiently.

She trotted back into the room after a moment. "Voilà!" She was wearing what looked to be a sort of corset around her waist. It was a shade of white very close to the tone of her fur. If he squinted, it was very hard to even see. There was nothing particularly interesting about it. It wasn't very frilly, or lacy or anything. It didn't even change the form of her body as most corsets were intended to. It looked to be little more than a large tube of material around her midsection. "Lay down."

Shining did as he was told, laying back on the bed with his hooves dangling off the bottom. She squatted in front of him, rubbing his sheath with her hoof, coaxing his shaft from its hiding place. Combined with her magic softly rolling his testicles, she didn't have to wait long. As his tip began to emerge, she shifted her weight, sliding up his body a little, pulling in into her mouth.

He'd only just begun to become erect. She took the majority of his length in her mouth while it was still small and soft, sucking it vigorously. He became harder quickly, almost painfully so. She kept her head still, just sucking and massaging him with her tongue, letting him grow longer still. He felt his tip bump against the back of her mouth. As he continued to grow, he imagined that she would back off a bit. But she stood her ground.

She didn't back away in the slightest. If anything, she leaned in more, letting him slip inside, deeper, past her soft pallet, and down her throat as she swallowed his length. Her tongue continued to flex and roll against the underside of his shaft as she took a final breath of air before her throat became completely obstructed. Her esophagus tried reflexively to grip his sensitive glans. Not in gagging, no, but swallowing! It felt like she was going to suck his dick right off.

At full length, more than half of it was impaled in her face. Growing more turgid, it lifted vertically. A lesser mare would have let it slip free. But Fleur de Lis gave up nothing as her head followed his erection, moving in a slow arc over his groin, craning her neck. His rod grew hard as steel, pointing up toward his belly. She quickly re-positioned herself, moving around his side and over him as she rotated her head, spinning her throat around his shaft. Her legs straddled his head as she straightened her neck to accommodate his thickening mass.

The pink hair of her tail ticked his nose, bringing him back to reality. The wonders of her erotic talent had him seeing stars. Now he was seeing a moon. Her full moon hovered just above his face. He lifted himself up onto his elbows. She felt his hot breath on her nethers. She put her leg on his shoulder pinning him back down, as she withdrew from his cock. "Ahh." She gasped a mouthful of air. "Uh ah! Not yet." She said, looking back at him. She moved to the side of him, letting him sit up. His staff pointed from his crotch to the ceiling in front of him. She scooted him back further onto the bed, letting her kneel on the bed in front of him once more.

She leaned down and resumed felating him. She couldn't deep-throat him at that angle, but then she didn't need to. She was doing just fine working her magic cupping his heavy balls, and her hooves on his shaft. Her mouth felt amazing. She stopped again and looked up into his eyes. He just stared back into hers. She smiled and leaned her head to one side, bringing the side of her horn to his lips, sliding it across them. He understood what she wanted. He parted his lips and kissed along the ridges of her horn. His mouth opened and he ran his tongue along her length.

She leaned down again, sucking on his dick. Her horn pointed at his face, demanding attention. He mimicked her rhythm, bobbing his head in time with hers. He felt her moan onto his dick as she went, encouraging him that he was doing a good job. He didn't find sucking her horn to be phallic any more than a mare's teat. As a unicorn, he knew just how good it could feel. But as he went, he noticed something about her corset. There was a bulge in in on her back. It was shallow, but wide, like a skinny back pack. The apparel still perplexed him, but he thought nothing more of it. With the way she was going, it was difficult to think at all.

She was really getting him going now. She increased her pace until his leg started to twitch beside her in short spasms. She ceased her motion to give him a chance to calm back down again. She pulled away and rolled onto the bed beside him, laying on her back. She shifted her knees, spreading her legs just slightly. It was a subtle gesture. But he understood immediately what she wanted. He slid off the bed and knelt in front of her and wrapped his hooves around her legs, pulling her toward him until her hips were at the edge.

"Oui, worship your princess." She said, looking down at him kneeling in between her thighs. He bowed his head in reverence. She place her hoof on his head, pushing his horn against her marehood. She took his mane in her grip, directing his motion, sliding his horn along her slit as she enjoyed the feeling of his ridges against her sensitive nub. Under her hoof, Shining waited patiently with his face pressed into the mattress as she used his newly healed horn for her personal enjoyment. "Mmhm, yes, that is nice." She moaned softly, giving his hair an upward pull.

He looked up at her again as she pressed his snout into her waiting nethers. She gazed into his eyes as he slowly worked his tongue into her, licking all over as skillfully as he ever had. His horn was still wet from her juices, dripping down his forehead. She tasted... Shining struggled for an adjective for the flavor on his tongue. It was not bad at all. But it seemed almost artificial. 'Clean' was the best description he could arrive at. Almost like soap. Her attentive hygiene did not prevent her from keeping a dirty mind it seemed however.

She lifted one of her legs over his shoulder, laying it on his back, pressing him further against the bed and pinning him into her crotch. Her other leg joined shortly as she gripped at the duvet on the bed. Her hips began to rock in time with his assault on her sensitive nerve endings. "Mm, mmh mMmMHF!" Her hips were practically bouncing off of the bed up into his mouth with each deft stoke of his tongue. "AAHHhhhh!" She cried out as her pussy quivered into his tired jaw, splashing a few more droplets across his pallet.

She brushed her tussled bangs from her eyes. Her legs relaxed and she beckoned him to rise up and join her. He slid his way up her body. His stallionhood, missing the attention, sprung back to life as it grazed against her hot sex. She kissed him and enjoyed her flavor on his lips. His hips thrusted idly, rubbing the side of his length against her sex, lubricated by her ample secretion. His desperate motions did not go unnoticed. She placed her hooves on his shoulders, pushing him downward just enough for it to lower between her legs.

A steady push forward and his tip press against her entrance. As wet as she was, it was still a bit difficult getting in. He put his hooves on either side of her waist to brace himself, pulling her back against him. Soon, pressure overcame friction as the head of his cock slipped inside of her velvet love tunnel. For all of his escapades in the past month alone, the novelty of the sensation never wore off for him. He started with short thrusts, each time working his way deeper until his medial ring vanished along with the rest of his length into her depths. As soon as she felt his hips against hers, she reached up and wrapped her hooves around his shoulders, pulling herself up to him. He leaned in for a kiss and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Just as their kiss broke, she shifted her weight and pushed him backwards. Not off of her, but both of them off of the bed and she rode him backwards in a arc to the floor, still impaled on his spear. He landed on a well placed pillow in a beam of sunshine pouring through the skylight. He was already close before as he continued humping into her at a frantic pace. He looked up at her, blinded by the sunlight behind her. All he could make out was her silhouette as her wings unfurled.

Wait, wings?

He squinted at the figure riding him with wild abandon. Her corset back had sprung open, with a set of faux wings extending out. They weren't quite as big as Celestia's but they certainly enhanced the experience. She looked just like Celestia did, that first time he saw her, raising the sun at the Summer Sun Celebration.

"Oh Celestia!" His last clear memory before he climaxed.

Author's Note

TO BE CONCLUDED!

Elite and Sweet

Shining's eyes opened the next morning to the sunlight on his face. Celestia no longer silhouetted its shine. Or rather, Fleur de Lis with her wings ensemble. He had the worst case of cotton-mouth. His mane was grimy and matted down on his head. His tail was snarled with tangled knots. All of his muscles were sore from... whatever it was that had happened last night.

A quick survey of his surroundings told him that he was still in her bedroom. But she was nowhere to be found. He pulled the covers back to sit up. It was then he noticed the red marks on his wrists from either hoof cuffs or rope. Or both, knowing her. Also a belt across his belly strapping on the saddle that had now been digging into his back all morning. Unbuckling it, he cast it aside.

But more disturbing still was the pair of panties he was wearing. Though he was familiar with the feeling, he didn't feel hungover. None the less, last night was a blacked-out blur as he struggled to assemble the pieces of the puzzle that was the last eighteen hours. He peeled the material away, noting that in spite of his personal discomfort with the concept, the material was quite pleasing to the touch of his groin. The undergarment was clearly meant to be there in a practical capacity, he realized. He found that they were holding in place a pack of frozen peas, now thawed. Lifting the package away from his... package, he discovered the reason for their placement. Where the bony prominence of his hips were close to his skin and lacked padding, he was a bit bruised. The rest of his pelvic area fared little better. His scrotum felt tender to the touch, and his sheath was red and chaffed.

He'd tried the safety phrase that Fancy had given him yesterday but he must have mispronounced it. It only seemed to make things worse. He rolled onto his side, making his way out of the bed. The bones of his back ached with the motion. Eyeing the frilly saddle at the end of the bed made him question just who was riding whom. He swung his legs over the edge to sit up.

KLINK!

One of the shackles was still binding his right hoof to the canopy post of the bed. The chain afforded him enough movement to move around on the bed and reach the nightstand. Where, thankfully, somepony had left a few bottles of water. It was either her or himself. Either way, his dry mouth trumped his leg predicament. He took one of the bottles and drank it completely before coming up for air. He opened the second and drank half of that one too.

With his thirst quenched for now, he focused on his other problem. The hoof cuff. He leaned over to get a better look at it. It wasn't a cheap plastic or fluffy pink one. It was metal and had a genuine lock. He checked his nightstand and hers but found no key. He worried for a moment before the rest of his brain finally woke up. It was embarrassing how often he'd forget that he was a unicorn. He focused on the tumble of the lock, trying to pick it with his magic.

"Ow!" He rubbed his forehead. It was still too soon after it had healed to try something so complex. He flopped back onto the mattress. The cuff was tight enough that he couldn't slip it past his hoof. But it wasn't so uncomfortable that he hadn't noticed it until he saw it.

"Lilly!" He called out into the villa. No response was returned. Only silence. "LILLY!" He felt his pulse quicken. Shining was never one to be quick to panic. But alone and physically trapped in a strange place without his magic was his limit. He glanced nervously at the water, silently wondering if he was going to have to ration it until help arrived. He groped around the bottom of the bed hoping to find something to help. If not the key, a hair pin or a paper clip. Anything to pick the lock. Under her side of the bed was the rest of the case of water bottles. So that alleviated some of his worry. He'd be okay, he reassured himself. As he finished off the second bottle and opened the third, he noticed that the bed was damp with sweat and pony-knows-what else. After last night's workout, it was no surprise that he was so dehydrated. She'd be back soon, he reasoned.

"She probably just went out for breakfast and let me sleep in." He thought out loud at his reflection in the mirror on the ceiling. "Right?" His reflection returned him a dubious look.

Meanwhile -

Fancy Pants had arrived at Fleur De Lis's suite earlier at her behest, taking her to a cafe for breakfast. He had waited until after they'd both had something to eat before discussing as to the whereabouts of the stallion from the day previous. He broached the subject as they were trotting through the fashion district of Canterlot.

"So, Princess Lilly my dear, did he depart some time last evening or earlier this morning?" He asked.

"Oh, he was still at the suite when you arrived." She answered.

"What? Well I hope he is able to find his own means home. If not, I'll have to send for a carriage to pick him up." He said.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." She said with a coy grin as she pulled a key from her bag. "I don't think he'll be going anywhere."

"What do you mea- oh, hoof cuffs is it? I must insist that you return to the suite and release him. I'm sure he is missed somewhere. I'm afraid I won't have time to accompany you. I need to be at the Wonderbolts Derb-"

"... she'll have something beyond fabulous to wear to her party. OOF!"

The unicorn walking from the other direction talking to herself was in another world as she collided with Fancy Pants. The bags she was levitating around her were cast asunder as her magical grip on them vanished in the confusion of the impact. One of them flew through the air in a parabolic arc, landing squarely on Fancy's head. While the other mare re-orientated herself, Lilly pulled the bag from his head.

"Fancy Pants!?" She gasped.

"I say! That's one way to make an introduction." He said, dusting himself off.

"Oh goodness! I am so sorry. I didn't see you there." She rambled, trying desperately to excuse herself. "I've just got so many bags and I was trying to get back to me suite at the castle and-"

"You're staying at the castle?" He asked. That part had gotten his attention.

"The Princess invited me to stay in one of the suites." She explained. The Princess? The was more than one after all. Certainly he was standing beside a princess. And of course there was Princess Luna now that she'd returned. But in Canterlot, whenever somepony referred to the Princess, they were really only referring to one. Princess Celestia.

"You know the princess?" He asked, a bit dubious. He'd never heard Celestia mention anything about this mare. But then, he was still at a loss for her name.

"Hmm, a pony with expensive tastes I see!" Lilly remarked as she gathered up one of the bags, noting its fine contents.

"Oh, it's for an ensemble I'm making for a friend. Her birthday is in a few days." The other mare explained before she began to trot away. "Again, I'm really sorry that I bumped into you." She said.

"I'm not." Fancy said after her, causing her to stop in her tracks. "You are obviously somepony worth bumping into." If Lilly was going to have to go back to her suite to deal with- that situation, he'd need somepony else to come with him to the derby to stand in as his shoulder candy. He wanted to be romantically availible to the other mares there. But not actually appear available, lest it start another jealousy war among them. "Listen, I have a VIP box reserved at the Wonderbolts derby this afternoon. Would you- would you be so kind as to join me and a few of my companions there?"

"Me?" She asked.

"But of course my dear."

"Well, I'm, uh- sure." She stuttered her was to the agreement.

"We'd love to see you there- uh?" He realized that he'd never gotten her name.

"Rarity." She filled in.

"Rarity." He repeated to himself. A lovely name. He made sure to not forget it as he trotted on his way. Alone with Lilly once more, he returned to the matter at hoof. "My dear I must insist that you go and let that poor boy go. He can't be left cuffed to a bed all day."

"Oh, I had no intention of just leaving him there." She said with a smile. "He's far too much fun to just abandon. I even got to try out my wings!"

"Wings?" Fancy asked.

"Yes. It's a corset piece that unfurls a set of faux wings for non-pegasus wearers. He seemed to get quite the thrill from it what with his Celestia fantasy."

"Celestia fantasy?" He asked, more curious still.

"Hmm, it seems he has quite the eye for Her Highness's hind." She said with a suppressed giggle. Fancy rubbed his chin in contemplation.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to depart your side even earlier than I had feared. I have to make a slight detour on the way to the derby. But do please see to the Captain at your suite as soon as possible."

"Oh, I intend to." She said.

Shining Armor was beginning to panic. The was no clock in the room. But the sun had moved from the east facing window. It was at least noon now, if not sometime after. He'd tried everything he could think of to try to get the cuff off. But his horn was still not cooperating and blunt force had done little but leave a few dents in the sturdy brass pole of canopy frame. He'd been in the service long enough to have seen some terrible things. Ponies that'd been left to die in enemy prisons, or those that'd died from exposure with a pinned hoof out in the wilds.

He knew that her bungalow was far enough away from any neighboring structure that any noise would go unheard. And while that had worked for him last night, now, it meant that yelling would do him no good. But that didn't stop him from trying. Lilly trotted up the stairs to her suite. As she neared the door, her ears were greeted to the symphonic bellowing of a terrified stallion.

"For Celestia's sake somepony help me!" He screamed.

Tsk Tsk, she thought. That would not do at all. She'd had the key ready to go but now, after this little display, he might have to wait. She discreetly hid the key and pushed open the door.

"Oh thank goodness! I was left hoof-cuffed to the- oh, it's you." He said. She raised an eyebrow at his remark. "Um, I mean, YAY! It's you! I'm so glad that your back! Uh, could you unlock me?" He asked. She stood there a moment longer tapping her hoof impatiently. "Um, I- I mean, could you unlock me please? Mistress?" He begged. Her demeanor relaxed. Albeit only slightly.

"Hmm. I was going to. But to return to such a defiant display of cowardice, shouting and screaming like a snared fawn, I'm not so sure I should now." She teased, walking in a slow circle around the bed, inspecting it as she kicked aside empty water bottles. The damage to the brass work was evident. "Just look at what you've done!" She scolded. "The bedding's been torn up and the frame is damaged!"

Around to the far side of the bed she discovered the discarded saddle. "Gah!" She cried, dashing to it and lifting it from the floor. The material was scuffed in several places. "Do you realize what what this is worth!?" She half-asked and yelled. "Do you know how much it costs!?" She grabbed the riding crop from the bureau in her magic and raised it to strike him. Without his magic to defend himself he winced and raised a hoof to shield himself. She paused for a moment and set the saddle down correctly on the floor. She brought the crop to his chin gently and grazed it along his jawline and then caressed it across his cheek.

"It's alright." She said after a tense moment. "It's okay, I- I pardon you." She tapped him on the shoulder with her hoof. Quite in fact, the saddle was not nearly expensive enough to warrant such a strong reaction. But he didn't need to know that. He relaxed for just a moment as she lowered the crop. Just as she'd lulled him into a false sense of security, she switched back again. "But THIS!" She slapped the dented brass pole of the bed frame, causing it to ring. "This can not stand!" From her bag she levitated a couple other hoof cuffs and re-secured him to the frame of the bed.

"Lilly!" He cried out as she took his hooves in her magical grip. She cut him an angry look. "Uh- Mistress, please no!"

"You've been a very bad pony!" She said, locking him in place.

"I know I've been a bad pony but I really need to pee okay?" That got her attention. She walked into the bathroom and ran the tap to the bath tub. He could tell what she was doing from where he was but the sound of running water was torturous enough. He tried desperately to cross his legs. But the cuffs kept them firmly spread. The pitch of the water changed periodically as she checked the temperature with her hoof. Finally satisfied, she filled a porcelain basin and carried it back to the nightstand, soaking a washcloth in it. He wondered if she intend to keep him here long enough that he'd require a sponge bath.

She disappeared into the other room again before returning a few moments later with a familiar article of clothing around her waist. She sat on the bed beside him, gently stroking his mane, smiling, almost sympathetically, at the poor creature at her mercy. She took the washcloth from the warm water, wringing the excess from it, before hovering it over his groin. She gave the balled cloth the slightest of squeezes, letting the warm was drip, one drop at a time, onto his sheath. He strained at the bindings.

"M- Mistress, I'm serious! I really need to go to the bath-"

"Shhh." She put a hoof to his lips, cutting him off. She gave the cloth another squeeze, letting a few more drops trickle onto him. It was agony for him. He didn't understand what her intention was but even the most basic parts of his brain told him that wetting the bed was bad. She didn't seem to care as the accumulated water soaked his fur and dribbled down his sides, damping the sheets. He clenched his eyes and tried to think of anything besides flowing, churning whitewater rapids of torrential, running waterfalls. She could see the strain in his face. "Aww, poor widdle baby. Does baby need a widdle diaper?" She asked. He shot her a glare.

"Aw, buck no! No more of the weird kinky shit!" He growled. Her response was a quick swat to his thigh by her crop.

"Language!" She scolded, swatting him a second time, causing his leg muscles to clench in reaction. She soaked the cloth again and continued where she'd left off, letting a few more drops fall on him. His groan bordered on a whimper. The look on her face told him that she was enjoying this way too much.

Princess Luna's Canterlot Voice boomed over din of the crowd, announcing the impending start of the Wonderbolts Derby. The track was nestled against the Canterlot cliff side for access to non-pegasi.

"I'll be rooting for Rapid Fire, of course." Fancy Pants said confidently to his companions in the VIP box at the Wonderbolts Derby. "He's sure to bring home the grand prize." The others around him nodded in supplicating agreement. Rarity, who had just arrived a few moments earlier, was the only one to voice disagreement.

"I don't think he has a chance against Fleetfoot." She said, immediately regretting having possibly ostracized herself from the group. But as the horns announced the start of the race, the attention of the group quickly shifted away from her borderline faux pas to the race itself. Even Rarity quickly forgot her transgression as the racers rapidly circled the track. Sure enough, it was Fleetfoot that edged out the win. Fancy Pants offered his new guest congratulations.

"Bravo Rarity. I say, how did you know that Fleetfoot would be victorious?" He asked.

"My friend, Rainbow Dash, talks about her all the time. She says what Fleetfoot lacks in size, she makes up for in speed." She explained.

"And who is this Rainbow Dash?" One of the other attending mares asked.

"Why, she's the Wonderbolts trainer of course." Rarity lied, nervously. Thankfully, the others did not see through her ruse. Fancy was certainly impressed.

"Staying at the Canterlot Castle, and she knows the pegasus training the Wonderbolts! I told you all that this was an important pony." He said to the group. He took her hoof in his, raising it up. "Three cheers for Rarity, my new favorite party guest!"

Hip, hip, hooray!
Hip, hip, hooray!
Hip, hip, hooray!

As the group departed the arena, Fancy Pants took Rarity aside. He hadn't seen Lilly yet and he was beginning to worry about what was going on at the suite. The last thing he needed was a missing royal guard and a foreign dignitary involved in a lecherous scandal.

"Rarity, I'm afraid I have to attend to another pressing matter. But I'd love it if you could join me tomorrow for the maiden voyage of my new air yacht."

"Oh, I'd love to!"

"Splendid. Here's a ticket to board. It has all the information you'll need. I look forward to seeing you there."

"Rarity?" One of the other mares cut in. "As a dress designer, do you have any amusing stories from the fashion world you could share with us?" She asked. Fancy excused himself and made his way to his waiting carriage. He quietly hoped that it would just be Lilly at the suite and she's let the poor lad go after being hoof cuffed all day. But he knew better.

"Post haste, driver!"

"Nggh!" Shining grunted. Lilly had shifted her approach. She moved from siting beside him on the bed to straddling one of his thighs. There was still a bit of warm water left. But that which has already been spilled onto him was cool to the room temperature, damping the sheets around his back and waist. That, and the heat radiating from her loins on top of him. The contrast in temperatures was making his discomfort magnified.

She leaned over him to soak the cloth once more, intentionally pressing her hoof into his abdomen as she did, increasing the cruel pressure on his bladder. He held his breath and tried to keep his abs rigid. It helped. But not much. It felt like his kidneys were going to pop. But worst of all, he had no idea why she was doing this. Sure, mechanically he understood what it was she was immediately trying to accomplish. But as to why, he had no idea. This time, she let the cloth fall and flop into his groin, covering it in it's wet warmth.

Rather than running down his sides, the water stayed in place now, its feeling persisted. That, combined with how long he'd been holding back his most basic need, produced her expected result.

"Grrh." He moaned. Little Shiny began to extend from its sheath beneath the material.

"Ahh, here we go." Lilly delighted. She pulled the cloth away, exposing the moisture on him to the brief cool of the air. But only for a moment before she shimmied up his body, replacing the cloth's with her own wetness as she pressed herself against the length of his shaft. "Captain, I must say, I am impressed. You've held out much longer than any other stallion. It has been an amusing game to witness. But I always win in the end." She shifted herself slightly, stroking his shaft with her marehood. She moved with his extension, sitting on his waste now, pinning it against his belly. She sat her weight on his bladder and was now only keeping him from his release by squeezing his shaft shut. She teased the tip of his stallionhood with the soft pad of her hoof.

"I know you don't want to be here any longer. And I have other things I need to do today as well. So the sooner you stop resisting and just relax, the sooner we can both go." She said, making it all sound so reasonable. He cracked his eyelid, squinting up at her. "Here. I'll help." She said, pulling the cord on her corset, letting the wings spread open from her back. He felt a warmth radiating from his abdomen and spreading across the surface of his belly. The pressure in him hadn't abated in the least. He wasn't peeing on himself. He looked down in between them. She was!

Golden hot rivulets ran from her marehood, pressed squarely against his shaft, and running down his sides, marring his white fur and staining the sheets pale yellow. It was even warmer than the water she was dripping on him. He couldn't hold back any longer. She felt the pressure in his shaft rise. She lifted her bottom off of him, her pee still flowing freely onto his shaft. The sudden release of the pressure pinning his dick let loose his own torrent and she move up his body, sitting on his midsection just forward of his rushing hose. She leaned down and kissed him deeply, cradling his head. He moaned into her mouth. Finally letting go after holding it for so long was almost better than sex!

He released with force against her marehood. She enjoyed the sensation against her clit as she writhed the shimmied on top of him. The air was thick with the acrid ammonia smell, tinged with the sent of her arousal. She slid back, pressing her entrance against his tip. It gave with little resistance. It was not the turgid erection of arousal, but a semi-hard one from holding his bladder too long, after all. She took matters into her own hoof. Or rather, in her magic.

Shining was only tangentially aware that his cock was being manipulated. He was still lost in the unexpected ecstasy of his release. With him in her magical grip, she pressed him against her entrance. Still too soft to penetrate, but still rushing forth with his emptying bladder. The feeling of his urine running down his sides paused briefly, directed now into her. She felt the pressure rise quickly as he filled her with his hot liquid, letting him go at the last moment. His urine came rushing out of her filled marehood in a singular gush, bringing with it the key that she'd hidden in there, landing on him as he finished relieving himself. She unlocked the cuffs, letting the stallion relax.

"Aaaa wooo. Thank Celestia!" Shining sighed, free at last.

"You're welcome." Lilly said as she folded back the wings, trotting off to the bathroom to wash up.

Shining rolled limply off the edge of the bed, flopping onto the floor in a heap. He could hear the water running in the bathroom. He made for the door while she was preoccupied. Just as he reached for the door knob, it pulled away. The door opened before him, and there, standing just outside, was Fancy Pants.

"I say!" He said loudly into the room, backing away from the thick air rolling out. "It smells like an outhouse in here!"

"He soiled the bed!" Lilly yelled from the shower, with a falsely angry tone. Shining looked mortified.

"I didn't! I mean, I did, but it wasn't my fault!" Shining stammered, trying desperately to explain. Fancy noticed the red abrasions on Shining's ankles.

"You don't have to tell me sonny." Fancy said in a hushed tone. "This isn't the first time I've had to show up to such a sight. Why don't you see about getting yourself washed up and I'll go about preparing your compensation?" He suggested. Shining walked over to the bathroom. He did remember from last night that the shower was certainly big enough for two. And he didn't need much time. Just a bit to rinse off and a quick soaping. He glanced inside. Lilly caught his gaze from under the shower. She was sporting a large strap-on dildo and waving for him to join her. Shining backed out of the bathroom, still stinking of urine.

"Uh, I think I'll just settle on the hose outside." He said, trotting past Fancy to the patio. Fancy gave the soiled stallion a wide berth as he hosed himself down near the flowerbed. Fancy produced a sizable pouch of bits from his bag.

"I should think that this should be adequate reparation for your time last night and today. As well as for any personal... damages. I know a good doctor I could recommend if you require." He said.

"Thanks, I- I know one that I could go see." Shining said, thinking back on Nurse Redheart. "Why didn't you warn me that she was such a... creative mare?"

"Well Captain, if I had told you that you would be getting into..." Fancy glanced back into the suite at the variety of sexual implements scattered about the place. "... all of this, would you still have agreed to it?"

"Of course not!"

"Well there's your answer." He said, watching as Shining finished rinsing the shame and various other bodily fluids from his fur and coiled up the hose. He dried himself as best he could and grabbed the pouch of bits, glancing inside. He didn't count it. But the weight told him that it was at least two weeks of his pay, which for a Captain was considerable. "I must admit, I do feel a bit guilty about all of this. But you can understand why I had to, how you say, outsource this sort of work? I'm getting too old for this sort of thing. Listen, why don't I make it up to you? My new air yacht is being christened tomorrow. I'd love it if you could attend the ceremony and after-party." Fancy said. Shining Armor bristled.

"There is no bucking way that you are going to convince me to go anywhere you-"

"There will be a complimentary open bar of course." Fancy added.

"What time did you say it was?" Shining asked with new-found acute interest.

"Tomorrow at one PM. Do try to be punctual."

"Of course." Shining said. Fancy began to walk away to get some staff to deal with the mess in the room.

"Um, is uh..." Shining called after him, glancing nervously back at the suite.

"No, she won't be attending the ceremony. You'll be safe!" He said, overly dramatically.

"Right."

False Truths

The next morning, Shining Armor turned over the ticket in his hooves as he sat at the edge of his bed. He hadn't slept very well last night. His night was restless and devoid of dreams, despite his best hopes. But he'd been in worse spots before. He had energy enough to go to a simple ship christening. As appealing as the open bar sounded, he knew perfectly well what had happened the last time he'd disregarded moderation. He would not make the same mistake again.

At least for a while.

The back of the ticket had the details of the event. The where and when. He was familiar with the area, the fabrication docks where the air yachts were built. He'd been near there once before, though he couldn't remember why. He flipped the ticket back over to its front. 'Admit One' it read in gold emboss. He was still on the fence about whether or not he would actually go. He had until that afternoon to decide. He resolved that it was unwise to make such an important decision on an empty stomach.

Breakfast was uneventful. He quietly ate his food. His parents did the same. They's already given him their well-wishes yesterday when he'd returned home, presumably from the hospital.

"It's your sister's birthday tomorrow." His mother, Twilight Velvet, said in an implying tone. Implying that he'd forgotten. Which he had.

"I know." Shining lied. Or rather, he truthed, now that he did indeed know after her having told him. "I didn't forget." He lied.

"Did you remember to get her something?" His father, Night Light, asked.

"Of course." Shining fabricated, trying to buy himself some time. "I ordered it a while ago. I just need to go pick it up."

"Oh? What is it?" His mom pressed. He hesitated. What was it that Twilight liked that he could get for her? The answer was obvious.

"A book." He said, vaguely.

"What book?" His dad asked. Shining's mental catalog of every book he knew whirred through his mind. It didn't take very long.

"D-Daring Do."

"Oh." His mom said, in a noncommittal breath. "Which one?"

"The... new one." He said. It was suddenly getting very warm under this interrogation.

"Hmm." Night Light hummed and gave his wife a dubious, raised eyebrow. She sighed, disappointed.

"Well Shiny, I'm afraid you've wasted your time." His mom said. "I'm pretty sure she already has the new one. She was reading it while she was visiting from Ponyville. But you've been in the hospital." Shining felt relieved that he hadn't been called out on the lie. But he was back a square one. Her birthday tomorrow, and he had nothing to give her. Just like last year. And the year before. It had become an awful tradition.

"Well- uh, is hers signed?" He asked. His mom's eye lit up a little.

"You got her a signed copy of the new Daring Do?" She asked. Shining just smiled. His question was loaded, sure. But he needn't incriminate himself any further. Better to just let her make the assumption than to explicitly say anything. Now all he needed to do was get a signed copy of the red-hot new Daring Do book in less than twenty four hours. Simple as that.

About as simple as calculus. He finished eating and cleared his plate from the table.

"Well, I'm off to go pick it up!" He said as he walked out of the door. He hoped he wasn't lying. He had the bits for just such a commodity from his... service the day before. But now it was just the matter of tracking it down. He spent the rest of the morning hitting up every book shop in the city. Few had the book at all. And most of those were already reserved. And every time he asked if there was a signed copy...

"AH HAHAHAHA!" The clerk laughed right in his face. "Did somepony put you up to this? Do you even know what it is that you're asking!?" She asked.

No. He didn't.

"A. K. Yearling doesn't do signings. She doesn't do appearances. And she definitely doesn't do special orders. She's the most secretive author I've ever heard of. She could teach me a thing or two about paranoia!"

The other clerks, while not as crass, were equally unhelpful. It seemed that her observation about A. K. being so seclusive was right on the mark. All of his inqueries turned up nothing but dead ends. He needed a miracle. He fumbled around in his bag to dig out his list of stores to check. The golden ticket fluttered to the ground. His golden ticket!

"That's it!" He exclaimed. If anypony had the connections to know who A. K. Yearling was and how to get her autograph, it'd be Fancy Pants. The clock on the tower chimed that it was noon. He still had an hour to get across town.

The crowd had amassed on the small outcrop on the western side of Canterlot Mountain, below the castle. He took the path leading down to the tunnel. At the entrance was a bouncer checking tickets. He checked Shining's and waved him through. At the far end, a small bar had been set up, with chests full of ice and various beers, ciders and other spirits.

It wasn't as large of a gathering as he'd expected. There couldn't have been more than a couple dozen ponies at the ship launch. Despite being several minutes late, the airship was still firmly moored. He spotted Fancy entertaining a group of guests. He made his way over to him.

"Ah, Captain! So glad you could make it!" Fancy called out, to him, waving him over. "Fillies and Gentlecolts, may I introduce to you all Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, and my friend." He said, putting a hoof on the captain's shoulder. "Shining, have you met the Prince, Blueblood?" He motioned to the white unicorn stallion beside him.

"Not personally." Shining answered, extending a hoof. "Your Highness." Blueblood shook his hoof.

"Charmed." Blueblood greeted. "I was looking forward to meeting you first-hoof away from formalities of Royal Guard ceremonies." He said with a firm hoofshake. "Fancy Pants has been telling us a great deal about you."

"Oh, hehe, well I deny everything." Shining chuckled, joined by the others.

"All good things, I assure you." Blueblood said. "He and the Princess both hold you in quite high regard."

"Princess Celestia?" Shining asked.

"Indeed." He answered. "It seems she has her sights set on you to be on the fast track for promotion."

"Well who can blame her?" A voice came from the back of the crowd. Shining turned to see a white furred unicorn mare with stunning blue eyes and a gorgeous purple mane.

"Rarity! My new favorite party guest!" Fancy greeted her.

"The Princess with one of her Royal Guards?" Another mare asked rhetorically. "How scandalous!" She jested with a blush.

"Now, now!" Fancy interjected, diffusing the situation. "I'm sure that the Princess's interest in the Captain is entirely professional. His reputable career entirely justifies his speedy ascension." He turned his attention to the other newcomer. "Rarity, by chance have you met the Captain?"

"Haven't had the pleasure."

"Well then let's rectify that right away." Fancy said with a smile. "Shining Armor, let me be the first to introduce to you, Miss Rarity."

"Madame." Shining greeted her, bowing his head politely and kissing her hoof.

"Well, now that our guest of honor has arrived, we can proceed. I'm quite anxious to get this gal aloft."

"Me? Or the ship?" Rarity asked.

"Both! But I'll need you to do the honors first." He said, directing her up to the podium where the bottle of champagne awaited, alongside the Prince. "Captain, with me."

Shining followed Fancy Pants up the gangplank onto the airship. He admired the craftsmanship that had gone into restoring the vessel. In darker times, these had been used in warfare. But they'd since been decommissioned from the military, now either in museums or civilian employ. Disarmed of course. On the bridge, Fancy took up his position at the wheel.

"You can pilot one of these?" Shining asked.

"Be it a galleon or a freighter, I'm an expert navigator." Fancy half-sang. He stopped himself and smirked. "I actually need you to be a spotter. Look for her signal and let me know when she hits the ship with the bottle."

"Okay." Shining looked out the window. Down at the podium, Rarity took the bottle in her mouth and let it swing toward the ship. It bounced off without breaking. Blueblood rolled his eyes. He'd have put a little more force behind it than none. "Now!" Shining said. Fancy released the moorings, letting the ship slide away down the launch. He gave the wheel a hard turn clockwise, pulling it alongside the cliff.

The dock crews scrambled to bring the gangplank back over to the side of the ship to let the guests of honor board. The Prince declined this portion of the event, claiming other responsibilities. Rarity and a select few other guests boarded and the dock crew waved them off. Fancy pulled away from the cliff side and set sail on the yachts maiden voyage. Shining began to get nervous. He certainly couldn't get caught up in a multiple-day cruise to Trottingham or something like that. He had a birthday to get to in the morning.

"Um, where are we going?" Shining asked.

"Oh, just taking her for a lap around the mountain. Shouldn't be more than a couple hours. Standard fair." Fancy explained. "Which is why I've asked for your presence. Could you take the wheel while I attend to my guests on deck?"

"Me?"

"Do you see anypony else on the bridge?" Fancy motioned to the otherwise empty room.

"Sir, I'm not qualified for that."

"Nonsense. It couldn't be easier. The weather today is clear. The wind is calm. Just keep the mountain on the starboard and don't get too close to it." Fancy said as he walked out of the wheelhouse.

"But what if- Shit!" Shining tried calling after him, but he was already gone as the ship began to list to the right. Shining took the wheel and straightened it out, watching through the window as the large yellow fins on the side actuated, redirecting the airflow. Fancy spoke to Rarity and the others out on the deck. His panic quickly subsided. Piloting an airship had been a dream of his when he was a colt. But Fancy was right about it being easy. At least in these conditions.

Now the only challenge was staying awake. The airship lumbered along, keeping a level altitude, processing in a wide, slow circuit around Canterlot Mountain. It was the first time he'd seen the northern side of it. It looked about the same, sans the castle and city. But other than that it was simply quite boring. Fancy walked back up the stairs to the wheelhouse.

"Captain, can I offer you a drink?" Fancy said, offering the glass. Shining looked at the wheel in his hooves.

"Um, are you sure that's wise?"

"Ah, responsible as ever." Fancy smiled. "I appreciate that. But actually this contains none of the creature. This cider is non-fermented."

"Oh. Thanks." Shining sipped the apple juice.

"I must say, I'm quite in your debt for this." Fancy continued "I was afraid that I would be up here neglecting my guests. Or that they'd have to be up here. And there simply isn't enough room, or view, like the deck. There simply must be some way I can repay you for this kindness."

"Actually, now that you mention it, there is." Shining said. "I meant to ask you earlier. But do think that there'd be any way that you could get your hooves on a signed copy of the new Daring Do book? I need it for my sister's birthday tomorrow."

"You don't say? I actually have one myself."

"Wow! Really? Signed?"

"Indeed. I'm actually quite the avid fan. Give me a moment to dig it out." Fancy took the stairs below deck to the living quarters. Shining waited with anticipation. "Ah here it is!" Fancy made his way back up, passing the book to him. Shining opened the cover. Scrawled cross the inside was A.K's signature. He carefully placed it in his bag. Twilight would be ecstatic. Hopefully things would be back to normal between them now. "Why don't I take over for a bit. We'll be pulling into Canterlot port shortly and I'd rather be the one doing it. Flying one of these is easy. Docking them is... significantly less so." Shining made his way down to the deck. He caught Rarity's eye and she made her way over to him.

"Ah, Captain, I understand we have you to thank for this delightful flight?" Rarity asked.

"Uh, yes. That is correct." He affirmed.

"Well thank you for that. It has been a wonderful experience."

"You're welcome."

"Does your father let you drive his ships often?" She asked.

"My fath- what?"

"Your father, Fancy. Was he the one to teach you to sail?"

"Fancy!? No, he's not my father!"

"He's not? Oh my goodness I am so sorry! I shouldn't have so foolishly assumed. Please forgive me." Rarity apologized.

"It's okay. I just was surprised, is all." He said.

"You must be tired of hearing that all the time I'm sure."

"Why?"

"Well, isn't- isn't it obvious?" She asked, still a bit nervous. "The comparison is quite striking." Shining looked up at the stallion in the wheelhouse, and then at his own reflection. White fur, two-toned blue mane. Blue eyes. It really was like looking at an older version of himself. Just, with a mustache.

"Huh."

"I'm surprised that nopony else had mentioned it before." She said. Shining just stood there and pondered the implication. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be saying such things out of place like that."

"It's okay. Really. I'm sure you're not the first to make the mistake. I've just honestly never thought of it before." He said. The craft lurched slightly as it came to a stop against the dock. The ponies on solid ground scurried about with the mooring lines as another brought over the gang-plank ramp. Fancy exited the wheelhouse and made his way down to the deck with everypony else.

"Well Shining, it was very lovely meeting you. Perhaps our paths will cross again sometime." Rarity said.

"Perhaps." Shining replied. Rarity walked over to Fancy, whispering something in his ear and slipping him a bit of paper. She gave him a coy smile and turned to leave down the ramp, brushing him with her tail as she left. Perhaps it was unintentional. But it certainly didn't look very likely from the blush on Fancy's face as he looked down at the scrap of paper she'd given him. He walked up beside Shining. The two stallions watched the ivory unicorn strut away.

"Well my boy, it looks like we've got a busy evening ahead of us." Fancy said with a sigh.

"What do you mean 'We'?" Shining asked.

"Come with me. I'll explain on the way."

A few hours later

Shining Armor fidgeted in the dressing room chair as the stylist worked on his mane. Fancy walked in from his recording session to check on Shining's progress and to review the plan.

"You realize this is insane right?" Shining asked. "IN. SANE."

"Come on now, where's your sense of adventure?" Fancy asked.

"I've had a lifetimes worth with the last mare you set me up with!"

"I wouldn't worry. She's probably not as much of a kink as her." Fancy said, careful to play the pronoun game. What with the hairdresser present. "Besides, if everything goes as planned, you'll be in complete control of the situation the whole time."

"She's 'probably' not!? 'IF' it goes according to plan!?" Shining asked incredulously. "You're not exactly filling me with confidence here."

"Now, now. That doesn't sound like something I'd say." Fancy said, taking a spare monocle from his pocket, knocking the lens out and placing it on Shining's cheek. "You need to be playing the part!" He said. Shining looked at Fancy, and then at himself in the mirror. The two sights were indistinguishable from one another. The stylist had taken a bit of his blue mane and crafted it into a mustache the likes of which he'd never been able to grow for himself. Combined with the monocle, a new mane style, and a suit that covered his cutie mark, he was a dead ringer for Fancy Pants. "Top shelf, my dear!" Fancy complimented her, giving her a generous tip.
..........

Fancy passed the device to Shining as the rode in the carriage.

"She'll be at my friend's dinner party for at least 30 more minutes. That will give us plenty of time." Fancy said. "Lets go over the plan one last time."

"Okay, I'm going to sit in the chair in her suite, and wait for her to return." Shining recited. "Then when she gets there, I'll use this to speak." He held up the device that Fancy had recorded onto earlier. "And then..." Shining rolled his hooves in front of him in an implying motion.

"And then the sexual intercourse!" Fancy said unabashedly.

"Yes. That was what I was implying." Shining dead-panned, embarrassed for both of them.

"And then, vamoosh!"

"Right. I leave as soon as she's asleep as so to not risk revealing my true identity." Shining said as the carriage came to a halt.

"All right. You're ready. Go get her!" Fancy said, opening the door. Shining stepped out and closed the door behind him. He turned around quickly.

"Fancy!" He called out. The window rolled down. Fancy leaned out the window.

"Yes?"

"You're not, like, a pimp for stallions are you?" Shining asked. Fancy chuckled.

"Oh, Shining! I'm not going to lie to you..." He trailed off as the carriage pulled away.

"That wasn't very reassuring." Shining grumbled to himself. He walked up the stairs to Rarity's castle suite. Sure enough, she'd left the door unlocked. He let himself in and prepared the room.

Celestia's sun was just kissing the horizon as Rarity returned to her suite. He ascent up the stairs was mixed with excitement and trepidation. She turned the handle and pushed to door open. She squinted into the dark room. She tried the light switch, but the bulb had been removed from the light fixture.

"In here." Came a voice from the darkness. She recognized it as belonging to Fancy Pants. On the far side of the room, the curtain parted slightly, revealing his silhouette, sitting in the chair in front of the full length window. She could see the outline of his suit and the glint of the monocle. "Have some champagne." He motioned to the bucket of ice on the table. In it, an opened bottle rested. Beside it, two filled glasses. Rarity took one in her magic, a sipped it. "Step into the light." He instructed her from the chair. Rarity quickly finished the rest of the glass, as well as the second one on the table, garnering the courage to proceed. She stepped forward into the beam of light coming in through the parted drapes.

"I didn't know if you would come." Rarity said, sheepishly, then blushing in the light at her phrasing. "Show up, I mean." Shining Armor, with his face hidden from her, tried to keep his hyperventilation from being to obvious as he hit the pause button on the device again.

"Let me do the talking. You are very pretty. You may start by unzipping your dress." Normally disrobed anyway, Rarity obliged, hastily pulling at the fasteners on her dress with her magic. "No, no! Turn around." Rarity stopped what she was doing and looked up at him again. "Do it- do it slow. Do it- very slowly." Rarity turned slowly in place. Her horn lit again to undo the button at the top of the back of her dress. It sprung free, revealing her sculpted shoulder line. "Good." Rarity's magic pulled at the zipper. "Slowly." The sound of the individual teeth of the zipper parting could be heard in the still of the darkness.

Ponies were normally naked. There was no taboo associated with it. Clothes were merely accessory. But there was something about clothes- some clothes. The way that certain clothes seemed to showcase various parts of a pony. There was a certain sensuality in what they covered. Or didn't. He had never put much stock into it before. At least no consciously. He never understood any fetishism associated with it. But now...

It wasn't that she was dressed- or that she would soon become undress. It was the transition. It was watching her undress. The way she did it. What she chose to remove first. What she chose to keep covered last. It thrilled him in a whole new way. And his position on the chair did little to hide his visible appreciation. Rarity finished unzipping the dress, slowly peeling it down, and stepping her front two legs out of it, turning to face him. She reared up, putting one hoof on the bed frame to steady herself, the other hoof holding the dress in place around her midsection. She smirked at his obvious erection, letting the rest of her dress fall to the floor around her ankles. He could see her flawless white fur of her flank, and her beautiful cutie mark. Gems- diamonds. A rarity, just like her. But more than that, he could see that she was wearing a dark colored thong that did little but to cover only her most intimate parts.

"Good." Shining Armor paused the recording of Fancy's voice again. He knew the scripted lines ahead of time. But he was amazed at how Fancy seemed to know exactly how she would behave in this situation. The words from the recording synced up perfectly. "Now slide of your stockings, one by one." Rarity gave him a puzzled look as she dropped back down to all fours.

"I'm not wearing any darling." She said.

"That's good." Shining winced at the incongruity. Almost perfectly, he thought, regretfully. Watching her remove some silken stockings was something he was sure he would have relished. "Now turn for me, in the light. Let your body flow like water." Rarity turned around slowly, stepping out of her dress and kicking it lightly aside. She blushed as she turned her ivory rump to him. She knew perfectly well that the black fabric was a stark contrast to her white fur. It would draw his eye. And suddenly she felt very self-conscious, being scrutinized by this pony she admired so much. She completed her rotation, whipping her hair with a bit of flare. She could see the silhouette of his shaft twitch at the spectacle. She was inwardly pleased that she was having such an effect on the stallion.

"Now... dance for me." She was a little nervous for a moment. She'd never considered herself much of a dancer beyond the plain slow dance. She'd dabbled in a bit of ballroom dancing classes, but either required a partner. And the stallion showed no sign of rising from his seat. She improvised a bit of a set she'd seen Sapphire Shores do. Her legs and hooves moved and shuffled to the rhythm of the pop song in her head.

"No, no. Dance slowly. Dance... sexy." She stopped the song in her mind and fell still for a moment. Dance sexy? She tried to think of what that would even look like. Her memory landed on an evening out with her friend, Rainbow Dash.
.....

"Come on Rarity! Let me show you a REAL night out!" Rainbow Dash took her out to 'the best kept secret of Ponyville'. Rarity was greeted with a variety of mares dancing up on stages around the dimly lit bar. She and Dash, aside from the dancers, were the only mares in the club. This singular fact seemed to gain them extra attention. Both from the dancers themselves and the... other patrons.

"Hey girl! What are you up to tonight?" A random stallion would slur, humping the air suggestively.

"Yeah, I came to a strip joint for the stallions. Right." Dash said dismissively.

"Fuck'n dyke!" He said storming off.

Rarity meanwhile was entranced by the dancer on the stage. She'd never see a dancing style of this sort before. The way her body moved with the slow, baritone melody of the song. Her hips wiggled and gyrated, flagging her tail, and flaring her wings in just a way to keep parts hidden, and then revealed at just the right moments, teasing and titillating the other stallions seated at the stage. Rainbow Dash sat down in one of the empty seats, pushing a few bits forward onto the stage. The dancer gave her a bit of a personal show for a couple moments before moving on to collect the next 'tip'. Rarity sat beside Rainbow, trying her best to not stand out. The black light was not making it easy with her white fur practically glowing. Before the end of the night, she saw a few of her own outfits being worn by the dancers. For a while at least.
.....

"Dance sexy. Let your hooves be your lovers hooves on your own fur as you move." She stopped the pop dance she had been attempting. The words echoed in Rarity's ear. She closed her eyes and imagined herself as one of those dancers, up there on the stage. She began to sway, just slightly at first, nervously. She sashayed about in the small dance space of the floor, moving and gyrating her hips like the dancer in her memory. It made her feel dirty and debased, to lower herself to something so completely beneath her station.

Her whole life she'd strove to be the very best she could be. Always behaving with the finest etiquette, manners and speech. And here, in this moment, with one of the most important ponies she knew looking on, she realized the awful truth about her life. She'd built a gilded cage of perfection around herself, restricting herself to her own finely tuned parameters of perfection. She'd spent all this time living her life in chains, never even knowing that she had the key. She understood at last what it was she felt in that dance club. It was not pity, no.

It was envy.

Her tail followed her hips as they rolled and gyrated, swinging from side to side with the slow beat in her mind. She turned about on her hoof affording him fleeting glimpses under her perfectly styled tail at the fine material barely covering her marehood. She turned her eyes back to him, giving his silhouette a devious stare as she brought the tip of her hoof to her lips, flicking her lower lip. She ran her hoof down her chin to her neck, flipping her wrist up to her mane.

Holding onto the bed post again, she ran her hoof down from the nape of her neck to her collar bone, slowly tracing the curves of her figure down her chest and belly. She slipped the tip of her hoof under the band of her panties on her hip, giving it a slight tug. Not enough to reveal anything too intimate, but enough to tease a glimpse at the neatly trimmed tuft of violet fur just above her mound.

Turning in place as she dropped her other hoof to the floor, she crouched down while raising her rump in the air, waving her tail back and forth at him while showing off her supple flank. Her hips bobbed up and down, lower as she spread her legs, ending in an impressive splits. From her position on the floor, she took a hold of the bed post once again, imagining it in her mind as a dancer's pole. With a great deal of dynamic tension in her powerful thigh muscles, she lifted herself from the floor, wrapping her hind leg around the pole as she would slink her way up in one smooth motion.

Her fore hoof reached for the sky as she stretched herself toward the ceiling against the pole. In a snap she dropped her hoof back down to her shoulder level, letting herself fall away from the pole before pulling herself back against it. The whole time her eyes were locked onto his with a look of unbridled passion. On her second time falling away from the pole, her hoof's grip failed her and she noisily tumbled to the floor, knocking over the end table.

Shining nearly rose to his hooves to help her but she recovered instantly, trying to pretend that it hadn't even happened as she resumed her dance. She squatted in front of the pole, bobbing her hips on the invisible stallion under her as she licked her lips at him. Shining's mouth hung open as she ran her tongue up the reachable length of the bed post. His hooves were rapidly growing sweaty watching the mare run her tongue over the knobby relief work crave into the post. The recorder slipped from his hoof, thudding against the carpet.

He panicked, thinking the jig was up for sure. But Rarity hadn't even noticed. She was in her own world up there, dancing for him. He quickly recovered it, hitting the play button as he did.

"Now lie on the bed, and close your eyes." He hit the pause button quickly. Shit! he mentally cursed, he was just getting into the show. He wasn't ready to move on just yet yet. And neither was she it seemed. The passionate look on her face fell. She'd only been dancing for a couple of minutes at most. She was just getting into it as well. She stopped though, sitting on the far side of the bed slowly, facing away from him.

"I thought you would have like to watch some more." She said. The was the slightest tremble to her voice. Shining knew that he'd already played the last of the recording. But she wasn't lying on the bed or closing her eyes. He was trapped. Part of him wanted to make a break for the door or even the window. But his military training hushed his fear and his quick think worked out a solution. He rewound the tape just a bit and pushed play.

"Now lie on the bed, and close your eyes." It repeated. He was hoping that he'd gotten back to the request to see her dance some more. But Rarity nodded and obediently laid down on top of the covers. From where he was sitting he could see her eyes were indeed closed. He rose from his chair and let the curtain close behind him, shrouding the room in darkness. He was disguised, yes. But a good-enough look at him up close in the light would have revealed his true identity. He took the rose from the table beside his chair in his mouth.

Rarity felt the bed shift as he climbed onto the other side of the bed. Her breath quickened at his approach. Her body tensed in anticipation of his touch. She was tempted so to look, just to peek. But she kept her eyes shut, lest she displease him. She felt him kiss her nose. No, wait, it was something else. Lighter, more delicate than lips. The fragrance of the rose filled her senses. She reflexively inhale sharply, relishing in the scent.

Fancy Pants had given him the bouquet as a snack. And indeed, it proved delicious while Shining waited in the dark. But he saved a couple for a different, unintended purpose. He traced the outlines of her face with the delicate flower, grazing it along the spiral of her horn, and across the delicate lashes of her closed eyes. His body leaned against her warm, bare chest as he dragged it gently across her soft cheek to her lips, parted slightly in ragged breath. She grabbed it with her tongue and bit the flower off the stem, chewing it quickly.

Shining was not prepared for that, but luckily, he had a spare. He discarded the stem and plucked the last rose from across the room in his magic. He picked up where he'd left off, tracing his way down her chin. He slid down her body with the rose following his chin along her fur until his cheek rested against the strap of her thong on her hip. She gasped as she felt the warmth of his breath on her fur, and the moisture from his lips as he grasped her strap with his teeth. His nostrils were flooded with the musk of her arousal pouring from her marehood.

He tugged the strap down, ever so slightly, revealing her violet bush. With the rose, he teased her courser hairs. He could feel her muscles tremble under him as she stifled a giggle. The very top of her slit peeked out from the top of the panties. He let the rose graze against the bare flesh where she'd shaved, causing her to wink into the petals. Pulling at the strap sideways, he pulled the fabric aside, revealing the rest of her hot marehood. Her teeth chattered at the sudden exposure.

It was then that he noticed the goose bumps causing her fur to stand on end. The night had brought on a cool to the evening and there was no fire in the hearth. He was comfortable himself, but he was wearing one of Fancy's coats as part of his disguise. Here she was bare to the world in the cold room and shivering. He grabbed the folded blanked at the foot of the bed and threw it over her.

"Thank you." She whispered graciously, keeping her eyes closed still.

"Mhmm." He hummed in response. It was all he could do as he gave her the other rose to eat. He promptly lifted the bottom of the blanket and crawled under, up between her legs. She gasped as he pulled the fabric aside again, this time replacing the rose with his tongue. He started, just as with the rose, lightly, as he imagined a gentleman would. Teasing around the edges. He gave each tiny erogenous zone due attention, deliberately avoiding the one spot that would send her over the top. He could feel her squirming on the bed in front of him, moaning as she chewed her lip.

He kissed along her puffy lips, sucking a little bit as he went up one side and down the other. He poked his long tongue at the bottom, dipping into her honey hole before flattening it in a wide swath as he ran it up the length of her slit. She braced for the contact at the top but he pulled away just before. She put her hoof on the tip of his horn through the blanket with a subtle, downward pressure in a not-so-subtle hint of direction.

He pretended not to notice, ignoring her direction. He just stalled, enjoying the hot, moist air saturated by her sex under the blanket. It was intoxicating. She increased her pressure on his head, expressing her impatience. He pulled away slightly, freeing himself of her grasp, choosing instead to plant little kisses along the inside of her creamy white thighs. A second hoof grasped the mane on the back of his head. There was no more subtlety to her actions. She was acting on pure need. But still he resisted. He wanted to hear it. He wanted her, this upper class mare who'd gotten everything she wanted her whole life, to beg.

"Please?" She whimpered. It was all he needed to hear. He released the tension in his neck and let her pull his face into her wanton pussy. He struck with the force of a whirling hurricane as his tongue attacked with gusto. Her hips bucked and jolted in uncontrollable spasms at the sudden onslaught. The gradual buildup of the excruciatingly slow foreplay rushed to a rapid crescendo under his redoubled efforts. "Oh, OH, OH FANCYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!" She cried out as her orgasm rocked trough her body, rebounding from the tips of her hooves to her horn and back again as she writhed and bucked against the stallion lapping her marehood.

Shining had wrapped his hooves around her thighs, just barely managing to hold on. Her pubic bone mashed him in the nose in one of her more violent jerks, but he was happy that he didn't accidentally bite his tongue during this, what amounted to, riding a bucking bull with his face. The force of her hooves on the back of his head didn't cease until her hooves flopped to her side in exhaustion.

Still under the blanket, he crawled up along her now steaming body. His face was still wet with her juices, which were now rubbing against his shaft as it slid up against the slit. There in the dark, his face met hers. She put her hoof to his cheek, guiding her blindness. Her lips met his as he kissed her back. The bristles of his faux mustache tickled against her smooth lips. She could taste herself on him. But she would be lying if she'd claim that she did not enjoy tasting herself... or that she had not done it before.

Shining ground his hips against her, getting his member slick with her wetness. Her mind began to clear from the ecstasy of her orgasm as the reality of what was about to happen finally struck her. Shining brought his tip to her entrance and began to apply a bit of pressure to push inside her tight pussy.

"Please." She begged again. He took it as encouragement, pressing a bit more. She put her hoof to his chest. He froze, knowing instantly what she meant. She squirmed her legs a bit, twisting slightly to the side, causing him to become unaligned and slipping away. "Can we... do we... have to? That?" She asked meekly, afraid to displease him.

"Uhuhh." Shining disagreed with a hum, slumping away non-threateningly. Rarity rolled away, ashamed that she'd backed out at the last minute. She wanted her first time going all the way, losing her virginity, to be special. And she thought that Fancy would be the one. And tonight, with the dancing in the moonlight, and the rose, it was magical! But something in her gut at the last second caused her to think twice. Maybe it was because she'd just met him. Maybe it was a feeling of inadequacy. He could have any mare he wanted. He probably did. She was just one of a series. She admired him, sure. He was a very important pony after all. But she needed The One to love her back. Really love her. She felt hopeless, like a scared little filly.

"Could you just... could you hold me?" She whispered. Shining laid beside her, wrapping his hoof around her, pulling her close. Regrettably, his shaft pressed against her back, between them. He felt her shudder just a bit, crying as the knot in her chest finally let go in his strong embrace. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"Shhh." Shining cut her off, bringing his hoof up to her cheek, pulling her face toward his, kissing her again. There was no passion in it this time. it was not that kind of a kiss. This time, there was only the gentle intimacy. It was all she needed to know that it was okay. It would be okay. They didn't need to have sex. She understood that now. He didn't expect it of her like a common whore. She didn't need to apologize to him. There was nothing to forgive. He wiped her tears away with his hoof.

"You really are a gentlecolt, aren't you?" She asked. He answered her only with another kiss. He held her until she drifted off to sleep.

He quietly slipped from the bed and gathered his things, making good his escape. He slipped out the door, closing it behind him.

Making good his escape.

Just as planned.
.....

Shining's walk home from Canterlot Castle carried with it both a quiet disappointment and an air of déjà vu. The cool of the night had brought on a fog, or rather, low clouds to the mountainside city. The route took him along the familiar path from his place of work to his home. It reminded him of his dream that he'd had weeks earlier, about his walk home from the bar that night. He kept his eyes on the sky, on the lookout for any of the pegasi night watch. But none came.

Indeed, he felt silly for entertaining the notion of his dream predicting actual future events. But in this world of magic, such things were not explicitly impossible. He was left instead, only with a feeling of guilt. That mare, Rarity, seemed genuinely lovely. As his home came into sight, he felt a pang in his chest at the deceit. It was much too late tonight. But he resolved to make things right as soon as possible. He slipped inside the front door with practiced, silent motion, and made his way to bed.

KNOCK KNOCK -

Shining's eyes fluttered open in the morning sunlight. His time in bed was restless, and not the revitalizing sleep that he sorely needed. His ear twitched at whatever had awoken him.

KNOCK KNOCK -

There it was again. A knock at the door. Not his bedroom's, but downstairs, at the front door. Shining's heart raced and his forehead became damp with panicked sweat. He leaped from his bed with unnatural energy and ran to the banister at the top of the stairs, just in time to see his mother, Twilight Velvet, answer the door.

Please don't let it be Fancy, or Rarity, or Lilly or Vinyl. He prayed. He suddenly became acutely aware of just how much he had been doing lately that he was gaining anxiety from.

"Hi mom!" Twilight Sparkle said as Velvet opened the door.

"Hi sweetie! Happy Birthday!" Velvet said, embracing her daughter. His dad, Night Light, joined the trio at the door as she walked inside.

"Happy Birthday, Twilight!" He said.

"Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad." Twilight said, putting her bag down.

"So what are you doing here?" Her mom asked. "I thought you were going to be in Ponyville this year."

"I was. But my friend was visiting Canterlot and now apparently her cat is too sick to travel back to Ponyville. So the rest of us agreed to move the party to Canterlot."

"The rest of us?" Her mother asked.

"Oh, my new Ponyville friends will be here later today. I took the early train so I could stop in and visit you guys." She smiled. It wavered as she asked, "Is... Shining home?" Velvet frowned.

"No dear, I'm afraid he didn't come home last ni-"

"Twilie!" Shining called down from the top of the stairs, beginning his descent.

"Oh, I guess he is." Velvet corrected herself.

"Happy Birthday sis!" He said, forcing an awkward hug. She hugged him back, for appearances. She knew there were still unresolved issues between them. And he did too. But in that gesture, they'd made an unspoken agreement to keep up things for the sake of their parents.

"I guess I'll have to make a brunch!" Velvet said, turning on her hoof, back to the kitchen.

Shining tried to make it not too obvious that he was running back upstairs to wrap her present. Then he ran upstairs, obviously to wrap her present.
.....

He sat there on the floor, struggling to make it not look like a foal with palsy tried to wrap a present in the dark with their hind hooves.

One would be hard pressed to convince otherwise.

knock knock -

Shining looked up from the disaster in his hooves. Twilight was standing in the doorway, tapping the frame with her hoof.

"Hey." She said. He looked down at the gift for her. It was covered at least. And that was good enough, he decided. On the plus side, it looked nothing like a book, or even remotely book shaped. It would be a surprise indeed. He regarded the filly standing in his bedroom doorway.

"Hey." Was all he could respond with. He lifted the atrocity in his hoof, offering it to her, smiling weakly. "Happy Birthday." Her smile returned was equally halfhearted, looking her brother up and down.

"I never get what I want." She sighed. Shining winced. He knew what she meant, but tried his best to skirt around the elephant in the room.

"Nopony does." He said, extending his hoof bearing the consolation prize a bit more. She took the mass in her magical grip.

"What is it? A melon?" She asked, trying to find a place to start.

"You'll see." He said. In spite of all that had happened lately, there was still an unadulterated joy in the giving of a gift to somepony you cared about. For a few brief moments, the other concerns melted away as her anticipation grew with each layer of wrap removed. She got down far enough to make out the proper shape of the item, revealing a corner.

"Oh, it's a book." She said at last, in both surprise and lack thereof.

"Not just any book." Shining teased. She peeled the rest of the paper away.

"Daring Do." She looked it over. "I actually have this one though. Sorry."

"Are you sure about that?" He asked knowingly. "Look inside." She opened the book.

"You got it SIGNED!?" Her eyes went as wide as saucers. "How!?"

"Oh, I have my ways..." Shining smirked.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you so much!" She cried, hugging him with genuine embrace. He hugged her back, though with still a bit of reservation. This did not go unnoticed. She backed off and looked at him. He tried to look elsewhere, rubbing his neck with his hoof. "Shining, I-"

"No, it's okay. It's just... you know." He said.

"Look, I know what happened was weird, but I wasn't in my right mind. Can we just forget that it even happened?" She asked. He gave her an dubious look.

"I don't think that's really going to be possible." He said.

"Can we at least move past it?"

"I'm trying to, really. It's just going to take time."

"That's fair I suppose." She looked down at the book.

"KIDS! Time for cake!" Velvet called from downstairs. Twilight glanced back at him again.

"Thank's for the present." She said.

"You're welcome. Come on, let's go." He said as the headed down to the kitchen.

"I made your favorite, Twilight." Velvet said, cutting the cake after the song was sung and the candles were blown out. "Yellow cake!" Twilight took a bite of her slice.

"Mmm! It's delicious! What's your secret, mom?"

"U-238." She said.

"What?" Twilight asked.

"Never mind." She said.
.....

After a delightful brunch of birthday cake and gifts from her parents, Twilight had to depart to greet her friends arriving at the Canterlot train station. Shining went back upstairs to prepare for his meeting. Then he headed out to go see Rarity. He was again, greeted with disappointment however, when he arrived. The bellhop informed him that Miss Rarity was out for the evening at the Canterlot Garden Party and would not be back until the next morning.

Shining was in no state to go to a formal outing. Especially without proper formal wear. Or an invitation. An invitation to a party to which Fancy Pants would surely be attending, nay, hosting. And especially not to confess to Rarity that he was masquerading as the very host of said party, at said host's request. It would only end in disaster. He could wait another day. Rarity was sure to comment to Fancy about the evening prior. But just as with everything else, Shining was sure that Fancy already had a plan for just such a contingency.

Shining decided to go home and prepare for tomorrow. He'd return, dressed to the nines, and explain everything that happened. And Rarity could either accept his explanation and apology, or reject it. But either way, his conscience would be clear.

The day after Twilight's birthday, Shining walked up the stairs to Rarity's suite, wearing Fancy's suit that he'd borrowed and had yet to return. In his pocket, the monocle and fake mustache. As he neared the top of the stairs, he noticed the door was open. He paused, just outside, when he heard her voice within.

"Dear Princess Celestia, I wanted to tell you about the important lesson I learned during my visit." He listened to Rarity recite out loud as she wrote a letter to the Princess.

"Now that, I would like to hear." He heard Princess Celestia's voice.

"I learned that no matter where you go in life, you should never forget that you are the product of your home and your friends. And that is something always to be proud of. No matter what!" Rarity said.

"A very valuable lesson to have learned." Celestia said.

"It certainly is." The bellhop added, strain in his voice. "But might I add that we hurry things up a bit?" There came a crash as what looked to be a mountain of luggage came tumbling down on top of him. A round hat box rolled on its side out of the door. Rarity helped the bellhop out from under the pile and re-stacked the luggage. Celestia stepped outside to retrieve the errant hat box.

She picked up the hat box in her yellow magic aura. She glanced to the side, seeing Shining standing there. He was frozen in place, unable to react. Her expression was unchanged, devoid of surprise. She casually retrieved the box and returned inside, adding it to one of the stacks Rarity had made.

"Well it seems you have everything under control here." Celestia said. "It was very nice having you as my guest. But unfortunately, I'm afraid I have other pressing matters to attend to."

"Farewell Princess." Rarity said.

"Farewell." Celestia said, stepping outside and closing the door behind her. She walked across the patio to the far wall, looking off into the distance. Shining remained motionless to her right, a few steps down and away. She sighed and nodded to herself, seemingly finished whatever deep thought she was contemplating. She turned to Shining, looking him in the eyes. The sun shone brightly through her ethereal mane. His legs refused to work. His mouth hung open. He was enthralled in sheer awe of her presence. She stepped past him, commanding him to follow.

"Come. There is much we need to discuss."

Colt Icarus

"It's time for bed Shining!" Twilight Velvet called out. The little colt scampered up the stairs to his bed, jumping in and crawling under the covers.

"Mommy? Tell me a bedtime story." The young foal asked, settling into his pillow.

"Okay. Just a minute." Velvet said, sitting on the edge of the bed, her belly heavy with his little sister. "Have I ever told you about the very first pegasus?" She asked. Little Shining shook his head 'no'. She stroked his messy mane out of his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Once upon a time, long, long ago at the beginning of the pony race, there were no Unicorns or Pegasi. There was only Earth ponies." She recited. "One day, a young colt, named Icarus, was watching the birds flying in the sky. And he decided that he would find a way to fly as well. So he went to his chicken coop and gathered up all the feathers he could carry. Then he gathered together some bits of wood, and some cloth and string. And he built wings!" She said. Shining's eyes lit up.

"He made a light frame from the sticks, and bound them with string. He covered them with cloth, and melted a candle onto it and stuck the feathers to the wax! When he was all done, he put is hooves into the wings and flapped! They looked just like real wings and he lifted himself off the ground! He began to fly around!"

"Wow! Really?" Little Shining asked.

"Oh, yes!" His mother replied. He flew and flew, high above everypony else. They were all so jealous of him and he was proud of his wings. He flew higher and higher, showing off to the ponies below. He flew higher than all of the other birds, up above the clouds. 'I am the best flyer ever!' He shouted." Velvet said, flapping her arms enthusiastically.

"And then what happened?" Shining asked.

"And then, he flew too high. He flew too close to the sun and the heat melted the wax on the wings he had built. The feathers fell off and he fell all the way back to the ground." She said, letting the silence punctuate the grim ending. "The moral of the story is to always stay humble in light of your accomplishments in life. Because there will always be those who are jealous of your success. And it doesn't take much for you feathers to melt and come crashing back down to the bottom." She said, kissing him goodnight.

It had been many years since Captain Shining Armor was a little colt, being told bed time stories. But he remembered that story that night clearly. The images of the story, vivid in his mind, now just as then.

And now, here, walking beside the Solar Princess, he finally knew what it was like for the poor colt, Icarus...

flying too close to the sun.
.....

"Come. There is much we need to discuss." Princess Celestia commanded of him. She walked past him, instructing him to walk with her. The sun refracted through her ethereal mane, scattering into a thousand, shimmering colors. It flowed and waved in an unseen solar wind. Her tail grazed his face, caressing his cheek. It felt like the warmth of the sunshine on a spring morning long forgotten. His vision blurred and his cheek felt the cool of the air in her tail's absence. It had become damp with his tear.

He glanced at the closed door to Miss Rarity's suite. And at Fancy Pants's suit that he was still wearing. He vowed to come clean with the mare as soon as possible. But the Princess had given him an order. Rarity would have to wait a bit longer. He turned his head to follow in the direction of her tail. His hooves moved under him, turning him to follow. He was only faintly aware of the motion, only that he was along for the ride. His mind was elsewhere. And his eyes were fixed. She was head and shoulders taller than him. Putting him eye level with her glorious flank. He drank in the sight deeply. He would have followed her into the depth of Tartarus.

His lack of subtlety did not go unnoticed. She could feel his gawking stare upon her royal rump. She slowed her pace down the stairs and bared to the right. Her direction was clear. Shining blushed. He felt like a colt that'd been caught with his hoof in the cookie jar. He quickly averted his lecherous stare and moved up to walking along side her, his head hung in shame.

Together, they walked across the palace grounds, from Rarity's castle suite to the Mane Hall. She passed the guards at attention by the entrance in silence. The each nodded in obedience. They passed the great doors to the throne room, and continued on into the west wing of the castle. The colored light streamed in through the stained glass windows lining the hallway. Each depicting momentous events of time immemorial. The plush carpeting underhoof quieted the clop of their hooves. And there, in the silence of the castle, Shining realized that she hadn't said a word since they'd left Rarity's suite.

They were very far away from anypony who would even remotely be within earshot of them. All he could hear was his own shallow, nervous breathing and his heart pounding in his ears. The collar of Fancy's suit was getting increasingly warm with his growing anxiety. The rest of the suit felt stifling on him, constricting his body. He need to do something. Anything to break this tension.

"Your Highness-" Shining said. He said it as softly as he could. But in the empty, vaulted hallway, his words echoed off the stone walls, amplifying the volume to much louder than he had planned. Or at least, it sounded that way after walking in stilted muteness for so long. He flinched. But Celestia gave no reaction, other than turning her head a barely-perceptible degree toward him, listening with intent. He spoke again, bracing for the reverberations. "You said that there was much we needed to discuss..." He said meekly. Celestia's head snapped back to straight ahead. What little distance it was, it was nigh instantaneous, and poignant. Her lips pursed just slightly for an instant, along with a twinge at the corner of her eyes before both returned to their normal, stoic expression. Shining gulped. Most ponies would have never even seen it. But those few who knew her well enough, knew what it meant.

She was furious

"I remember perfectly well what I said, Captain." She spoke tersely. "I do not need you to remind me!" Shining recoiled slightly at the admonishment, regretting speaking out without having been spoken to first. Especially now that he was already in trouble for stealing glances at the royal posterior. He could feel the heat of the sun melting the wax on his wings, and his feathers falling away. He felt the bottom of his stomach drop. The deep breath before the plunge into free-fall.

As they neared the end of the hallway She turned stopped at the door to the right, putting her hoof to the handle. She paused a moment, letting out a sigh, shedding the toxic anger from her. Her hoof still in place on the handle, she turned her head and faced him directly

"Rest assured, Shining, we will speak plenty, very soon." She said. And with that she pushed open the door. She stepped confidently inside, obscuring Shining's view for a moment. She made a bee line for the far side, where a couple of familiar ponies stood waiting. Shining stepped into the room nervously. As his eyes adjusted to the change in the light, he could see Celestia joining her sister, Princess Luna, and Fancy Pants, standing around a crib.

"Good afternoon, Tia." Fancy Pants greeted Celestia before he looked up to the doorway, a bit surprised to see Shining Armor standing there. However, seeing him arrive with the Princess assuaged his shock. He looked into the crib a final time. Luna's gaze followed Fancy's. She glanced at Shining from the corner of her eye before looking away again.

"We mustn't lurk in doorways Captain." Princess Luna spoke to him. "It's considered rude." Shining proceeded into the room. The interior was decorated with bright colors and soft hues. Pastels, and flower patterns. The floor had errant toys strewn about. This was a nursery. The mobile above the crib features a yellow sphere surrounded by little stars and a crescent moon. As he got closer, he could hear the noises of the tiny foal within. He neared the crib, anxious to see inside. He looked at the other ponies standing around it, glancing nervously between them. They all just looked back at him, waiting patiently. Princess Celestia moved aside, letting him approach. He inched closer, filled with a terror he could never understand. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't. Nothing stopped him from leaving. But he couldn't! He stopped, just short of the edge of the crib. Looking at the other ponies again.

"What is this!?" He asked. His tone, demanding.

"Your answer." Celestia said, cryptic as ever. "Although, you may not yet understand your question."

Shining took a deep breath and peered into the crib. A tiny foal, a newborn, no more than a few days old, lay inside. It always amazed him how small newborns were. She was a tiny unicorn, with white fur, and a tuft of purple mane. The little filly looked up at Shining with her bright blue eyes before nodding off again.

"Who is she?" Shining asked Celestia. She looked at the group, they looked at eachother and back at him again.

"You tell us." Luna said. Shining felt like he was being interrogated.

"We haven't decided yet on a name yet. Would you care to offer a suggestion?" Fancy Pants asked.

"What? Me? No I couldn't!" Shining stammered. He felt Celestia's wing on his shoulder.

"It's okay Shining." She said. "Just... look at her, and into your heart. And then tell us what you feel." Fancy Pants reached into the crib and peeled away the brown and grey blankets, opening them like a clam, revealing inside a white little -

"Pearl." Shining said. He looked up at the others there with him, at each of their faces. "Pearl." He repeated. The others nodded in approval.

"Fancy," Luna tapped him on the shoulder, "it's time."

"Right then." Fancy said, reaching into the bassinet, lifting the foal out. He carefully placed Pearl in the foal carrier and lifted it into the air with his magic. He sighed for a moment, holding her there, looking at her. "It never gets any easier, does it?" He asked nopony in particular. Celestia looked to the floor, unable to watch.

"No... It never does." She said somberly. Fancy took up the carrier and trotted out into the hallway, his hoof steps becoming more distant until they could be heard no more.

"Where- " Shining Armor looked toward the door. "Where is he taking her?" He asked.

"Ponyville General." Celestia said.

"But... why?" Shining asked. Celestia turned to her sister, giving her a knowing look. Luna stayed put as Celestia walked toward the door.

"Patience, Shining," Celestia said as she walked out, "the answers are coming." Shining looked back at Luna.

"Princess Luna, what the hell is going on here!?" He asked. Luna looked at him with empathy, putting a hoof on his shoulder.

"It is not my place to give you the answers you seek. But you will know, soon enough." She said, on the edge of a whisper as Celestia vanished around the corner. "Let me give you one bit of advice: Be honest. She knows more than you can possibly imagine." She said, motioning for him to the door. He turned to follow after Celestia. "Shining?" She called out after him. He looked back at the Princess of the Night. "... Good luck."

Shining Armor stepped out into the darkening hallway. To his left, the direction from which he had come. The direction Fancy had gone with little Pearl. To his right, the last door at the end of the hallway. It hung just slightly ajar, letting a sliver of light cut across the murky dark of hall's red carpet. He stood there in the dark. The light creeping out from under the door like a carpet of light leading him to his destination. Déjà vu came back hard now. He remembered his dream vividly. The very same apprehension, and what was to come. He lifted his hoof to bite it.

"Ow." He muttered, still not waking.

"You're not dreaming." He heard Luna's voice behind him. "Trust me, I would know."

"Right." He muttered. The door to the nursery closed behind him. There was nowhere to go but forward. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Inside, Princess Celestia has settled behind her desk in her comfy beanbag chair. She had on her red-framed reading glasses as her large plume feather quill scrawled busily across the paper she was working on.

"You look tired." Celestia said, without even looking up at him from her work. Shining blinked rapidly, trying to keep the fatigue from showing in his face. The memory of his drill sergeant barked at him as he straightened up his posture. She looked at him over the top of her glasses on her nose. "There's no need for that. I know you haven't been sleeping well." She motioned to the massive beanbag chair opposite her desk. "So please, relax. Sit down, before you fall down."

"How would you know about my sleeping?" He asked.

"We'll get to that." She said. She gave no other response, focusing instead on her work. He walked slowly, deliberately, across the room toward the large pillow. Never once, taking his eyes off of her. He settled into the chair, reading the paper on her desk, upside down.

... on this date, to certify the live birth of...

Celestia finished filling out the birth certificate, lightly blowing on the paper to help the ink dry.

"Who is she." He asked.

"Pearl." Celestia answered. He looked at her from across the desk, watching as she rolled it up and wrapped it in a red ribbon and her seal of office. In a burst of her magic, the scroll evaporated into green smoke and drifted out the window. Presumably to accompany Fancy Pants to the hospital in Ponyville.

"That doesn't answer my question!" He said, raising his voice. "Whose is she? Why is she going to Ponyville? What does any of this have to do with me? Or Fancy Pants for that matter!?" Shining huffed. Celestia waited for him to finish his little display. Clearly it had been gnawing at him for some time. She calmly slipped the reading classes from her face and set them on her desk. She placed her hooves together in front of her nose, the gold shoes clinking together.

"Shining, I realize this will sound silly to you, before I even ask it." She began. "But this is your last chance. After this, there is no going back. If I tell you, it will irrevocably change your world." She let the silence hang in the air a moment to punctuate her point. Shining didn't fold. "And none of this can leave this room, ever. Now then, I will ask you, this one. Last. Time... Are you sure you want to know?" Shining gulped and nodded. "Say the words."

"I want to know." He said firmly. Celestia looked into his eyes. She could see the resolve, the determination. She decided that he could handle the truth.

"Then I will tell you. But there are a few things you need to understand first." She said. "And you are not the only pony here with questions."

"Oh?" Shining asked, rhetorically. Celestia reached into her drawer and pulled out a manila folder, placing it on her desk. She unwound the string that bound it shut, lifting the flap open. Inside, she flipped through the pages. Various reports and photos. Shining could recognize the ponies from where he was sitting. Many of the photos were of him as well. Most of them were very recent. But some were quite old, judging by how old he was in the pictures.

"As you can see, we've had our eyes on you for some time now Captain Armor." She said. "But recently, a report came across my desk regarding a certain unicorn. Miss Vinyl Scratch." Celestia looked up at him knowingly. Shining tried to keep a good poker face. He tried at least. But none of it mattered once she flipped the page to the photo of him in the club, under Vinyl's turn table with his face buried in her crotch. Shining's face turned crimson, but Celestia remained stoic. She turned the page to a hospital chart.

"Miss Scratch checked into Canterlot Hospital shortly after this photo was taken, complaining of abdominal pain." She continued. "Blood tests confirmed that she was indeed pregnant, as she and her partner suspected. Shortly thereafter, she suffered a miscarriage."

"I know." Shining said somberly.

"I know." Celestia answered. "And now you know that I know." She looked down at the folder, flipping to the next page. "Nurse Redheart."

"Oh geez." Shining put his hoof to his face.

"Oh yes. She filled in for your attending nurse for a short time, who had to attend to another, more pressing matter." Celestia turned to another medical report. "Shortly after she reported abdominal pain. Once again, blood tests confirmed that she was indeed pregnant."

"But we-"

"Yes, she reported that she had used a..." Celestia put her reading glasses back on, looking at the report intently " an 'improvised contraceptive'." She looked up at him.

"It was a hoof-glove on my, uh-" Shining blushed.

"Ah." Celestia said. "Well, again, just as with Miss Vinyl, she suffered a miscarriage shortly after conceiving."

"Oh." He said, bowing his head. Celestia closed the folder. There was still a lot that hadn't been addressed in it, judging by the thickness of it. She took her reading glasses off again and spoke with him directly rather than reading from the file. She leaned on the desk and put her hooves together.

"Shining, you have to understand the significance of this."

"I know. I know. I got two mare pregnant by acting reckless. I should know better. I should-"

"No. It's not that." She cut him off. "Well, it's not just that. There are bigger things at stake here!" He looked up at her. She rubbed her eyes. He hadn't noticed it before, but she was tired as well. "Many years ago-" She paused, considering her words. "Many many years ago, my sister and I faced a foe of Equestria."

"Who?"

"It no longer matters. He was buried along with his name. So shall it remain." She said. "But before we smote him, he cast a death curse upon us. He decreed that Luna would never conceive a foal. And that I would receive far worse."

"What do you mean?"

"He decreed that my daughters would never bear foals." Celestia said, tears forming at her eyes. "Luna was able to get over her curse after a time, and cope with it... But for me, to see my daughters grow, and then die, without a foal, again and again through the generations..." Her face faltered. Shining got up from where he was sitting and sat beside her on her roomy cushion, holding her hoof. It was a forward gesture. But he'd never seen her cry before. Ever. Maybe it was the chivalrous part of him. But in that moment, she wasn't his boss, commander, or Princess. She was a mare in tears. And he held her hoof. She looked at him as he wiped her tears away. "Thank you."

"Of course."

"Ahem." Celestia tried to regain her composure. "Shining, ever since that day, every white mare been barren, unable to have foals of their own."

"But I thought you said the spell only affected your daughters."

"Didn't I?" She asked, leading him. Shining processed the thought.

"But... how? When? I've never seen you-" He motioned to her perfectly toned abs. Celestia rose to her hooves from the pillow. Her horn glowed for a moment and her body shimmered. When the Glamour dispersed, she looked only slightly different. Her belly was more distended. "Oh. So that's why you're always craving cake." Celestia's horn glowed again as she restored the Glamour.

"It's easier than makeup." She said with a weak smile. She walked over to the bed at the far side of her royal chambers, settling onto the covers. Shining followed after her, sitting beside her on the mattress.

"Wait, so- all of the white mares...?" Shining asked. "And Pearl?"

"Are my daughters. Yes." She said. Shining looked around the room.

"This- this is huge!" Shining rubbed his mane in disbelief. "Who else knows about this?" Shining asked.

"Nopony knows. And that's how it stays." Celestia said. "It's just you, Luna, Fancy Pants and myself. That's it." She paused. "Fancy will bring Pearl to Ponyville General Hospital for adoption. Another lost foal. One of my little, alabaster bastards." She sighed before continuing on. "There, she will be adopted by one of her elder sisters who have been wishing for a foal." She sighed. "The truth about my foals is one of the most tightly guarded secrets in my kingdom. I hope I can trust you with it."

"Of course. I am your Captain, my Princess. I will do as you command. But, if I may ask, why? Why all the secrecy?" He asked.

"Well, mostly it's because of their fathers." She said.

"Fathers?" He asked.

"Come now, Shining. You're a bright colt. Even you must understand that you need two halves to make a whole."

"Right. But more than one?"

"Please." Celestia scoffed incredulously. "After a millennium am I doomed to love and lose but one suitor?" Shining acquiesced. "Do not take me for some promiscuous whorse, Captain. I've loved each of my stallions deeply, and faithfully. And it's a wound I'd rather not reopen."

"Right. Sorry. But why the need for secrecy though?"

"In my youth, I had taken a greater variety of lovers. But unfortunately, there is only a certain pedigree that I can compatibly mate with. Such as my most recent lover."

"Who is it?" Shining asked. Celestia simply gave him a raised eyebrow. There were only four ponies who were privy to this secret. One of them had to be the one... directly involved in the process. "Fancy Pants. Of course." Shining realized.

"A white pony." Celestia said. "But unfortunately, his time of siring heirs for me has passed.

"Right, the impotence." His heart nearly leaped from his chest. "But wait! That would mean that Princess Fleur de Lis and Rarity-"

"Are his daughters." Celestia said.

"But, he set me up with them to- you know. Why would he do that?" Shining asked desperately. Celestia shifted on her bed.

"Shining, ever since the day I was cursed, my little ponies haven't been able to so much as conceive!" She said anxiously. "The fact that you were able to get not only one, but two of them pregnant, albeit temporarily, is the first ray of hope I've had for grandfoals in centuries! As soon as word had gotten to me that one of my daughters was pregnant, I immediately sought out the father. You. But by the time we figured out who it was, you had already had your encounter with Nurse Redheart as well." She explained.

"So Fancy Pants was at the hospital for me?"

"Him meeting you there was no accident. We needed to be sure of your success. That is why you were set up with Fleur de Lis and Miss Rarity. We are anxious to hear of their results." She said.

"But I thought that Fancy Pants and Fleur were an item. But if he's her father..." Shining asked.

"No! He would never do that. Not with his daughter. Although as I understand it, she certainly doesn't make it easy for him." Celestia said.

"That mare doesn't make it easy on anypony." Shining grumbled. "And you don't need to waste your time with waiting on Rarity."

"Oh?"

"No. We never actually... did it." He said.

"Hmm. Well that no longer matters."

"Okay." Shining breathed. "But, why are you telling me this? I mean, why now?" He asked. Celestia leaned back on the bed, trying to pick in her mind, exactly what to say.

"To put it simply, I want to promote you."

"But what does that have to do with-"

"Shhh." She hushed him. "I've been wanting to promote you, eventually. Although I hadn't planned on it happening quite so soon. But unfortunately I've run out of time." She shifted her seat once more. "I need you to take up Fancy Pants's old job, here at the castle, as he can no longer perform his duties, and must retire."

"What job?" He asked. Celestia brushed her mane away from her eyes, fluttering her lashes at him with a come hither stare. "Wait, what- what about uh somepony else? What about Prince Blueblood?" He asked.

"I had hopes for Blueblood in the past." She said, looking off into the distance. "But it seems that he's taken to an alternative lifestyle."

"Alternative?..." His memory fluttered back to his previous meetings with him.

.....
"Captain, you're quite the talented pony. I'd love to have a capable stallion such as yourself on my staff."
.....

"Oh, that's what he meant by that." Shining said to himself, slapping his face with his hoof. Princess Celestia waited for him for a moment.

"So what say you, Captain? Will you serve your Princess in this most important role?" Celestia asked. "Fancy Pants told my of your infatuation with me, Fleur wearing the wings for you." He looked up at her. "Oh yes. She told him all about that. And he told me." She smiled. "Regardless, I've seen the way you look at me Shining. When you think I can't see you, I can feel your eyes on me." She closed her eyes, reveling in the memory of him ogling her. "I know I've been the subject of your more... intense dreams."

"My dreams? How?"

"I'll give you two guesses but you're only going to need one." She said.

"Luna." He muttered. She smiled and flourished her wings, throwing ripples through her flowing mane.

"You think me sexy. You desire me. Do you deny it?" She asked. Shining felt his heart pounding in his chest, threatening to burst through his rib cage. His pulse was a rapidly rushing thunder in his ears. His hooves were wet with sweat. He gulped audibly. His memory flashed back to Luna.

"Let me give you one bit of advice: Be honest. She knows more than you can possibly imagine."

"I do not deny it." Shining Armor said nervously. Celestia moved slowly, circling him and gently pushing him backwards onto the bed, she herself joining beside him.

"How long, Shining? How long have you lusted after me?" She asked.

"Ever since the first time I saw you." He said. "At the Summer Sun celebration, years ago. It was the summer before Twilight enrolled at your school.

"I remember."

"You winked at somepony in the crowd. I thought it was me for the longest time. But you must think it's silly now. But it was why I joined the guard. To be closer to you." He said.

"It's not silly. You were quite the strapping young colt back then as I remember." She said. "What makes you think now that I wasn't winking at you?" She asked.

"Were you?"

"A colt of pure white fur in a sea of my colorful little ponies? You stood out a bit. All eyes were on me that morning. They usually are." She lamented her constant celebrity scrutiny. "But I could practically feel your eyes on me. And every time since then, I could feel it each time you saw me." She smiled. "But it was so much more than the simple infatuations of the other stallions. It was so much more... genuine." Shining blushed and smiled back. It was all true. "So I had taken to watching you as well, and your career. Fancy Pants will always have a special place in my heart for the rest of his days. But the... carnal part of our relationship has passed. And my barren daughters still need foals." She leaned over him, nibbling on his ear. "I cannot deny that I've been looking forward to this. Are you ready make me your mare? To become my consummate lover in return?" She asked. His hooves moved along her body on top of him. She was growing warmer by the minute.

"Yes." He moaned. "Yes! A thousand times yes!" He vowed with absolute conviction. Her cheek was a hair's breath from his as she whispered into his ear.

"When you get there, call to me, as you would a lover, and I shall join you." She smiled at him.

"When I get wher-" His vision went dark.

Darkness. His consciousness sat there in the perfect darkness. No longer in the bedroom, only utter void. There were no points of reference. There was no up or down. He could not feel his body. In fact, he could not sense anything at all. Not a sound to be heard. He had no mouth but tried to scream. Nothing. Perfect nothingness. No movement. No time. Only his consciousness. His vague awareness that he was. He existed. It was the only thing he was sure of in this place, where ever it was. He did not know how long in this place he spent. Be it seconds or eons.

Stars began to appear in front of his eyes. He thought that it was probably a bad thing for a moment. But they didn't spin around in a dizzying motion like the kind of stars that mean that your brain was being smothered. Instead they burned steady, cold and pure above him. A cold wind touched his face. Fancy's coat was gone. He was once again bare to the world.

He became conscious of the ground beneath him. It was impossibly soft, like one giant down pillow. His vision slowly came back as his pupils dilated in the darkness. The ground he was sitting on was just slightly lighter than the perfect dark of the horizon around him. It was lit, dimly, in the faint starlight, like snow. A shadowy figure shimmered at the edge of his vision, walking slowly toward him. He peered into the darkness. Her swirling mane sparkled in the dark.

"I see you've made your choice." Luna said.

"Luna? Where am I? Am I dead?" He asked. A low laugh bubbled up from her throat.

"You're not dead, Captain." She smirked. "I should say, you'll feel more alive than ever very shortly."

"Where am I?" He asked again. She smiled.

"She wanted your first time to be someplace more... remote." Luna said in a coy tone. Shining's eyes finally took in the visible texture of the 'ground'. His heart jumped. He was on a cloud! For ponies without wings, clouds were little more than intangible collections of suspended water droplets. By all rights he should have fallen straight through it like there was nothing there at all. He rose to his hooves, peering beyond the edge of his aerial world.

Far below him, there were other clouds. He could make out the silhouette of Cloudsdale far off in the distance below them. Much farther below was the peak of Canterlot Mountain, and the faint glow of the city at night. From up here, it was little more than another star in the dark of this moonless night. He felt his stomach flip. It was much higher than any pegasus could normally fly. Wisps of the faint air kissed his fur. But unlike scaling the mountain peak in his youth, he was no worse for breathing in the thin air here.

"So... what are you doing here then?

"Waiting." She answered. "I was waiting to see which of you would appear first. If Celestia did, then it meant that you had declined and I was to raise the moon as normal. If it was you, then..." She looked away. Her wry smile faded in her acknowledgment that unlike her sister, she was without a lover.

"I, uh, Celestia told me about you and... your curse." He said.

She nodded, frowning for a moment before restoring her resolve. "It has been grieved for enough." She said. "I just hope that she's right about you. It would mean so much to her. To both of us... She really does love you, you know." She trailed off as her horn glowed, bringing a patch of the magical cloud up in a rectangular section.

"What are you doing?"

"There are ancient properties to be honored. Words to be said. Rites which must be observed." The surface of the raised bit of cloud began to glow faintly in the starlight. "And you know how much she so does enjoy making an entrance." She said. The playful edge had returned to her voice. "I don't know if Fancy Pants told you, but your first time with her may be a bit... overwhelming." Shining remembered what he had gone through with Lilly.

"I think I can handle it." He he said smugly. Luna smiled knowingly.

"I'm sure that you're strong enough. Just remember that she would never do anything to hurt you." She reassured him. "On purpose, anyway."

"What do you mean?" He asked nervously.

"There is only so much the mortal mind can handle." The starlight's touch made deeply carved runes all around the edge of the cloud bed dance with flickers of illumination, writing done in some language he did not know. Luna understood the signal. "The time has come." She said, walking off into, and herself fading into, the darkness.

"Luna? Luna!" He yelled frantically into the darkness. Her voice echoed in his mind.

"It is not -my- name you should be calling, Captain. -She- might get jealous."

"Celestia. Princess Celestia!" He yelled into the empty sky before remembering Celestia's words.

...as you would call a lover

Shining took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. He closed his eyes and blocked out the cold of the air. He focused on the memory of her on top of him, just moments ago in her bedroom, his hooves on her body, her cheek beside his. Envisioning her lovely radiance, he moaned out into the dark night.

"Tia."

The cloud beneath his hooves swirled and boiled, yet still remained solid to him. The runes thrummed with glowing power as a mist rose up around it, spreading from it. And as quickly as it appeared, the mist parted as a figure congealed from the very shadow itself. Slender, feminine perfection. Princess Celestia's white fur glowed iridescent as she neared him. He stood there, alone with her, in her domain of the sky. Alone for miles in every conceivable direction, surrounded by naught but the very air.

On any other day, or night, she was beauty without compare. Ravishing in every sense of the word. But tonight, she was beyond such paltry words. He could spend a lifetime trying to find the descriptive for how she looked this night. And, like searching for the perfect lotus blossom, it would not be a wasted life.

"So, I guess there's a ceremony of some kind to go through?" He asked. She smiled. It was the same warm smile she wore any day. But her eyes, by the stars, her eyes spoke volumes more. Eager, and full of lustful desire. He could lose himself in those eyes. She stepped closer to him. She wasn't an enormous, imposing figure. Quite in fact she was only a bit taller than he was. But she walked with such perfect confidence that the role of predator and prey was clear to both of them.

He edged back from her. It was pure instinct. And he could no more stop from doing so than from shivering from the cold. Her pale hoof extended toward him with each slow, sure step. It was then that he noticed that she was not wearing her gold shoes, necklace or crown. She shook her head from side to side, letting her mane spill from her shoulders. It was not held aloft in the solar wind here. But it was no less radiant. She came before him tonight, not as a princess, but as a mare. But still so much more.

Shining took another step back, falling backwards onto the cloud bed. The runes around him practically hummed with energy, glowing brightly as she approached, bathing them both in eerie blueish white light. Shining could see his breath.

"You uh, must be cold." He said meekly. A throaty little laugh bubbled up out from her soft lips. When her voice was filled with simmering desire, it did very specific things to his anatomy. And the cold was instantly the least of his concerns. She leaned over him and closed her mouth on his, and he gave up even trying to speak. This wasn't a ceremony, so much as a rite, and one as ancient as beasts and birds, earth and sky!

Her body gleamed brightly as she climbed on top of him. Their breaths mingled as she lowered herself onto him. Without pretense or foreplay, she mounted him. Her magnificent wings flared wide open, filling the sky as he penetrated her. Her wings were the sky. He could feel the heat radiating from her wings as she enveloped him, more of his length slipping inside of her. She pressed herself down onto him, taking him completely into the yawning warm of her divine marehood. He could still see his breath, but it was no longer from the cold. It was steam, he was sweating, sweltering under her. In all his days of marching across Equestrian deserts in the height of summer, running in to rescue ponies from burning buildings, he had never know such heat. He felt that he would melt at any moment.

In her, and through her, he felt all of Equestria below them. He could feel the very world tremble beneath them. The ancient mountains and valleys, the very earth and sky pulsing all around them in time with her rhythmic movements on top of him. Ethereal clouds raced over them the sky above.

As she moved more quickly she grew brighter and brighter. He realized that the eerie luminescence all around them was nothing but a dim, muffled reflection of Celestia's loveliness, veiled for the sake of the mortal mind that it could have unmade. She did not veil it as her breathing mounted. And it burned him, it was so pure.

They did not have sex, regardless of what it appeared to be. Sex is just a crude word, three letter arrangement. For the reality of what happened that night was so, so much more. You can't have sex with a thunderstorm, an earthquake, a furious winter gale. You can't make love to a mountain, a lake of ice, a freezing wind. For a few moments, Captain Shining Francis Armor bore witness to the very breadth and depth of Celestia's true power. For a fleeting instant, the barest, tiniest glimpse of her purpose as well as their bodies thrashed towards completion. Her utter beauty, raw and untamed, was almost too much for him to bear. He was screaming. He had been for a while.

Celestia's cry joined his, their voices blending together. Her hooves dug into his chest. Her body was drawn into an arch of pleasure. Her eyes opened and bored into his. Into his very soul. Her mouth opened and she hissed as she slammed her hooves into the cloud bed beneath him, striking it as solid as stone.

"Mine!"

She cried out, claiming him as her lover, devoting herself to him in turn. He felt her voice more than he heard it. The absolute truth of the statement made his body vibrate like the plucked string of a guitar, and he jerked into a brief, violent contortion as the most powerful orgasm of his life ripped through him. Her hooves slid down his ribs. He could feel the fire of her hooves on his body. They tightened on him, gripping his body like a vice as she bellowed again, tearing the very sky asunder.

"MINE!"

She vowed once more to the corners once Equestria herself. Again, his body arched into a violent bow, every muscle trying to tear its way off of his bones. She hissed in eagerness as she felt him fill her with his seed. He felt himself screaming and struggling with no control over his body whatsoever. Her eyes captured his gaze. His eyes frozen wide in their sockets, tears of ecstasy running down the sides, his mouth pried ajar by his wretched muscles, in a euphoric scream long run airless. She leaned close, whispering into his ear, her voice a velvety caress.

"...mine..."

Shining closed his eyes. A bittersweet reprieve. He hadn't the energy to open them. His last clear memory was the feeling of him slipping from her warmth. Only to then be scooped up in her strong hooves under him, carrying him to pony-knows-where. But it no longer mattered where. He leaned into her warm chest, drifting off to sleep.

White Wedding

Shining lurched upright in bed, gasping and throwing the covers from him as he panted, struggling to catch his breath from the sudden adrenaline surge. His mane was wet with sweat, as were the sheets and pillow. His first thought was that it was just a bad dream. Although, he would hardly call it a 'bad' dream. But it was certainly vivid. His eyes adjusted to the darkness.

This was not his bedroom. That much was clear. Even though it was still dark, he could tell in the moonlight coming in the window that he was in a suite in Canterlot Castle. The bed he was in was the largest he'd ever seen. It was too big for just him, alone in the sea of linen. Yet it was somehow familiar.

A swath of light crept out from under the door at the far wall. It shimmered and moved with the shadow of another pony moving on the other side. He was not alone. He watched with intent as the shadow moved.

BA-WOOOSHHhhhhh

The sound of the toilet flushing announced their exit after the water of the sink stopped. The door to the bathroom opened. Shining shielded his eyes with his hoof, squinting at the figure. They were tall. Too tall. It could only be-

"Celestia?"

"Good morning star shine." She greeted him. She was practically glowing. She turned off the light to the bathroom, easing the strain on his irises as she crawled back into her enormous bed with him.

"I... you... we..."

"Come now. I didn't mean to literally fuck you brains out." Celestia said. Shining had never before heard that word said in a way that seemed so lovely. The effect was immediate. "Ooh, ready for round two already? It's already so late that it's early." She said, stroking the tent that his lower half was pitching in the sheets.

"Ba- b-ba- ba-"

"Easy now." She said, her hoof leaving his tent be for now. "Take a deep breath. Put all the words together and try again." Shining looked out the window and back at her again, then down at her hoof beside his covered erection. The details of the previous night came rushing back. He started to hyperventilate. "Shhh." She calmed him. "It's okay. It's okay. Everything's going to be fine." Whoever was spinning the room really needed to stop doing that, Shining decided. It was making him dizzy. His eyes fluttered and rolled back as his head flopped back onto the pillow. With her stallion out cold, Celestia sighed and climbed back out of the bed.

Shining's eyes fluttered opened. There was only a sliver of the moon still above the horizon. His nostrils were flooded with a robust aroma. The smell was unmistakable. It was his beloved-

"Coffee?"

Shining looked at the foot of his bed. Celestia was standing there, looking at him. In her magic she held a mug and a carafe. Presumably filled with-

"Coffee?" She repeated.

"Wh- what?" Shining asked, still in a daze.

"COFFEE. Would. you. like. some?" She asked, overly enunciating each word. He blinked at her. Her lungs pushed air past her vocal chords, causing them to vibrate. The vibrations propagated through the air in varying frequencies, reaching his ear drums. Traveling through the medium of his middle and inner ear, they converted into electro-chemical signals through his auditory nerve to his brain. Combined with the signals he was receiving from his olfactory bulb, he was able to piece together this dastardly enigma of a puzzle.

Celestia waited patiently as she watched the gears whir behind his eyes.

He smelled... coffee? Yes. That was what that smell was. Her voice went up in pitch at the end of her sentence. That meant it was a question. She was gesturing, pointing the container at him. She was offering it to him. She was offering him coffee. Yes. We would like some coffee, his brain cells agreed. Say yes. His mouth opened.

"Yeah... sure." He groaned. She passes the mug to him, holding it for just a second longer.

"You sure you're okay? This is expensive stuff and it stains badly." She said, motioning to her silken sheets. Shining didn't react, instead shifting closer to the cup, sipping it from her grasp. Celestia watched the wave of goosebumps follow the caffeinated elixir down his body into his gullet. It was like watching something slowly switch on, as his eyes focused and uncrossed. "Your not going to pass out again on me are you?" She asked. He shook his head firmly. She let the cup go as he cradled it in his hooves with the care of a Faberge egg. He sipped it a few more time.

"Ahh."

"Feeling equine again?" She asked, smiling.

"Yeah." He answered.

Captain Shining Armor casually sat there, beside Princess Celestia of Equestria. In Princess Celestia's own bed. Drinking her royal coffee. And sporting his morning wood into her royal sheets. But until he finished this cup of coffee, none of that other stuff mattered. He gave back the empty cup. She place it, and the rest of the coffee on the dresser as the last bit of the moon slipped below the horizon.

"Excuse me for just a moment." She said, walking past the bed and pushing open the glass doors to her balcony. Shining watched her toned thighs ripple with each step as she moved past him. She thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of his eyes on him. Especially now that she could freely express her delight in it. She took a deep breath as her horn glowed and her wings flared open. A couple powerful beats of her wings lofted her into the air as she outstretched her hooves toward the sky. Shining watched the sun breach the horizon and moved upwards with her. Just as it did when he first saw her, all those years ago at the Summer Sun celebration. With the sun set on its course along the sky, Celestia drifted back down to the patio, walking back inside. Shining spoke as she joined him on the bed once more.

"There's something- well actually, a lot of things that I still don't understand. But one more than anything else." He said. She rolled onto her side beside him, still on his back as she lazily traced her hoof along his broad chest. "Why me?" He asked, turning to look at her. Her eyes were filled with genuine sympathy. "I mean, out of all of the stallions in Equestria, what makes me so special?"

"All of my little ponies are special." Celestia said sincerely.

"You know what I mean." He said. She turned away for a moment. She couldn't bear to look him in the eye and lie to him. She tried to think of something, anything besides the truth. Anything to keep from losing him. And what if she succeeded? What then? A relationship built on lies? He was too smart for that to work. He would figure it out eventually. In fact...

"I'm actually surprised you haven't figured it out already." She said. "It actually has mostly to do with your sister." She said, bracing for the next part.

"Twilight?" He asked. She took a deep breath. After this, there would be no turning back. He already knew so much. So much more than any one pony should. But this would change absolutely everything.

"No. Your... other sister." She whispered. Shining looked at her, puzzled.

"But, I have no other sister."

"Are you so sure?"

"I think I would remember my mom being pregnant with another foal. I've seen her regularly my whole life. Something that significant would not escape my notice."

"Do you remember when you first met Twilight?"

"Of course! I was still a young colt, a blank flank. But I remember that day clearly, when Mom and Dad came home from the hospital with her. I promised that I would always look after her. That was the day I got this." He motioned to his cutie mark. A protective shield.

"But do you remember before that? Do you remember your mother's pregnancy?" She asked.

"Well yeah I-" Shining's mind whirred. A book of memories from that year flipped through his brain. School, homework, friends. Picnic outings. His proud father and mother. But he could find no recollection of a specific memory of his gravid mother. All the excitement of an expecting parent. But he was too young to understand what she was supposed to have looked like, where foals came from. And then one day, he had a little sister. "I- I can't remember." He looked at her, with worried eyes. "What does that mean?"

"Tell me about your mother." Celestia requested.

"Why?"

"It will help you to understand."

"She's, she's kind, smart, a wonderful cook-"

"No, I mean, physically describe her."

"Uh, um, blue eyes. White and lavender mane. Three purple stars for a cutie mark. White-" He went silent. Celestia could see as the final piece of the puzzle fell into place in his mind. His pupils shrank to pin pricks. His face turned a whiter shade of pale. It was right in front of him this whole time. It was so obvious. Obvious to everypony around him. But he had refused to see it until now. It all made sense now.

"Your brother, Vinyl!?" Octavia asked incredulously "Forgive me, but this is a bit much, even for you."

"What? No!" Vinyl Scratch refuted. "You've met my bother. This isn't him."

"Well dear, I don't want to question the fidelity of your father, but you must admit, his appearance is quite striking."
......

"Does your father let you drive his ships often?" Rarity asked.

"My fath- what?" Shining stammered.

"Your father, Fancy. Was he the one to teach you to sail?"

"Fancy!? No, he's not my father!"

"Sorry, but the comparison is quite the dead ringer." She said. Shining looked up at the stallion in the wheelhouse, and then at his own reflection. White fur, two-toned blue mane. Blue eyes. It really was like looking at an older version of himself. Just, with a mustache.
......

"Shining, ever since that day, every white mare been barren, unable to have foals of their own."

Every white mare

"White fur..." He murmured. He had never looked at her like that before. But at the heart of everything, she was a white mare. Which meant only one thing. "I'm adopted. And so is Twilight." He said, looking down at his hooves. At his own. White. Fur. Celestia put her hoof on his. He looked up at her with a tempest of emotions awash in his chest. Tears blurred his vision. "Mom?"

"No." Celestia said curtly. "No, don't- think of it like that." She held his hoof. "Your mother is Twilight Velvet. She raised you, fed you, and cared for you your whole life. She changed your diapers and made sure you went to school on time and that you did your homework. You are the fine stallion you are today because of her, not me. Whatever else happens after today, do NOT forget that." She said. He nodded after a moment of reflection.

"But still..."

"Shining, I gave birth to you. Nothing more. Last night, it was tiny Pearl in that bassinet. Twenty five years ago it was you, in that very same one, being carried off into the night to meet Velvet, who wished, more than anything for a little colt to raise. I was no more than an egg donor."

"You didn't want me?" He asked as tears ran freely down his cheeks.

"Of course I did! I loved you. I still do. Now more than ever." Celestia said, welling up herself. "It breaks my heart to have to see my little ponies leave. But I still watch over them as I watched over you." She held him close. "Shining, you do not yet realize your importance! If our foals are capable of having one of their own, it will end this cycle of me having to abandon them! And that is worth everything to me. Don't you understand?" She cried. He felt his stomach flipping.

"But isn't it- wouldn't it be- if we did that?" He couldn't bring himself to say it. The 'I' word. He compromised. "It's taboo." After all these years, she had much less discomfort with the subject.

"Shining, rules usually exist for a reason, but some ponies can get so caught up in the rules that they forget the reasons. And that sometimes the reasons don’t apply. They put the cart before the horse and invent justifications for the rules instead.” She shook her head. "There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute. Even life itself is an exercise in exceptions." He listened intently.

"The incest taboo has some good reasons behind it.” She continued after a few moments, “It’s a fact that a sexual relationship complicates emotions. Not all ponies can work through the problems that it brings. If the romance fails for any reason, it can easily destroy the familial bond as well. When you have relations with your relations, it’s so much easier to hurt the one you love. That's why I would never be able to take you as a lover after raising you myself. The taboo also prevents the obvious issue of inbreeding for normal ponies.”

"Normal ponies?" He asked.

"Shining, if nothing else, last night should have taught you that our coupling is far more than a mere... biological process." She smirked.

"Right." He smiled at the vivid memory. Even in light of this revelation, she was right. Regardless of his physical origin, Twilight Velvet was still his mother, and his feelings for Celestia hadn't changed. "So what now?" He asked.

"Now, we have breakfast." She said. "Then, there is much to prepare for." She lifted the lid to the platter on the coffee table. Beneath were two large plates with an assortment of food.

"Wow! All of my favorites!" He said.

"I know. I have detailed files."

You know, that's a little creepy."

"Is it?"

"A little bit." He said, taking a bite of his meal. "So what is this 'much' we need to prepare for?"

"Your wedding." She said. Shining choked on his pancakes. Celestia gave his back a solid smack with her hoof, dislodging the bit of food. He gasped and caught his breath.

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that? I think I had something crazy in my ear." He asked. She raised an eyebrow.

"That's flattering. I'm actually surprised that after what's happened in the last twelve hours that there is anything left to shock you." She said.

"So we're getting married?" He asked.

"Of course not. You know perfectly well why."

"Who then?"

"You know her." She said. "You dated for a while actually. Your sister's old foal sitter."

"Cadence?"

"Yes. Now please eat before it gets cold." Shining resumed his meal. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is far older than you realize. Over a thousand years ago, she was just a filly, but she was heir to the throne of the Crystal Empire."

"The Crystal Empire? I've never heard of it." Shining said.

"You wouldn't have. Few remember that it ever existed at all. Even my knowledge of the Empire is limited. But what I do know is that it contains a powerful magic. The Crystal Princess was what they called her then." She continued. "One Thousand years ago, King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart was as black as night, overthrew her family and killed her parents, taking over the crystal empire. I helped her flee the empire and ultimately Luna and I were able to defeat him, turning him to shadow and banishing him in the ice of the Frozen North. But not before he was able to put a curse upon the Empire. A curse that caused it to vanish into thin air, leaving Cadence behind with us." She rose from the bed, looking into the mirror on the vanity.

"She knew, just as I did, that the Empire would one day return. And that I would need her help. Though without the Empire to sustain her, she was not immortal like my sister or myself. So using a Cockatrice, we turned her to stone, and kept in the safest of places in the bowels of Canterlot Palace, to await for the time when the Empire would return. I released her from the stone some years ago to become more acclimated to modern times, and mature herself in preparation for its return."

"That's why you have that guard outpost in Northern Equestria? As some sort of lookout?"

"Precisely. I await word of the Empire's return any day now."

"I hated that assignment. But I never realized how important it was."

KNOCK KNOCK

Shining climbed out of the bed and hastily made himself appear decent as Celestia opened the door.

"Ah, we were just talking about you." Celestia said, letting the pink Alicorn in.

"Hello Shining." Cadence greeted.

"Hi Cadence. You look- great!"

"Thank you. You're even more handsome than I remember." She said.

"See? This will work out just fine." Celestia said.

"Tia, I understand that you and I need to keep our relationship a secret. But why the need for this arraigned marriage?"

"Illusion and misdirection. Illusion and misdirection. The Equestrian Enquirer will be so focused on the new princess that the spotlight will be off of me. And by association, us."

"And you're okay with this?" He asked Cadence.

"Celestia saved my life and defeated Sombra. She's been helping me prepare for my Empire's return. I owe her everything. And if that means occasionally sharing my prince..." She nuzzled him. "who am I to argue?" He turned back to Celestia.

"But how am I supposed to marry somepony I don't love?" He asked.

"You know, I'm not deaf." Cadence scoffed.

"I'm sorry. But you know what I mean." He said.

"But Shining, do you feel nothing for her?" Celestia asked. "Look at her. Remember when you two dated. Remember the dances you had."

"Remember that time behind the bleachers." Cadence whispered in his ear. He grinned and closed his eyes. Cadence's horn glowed as two halves of a heart circled them, coming together above them with a -snap-. He opened his eyes and remembered just how much he'd felt for her, now as fresh as when the were first dating.

"See? This will work out just fine." Celestia said again.

"Yeah?" Cadence asked Shining.

"Yeah." He breathed, a silly smile still plastered on his face. "Why did we ever stop dating?"

"You went to the Summer Sun Celebration and decided to join the Royal Guard after seeing Celestia for the first time." Cadence reminded him.

"Oh. Right."

"But it's okay now. Everything will be okay." Cadence said.

"Well, if you will excuse me, I have some wedding invitations to send." Celestia said, letting the two of them out of her chambers. Cadence and Shining walked back up the hallway to his suite. Stopping at his door.

"I know this is all very sudden, but I'm really glad to be marrying you." Cadence said.

"Me too." Shining replied. He felt giddy like a school colt again, the fresh love spell coursing through him.

"I wish we had more time to catch up. But there's a lot that needs to be done with the wedding the day after tomorrow." Cadence said. "I'll be back to see you shortly."

"Okay. I love you." He said.

"I love you too." She replied before she departed. Shining stepped back inside of his room. Cadence was pleased with Celestia's choice. She had honestly missed Shining quite a bit since he had left to become enlisted. And now they were reunited. That made her part in this much easier. She couldn't use her magic to force anypony to fall in love. Rather, it was more of a love reminder spell for both of them. It brings back the feelings of love that a pony once knew. But it can't fabricate it outright. She would never be able to make him love her more than he already did. Not with magic anyway. She smirked.

"Cadenza!" Cadence turned around to the voice. It was Princess Celestia behind her.

"Celestia? I thought you were sending invitations." Cadence said.

"I wanted to show you the Crystal Caves."

"Crystal caves?" Cadence asked, wary. Celestia's horn glowed green as her form shimmered into a copy of Cadence's. Before she could react, a circle of green flames surrounded her, imprisoning her in the caves beneath Canterlot. Chrysalis, Queen of the changelings, cackled in her new Cadence body.

Elsewhere, the real Celestia was busy penning a special wedding invitation to her faithful student. Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Captain Shining Francis Armor.

One Changeling Invasion later...

Chrysalis, the Queen of the changelings had grown strong feeding off of the love that Shining Armor was feeling after a night of passion with a goddess. Cadence's spell had redirected it for a time, helping her and Shining repel the Queen and her army. Unfortunately, the wedding had to be postponed for the bride and groom to recover. Shining and Cadence flopped onto the bed. It had already been a hell of a day. And now they had to do the whole wedding over again. Her love 'reminder' spell had since worn off. But Shining was still okay with the idea of marrying her. If he was to marry anypony other than Celestia now, he decided that he could do a hell of a lot worse than his High School sweetheart. After all, it would mean becoming a prince and moving into the castle. Closer to Tia.

KNOCK KNOCK

"Ugh, what now." Shining groaned as Cadence got up to answer the door.

"Oh, hi Cadence." Twilight said when she opened the door. She leaned inside. "Can I talk to Shining for a minute?"

"Sure. I actually need to go see Rarity about making me a new dress." She turned back to Shining. He was sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "I should be back in a couple hours in time for the new ceremony." She smiled to Twilight and left. Twilight stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

"Hey little sister. What have you done?" Shining asked as he took a bite of his his snack on the night stand.

"Sorry about kicking Cadence out. But there's only one pony I can talk to about this." She looked over at him, chewing as he listened. She realized that she hadn't eaten at all that day. "What are you eating?"

"Hay, little sister." He passed her the plate of seasoned hay fries. "Who's the only one?" He asked

"You of course. I haven't really had a chance to really talk with you since you'd been away." She said. He nodded in agreement.

"I've been away for so long." He admitted.

"So long." She sighed. He could see the hurt in her eyes.

"I let you go for so long."

"So long." She repeated. Looking at him in the eyes. He looked out the window, and back at her.

"It's a nice day to start again." He said.

"It's a nice day for a white wedding." She added.

She sat on the bed next to him. Neither of them saying anything for a while. "Thanks for saving me from that bug queen. For saving all of Canterlot." He said.

"Yeah. Hell of a day. But you and Cadence saved Canterlot. I just saved you and her."

"It's been a hell of a couple days." He added, exasperated. He leaned over toward her. "You said you needed to talk to me. So, what's up?" Twilight looked away for a moment.

"Shining, it- it wasn't just that I was suspicious of her acting out of the ordinary." She said as her shoulders slumped. "I didn't even know you two were still dating. And then out of nowhere I get a wedding invitation. I was jealous. Even if it had been the real Cadence, I still would have been jealous. And-" She glanced over at him. "And I guess I still am."

"Because you still have feelings for me?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes." She started to cry. "I know what I did before, when I acted on those feeling without thinking, it really hurt us. What we had. And I'm just so scared to lose you." She wiped her eyes. "I mean, ever since I moved to Ponyville, I've been seeing less and less of you. And now that you're getting married, and starting your own family, I'll hardly ever see you. And-" She grit her teeth and winced, forcing the words out. "And I just want you, so badly. I know it's not how a sister should feel about her brother, but it's what I feel, and I can't spend the rest of my life lying about it, or pretending that I don't feel it. Because I can't anymore."

"Twilie, I-" Twilight put her hoof up.

"No. Before you say anything, I have to speak my piece. I just need to have you, this one time, please! Before you get married and move out of my life forever." She could see the worried look in his eyes. "I'm sorry. It's- it's not like I'm going to hold you down and make you do it or anything. Of course you can say no. And of course you're going to say no. And you'll never speak to me again because I'm weird. But I just- I just had to say it. I had to try, and give it my all before it was too late." She finished, looking at him. He didn't look angry, or upset, or even surprised. He looked remarkably calm. Which was better than she expected.

"Huh." It was all he said, fairly expressionless.

"Well I was expecting a little more than that." Twilight huffed, almost more upset that he was hardly reacting at all.

"No, I'm sorry. It's just that... I've kind of been through a lot these last few days. So this whole thing..." He motioned between Twilight and himself "has kind of gotten the volume turned down a bit."

"So you're not upset? Don't you think I'm weird?"

"It's not that weird." She raised an eyebrow at that. "Well, I don't know. Maybe it is. But it might not be in this particular case." Twilight blinked in confusion.

"You've lost me."

"Wow. That might be a first for me." He smiled. It faded quickly as he ran his hoof through his mane. "Well, since we're getting things out in the open, I guess I can tell you that I just found out that I'm adopted." He confessed.

"I know."

"I know it must come as a shock to you that- wait! You knew!? Since when?"

"Since, like, a long time." She said.

"But, how?" He asked.

"I'd had my suspicions for a while. So I ran some tests on your DNA and compared it to mine and our parents."

"Wait, how did you get my DNA?" He asked. Twilight worked hard to suppress her bout of laughter.

"Are you joking? That was the easiest part. Not even considering that I lived in the same house as you and had free reign to your bedroom. But you leave your DNA everywhere. Your sheets, the laundry hamper, the shower, the walls-"

"Okay, I get it."

"And this one time I found some on the ceiling which was really impressive." She said with a wry grin.

"OKAY! I get it!" Shining yelled, blushing.

"What? It's a compliment!" She smirked. "Anyways, I finally confronted Mom and Dad about it. And when it was clear to them that the couldn't pull the wool over my eyes, they admitted that yes, you were adopted. But I was made to promise to never tell you. But you know now, so that's that."

"But what about you? You said you compared your DNA as well."

"I did. I know that our mom didn't give birth to me, but dad is my biological father. And since they were married before I was born... it meant that I was the result of extra-marital activity. I felt that it would be a tender subject to broach, so I left it be. I knew the truth, and that was good enough for my curiosity. Our mom is the mare who raised us. And that's what's important. You know?"

"Yeah. I know what you mean." Shining said.

"So since you're adopted and we're not biologically related, technically it's okay that I'm also attracted to you."

"That... actually explains a lot." He said. She reached over, putting her hoof on his.

"So... you don't think I'm weird?" She asked. He gave her a bit of a sideways look and smirked.

"Twilie, I've always thought that you were a little weird." He said, as he dried her eyes. She held his hoof on her cheek, pulling him closer to her. "Listen, I'm not going to judge you for who you are. Or the way you feel. I uh..." Shining scratched his head. "I've been talking to Princess Celestia and- I guess she's kind of put a lot of things into perspective for me."

"Yeah. She does that." Twilight laughed knowingly. Shining joined her. It was the much needed levity that they needed. He brushed her mane from her eyes. He leaned in closer to her.

"Twilie," he whispered, "I don't want to lose you either. And I don't want there to be unresolved issues between us. So if... this is what you really want..."

"Shh." Twilight hushed him and pressed her lips to his. Shining froze up for a moment, paralyzed. They'd kissed before, many many times. Even on the lips on occasion. But it was always a platonic affection. Or at least it had been to him. But this time it was definitely different. Everything about it felt differently. Her nose didn't bump into his this time. She'd tilted her head slightly. She lingered there on him. Her mouth was still closed though, as were her eyes.

Shining's eyes were wide, however. He couldn't not look at her. His sister was kissing him in a very not-sisterly way. His rational mind tried to reason it out. She wasn't really related to him. He could have just met her by chance and she would be the same mare. A totally viable mate. But his heart was much harder to convince. Biological or not, this was the filly that he'd grown up along side. He'd eaten breakfast beside her countless times. Read her bed time stories. Walked her to school. She pulled away from him after a short moment.

"Close your eyes." She said without even opening hers.

"How did you kn-"

"I can feel them. It's a little unsettling for me." She said.

"It's a little unsettling for you?" He mocked incredulously. "I'm still trying to warm up to this whole idea!"

"Shiny, just- close your eyes." She whispered. "You can... pretend I'm somepony else if you have to. I- I don't mind." She kissed him again. She could still feel that he was tense. "Pretend that I'm Cadence." She suggested. Shining closed his eyes as she asked. He felt her wrap her hooves around his back and his head as she kissed him more deeply. He tried to block out all those nagging thoughts that were distracting him and just focused on the feeling itself.

Objectively, it was not unpleasant, he concluded. Her lips were supple smooth against his. Her hooves running through his mane made the fur on his neck stand up. She shifted closer as her chest pressed against his. She felt warm against him. He could feel her lips quivering- her whole body was trembling with excitement. He could understand her excitement. To have been lusting after something for so long, something that she was so sure that she would die wanting and yet never receive. To finally have it at last. He imagined that this must have been how he seemed to Celestia last night. A nervous wreck, helplessly enthralled by their desire. Although Celestia certainly didn't seem to let it inhibit her from giving him an experience he'd never forget. Just the memory of it...

Shining melted into the kiss, relaxing his jaw. His lips parted slightly. Twilight followed the lead she'd been waiting for and kissed more vigorously. Her lips parted, letting her tongue touch his lips, running along them, beckoning his tongue to join hers. She leaned into him more, pressing him backwards onto the bedspread. She cradled his head as she laid him down onto the pillow, never breaking the kiss; even now, fearing that it would very well be the last time she ever got the chance. She shifted her leg across his torso, straddling his waist. He could feel her tail brushing across his lap, stimulating him further. The heat from her marehood was practically radiating against his abdomen.

Shining was still in a state of relative shock even as Twilight took the lead. His hooves did little more than lay limply at his sides as she climbed on top of him. On his back now, she let his head lay against the pillow beneath it as she released it, reluctantly, from her hooves. Her breath grew ragged against his cheek from her nostrils. This he noticed, as with his eyes closed, his other sensed grew more acute. Her hooves move instead to his, taking them in her grip and pulling them to her flanks. He held them there under his own strength. From there, her hooves moved back to his body, pressing against the contours of his strong chest and shoulders.

He felt her rolling her body in his hooves, her hips grinding against him. He could not deny that indeed, she did feel amazing. She tilted her head slightly, gently taking his lower lip in her teeth and sucking on it to an obscene degree. As though a prelude of acts to come. The message was clear, and its effect, immediate. His lip snapped back as she released it and began to plant little kisses across his cheek, a gentle one on his closed eyelid, finally arriving at her destination on his forehead.

Her violet bangs brushed against the spiraled ridges of his horn. She kissed him on the bridge of his nose briefly, while her horn rubbed against his. The texture of each horn stimulating the other was a duet of pleasures for the unicorns. Beneath her, she could feel his breath panting in an increasing tempo against her neck. With her tongue, she started at the base of his horn, licking a slow and sensual path up to the tip. There, her tongue retreated back into her pursed lips, pressed against the tip of his horn. Slowly, agonizingly so, she let his horn slip into her warm, inviting mouth. Inch by inch, his horn vanished behind her soft lips until she had taken his length into her completely.

But she was hardly content to just let it sit there. No sooner were her lips pressed squarely against his forehead did she slide back off of him, exposing his wet horn to the cool air of the room, longing to be enclosed in her warmth once more. Twilight obliged, faster this time, taking his horn into her mouth. But this time his senses were assaulted by her tongue dancing in wild pirouettes about his horn, driving him wild beneath her.

Such a wonderful feeling. He saw stars from behind his eyelids as her head bobbed on him again. It was a blinding feeling. He grew blind to the minor details. It no longer mattered what had happened before now, before this feeling. It no longer matter who was giving him this sensation. No. In this moment of bliss, all that mattered was the feeling itself. As was evidenced by the visible stirring in his loins.

Twilight paused her efforts for a moment when she felt his rapidly growing member brush against the underside of her tail. She smirked, his horn still in her mouth. She had been so nervous that she would fail convince him to even attempt this, and even then, to please him.

She reached behind her, feeling for him under her tail. She took his semi-rigid length in her hoof, directing it under her as she raised her hips. The sudden contact caused him to jerk in her hoof, stiffening faster now. She settled herself back down, his dick pinned against his belly between them.

She ground her wet marehood against the side of his shaft, getting it slick with her juices while she cupped his heft balls in her free hoof. She reveled in the feeling of him growing fully turgid between her legs, pressing her clit back and forth across his medial ridge.

Twilight couldn't bear it any longer. Letting his horn slip from her mouth, she had to look. She had to see it. And she would not wait another instant.

Looking under her, it was the most wonderful sight. His stiff cock, glistening in her wetness, straddled by her wanton pussy, splayed open against it. From the corner of her eye, she could see him wince in the absence of her mouth on his horn, in the agony of being made to wait. She could feel his shaft throbbing in time with the rhythmic pounding of his heart. The minute changes in pressure against her sensitive nub sent shivers up her spine.

Shining hazarded a glance, opening his eyes for the first time since they had began. Looking down between them he was mesmerized, watching her grind up and down along his length. To be fair, it was not the first time he had seen her privates. Indeed, they were nude most all of the time aside from special occasions. And Twilight made no special effort to hide her modesty from his eyes. He would almost suspect that she had intentionally flaunted it to him. Now, he understood why.

But he never looked at it before. Not really. But now, he looked. He stared, and drank in the view deeply. His eyes were fixated on her marehood as she ground against him. He noted every line and contour of her sex as it slid and puckered against him, soaking him with her moistness, often sliding all the way up to his tip and back again.

On a trip to the top of his shaft, she paused, lifting her hips a bit and letting him spring upward slightly, free from her weight pinning it down against his belly. She rolled her hips a bit and leaned forward over him.

The broad tip of his penis brushed across the petals of her flower, parting them as she aligned her honey hole with his shaft. She pushed herself down against him to halt him from moving further. She had to but press with a little more force and he would enter her. She looked down at him. Not at his stallionhood, poised to penetrate her, nor at his broad, rippling muscles. She looked at his face. His eyes were fixed at their point of contact, with her splayed across the head of his dick, watching waiting for her to lower herself onto him.

But Twilight realized something in that moment. In all of her years of lusting after him, she knew perfectly well that she could have just taken him at any moment. A unicorn though he may be, her magic was stronger, as was her will. And with her will, she could have had her way. But that was not what she wanted. It never was. She wanted him to take her willingly. And she could not accept him pretending he was elsewhere with somepony else.

Shining felt her eyes on him. His gaze traveled up her body, straddled atop him. At last, he looked into her eyes. For the first time since they had begun, he looked at her in the eyes. He looked, not at, but into her eyes. The eyes, they say, are the gateway to the soul. He looked into her eyes and into her soul. Therein he could see the pure, wanton desire. The years of unrequited, romantic love. The need. Her lips moved. A wisp of air brushed past her vocal chords, creating a vibration of sound barely on the edge of a whisper. A plea.

"Please."

A message as clear and plain as day, it was all the instruction he required. With a flex of his abdominal muscles he thrusted his hips upwards. Her hips sank downwards. His eyes never left hers. There could be no pretending as they stared into eachother. This could be nopony else of his imagination or memory. This was Twilight Sparkle. Her lips parted as his slick member slid into her hot, tight confines. After waiting for so very long, nothing could ruin this moment for her.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Twilight froze all movement and tensed up. Beneath her, Shining panicked.

"Twilie are you okay?"

"Augh, yeah, yeah, I just, need a second." She moaned. Glancing downward, Shining noticed a spot of red marring his white coat.

"Twilie! Are you- Am I... your first?" He asked. She smiled weakly at him. He looked surprised.

"Oh, come on Shiny, how many dates have you ever seen me go on?" She asked.

"Well, okay. But what about, you know, toys and stuff?" He asked. She laughed.

"You must have me confused with somepony who has the courage to go into an adult toy store." Her giggle caused her marehood to practically vibrate around his cock. He groaned at the sensation. Her virgin, or recently virgin, marehood was unbelievably tight around him.

For Twilight, the pain of her hymen passed after a few moments. The sensation of him filling her quickly replaced it with pleasure. She lifted herself from him, feeling the texture of his shaft against the sensitive lining of her canal. With naught but his tip remaining inside her, she halted her ascent and proceeded further downward onto him. This time, taking even more of him into her. She gasped as she felt his medial ring slip past her narrow opening.

With only an inch between their hips, she felt him reach her deepest point. His broad head pressed against her cervix. It was an odd sensation, coupled with a feeling of being impossibly full. But Twilight would not be denied. She took a deep breath and let the weight of her body pull her downward still. She felt the pressure against her uterus grow, her vagina, taught as it was, stretched but a bit more as he pressed her final barrier backwards just an inch more to make room for the massive intruder.

After an agonizingly long minute, she felt her bottom press against his strong hips triumphantly. She was pleased with herself. As big as he was, she was able to take him all. With a bit of accommodation of course. For a while she was content to just sit there, enjoying the fullness of Shining inside her at last, after all this time.

"Oh my stars! If I'm dreaming do not wake me up!" She whispered. She could feel him squirming anxiously beneath her. His hooves gripped her hips, pulling her upwards only to push her down onto his cock once more. She grinned as he started to take control of the rut.

She pressed her hooves into his strong chest to gain some leverage, lifting herself just a bit above him. His hips did the rest, bucking on their own up into her. His heavy balls slapped upwards against her with each thrust, giving her an idea. She put her hoof on his leg to stop him for a moment as she spun herself around on him. If her balls were going to be slapping into anything, she wanted it to be her clitoris.

No sooner had she brushed her violet tail across his face did he resume slamming into her hips, grabbing and pawing at her flank, squeezing her sensitive cutie marks. Then out of nowhere, he lurched forward, propelled upward by an unseen force aided by no magic.

In an instant, he was reared up, standing on his hind legs, with his hooves wrapped around her waist, holding her against his belly, impaled on his stallionhood as her own legs dandled off of the floor. He spun in place and landed on the bed on top of her, pinned against the mattress as he took her from behind. All reason and reserve fled his mind as he proceeded to pound against her hips at the edge of the bed.

No virgin he, Shining had a decent repertoire of experience with mares of all sorts. And sure other were more experienced. Others were more... kinky. And Celestia was absolutely world-changing. But they all of them, lacked the absolute intense intimacy he felt in this moment. This mare that he had know his whole life, who love him so intensely as he looked into her eyes. It was incredible.

Waves of pleasure rolled through Twilight with each wet slap of his balls against her leaking marehood. His weight on her filled her not with a sense of domination, but security, like the weight of a heavy blanket from the cold of the night. There was no place in the world that she would rather have been. He would never let anything bad happen to her. He had always been so protective.

Twilight's mind wandered to a memory of her foalhood, standing outside of her brother's room. "Shiny, I had a bad dream." She said into the darkness, stirring him from his sleep. "Can I come inside?" Even in the dim light she could see him nod, lifting his blanket.

"Sure." He would say. And she would sleep soundly, knowing that he was nearby to keep her safe. The weight of his hoof around her, like a protective blanket.

"Can I come inside?"

"Sure." Twilight nodded, lost in the memory. Her eyes shot open, reeling back to the present moment as she felt him sink into her to the hilt. "No, wait, not insid-!" She cried out, muffled into the bedspread as he lurched forward, pressing her muzzle into the duvet. His penis, pressed squarely against her womb flared inside her. The first blast of his hot seed rocketed from him, painting her insides white with his cum.

His cock throbbed and grew yet wider as the next rope of cum shot from his cannon, even more voluminous than the first. His massive shaft left little room in her slight marehood. Filled quickly, and with Shining's wide flare giving no exit, Twilight felt her tummy distend as he continued to pump load after load of rich spunk into her belly.

By the sixth pulse, the bulk of him was let loose inside her, sloshing about as he lifted himself off of her. Twilight pushed with all of her might, lifting her face from the bed and gasping for fresh air. She could still feel him twitching inside her as the last few drops left him into her. She pushed against his thigh with her leg. He fell away from her as his swollen cock finally slipped free from her with an audible 'plop'.

A forceful rush of his cum followed immediately from her thoroughly filled pussy, dribbling down her thighs. Her knees gave out as she slid down the side of the bed into a squat, resting her head on the edge of the mattress, silently hoping that the rest of him would drain from her aching loins.

Behind her, Shining's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he writhed on the floor, recovering from what had just happened. The floor was a mess and so was he.

"We uh- We should get cleaned up. What with the wedding and all." Shining said. Twilight nodded in agreement. He trotted to the bathroom, running the water in the sink to wash the smell of sex from his fur. Twilight cried into the blanket. Shining ducked his head out of the bathroom.

"Twilie, are you okay?" He asked, walking back over to her, putting a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up at him as tears rolled down her cheek. "Whats wrong? Did I hurt you? Was it bad?" She shook her head.

"No, it was wonderful! It was even better than I imagined it would be." She said between sobs.

"And that's why you're crying?" He asked, confused."

"Yes. Because you're getting married and this-" She motioned between them. "will never happen again." She cried, wrapping her hooves around him, pressing her face into his shoulder. Even in light of what they had done, in the cold sobriety that followed his orgasm, Shining could not deny his enjoyment of the act.

"Well, Twilie, I mean, never say never." He said with a half smile. She looked up at him, brushing her bangs aside.

"You can't mean..."

"Well, I'm pretty sure Cadence and I were intending on having an open marriage anyway, so... oofh!" He could feel his eyes being squeezed from his head as she nearly crushed him with her excited hug.

"Really!? Oh my gosh! You have no idea how happy I am to hear that!"

"I could hazard a guess." Shining gasped from within her grip.

"Come on." She said, grabbing him by the hoof and pulling him to the bathroom. Let's get you ready for your wedding!"

Twilight, ever the industrious mare, made short work of cleaning up her brother, herself, and the bedroom. Even with plenty of time to spare. Twilight accompanied Shining to the ceremony as his Mare of Honor. She adjusted his suit a final time as Fluttershy's bird choir began singing 'Here Comes the Bride'. First, the Cutie Mark Crusaders entered the hall as the flower fillies. Next, Cadence entered the hall in her new dress. Rarity's work on such short notice was nothing less than miraculous. Speaking of whom, Shining realized as he stood at the altar, that he was accompanied by no less than three mares that he'd had carnal relations with more recently than his bride. Twilight beside him, Celestia behind him, and Miss Rarity not far on the other side. He'd received no odd looks from her since they'd met for the wedding preparations. So he felt safe in assuming that she was still oblivious to the truth of what had happened that night. Twilight elbowed Shining as Cadence made her way up the aisle.

"Seriously though, I get why the Queen of the Changelings wanted to be with you. But how did you get somepony as amazing as Cadence to marry you?" Twilight asked.

"I told her she wouldn't just be gaining a husband, she'd be getting a pretty great sister too." He answered. With everypony in place, the ceremony went off without a hitch. With of course the one exception of Shining and Cadence getting hitched.

At the reception, Shining began his first dance with Cadence as bride and groom. Twilight looked on from the sidelines with a subdued jealousy, taking comfort in the hope that earlier today was the first of many more encounters with him. Pinkie Pie got the music going as Twilight started the first karaoke with "Love is in Bloom." Shining looked over at the DJ booth, noticing a familiar white mare. After the first dance, he took a second to get away from Cadence. Being one of the two guests of honor, he knew he wouldn't have much time before he'd lose his ability to be discreet.

"Hey." He said to Vinyl Scratch. She glanced over at him, lowering her shades for a moment as her eyes lit up.

"Oh hey! It's you!" She smiled.

"How are you and, um, Tavia doing? I haven't seen you since, you know, the hospital." Shining said, trying to broach the subject gently. Vinyl's smile faltered for a moment.

"It's okay. I mean, I was heartbroken at first. But we've decided to adopt. We're going to live in Ponyville actually!"

"I'm- I'm happy to hear that, for you. I'm sure you'll be a great mother." He said.

"Thanks." Vinyl moved back to her turn-table. "Now if you'll excuse me, the show must go on!" Vinyl put her shades back on. Shining turned to go back to the rest of his wedding guests, nearly bumping into Fancy Pants.

"I trust that our little secret is still safe?" Fancy asked, motioning to Vinyl.

"Yes." Shining huffed. "I didn't tell her anything. I just wanted to say hi."

"Be careful who you flirt with now, Captain." Fancy said. "You're a married stallion now."

"I was not flirting!" Shining refuted.

"Son, take it from somepony who's been in the spotlight for a long time." Fancy sighed. "It not about what you actually do. It's about what other ponies think you're doing." He said. "You don't want to give the tabloids any ammunition."

"Please don't call me that. I'm still getting used to the whole thing." Shining said with a wince.

"What? You mean s- oh. Oh! Told you, did she?" He asked. Shining nodded. Fancy put his hoof on his shoulder. "Shining, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not going to stand here and feed you a line about being Celestia's consort because 'it's for the greater good' or that 'you'll get used to it'. Because both of those could very well be a load of bollocks. But take it from a stallion who's had more mares than hairs..." Fancy said before leaning in closer. "You'll never have better." He said with a wink before turning on his heel. "Ah, Lady Cadenza." Fancy greeted Cadence. "I was just giving my congratulations to the lucky stallion. Please forgive me for keeping him from you."

"That's quite alright." Cadence said, rejoining her husband's side. "Thank you for your lovely gift."

"You're quite welcome. And congratulations again to both of you." Fancy bowed as the couple departed him.

"Gift?" Shining asked.

"Yes. Mr. Pants has treated us to a week's stay at his resort bungalow at the Horseshoe Bay. All expenses paid." Cadence said with a smile. Shining looked over to Fancy, who was now chatting with Rarity.

"Wow, that sure is nice of him." Shining said. "A whole week. Just the two of us, and the beach." He said.
________________________________

"Miss Rarity, might I have this dance with you?" Fancy asked, extending his hoof. Rarity blushed.

"I don't think we should. It's the Father/Daughter dance." She said.

"My apologies." Fancy looked around them. "Is... your father here?" Fancy asked.

"No." She said, inwardly grateful for the fact. Fancy Pants was likewise grateful that, indeed, his younger brother Magnum, was not in attendance for today's event.

"It seems it would be a shame to waste an empty dance space with such a lovely melody."

"It would." Rarity agreed.

"Then may I have this dance?" He asked again. She took his hoof, smiling.

"You may."
________________________________

A cut cake and a few songs and dances later and it was already time for the newlyweds to depart. Twilight waited by the carriage, opening the door for Cadence. Shining took the opportunity to bid farewell to Twilight while Cadence gathered her long dress into the cab.

"Twilight!" Shining said before boarding. "None of this would have been possible without you, little sis. Love you, Twilie."

"Love you too B.B.B.F.F." She said as he leaned in to hug her.

"I'll come back and see you again soon." He whispered in her ear before boarding the carriage. Once inside, he closed the door, turning toward Cadence. "Ready to go?" He asked.

"Oh! Almost forgot!" Cadence grabbed the bouquet and tossed it out of the window to the brides-mares. As soon as they were away from the noise of the party, they each promptly fell asleep. It was a long ride to Horse Shoe Bay. It had already been a long day.

The steady, rhythm and vibration of the traveling carriage was the perfect lull for the exhausted ponies within. They were stirred from their well-deserved snooze only when their trip came to a final halt. The streak for the fresh dawn poured into with widows of the cab. They had arrived at Horse Shoe Bay, so-named for the shape of the landscape surrounding the partially enclosed portion of the sea. It made for warm, calm waters. The perfect location for the resort.

Shining and his new bride exited the carriage, taking in the site of their private bungalow. It was even bigger than his parents' home in Canterlot, with a full set of amenities. Best yet, it was a good quarter of a mile away from the other suites on the arm of the peninsula, offering the perfect seclusion for the celebrity couple. Their honeymoon plans were kept a secret from the public for the very reason. The carriage departed back up the only road that led to their suite. They were alone at last.

"Wow!" Shining said, eyeing the suite and the beach. "I can't wait to check everything out!"

"Well, first things first, dear." Cadence said seductively as she walked in front of him, raising her dress and dragging her raised tail across the underside of his chin, flicking his snout with the end. Her scent carried with it the myriad of memories from their little trysts while they dated in school. He wondered for a moment why it was that he had decided to go off and join the Royal Guard. "Why don't we check out the bedroom first?" She suggested. "And then you can... check this out." She purred, wiggling her flank at him. Her tail sashayed to the side, flashing him a glimpse of her marehood. Indeed, she was every bit as sexy as he remembered her from those days. She let her dress lower back down, covering her once more. He followed her inside the spacious bamboo hut, trying not to step on her dress's long train. She hopped up onto the wide expanse of the bed, sprawling out before him.

"You know, Cadie, I was a little worried at first about how this whole thing would work." He said. She gave him a confused expression. She motioned her hoof, bobbing in front of her mouth, pressing her tongue into her cheek in time, simulating fellatio. "No, I don't mean that!" He scoffed. They understood the mechanics perfectly well. Neither of them were virgins. And this was far from their first time with eachother. "I mean with the whole, Celestia thing."

"Oh." Her smile faded.

"I thought you said you were okay with all of that." He said.

"I am. I just, I was hoping that you weren't think about her right this moment." She said.

"I'm not. I mean, I am. But not like that anyway." He said, tripping over his words apologetically. "I guess what I mean is, I was more afraid that you were thinking about her, and about it being a problem for us."

"No. I love you." Cadence said. "Don't you love me?" She asked, the simplicity of the words belied the complexity of the question.

"Of course I do!" Shining answered truthfully.

"But...?"

"But what?" He asked back.

"But not as much as you love her." She said solemnly. Shining's first instinct was to deny it. To lie. Not even consciously. His mouth opened briefly. In that instant of denial, his instinct was to lie, even to himself about it. But he knew she was right. And she did too. He couldn't bring himself to try to lie to her face like that.

"I'm sorry." He said, looking at the floor. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"Hey." She called to him, regaining his attention. He looked back up at her. She patted the bed beside her. "Come here." He shuffled over to her and climbed into the bed with her. She could tell that he felt crumby for admitting that he loved somepony more than her. His wife no less. She held his head in her hooves as he laid against her chest. "I told you, it's okay." She reassured him, rocking gently as she cradled him. "To be fair, since we're getting things out in the open, I suppose I do too."

"Hmm?" He looked up at her puzzled.

"I love her more, as well." She admitted. He rolled in place in surprise.

"Wait, really? Like- like that? In that way?" He asked incredulously. She smiled at his disbelief.

"Shining Francis Armor! I can not believe that that surprises you!" She said defensively. "I am a full grown mare. And I was not about to just wait around for you while you were in the service."

"Well sure, but I never thought that you... that your barn door swung that way." He said.

"Well I am the Princess of Love. In all its forms." She smirked.

"So you did that- with Celestia?" He asked with vivid intrigue.

"Yes, with her too. Eventually."

"Eventually? After how many?" Shining asked.

"That is none of your concern. And besides, from what I understand, I should ask you the same thing!" She said.

"Touche'."

"But... after Celestia, I could never go back to anypony else. That is, until she arranged us." Cadence said. "I don't know. It's like, once you've been with her..."

"You'll never have better." Shining finished her sentence, echoing Fancy Pants' words. His memory of his time with Celestia was still freshly seared into his consciousness.

"Yeah." Cadence sighed. They both sat there together quietly on the bed. It was not at all how he had envisioned his honeymoon going. He felt a bit less guilty about his true feelings, after what Cadence had admitted. But even still. "Do you... still want to?" She asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Well, sure. I mean, if you still do." Shining said. "I was afraid that the whole discussion had killed the mood for you."

"Well, I may not have the centuries of experience that she has..." she smiled, grabbing him by his suit, "but I think I could still give her a run for her money." She pulled him across her, tossing him onto the bed on his back. It always surprised him how strong she could be. Before he could even react, she was on him. His vision went white as the wide skirt of her dress settled over his face. Blindfolded, for all intents and purposes, his focus was now on the tactile sensation of her hooves running down his belly, to between his legs. One cupping and caressing his hefty scrotum, the other gently stroking his sheath, coaxing little shiny to come out and play. She didn't have to wait long.

"Hmmm!" She could hear him moaning behind her as she first touched the beginnings of his exposed member, bringing it harder still. Although she did feel a bit left out in this solo act.

"You know, Shining, foreplay is a two-way road." She said. "And your face isn't the only thing under my skirt." She felt him twitch in her hooves at her words. There was so much to her dress that he felt like he was lost at the bottom of a linen bin. His hooves swam through the material, fishing for something, anything other than the disorienting whiteness. The pastel creme, pink and purple of her tail appeared first. He took a hold of it in his hoof, for fear of losing it again, giving it a firm tug. The gesture caused a ripple of goosebumps to run through her body. If not for his steady pull on it, her tail would have been standing straight up in wanton need.

Hoof over hoof, he worked his way up her long tail through the layers of cloth. He found his way to one of the pink pillars straddling his torso, and then the other. His eyes followed the triangle they formed to the apex above him. He released her tail and is sprang upward, revealing herself to him, and tenting the skirt up and away from him. He pawed at her flanks, pulling her hips down to him. She obliged, squatting her self lower over him, leaning down as she pulled his shaft up to her mouth.

Shining would not wait to bury his face into her hot muff. Before her hips even reached him, he lurched upwards, running his tongue along her slit in a wide swath. She settled backwards onto him, rolling her hips in little jerking motions with each pass he made across her wetness, causing the bed to rock in time with her rhythm. As he felt her mouth on him, his hips matched her pace with little thrusts of their own. On top, Cadence was not worried about his movement into her mouth. She was firmly in control of how deep he went. When it got a little too aggressive, she would back off, restricting how deep he could go. Simultaneously, she would press her flanks more firmly against his snout until the lack of oxygen brought him back to a more reserved motion. She did so love the feeling he was giving her though.

After a short while, they were able to get a good rhythm going. The small, steady motion of her hips against his tongue, and his little thrusts into her mouth began to cause the headboard to knock against the wall steady as a metronome.

Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.

The baritone moans of his throat vibrated into be sensitive folds, which in turn elicited soprano squeals from the Princess atop him, all the the steady beat of the headboard. It was quite a lovely orchestra of carnal bliss.

"Care to make this lovely duet into a trio?" The Princess asked. The music of the bed stopped instantly. It was not the Princess of Love asking. Cadance pulled Shining's dick from her throat, letting it go with a wet slap against his fur.

"Princess Celestia!" She said in embarrassed surprise.

"Mffhff MhmHhhhm!?" Cadence lifted her hips from her husband's face. "Forgive me for not getting up, Your Highness." He gasped from under her dress.

"Ah, but it seems that you already have." Celestia said with a smirk, eyeing the throbbing shaft yet still attached to Cadence's lips with a very un-princess-like string of saliva. Cadence followed Celestia's eyes, and wiped her mouth, blushing a deeper shade of pink.

"Sorry." Cadence apologized for her appearance, her makeup now smeared with her sweat and spit.

"Not at all!" Celestia said. "I should be the one apologizing. I didn't mean to barge in on you like this." Cadence raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You must not have heard the knocking of my hooves over the knocking of your own." She said with a wry smile. "I just wanted to stop by and see how you were enjoying your accommodations. Very much it would seem. But you still haven't answered my question." Celestia motioned to Shining's penis, her eyes silently asking Cadence, 'May I?' Cadence took Shining's shaft in her hooves once more. This time, aiming it toward Celestia, who knelt in front of Cadence. In a single motion, Celestia took quite nearly the entirety of his shaft into her throat.

"Cadie? Is that you?" Shining asked. Cadence looked on in abject awe at what was, without a doubt, the most inspiring deep-throat fellatio she'd ever witnessed.

"If I said yes... would you believe me?" She asked. The fact that she was speaking so clearly while he was enveloped in a warm wetness of a luxurious pony's throat was all the answer he required. Cadence felt a rush of emotions. A strange combination of envy, jealousy, and impressed fascination. Celestia took his length into her esophagus with in a manner as casual as though she were simply brushing her teeth. But mostly, she felt lust as she watched her husbands cock moved and pushed a bulge through Celestia's white neck. After a moment of feeling Cadence's eyes on her, Celestia let Shining's length slip free from her mouth.

"Cadie, be a dear and do that thing you used to do." Celestia suggested. "You current position is... well suited for it." Cadence leaned forward, tentatively at first, then more boldly, giving Celestia's horn a long, loving lick. "Hmm." She purred. "And Shining, I do believe you were already preoccupied with your task at hoof." Cadence moved her hips back down to his face in a non-verbal reinforcement of the command. Celestia said naught else before resuming her work on his member. Mesmerized by the best blowjob of his life, he could do little else but comply with her order, burying his snout into Cadences pouting, pink petals once more. Cadence mirrored Celestia, taking her white horn into her mouth.

Indeed, with Celestia's head slowly bobbing on her husbands lap, she was in the perfect position to felate her long horn. Looking down, she could almost imagine it being her own legs hanging over the edge of the bed. To be a stallion, rutting Princess Celestia's throat. It looked fun, she thought. Shining's tongue grazed her sensitive clit, snapping her attention back to the present moment. Glancing back up at Celestia's horn she resumed her task. Much shorter and more narrow than Shining's dick, Cadence could likewise take in its length in its entirety. This time it was Celestia who was given pause as the sensation ran from her head down the base of her spine. In all of her years and experience, some things never grew old.

Their triangle of passion fed more and more into itself. Cadence was already teetering on the edge. Shining redoubled his efforts, his military competitiveness intent on winning this contest of wills. With a free hoof, he grabbed Cadence's tail, giving it a solid pull as he assaulted her clit a final time, sending her reeling. Shining was rewarded with a burst of her wetness on his waiting face. Cadence moaned loudly onto Celestia's horn, her teeth grazing its ridges in a brief loss of discipline. The combination of her vibrating moan and surprise nip was enough for Celestia's own climax. Though clearly not as tremendous as Cadie's deluge, Celestia had the patience in knowing it would be but the first of many for her that day as her own droplets fell gently onto the floor between her squatting thighs.

Celestia felt Shining's cock pulse in her throat. Cadence's reward in his mouth clearly the last straw for his fortitude. She pulled Shining from her mouth, and likewise, herself from Cadence's. Celestia had only the briefest instant to catch a gulp of air as the first bout of Shining's cum launched from his flared tip. It landed in a wide swath across Cadence's horn, down her forehead, nose and lips. Celestia, with a fresh breath in her, wrapped her lips over his cock again, taking the next load into her mouth. Cadence, no longer stunned from her surprise frosting, pushed Celestia aside with her cheek, replacing the sun princess's mouth with her own on him, taking the next two loads in her mouth greedily swallowing it all as Celestia continued to pump his shaft with one hoof, and rolling his balls with the other.

Shining's eyes were getting a good view of his brain as the rolled back in his head as both of the mares sucked and licked at his ejaculating shaft. He gasped and whimpered as the last droplets were licked clean the instant they appeared from him, and his length started to retreat from their over-affection. Shining got a breath of fresh air as the dress lifted away from him. He got his first look at Celestia since she'd arrived. She'd pulled Cadence's dress from her in her magic, and then pulled Cadence herself to her. The two mares were kissing passionately on the carpet as their cum coated tongues slid against eachother. Celestia was on her back, and Cadence on top of her. Celestia pulled away from the kiss first, if only to lick the rest of Shining's spilled seed from Cadence's sticky face. Shining lifted himself from the soaked bedding around his head onto his weak elbows in time to see Celestia sliding her hoof between Cadence's thighs, her hoof getting soaked by her arousal. Cadence purred at the contact.

"Hmm, Shining, I dare say you enjoyed that almost as much as she did." Celestia said as she continued to press into Cadence's folds. With her other hoof, she began to rub her own. "I would very much like to experience this talent of yours for myself." She punctuated the sentence by spreading her lips, winking in display. Shining slid off of the bed, getting down, low on the floor, pressing his lips to Celestia marehood. His large jaws covered her sex, housing an equally large tongue that Celestia enjoyed immediately. Cadence glanced back at the action between their legs. She shimmied backwards, away from Celestia's hoof, just enough to feel him bump into her. But his head was a continuously moving target. Celestia understood what Cadie was attempting to accomplish.

"Shiny, be still for a moment, dear." Celestia said. Shining stopped moving but kept his lips firmly planted on Celestia's clitoris, suckling. With another small adjustment, Cadence shifted her hip and Shining felt his horn sliding effortlessly into her snug vagina. Celestia smiled as the grin grew across Cadence's satisfied face. "There now, you may resume." She said. Shining continued his circuit of moving about his efforts on Celestia's crotch. This caused his horn to move about in all manner of unpredictable direction within Cadence, driving her wild.

Each of the mares, respectively already warmed up, held eachother tightly in each others hooves as their orgasms rolled through them a second time. This time, however, Celestia was treated to the stronger of the two. Her powerful legs gripped his head as she burst forth into his mouth, and some into his nostrils, dripping down his chin. Cadence moaned into Celestia's mouth, kissing her as her tight pussy gripped his horn, her own juices soaking his mane. By the end, there wasn't a spot on him above his neck that wasn't wet with mare cum.

After a long moment, Celestia's legs released him and he rolled away onto his back, gasping for air beside the panting mares. Cadence glanced at him, his shaft still markedly absent.

"Aww, Shiny. Even after that, your still not ready for round two?" Cadence asked in a playful tone. Shining didn't even respond, still recovering himself.

"Fear not dear." Celestia said, pulling her here-to yet unseen suitcase to her, opening it. From it she retrieved a bottle of what looked to be wine. Shining recognized the symbology from his encounter with Fleur De Lis. "Just a sip of this and he'll be back to full mast in a short time. And with the energy to use it!" Cadence's smile was wide enough to tie her lips behind her head. The glint in her eye made him nervous. "In the mean time..." Celestia overturned her bag onto the bed. All manner of toys of sexual perversions spilled out. "Something to keep us entertained until the potion has had time to take effect."

"Didn't mean to barge in on us huh?" Shining asked in a dry tone. "Just stopped by to see how we like the accommodations huh?" Celestia gave him a serious look.

"I am a Filly Scout. I always like to be prepared." She said, smiling herself. She levitated the potion into his hooves once he'd had a chance to sit up. "Just a sip now." She advised. Shining looked at the various pieces of equipment littering the bed. He didn't recognize most of them and could only begin to speculate as to their intended purpose. One of them came aglow in Celestia's magic. It looked like a stallion's penis, but with a head at both ends. She levitated it over to herself, rubbing one end against her pussy, getting it wet with her juices before sliding half of it's length into her.

"I don't believe that you were ever a filly." Shining said in an accusing tone.

"Honorary." Celestia amended, breathing heavy as Cadence positioned herself opposite Celestia, rubbing the other end of the dildo against her marehood in a similar fashion. Shining took a sip of the potion. He could feel the effects tingling through him quickly, renewing his stamina. Not unnaturally quickly, instead, almost pleasantly so. He watched as the other half of the dildo vanished into his wife and they began to eagerly mash their pussies together, creating obscene, slapping wet noises. Shining took another gulp of the potion and grinned.

It was going to be another long week.