Chapters Princess Cadance sat on her crystal throne, lazily flipping through the papers in her hand. Most of them were fan letters. Some of them had drawings attached to them. A mental note was made to go through them more deliberately later. It was sweet that the local school kids adored her so much. It brought a certain flutter to her chest… typically. Today was different.
Today, thoughts of her husband plagued her mind. She couldn’t shake what he’d said to her last night. Her heart clenched when she remembered how harsh he’d been. Shiny had never scolded her like that, especially over something as trivial as sex. Ten minutes. That’s all it would have taken. She’d have had to finish herself off anyways.
“Things have changed, Cadance! It’s not like when I used to sneak up to your room in the middle of the night! We didn’t have responsibilities back then! Not like now…”
Like she didn’t know that. An annoyed huff escaped her lips, audible enough that one of the guards beside her throne noticed. He glanced up at her out of the corner of his eye. When Cadance met his gaze, he blushed and quickly looked away. As he cautiously looked back at her, she flashed him a soft smile. He was one of the guards from Canterlot. Dash? Flash. Yes, his name was Flash Sentry. He was one of the zephyr guards from Canterlot. “I’m fine, Guard,” she said sweetly, forcing a smile across her lips. She wasn’t fine. He could probably tell. She was bad at hiding her emotions. She put a hand on her chest and took a deep breath. “I think the tailor got my size wrong again. I can barely breathe in this thing.” That was a lie. While the dress was a tiny bit tighter than she’d like around the chest, it wasn’t all that uncomfortable.
His blush got even deeper as he whipped his head in the opposite direction. So cute. His wings even ruffle up a bit. He was pretty young, so maybe it was wrong to tease him like that. It was just too fun not to. It seemed like all the other guards were used to it, or they were trained not to react.
“I can relate, Your Highness.”
What? She… She hadn’t expected a response. “I’m… sorry?” she asked dumbly. Now it was her turn to blush. Since when did they talk back?
“Wrong size, Ma’am,” he specified. He looked back at her with a calm smile. His cheeks were still a bit pink, but that didn’t matter. He was smiling at her, just like he would at any other human being. “When I joined the guard, they didn’t have my size armor. My recruit armor was too tight.”
What a sweetheart. Even if he didn’t know what was really wrong, he was still trying to make her feel better. The other guards wouldn’t do that. Shiny wouldn’t, either. Maybe he was special? He had to be. She returned his smile in short order. “You’re sweet. I’m glad someone else knows my pain,” she said softly. “Sentry, was it?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
This was a terrible idea. She shouldn’t. She was going to, anyway. She needed someone to talk to. “Would you please escort me back to my chambers? I’d like to change.”
His face flushed red again, no doubt imagining her in the process of changing. Poor thing, he was way too easy to read. Many women would happily take advantage of that. Regardless of his embarrassment, he offered a quick nod and hoisted his rifle to his shoulder. Oh, he had the new model. That was impressive, especially considering that his rank insignia told her he was just a private. Shiny had told her that only the best marksmen in the guard got the new auto-loading repeaters. It was a pretty rifle too, with a solid walnut stock, as well as a brass-finished barrel, action and furniture. The steel on the infantry models was blued.
“Thank you, Private Sentry.”
♥X♥X♥<
The two of them walked silently for a while. Cadance couldn’t stop smiling. She’d never done something like this before. Granted, she wasn’t actually doing anything wrong, but it felt like it. Even the act of being friendly to this guard felt like she was betraying her husband. She was only inviting him back to chat with, maybe play some chess with her. It wasn’t as if she were planning to seduce him.
Oh… but she could do that.
All at once, Cadance’s body heated up. Her dress very quickly started to feel like a sauna, and she felt a familiar itch in her nether region. She very well could seduce Pvt. Sentry. He was young. Even if he was a royal guard in his early twenties, there’s no way he was in total control of his hormones. But even further, she could order him to sleep with her and then swear him to secrecy. Or, if she wanted to be cruel, she could frame him for raping her.
She couldn’t do that to him, though. She couldn’t do that to Shining Armor, either. The only thing he’d done was his job. She couldn’t be mad at him for that. And Flash, the poor boy, would never be able to focus on his job if she took him to bed. And then there was the psychological aspect of it. Would he expect it again? Would his self esteem plummet? There was no way of knowing.
She quickly, and rather roughly, shook her head to chase off her despicable thoughts. That damn libido of hers was seriously going to get her in trouble one day.
“…Okay, Princess?” All at once, Cadance snapped back to reality with enough force to give her vertigo. When did she stop walking? Flash looked concerned. If fact, the poor private looked downright distressed. His brow was raised and his eyes were flooded with what might’ve been worry.
“I… beg your pardon?”
“I asked if you were okay,” he repeated, his concern visibly growing. “Your face suddenly went red and you looked like you were zoning out… do you need to see a doctor?”
“I…” She couldn’t tell him what she was thinking. And yet, if she went to the doctor, he’d want to run tests. What could she tell him without giving it away? “I’m fine. I was… I just recalled a scene from a novel I’ve been reading. Trashy romance. You know the type, right?”
His eyes shot wide open, wider than they ever should. His back stiffened and he turned away from her. “I don’t read that kind of… literature, but I am aware of it, Your Highness.”
Cadance let out a small giggle, stepping up behind Flash. “You should give it a try, Pvt. Sentry. You might like it.”
“I’ll give it some thought.”
Neither of them said anything after that. They simply continued on the way to Cadance's chambers. It wasn’t a long walk; a single flight of stairs and a bit more walking before they arrived at her door. It was a rather nondescript door, but that was by design. The previous king had apparently chosen this room as his own to further avoid assassination attempts. It seemed far too reasonable for someone the citizens had described as a ‘rabid monster.’
As they came to the door, Cadance turned and flashed a soft smile at the private. “Take up a station here, please,” she said simply, eliciting a nod from her escort. “I’ll let you know when I’m finished.” Another nod. It occurred to her that she may have presented herself as a little too promiscuous in the eyes of the young guard.
Cadance stepped into her room and shut the door behind her, letting out a sigh as she did so. She quickly moved over to the closet and pulled out her go-to normal people clothes. It was a cute outfit, no matter how simple; just a grey hoodie, an old band t-shirt, a black-and-pink-plaid skirt and some fishnets along with combat boots. She made a mental note of the knit cap on the hook in the back of the closet. She planned to head into town later and the hat would help to hide her face.
She reached back to unzip her dress, but she couldn’t seem to get her fingers on the tab. She briefly thought of calling the private in to unzip her, but that might be too much for him. Instead, she mustered together a small amount of magic and used it to pull the zipper down towards her hand. She did the same to undo the snaps the fastened the dress above her wings. Simple things like this made going through the princess transformation ritual worth it. Her wings were, of course, much larger and heavier than they were before the ritual, and magic had taken years for her to wrap her head around, but she’d gotten used to it. As her dress slipped over her shoulders and fell to the floor, she glanced over at the mirror on her vanity.
She saw herself, obviously, but she saw more. As a youth and before the ritual, she had been small and weak. She was pitiful. The fact that she had beaten that witch back then was a miracle in and of itself. It was her wits and courage that had saved her during that trial and had garnered Princess Celestia’s attention. Memories of the first time she’d seen herself after the ritual suddenly resurfaced. She’d felt like the person in the mirror was a stranger. The pointed ears of an elf and the larger muscles of a terran, in addition to her old zephyr wings, all told her that she wasn’t the same anymore. It had hurt back then, to see such a strange person in the mirror.
Even now, as she stood there brazenly in just her panties, vulnerable and cold, she could see the dichotomy with her old self. She liked her new body, now that she was accustomed to it. It was strong, fast and powerful. She never gained weight, regardless of how much she ate (and she was always hungry these days). And yet, she still saw that dichotomy. She wasn’t human anymore. She was something more. Maybe that was why the guards were so nervous around her. She was physically superior to them in every way, so it made sense. She was also taller. That actually might have more to do with it.
It suddenly dawned on her why Shining Armor had been avoiding her. Or rather, a possible reason for his avoidance came to mind. Was he also intimidated by her? She was a good foot taller than him, and stronger to boot. The incident at their wedding flooded back into her memories. Now that she thought about it, it was around that time when he’d started becoming so distant. She’d had to save him . Even further, he’d been tricked and subjugated by that wicked changeling queen. He’d failed to stop a threat and the mighty Princess of Love, Mi Amore Cadenza, then had to come to the rescue. All of that had to have been extremely emasculating for the Captain of Canterlot’s Royal guard. And coming off the heels of his mother’s time in that position, he probably felt like he wasn’t living up to expectations.
She had done that to him.
The first tear came before she even realized that she was upset. It streaked down her right cheek, cold and demanding of her attention like a harsh winter wind. She was, as a lady should be, extremely quick to wipe it away. Another quickly took its place, coming from the other eye. Again, she wiped it away. Another one fell, and she again wiped it away. More and more kept falling, their frequency increasing steadily as they did so. She felt the first whimper rising in her throat and in spite of how hard she was trying to stop it, it leaked out with such a feeble note that one might think a child was in distress. Following that pitiable whine was the first sob, which shook her body with a force not unlike a hard shove. And much like that hard shove, it took her balance from her and caused her to collapse to her knees. She suddenly found her arms wrapped around her torso in a pathetic self-embrace as more and more sobs broke through her previously unbreakable façade. She screamed in her mind for the grief to stop, but that seamed to only make it worse.
“Stop it,” she whimpered, digging her fingers into her arms. The pain didn’t help. If anything, it made it worse. She could feel her sobs as they tried desperately to become anguished wails. She couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t show that kind of weakness, not even here in her own bedchambers. Such was tantamount to admitting defeat. She fell forward onto her hands, and then her elbows when her strength failed her. She pounded her fist on the floor to try and vent, but all that did was hurt her hand. “Stop it!” she screamed, only too late realizing that she’d done so aloud, and that Pvt. Sentry would hear her.
Like any good guard would, the private threw open her door and ran inside, rifle at the ready to deal with whatever threat was present. “Princess, what’s wrong?” he hollered as he came to her side. He placed his hand so delicately on her shoulder. That touch, however gentle, felt like a freight train hitting her, and she fell away. Now on her side, she curled up in a tight ball, even as her sobs shook her body. He asked something else, but Cadance couldn’t make out what he was saying. She could tell when he draped her discarded dress over her body, and when he stood up and started searching the room.
Mustering her strength, she crawled back onto her knees, ignoring her dress as it fell away. She didn’t care about something as petty as decency at the moment. She had to let him know she was okay. As he passed by again, she held out a hand to catch his arm, but he simply slipped past her. She tried to call out to him, but he ignored the infantile whimper that came instead. Finally, as he strode past again, he mentioned something about going to raise the alarm.
“No!” she shouted, causing the private to stop and turn to her. The poor boy looked so confused.
“No?” he asked, lowering his rifle.
“No,” Cadance reiterated. “Close the door and… and come here.”
“B-but…”
“Please…” Something must have clicked for him. Whether it was because his princess was pleading with him, or because of the fact that she was doing so on the floor naked, he obeyed. He shut the door and came over to her. As he kneeled in front of her with his hand outstretched, his face betrayed his worry. He wasn’t embarrassed, annoyed or anything like that. He didn’t even look all that confused, either. He’d put aside her nakedness and his own uncertainty so that he could better serve her. She didn’t need someone to serve her; she needed a hug.
She lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. His armor was hard, and it wasn’t very comforting, but it was enough. She felt safer-safe enough to cry again. So she did. She cried into his shoulder, and cried even harder when he sat his rifle aside and put his arms around her.
Flash watched as the princess started to brush her hair. She was still naked. He just didn’t understand. He’d heard stories about Princess Cadance. A lot of the other guards, even those back in Canterlot, had told him that she was bold and free-spirited. He’d never seen that. He’d heard the stories about the Crystal Heart incident, too. About how she fought alongside Spike the Brave and Glorious to save the Empire from King Sombra. Captain Shining Armor had actually corroborated those stories. He’d chuckled when asked about his wife’s boldness.
And yet, Flash had just seen her broken down and crying on the floor. She’d cried in his arms, too. And then she’d ordered him to watch her dress, which made no sense. Was she just after the attention? Granted, she absolutely deserved it. She was incomparably gorgeous. Her curves were smooth and feminine, but as a whole she was built strong and athletically. It had to have taken years of training to get her body that perfect. Come to think of it, weren’t all of the princesses built like decathlon runners? Even the youngest, Princess Twilight, towered over the rest of her friends, except that one with the hat. She was almost, if not just as big. He’d seen photos of them together in the papers.
Princess Cadance suddenly stood up and stretched her arms over her head. Flash noticed that she’d straightened her hair out almost completely flat. It was a good look, as far as he could see. She turned around and asked him what he thought of the hair. It looked even better from the front. He told her that. He tried to keep his eyes focused on her face, but her bare chest was a little hard to ignore, especially with her hair draping lazily over it. Some of it even spilled into her cleavage. Other women had to envy her for that chest. There was no way they couldn’t. She must’ve notice that he glanced down at them, because she giggled, turned back away, and moved over to an outfit she’d laid out.
She told him to give her a moment to get dressed and do her make up. Not that she really needed it. She was pretty without it.
“Are you ready?” she suddenly asked, smiling over her shoulder at him. Snapped out of his daze, he realized she’d also changed the color of her hair (probably with magic). Actually, she looked almost like a completely different person. She wore darker makeup and more urban clothes than usual. She even had (presumable fake) piercings in her nose, lip and eyebrow. Taken along with her hair, which was black with pink, yellow and purple streaks going through it, it kind of made her look like one of those scene girls back in Manehattan.
He just stared at her dumbly for a moment. “Um… Ready for what, Your Majesty?”
“You’re escorting me into town,” she stated simply. “I’ve been craving some really greasy fast food. If anyone asks, I’m your cousin from Cloudsdale. My name is Breeze Heart.”
“I’m from Manehattan, Princess,” Flash pointed out softly. He really didn’t want to upset her again, but… facts were facts. He wasn’t from Cloudsdale. Neither was most of his family.
Princes Cadance giggled again and put her hands on her hips. She seemed completely different than before; much more jovial and friendly. “You might be, but is your cousin? Maybe she hasn’t seen you since you left Manehattan? She might’ve even been there to see you off at the train station. And I would think you’d be very casual with your dear cousin, as families typically are.”
A soft sigh slipped out of Flash’s mouth before he could stop it. At least one rumor he’d heard was proving true. She liked to do things her way, and it was hard to convince her otherwise. He’d always been told that she knew what she was doing and that it was usually best to listen to her, but was this really okay? Should the princess go into town, where she could easily be attacked? Although, if the stories were true about her being a skilled fighter, she probably wasn’t in any real danger.
And beyond all of that, Princess Cadance was practically asking him out on a date. Why would anyone refuse that?
“I suppose… I might have a cousin named Breeze, and she might be from Cloudsdale, and I might be pretty close to her.”
In an instant, the princess’s face lit up as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest. Before Flash could react, she ran over and wrapped her arms around his neck again. She pulled away before he could return the hug and ran over to her writing desk. After she scribbled something down, the telltale aura of magic emanated from in front of her. When she was presumably done, she turned around with two pieces of paper in hand. Those quickly vanished in a small flash. Were they messages? That seemed like the most sensible possibility.
As if reading his mind (which she could probably do), she smiled and said, “Just a note letting my husband and the minister know where I’m going, and that you’re with me.” Her face turned sour again, but it was definitely a more playful sourness, if her comically pursed lips were any indication. “After one of King Sombra’s loyalists attacked me recently, they panic if I don’t bring at least one guard with me. I think they both like to believe I’m some helpless damsel. Which I’m definitely not .” She illustrated her point by flexing her right arm, which pulled the fabric of her hoodie tight against her sizable muscles. True, it did seem like she was big enough to take care of herself, but…
“May I speak freely, Your Majesty?”
“Permission granted.”
Flash took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. He knew Princess Cadance wouldn’t like what he had to say. “I can kind of understand their feelings on the matter, especially the Captain,” he said calmly, trying his best to be gentle. There was no telling if the princess would break down again if he hurt her feelings. “As you said, he’s your husband. He’s going to worry, no mater what. I think it’s kind of a spouse’s job to do so.”
As he spoke, Cadance maintained a fairly blank expression, not reacting in any way that would betray her thoughts to him. After a moment of silence, she sighed and gave him a soft, warm smile that could probably melt the iciest of hearts. “I guess you’re right. I think you’ll make a fine husband to a lucky mare one day. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“Yes, ma’am,” flash said sharply, giving a particularly snappy salute. Princess Cadance narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. He got the message. “I mean… Sure thing, Breeze.”
Again, she giggled and clapped her hands. She flashed him a playful grin and moved to his side. Suddenly, her hands grabbed hold of his arm and she leaned into him a little. “Come on, Flashy… Let’s go catch up over lunch.”
♥X♥X♥<
Flash and ‘Breeze’ sat at an outdoor table at a newly-opened Hey Burger joint in the shopping district, enjoying a nice, peaceful lunch. No royal guards came hunting them down, no paparazzi assaulted them. As far as anyone else knew, Flash really was having lunch with his cousin. Flash had taken to calling her Breezy. They told each other jokes, and swapped made-up stories about their lives since they parted ways, and even reminiscing when they were kids. Flash’s favorite was the one where he had dove into the river to save Breeze because she couldn’t swim. The drive to save his precious cousin would go on to awaken his desire to help others, and inspire him to enlist in the guard.
But of course, that whimsicality didn’t last too long. Whatever had been plaguing the princess’s heart also plagued Breeze’s. It didn’t take long for her to bring them into the conversation. Of course, Flash was happy to listen to her concerns.
“Hey, Flashy?” she asked softly, reaching across the table and gently placing her hand on his.
Flash’s cheeks warmed up slightly, but instead of getting embarrassed, he softly took hold of his cousin’s hand and smiled at her. “What’s up, Breezy? You got something on your mind?”
“You could say that…” she replied softly, almost unheard over the noise of the people around them. “I’ve been thinking a lot, lately. About my body.”
“What about it? It’s perfect for your line of work right?” They’d previously discussed how Breezy had finished her engineering degree in Vanhoover and was working as a contractor.
“Yeah, but… I think it bothers my husband. I think he feels threatened.” Breezy was married. Her husband, a banker named Gold Piece, was kind of a wimp. Flash could bench more than him. Flash could probably bench him, actually. “Flashy, do you think I’m… intimidating?”
“Depends on the context of the question.”
“In any context.”
“Just… Just a little bit,” Flash said delicately. The wounded look Breezy gave him actually hurt a bit. “As far as the physical is concerned, you’re pretty tall and insanely ripped for any zephyr, let alone a female zephyr. I think most guys would be intimidated, even if it was another man with your build. Financially, you make almost as much as much as Gold does. If he chose to retire, or something happened to him, you could support the both of you and probably a kid, too. And even further, you’re really intelligent. Probably a lot smarter than Gold.”
“Gold is pretty smart, though. Smart enough to be head of his branch of the bank.”
Flash gave Breezy’s hand a strong squeeze. “He’s obviously not, if he’s letting those kinds of things affect the way he feels about you,” he explained, keeping an eye on Breezy’s reaction. Of course, he meant everything he was saying. He wasn’t the sort to give out hollow compliments. But if he started to upset her, it might be wise to stop. “An actually good husband would stick with his wife, regardless of what the situation is. His love should be unconditional. He should be grateful if his wife is strong enough to stand beside him. He should stand with her, proud of his equal.”
As Flash had expected, a few tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn’t break down again. Instead, she smiled and laced her fingers together with his. “Would you stand with me, Flashy? Would you be proud of me? Would you lay with me, or would my body turn you off?”
Flash could feel every bit of his face turn bright red. First off, that was weird in the context of their role play. But he knew better. Best to divert the subject. “That’s kind of a messed up thing to ask your cousin, Breezy.”
“You know I’m not asking as Breezy.” As she spoke, her hand tightened around his, turning the areas it touched slightly purple. She was dead serious, and she wasn’t going to let this go without a straight answer. Also, his hand hurt. She was probably counting on that.
“I would.”
“You would what?”
“I would do all of that. I’d stand by you, be proud of you, and I’d… I’d lay with you,” he said softly. Of course, that probably wouldn’t be enough. He’d have to give more depth to the answer. “I think you’re beautiful, and your strength only makes you more attractive to me. I think I would be blessed to have a woman that could stand beside me, not behind me.”
Breezy (or Cadance, Flash wasn’t certain at this point) laughed at him and leaned in over the table. She planted her other hand on the table, and given its direction, hinted for him to take it. He did. “What, you got some kind of muscle fetish?” she said haughtily, staring him down through her bangs. She was testing him, now. There was no way of telling what his answer would bring, but he felt as though she would know if he lied to her. The only option, once more, was to be honest.
“I might.”
“I might crush you with my embrace. Would you still lay with me?” She was whispering now, and her breathing had become rather heavy. Her face was also red, just like back in the hallway. Flash suddenly realized that Breezy, or rather, Cadance might be seriously entertaining the notion of sleeping with him. She must have picked up on his thoughts, because her demeanor changed again. Her shoulders slumped and she started to pull her hands away from his. “Hypothetically speaking, of course.”
She was upset again. If it were anyone else, Flash wouldn’t care. This, however, was his princess. This was the woman he’d sworn to protect from all harm. Shouldn’t… shouldn’t that also imply emotional harm? If he turned her down now, at such pivotal point in her despair… it might very well break her. Even if he followed up on her suggestion of the conversation’s hypothetical nature, that might still hurt her. He couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t raise her hopes and dash them against a rock like that. Maybe he was just making excuses to sleep with her. It was entirely possible. Did that really matter, though? If it helped her, what difference did it make whether he benefitted from it? It didn’t matter. It didn’t make a difference. He made up his mind.
Before her fingers could be fully untangled from his, he snapped his hands forward and clutched hers tightly. She tried a bit harder to pull away, but Flash held her hands firmly and with conviction. “Not hypothetically speaking, I would gladly lay with you.”
Cadance’s shocked expression was enough to bring a smile to his face. It didn’t last long, as a sweet and contented smile replaced her gaping mouth. She probably hadn’t expected him to say he would actually go along with her, but that was okay. Her smile had regained its well known beauty and warmth, and that let Flash know he was taking the right course of action.
“Do you want to find a hotel for your dear cousin to stay the night in?” she asked, her voice a near whisper. “You could stay with me, and go back in the morning.”
“Yeah. I think I’d like that.”
Breeze Heart, or rather, Princess Cadance lay in bed, face-to-face (sort of) with a stranger whose arms were wrapped around her, after having spent the night with him in a downtown hotel. It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in a while, to be held like you actually mattered to your partner and to hold them in the same way. Flash was a little smaller than her husband, so his arms didn’t quite reach around to her back. She didn’t really mind that so much. What mattered was how desperately he clung to her, as if she were the most precious person in his life. She liked that.
He wasn’t so bad in bed, either. She might have had to take the lead at first, but he caught on quickly enough. Helping his case was the fact that he was at least decently hung, and lasted more than ten minutes. He went for twenty, if she were being conservative. He managed to keep it up for her even longer so she could finish. Had she gone a little longer, he might have even finished a second time. A small smile came to her lips as she remembered his face when he took the lead, so fierce and commanding. She felt a familiar tingle when she remembered how he’d flipped her over on her back. She liked that he was bold enough to take the reigns from her without permission. It was hot.
Her hand started to snake down between her legs, but she was interrupted as Flash stirred in her arms. He pulled her closer, pressing every part of him against her as he stretched. He was already hard. She was used to that from Shiny, but he’d always refused her offers to take care of his morning wood for him.
“Are you awake yet?” he whispered, his voice almost muffled against her chest. “It’s still dark out, Princess. It would be a good idea to head back now, before the sun rises.”
She smiled softly to herself. He was so considerate. He could very well demand a second round, but he didn’t. He was more concerned with her than his own interests. “I am, Flash, and I will. However…”
“However?”
“Part of you doesn’t seem to want me to go just yet.”
“…Sorry.”
A soft chuckle escaped Cadance as she untangled herself from Flash. She didn’t separate from him just yet though. Instead, she pushed him onto his back and sat on top of him, straddling his hips. She leaned forward with her hands against his chest. “No apologies are necessary. It’s only natural. Would you like to go again?”
“I’m okay with that,” he said quickly, his words almost running together.
She giggled and lay down on top of him, bringing her face close to his. “Of course you are, dear. After this, though, I have to go.”
“Understood, Princess.”
♥X♥X♥<
Cadance pulled her fishnets on, consciously aware that she wasn’t wearing panties. Flash stood across from her (still naked), holding said undergarment in his hand and watching her dumbly. He’d just asked about them. She’d told him to keep them; he could even wear them if he wanted. She noticed a certain part of him perk up when she suggested it. She ignored it this time. This time.
“A-are you sure you want me to have these? I mean, they have your crest on the front. If anyone found them in my possession…”
Cadance paused in the process of zipping the side of her skirt up. She finished and stood up, giving a rather audible sigh as she simultaneously held out her hand. Flash complied and handed over the underwear. “Mouth. Open.” Again, he complied. Once it was open far enough, she stuffed the panties, crotch-first, into his mouth. He gagged, of course. “Don’t spit them out. If someone finds these, they will assume you bought them at the market across town. That’s where I bought them. They’re popular with my fans, especially the teen and preteen group. I once met a woman decked out from head to toe to crotch in my paraphernalia.”
“Understood, Your Majesty,” he said as he pulled them out of his mouth. “They’re still women’s underwear, though. They’ll think I’m some weirdo.”
“So hide them,” she said bluntly. She turned away and started dressing again. “I’m honestly not seeing why this is so difficult for you.”
“Right…” Flash muttered. “I guess I’ll keep them in my footlocker or something.”
“Alright then!” Cadance said cheerfully as she pulled her hoodie on. “Hurry up and get dressed so we can head back.”
“Yes ma’am.”
It didn’t take Flash long to get ready. Of course, guard armor was pretty simple to don, as she knew from personal experience. She’d once tried her mother-in-law’s old armor on for kicks (Shiny’s mother was roughly the same size as a much younger Cadance). Hers was simple enough to get into, but Shining Armor had told her that the current iteration had been simplified even further for quicker deployment. Cadance could remember how annoyed he’d seemed when she understood what he meant. He had seemed more annoyed when she explained that she’d had some military training after she was adopted into the royal family.
Family… She liked being a part of Shiny’s family. They accepted her without consideration of her rank. Of course, if they ever found out about what she’d done with Flash, they’d surely cast her out. She knew it would cut them deep, especially Twilight. And yet, she’d done it anyway. Surely, that said something about the quality of her character, to have broken the trust she shared with her in-laws and her husband. Perhaps he should have paid more attention to her.
No, that was wrong. She was wrong to have even thought that. This was her fault. She’d let her libido get the better of her, and she was blaming it on her husband. What did that say about her character? The more she thought about, the less she could justify her one-night stand with the guardsman. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how awful she was.
“Princess? I think we should go.”
“Yes, of course,” she replied softly. When Flash stepped closer to her, she didn’t look at him. She simply planted her hand firmly on his shoulder and started a teleportation spell. It was finished in a half-second, thanks to Twilight’s shortcut method of spell casting. That girl was a prodigy.
In an instant, the two of them were suddenly outside the guard barracks. She’d taken them a little ways out of view from the entrance, so as not to alarm the guards stationed there. Cadance turned away and was about to teleport again, but Flash’s hand on her shoulder stopped her.
“What is it, Private?” she asked sharply, immediately wincing as the sentence left her mouth. She shouldn’t be so harsh. None of this was his fault. Well, most of it wasn’t his fault. He could have said no. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap.”
“It’s alright,” he said softly with a smile. That damned smile of his… It was sweet and warm, like a fresh-baked sweet roll. It was caring. “I’m sure you feel bad about what happened, but… well, I had fun with you today. Not just… you know, that part… but all of it. I liked talking to you, laughing with you; just being with you was great!”
She could feel her lips tighten into a deep scowl. Anger flooded her mind, not at him, but herself. In her selfishness, she’d dragged this sweet, innocent guard into her mess. And he had fun . He enjoyed being swept up in her disgusting scheme. And he was still trying to make her feel better!
“Stop it,” she hissed.
“I beg your pardon?”
Cadance hastily threw up a concealment barrier (the kind that blocked both sight and sound), and grabbed Flash by the collar of his armor. “Stop being SO DAMN NICE!!! Yeah, I feel like shit because I just had an affair! Let me feel like shit! Why did you have to be someone so damn sweet?! Why couldn’t you be a scumbag I could just throw away?!
“I don’t unders–”
“Hate me, Flash! Call me a whore, a slut! Tell me I’m a selfish cunt,” she shouted as she felt the first tear roll down her cheek. She didn’t try to fight these tears, though. She was just too angry. “Tell me I did bad. Tell me you only slept with me because I’m your princess and you were afraid to say no… Push me away and tell me you don’t want to even look me… Make me feel like I actually did something wrong…”
Flash looked scared. He’d shrunken in on himself, and his eyes were the size of gold bits. But at the same time, his eyes still held that infuriating light of empathy and understanding. He swallowed hard and straightened back up.
“I won’t do that, Princess,” he said sternly.
“Why no–”
“Because as far as I’m concerned, the Captain did you wrong first!”
“What?”
“If the captain really is neglecting to you for the reasons you said, then you have every right to move on! It’s… Forgive me, but it’s stupid to stay with someone that doesn’t appreciate you. It’s especially stupid if it’s been since you two got married.”
“I never said when it started…”
Flash sighed, looking off to the side at a passing couple. He was probably glad they couldn’t hear or see them. He quickly looked back and met Cadance’s glare with his own. “You didn’t have to,” he said softly. “I read the newspaper back then. Only an idiot wouldn’t be able to figure it out with that information.”
“You… agree with me?”
“Mostly. Maybe an affair was too much, but I won’t… No, I can’t hate you for it.”
Before Cadance knew what was happening, her lips crashed into Flash’s. Whatever happened next was a blur. She only knew that she was happy, sad, and angry all at once.
♥X♥X♥<
Cadance trudged down the hall, her mind still a bit hazy (too hazy to teleport at least, but not so much that she wasn’t able to keep her concealment spell going) from her alleyway escapade. She’d had abandon her fishnets in a public garbage can, as the sizable tear in the crotch was pretty evident of what had transpired. As her mind started to clear, she heard something odd. It sounded like grunting. At first, she thought it might be the guards sparring, but that only ever happened on the training grounds, which were near the guard barracks.
Cautiously, she followed the sound until she found the source. It was a closet door, left slightly ajar. Was someone having difficulty lifting something? No, the volume and frequency of the grunts suggested something else. Curious as to who else might be scoring that night, she slowly approached the closet. She extended her concealment barrier slightly, surrounding the door with it. She couldn’t have it creak when she pushed it open.
She only pushed it open far enough see inside. No one would notice that little amount of movement, especially not in the throes of pleasure. And even if they did, they would probably assume it was the wind that had done it. A particular giddiness overtook her as she felt the thrill of voyeurism take hold. That thrill disappeared almost as soon as it came. On the other side of the door, she could see just who it was that was scoring.
The girl was one of the young crystal elf servants who often cleaned her chambers. She was held up against the wall, with her partner holding her up. She could see his hands, gently caressing her bottom as he fiercely pulsed in and out of her. It was exciting. Something about the man’s skin tone was familiar, though, and not simply because it was a typical fleshy skin color. After all, he could have been one of the Canterlot Guard transfers. His skin was dark, but not a natural dark. It was the kind of dark skin that resulted in being outside slightly too often and for slightly too long.
But then she saw it: the tattoo on his shoulder. It was one she knew well. It was a familiar depiction of a blazing sun behind an alicorn’s black (and rather stylized) silhouette, which was indeed the mark of a Canterlot guard. But the color, that’s what told her who it was. The center of the sun was light blue, with the extending rays taking on a darker blue. Only one guard’s tattoo ever had those colors. His face was shielded by hers, but she could see his hair. It matched the colors of the tattoo. It was him.
In her shock, Cadance allowed her Concealment spell to drop, exposing her presence to the maid. The woman looked over at her, a certain hazy bliss glazing her eyes over. That bliss transitioned to horror, reflecting what Cadance was feeling. Or maybe it wasn’t horror, but terror. She seemed more afraid than horrified.
She felt tears once more, but these were different. These stung. They burned not only her eyes, but also her skin as they made their way down her cheeks. She couldn’t think. All she could do was put her barrier back up and run away. She ran all the way back to her chambers without stopping. Even as she toppled over a random servant going about their duties, she did not stop. When she reached her chambers, she locked herself in her bathroom and wept.
She wept until Shining Armor came back. He asked why she was in the bathroom. She told him that she was sweaty from going to a club with Flash, and intended to take a shower. She lied to him. Although, that was far from the worst she’d done that night. Shiny feigned interest and told her that he was glad she’d had fun.
The night ended with a request that Flash be reassigned as Cadance’s personal guard, seeing as he’d done so well. Shiny said he’d see what he could do.
Morning came with Shining Armor donning his namesake in typical haste. He never once met Cadance’s eyes. She briefly wondered if the maid had told him that she’d seen them. It wasn’t likely. Shiny had seemed no different the night before. If she had told him, and he wasn’t going to bring it up, she’d ask the young woman. She’d tell her what she needed to know, even if she had it had to forced out of her.
And so, Cadance waited. Shiny left with a muttered farewell and a promise to follow up on last night’s request. After a few minutes, the maid came into the room. She was surprised to see Cadance sitting there. She was scared, too. Cadance could see the fear in the girl’s eyes. She started to turn and leave, but Cadance used her magic to shut the door before she could reach it. The towels that she’d been carrying all fell to the floor. The woman shortly joined them, slumping down to her knees in defeat.
“Are you going to kill me?” she asked softly. “Yes, you are. I had sex with your husband, and now you’re going to kill me for the betrayal.”
Cadance breathed a soft sigh. These poor people spent so long under Sombra’s rule, and were only a year and a half into Cadance’s. They weren’t used to the way things worked with her yet. This poor woman probably thought Shiny would kill her if she said no. If that was case, she was the victim. Cadance couldn’t fault her for that.
“I’m not going to kill you,” she said softly as she approached the young crystal elf. “I’ve said it time and again: that’s now how I do things. Is that why you slept with him? Is it because you were scared?” Once she was close enough, Cadance reached out a gently placed her hand on the woman’s shoulder.
“Scared?” the woman asked softly. She quickly whirled around and slapped Cadance’s hand away. The look in her eyes was not the same as before. “I wasn’t scared. I accepted the captain’s advance of my own free will.”
So that was it. He’d probably won this woman over with sweet, honeyed words. He did have a way with poetry. “So it was consensual,” she replied softly. She did her best to keep calm. She needed the whole story.
“It was. But you know what? At least I care about him!” The maid was angry now. Her brow was furrowed and her shoulders were squared.
Suddenly, Cadance’s hand was around the girl’s throat. “Choose your next words carefully,” she said softly. She did not say it gently. There was an apparent amount of force in her words; enough, at least, to frighten the maid. “You presume I do not love my husband?”
“You must not! He told me all about it! About how you just have to have the spotlight! How you just do things without taking his advice into consideration! If you were a good wife, you’d let him have the glory! You’d let him save the day! If you loved him like you should, he wouldn’t have come to me in his despair! I wouldn’t have had to be there for him to lean on!”
“Is that your reason? Pity?” Cadance lowered her hand. The last thing she needed was to kill a servant, what with all the distrust and unease from the people.
“Compassion! I found him, months ago, sobbing because his wife had abandoned him! I listened to him! I let him lean on my shoulder! It was out of compassion that I gave him my body, you beast!” Cadance’s open palm promptly came across her face.
“I am a beast?” She replied haughtily. “If I were a beast, I would have killed you.”
“Then do it!” She screamed, making a sad attempt to shove the princess. But physics existed, and the much smaller woman only succeeded in pushing herself backwards. “Do it and prove that you’re just like him!”
“I won’t. I’ve told you, I’m not him. I won’t kill my subjects without just cause.”
“Then what?! What will you do to punish me?!”
Cadance thought about that. She made a good point. She could beat the woman, but that would prove her right. She could exile the woman, but that was excessive and would give away that she knew about her husband’s affair. She’d like to keep that a secret in case she ever needed it. Any form of conventional punishment was, quite frankly, too much for a simple affair.
But there was a way to punish her. She was rather cute, after all. These crystal elves, they had a problem with same sex relations. She would never admit it to anyone if she had lain with another woman, willingly or not.
“I don’t think I’m going to push you,” she said softly, taking a step closer to the woman. The woman, of course, stepped back, but found herself against the door. Cadance stepped closer and gently brought her hand up to the woman’s cheek, while also pressing her body against the maid’s. “I’m going to give a very, very special reward.”
♥X♥X♥<
Cadance finished donning her dress for the day and prepared to leave her bed chambers. As she walked to the door, she stepped over the violated body of a certain maid. She was stripped of her clothes and mentally broken as she lay in a puddle of her own piss and a combination of both women’s ejaculate fluid. Her eyes were noticeably red from the ammonia exposure.
Before she opened the door, she stopped and looked back at her victim. On second thought, Cadance wasn’t quite done with her yet. As she started back towards the maid, she unfastened the bottom half of the dress, which was detachable so the top could be worn with trousers, or so Cadance could do what she was about to do. As the skirt fell away, the woman looked over at her with no small amount of fear. It was likely she knew what was coming, especially after Cadance had forced her to piss in her own mouth. She didn’t move though. Seven orgasms- Cadance had counted- was six too many for the average human body to take. She had no strength left in her, no power to resist.
Cadance stepped over the maid, whose name she still didn’t know, and looked down at her pathetic expression. Cadance dropped down, squatting over her victim so her crotch was right in her face. A fist full of the maid’s hair was grabbed, and Cadance forced her mouth to her snatch. “You look dehydrated. Drink.” She commanded. Tears formed in her eyes, but Cadance didn’t wait for her to start.
As Cadance relieved herself, muffled gulps and grunts and gags sounded beneath her. When she finished, she noticed with some amusement that her victim was voluntarily licking her clean. She made a good sub, at the very least. She’d have to keep that in mind.
Cadance stood up, allowing the girl to breath again. A smile crossed her face. “Feel free to continue fucking my husband, but just know that he will never please the way I can, and no one will ever humiliate you the way I did. You seemed to enjoy that part the most. If you truly care for Shining Armor, then those things won’t matter. But if they do, come to this room tomorrow morning as you normally do, and remove your dress. I’ll give you that same pleasure again and again, as many times as you want.”
Without waiting for a response, Cadance gathered her skirt and reattached it before leaving the room. Whether or not she came back for more, Cadance had won this battle.
♥X♥X♥<
The rest of the day went as it should. Flash’s transfer papers went through by the end of the day, and he was very excited to report in for duty. Shining Armor ignored her for most of the day and made no mention of the maid, whose name Cadance actually bothered to look up, Pinafore Lace. It was such a cute name for such a cute girl. Flash questioned if his other role was going to carry over. He was happy when Cadance said yes.
The next morning, Pinafore, who liked to be called Pina, came to the room and removed her dress. Cadance abused her again. Flash questioned what the commotion was as he waited outside. Cadance explained the situation and he seemed to understand. He even asked if he might be able join in.
This is their life know. They live in an entanglement of lies and betrayals. Their pain is negated through pleasure. Their past loves are a thing of fantasy. They all know how broken they are, but they just don’t care. None of them have a fuck to give anymore.
Author's Note
So. This is a thing.
I may add more on to this at a later date, but for now? I'm finished with it. Also, I didn't tag fetish because it's only the bit in this chapter and it's not a lot.
