Her Shield, His Heart

Shining Armor had known Cadence for a very long time. They had first met when Shining was only fourteen years old and his parents had hired her to foalsit for his sister. When her parents had opened the door and she had walked in his first thought was 'there she is, there's the mare I'm going to marry.' She was beautiful, with her loving smile, pink fur, pink-and-purple mane. Her wings were elegant and graceful. Even her horn appealed to Shining. That beautiful body had been matched with a kind personality. Twilight had taken to her almost instantly. She cared for Twilight, playing with her and bandaging her up when she got into scrapes. That kind personality had endeared her even more to Shining. He had become dedicated to pursuing her, going out of his way to do kind things for her. During those years of their courtship he had become an expert in figuring out when something was wrong.

Cadence had tells that let anypony who knew her well know when she was upset. For example, when she was angry her left eyelid twitched once. When she was sad her wings would droop. When she was scared her wings would flare and she would draw back. In his long years of studying her Shining now knew all her tells.

There was little he didn't know about her. He also knew how to calm her down or cheer her up. Chamomile tea would soothe her nerves. The sensation of a hoof running through her mane would make her forget her troubles. A heartfelt apology (even if one did not know what one had done wrong) would melt the Princess of Love's heart and turn away her anger. It had to be a heartfelt apology of course. Cadence knew when somepony was trying to pull one off on her and if you apologized and didn't mean it you'd be in worse trouble than you already were. That was something Shining had learned the hard way. Cadence hated lying and deception. Just coming clean when you'd done something wrong was usually enough to earn her forgiveness or at the very least a lesser punishment if you happened to be a filly or colt she was foalsitting.

Cadence herself was a very honest pony. She seemed incapable of lying, wearing her emotions on her fetlock. Whether she was angry, sad, frightened, happy or in love everyone around her would know it. If something was wrong, she would say so.

Or, that's what she normally did. Shining walked through the vast halls of the crystal palace. The guards saluted to him and he saluted back. Over the week they'd been in the Empire Shining had gotten to know the guards. Their fighting formations were centuries out of date, their weapons were archaic, but they were disciplined and polite. There had been no sign of Sombra yet, but there was a feeling in the air. It hung heavy and thick.

There was something malignant and evil just outside the boundaries of the Empire. Shining wasn't sure how he knew it, but he could feel it. A thick darkness that seemed to tingle at the base of his horn. Something was out there. His mind, however, wasn't focused on that. It was Cadence that really worried him. Since the week they had come here she spoke less and less. She had thrown herself into her work, getting to know (or re-introducing herself) to the servants, planning defense strategies when and if Sombra returned, planning out taxes, fixing the woefully out-of-date criminal code. That last one had disturbed them both. As a clean break from the former regime the gallows had been taken down, chopped up and burned in the town center. There would be no more public executions of dissenters, thieves or anypony else. They were shifting to a more modern, equine system of law enforcement. For the last three nights Cadence had come to bed exhausted and simply collapsed. Cadence had been busy before, they had both been. But at their busiest, they always made time to talk to one another.

Outside of work, Cadence acted like she didn't want to talk to anypony. At breakfast that morning all of Shining's attempts at making conversation had been met with noncommittal grunts. Shining hadn't even known Cadence was capable of grunting! He shook his head as he trotted at a leisurely pace through the palace. Exiting the hall, he walked towards the garden. Crystal berry bushes were in bloom, the strange fruit glistening in the light of a fading day. It was around six in the evening. He had finished training the crystal soldiers in modern warfare techniques an hour ago. Since then, he had taken a stroll through the imperial city. His mind kept coming back to Cadence. How could he help her if she wouldn't let him in? Why wasn't she letting him in? Had he done something wrong and angered her? No, the silent treatment just wasn't her style. If she was mad at him she was more likely to give him a full dissertation on exactly what he had done to anger her. Although, after he had gotten in that fight at that restaurant she had given him a bit of the cold shoulder. Maybe she was mad at him. Yet, her body language hinted at deep sorrow and worry rather than anger.

"Well, why shouldn't she be worried?" Shining muttered to himself. "The task of rebuilding the Empire just fell on her withers. I should give her some time."

That decided he spent a long while trotting through the garden. The grass cooled the blisters on his hooves he'd began to develop from marching so much. Even though he wore horse shoes that didn't prevent his hooves from getting tired. He needed to find a pedicurist assuming that the Empire even had a pedicurist. If they didn't he'd take a train to Canterlot where they had many wonderful spas. As the sun set on the crystal palace he decided it was time to head inside.  Dinner wasn't yet ready so he decided to go looking for Cadence. He found her in their room, laying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey, Shining." She said, lifting her head to smile at him.

"Hey Cadence." He said. He lied next to her and wrapped an arm around her side. She snuggled into him.

"Are you alright?"

She smiled. It was a weak, hollow smile. "Of course I am."

"What'd you do today?"

"Oh, just some tax reform. Nothing particularly exciting." She turned her back to him. There was an edge to her voice, something Shining couldn't place.

"Cadence, is everything okay?" He asked, raising a hoof and running it through her mane.

"I admit things have been busy, but yes. Everything is okay. Or, it will be." Though it appeared she was relaxing on the bed Cadence was holding herself rigid. Shining placed a hoof on her shoulders and felt the tension in her muscles. At his touch, the tension began to lessen. Her wings were drooping, a sure sign of an exhausted pegasus.

Everything was not okay.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No."

"Cadence?"

"Hm?"

"Look at me."

"Why?"

"Just do it." He said in his gruff, captain voice he normally reserved for recruits.

She didn't turn. "Don't try to boss me around, Armor."

"I'm not trying to. I just...I just want to know if things are alright."

"For Celestia's sake...yes. Things are fine. Dandy. Fucking wonderful." She snapped.

"No, they are not. I know they're not because you're not. I know you're sad. You're hurting. I just want to help."

She didn't say anything. Shining tightened his grip around her.

"This isn't like you, Cadence." He whispered into her ear. "You don't hold things back."

"I'm not holding anything back." She growled and began to squirm in his grip. He didn't let her go.

"I don't think you said two words to me yesterday."

"I'll give you two words. Fuck off." Cadence growled in response.

"There's the Cadence I know and love."

She went slack in his grip, then flared her wings. Few non-pegasii knew how strong pegasus wings really were. Shining, unprepared for the assault was thrown onto his back, his wife straddled atop him and pressing him down with her hooves. Hers was the visage of an angry goddess, ears folded back, teeth gritted together.

Shining felt a little scared and more than a little aroused.

"Cady, why don't you calm down?"

"I WAS calm! I've been TRYING to be CALM! Why'd you have to come in here and tick me off?!" She screamed, her voice laced with anger.

"Because I've been worried about you!" He grabbed her shoulders and flipped her onto her back so that he was straddling her. "You haven't been talking to me. I even think you've been deliberately avoiding me."

"I haven't been!"

He rolled his eyes."Cadence, I saw you in the garden two days ago and you hid behind an oak tree."

She blushed. "It couldn't have been me."

"I saw you. There aren't that many pink alicorns in the world."

"It's a big world, Armor! It wasn't me!"

"Yes, it was, I saw your cutie mark!" He paused. "Remember what you used to do when Twilight used to lie?"

"I spanked her, but what does that have to-"

He moved so quickly she barely had time to act. Lifting up from the bed with her still in his grip he laid her across his lap like she was a naughty foal. She adjusted herself, but made no effort to move off his lap as he wrapped an arm around her to keep her in place. She even wiggled around so that her bottom was positioned right in the center of his lap.

Cadence had a perfect rump in Shining's opinion. It was soft and round, but also toned. Two perfect, round semi-globes. He ran a hoof down them, caressing them. Then he raised his hoof and brought it down on her bottom with a stinging smack. Her bottom jiggled beneath the blow. He brought his hoof down again on a different part of her butt and she squirmed slightly. Getting into a steady rhythm he rained down blows on her backside, her rear end jiggling beneath the spanks. She kicked and squirmed as he continued the barrage of spankings.

"Shining, it's not punishment if I'm enjoying it!" Cadence said.

"I know." He responded. He could feel the wetness of her marehood on his lap. The sweet scent, which smelt of peaches and tangerines, was beginning to fill the room.

He slapped her sit spot, her right cheek and then her left. He alternated, first slapping the left cheek, then smacking the right cheek. She squirmed and moaned. Each slap to her bottom left a red hoof-print on her pink behind which was steadily growing darker. Shining gave a hard smack to the center of her rear and she gasped. Another spank brought out a cry then she let out a sob at another spank. He stopped.

"Oh, oh Gods, Cadence. I'm sorry I-" He normally knew her limits better than that.

"Keep going." She ordered.

"What?"

"Keep going! Spank me!"

He hesitated, but then peppered her behind with spankings. She cried harder, burying her face in the sheets and brokenly sobbing. Every time Shining stopped the blows, she yelled at him to keep going so he did. For several minutes the sound of his hoof slapping her rear filled their bedroom.

"Cadence-" Shining stopped suddenly.

"No, k-keep going. I-it's alright! I-I n-n-need this! Believe me!"

She had always been something of a masochist, but her bottom was now positively red. Nonetheless, Shining continued the spanking, giving a flurry of swats to her left flank. Both sides of her rump were now red. He lessened the force of the spanks as even his hoof was becoming sore. He landed light swats and forceful pats to her crimson flanks. The crying had begun to die down and finally she lay limp over his lap. Her bottom was crimson and every now and then a sob would cause her body to shudder.

Slowly, gently, he began to caress her bottom. She lifted up from his lap and snuggled into him. He cuddled her. They had sessions like this before. Sometimes, she just needed a spanking. He stroked her mane. It wasn't entirely punishment or entirely sexual.  It was her release valve for all those emotions that sometimes got to be too much for her. Normally, though, their sessions weren't this intense.

"How do you always know just what I need?" She purred.

"If you wanted a spanking you could have just asked." He whispered, kissing her forehead. "And why have you been avoiding me?"

She nuzzled into his neck. "Because I'm scared I'm going to fall apart and I don't want to be weak in front of you."

Shining sighed. This was old territory, but they might as well go down it again. "I don't think you're weak, Cadence. It's okay to fall apart sometimes."

"No, it isn't. You don't understand. I'm a Princess. Now, I'm an empress. The lives of the subjects of this empire are upon my withers.I can't break. I have to be as strong as steel, as strong as Aunt Celestia." She paused. "It's a bit silly, but I want to be like her."

"That's not silly. I want to be like my old captain. And you don't like being weak, but you like being spanked?"

She chuckled. "Yeah, I don't get it either. I think it has something to do with the emotional release. Like, I'm in control all the time what with being a princess. It gets tiring so I like to occasionally give that control to someone else. Someone I love and trust."

"Like me."

"Right."

Shining laid down on the bed, with her still in his arms. She wrapped her wings around him.

"That day in the garden I did hide from you. I'd been crying and didn't want you to see."

He rubbed her back. "Don't be afraid to cry in front of me. I'll always be here for you. Not because you're weak, but because I love you."

She was silent for a while as she nuzzled into his neck.

"So today sucked." She said apropos of nothing.

"What happened?"

"The guards were in the dungeons and we found prisoners.  They were all dead. Stallions. Mares." Her voice was strained. "Foals."

"Oh, Megan." He swore.

She squirmed in his grasp and he released her. She rushed into the bathroom and he heard her vomiting. He came in after her and held back her mane while she emptied the contents of her stomach. When she was done she began to brush her teeth. Shining stood and watched her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She spat into the sink. "I couldn't. You have your own problems. You have to train the Guard and get the Imperial Army running again."

"We share our problems, Cadence. For better or worse remember?" He placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Remember?"

"I do. But some things I have to do on my own. Please try to understand that, Shining. Please."

"Okay. Just don't shut me out, alright?"

"I won't. I promise."

She turned to him. Something about her stance reminded him of the wedding. How weak she had been back then. How he had wanted to hold her and make sure nopony ever hurt her again. He wrapped her in his embrace. She leaned into him. The moment was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Enter." Shining said as he and Cadence came from the bathroom. A maid came in and bowed.

"Your Highnesses, dinner is ready."

"We'll be down shortly."

The maid left. He opened the door for Cadence and they walked off to dinner.