Shining Armor makes a point to keep himself busy in the castle, he has to or he'll go mad. It's mid-afternoon and Flurryheart sleeps quietly in her small cot one hoof in her mouth and drool trickling down her cheek. With Flurryheart asleep, he has a moment to review the guard schedules as he rocks her cot with his magic. There are forty-seven primary castle guards, twenty-six interim, and thirty-five that guard the crystal palace grounds and city.
He lifts a hoof to the table and pushes aside a scroll, and turns to another page. He has six stallions who are requesting leave, and one mare who's due to have a foal anytime. "Sir." A guard, Wing Song, peered into the doorway speaking softly. Why hadn't he heard her enter? "Sunburst is here to see you." She speaks quietly her yellow mane poking out from under her helm, a stark contrast to her bright pink body. He's mistaken her for Cadence in passing before.
"See him in Wind Song." He makes a gesture to the door. Sunburst enters with a chipper step taking Wind Song's place, thanking the guard quietly before walking over to where Flurryheart slept. Sunburst sighed, and smiled down at her, using his own magic to cover her small body in a blanket made of stars.
Once finished he moved over to the desk where Shining Armor stood. "She's so beautiful," Sunburst says with pride, and it's probably the crystaler in him speaking.
Shining Armor can only chuckle at that. "You say that every time you see her." He reaches out touching the Wizard's arm.
"Of course I do. That is what Love is." he smiles "Love, being something your wife does very well." That's something that Shining Armor can't argue. Sunburst returns the gesture and speaks softly to not wake the baby. "How is everything going?"
The unicorn nods tiredly. "Well," he shrugs. "Trying to get through these schedules." He pushes a scroll away with his hoof with barely any enthusiasm.
Sunburst smiles at him as his hoof raises to push his glasses back on his nose. Shining Armor can only smile at the awkward Unicorn. "You need a break Armor." The wizard turns to the table and magically lifts the scrolls to hang in the air. "This doesn't look to be too difficult, I will take care of this." he nods. "You should nap while she naps." There's tenderness in the suggestion. He must know Cadence is napping too. "It will help, trust me."
Shining Armor smiled at his companion. "How do you know?" He smirks. "Keeping secrets from me?"
"Hardly. My mother use to tell the mares." His eyes are flipping through scrolls. "She was a mare who assisted with births where I grew up." He lowers a scroll turning to look into Armor's eyes "If they didn't they'd just lay there staring at their foals to make sure they were still breathing." He turns his eyes back to a scroll and picks up a quill and starts to mark on the schedules.
Armor looks over to Flurryheart and nods. "Alright." He allows. "Maybe you're right." Perhaps he is, and they can't keep eyes on her all the time, but with the craziness that's gone through the Crystal Empire over the past few years, he certainly has tried to.
Sunburst smiled turning his head to the pony beside him. "Of course I am." he pushes his glasses back on his nose with his hoof. "When am I not?"
It causes Shining Armor to chuckle softly as he comes closer pressing his muzzle against Sunburst's "You could join us." It's not a suggestion.
The stallion nods. "I'll finish these and come in." The wizard agrees as he nuzzles back gently. "Take the baby. Go lay with Cadence." Sunburst's hoof touches his face and he nuzzles once more before breaking them apart.
Shining Armor nods and turns his head, his magic stops rocking the cradle and he lifts the baby with his magic. He rocks her in the air in front of himself as they retreat to the rear chamber to rest.
Shining Armor lays Flurryheart in her crib and closes their chamber doors. His bones ache, and he steps up to the edge of the bed before stepping onto the large cushioned mat where Cadence lay sprawled out, wings everywhere, as she does when she has full control of their suite.
Armor is quiet as he kneels at her face and leans down to kiss her cheek. He touches his horn to hers as he drops to his knees and drops further still rolling to his side to press against her. "Armor?" She wakes briefly.
"Go back to sleep sweetheart." He says softly nestling down and bringing the covers up over her shoulders and wings. "Sunburst will join us soon."
She hums a satisfactory sound and pulls closer to him. "Tell him to hurry I want to snuggl..." but her words slur off into soft snores.
Shining Armor's eyes droop, and suddenly they are iron weights too heavy to keep open. He doesn't remember falling asleep, only waking up to the soft cries of Flurryheart in her bed.
His eyes roll open and he shifts to stand, to care for his daughter. The parental instinct hitting his mind hard. The crying stops and a whispered voice breaks the silence. "Lay down," Sunburst Says from behind Cadence, his magic is rocking the baby back to sleep. Cadence yawns rolling away from Sunburst into Armor's long arms. Looking up to the window Shining Armor can see the sun is going down in the west, the night is falling.
"Shining Armor," Sunburst says again. "Lay down." he smiles to the stallion and his magic stops. The baby must be back to sleep, and so Shining armor lays back down, pulling Cadence as well as he can to his side. Sunburst laying behind her, with hooves wrapped around to hook against Armor's flank.
"Thanks, Sunny." Cadence squeezes onto Shining Armor harder as he whispers to Sunburst. "Appreciate it." She yawns deeply against his muzzle as he speaks.
Sunburst smiled and turned his head closing his eyes. "You're most welcome Shining Armor." he has a smile plastered on his face and looks so peaceful. Cadence looks serene plastered between them. Her wings folded tightly now that the bed has more occupants.
He doesn't know when this all became so routine. He doesn't actually care, does he? He knows when it started, and perhaps that's the best milestone for them. Cadence is a princess, she doesn't have to explain her desires, but would he? He wasn't sure. "Close your eyes," Sunburst says again. "You think entirely too much." The stallions orange legs buck in the air slightly as he settles.
"Says you." Armor lays his head down and tries to get comfortable. "Perhaps I just don't want Luna poking around in my head just yet."
"As if you could stop her." Sunburst Chuckles lazily rolling onto his back his head lulling to the side.
"Touche." Shining armor yawns deeply now, feeling sleep creeping back into his hooves. "Sleep." he murmurs tightly. "Sleep," he says again and suddenly it's nothing but blackness and the warmth of his lovers.
Author's Note
“As I stood there, with the two of them staring at me, I suddenly realized that this was more than just a one-night tryst in a hot tub or a drunken fumble with a horny couple, this was the start of something, an adventure. Not just for me, but for the three of us.
We had finally made the jump across a gap that had been holding us back ever since we had met and what boundaries and reservations there had been were now destroyed.”
― Michael Bayswater, The Adventures of Michael Bayswater.
