It was a hot summer, so much so that even far north in the Crystal Empire ponies sweltered. Shining Armor was one of the many kept awake and sweating in his bed. But it was not discomfort that kept him from sleep. The heat reminded him of another hot night, long ago, that he had almost succeeded in forgetting. Despite the years since it had happened, the memory was crystal clear.
It was not an unpleasant memory, as such, but it was one of his secret guilts. And now to think of it while lying next to his wife, haunted him even more. It was before we were even dating, he had to remind himself. It didn't help much.
He turned over to look at Cadance. She was nothing more than a vague outline in the dark, but even so she was beautiful. Fear gripped him. He had tried to put his shame behind him, but now that it had surfaced again, all he could think about was how painful it would be hiding it from her, looking into her eyes without letting her look back into his. He had never talked about it to anypony else, and didn't intend to change that, but how long until she sensed something was wrong? Spurred on by Cadance's presence in front of him, and the old sensations of his memory, he felt himself growing erect in spite of the sick, deep pit inside him.
Once again, he rolled over, facing away from her. He tried to push it all out of his mind, but not thinking about something is a difficult task; and not thinking about two things is even harder. Back and forth he went, his brain racing between fears of the happy life he had built all falling apart, and fantasies about her and that meeting which could not ever be repeated. The alarm clock ticked on their nightstand; he didn't dare check the time.
There was one mercy: all his thinking kept his brain too busy to count the tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, ticking of the clock. His preoccupation also stopped him from noticing any prelude to the hoof that suddenly touched his shoulder.
"Shiny, are you alright?"
He snapped back into reality, though all his thoughts remained hovering around him, ready to be resumed as soon as the distraction was removed. "I'm sorry, I didn't wake you up, did I?" Priority one was to take care of Cadance.
"It's fine, really. But you look like something is bothering you." She reached out to take his hoof.
"It's..." He wanted to say it was nothing, tell her to just go back to sleep, but that wasn't going to happen. "I don't know if it's something you want to hear." There was no way out of it now. He might be able to put it off, but he was going to tell her sooner or later.
"Please, I just want to help you." While her voice was calm, Shining knew Cadance well enough to sense the anxiety in her. And that was all his fault. What was she supposed to think of what he was saying?
"Don't worry. I haven't—. Just give me a moment to figure out where to start." He took deep breaths, trying to compose his thoughts, trying to slow his heart from its nervous hammering.
"It's just the heat, you know. It reminds me of something that happened a long time ago. Back when I was just starting in the Guard. I had some leave and was spending the night at home..."
Shining tossed and turned in his bed. It was an unusually hot night in Canterlot, and he and thousands of others found themselves unable to sleep. They were forced to lie, sweating and uncofortable, with only the thinnest sheet covering them, if that. The night passed agonizingly slowly in that dark bedroom.
Finally, the growing thickness in his mouth overcame his determination to get some sleep. He rolled out of bed and shambled down the hall for a glass of water. Though his head was foggy, he was aware enough to be thankful he wasn't in the barracks. They would be just as hot, but with no question of water.
He filled a glass from the tap, and when he drank it, the taste was sublime. The coolness of the water cutting through his thirst as it flowed down his throat. He gulped the glass down, then drained another one. He stood there by the sink panting, relishing the relief that washed over him. It was still hot and humid, but for the moment, he didn't feel it.
"You too?" his mother's voice said suddenly. He looked up and saw her make her way to the sink as well. She didn't look to have been sleeping any better than him. Her nightgown clung and stuck to her. Her tail swished happily as she drank and felt the same bliss he had.
"Mmm. I needed that," she said. "I don't know why they let it get this hot."
Shining nodded. "I'm just glad I'm here. The other guys must be miserable."
"And I'm glad you're happy here. We've missed you," Twilight Velvet said.
They talked and moved to the living room. Neither had been able to properly sleep, but nor were they wholly awake. Their conversation blurred. Topics came and went randomly. It was not a dream, but it was close.
Only the end stayed distinct. He felt comfortable, safe. He did not make a habit of hiding things from his mother, but a particular sense of openness came over them. She asked him about his luck with the mares.
"Nothing yet," he said. "I've asked a few out, but they all said no."
"What? A stud like you?" his mom said. "Don't worry. You're a fine stallion. They don't know what they're missing out on. I'm sure you'll find somepony wonderful soon."
She smirked and added: "And if you're anything like your father, you're going to make that mare very happy."
"Thanks. But Twily's always been more like Dad than me."
"Yes, but I was talking about as a lover. About sex."
"Oh." It should have been uncomfortable, awkward. He knew that. But it simply wasn't. Something about that night, about the warm darkness that filled the house, about the silence that filled the gaps in their conversation soothed them. Even if they had been drunk, he did not think they could have talked as freely. "Is Dad good in bed then?"
Velvet closed her eyes, reminiscing. "He is fantastic. I don't love him just for the sex, but I could. He's by far the best I've ever had."
His heart beat faster. Her nightgown seemed to cling tighter. His penis stirred. "Huh. I guess I never thought about you being with any ponies before him."
"Mmhmm. I had a couple of stallions before I met him. After him too—he's really quite open minded when it comes to these things. Of course, it helped that I would always come back from whoever I'd rolled around with and say 'well, they were good, but not as good as you.'"
"Wow," was all Shining could say. Images of his mom in bed, crying out in passion flashed through his mind. He did not even need to imagine a younger mare. The one in front of him was completely believable. "So you screw other stallions and he's just okay with that?" He was aware that he was beginning to poke out of his sheath.
"Yes. It took a long time to come to our arrangement, but he knows I'll always come back to him, no matter what." She paused. A long moment passed. "But enough about me. How's your sex life? You may not have snagged a girlfriend, but I know what you guards are like."
"I don't know. I've never done it with anypony. My buddies will go to the brothel sometimes, but I've just never felt like joining them. It's not that I don't want to have sex... I just want it to be better than that." Even though it was not something he thought about much, confessing all that still felt like letting out a breath he had been holding for a long, long time. It was not something he could say to his friends, after all. Only to a mare.
His mom smiled at him. "I understand. It's complicated and confusing. But don't worry, you'll figure it out."
Shining nodded. It had felt good to confess that, to get it off his chest, but he didn't know where that left him. He wasn't sure what he felt then. He didn't have the excuse of being on duty: when he was a guard it simply did not matter what he felt. He was horny from all the talk of sex, he supposed, but that didn't really count. All it amounted to was him not making much effort to keep his eyes off his mom's soft, plump ass. His marefriend would have an ass like that, he decided.
"Hmph. Looks like I'll have to wash your sheets tomorrow," Velvet said, gesturing at his half-erect penis, which was standing out in plain view. "Of course, I was going to have to do that anyway with how sweaty this heat has everypony. Still, it's been a while since I cleaned up that kind of mess from you." She grinned mischievously.
His teenage years flashed through his head. "Wait, you knew I was jerking off?"
She laughed. "Oh Shiny, did you really think I didn't know what cum stains looked like? We taught you where foals come from."
Any embarrassment he might have felt was stifled by the heat and the dark. But the thought of all those hundreds of sticky nights seemed like a burden now that he was used to doing his own laundry. "Huh. Well, sorry about all the dirty sheets."
Velvet shrugged. "It's all part of the job. I knew what I was signing up for. Although..." She shifted on the couch, laying down and coyly tucking her tail between her legs, "I suppose it will be interesting to finally know what you were thinking of when you 'soiled' them. I see how you're looking at me." She looked back at him with half lidded eyes.
Shining was a normal pony, which is to say, he didn't plan or put much thought into what he jerked off to, simply imagining himself plowing the first mare that came to mind. But given the situation, his mom was probably right. "Yeah, I guess so. Huh, I don't think I've ever done it to you before." Was that a hint of teats showing through her gown? It was thin and clung tightly.
If the look on her face was anything to go by, she knew what he could see. He'd seen that kind of sexy expression before, in porn magazines, and on some of the mares his buddies hooked up with, but it had never been directed at him. It was already hot in the room, but now he was sweltering.
"Well, there's a first time for everything. I hope you enjoy it. I might have to have a little date with my hoof myself." Velvet patted her flank.
Silence returned. Although the room was stifling and both ponies were tired, there was still a comfortableness to the situation.
The comfort remained when the silence was broken a few moments later. "Wait, I'm being silly," Velvet exclaimed. "It really is late. I can't believe I didn't think of it." Shining sensed the next words she spoke before she even opened her mouth. "You don't have to masturbate. Why do that when you can have the real thing? I hope I'm special enough for your first time." Each sentence was spoken more sultrily than the last.
There it was, out in the open. He nodded eagerly, never thought about doing anything else. He stood up and walked over. The scents of musk and arousal were thick in the air. He focused on those with every breath. He looked at the mare in front of him, watched her hungrily as she climbed up and mounted the back of the couch, presenting herself to him. He had never realized how big his mom's ass was.
She pulled her nightgown up with her magic and hiked her tail. There was her pussy, ready and wet and winking. And winking—it moved! He had seen pussies before, but hers was right there. His dick ached. The heat seemed to disappear; all he felt was the need to fuck her.
Shining had thought a lot about what it would be like to lose his virginity. He had never imagined it would be as simple and quick as the five seconds it took to step up onto the couch, drape himself over his mom, and push his cock into her. But Oh Celestia it felt incredible. Her pussy was sopping wet and slick, he slid in without the slightest hint of resistance. She wanted him. "Fuck," he grunted.
Meanwhile Velvet let out a low, shivering moan. "Oooooh. You have your father's cock."
Shining could have held himself there for a long time, savoring the way she enveloped him, clung to him. But his hips began to move automatically, slowly thrusting in and out. If the feel of her pussy gripping him had been incredible, feeling move and slide around his cock was exhilarating.
A thousand and one things rushed through his mind, carried by waves of pleasure. He was finally doing, finally fucking a mare. He was no longer a virgin. All his fantasies fell apart in the sheer reality of it. Forget his hoof, there was a soft, warm, heaving pony under him, panting her excitement.
"That's it, Shining. Just like that. Ah," his mother cooed. She squeezed him, making him gasp in just the same way she was. He didn't know mares could do that!
The thought that this was his mother pushed itself into his head as he pushed himself into her. His mother. His mom. She loved him; she had always said that, but now he truly felt it, saw that she meant it in every sense. While he didn't have much experience, his cock seemed to sense that. There was an electric feeling, separate from the physical sensations of her pussy. She wanted him, wanted his cock, and he was going to give it to her.
He clenched hard, trying to hold off cumming as long as he could. Velvet appeared to be making no such effort. She was moving with him, thrusting her hips back with every push. She whimpered. "Harder, Shiny, h-harder." He saw her horn light up, and felt a tingle of magic near his balls. She was keeping her noises muffled, but they still increased in intensity. And he was doing this to her.
Pride swelled in him along with everything else. Fucking her felt good. To finally fuck somepony felt good. But to see her shake and tremble, hear her moans, smell her sweat and arousal, and know that he was the source of it all felt indescribable. Better than any orgasm he'd had, and he hadn't even cum yet.
Speaking of that, he was getting close. He complied with her request, fucking the mare that made him as hard as he could.
He didn't even notice when he went over the edge. The first spurts of cum simply flowed out of him, only afterwards the more familiar pulses took over, pumping his load into his mother. When it did hit his consciousness, he growled animalistically. He collapsed on her back, suddenly feeling all the exertion that his lust had shielded him from. He was still inside her, his lingering erection bathing in a combination of pussy juices and his own cum.
Velvet intensified whatever she was doing to herself with her magic and came shortly after. The rippling contractions of her pussy were the encore to his pleasure.
Some moment had passed. As he clambered of Velvet's back and extricated himself from her, the night returned, heat and dark falling over him once more. A wave of drowsiness joined it. "I love you, mom," he said in a voice he could not get above a mumble.
She kissed him on the forehead. "I love you too, sweetie." They leaned against each other as they went down the hall back to their beds. Two final glasses of water floating along with them.
Shining stumbled into his room. It was only through long established habit that he managed to pull a towel from the closet to wipe himself off before he got into bed. This time the hot weather could do nothing, and he fell asleep as soon as he hit the mattress.
"That's how I remember it," Shining said. "I tell myself it was just a dream every time I think about it. It wasn't, but it's close enough that I can pretend. I... I don't know, Cadance. I don't know how to feel about it.
"I never said anything to her about it the next morning, or ever I guess, and she never brought it up either. It was like a whole week later that realized that I actually came in her. I was so worried for a long time after that. I mean, now I know that she was too old to have another foal, but at the time... Once I convinced myself she wasn't pregnant, I just stopped thinking about it as much.
"I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner."
Cadance nuzzled him. "You're a brave stallion."
He snorted. "For what!? Fucking my mom? You didn't miss that did you? The part where I fucked my mom?"
"For admitting it. I don't know what it took to tell me that but I'm grateful that you trusted me enough to." Shining Armor's wife caressed him. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I never would have thought your mom would do that to you."
Shining shook his head. "No, that's not the problem. She didn't do anything to me. I wanted it. I don't regret it, I just... I don't know what to think. About what happened or about my mom." He groaned in frustration. "What do you think, honey?" She couldn't just tell him what to feel, but it was worth a try.
Cadance was quiet for a long time. "I don't know if I can help you. I think you need to talk to your mom. This is between you and her. But I promise I'll be there for you. No matter what happens."
It wasn't an easy thing to think about. Shining had never considered it for long in all the years that had passed since that night. At first simply because of the awkwardness. Hey mom, remember that time we banged? Cadance had complicated things even further. Thinking about sex with other mares was wrong, and his conscience didn't care if it was before he and Cadance were a couple.
He lay in silence. Cadance draped a wing over him, but did not say anything. They had shared a lot of quiet moments like that. And
even though she was just a dim shape in the dark room, he could see the look on her face clearly in his mind. Tightened with concern, not to the point of frowning, but enough to set her jaw. Yet there was reassurance under it, coming up to glimmer in her eyes. Celestia, he loved that mare.
Her presence calmed him, thinking about her slowed his racing mind. He snuggled her closer, letting her wing grip him tighter. Sleep finally took him.
As soon as their breakfast was ready the next morning, Cadance dismissed the servants. "How are you feeling now? Because unlike somepony, I'm not just going to drop this."
"A little better, I think," Shining said. "I think just talking about it helped. I'd never told anypony else about it but I'm sure you figured that out." He sipped his coffee. "It also helps to know you're not going to leave me for committing incest. That's, uh, nice."
She sighed at that, sending a shiver of nervousness through him. "My concern right now is making sure that you are okay. I made a promise to stay with you no matter what. I'm going to keep it."
Shining left his seat and went to her and kissed her. "Thank you," he said. "That's what I needed to hear. I feel a lot better now."
He sat back down. He still did not know what he was going to say to his mother, but things were going to be okay.
There was still a hint of tension in the air. Cadance still seemed like she had something to say. So did he.
"Are you sure about this, Cadance? Because as I was thinking about it last night, I realized I don't actually regret it. Like, the sex itself. It's all the other stuff that's been keeping me up. How do you know I won't do it again?" A stallion who could sleep with his own mother was a stallion who could cheat on his wife. Shining didn't want to, the thought made him sick, but could he trust himself?
"You won't." Cadance said it with absolute conviction. "Shining, honey, I trust you. You don't need to beat yourself up like it's already happened." Only then did she falter, her gaze flicked off to the side. "And if it did come to that... It wasn't what you needed to hear last night, and I'm not sure you need to hear it now, but I think what you did was hot. It seems I have an incest kink—thanks for teaching me that about myself, I suppose. My point is, even if you won't, it would not be the worst thing in the world if you did."
Shining slumped to the table and sighed. "Just when I thought we were through this. An incest kink? Really?"
"Mmmhmm. I'd never given it much thought, but when you told your story, I couldn't help getting turned on." She lifted the slice of toast on her plate, studying it, stalling a moment. "I think I'm starting to understand how you feel a little better. It's not the same, of course. But... it's so exciting, even though it's wrong." She looked him in the eye again as best she could.
There was nothing he could do but start to laugh. He waved his hoof toward the window. "How did we end up in charge of this place? A bunch of ponies like us."
"I'm still not quite sure how I ended up a princess. It still seems like it just happened out of nowhere. At least you worked your way up through the guard. They couldn't ask for a better pony to protect them."
Shining raised his eyebrow. "Not even the mare personally trained by Celestia to do that?" he said with a smirk. "And who's really pretty." She wasn't the type to fish for compliments, but he'd be damned if he didn't give them to her anyway.
Cadance giggled and the sound was beautiful. "I guess the Empire will be alright after all." She glanced at the clock. "Drat. It's getting late, the servants will be back for me any minute. No time for a quickie." She came over and kissed him. "I hope you're prepared to rut me hard tonight, because Celestia, do I need it."
"Yes ma'am." He saluted. Oh he was looking forward to it. He watched her incredible ass as she walked through the door. She made a show of swishing her tail for him as she left. Everything was going to be alright.
