Airships, Sandskiffs, and Locomotives

As the two trotted along the smoothly-paved street, Velvet smothered a yawn with her hoof. It was taking a considerable amount of effort to stay standing. “Honey, I think we were supposed to take a left back there… Do you still have that map?”

“It’s—” Night Light caught the yawn, smacking his lips tiredly. “It’s in my bag. Give me a second.”

While he ruffled through his belongings, Velvet looked around with a faint smile, taking in the city. Even in the early hours of the morning, the sounds of city life surrounded them: the trundling of cart wheels as street vendors took their positions for the day, the barking of distant pet dogs on their morning walks, and the cooing of doves as they soared between the towering buildings.

“What the—awwww, great.” Night Light swore, but there was little energy behind it. “Our boarding passes got soaked.” Sighing, he held up a wad of dripping paper.

Velvet put a hoof to her forehead. “Of course. What now?”

“I mean, at least we’ll still be able to get on the flight, they have our names on the cabin reservation.” He shook his head. “But I bet the map’s just as ruined, wherever it is in here…”

Biting her lip, Velvet scanned their surroundings. Her face brightened when she spotted the familiar logo of the Equestrian postal services on a building at the end of the block. “They’ll have maps at the post office!”

“For sale…?”

“Even if they aren’t, we can at least get directions to the airport. Besides, we need to send another letter to Shiny and Cadance to let them know we made it to the city.” She hooked a hoof through her luggage handle and began plodding toward the office. “Come on, honey, just another hour or two and we can rest.”

Nodding wearily, Night Light repacked his bag and flung it over his back. The two marched down the street in exhausted silence.

In a bit of long-deserved good fortune, they discovered that the post office opened early. Velvet snuck a look at the wall clock as they entered, sucking in an alarmed breath as she saw the hour hand pointing halfway between the seven and the eight. The clock sat right above a huge map of the city, to her relief. “We’re going to be cutting it close, honey. You check the map for the airport, I’ll get the letter made out.”

While Night Light busied himself in study of the map, she approached the desk and rang the bell. After a few moments, a sleepy-looking pegasus in a postal service uniform appeared, rubbing her eyes. “Can I help you, ma’am?” slurred the mare.

“I’d like to send a letter…”

After another short wait to receive stationary, a pen, and to pay for her stamps, Velvet quickly scribbled down her missive.

Dear Shining Armor and Cadance,

Your father and I have made it to Atlantrot. We’re still on track to catch our flight, but probably won’t be able to send you another letter until we reach Griffrance. If you send us any replies, address them to our hotel there. Sorry for the short message but we’re in a bit of a time crunch.

Love you,

Mom & Dad

Swiftly addressing the letter and slapping the stamps on it, she thrust it at the pegasus and turned back to her husband. “Got the airport directions, honey?”

“Yeah, and it’s close. We just follow this road another few blocks, hang a right, and we’ll be able to see the entrance.” Night Light smiled, despite the dark circles under his eyes. “Just a little longer.”

* * *

The ugly blocks of concrete that made up the airport loomed above them. The only interruptions in the gray walls were a series of windows that gave a view through the entire building lobby out onto the tarmac beyond, where dozens—no, hundreds of airships and small propeller planes filled the airstrip. Velvet watched an airship lift off, gently ascending into the clouds, with a delighted smile on her face.

“Come on,” mumbled Night Light, pushing into the lobby through the glass door. “I’m sure there’s a line to get to the gates…”

The airport was packed. Even Canterlot’s train station had more room. Innumerable ponies, ranging from the frantic to the bored, filled the cavernous lobby from wall to wall. Velvet spotted the large hanging sign that read GATE PROMENADE & SECURITY CHECKPOINT, and pointed. Readjusting their luggage, the unicorns made their way toward it, muttering excuse mes to the other ponies caught in the airport’s bureaucratic flytrap. They reached the end of the line and settled in to wait.

Night Light nearly dozed off against one of the poles holding up the waiting-line ribbons. Velvet had to shake him for several seconds to get him moving again as the line slowly ground forward through the security screening being conducted by a small team of ponies in blue airport uniforms.

At last, they reached the huge bag-checking machine. They gave their passports to the first officer, sitting behind a small podium, then moved forward to dump their luggage onto the conveyor belt. It would carry their bags into a small chamber to be magically examined by trained unicorns for dangerous items. While that took place, the two ponies walked around to pass through the magic detectors. Velvet went first, walking slowly through the metal arch without a beep, smiling and taking her place on the other side to wait for her husband.

Night Light was halfway through the arch when an alarm went off. A small, urgent doo-doo-doo filled the air, and all the ponies on the security team scowled. Her husband’s eyes rolled up to look beseechingly at the ceiling.

“Please step aside, sir,” said the stallion performing the detector checks. “We’ve found something in your bag.”

With a sigh, Night Light left the line to walk over toward the team sitting behind the luggage machine. Velvet followed him, shaking her head.

Their luggage had been pulled off the line, lying open on the floor with their contents strewn about, like roadkill. A stern unicorn stallion standing over Velvet’s dissected bag lifted the pair of hoof-cuffs, clearing his throat. “Elyritum, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yes,” said Night Light, his eyes narrowing in irritation. “Perfectly legal to bring on transoceanic flights. I checked that before packing them.”

“Yes… normally we wouldn’t stop you over these, but hoof-cuffs?” The security officer frowned. “I can’t let you bring these. The material itself might not be on the restricted list, but there’s any number of ways you might cause problems with anti-magic restraints.”

Velvet blew out a disappointed sigh. So much for turning the tables on her husband.

Night Light had a different idea, apparently, raising an eyebrow. “You think I want to cause problems?” His voice sounded dangerously strained, and Velvet got a sinking feeling. After the way he’d blown up at Candy in the mountains, she was worried that this might be the thing that pushed him too far.

“Uh, honey,” she said, “it’s okay, we can—”

“Actually,” said Night Light, “those are for my wife.”

Burying her face in an embarrassed hoof, Velvet waited in mortified hope for the ground to open up and swallow her.

The security stallion made an unexpectedly alarmed noise. “What? You’re keeping your wife chained up?” His horn glowed. “Donnelly, sounds like we’ve got an equine trafficker on our hooves.”

“It’s a sex thing!” shouted Night Light, waving angrily, and Velvet sat heavily as her other forehoof joined the first. “Hear that, everypony? My wife and I have sex! Shocking, I know.” His eye twitched. There was some amused tittering from the ponies waiting in line.

The security officer had the grace to blush, but the stern look never left his face. “Sir, there’s no need to make a scene.”

“A scene? You want a scene?” Night Light’s voice had raised an octave. “Listen here, you puffed-up rent-a-cop, you wouldn’t know a bomb from your own dick, so let us through already and quit dragging our personal belongings out in public.”

Uh oh, thought Velvet, peering through her hooves. It might be time to intervene, before he got them any deeper into trouble.

The security stallion’s face creased into an unfriendly smile. “Well, well. I think somepony wants a cavity search. Donnelly! Let’s take our friend here to the back room.”

Definitely time to intervene. Velvet stood abruptly with a loud cough. “Sir, that won’t be necessary.”

He turned to her with a cross expression. “Ma’am, your husband is acting like a serious security risk. I can’t let you through until—”

“I highly doubt that either of the parents of Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor are security risks, sir.”

The stallion laughed. “Princess Sparkle’s mum and dad? Good one. And I’m the Marquis of Zyre.”

“Uh, Captain Briarhoof, I uh…” the security officer who’d been checking their passports looked up from his podium. “I think she’s telling the truth. Their documents check out. These two are named Sparkle.”

The security stallion’s laugh cut short and his face went very pale. “Y-you mean you’re—”

“Going to be late for our flight,” Velvet supplied smoothly, batting her eyelashes. “So if you’d be kind enough to let us get moving…”

“Yes! Of course, my—my apologies, my lady, I didn’t mean to hold up royalty, I just—”

“Thank you, sir,” she said with a nod, repacking her belongings, not bothering to explain that they weren’t really royalty, merely related to an awful lot of it. “Have a pleasant day.”

Night Light didn’t say anything, still busy seething quietly. Velvet was grateful that he managed to keep his mouth shut until they left the security line behind.

After they’d put some distance between them and the guards, his annoyed demeanor cooled a bit. He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry for losing my temper, honey. I’m at the end of my rope here.”

She patted him comfortingly. “I know. Try to relax, we’ll have a chance to sleep soon.”

“Anyway, good thinking back there. But what happened to no nepotism?”

“I figure the kids owe us,” said Velvet, returning the smile. “Goodness knows they’ve caused us enough trouble over the years. I’m sure you remember the plant incident.” She cracked her neck. “Which gate are we headed to, again?”

With a tired grunt, he rifled through his bag to withdraw the remains of their boarding passes. “Looks like…” he turned them around a few times. “E-5? B-5? Ugh, these are completely ruined. E-5.”

They took a right turn and walked along the airport’s main thoroughfare. To their left, the windows revealed the sunny tarmac. Velvet spotted their airship far down the line, tethered to the ground and surrounded by dozens of airport workers preparing it for launch. It was a huge ship, a real luxury liner with a full casino on one of the lower decks and a massive fine-dining restaurant, entrance to both included in their tickets. It was almost a shame that the flight to Griffrance would only take two days.

The line of passengers was already boarding by the time they reached the gate. A ship this big had hundreds of riders on each flight, but the line had already gone down to a bare thirty or so. Velvet was glad her husband had guessed the right gate.

After another wait in line, they approached the desk. The mare behind it had a perfectly coiffed mane and large, dangling earrings. She was idly waving passengers by, more focused on chatting to a friend on the other side who was clearly on break. “Oh, I know it, girl.” She gave a tinkling, high-pitched laugh. “I can’t cook to save my life. That’s why I married him in the first place.”

Her friend snorted. “I thought it was his giant—”

The two stallions ahead of the Sparkles reached the desk. The mare looked briefly at them. “Pre-checked tickets?” The two nodded, and she waved them on. “Anyway, Valerie, I said to him—”

Night Light cleared his throat as he and Velvet stepped forward. The mare’s eyes narrowed in brief annoyance. “Can I help you, sir? If you’re pre-checked-in, you can go right ahead and get on board.”

“No,” said Night Light. “We’re Velvet and Night Light Sparkle. Can we get our passes re-printed and checked?”

“Oh, no need for those. I’ll just find you on the list, dearie…” the mare looked down at a large piece of paper on her desk. “Hmm… Sparkle, Sparkle… well, now. It says you two have already boarded.”

Velvet blinked dumbly. “What?”

Night Light’s cheek twitched dangerously. “Well, clearly that’s a mistake, since we’re standing in front of you. If we are already checked in, we’ll just head on board.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but we can’t let you do that if you’re listed as already having boarded the flight. Mareathon Travel Company policy.” The mare gave them a sympathetic shrug. “I can refer you to our complaints office.”

“I don’t want to talk to your shit-for-brains manager,” said Night Light, his voice hushed with livid emotion. He’d been pushed entirely too far, Velvet feared. “I want the shitty cabin I reserved two weeks ago.”

Frowning, the mare leaned back. “Sir, I really don’t care for the way you’re speaking to me.”

“And I really don’t care for the way your shitty company stranded me and my wife in the ass-end of nowhere. Your shitty filing system sent us down to some dead-end in the wrong country, where your dumb-as-shit customer service representative got our names wrong again and sent us to the shittiest hotel in the world. While we were sleeping, the shitty pipework flooded the entire shithole. Next, thanks to your piece-of-shit organization not giving us a ride across the continent, we got caught up in some kind of crazy camel mafia shit and nearly died in the middle of the desert, where we almost got eaten by, I shit you not, a shark the size of a bus. Then we got trapped in another shitty little village during the mother of all shitstorms, nearly freezing to death, and then we wound up falling down the most pants-shittingly huge waterfall I have ever seen. And after all that shit, we finally, finally make it here, where you are now telling me that the cabin I reserved on your shitty airliner last month has already been claimed. So just give me and my wife the shit we paid for, right now, or I swear to Celestia I will lose my shit.”

The mare chewed her pen with arched eyebrows. “May I see your boarding passes?”

“They got drenched in the waterfall,” he growled, throwing the sodden wad of paper onto the desk.

She looked at the remains of their boarding passes and sighed. “Oh, boy…”

“Oh boy what?”

A grin crept onto her face. “Tough shit.”

* * *

The two unicorns stormed out of the airport, Night Light’s normally cool blue face burning red. “We ought to sue these idiots,” he said, still ranting. “Hundreds of bits, down the drain; unbelievable.”

“Night Light,” said Velvet, lifting her head. She gazed through the windows toward the tarmac. An idea was springing to life somewhere in the back of her mind. “Do you remember that Don’t-Mind-Me spell my team wrote a paper on a year or two ago?”

Night Light snorted a laugh. “Yeah.” He shook his head. “If you’re suggesting what I think, well… I appreciate the thought, but I’m really not in the mood right now.”

“No, no, I’m thinking something entirely different—though not exactly innocent.” Velvet rubbed her hooves together. “Look, any airship that big has to have a ground-level entrance, right?”

Her husband’s face lifted as he realized what she was suggesting. “You think…? They wouldn’t let us on, surely.”

“That’s what the spell is for.”

With a nod, he gave her shoulder a friendly punch. “What the hell, we’re already breaking all the rules this week.”

It took Velvet a few minutes to remember exactly how the spell worked, but in a few minutes she nailed it down. A shimmering, almost silky coating of glittering violet settled over her and her husband. The glimmering faded until there was nothing remarkable about either of them. In fact, it was difficult to come up with any distinguishing features to describe the pony standing in front of her.

“How do I look, honey?” she asked.

“Hard to say…” Night Light’s eyes drifted away from her like oil sliding off of a pan. “Can’t even focus on you.”

“Excellent. Nopony will pay enough attention to us to stop us from getting on board. Come on, they’re bound to be lifting off soon.”

The two entirely unmemorable ponies cantered around the airport building, finding a much-needed shortcut halfway through by cutting under an overpass to slip between the gates. Out on the tarmac, they made a beeline toward their airship.

Velvet saw to her dismay that the workers were already casting off the lines tethering it to the gate. “Hurry!”

They broke into a gallop, racing past more airport employees who spared glances in their direction before shrugging and turning back to work. Velvet’s hooves thudded on the tarmac as they neared the airship. The large underslung passenger gondola, where the boarding hatch was now disconnected from the gate, had windows filled with light and the shadows of the passengers still moving through to reach their cabins up in the body of the airship itself.

They nearly made it. Velvet could see the service hatch in the bottom of the gondola, but it was already out of their reach. Before she could even light her horn to try opening it, the last line was cast free and the airship began to rise away.

“No!” yelled Night Light, jumping uselessly. The two watched in despair as the massive liner lifted into the air with surprising speed. Engines mounted on the rear of the airship whirred to life, and it began turning eastward to begin its journey across the ocean to Griffrance.

Velvet sat on the tarmac, resting her hooves and head on her luggage with a heavy sigh. “Well, honey, we tried.”

“It’s so close!” He released a low whine. “We’ve come so far. We can’t give up two steps from the finish line.”

Velvet closed her eyes. “I’m too tired to even take those two steps, honey.”

Night Light sank with disappointment. “So close… if we’d been five minutes faster…”

She lifted herself off the bag and hugged him. “It’s okay, Nighty. The point of this trip was to try new things, right? We’ve certainly done that. Some of which… I would rather not repeat.” She grinned. “Namely the bit with the shark.”

He hugged her back, limp and tired. “I know. I just… I wanted this to be good for you. For both of us. And it’s been an absolute disaster every step of the way.”

“Not every step.” She nuzzled him. “I’ve had a lot of fun, despite it all.”

“Me too,” he admitted, squeezing her. “But I just… I think about that night we started this, and I can’t help but worry that we’ll end up there again.”

“We won’t,” she said, kissing him. “I don’t need some fancy sex toy to be happy with you, Night Light. All I needed was a little reminder that we can still mix things up. That we can still get out there and do some crazy things together—like surviving those waterfalls! You saved our lives, you know.”

“After putting us in danger in the first place…”

“Danger is fun,” said Velvet, smiling. “And facing it with you makes me feel alive, honey.”

He finally returned her grin. “And randy.”

She lightly butted his forehead with her own, their horns scraping together. “That too.”

With a sigh and a slow nod, he sat back from the hug. “Well… I suppose we’d better figure out where to go from here. We’ve still got the next week and a half off work, after all. I suppose we could swing up to the Crystal Empire anyway and spend it with Shiny and Cadence…”

Velvet nodded, looking around the airport while she mustered the energy to stand. Her gaze fell on a small, bright red biplane sitting outside the nearest hangar, and the colorful trunk sitting beside it. Her eyes widened. “Candy!”

“What?” Night Light followed her eyes. “Ha! Well, what do you know? Maybe he found a way to get home.”

“Let’s go say goodbye. And thank him for helping us out.” They gathered their luggage and began hauling it toward the biplane.

As they drew near the plane, they could see their newfound friend standing by the nose and propeller, arguing with another earth pony in a flight vest with a pair of goggles on her head.

“Come on, Amelia,” pleaded Candy, close enough now to be audible. “They’re my friends. I can’t just leave them out there to die!”

“Look, Don, I want to help,” said the pilot, frowning sympathetically, “but I’m not going to risk flying into that storm. They put the advisory out weeks ago saying to steer clear of the mountains for the next few days. It’s nasty up there.”

“But they could be lost anywhere in those mountains! If they’re still alive I have to at least try to help.”

“Don, the storm will be over on Wednesday. We can head out then to check.”

Candy shook his head urgently. “That’s too late. They could already be—”

Night Light cleared his throat. “Right behind you.”

Candy turned in confusion. “Sorry, who are you?” His eyes slid away. “Anyway, Amelia—”

Velvet jolted with realization. “Oh, right.” She let the Don’t-Mind-Me spell shimmer out of existence.

Candy’s eyes shot wide. “What th—Night Light! Velvet!” He raced toward them and embraced the two unicorns.

Smiling, Velvet patted him on the back. “Hi, Don.”

Night Light rubbed his neck, embarrassed. “You were right, Don. We should have gone right with you. But we made it out in one piece.”

“Thank Celestia.” Candy stepped back, beaming. “I was worried I’d gotten you two killed. Can you still make your flight?”

Velvet grimaced, looking up at the airship still drifting toward the horizon. “That’s it, right there.”

“Oh, wow, you guys were supposed to take the Florentine? I’ve heard about that ship. Doesn’t it have a casino? Er… I’m guessing you missed the flight. Shoot.” Candy frowned, before perking back up. “Wait a minute! Amelia, I’d still like to call in that favor.”

Amelia lifted an eyebrow. “You want me to fly these two up there? Candy, I could get in serious trouble for that.”

“Not if nopony notices you…” said Velvet, a sly smile creeping onto her lips. “I can keep your plane disguised with magic until you’ve dropped us off.”

“Hmm…” Amelia looked the two of them over. “Well, I do owe Don big-time for selling me those pipes for emergency repairs that time in the Ponynesian isles…” She sighed. “All right, Don, for you I’ll do it. But we can’t fit all of you in my little plane. Maybe two.” She pointed to her vehicle, which had only one seat behind the cockpit.

“Sure we can,” said Night Light. “I’ll keep the bags held outside the plane with magic. Velvet can sit in my lap, and Candy, erm…”

Candy shook his head. “No, it’s fine. You guys need to catch your flight. I’ll stay here.”

Velvet’s eyes narrowed. “Don, do you want to go to Griffrance?”

If not Equestrian or Crystalline, he must be from somewhere in the Europony Union. If that was the case, the freedom of movement meant that getting him to Griffrance would be nearly as good as getting him back to his homeland.

“W-well yes, but like I said, I’m not going to ask you guys to—”

“You don’t have to. Friends help each other out for free, remember?” Her smile took on a hard edge. “Besides, screw the travel company. If they’re willing to botch our seating twice, they can deal with a free rider getting on. You sit in the back of the plane. I’ll sit on your lap. Amelia, can you squeeze in on my husband’s? That seems like the only way all four of us could fit.”

Amelia cringed. “Well… maybe. I don’t know that my plane can handle the weight of four ponies, though.”

“Only one way to find out.” Velvet shoved the handle of her luggage down. “And the clock’s ticking.”

Reluctantly, Amelia made a get in gesture with her hoof. The ponies piled into the plane, levitating their bags and the trunk beside them. Velvet barely managed to get into the seat she was sharing with the bulky Candy, pressed tightly against the barrel of the surrounding fuselage. “Don,” she wheezed, “can you suck that belly in a bit?” He attempted to oblige, but it was still far from comfortable.

Her smaller husband was less crushed under Amelia’s weight, but looked no more pleased about the seating arrangement. “How long will it take us to get to that airship?”

“Not long,” said Amelia, sliding her goggles on and fiddling with some levers under the flight console. “This plane’s a lot faster than those big cruise liners. Hold on, everypony!” The engine thrummed to life, the propeller whipping into action. Amelia grimaced. “This is a bad idea, you know.”

“Oh,” said Night Light with a fond look at his wife, “we’re full of those.”

The biplane trundled out onto the runway. Velvet cast the Don’t-Mind-Me spell over the entire vehicle, and the few airport workers who’d noticed their unplanned takeoff with alarm quickly relaxed and looked away.

Takeoff was bumpy. With so much extra weight, the plane could barely lift from the runway. Just as they were about to hit the end of the tarmac and be forced to turn, the vehicle lurched up. The biplane jerked into the air, rattling its occupants, before unsteadily rising to pursue the airship.

The necessity of Amelia’s goggles quickly became apparent. The wind was whipping against Velvet’s face so hard that she couldn’t look straight ahead. She focused instead on helping her husband keep their luggage floating after the plane.

Only a few minutes had passed before Amelia yelled to them over the noise of the propellers. “Get ready! We’re coming up beneath it!”

Velvet looked up to see the enormous mass of the airship blocking out the sunlight. “Get ready to get the hatch, honey!” she shouted. “I’ll hold the bags!” She gripped them tightly with magic.

Amelia pulled them up beneath the rear-mounted gondola, matching the liner’s slow speed and holding steady beneath the square hatch. “Ready when you are,” she shouted.

Night Light’s horn surged, and the hatch sprang open. Gingerly, he managed to extricate himself from under Amelia without jostling her and the controls too dangerously. He cautiously climbed up onto the top wing of the plane, hopping up and grabbing the edge of the open hatch. Velvet watched with her heart in her mouth as he pulled himself inside, giving a relaxed breath as he made it safely in.

She sent the bags after him, to get them out of the way, and then it was her turn. The climb up onto the wing was more terrifying and thrilling than even the waterfalls had been. Velvet dared not look down, lest she lose her nerve entirely. With Night Light’s encouraging shouts over the noise of the plane, she managed to reach up for his hooves. With magic and some good old stallion muscle, he pulled her inside the hatch.

Velvet sat on the floor, breathing hard. Still not daring to look down through the open portal, she instead glanced around them. The gondola was empty, all the passengers presumably having gone to settle in their rooms before enjoying the luxury liner’s amenities.

“Honey, can you help me with Candy?” Night Light had his hooves stretched down through the hatch. Velvet took a deep breath, then moved to join him.

Candy was standing shakily on the plane’s fuselage. “I can’t get up on the wing, guys,” he yelled, quaking.

Velvet summoned up the last dregs of magic she could manage, and grasped the earth pony with violet light. “On three, honey. One—two—three!”

Both unicorns heaved, and Candy shot up through the hatch like a rocket. He rolled along the floor of the gondola, whooping.

Night Light gave a friendly wave to Amelia below, receiving a salute in return. As the pilot peeled away to return to the airport, Velvet removed the enchantment from her plane. Hopefully they were far enough away from land that nopony would figure out what Amelia had done, but even if not, it was better to get caught than to be unnoticeable forever.

They closed the hatch, locking it tight, and finally relaxed. “Well, Velvet,” said Night Light, laughing, “I’ve never had to work so hard to take two steps before.”

“We’re not at the finish line yet,” she said dryly. “The ship could still crash.”

“Shh,” he said, pressing a hoof to his lips. “Don’t jinx us.”

Candy stood, stretching. “What a day. Glad I got a nap in on the river after we split up. Say, this liner’s got a chef on board with seven Marechelin stars, doesn’t it?”

“I believe you’re right,” said Night Light, yawning. “Feel free to enjoy. I think we’ll retire to our cabin.”

“Ah, gotcha,” said Candy with the most obnoxious wink Velvet had ever seen. “I’ll find some way to keep myself busy till late tonight. Maybe I’ll hit up that casino on the upper decks.”

“Have fun,” said Velvet with a tired smile. “We’re in cabin 52-D, if you need a place on-board to stay tonight. You can borrow one of our sleeping bags.”

“Thanks. I’ll make sure to, heh, knock,” he said, winking again.

Velvet restrained herself from rolling her eyes. “Thank you, Candy.”

Tapping a knowing hoof to his forehead, he bid them farewell and ventured up the stairs into the decks of the ship that lay inside the main frame, beneath the hydrogen cells. He took his trunk with him, to Velvet’s amusement.

The unicorn couple followed him up after another minute of recuperation, nearly dead on their hooves. It took them some time to find their room, which appeared to be unlocked. Velvet pushed the door open, walking into the room with a raised eyebrow. “All right, time to see if another couple really did board under our names… Anypony in here?”

Silence greeted them. Night Light sighed. “I hate this travel company.”

“Well, at least we don’t have to throw anypony out,” said Velvet happily. She dumped her luggage beside the room’s generous single bed, stretching. “I’m going to take a shower before we go to bed. I’ve still got sand in places sand should never be.”

“Ugh, I’ll take the next one,” muttered Night Light, scratching his chest with a wince. “Let’s remember to turn the water off, this time.”

“Even if we don’t, they surely have a drain that works…” Velvet chuckled as she entered the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she emerged feeling refreshed and civilized once again. She lay down on the bed while her husband took his own shower, and luxuriated in the plush comforter that covered the mattress. She slipped underneath the blankets enjoying the softness of the fabric on her skin after two days of rough sand and freezing snow.

Night Light finally finished in the bathroom, stepping back into the bedroom while rubbing his dripping mane with a towel. He tossed it over her luggage to dry and slid into bed beside her. “Ohhh,” he groaned. “This is heavenly.”

Velvet rolled over to spoon against his side. “We deserve it, after the week we’ve had.”

He gave her a gentle kiss. “And now, we can do something I’ve been looking forward to for ages.”

“Oh…?” Velvet, her eyes closed, snuggled closer. “And that would be?”

A faint snore answered her. Velvet lifted an eyelid to see her husband peacefully unconscious, his head slumped against hers. She restrained a snicker. Sleep tight, Night Light. Yawning, she nestled up against him into a more comfortable snoozing position.

She needed the sleep just as badly, but she couldn’t help but think ahead with a flutter of excitement. Casting her husband’s bag one last look of anticipation, she sank into her pillow and closed her eyes. When she woke up that evening, she had some entertainment planned that had nothing to do with the casino on the deck below.

Her husband was in for a bit of a surprise.

* * *

Something tickled. Night Light’s brow knit with dismay as he tried to back away, but the tickling on his chest continued. Eyes still closed tightly, he reached a hoof down to his chest to push whatever it was away— and discovered that his hoof couldn’t move more than a few inches downward.

His eyes snapped open in alarm to see Velvet’s face, wearing a considerably more smug expression than usual, a mere inch from his own. “Morning, dear. Or late afternoon, I should say.”

“Velvet? What the—” He yanked his hooves and heard the rattling of metal. Craning his head up, he saw both of his forelegs cuffed and tied around one of the railings of the headboard. A jolt of panic shot up his spine. “Uh, honey, what are you…?” He instinctively tried to summon magic to unseal the cuff, but felt no cool rush of power in his horn.

“Somepony made me a promise,” said his wife lightly, trailing a hoof up his side. Night Light noticed instantly that the covers had all been thrown aside, leaving him entirely exposed on the bedspread.

Relaxing a little as wakefulness returned, he gave her a nervous laugh. “Oh. I see.”

“After all the things you’ve put me through this week, I thought it was about time you paid me back,” said Velvet, leaning in so close that he could smell the faint lavender scent of her shampoo. “You’ve been such a bad boy, Nighty. Sending us over all those waterfalls on a hunch, why… that deserves a little payback.”

Night Light’s pulse quickened, and he grinned. “You know, I’m starting to think one of those leather suits in that catalog might suit you after all—”

She pressed a hoof to his lips. “No talking.”

With a glint in his eye, he nodded. He felt her other hoof trace up his inner thigh and inhaled deeply, but the hoof paused just before reaching his rapidly-stiffening shaft. Velvet leaned up to the head of the bed and let her mouth hang open. Night Light felt a sudden, slight pressure on his forehead, and realized she was licking his horn.

His eyes crossed. “V-Velvet…”

“Shh!” she gave his leg a sharp tap, and his mouth clapped shut. Rolling his eyes up, he could see her tongue sliding up the length of his horn, leaving a slick trail of saliva after it. There weren’t any actual nerves in unicorn horns, so he couldn’t really feel her tongue, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t insanely hot.

He wiggled his hips, feeling his cock sway. Velvet’s hoof was still tracing lines across his thigh, but he wanted her touch to move up a bit. Trying to communicate that with a few pelvic thrusts, he twisted under the bonds. Velvet noticed and merely smiled. She lifted the hoof—and placed it on his chest. She began to massage him, giving his horn another long lick in the process. He wanted to return the favor, but his hooves strained uselessly against the cuffs. She was right, these things are infuriating.

“Ah,” he breathed out as she drew a ticklish circle around his navel, making his cock twitch with anticipation. In a good way, though.

She shifted down a bit and over him, and he felt the pressure of her entire body along his side. One of her hind legs swept over to lie between his own, and a warm, wet pressure came to rest against the outside of his thigh. He jerked upward against the cuffs with a slight gasp.

Velvet continued to rub her hooves all over his body. Every place but one, that was—Night Light made a needy little noise, grinding against her leg. Velvet leaned her head down to his collar, pressing her mouth against his skin…

Then she bit him.

Night Light squeaked. “Really—really aggressive today, huh?”

“No talking,” she reminded him with another nip, lighter this time. Eyes half-lidded, she turned up to give him a sultry glance. “How often do I get you at my mercy like this?”

As often as you want, he nearly said, but kept his mouth shut as ordered. Velvet rained kisses down his chest, her mouth drawing closer to that insatiable need between his legs. Dragging her pussy along his leg and leaving a damp trail, she sat back at the very end of the bed. She slid her forelegs along his hind ones, lifting them slightly. He gave another uncontrollable little thrust of his hips as the ache in his cock grew to downright uncomfortable levels.

“Mmmm!” he managed, glancing down at her over his twitching shaft. He desperately wanted to pull his hooves down and start pumping away, and she had to know it. She watched his useless struggle against the cuffs with visible amusement.

“Do you want me to touch you?” she asked, her voice low and filled with promise, hovering a hoof over his cockhead. Night Light nodded, breathless. Velvet sighed and put the hoof down, still smiling coyly. “I will. But first, I want you to make up for all the naughty things you’ve done to me.”

Night Light let his head fall back to the pillow and exhaled. Good Goddess, she’s going to tease me until I explode. Lifting his head again, he grinned and nodded.

“Well, then…” Velvet stood on the bed and slowly turned, stepping carefully over his legs. Her tail brushed aside, revealing the familiar, yet never-more-enticing slit of her pussy. She was as aroused as him, from the look of it. He inhaled. From the smell of it.

She pressed those flushed, parted lips closer to his head, sliding backward along the bed and arching her back. “Go on, Nighty. Don’t be shy.”

He strained to lean upward, but the chains on his hooves made the angle too awkward. He stretched out his tongue, trying to touch her, but her pussy hung just out of reach. The musky scent was driving him mad.

“Hurry up, or I won’t help you out,” she said, her voice sing-song.

Night Light whimpered, still struggling against the bonds. The tip of his tongue could nearly reach her. He watched a drop of liquid drip from her pussy, landing on his chest. His neck was starting to hurt from straining so hard.

“Hmph,” said Velvet mock-annoyed, suddenly pulling her pussy further up and standing. Night Light let out a groan of dismay. “Well, if you won’t use your mouth, then put that horn to use.”

“Can’t,” he gasped, staring at the pink slit just above his head, “the cuffs…”

“Oh, I don’t mean magic,” she said, scooting a little further back.

Night Light’s eyes opened wide, staring down between their chests. He met her gaze as she looked down at him, smiling. “Y-you sure?”

The sudden blush on her face wasn’t really compatible with the whole dominatrix-lite thing she was going for, but it was so cute that it just made him feel even hotter. “I trust you,” she said. “And I want to try it. Just hold still. And no talking.” She gave his legs another rub with her hooves, resting her chest on his belly.

Night Light took a deep breath, and put his chin to his chest. His horn pointed nearly straight up, still shiny from the saliva she’d lathered all over it. Velvet lowered her hips, guiding them down, and he did his very best to hold absolutely still.

She paused as the rounded end of his horn touched her entrance, and he could feel her tense up against his body. The lips of her pussy slid a little further, gripping the sides of his horn tip, and the sight of that was enough to completely destroy what little composure he had left.

Panting for air, but not moving his neck, Night Light craned his eyes up almost into his head to watch as Velvet’s pussy slowly slid down his horn. He felt the heat above him, and a little rivulet of juice came running down the side of his horn onto his forehead and face.

Those lips were so tight around his horn. Did they look like this when he had his cock inside her? It was hard to tell from the usual angle. Goddess, that is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. Her pussy twitched, and he knew she was clamping down on the shaft inside her. A little bit of spit drooled from his open mouth.

“Mmmm,” she murmured. “It’s not as big, but it’s… ooh… got a really nice… texture…”

She pulled back up, her pussy stretching as if to stay around him as long as possible, and Night Light felt very lightheaded. Another drop of her pussy juice landed on his nose, and he released a strained moan.

Velvet came down again, very carefully, but the slow pace just gave Night Light a better opportunity to watch the way her pussy stretched around his horn as it slipped deeper inside her. She gasped a little, her head falling to the bed between his legs, drawing a little grunt from him as she brushed against his cock.

“Oooof,” she managed, “those ridges are something else.”

He had to close his eyes, or he was going to lose control and jerk his head. Not wanting to hurt her, he took a deep, calming breath. At least, it would have been calming, if not for the overpowering smell of her pussy, coming to rest snugly against his forehead.

His entire world went dark as his vision was smothered in the soft flesh of her crotch. He could feel her clit pressing between his eyes. “Mmmm, Nighty,” she mumbled. “We’re definitely doing this again.” She began to ever-so-slightly wiggle her hips, rubbing her clit against his skin and moaning softly.

Unable to move his legs, his head, or his pelvis under her weight, Night Light simply lay there, struggling not to wriggle violently under the fiery sensations coursing through his skin and nose. He could feel her pussy seizing his horn from the way her muscles tensed against his head, and the damp spot in his mane kept getting bigger.

She was rocking on his horn now, brushing her clit against the bridge of his snout with increasingly-loud noises of delight. “Oh, that’s… that’s fast… I think I might… be nearly…”

Night Light’s eyes snapped open, craning for a good view. He wanted to see what those juicy lips would do when she came. It was dark, but he could just make out the glistening outline of her pussy as it ground against the base of his horn.

“Yes… yessss… fuck, yes…” she murmured, more to herself than to him, completely lost in whatever ocean of pleasure was filling her up. “Oh… oh…”

Her rubbing motion added a gyrating sway to it. Night Light felt his head pulled gently around with her hips as she ground around his horn in a small circle. “Ahhhh…” she breathed, clutching his hind legs. “Mmm… mm! Mmm!”

The lips of her pussy seized tightly against his horn, quivering. Night Light felt a shudder travel up her spine, and waited with blissful anticipation. He was rewarded with another quake from her pussy and three sudden trickles of liquid down his horn and face. It dripped across his lips, which he licked with satisfaction. Velvet kept coming for at least half a minute, mashing her face into his inner thigh with unintelligible sounds of joyous release. Night Light just let her climax run over him, feeling the twitching of her muscles against his head and exulting in the warmth and wetness of it all.

Velvet abruptly lifted off of him, and he sucked down a breath of relatively fresh air like a drowning stallion. She slumped to the bed beside him, stroking his belly with a hoof and still panting for breath.

“Phew,” she exhaled. “I can’t believe we haven’t tried that before. That was fantastic.”

Night Light gave her a pleading look, and she laughed, a genuine, tinkling sound without any of the sultry airs she’d been putting on. “Oh, okay. You’ve been very good. Now spread ‘em.”

He flung his hind legs to the sides, thrusting upward with more than a little desperation. He ached exquisitely, so hard he could actually feel his balls pulled up tight against his shaft. At this point, he didn’t care whether she used her mouth, her hoof, or her pussy; he just needed that same release she’d obtained.

Velvet raised an eyebrow. “Now, there is still the matter of a certain unfulfilled promise…”

Her horn glowed and a familiar purple egg with a flared base levitated between them. Night Light felt a sudden cold pit in his stomach. Oh, boy.

“Now, you agreed to use this, but… I just want to make sure.” Velvet gave his hips a comforting pat with her hooves. “You still good?”

He bit his lip. Well, Velvet had seemed to enjoy it… He swallowed, and croaked, “Lube?”

“Of course,” she said, delighted at his acceptance. The bottle of lubricant floated up, and she wasted no time slathering the plug with it. She slipped it down between his legs, vanishing under his straightened shaft.

He closed his eyes, leaning his head back and taking one deep, nervous breath. Remembering the look of shock on her face when he’d put it in at the oasis, he felt a tremor in his spine; but then he thought of that absolutely pleasure-saturated expression she’d had when he turned on the buzzer, and smiled.

A cold poke on the tight opening of his ass made him tense up. “Okay, honey,” said Velvet, holding his cutie marks with her hooves. “I’m going to put it in, okay?”

Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded, eyes still firmly closed. The tip entered him, and he sucked in air through his teeth. It was cold, but… not so bad. He exhaled slowly as she pushed it deeper, stretching him. It was almost a burning sensation, but the cool lubricant eased it before it could become outright pain.

His erection had gone half-limp, whether from discomfort or nerves, but his attention was fully on the plug now. Little uh, ah, oh, sounds escaped him as she wiggled it deeper. “H-how far…?”

“About halfway,” she answered, rubbing his butt with a hoof. “You good?”

“Mhm,” he mumbled, nodding faintly.

The last half was far more difficult. He stretched, stretched, squeezing his muscles around it as it pushed him to his still-small limits. Finally there was a faint pop as the wide core gave way to the gap between the plug and the base. He panted in relief.

It felt huge inside him, even though he knew full well it was a fairly small size. It was rubbing against something inside him—the famous prostate, perhaps? Maybe it was just the bottom of his cock… whatever the case, it was a pleasant pressure.

“All right,” said Velvet, kissing the head of his cock. “You’re doing great, honey. Now just relax. We’re going to try the first setting…”

There was a flash of magic, and he felt the plug hum to life.

Oh.

Oh.

That felt good.

He was suddenly robbed of breath, quivering in the hoofcuffs. “Ah… ahhhh…”

Velvet smiled, all traces of the domineering act gone. “Nice, right?”

He nodded, tongue hanging out of his mouth. The rumbling vibrations were filling him up, running all the way to the tip of his once-more firmly erect cock.

Velvet beamed. “All right. You want me to leave it at that, or give you some more help?”

“M-more,” he gasped. “Please.”

“Sure thing.” She leaned down over his shaft, letting her hind legs hang off of the mattress. “I know you love it when I go deep, but I think that might be a little too intense… besides, I’ve wanted to try a different kind of blowjob for a while, now. I’ve heard there’s this spot called the frenu—well, you’ll see.”

Night Light nodded frantically. “Whatev—hah—whatever you want, honey.”

Winking at him, she took a hoof and pressed it to the base of his speckled-blue shaft, pushing it against his chest. She put her head down to the tip, extending her tongue, and pressing it firmly against the spot right beneath the head on the bottom of the shaft.

Night Light’s head lolled on the pillow, the vibrations surrounding him and crowding out thoughts. He waited for the warm cave of her mouth to envelop him, but she remained the way she was, just pressing lightly on his cock with the tip of her tongue.

She began to move her head up and down in the slightest of motions, still holding his cock steady. Her tongue rubbed against that spot, sliding the loose skin across his shaft with friction so pleasurable it was nearly painful.

It was shockingly… gentle, of all things. He wanted more, wanted her to push harder, or faster, or rougher, but she just kept up that gentle rocking pressure. The vibrator in his ass and the glowing pressure of her tongue warred for domination in his mind.

This was a different kind of pleasure than they’d shared over the last few days. It wasn’t as intense, or as sharp, or as high, but it was suffusing throughout his entire body with steady insistence. He was growing strangely aware of his limbs, which usually fell out of mind in the throes of lovemaking. Quivers traveled up his legs from the vibrator, tingling in his hooves. His heart felt feathery, beating just a little too fast to relax, but not the thundering pounding of a desperate climb to orgasm.

Whether from the strange sensations in his butt or the ones at the tip of his cock, Night Light found himself rendered unusually vocal. He moaned and panted like a mare in heat, whimpering and mumbling with delight under Velvet’s ministrations.

“Ah… mnnnn… ooooh… ohhhh… ahh… mmmmmm…” His noises melded with the faint background hum of the vibrator. Velvet seemed to be enjoying them, from the way she was softly grinding her pelvis into the edge of the mattress.

Time was getting fuzzy. It felt like she’d been at this for a while, now, but he still felt no orgasm approaching. He wasn’t complaining, though—there was a steady, light feeling filling him up all over. Occasionally, one of his hind legs would give a useless twitch, pushing at the bedsheets as if to crawl away from the slowly building pressure, but unable to make any progress.

A smile broke across his face as he felt a familiar sensation in his cock. “Mmm… a little more,” he murmured.

Velvet gave him a strange oh really? look, and continued rocking her tongue across that one spot. She hadn’t even touched the rest of his shaft, not even with her hooves, aside from the one holding his cock against his chest.

His breathing grew deeper and deeper as he felt himself start on that path toward the peak of ecstasy. It was strange, though. Almost like his orgasm was happening in stages, splitting into different parts that he’d never even thought to separate before. It felt like his cum was pooling deep inside him, preparing to burst out, but not yet being drawn up unstoppably. He inhaled in eager expectation.

Then… nothing. Night Light opened his eyes, confused, staring down at his shaft and moaning a little as the vibrations rumbled through him. Why wasn’t he coming? He could feel it in there, ready to burst, but it just wasn’t happening.

Velvet gave him a cheeky grin without removing her tongue. “I thee thith workth,” she said around it.

Night Light released a pained whine. “Wha…?”

“Jutht relackth,” she said, keeping up that gentle pressure.

Night Light let his head drop back to the pillow, feeling the sensation of imminent orgasm slip away. He frowned with dismay, twisting his head back and forth. “Nnnno… ssso close…”

She gave him a reassuring pat. The feathery weightlessness continued to fill him up, all through his body. Suddenly his cock ached, not with desire, but that same empty throbbing that always followed an ejaculation, like he’d already come and somehow not seen it. There was no ramping up of pleasure, no pulsing, no cum. He gave a confused mumble.

Then, he was wracked with tremors, all across his body, but most centrally in his shaft. There were no waves of pleasure, no rush of joy, no release; he felt possessed by the skittering ghosts of climaxes yet to come. Despite the strangeness soaking through him, he felt farther away from coming than he had when she’d started.

His thoughts floated around, trying in vain to assemble into something useful. His head was full of humming vibrations and light as air, flickering nonsensically from his wife’s beautiful mane, to the endless dark of the night sky and the stars, to the crashing of the waterfalls in the caves, to the wind in their faces as they lifted into the sky…

“Oh… Oh…”

He felt it at the edge of consciousness. It hit him with impossible swiftness. There was no buildup, just a direct shot from zero to a hundred. “Oh,” he groaned, feeling tension shoot through his entire body.

That pooling sensation returned, but this time it was so far beyond the normal feeling that he couldn’t even attempt to hold it back. His cock began pulsating like crazy, noises of terror and delight ripping from his throat. “Oh—oh my Go—oh—ahh—”

It burbled up through his shaft, suddenly racing to escape. He could feel every pulse, every massive load of cum as it traveled up his length to emerge from the flat tip. He expected it to shoot out, but it was more like an overflowing well. Cum came flooding out of his tip without any force behind it, oozing out onto his chest as he pulsed.

His entire body was part of this in a way it had never been before. His hooves, his head, even his horn all tingled with the shaking release. Gasping and muttering nonsense, his head flopped to and fro, unable to stay still, unable to find refuge. His chest was heaving spastically, almost more a source of pleasure than the dollops of spunk still spooling out onto his blue coat.

Velvet released her tongue’s pressure at last, and with a flash of her horn the vibrations ceased. Night Light simply lay there, breathing in stunned ecstasy, still trembling with aftershocks.

She crawled up to lie beside him. “I heard that’s a pretty different feeling… that sure wasn’t a normal cumshot. How was it?”

His thoughts felt fragmented, still floating in the cloud of bliss she’d pulled him into. “It was… wow… so that’s what a full… full-body…”

She nuzzled him. “I’m glad you liked it.” He felt another stretching sensation from his butt, and the plug popped out. A strange feeling of sadness briefly flickered through his still vulnerable thoughts, reluctant to feel that fullness disappear. Velvet rubbed his chest. “How was the toy?”

“Good,” he said, letting his head fall against hers. “We’ll have to… try more with it.”

“We’ve got time to bask,” she said with a smile, “though we’d better clean up before Candy gets back.”

“Yeah…” Night Light rubbed his cheek against hers. “But I want to hold you for a while.”

They cuddled on top of the covers, covered in the aftermath of their lovemaking, but Night Light was entirely content. Sheets could be changed, but moments like these… they were things to treasure.

* * *

A few hours later, the two were in the middle of a rousing game of rummy when a knock on the cabin door interrupted the latest deal.

“Hey, anypony in there?” came Candy’s muffled voice.

“One moment,” called Velvet, leaving the newly-made bed to get the door. Night Light shuffled the cards, smiling after her. Sisters, she’s beautiful.

She cracked open the door to reveal a very tired yet happy Candy. He dragged his trunk into the cabin, yawning. “I don’t know about you two, but I’ve had one hell of a good day.”

“Hit it big at the casino?” asked Night Light, splitting the deck.

“I made a few bucks, sure! Bought some drinks for new friends, too. There’s this great couple I ran into down there. Unicorns, just like you guys! We had a blast at the craps table. That Bright Flight sure knows how to party.”

Night Light’s gaze fell to the bedspread, his brow furrowing. “Wait a minute… I know that name. Bright Flight… Bright Flight Sporkle?”

“Yeah, how’d you know that? You guys met before?” said Candy with a laugh.

Velvet hissed. “You’re kidding.”

“So that’s how we were ‘already boarded,’” said Night Light, growling. Abruptly, the anger vanished. He shook his head, laughing. “Oh, whatever. Not our problem anymore.”

“You guys should meet them,” said Candy. “They’re great fun. Violet’s got some great stories about her job in the royal guard.”

“Er—” Night Light suddenly remembered the titanic mess they’d left at that hotel in Hoofar Al-Batin under the Sporkles’ names. “Well… maybe tomorrow, if there’s time. It’s kind of a short flight, after all.” We’ll have to avoid them at all costs.

“Yep,” said Candy, yawning broadly. “Anyway, do you still have that sleeping bag available? I’m all tuckered out.”

Velvet pulled it from her bag and tossed it to him. “Sorry if it’s still a bit damp… I didn’t think to pull it out after we got into the cabin.”

“No worries,” he said, waving off her concern. “Have a good night, you two.”

They wished him good night, and Velvet quietly surrounded him with a sound-canceling bubble as he drifted off in seconds. His snores were barely audible through the shimmering purple dome.

“Will that stay up all night?” asked Night Light.

“It lasts about five hours, unless I reinforce the spell before then.” Velvet returned to the bed, sliding in opposite him. “Now, I believe I was about to kick your tail again…”

“I’ve been taking it easy on you,” said Night Light, dealing the cards. “No more Mr. Nice Night Light.”

“Hmm,” she purred, giving his chin a brush with her hoof. “Planning to get those hoofcuffs out again?”

“Only if you beat me,” he said, grinning.

With a giggle, she returned to her cards. The two played long into the night, listening to the distant hum of the airship engines as they sailed to the sun-dappled lands of the griffons.