Kingdom of Loving: Fear and Loving in the Crystal Empire

Chapter 2: Nude Business

The castle at the heart of the Crystal Kingdom was nothing short of astounding. Like the buildings around it it was built of pure crystal, although its smooth surface was polished to a brilliant sheen. Just the architectural design alone was beautiful and unique, but its scale was completely breathtaking. Walking underneath the massive arches that supported the tower-like castle’s base, Twilight felt for the first time like she could forget about the naked ponies in the streets, even as she walked past guard after guard whose halberds and helmets did nothing to hide the fact that they hung loose and free between the legs, or flaunted their breasts in the open.

Shining was beside her the entire time, explaining that the kingdom had very advanced magical services, thanks in large part to the crystals that were naturally attuned. Twilight was talented in magical theory and she could feel the constant thrum of background magic that pervaded the kingdom. As they stepped onto a large, circular platform in the center of the castle’s grounds, she was taken by surprise when it suddenly began to rise, levitating into the air with the slightest of whirs. It was no machine - it was magical, plain and simple.

Twilight was starting to feel slightly impressed.

The rising platform ascended to the bottom of the castle overhead, slotting neatly into a carved corridor. It seamlessly blended with a massive crystal mural in the center of a grand hallway which boasted a towering vaulted ceiling, supported by crystal pillars that curved organically, like it had all been carved out of one solid block.

Nothing at all looked like it could top Twilight’s morning, seeing her first strange, naked pony in a foreign kingdom composed entirely of crystal. She was in the middle of truly appreciating how utterly beautiful the stained glass - or were they crystal - windows that filtered the sunlight into multicolored shafts of radiant light when there was a grand shuddering grind from the gigantic doors at one end of the hall.

Stepping through the vast, open arch was a tall and graceful pony. She stood at least a head taller than Twilight, and half a head taller than Shining. Her pink fur was meticulously groomed, and she sported a three-color mane styled immaculately to frame her slender and beautiful face. On her head she wore a golden crown set with a purple gemstone that sat just forward of her long horn, a symbol of an alicorn’s magical potency. At the end of her elegantly long legs she wore golden hoofcaps that clapped with each swaying step she took over the crystal steps leading down towards the hallway proper.

Those were, as far as Twilight could see, the only articles of adornment the alicorn wore.

Cadance approached with a sweet smile, her wings - tipped in a gentle purple towards the ends of their slender flight-feathers - spread slightly to either side in a display of plumage unique to alicorns. Behind her, her tail swayed with the slow sashay of her hips. Every motion she made was one of fluid and serene calm, and Twilight felt her cheeks burning hot when she realized that Cadance was not just naked, she was gorgeous. For the first time she dared to look at the princess’ breasts, and was surprised to find them distinctly average. No larger than a handful, and with very slightly darker magenta nipples peeking through the fur covering them, Cadance did not seem to overboast her endowments - but neither did she understate them.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Cadance said in a sweet and genuine tone of friendliness and welcome. “A pleasure to finally meet my sister-in-law-to-be.”

Twilight shook her head slightly and extended a hand in greeting. “A p-pleasure,” she stammered, unsure of how to respond.

Cadance gently cradled the outstretched fingers, turned Twilight’s hand upright, and kissed the top of her knuckles. She gave a little smile that made Twilight’s heart skip a beat. Was this some sort of magic? Was this a trick, or was Cadance simply too charming?

“Please, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you to make your stay more comfortable,” Cadance soothed the poor unicorn, who looked as frazzled as when she’d first stepped off the train and into the waiting welcoming party of nudity.

“O-Of course. Sorry, I just,” Twilight searched for words, looking over at her brother, who gave her an encouraging nod. “This is all so very new to me, and I’ve never, um.”

“Never seen so much of a princess before, right?” Cadance said as she placed her slender hands on her shapely hips, thrusting out her chest daringly. Twilight felt her cheeks flushing hotly.

“N-No. I mean! Of course not. The only other princess I know is Celestia!”

“And I’m sure her boobs are still left to your imagination,” Cadance’s grin turned slightly naughty and Twilight was sure her face looked almost as pink as the alicorn’s coat.

“Cadance, you’re going to give my sister a heart attack,” Shining said with a little chuckle as he stepped up to the princess’ side. It diverted enough attention to allow Twilight a blink.

“Oh, alright, Shining dear. I just don’t want her to feel left out,” Cadance mused, turning to Shining and slipping a hand up through his mane. The two fell into a series of kisses, muzzles meeting, lips parting, and tongues very gracefully petting across one another.

“Not in front of Twily,” Shining murmured between hot passes of mouth, but he hadn’t stopped the constant smacking lipping with his fiance.

Twilight cleared her throat as if to make both of them aware she was still very much present, and Shining turned a little rosy himself when he stepped away from Cadance. She very briefly hoped that was just a fold in his toga and not what she imagined it to be.

“Mm, of course. Why don’t you go slip into something more comfortable and I’ll make sure she’s seen to her chambers,” Cadance suggested, with a heavy emphasis on the suggestion. A delicate finger traced the underside of Shining’s chin and Twilight swore she saw him shiver. That uncomfortable feeling was starting to rise back up in the pit of her stomach again.

“Right, I’ll give you two time to, ah, catch up,” Shining said, and quickly turned away from the pair to head up the stairs at the rear of the grand hall.

Cadance giggled. “He’s so cute when he’s worried about impressing his sister.”

“Well, he doesn’t have to worry about that,” Twilight said appreciatively, very grateful for the break in passionate displays of affection. “This place is amazing, and so...new.”

“New is one word for it, yes,” Cadance said meaningfully. “I assume he’s told you at least a little bit about what we do here.”

“Um, yes. But you know, Shining’s not really the best at explaining…”

“Poor thing still gets flustered when I talk about cocks in front of him,” Cadance said with a lackadaisical sigh. Twilight looked as if she’d just been slapped. “Oh, sorry, sweetie. I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s not that. Well, it is. I mean, the concept alone is very unfamiliar. Seeing it all in practice is kind of startling,” Twilight stammered over trying to explain herself, growing redder and redder up her short muzzle.

“It can be a little intimidating, especially when all you’ve heard is Celestia’s way of things,” Cadance admitted, turning towards a side hallway that led off from the center. Her horn lit with soft azure magic and Twilight’s travel case began to follow her. Twilight stepped along just a pace or two behind Cadance, mostly for a reprieve from seeing the princess’ ample bosom. The heart-shaped rump and flicking tail that just beckoned her eyes towards her rear did not help.

“Shining mentioned you might have had disagreements with her,” Twilight prompted hesitantly.

“Yes, and she’s not wrong. At least, for the most part. What works for some ponies doesn’t always work for everypony, though. Some ponies want to be free and open. Some ponies need that control and structure in their lives. Celestia’s always had that burden, trying to be the example for so long, to show everypony how to live that I think she’s forgotten there’s any other way.”

Twilight frowned slightly. It was a good point, and it was something she’d debated before. Celestia was the figurehead of all Equestria. She was like a beacon, both lighting the way and always in view. That was such an enormous responsibility that Twilight still felt like she would never be ready for it even though she was Celestia’s apprentice. One day, she might be in the public spotlight, the thing in everypony’s hearts and minds as their leader. She couldn’t even stand the thought of being naked in a public changing room, let alone in view of all the ponies of all of Equestria.

“So go ahead and ask what you’re going to ask.”

Twilight blinked. That was rather direct, but she was still very hung up on it. “The nudity?”

“It gets pretty hot here,” Cadance said, giving a sideways smirk at the purple unicorn walking who was now walking more beside her as they passed several glistening ruby doors and began to ascend a spiral staircase. Twilight managed a weak little smile even though the joke hadn’t landed. “It’s because everypony who is naked chooses to be. There’s no shaming here. No judgment. We also don’t believe in hiding our feelings any more than we believe in hiding our bodies.”

“So all of this is some effort to help ponies be more comfortable?” Twilight prompted, finding the notion very silly.

“That’s one way of putting it. Some ponies prefer to be naked. Others prefer to fit in, regardless of whether that means wearing clothes or strutting their stuff. But the most important thing here is that we don’t hide our intentions and we don’t double up on our standards.”

“Clothing is a double standard?”

“Think about it. In Equestria, you’re told every day that you have to put on a shirt because it’s just not proper to go out in public naked. But why is that? We’re not born wearing clothes. We don’t sleep wearing clothes. We don’t bathe in our clothes. So sometimes, it’s okay to be naked. Just not all the time. Why?”

Twilight honestly hadn’t considered that. “Because...ponies would...be having sex in the streets?”

“Exactly,” Cadance said, giving a happy flick of her tail. It made her perfect pink butt look all the more appealing as it wiggled with every graceful hoofstep. “In Equestria, you build up this taboo of nudity. Of the naked form. Of sex. When you break that taboo, everypony has a little meltdown.”

Twilight’s cheeks burned redly at the very recent memory of her shrieking at a group of naked ponies.

“Or worse, they’re not able to control themselves and act accordingly. As soon as you expose a pony to even the image of a naked mare, they’re conditioned to go straight to sexual inclinations. Here, we take away that taboo. It’s not forbidden to show what you have. It’s not against the rules to say what you feel. And it certainly isn’t against the rules to have sex. In Equestria, you equate nudity with the forbidden, and by making it forbidden, you make it wrong. And it isn’t wrong, Twilight.”

“But that’s ridiculous,” Twilight protested, shaking her head to clear the piling thoughts that were starting to argue amongst themselves. “You can’t say that just because we wear clothes, we turn into depraved sexual deviants the moment we see another pony naked.”

“And because we don’t wear clothes, we do?” Cadance challenged. She came to a stop, turning to face Twilight with a rather amused-looking grin on her small, elegant snout.

Twilight swallowed firmly. She felt like no matter what she said, she was just putting her hoof in her mouth. Everything she knew, everything she was raised to believe, was being challenged by this naked pink mare standing defiantly in front of her. If this were Equestria, Cadance would likely be arrested and carted off to some nice padded cell and strapped into her own matching set of loony pajamas, but this was not Equestria.

“It isn’t about sex. Not just sex, anyway,” Cadance said in a more reassuring tone. Her stance shifted as she placed one hand on her hip and she calmly with the other while she spoke, a picture of serenity and comfort. “Love is based on principles of acceptance and trust. The most important thing, when loving others or loving yourself, is to be truthful. We can’t do that when we’re hiding our feelings behind layers.”

“I think I understand,” Twilight said softly, looking away for just a moment. She did sort of get the metaphor. Clothing obscured what was underneath. Symbolically, that meant that in being naked all the time, the citizens of the Crystal Emp--the Crystal Kingdom were being honest with themselves and with each other. That would imply-

“This is your room, by the way,” Cadance interjected on Twilight’s thoughts. She jumped a little, feeling that familiar presence of warmth flushing through her cheeks when she realized she’d been off on an analytical tangent. She also realized that where Cadance had stopped was not random happenstance to have a serious conversation. They were standing in front of a red ruby door.

“Right, thanks,” Twi said shakily as she took the handle of her travel suitcase from Cadance’s magical aura. The ruby door was not locked and the golden knob turned with the softest of clicks. Were the just no locks on the door out of some ideal of ultimate trust and security, or was it magically attuned to open for her?

The room beyond was nothing short of extravagant. There was a long bed against the left-hand wall, oriented so it jutted out in the middle of the room, its headboard an elegantly carved pink crystal set in wrought gold ivy-work. Thick purple curtains hung from its four posts and canopy to provide privacy even in a locked bedroom. Beside it was a nightstand with a crystalline lamp that cast multicolored rays of light through its stained glass shade. Across the way, a carved oak dresser with a heart-shaped mirror was waiting to be filled with the clothing she brought even though it was likely other ponies had none to store. She was sensing a theme, but she couldn’t stop thinking about how this castle was made out of crystal, every inch of it, from the tinkling chandelier above her head to the walls and floor on which she stood, and still they had room to fit more luxury than she’d ever enjoyed at Canterlot.

"I think you need some time to process everything,” Cadance mentioned with a very convincing sense of sympathy. “You could use some alone-ness to process and reorganize.”

“Oh thank--yes,” Twilight breathed out hurriedly, nearly invoking Celestia’s name as a knot of tension just released in the pit of her stomach. The relief flowed through her like a dam breaking and a weight was lifted from her mind, although it still felt maddeningly full of squirming images that were desperately trying not to settle into something cock-shaped.

“Shining was the same way, you know.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Cadance nodded with a conspiratorial grin. “He was trying so hard not to be judgmental, and you should have seen his first day on guard duty. I thought his neck was going to snap.”

Twilight giggled. It felt good to laugh even if it was at Shining’s expense. The thought of her brother nervously trying not to look at this beautiful mare’s ample bosom was terribly amusing. Twilight herself had failed many times and she wasn’t even into girls.

“But you know he’d never do anything to hurt you. And that trust is what I’m hoping gives me a little more credibility when I say I wouldn’t either.”

Twilight looked at Cadance. The alicorn’s slightly shimmering purple eyes were warm with affection and hope, and Twilight saw a strange vulnerability there. Cadance was a princess, it was true, just like Celestia was. Celestia was so confident, so sure, so proud and regal. To consider that she had an emotion at all under that porcelain expression was almost alien, but here, to Twilight, Cadance was baring her soul. She wanted her future sister-in-law to like her, didn’t she?

“I know. And I do. If Shining trusts you, then so do I.” Twilight smiled brightly.

Cadance tried to hide the soft sigh that whickered through her nostrils, but wasn’t entirely successful. With a little wave she turned to depart, and Twilight, confident that she had just made a new friend of the princess, closed the door behind her.