Twilight Radiance Velvet sighed in the train carriage.

"Fuck my life."

The events of the past few days washed over her as she debriefed from having being Velour nonstop for several days. She knew vaguely what had happened -- she'd made a run up, been surprised to see Shining but immediately caught on, spent a fun day traipsing about Manehattan with Cadance, Shiny, and that luscious zebra, had dinner, fucked Shiny, fucked the Zebra, and been the cruelest boxtease to Cadance -- left that pink slut gasping at her whim. Well now she was returning home with her pay, that promised financial windfall she had blown off her husband for. Blown off little Twi for. Her husband... shit. She had made better choices in her life. Twilight had made no shortage of poor decisions in her life, yet going on this excursion certainly had to rank somewhere easily within the top fifteen.

But was it really that bad? Night Light couldn't be that angry with her, she'd kept up her end of the bargain as his wife. She bore and raised his children. She kept his belly full and his bed warm. She had even made a point of cooking for him and having sex with him. She was doing an excellent job of providing for the kids. Wasn't he going to be damn happy that she'd made so much money in just two days of work?

She just realized she hadn't bled.

She was due for one. She had to not panic. She just had to breathe it out. She screamed under her breath, "DID YOU EVER ONCE THINK ABOUT THIS WHEN FUCKING HIM? VELVET, IF YOU'RE PREGNANT, YOU CAN'T HIDE THAT FROM NIGHT! YOU CAN'T HIDE THAT FROM TWILIGHT! YOU CAN'T HIDE THAT FROM SHINING! WHAT'S THAT GOING TO DO TO YOUR BODY? AT YOUR AGE AND PREGNANT FOR A THIRD TIME!? AND AFTER THE LAST ONE NEARLY KILLED YOU!? AND WHAT ABOUT THE KID? WHAT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS? MARRIAGE? FINANCES!? WHAT ABOUT YOUR FAMILY? YOU'LL BE KNOWN AS THE WHORE OF A MOM WHO GOT KNOCKED UP GETTING HER SON DRUNK AND FUCKING HIM AND ALL WITHOUT PROTECTION!"

Her breath rattled. Her contraception... her contraception meant she didn't bleed much, just twice or thrice annually. But still... She knew it was irrational, but her contraception had to fail only once. She had to be careless only once. She had to fuck up only once. She had to get unlucky only once. And she'd done it twice.

Her son, her very own biological son, conceived in her womb, made of her flesh, born in her blood, nursed by her milk, had ejaculated inside her. She had felt his hot semen swirling inside. It pumped in as pleasure overwhelming him and he clung to her, calling out their familial bond, his dick pulsing as the sperm spewed into her, then staying and cooling within, then dripping down her thighs. She had even touched herself with it after the second time, using it to lubricate her motions She brought herself to climax with her son's secretions. It was nothing like the recreational professional sex she had as Velour, shielded behind a condom. It was more emotional than the for fun sex she'd had in her youth. The only other partner she'd ever done it like this with was Night Light, his father and her husband. She'd made her son cum inside her as she was herself more than once, both times balls deep and without protection. Her body had eaten up the cum. He had taken her and filled her as a stallion takes a mare, as a male breeds a female. This wasn't what mothers and sons were supposed to do.

And she had let him. No, not let him, provoked him, seduced him, encouraged him. She wanted it to happen.

And then she felt like shit afterwards.

And then she took it out on him.

Taboo violated. Trust broken. Boundaries crossed. And then she turned on him for it, blaming him for her own shame.

She was a cunt.

No, it wasn't that bad. It could not be that bad. She was being a perfectly good wife and mother. Spending the past many weeks too damn distracted to mom properly... having unprotected sex with clients... fucking his son... without protection... lying to him about everything... Her son had been acting out normal sexual urges; how could he have known about Velour? She hadn't told him. She hadn't turned him away. She could have just not seen him on age alone. She could have set a flag in Velour's programming. She would've -- could've -- should've... And then when she found out, she just had to let the whole thing spill out into the open. Couldn't just hide it, rib the poor kid, send him to bed, and then have Velour put a stop to the sessions.

She hadn't. She'd let it continue. She's goaded the outcome twice. Fucking Shining Armor wasn't an accident. The first time, she blamed the booze. The second, she blamed him.

Excuses excuses excuses...

She slumped forward. She was the worst.

No, who could have done better in this situation? She was making the best of it; let anyone else try and do better! Now wasn't the time to doubt herself unless she wanted to give herself a coronary from the anxiety. She took a quick mental inventory of the situation.

Her husband was maybe at home, but there was always a chance he was not. They had briefly argued about her trip, something about him being upset with not seeing her much during his limited time off. He'd get over it -- she'd done her wifely duty more than once while he was there, so what the fuck did he have to bitch about? Besides, she'd done him a favor by letting him have one on one time with their little purple brainiac. And she had also not worried him about their son via a clever line about him being in some hick town called Ponyville with one of his friends. All in all, the situation was very well in hand, assuming she wasn't pregnant, but what were the odds of that? He hopefully wasn't home so she wouldn't have to face him, but just in case he was, she had a plan for that, too. She still had a pussy, and Velour may have been cocked out pretty well, but she hadn't seen any action as Velvet for a few days now. Her husband was such a lecher, all it would take would be a few words to apologize, then kiss him on the lips and whisper into his ear that she had a few ideas about how to make it up to him. Being a simple man he would of course go along with it, and wham bam he'd be singing her praises not even ten minutes later. And the fat stack of bits she had her hooves on wouldn't hurt in the least. And she'd just tell Twilight her job took her on an emergency business trip. She'd ramble on about food and shopping for a minute, after which she knew her filly would lose interest and go read a book or something. All in all, everything was under control.

It just had to be.

Twilight Velvet had alit from the train and taken a taxi back to her apartment complex. She knew this was going to suck, but it was only going to for however long it took to get her husband into bed. Her jitters were reduced thanks to some private time in the train lavatory. A good orgasm or three never failed to calm down the mare. Velour had gotten fucked to Griffonstone and back over the course of their very well compensated weekend adventure, but Velvet hadn't gotten so much as a flirt since she had done it with Night Light over the stove. She would soon be back in his bed and he soon would be back in her. She thought she really ought to maybe write a book about this, how about to manage husbands and keep them happy for the good of not only the wife but the entire family.

She saw off the taxi driver with a handful of bits plus a few more than she would have usually paid as a tip, but she was riding high on windfall. Speaking of windfall, she needed to put this down in her ledger for the sake of the tax man. Her husband would always forgive her, ornery clients pushed aside, princesses groveled before, and even outraged sons wrangled, but hell hath no fury like a tax collector shortchanged. Twilight Velvet made sure that Eventide Velour paid in full on time every time. While it was tempting to start a new gestalt and try to hide all the income, she knew that would only work out for so long before it backfired like a rocket in a blocked tube. And speaking of rockets ready to blow, her husband was going to be so grateful to have another round of sex before he had to return to his business trip.

The mare got out her keys and opened the apartment door. She stepped through. She was immediately greeted by a pair of eyes level with hers. "Hi, Ni Ni." Okay, that was sooner than she had bargained for.

"Hello." He wasn't smiling.

"What's up?"

"Oh, the usual. Bills and letters for you are at your place. Twilight ran a whole new science experiment and hasn't stopped yapping about it since yesterday. She wants to be a botanist now, apparently. And by the way, have you heard anything about our son?" The way he said son made her skin shiver.

Velvet gulped. "No, I thought he was supposed to be in contact with you. He's in Ponyville, right?"

"I guess. He's a grown colt; he can take care of himself, can't he?"

Night scratched his chin. "He should, and I believe he can, but we're still responsible for him."

"He's of age, Night."

"Yes, Twilight, but still, we should at least know vaguely where he is. Do you have any idea where he is right now?"

Velour lied, "Ponyville. He hasn't been home, and Spring Sprocket is his only friend who's not living in town. It makes sense they would be together, would it not?"

"It would, Vel, but there's one problem. I sent Spring a message and he got back to me saying he hasn't heard anything from Shining since the last time they talked, and he definitely didn't have any plans to go there. In fact, he said the last time they talked he seemed sad they wouldn't be getting together anytime soon, but he didn't think it seemed likely that he'd just up and leave from Canterlot without even telling anypony."

Velvet froze though she tried not to. She had to act natural; she couldn't let Night know; there was no way letting it out would help. "That's funny, I thought he'd go there and stay with a friend rather than wander around on his own in some strange city."

"True, that does sound like a more probable course of action; doesn't solve our problem, though, Twi."

"It doesn't, Ni Ni, but I know Shining's okay."

Night Light huffed, "Well, it's nice you know it, but me, I haven't seen my son for months and I'd at least like to know he's not hurt or in trouble. I know you deal with things different than me, that you like to minimize problems, but it would very much help me if you could at least act like you're even trying to pretend to give a shit."

This was bad. Night Light was getting short and starting to cuss; that never bade well for her. She had to act now and head him off before he got angrier. So far it wasn't going to plan. Well no longer. Time to rescue it with her tried and proven ace in the hole. Twilight Velvet stepped forward. She put a hand around her husband's thigh and clasped one of his with the other. She breathed soothingly in his ear, "Hey hey, it's okay. Shiny's out there, but he'll be okay. Something tells me he'll be coming back real soon. Hey, Ni Ni, do you have just a moment before you need to go...?" She rubbed her body against him, pressing her lush breasts against her husband. Her hot breath on his ear was heavy with promise.

Night Light scowled. "I'll have a moment when I'm not sick with worry about where my boy is. I'm sorry, Vel, I'm not feeling sexy when shit's getting all screwed up at home and I feel like the only adult on deck." She kissed his cheek. He didn't kiss her back.

"Let's worry upstairs. Who knows the next time you'll be able to worry with someone else?" She tried to lead him by the hand, only for him to slide it free. He wasn't smiling. "What's wrong, sexy?"

"Am I just a toy to you? Am I a game, Velvet?"

Her eyes widened. "Ni Ni, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Velvet, the only thing we've done together since I got home has been have sex and bicker. The only time we aren't bickering is when we're in bed. You haven't answered at all where our son in, your response about how Velour's doing was minimal, you ran off to go chasing bits as her, and whenever I try to have a conversation the least bit serious, you suddenly go from steely to horny."

"So you don't like sex? Is that it? You think I'm fat? Do you want to deprive of us love?"

The blue stallion sighed deeply, "Twilight, for the love of Celestia, listen to me. I'll bed you when stuff's taken care of, but I'm not having sex with you right this second." His eyes narrowed. He clenched fingers against the wall he was leaning on. "And another thing... I appreciate you making this windfall for us these past two days, but before you started being Velour, we had an agreement about how you were going to conduct yourself. Part of it said you wouldn't go on an extended booking without a full week's advanced notice so I'd know where you'd be so we could make plans around it-"

"I did it for the bits to take care of our family!" As if to excuse herself, she thrust the envelope full of bits at him. He let it all.

"Forget the bits! We've got bits -- there'll be bits -- we can always get more bits. This isn't about our money, Twilight, this is about our family."

"What about it? I hold down the fort for months at a time without you, and when you get here, I fill your belly and drain your balls. That's what makes you happy, right!?"

He flailed his arms. "Look, I hadn't seen you in months. I got... I don't know, a day and a half with you, then you left against our agreement about how we'd do long bookings, having done nothing but have a bit of sex and then get grouchy with me for being tired from work. I need more than just text messages, Twilight, I need your love. I need you to be my wife."

Twilight tore open her shirt, exposing her breasts. "Then let's go to bed. Let's be husband and wife. Let's fuck right now! I'll give you everything I ever gave them as Velour and one better. I'm your wife, you're my husband, get over here and fuck me, make love to me."

Night said, "Close your shirt, keep your panties on. It's more than just business stuff, it's how you've been acting towards all of us. For little Sparkle, you are her mother, she wants you around. She's getting that age where she's going to need your example more than ever; being absentee half the time isn't cutting it. You're more stoic than me, but you're acting more like you don't give a damn if Shining comes home or not. Then then there's how you're treating me. When I'm here, you are not, not mentally, like you have to endure my presence. I know what you're like when you're all there and what an amazing mare you are. I feel like I'm not getting your best, like it's all going to your clients. Do you even remember what you swore to me when you started? That you'd not let it take over your life, that you'd focus on us first and them second?!?

"So you don't want me to be Velour? I thought you said you'd support me one hundred percent, Night. What changed?"

"Nothing has changed -- I want you to be free to be Velour; Celestia knows we couldn't make do without." He stopped to gather himself. A curse ran across his lips, but he bit it down. "Sometimes, I feel frustrated and distant with you, because I feel you spend too much time as Velour and not enough time being Velvet! You're not my whore, you are MY WIFE, the mother of OUR CHILDREN! Act like it!

Twilight Velvet froze. The game was so close to being up. Just four words -- just say how she'd been fucking their son, and it'd all be over. Just let him know she wasn't enjoying this any more than him. Invite him to something far nicer with just four words... She had to say something. He was glaring at her. Ni Ni never glared. It made her want to cry. "Let's discuss this upstairs."

He shook his head. "No! Twilight Velvet, I am not playing your game anymore -- no following you to bed this time. We've got real problem that need real solutions, and here you are wanting to just play. Please work with me, Twilight. I love you, but it's like you don't even care sometimes"

Twilight Velvet couldn't look him in the eye. "Well maybe it's because you're so neurotic you can't deal with a wife who can handle things without having a heart attack." She dropped her bags on the floor and walked out the door. She could not deal with... this. She had to get out of here. This was doing something to her head... she felt horny.

Night Light raised his hand as if to stop her as he followed all to slowly. Conflicting words flew to his lips. "Vel!" he called, stretching out to her. "Don't... come back." He sighed and grit his teeth. Relief and concern combusted. He didn't even think to look for his shoes as he strode after her. His feet thunked heavily on the tile floor. He as going to give her something all right!

Just as he reached out for the door, he heard the pitter-patter of small feel as a filly descended the steps as if a hailstone. "Daddy! Is mommy back!"

He had to invisibly chew his tongue to not say how he felt, to not vent out his rage at the little pony in front of him. Before he had been a father, Night could never have imagined wanting to raise his voice at his own children. The urge to yell was overwhelming -- now was not the fucking time! What the fuck was he even going to say!? Ten heartbeats, he had to wait ten heartbeats and take a deep breath before he said anything he'd regret. Ba-bump. One two. THE WHORE JUST STRODE IN HERE! Ba-bump. Three four. You have no mother, don't bother me. Ba-bump. Five six. Hey, kiddo, how'd you like to spend the next forever with grandpa?[i/] Ba-bump. Seven eight. Your mom would rather fuck strange stallions than see you or me. Make of that what you will. You don't know what prostitution is? Sit down, get comfortable while I scar your precious little mind.. Ba-bump. Nine ten. She'll be back again. I'm too pissed off to cook; let's get pizza.

Night Light took a deep sigh and finally answered, "Just for a second. She has some more errands to take care of before she comes home."

"Will she be back tonight?"

"She will be for sure," he lied through his teeth, not wanting to disappoint those shining eyes. Or I'm getting a lawyer.

Twilight nodded. "Okay. Say, dad, what's there to eat? I'm hungry."

At least one thing coincides with what I want. "Wanna get pizza?"

"Oh do I!" Twilight cheered.

The duo were soon trotting down the street side by side. Night Light wasn't a meathead, but he kept himself moderately in shape. It didn't hurt to hear the way Velvet purred when she looked at his bare torso, nor did it hurt their food bills or not needing to go clothes shopping very often. Twilight Sparkle was propelled by the energy of youth and gym class. Though still worried and stressed out of his skull, the older stallion could not help but smile as his daughter kept pace. This was nice to focus on. He could handle this.

They reached where the manicured lawns ended and ran across a foot bridge to a shopping center. They turned right to enter a pizza shop with one of the z's on its neon sign dying. The door's bell jangled shut behind them and a muscular stallion with a moustache waved at them from behind the counter. "Night! Sparkle! Bout time I sees yous again. Don't just stand there, siddown." They did, taking a seat by the window at a booth while the Manehattanite brought them menus. "What can I get yous to drink?" he asked.

"A coke, please, Fresco Dough," Night Light said.

"Lemonade!" Twilight chirped.

Fresco nodded. "Okay, a coke and a lemonade, got it." He walked away to go attend to the kitchen, barking something at somepony in the back.

Night Light liked the atmosphere here. It never failed to put him at ease. Sure, it wasn't the most fancy place, indeed it was shabby and smelled perpetually of olives. The owner was definitely very rough around the edges; Night had once gotten drunk long ago with his friends and asked him about the scar under his chin. He didn't remember the exact words, but he'd been chased out with a rolling pin. That one incident aside, this place was an old, comforting standby with something that set it apart from any other pizza place he knew in the city: he'd never had a single bad slice here. Half the upmarket joints weren't worth the cardboard of their menus, no shortage of so-called authentic parlors had ponies who definitely didn't have it in their blood working them, and the maverick 'ria's were just as likely to botch the noble dough'n'cheese as they were to make something fine. But here he'd never had so much as a bad slice, not even once in fifteen years of religious attendance. It was what it was: good, simple pizza that didn't overburden dad's dime. Speaking of dad stuff... Night Light vowed he'd get his son back here before he went off to Royal Guard, or so help him he'd storm the recruit depot with three steaming extra large pies in hand.

As Night Light tried to soak in the familiar atmosphere, Twilight continued to talk his ear off. "Did you know that the first dedicated pizza oven was invented only eighty years ago and not in Tuscaneigh, but rather Fillydelphia by a Romane-descended but Equestria-born mare named Arugula Margarita?"

"I didn’t."

Twilight's eyes shone as she lectured, "She got the idea for it from the bread ovens used by her family's bakery, but she wanted to emphasize airflow to most evenly bake over a broader area and avoid the domed loaf shape. She's still alive actually, making peetzer."

Night Light chortled, "You just said peetzer!"

"N-no I didn't!" Twilight huffed at her dad.

"Yes you did, just like Cadance."

"So I spend a lot of time with Cadance; she's the best foalsitter in the history of foalsitters." She crossed her legs. She could clam right up in a hurry, just like her mother.

At that moment, Fresco chimed in, "I got yous your drinks." Putting them down, he said to Twilight, "And if I catch you calling it peetzer, I'll kick ya kiester."

She and her dad laughed. She loved wordplay, just like him. They each took a long draught from their beverages. "Dad," she asked, "do you think there's maybe some Mild West in Cadance's accent?"

"What makes you say that, Sparky?"

She blushed, wincing at the nickname, ears flickering. "She says peetzer, gotcha, betchya, and sometimes kin and not can."

Night Light nodded in agreement. "I don't know, honey, that does sound pretty probable. But she's from Canterlot like us, isn't she?"

"She is; she is a princess, after all. I don't know how she got her horn, being born a pegasus, but maybe she's been out there?"

"Makes sense."

There was a lull in the conversation. Twilight was putting her hooves together, tapping them slowly. He preoccupied himself with drinking very slowly, letting her put her thoughts in order. They would come when they came, no sooner, no later. She'd lose the trail if he tried to rush it, but he already knew what she was going to ask. Several minutes passed before she opened her mouth to speak.

"Dad..."

"Yes, dearest?"

She asked very precisely, "Do you think BBBFF and Cadance are together right now?"

He spat out. "Wh-aht?" Night coughed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he's somewhere and she's gone somewhere, too. I know he's had a crush on her for ages, and what if she likes him back? He's been out for almost a week now, and Cadance seemed confident he wasn't in trouble or anything. What if they're together?"

Night Light breathed the single biggest sigh of relief of his life; he wasn't going to have to answer any questions about her mother just yet. "That does sound reasonable, maybe they are?"

"I'd like that, then they can get married and we can all be one big family."

Her father smiled. "Yeah, that does sound nice."

"Assuming the big dummy even notices her."

Night grinned and asked, "Wanna make a bet?"

"What, daddy?"

"I'll bet you..." Night Light wheedled this out, enjoying watching his daughter crane forward, "that our Shiny and Cadance are not together."

"But what are you betting?"

"I bet you all the ice cream you can eat." He had to make the stakes relatively high, otherwise Twiley would not bet -- if there was a risk of being wrong without enough of a reward to make it worthwhile, she would simply refuse to play.

His little bookhorse smelled blood in the water. She dared, "I bet you a hayburger combo meal they're together."

They locked eyes. They said together, "You're on."

Night Light took out his phone and composed a text. Hey, sonny, you wouldn't happen to be with Cadance, would you? He showed the message to Twilight and then sent it. "And now we wait."

They didn't have too much time to wait before the pizza arrived piping hot. The next several minutes were spent totally consumed with consuming another one of Fresco Dough's edible masterpieces. It was a perfect pizza in every sense of the word. The dough gave a solid foundation yet yielded at the slightest pressure of their jaws. The cheese was hot and steaming, yet didn't burn. The tomato sauce was tangy with a few hints of salt to add flavor, and there was definitely basil hidden somewhere in there, too. The cheese was melted mozzarella, rich and creamy. It was like biting into semi fluid wonderfulness that washed over his tongue with the salt and herb flavors, accentuated by the not quite crunchy texture of the dough. And lastly came the crust. The crust was well-risen and slightly tough, but airy and was substantial enough to bite into. It was the kind of crust Night Light had to stop himself from scooping out with his thumb, but Twilight was happily doing it in his stead. As great as the pizza was, the best part was being here with his daughter, enjoying a moment not worrying about work, money, his other child, or his wife. He lived not just to be their father, but their dad. He found satisfaction in the smile and happy noises coming from Twilight as she chowed down on the pizza.

Not to be outdone, he dug in, too. It became sort of like a race. The contestants were evenly matched, for his mouth was bigger than hers, but she had the breakneck recklessness of youth and also, as he had been surprised to discover when Shining Armor had been around her age, seemingly a vacuum in each hollow leg. The little mare didn't seem to understand that her mouth only had a finite capacity and her tongue wasn't a conveyor belt. Night Light had a strategy for this. He'd start out fast, getting her to sprint at the beginning, luring her to get out ahead. Then what he had to do was vaguely watch her pace and wait for her to need her drink; she was a thirsty filly whenever she ate. He'd just been in Griffiya, where all restaurant drinks were served by the not very cheap bottle -- he could make it through two whole pizzas on just part of a small glass of water. He watched her blaze ahead. He let her gain a lead and then put his plan into action. The key was to let her stay ahead while he paced himself, then as she'd worn out, he'd surprise her right at the very end with a burst of speed. As Twilight Sparkle got further into her half of the pizza, she stopped more and more frequently for her drink. Then, right before her last slice, disaster struck as she depleted her lemonade and a cascade of ice cubs hit her in the face, scattering off her shirt and onto the table.

Night Light pounced. Twilight only too late realized her predicament, and tried to stuff her face, but her dad had got her good; she couldn't make herself shove it down fast enough as he drew up rapidly with big bites before finishing the last of his crust a whole half slice before her.

"I win," he burped. He took a quick inventory of the battlefield. He was pretty neat, but her side looked like a helicopter carrying patries had gone down over it. Pizza sauce adorned her cheeks, her nose, and even the very slight swelling of her pubescent bust. Before she had time to lament, his phone went off. He picked it up. "You'll like this." He read aloud, "I am, Dad. How did you know we're in Manehattan? Anyway, see you tomorrow. Got time before you go back to work?"

'Yes! I win!" Twilight cheered, dancing off to wash off in the bathroom. Night Light heaved another relieved sigh. His son was safe and in good company. And when Velvet showed her face next, there would be a reckoning. He was going to get answers.

Three figures were arrayed on the floor of a fairly nice Canterlot hotel room, crowded around the pale blue glow of a smartphone.

Shining Armor frowned as he read the message on his phone. Our little bookhorse had a hunch. Sorry, I can't guarantee that. All depends on when you get here; I have transport to catch. Love you. Glad to know you're in good hands. Now if you'll excuse me, I owe her all the ice cream she can eat.

He looked up to Poppy Lilac and Princess Cadance. "Well, there goes my chance of seeing my dad before he goes off for who knows how long again." His shoulders sagged. He wrote a reply. Good luck to you both. Remind her about the time we had to carry her when she was six because she got carried away at the buffet. Love you guys and mom. When I go back, let's make some time and catch up. It feels like we haven't talked in forever.

Ding! Sounds great, son. I promise I'll write you every day. :P

I'll count the seconds. TTYL, dad. And with that written, Shining Armor put away his phone. "Well, the good news is I'm not disowned and homeless, at least until he finds out what mom and I have been doing. The bad news is we're still not any closer to fixing this whole mess. I don't know what mom or Velour will tell him, and I'm honestly afraid to ask."

"Avoiding it won't help in the end," cautioned Poppy.

"I know," sighed Shining, "but I can't imagine just telling him everything in full detail going great. Imagine that conversation. Hey, dad, sorry I'm MIA right now and you didn't know where I've been for the past couple weeks and mom's been lying to you about my location. Anyway, did you know we've been having sex? Yeah, hot and unprotected, right in the house, and I came balls deep in her pussy both times. She took my virginity, too. And I've done both her as Velvet and Velour. I even know you're complicit in her whoring around behind your back. How do you like that, cuck daddy?"

Cadance said, "I see how that could be..." she tented her fingers and breathed out, "problematic."

"Ya thonk't'ed so?"

"It makes sense. So we won't preemptively tell him anything, and instead let him bring up subjects as he wishes to do so."

"That way I don't incriminate myself," Shining added.

Cadance explained patiently, "Shining Armor, having relations with your mother is not a crime. You're not going to jail or anything for this."

"Neither is constantly ducking your own security detail or deciding to room with a random nobody stallion, but you wouldn't want that to be known, now would you?" His fist was clenched. He opened his hand. The stallion sighed, "I'm sorry, I'm getting all tense and on edge, taking it out on you guys. I need to cool it."

"That would be nice," Cadance agreed. Ngolatane nodded silently, arms crossed. "We are on your side, after all."

"I'll try to take it easy, it's just harder than it sounds."

"I don't envy you," Cadance said.

He asked, "So, when's Sugar Swirl getting here?"

Poppy said, "Soon."

"Good. Much more waiting and I'd be clawing down the walls," Shiny joked, looking over the array of gifts in his arms. He had a bottle of nice Palominan wine, a box of chocolates, and a stuffed envelope containing double her donation.

Cadance sat up on the bed and stretched. "Well don't claw her this time," she said.

"I won't. I'm going to keep it sweet and simple -- I'll apologize without exception, give her the gifts, let her know the extra is a tip, and then explain that if she doesn't want to see me, she can walk right out and I won't stop her or tell the agency. And then, assuming she forgives me, have normal gentle sex."

Cadance shot him a thumbs up. "Bingo."

"This better work, especially considering what this's running me."

"This isn't about you getting your dick wet," said Cadance, "This is about you learning how to deal with being wrong, and how to be gracious, because you're going to need these skills for salvaging your relationship with your mom. You need to know something of what she's feeling, and also how to approach someone who's still wary of you. That and I know you're a good stallion who's above lashing out at ponies."

"I can't help but feel like I'm being punished for having feelings."

"You aren't being punished. You're getting a crash course in dealing with them like the adult stallion you need to be. Besides, I won't have it said one day of Captain Shining Armor that he terrorized a sex worker once upon a time. If you're going to protect Equestria, protect me if you choose ROK, that starts with exercising good judgement and correcting mistakes, and treating all ponies with dignity, even if you can get away with giving mistreating them.

Poppy added, "She's right. In ROK especially it's true, because you're dealing with the public, so you have to be able to deal with jerks trying to push you, get a rise out of you, and so on. You must be capable of dealing with anything with dignity and grace, and should you fuck up, and you will, we all do, no excuses will be accepted. You own up and get it right next time; the Guard has little love for fuckups and idiots." Poppy glanced over at the princess. "Would now be a good time to talk to him about the Guard?"

"I don't see why not. I'll be down in the restaurant, table six is reserved under Heart Rhythm." Princess Cadance stood and turned to leave. As she did, Shining got a momentary glance up her skirt from his supine position. Her panties were tiny things, and the way she'd been reclining with one knee high... Had she wanted him to see? What the hell? "Well, good luck, Shiny. Perhaps we'll order something just for you. Seeya."

"Later," he said, waving to her.

The door closed, leaving him alone with Poppy.

She asked, "Would you like me to talk about anything special, or should I just tell you in general what to expect?"

"Just give me the whole thing, thanks."

"Okay, she began, "you're not a felon, illegal alien, or some kind of degenerate, are you?" She couldn't help but grin.

"No."

"Good. And you managed to graduate school, right?"

"Yep."

"Okay, so you're good to go, mostly. Stand up and lift your shirt for me."

Shining asked nervously, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Who's the lesbian here?" He complied and she took a quick look at his mostly flat stomach. "No worries there -- you'll make tape. Other than your Appleloosan activities, you don't seem all that crazy or sick. You were good at school, right?"

Shining said, "Not the best, not the worst. I was a solid B student across the board and even took some honors."

Poppy nodded. "I don't see any reason why the recruiter would weed you out. Let me think... You've never heard of Sunset Shimmer, have you?"

"Who?"

"Just checking. Anyway, what were you thinking of doing in the guard?"

Shining responded, "Infantry, until Cadance started talking to be about doing ROK instead."

Poppy could not stifle her laughter. "You do know those are very different jobs, yes?"

"I know. She put me up to it."

"So you say," said Poppy, standing up to stretch. She sat on the bed facing him. "What's more than that is ROK guards, some of them anyway, spent significant amounts of time alone with royalty. In a way, you are not trying out for the position, rather, you are trying out to be chosen by a princess."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you have to sign up for whatever job it is you're going to do, then once you're in, then you get to apply for ROK. Only if you pass everything, and a princess likes you enough to take you onto her personal protective staff, only then do you actually get to be in ROK."

Shining went quiet. "Ah, so it's not quite as straightforward as she made it out to be."

"Not at all, unless she wants it to be..." Shining met her teasing gaze, but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by a knocking on the door. "And there's your date. Good luck, Shining. I'll tell you later about the basic indoc process you'll be going through." Ngolatane stood up and walked to the exit. She opened it and slid brusquely past the familiar mare in the doorway wearing a sexy short sundress. As the mare outside stepped in, she made eye contact with the stallion. Her eyes widened. He smiled at her, gesturing gently to sit beside him on the bed.

She shut the door. She opened her mouth just a bit. "Oh, it's you, hi."

Shining said, "I know and I'm sorry. I owe you an apology. I swear I'm good this time." She approached gingerly, sitting beside him. He handed over the envelope. "Time and again, think of it as a plus one hundred percent tip. If you'd rather be out of here, you can go."

She giggled, "What're those other two things?" She gestured across his lap to the bags.

He answered, "A bottle of wine, and a big box of chocolates."

She took them out and gasped happily, hugging him, "Thank you!"

"I'm just saying sorry." He was rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Was it because she was a girl his age who could have very well been one of his classmates?

"No, really, thank you. Clients aren't always the nicest to me, it's not every day I get gifts like this, and I'm almost never told sorry. You're a really good stallion, you know that?" Shining smiled. She leaned onto his shoulder. "You know, up until you want a little crazy, I really was into it; being fucked hard is the best." He held her. They shifted to lay side by side on the bed. He put a hand around her back, holding her close. He could smell her lavender perfume. Many minutes passed. "Hey, what went wrong last time, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Family troubles. You reminded me too much of someone and I took it out on you unfairly."

"Oh… Wanna do something more fun?"

He squeezed her breast. "Meaning what I think you mean...?" She felt his tension and put a hand on his chest. She kissed his cheek. He smirked. She kissed his cheek. He grinned. She kissed his cheek. He smiled. She kissed his cheek. He beamed. She lay a series of kisses on him, inching closer to his mouth. The corners touched, it was then a skewed thing, then lastly they made full contact face to face. He pressed against her, and she teased at his lips with her tongue. He kissed her back, opening his mouth to welcome in her tongue. He caressed it with his own. She tasted sweet, vaguely like cotton candy, but more with a nuanced honey or cinnamon flavor than just pure saccharine. He felt her start to relax in his embrace, her kiss playing less poised, more primal. She brought up her arms to wrap around his neck. It was almost like she was melting on him. She hadn't done this last round.

"No, the other thing," she giggled as she rested her head on his chest and he stroked her back then pawed at chest.

Shining Armor felt the young mare's chest. Her breasts were small yet squishy. He slid in a hand from the neckline of her dress as he couldn't shove through the fabric. She laughed and reared up, straddling his waist. She was nice and light. She flexed her shoulders and let the straps fall from her shoulders. She wasn't wearing a bra underneath. She slid forward and offered them to him, and he accepted with smiling lips and a playful tongue. He hugged her close and stuck a hand down the back. He came up for air and then kissed her again on the lips. He saw she was starting to blush. Her thighs were brushing against the growing erection in his pants. He felt something start to smear on his lower belly. Looking down, he realized that her dress had been pulled up and her thin panties were pressing against him, her wetness coming through. She climbed backwards, pulling off her garment in one motion, hurling it aside.

He pulled off his shirt and she got between his legs to help him with his trousers, then his underwear. His hardon was freely available.

The mare lowered her head and licked him from balls to tip, then from tip to base. Coming up, his dick disappeared into her warm mouth. He was getting blown by a pretty mare. And it was fun. It wasn't because he was fleeing anything or trying to make bad thoughts go away, but because he found himself spending time with her and enjoying it. And she seemed to be enjoying her time with him, too. Maybe she was a pro, but that didn't mean she couldn't well like sex.

Her head went up and down, feeling fantastic. He supplied slow, steady licks that made his chest jump and breathing shudder. He tensed his fingers in her long, bouncy mane, sighing happily. The mare sped up and focused more on lips and mouth, making the blowjob extra sloppy. Wow, that felt heavenly. He just realized he hadn't had sex the day before; he'd actually turned down Velour despite knowing he definitely could have gotten away with it. He felt warmth spreading over his body. He was being sucked marvelously. Her mouth felt so good on his cock. Her spit was helping her make rich slurping noises as she worried himself with his ever mounting pleasure. She put her hands on his swollen balls to prop up the shaft. He rested his arms behind his head and just let her work her magic. She shook her ass, speeding up.The urge to mount her and fuck an impression of her face into the box spring was growing. He knew already just what pleasures lurked in that tight little ass, his for the taking.

Shining Armor realized something: she wasn't giving and he wasn't taking; they were sharing beautifully.

He took his hands and sought her breasts. Founding them, he squeezed. Shit, his balls were getting tight. He was feeling himself get close. He paid her back by playing with her nipples. Clearly happy noises came from her and she sped up. She shook her ass more. She sucked him down to the balls and held it, moaning and humming on his cock. Her tongue peeked out to even see to his balls. His throbbing cock felt like it was going to explode. He gasped even as he toyed with her and she ate it up.

He warned her, "Sugar swirl, if you keep sucking me like this, I'm going to cum."

She went from on all fours to lying on her front, not releasing him. She wouldn't be able to pop off him in a hurry if he popped. She hum-chirped happily in response, not stopping, not slowing. she made eye contact, her gaze lidded. He could tell what she wanted, and it felt too good to stop. He caressed her hair, whispering sweet nothings at her and her mouth and tongue. She ate him up with a special elegance. She tossed her hair aside without skipping a beat. She was really into this, into him, into sucking his soul out through his cock until it went limp.

Her lips washed over his head. His fingers curled. He could hardly control his breathing. It felt so good. Her sucking his dick was like fire. He groaned and thrust into her mouth, letting her have the whole thing for her purposes. He had to be leaking precum. His thighs were starting to shudder. She didn't stop making eye contact. She was smiling at him, daring him to spill for her. He couldn't resist. He was going to faint with pleasure if he did.

Shining Armor came with what he initially hoped would be a small groan to let her know how well she was doing it, but it soon became an unrestrained roar laced with curses and her name. "Sugar Swirl! Oh! Fuuuuuck! Oh my! AAAHHHRRH! FUUUCK! OH SUGAR! HOLYYYYYY!" He tried to let her work on him as cum shot from his tip, but he couldn't restrain himself. He grabbed her head and fucked her face, moaning his orgasm, shuddering it out, shooting rope after rope of cum into her eager face as the carnal bliss ravaged him.

Sugar Swirl ate it up, humming at he came for her, praising her talents audibly. Her lips braced his dick in her mouth while her tongue worked and lapped away at it, running up and down his cock, teasing at his head, her suction kissing pure pleasure into him that run up his spine like lightning. She massaged his balls, feeling the swollen orbs almost seem to deflate. His cock surged as his cum erupted for her and she drank it down. He pressed his fingers into her head, holding her right there, not letting his mare get away, giving her every drop she was teasing from his body.

At last, Shining Armor went limp and let his arms fall. Sugar still sucked gently on his sensitive length, cleaning it off. She released it finally and kissed all over his dick and balls. She showed her mouth to prove she'd indeed drank all of him. Then she lay beside him, draping an arm over his heaving chest.

"Sugar Swirl... holy shit..."

"You're welcome," she laughed, just let me know if you're gonna throat fuck me at the end next time; I can handle it, but lots of girls will just gag and not want to blow you again." As if to emphasize her pound, she gave a small cough and something came out of her nose. She wiped it. Looking down, she laughed, "This is cum!"

"Wow, I guess I really did fill you up." They laughed together, her draping a leg across his, and he hugging her. She snuggled onto his chest. He just enjoyed the warm body in the afterglow. He'd be damned if she hadn't just sucked out his soul through his dick. The kissed and held hands. Then she looked down. Her hand had brushed against something.

"Hey, wanna go again?"

He yawned, "Sugar, you're hot and I like you, but there's no way I can-nH!" Shining jerked as she clasped a renewed erection still slick from her mouth. "Holy shit I'm hard."

"Yeah, I know. Wanna do something about it?" He grinned in response, clasping her ass. She swung her leg over his. He hugged her close and clouded his face between her tits. He took a nipple in his mouth and sucked. She hissed and clawed at his shoulders. She pressed them into his face. He made happy noises, going to town on them. He just loved breasts. He smelled her sweat, he smelled her perfume, he smelled her faint sweet, flowery and spicy notes. He smelled the distinctive scent of feminine lust. If not for geography and Velour, she'd be his favorite. He vowed to himself if he met a mare this sweet without being paid, he'd marry her. The mare drew up, lights dancing in her eyes. She was on her knees over him, shaking her sweet, tight hips. He saw heaven in between those thighs, a little tidy tasty pussy with petals just sticking out ever so slightly.

He said nothing as he pulled her hips towards him, puckering up to kiss her on her clit, then bringing his tongue lower down to explore her vulva. She cried out in pleasure as he set to work. If she's slurped out his soul just minutes ago, he was going to pay her back.

Shiny immediately remembered he wasn't a big fan of the taste of pussy, but he was too turned on to care. His dick was clamoring for attention, but it was going to have to wait. He wasn't even wearing a condom yet. He dug into Sugar Swirl's slit. He used one hand to grasp her toned ass to control her while he inserting fingers with the other. He hadn't too much experience in the grand scheme of things, but Velour had taught him well. Such a shame he'd learned Velvet wasn't keen on letting him meet her gestalt again. Fuck her. But first fuck this one!

As his tongue circled her clit, flipping and lapping at the sensitive nub, his fingers caressed around the vulva. She was panting already. The very first touch inside her vagina revealed she was soaking. All without lube! This was genuine arousal! He'd never had that in a session before. He'd seen Velour and some of his other girls be aroused and even climax, but they'd never foregone lube to start with.

His two fingers were in her down to the last knuckles. He thrust and rotated, and his partner answered with noises and shakes. He kissed her clit and lips. She was starting to quake. He raked backwards with his fingers, striking a rough spot on her front wall. "Shiny!" Sugar cried out. Her pussy was getting so hot. "Take me!"

Without warning, she got off his face and pulled him backwards, her legs already parted. He was yanked into a kind of kneeling posture, and she slid herself over him. Hot. Wet. Soft. He was inside Sugar Swirl! "Swirl! Are you sure about this? We really should use a condom."

She held him inside wrapping he legs around his back as she clung to his neck, peppering it with vicious kisses using just a hint of tooth. "I got a clean blood panel yesterday and I've been careful since then. If you've been careful, too, there's nothing to worry about. Besides, what's life without a little risk? Sometimes a little danger's worth it, don't you think? I don't do this with just every guy; you've already been with me so it's not like I'm bullshitting." She accentuated the last word with a jerk of her hips.

Shining kissed her and leaned forward. It was awkward to fuck her in this new position. He gave small thrusts, half supporting her with one arm, playing her clit with the other, and suckling away at her breasts with his mouth.

She was hot, this was hot. He was not going to last. He fucked he as best he could. He plunged into her depths over and over again, going balls deep in this mare. He was fucking her raw and loving it. This felt so good. Being in a mare felt so good. He wasn't worried about anything, no concerns on his mind other than fucking this mare until she screamed and writhed. Their hips met and she slung from his neck. She was digging her nails into his back and shoulders in a display of primal passion. Whatever he'd done to turn her on had really done the trick. He stung, but it only turned him on right now. She was begging for him so hard with her body. Her cunt felt like it was alive, wrapping and caressing around his throbbing cock. He felt her panting in his arms, wordless cries of pleasure escaping her open mouth and salacious, red lips. He kissed her again. Their tongues dueled, mirroring their lower halves. The passion was blanking his mind. He sucked on her collarbone and she pulled his hair to get him off to kiss his mouth again. He went back down to her breasts. His fingers on her clit made him shudder. They were lost in an animalistic frenzy of lust -- young hormones and mutual attraction conspiring in a cocktail to make them fuck like mad. He looked down and saw him entering her over and over again. Deep deep deep! In in in! He was going to fuck her trembling body until she couldn't move! Until he couldn't move! Her small breast bounced to their rhythm.

She was crying out something, but he couldn't tell, it may have been another language. She was howling without regard for the walls. He was grunting fiercely.

Sugar Swirl gave a strangled cry as her legs trembled. "I'm cumming! Cum for me, Shiny, inside me!"

The dam broke. Shiny tried to reason against his instincts, to not cum inside this mare, fearing the consequences, but it felt too good. So good, being mated felt so good.He didn't know what he yelled as he came, but he wasn't quiet. Cum errupted from his cock in torrents, white hot with pleasures and little stabs of pain from his overloaded dick. He flooded her vagina, emptying his balls with pulse after pulse. She worked her hips, spiking him with indescribable pleasure. She called to him, clung to him, her body provoking his to give her his essence. He leaned forwards to gather her up then clung to her. She tried to kiss him, but something stopped him from reciprocating -- not while he was cumming. Shining Armor went for her breast. He sucked and licked at it like he was dying of thirst. She screamed in ecstasy and raked his back. He put some teeth on the teat, answering her bestial frenzy with his own.

When their orgasms ended, they didn't withdraw. More accurately, Shining just dropped her before collapsing next to her. Now that he was cooling down he kissed her. He guessed he didn't want to feel quite that close to her, if that made any sense. The sex was so much fun, but he didn't care about her in that way. Maybe he'd do it only with a mare who was truly special? Cum still leaked from his penis, and it definitely was spilling from her pussy in abundance. They kissed and cuddled. They didn't know if they even slept a bit, but it was he who first spoke. "Holy... Holy fuck, Sugar Swirl... That was..." Shining gestured by waving his hand wide. "Wwwoooooooooooooooooooowwwww..."

"Yeeaash," slurred the mare, her brain addled by sex. "Let's get a shower."

"Don't have to tell me twice; just let me find my legs again."

The escort giggled, "Me too." Sugar Swirl then made sure to check in with the agency to confirm that the appointment had gone well, and that it was over. After that, she pulled the stallion by the hand into the shower. They soaped each other up, washed each other down, and kissed. They groped and joked. It was some of the most fun Shiny had ever had. After that, they just pulled out all the towels onto the flour and lounged around on them until they got dry.

Once they were dry, they cuddle on a big chair, Swirl sitting in his lap, making out like the teenagers they were. "See you again, Shining?"

"If I'm ever back in town... or you come up to Canterlot."

She frowned. "My agency doesn't send girls out that way, sadly."

"What's working for the agency like?"

Sugar Swirl stretched, placing her head on the stallion's shoulders. "It's okay, I sometimes have awesome clients like you. To be honest, most clients are pretty average -- dudes older than me, may or may not have a wife, just really want a pretty younger mare for an hour to suck their dick, fuck a load out of em, stroke their ego, tell me things they can’t tell anyone else. I see three, sometimes up to eight, in a day. It's seldom more than five."

"That's a lot."

"Yeah. I mean the high volume days are great, even if I get a little sore down there. The agency takes a thirty percent operating fee when I'm active on their roster, so I need at least a couple bookings to turn a profit."

Shining growled, "They make you pay to work?"

"Well..." She was phrasing this delicately. "They set us up with customers, keep us safe, guarantee we don't get cheated, robbed, or anything, and we give them a cut."

"I understand, but that's not nice of them. How long are you on call each day, Sugar?"

"I'm available usually ten hours a day. All I need to be is ready to go when the call comes."

"I see. Do you like working for them at least?"

She nodded vigorously. "Oh totally. Pays great, actually flexible hours, and I have fun at work. However, it's not all great. I can deal with weirdos and creeps; what pisses me off is management likes to fuck with me."

"How so?" He was concerned.

"Don't worry, it's nothing too bad. They like to move my schedule without warning me, ask me to go active on my supposed days off, they don't have to tell me on the way if the client modifies the booking... I also can't blacklist clients I just don't want to see unless they actually break an agency policy. In short, it's a lot of shit that'd be easier to deal with if they just let my schedule and terms be my schedule and terms. That and I'd like a bit more control in who I see -- if I'm fucking for a living, I want to at least have some say in the matter."

"Have you ever thought about going independent, doing your own business for yourself with nobody taking cuts from you, having the right to set your own terms, choose your own clients, and all that?"

"Yes, I have, actually. I just don't know if i want to sink the money into advertising, do my own screening, and so on. It's a lot of work, even if I could name my own price."

"You should try Canterlot. It's got a thriving independent scene, though, if the sheer number of ads is anything to go by. I mean, there're escorts for every budget. And it's full of unmarried young guys looking for some lovin', especially near the guard barracks." He squeezed her inner thigh and she giggled.

"Thanks, I'll think of that. And what's your budget?" she asked.

"Not much; I'm functionally between jobs right now, so broke eighteen year old life, yay."

She smiled and laughed, "Hey, I'm eighteen, too!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, just graduated school a few months ago."

"No way! Would've you thought of it, there we were, a couple of kids in school, living practically identical lives, and we just happen to meet for a hookup in a Canterlot hotel room out of the blue? What are the odds?"

The mare held her chin, lost in thought. "One in six hundred and eighty thousand."

Shining blinked. "How did you get that?"

"Math was my best subject," she giggled, "I'm doing this because it pays loads better-"

"Loads."

"You asshole - than anything else I could get paid nowhere near as good; gotta go back to school first."

Shining agreed, "Yeah. You're really smart, you know that?"

"I'm not really that smart," admitted Sugar with a blush.

"But you're good at math; I nearly got held back in eight and ninth grade because of math."

"Awww, poor boy. I'm great at math, but I suuuuck at literature. The teachers wanted me to explain what the fucking color of someone's shirt meant. The author writes that the mare's shirt is yellow. I take that to mean the shirt is fucking yellow. The teacher expects a four page essay about how her shirt is her entire character and is a symbol for her vivacity and resilience."

"Fuck that shit," Shining said.

"I know, right?"

"Totally." He stroked her breasts and squeezed the petite orbs a little. "Anyway, how'd you get those numbers? Is it magic?"

She scoffed, "Do you see a horn? I had to do a senior project looking at inter city tourism. I did a quick assessment based off of yearly Canterlot to Manehattan traffic, then breakdown by age and gender, then apply the general proportion them who pay for sex per annum, then apply the proportion of clients of roughly your age group. I'm using old figures and lots of rounding, but I'm pretty sure it's accurate; I've won math bowls before."

He whistled, "Shit, Sugar, you're a genius."

She giggled, "You're just saying that because you're leaking out from between my legs."

"No, really, I mean it. I never won honors anything; the only thing I ever won was field hockey."

"You play field hockey, too?"

He nodded. "City championships three times, regional champs once."

"That's awesome!"

They talked for a long period of time about field hockey. Sadly, it could not last forever.

Sugar's phone rang. She walked over to pick it up. She looked at him with a frown. "I'm sorry, Shiny, but I got to go."

"That sucks, sure was nice seeing you. Hey, can I give you my number?"

She nodded. "This is just my work phone. It's against policy to do this, but..." She made a quick note that he copied down. "That's my personal number. When you're done with your family shit and got time to see me, let me know."

"Will do." He was grinning broadly as he fired off the text. At long last, they had to say goodbye. Shining Armor walked Sugar Swirl to the door, his hand on her ass. They kissed on last time, a peck on the lips. He opened the door, she stepped out looking like a mare very well loved, and then he shut it behind her. Shining Armor stumbled over to the bed and collapsed onto it. Oh what a mare!

The two mares sat across from one another. The restaurant had the same semi upscale atmosphere as the bar, only with more chandeliers instead of the postmodern lights behind colored glass that the bar had favored. It was darker in here. he zebra and the pony were having tense words. Their meals and drinks had been finished for quite some time -- the ice in the beverages had all melted, and the pink one had drunk all the melt from hers. Her fingers were tented and her brow furrowed as she spoke to the towering zebra, who was far less tense looking, moving with calm ease, but applying some knife hands the alicorn's way.

"All I'm saying, your grace, is that if you're bothered by watching the colt screw around, you should let him know."

"But I don't have that right," Cadance said, "I'm also not paying for him to fuck."

Poppy Lilac laughed, "So says the mare who financed a forty-eight hour escort booking in my name, paid for out of her own pocket, and also got him an escort appointment."

"Staff Sergeant!" Cadance growled. "You are currently on duty and in public and I would appreciate it if you would at least try to hold some kind of bearing."

Ngolatane's creases of laughter and smile vanished. "Yes, princess."

"Thank you, staff sergeant. As I was saying, I am not bankrolling anyone's sexual adventures. The first was necessary to get Velvet over here so we could work on fixing the family issues she is at the core of. The second was because I can't let a guy who I know is better than that just get away with misbehaving because he was angry. I am supposed to to foster morality and good relations among my subjects. It was also a good manhood lesson to make him learn."

"Understood, princess. May i ask you a question?"

"Yes, Poppy."

Ngolatane asked, "What are you hoping to get out of this? It is obvious you like him, but is all this really necessary?"

Cadance said, "Shining Armor is more than just some guy, he is the big brother best friend forever of Celestia's current apprentice and filly I know very well and like a lot. Celestia has high hopes for both of them, and me too."

"So you are acting on Celestia's orders?"

Cadance shook her head emphatically. "Not at all; this is my own initiative. Think of it as using my powers to personally help a family very dear to my heart."

"And speaking of dear to your heart, what are you going to do about your Shining problem?"

Cadance stared and started, "I do not have feelings for Mister Armor. He is a friend and nothing more."

"Please, your grace, I see the way you look at him. You really like that Sparkle boy. You have to decide how you're going to handle him."

"I went over this yesterday with Velour. I am going to be professional yet friendly with him while I am solving this love problem. After that, if things so shape up, if he so desires, we may begin romantic involvement," she explained with all the flair of stale bran flakes.

"Is that how you truly feel, does that satisfy you?"

"Does it matter? I'm doing this because it's my job."

Poppy said, "If you say so, princess. I know I'll be seeing you two off tomorrow, but you will have several hours with him on the train. If there is anything you mean to say to him before things get busy with his family back at home, that would be the time."

“It’s not anything base on my part.”

“Well base or not, if you want to say something to him, best make your move and soon. He is a fun young man in good shape; it won’t be long until he’s snapped up like fresh taro, unless you really are content with being in his friend zone. The way you look at him…”

Cadance was hugging herself, her cheeks tinged darker. “So what if I’m attracted to him? I’ve known him for years, I just don’t know if he’s right for me in that way.”

“Do you have anything to lose by not at least trying? Maybe he really likes you too and just doesn’t know how to go about it?”

“I’ll take that under advisement, Staff Sergeant, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, princess.”

“So, shall we go, Poppy?”

“Let’s.”

Author's Note

Finally it's here, the last Nights In Pink Velvet of 2018! Thus begins act 3 of 3. We're in the home stretch, people.

Thank you so much for your patience. I didn't mean this to take so long. At first I was a bit burned out of writing, then I got a bit depressed, then I got wrapped up in job hunting. I explained in a blog post that I sometimes just run out of creative energy. In short, I'd been running on empty for a while. I love writing these stories and I love how you react to them. It makes my day to see new faves, upvotes, and comments. It makes my world go round.

I've been absolutely neurotic about getting this chapter, this final part of the story just absolutely perfect. I've decided I'm going to make good work, but won't drive myself insane over it, because then nothing gets done, and good enough material gets wiped out. We've crossed the 100K word line, something I've never done before in my life, ever. This story is now more than double the length of my previous champion, Racer and the Geek. If you want to see an old fic of mine I've obviously learned from, go give it a read. I reread it a month ago and I was shocked at home much I've improved, but also how some of my style has stayed consistent.

I'm sorry that I didn't let you guys know that I want going into a dry spell. I did try to write out this chapter numerous times, but it kept on getting snarled up. I'd have an idea, but it'd fall flat, or I'd run out of drive to write it. I didn't want to force squeeze something out just for the sake of having product released. I've tried that before, and it lead to a nearly year long stretch where I didn't write, edit, or even come on fimfic at all. I know I'll get dry spells like this again in the future, I just don't have perpetual creativity, and I'm sorry. What I'll do is post blogs if I feel like there may be some slow times coming on so I don't let you all dangle.

Huge thanks to my editors, particularly Sparky Brony, for getting me to get my ass in gear and finally write this thing after talking his ear off about it for who knows how many months now. He is the best. He's working on another story, Irony's Tale. I don't edit for it, but go check it out anyway, it'd make him happy.

I am so sorry for how long this has taken. I really hope that this new chapter was worth the wait. I swear you'll get a new chapter in January, and I absolutely will finish the story in 2019. Just four more installments to go.

What will Cadance decide about Shining? What will Night say now that he knows Velvet has been hiding things from him? Velvet hasn't yet heard half of it -- where's she gone to, anyway? What will Shiny say to her? Will Shining and his mother reconcile? Will Night Light find out the truth? To find out, read the next Nights In Pink Velvet. See ya'll in January with chapter 12. And if you want to help out, consider donating to my Patreon.

As always, comments and feedback are very welcome and appreciated. Thank you so much for reading.

Happy new year! Ya'll're the best!

-Kalash93