"Goodnight, sweetling," said Cadance, and she bent over the crib and kissed Flurry Heart gently, just below her horn. The tiny alicorn didn't even stir, she had given herself over to slumber at last.
Cadance straightened and added, under her breath, "Finally, you little so-and-so." She couldn't quite bring herself to curse the toddler—somehow calling her own foal any of the vile things that hovered on the tip of her tongue seemed wrong—but only just barely.
Still, as trying as bedtime could sometimes be, she wasn't going to give it up. Flurry spent enough time with babysitters, nannies, and her Crystaller as it was. These bonding moments were precious, and Cadance couldn't help but smile as she stepped out of the nursery and into her bedroom.
"Is the little pest asleep?" asked Shining Armor with a smile of his own as he levered himself up out of the armchair where he'd been sitting and reading a book. He wasn't as voracious a reader as his sister, but he was quite literate, and liked to relax with a book in the evening before bed. Cadance strangled a spike of resentment at his leisurely sprawl. She had free time of her own, and he had duties of his own. It wasn't as if he was living the high life while she did all the work. And she was the one who'd volunteered to do most of the bedtimes.
"She is, yes." Cadance shambled tiredly over to the bed and flopped on it with graceless abandon.
"Seemed like it took longer than usual tonight," observed Shining.
Cadance remained sprawled on the bed, feeling too drained to move so much as a feather. "Ugh, yes. The little... nuisance," she mentally censored herself again, "apparently decided she was too good for sleep tonight, or something."
Shining climbed into the bed next to her and bent his head to give the top of hers a nuzzle, over her forelock. "Poor Candybutt."
A vague groan was Cadance's only response.
Her husband chuckled faintly, and moved to nibble her ear lightly.
Cadance made a faint whining sound of mixed enjoyment an annoyance, her ear flicking. "I'm really tired tonight, Shiny..."
"I know," he said, and gave another gentle nip. Then he moved and nibbled along her crest, tugging lightly at the strands of her mane.
Cadance sighed softly, relaxing. Shining knew this wasn't foreplay, so she didn't have to worry about anything but letting her wonderful husband pamper her. Foreplay could happen another night. Cadance was the last pony to resist loving, but after Flurry's shenanigans tonight she really was just too tired for anything other than lying still and letting her husband take care of her.
Shining gave one more gentle tug to her mane, then climbed over her, the weight of his body falling on her flanks. She folded her wings in close as he did and sighed again at the feeling of his heavy warmth over her. It was wonderful, an easy closeness she'd once thought she might never have. Now it was part of her everyday life, but she tried to keep in mind how amazing it truly was.
It swiftly became even more amazing as Shining Armor put his hooves against her withers and began massaging with expert firmness. There were most definitely knots of tension there, after the day she'd had. Flurry, after all, had been just the final task in a day crammed with royal obligations. Cadance groaned as her husband began finding the knots and leaning into them relentlessly, using his hooves to press them out of existence, digging into them with a carefully controlled strength that was both painful and wonderful.
"Mmm," said Cadance, letting the tension ooze from her as Shining massaged down her back. "You can do that forever if you like," she said.
He let out a low laugh. "Not forever, but I'll never pass up a chance to put my hooves all over you."
Cadance couldn't help but giggle. Then she groaned again as he leaned into another massive tension knot at the small of her back. "Ooh. Stars, yesss..." She felt it slowly relaxing, letting go, and couldn't keep from moaning. Her cheeks heated, but Shining just smiled and continued massaging her. He eventually scooted back so he could massage her rump and cutie marks too. Her hips had often been extremely sore and stressed while she'd been pregnant, and they'd never quite been the same since, so getting a rump massage was always particularly wonderful. She groaned and closed her eyes, her head flat down on the bed, her wings half-spreading in blissful relaxation.
Shining finally lifted his hooves away, and she expected him to climb off of her to lie beside her and cuddle, but instead he scooted back up, sitting atop her rump again, and bent his head to her wings. She gasped, then let out a little whimper of pure bliss as he started preening her feathers.
"I think a certain princess needs some extra pampering tonight," he murmured, before taking another mouthful of feathers.
Cadance groaned again, "Sun, moon, and stars yes," she said, and Shining chuckled around the feather he was tugging through his teeth.
He'd been so hilariously bad at preening when they'd first met that Cadance had almost asked him to just refrain. But she'd decided to see if he could learn how to do it properly, and he'd swallowed his teenage pride and listened to her instructions intently. More than that, he'd preened while paying close attention to every little twitch of discomfort and every little sigh of pleasure, taking in not just her explicit instructions but her more subtle reactions, and it hadn't actually taken long before he'd been as good at preening as any pegasus she'd ever known.
Better than some, really. Some pegasus stallions pulled far too hard, and some seemed to overcompensate ridiculously and seemed to barely touch her feathers. Shining, though, had the perfect mix of firm pressure and gentle smoothness that left her feeling absolutely amazing.
When he finished preening her she felt like a puddle of ultimate relaxation. "Sun and stars you're wonderful," she said.
Shining smirked. "Yes, I am."
Cadance laughed. She folded her wings in to her sides and rolled over, holding her front hooves open. "Come here, you wonderful stallion, you."
"Yes ma'am." Shining gave her a little mock salute and then folded himself into her embrace, wrapping his own hooves around her and planting a light kiss on the tip of her muzzle.
"You're the best," said Cadance again, feeling a marvelous glow of contented warmth, partly from the massage and preening, partly just from Shining's closeness.
"You're pretty great too," said Shining, and squeezed her tight.
Cadance snuggled up against him, settling herself in his embrace, her hind legs tangling with his. She tipped her head back and kissed him once, softly, then tucked her head under his, nuzzling into his chest. She had to be careful of her horn. That too had been awkward early on. She'd been new to her alicorn status when they'd begun dating and had accidentally poked Shining with it more than once. But she'd soon learned how to slide it carefully into place as she cuddled, and now it rested comfortably against his collarbone as she nuzzled into him.
There was a long, comfortable silence as the two lay together. Shining lifted his hoof and started stroking Cadance's mane. She shifted slightly and folded a wing over him, and he gave a little happy sigh of his own. "I love you," he murmured, nuzzling between her ears.
Cadance rubbed her muzzle against his chest, feeling utterly, blissfully content.
"I love you too."
Author's Note
Today has been... not a good day. Yesterday was not good either. Sweet, candy cuddles are definitely in order.
This story brought to you by, blah, blah, Patreon support, blah, you know the drill.
