A Slightly Complex Question
“Hey stud.”
Sunburst’s ears perked up as he turned to look at his approaching stallionfriend, Shining Armor. The Prince of the Crystal Empire looked exhausted from a hard day’s work, his mane messy and his usually pristine uniform left creased and dishevelled.
“Hey handsome,” Sunburst said, taking a step towards Shining and giving him a tender little peck on the lips. “How was work?”
Shining glanced around the library to make sure nopony was looking before letting out an exhausted sigh. “Long, tedious, and boring. There were a whole lot of fresh-faced recruits who needed a ton of pampering today and well… I guess that’s kind of my job.”
“Being both, captain of the guard and co-ruler does seem like a lot to worry about,” Sunburst said, closing the book he was reading.
Shining snorted. “And a father on top of that.” He nodded towards the crib, where an adorable little Flurry Heart was sleeping. “Though I suppose I got you helping me out with that.”
“Least I could do, hun.” Sunburst smirked. “Got to earn my keep somehow.”
“I’m surprised Tender Quill let you bring her in,” he said. “How did you bribe him?”
Sunburst snorted. “Well, first off, Tender Quill isn’t the librarian. He’s the owner of that rare bookstore I sometimes go to and…”
“Wait… then who’s our librarian?”
“That’d be Tepid Quill.”
“Why do all the bookish ponies have Quill in their name?” Shining asked, cocking a brow.
Sunburst opened his mouth to answer but paused at the question, placing a hoof on the underside of his muzzle. “That’s actually a really interesting observation. Now that you mention it…” He shook his head, deciding not to delve down this train of thought. “Anyways I got her to let me and Flurry in because I cast a soundproofing spell on her crib.”
Shining deadpanned. “You muzzled our daughter?”
“No, no, no, I merely uh…” Sunburst grinned sheepishly. “Okay yeah, I kind of totally muzzled your daughter.”
Shining snorted. “I’d be pretty fucking furious if we didn’t do the same thing from time to time.”
“Kind of a necessity when her screams tend to shatter glass and destroy rare artifacts.” Sunburst sighed and rolled his hoof. “So anyways, back to your day. Don’t you think it might be time to maybe hand over some of your responsibilities to a second-in-command?”
Shining shook his head. “If I want to wear this uniform then I've got to earn it. I’m not going to be one of those pampered princes who plays soldier whenever he wants to look good.” He flashed a cocky grin and did a quick circle in front of Sunburst, showing himself off. “And you have to admit, I look really freaking good in this uniform.”
Sunburst’s gaze fell to his stallionfriend’s body as he admired the way the uniform, even in its dishevelled state, really accented his strong chest, muscular thighs, and really nice ass. When he realized he’d been staring, he blushed and cleared his throat.
“Yeah,” he squeaked, “it looks pretty good.”
Shining sensed blood in the water and took a domineering step towards Sunburst, getting nice and close, brushing his muzzle against his ear.
“Hey Sunburst?” he whispered.
Sunburst swallowed a lump in his throat. “Yes?”
“I bet this uniform will look even nicer tonight when it's on the floor…”
Sunburst warmed.
“…and you, me, and Cadance are in bed between the sheets…”
Even warmer.
“…but don’t worry…”
“Help,” Sunburst whispered, feeling his face positively burning up.
Shining grinned and lightly nipped at Sunburst’s ear. “…you don’t need some silly uniform to call me Sir in the bedroom.”
Sunburst let out a desperate breath. “Holy shit.”
Shining chuckled and drew away, using a little burst of telekinesis to slap Sunburst’s ass, causing him to yelp.
“You look adorable when I get you flustered like that,” Shining teased.
“So is there a reason you’re here, or did you just come by to bully your poor bottom,” Sunburst grumbled. “Because he feels very bullied right now.”
“Oh, come on dude, I’m married to Cadance, I never get to feel like a top anymore.” Shining chuckled. “But yes, I did come here for a reason. I uh… me and Cadance are going to the cabin this weekend.”
Sunburst frowned, though tried his best not to show it, looking off to the side lest Shining pick up on his apprehension.
Even a few months into their relationship he had not yet been allowed to join them on their occasional trips to the countryside. He knew it wasn’t a personal slight and they tried their best to let him down easy, always saying they just wanted a little time together as husband and wife, and they’d totally go on a group date once they came back, which they always did. Plus, they had a good point that someone had to stay behind and take care of Flurry Heart, and besides those two, there wasn’t a pony more qualified for the job in the entire empire.
But still, he couldn’t help but feel personally excluded by the decision at times, like a third wheel in this relationship. After all, they were Prince and Princess and he was, well… he was somepony they loved a whole lot but neither of those titles really seemed to apply to him. He was just Sunburst, their dorky little pet bookworm and coltfriend.
A shrill whistle knocked Sunburst out of his stupor.
Before Shining could follow that up by saying something, a sharp shhh came from the librarian who glared coldly at him.
“Oh come on, this is royal property!” Shining exclaimed loudly. “I own…”
Another shhh.
“But…”
SHHH!
“Fine,” he grumbled under his breath before glancing at Sunburst and offering a sheepish smile. “Sorry about that, thought I lost you there for a moment.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” Sunburst said, frowning, unable to help himself. “I guess that you and Cadance need me to look after Flurry while you’re gone?”
“Actually…” Shining grinned. “Twilight’s coming up for the weekend.”
“To the cabin?” Sunburst asked, tilting his head to the side.
Shining sighed. “No, to visit her niece. Which means that, well…” He smiled softly and placed a hoof on Sunburst’s shoulder. “Do you want to come along to the cabin with us this weekend?”
“I…” Sunburst paused for a moment and leaned forward, kissing his coltfriend. “I’d love to, babe.”
“I kind of had a feeling you would,” Shining said, nervously rubbing his own mane. “I know it kind of feels like me and Cadance are excluding you at times…”
Sunburst winced, hoping he didn’t make those feelings too obvious.
“No, no, it’s fine,” he said, trying his best to look reassuring for Shining’s sake. “I know that you and Cadance just need a little personal time every once in a while. I don’t feel excluded, I swear.”
He offered his best smile, hoping Shining bought it.
Shining snorted. “You’re a terrible liar.” He sighed. “But for real, we both care about you a lot and hell, we might even love the stallion who sleeps with us every night.” He stuck out his tongue. “Shocker, right? So, we’d love to take you with us and enjoy a nice weekend away from the hubbub of the capital and have a little peace and quiet together. Plus, me and Cadance actually wanted to talk to you about something and we thought this weekend would be a good opportunity.”
Sunburst tried his best to contain his emotions. Not to show how much that little gesture had really gotten to him.
They wanted him to come along! Like, honest to the goddesses, wanted him to come with them!
Don’t cry, you dork. Just… just play it cool!
Shining grinned nervously. “Are you alright dude? You look a little…”
Sunburst nodded, wiping at his slightly watery eyes. “Yeah, yeah, totally. I uh… yes, I’d love to come along, thank you very much.” He tilted his head to the side. “Wait… what did you and Cadance want to talk about?’
Shining pursed his lips. “Sorry dude, but it’s a surprise.”
“Not even a hint?” Sunburst asked, pouting out his lower lip.
“Not even a hint,” Shining confirmed before holding up a hoof like he was taking an oath. “Under the threat of execution from Her Majesty.”
Sunburst frowned but let the matter drop.
“Dude, this is going to be so much fun,” Shining went on, motioning with his hoof as he draped another over Sunburst’s shoulders. “It's so chill at the cabin. Just a whole weekend of roasting haydogs by the fire, drinking beer, and enjoying the outdoors. Plus, you know, no dress uniforms, no courtiers, no having to deal with the bullshit of life. It’s going to be great.”
Sunburst nodded, offering a content smile as he leaned into his coltfriend. “I can’t wait.”
By midday Friday, Cadance, Shining, and Sunburst were traveling in a private regal train car, heading due east.
Sunburst was currently laying down next to his marefriend, by a small artificial gemstone fire in the cabin. He was reading a book on early modern Equestrian history, flipping through the pages at a studious pace. Next to him, Cadance was making her way slowly through a small pile of magazines. Her taste for literature was varied, it would seem, with a copy of the Manehattan being her next read after the issue of Pop in her hooves.
She yawned and extended one of her massive wings, draping it comfortingly over Sunburst and using it to draw him even closer to her side. He obliged, shimmying against her, his coat brushing against the dark wool of her turtleneck sweater.
He was the only one of his partners who hadn’t changed their usual fashion for this weekend, opting to remain in his cape.
“How’s the view?” Cadance asked, looking towards Shining.
Shining looked stoic from his position by the window, staring out at the landscape. Compared to his dress uniform, his current attire almost made him look like a regular pony. His mane was tied back into a stallionbun, his cheeks touched by a hint of stubble, and he wore a buttoned-up plaid shirt that had been purposefully left open.
“Fantastic,” he said, offering a small smile. “Nothing like getting out to the country. Just an endless expanse of trees, lakes, mountains, and wilderness. It ain’t right being cooped up in a city for so long.” He chuckled and glanced at them. “So, anything interesting happening in your books?”
Sunburst nodded, slipping a bookmark into place and closing his. “Just got to the mid-9th century. We’re getting to the part where Prince Mareternicht reformed the political landscape after the wars of Napoleon Eagleclaw.”
“Wasn’t that guy kind of a huge asshole?” Shining asked. “I mean Mareternicht not Napoleon… though I suppose they were both kind of colossal dicks.”
Cadance nodded. “Yes, he was.”
Sunburst looked over. “You met him?”
“He was an old stallion by the time I ascended, but yes I met him. Old fool nearly cost Celestia her crown. Thankfully, there was this hip new alicorn on the block who managed to smooth things over.” Cadance smirked, inspecting her hoof. “Not that I like to brag or anything.”
Shining nodded lazily before tilting his muzzle towards Cadance. “How about you babe, anything interesting going on in the world?”
“Well, I’m reading about how Sapphire Shores and Soarin apparently had their sex tape ‘leaked’.” Cadance said, offering a coy smirk as she made air quotes. “I’ll have to see if I can get my hooves on a copy of that.”
“Isn’t that kind of wrong…” Sunburst began. “Like the press probably got that through pretty shady means.”
Cadance shook her head. “No, no, no, not from the press, silly. From Sapphire herself. Me and her had a fling before she hit it big and we ended things on a pretty positive note.” She smirked. “Plus, I know she’s a total exhibitionist.”
“Anything else happening that’s important?” Shining asked, his gaze returning to the windows.
“Big debate going on in Canterlot about educational reforms,” Cadance said. “Twilight is causing quite the stir.”
Shining smirked. “Hasn’t she always?”
“Yes, but this was big enough to make front page news in the Times and MacBridle.”
Shining snorted. “Thinly veiled republican rags that will look to pounce on any story that can potentially be used against the crown.”
“Oh, they’re not all that bad,” Cadance said.
Sunburst snorted. “You’re just saying that because the Times made you Mare of the Year.”
Cadance smirked, holding her head up high. “Twice. They made me Mare of the Year twice, thank you very much.”
“My own wife,” Shining said, shaking his head, “corrupted by rabble-rousers just so she can win a popularity contest.”
“You’re just mad because you lost to ‘the common pony’ the year you were nominated,” Cadance said, sticking out her tongue.
Shining threw up his hooves. “It was a massive crock of shit and you know it!”
Cadance snorted, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. How about you stop brooding by the window and come snuggle with us.”
Shining pursed his lips, thinking about it for a moment. “Sounds good to me.”
He hopped down from his seat and trotted over to the lounging area in the centre of the room. While Sunburst occupied Cadance’s left, Shining took her right, kneeling down beside her. Almost immediately, his wife lifted her wing, draping it over him and pulling him tightly into her snuggle pile.
“This is nice,” Cadance said. “I’m glad we could finally get all three of us out to the cabin together.” She frowned and kissed Sunburst on the cheek. “Sorry it’s taken so long.”
“It’s fine,” Sunburst said, holding up a hoof. “I totally understand how hard it is to find a decent babysitter.”
“Especially when your daughter is both: a pent-up ball of property damage just waiting to explode, and a national disaster on the brink of triggering,” Shining said. “I hope Twilight’s going to be alright.”
“She’ll be fine,” Cadance said. “Between her and her marefriend, they’ll have more than enough magic to contain Flurry’s outbursts.”
Sunburst nodded. “Starlight is pretty great.” He chuckled to himself. “You know, I used to have a pretty massive crush on her.”
“Oh?” Cadance asked, gaining the predatory smile she usually got when potential relationships were being discussed. “I mean… it makes sense. Powerful unicorn, bookish, a top whose strap game is likely top-notch… a match made in heaven really.”
Shining peered over from behind Cadance and smirked. “I never would’ve guessed that was your type.” He reached up, tapping his horn. “Not in a million years.”
“Hardy, harr, harr,” Sunburst grumbled, pouting out his lower lip. “You two are bullies.”
Cadance chuckled and leaned over, planting a kiss on his cheek. “Only because we love making you blush, you dork.”
Shining nodded in agreement. “You do look absolutely adorable when you’re flustered, dude.”
“I don’t know why I put up with you two,” Sunburst grumbled under his breath.
Cadance smirked. “Because Shining is an adorable himbo…”
“Hey!” Shining exclaimed. It was now his turn to pout.
“Am I wrong?” Cadance asked, sticking out her tongue.
“Well… no, but still, that was still a very mean thing to say,” he murmured, crossing his forelegs over his chest and looking away in mock disgust.
Cadance rolled her eyes and glanced back at Sunburst. “Like I was saying, because Shining is a himbo and my strap game has ruined you to pretty much every other top you could possibly find.”
Sunburst drew in a long deep breath, feeling his cheek warm. When his lungs were finally at capacity, he slowly exhaled, closing his eyes.
“Fair,” he admitted.
There was a knock at the cabin door and the triad looked towards it.
“I guess we’re nearly there,” Shining commented.
Cadance nodded before loudly clearing her throat. “Come in!”
The door opened and in stepped a porter dressed in the muted purple and pink velvet of the Royal Imperial Train Company. As he entered, he stepped off to the side and stood stiff, at attention.
“We’ve nearly arrived at Lake Argos, Your Majesty,” he said, bowing his head.
“Lake Argos?” Sunburst asked, cocking a brow. “I didn’t realize that they had a train station out there.”
“Oh, they don’t,” Shining said. “That’d make it way too obvious that we have our summer cabin out there.” He smirked. “You know that we’ve got to be really careful with that sort of information. Security concerns and whatnot.”
“Then… how do we get off?” Sunburst asked.
“Well, we were just talking about strap-ons,” Cadance cooed, smirking as Sunburst warmed just a few shades. Though she didn’t revel for long before looking towards the porter. “How long do we have?”
The porter pulled out a brass watch and smiled. “About ninety seconds, Your Majesty.”
Cadance nodded and her horn glowed, pulling out their luggage. Back in the capital, Sunburst had questioned why they packed so modestly, but he was beginning to understand that there may have been some hidden purpose behind it.
Shining looked at her and they silently nodded to one another.
“What’s going on?” Sunburst asked.
Shining grinned. “It’s a surprise, babe.”
“I… I don’t think I’m up for any surprises today, to be completely transparent.”
“If you think this one is scary, wait until tonight.”
Sunburst’s ears perked, but just as he was about to question this tidbit of information, he was interpreted by the porter. “Thirty seconds.”
“Hold on tight, sweetheart,” Cadance said, pulling her wings tighter to her side, really pressing her colts against her.
Sunburst swallowed a lump in his throat but obediently did as instructed, clinging to his marefriends.
“Five,” the porter read off, before allowing himself a modest smile. “Four, three, two, one, and…”
Sunburst never got a chance to hear the end of that sentence as the aura of magic tore him out of reality.
Sunburst lumbered towards the cabin on shaky legs, thankful that they were nearly there after half an hour of slow terrified walking.
“I can’t believe you yeeted us out of a moving train,” Sunburst whispered. “Like you just teleported us out of it as if that was a sane and rational thing to do.”
Cadance grinned and levitated over an opened bottle of strawberry rum cooler, taking a sip. “Yeah, that was pretty great, wasn’t it?”
“So many things could’ve gone wrong,” Sunburst whispered. “We could’ve…”
“We’re fine,” Shining interrupted, slapping a hoof against his withers. “We’ve done that every time we go out to the cabin and look, we’re still alive, aren’t we?”
When Sunburst didn’t return his smile, Shining frowned and used his magic to flip open the cooler’s lid. “You want a beer?”
“Rye,” Sunburst whispered, glad to see the structure on the horizon growing closer. “A rye and coke would be fantastic.”
The building they approached wasn’t what he’d imagined. It wasn’t some regal vista that dominated the valley. Instead, Shining and Cadance’s cabin was just that, a cabin, a simple log house that maybe had three rooms in total.
Shining grinned, cracking open his own beer, another hipster brew that very likely had a hop value beyond what was equinely bearable. Still, he somehow managed to let out a contented sigh as he took a sip, as if he somehow actually enjoyed the monstrosity.
“I know she isn’t much,” he said. “But me and Cadance built it with our own four hooves.”
Cadance beamed. “He let me do the interior decorating!”
“It’s nice,” Sunburst finally said, his terrified legs shaking a little less by this point. “I didn’t know you were such a handystallion, hun.”
Shining shrugged. “Eh… it comes with the territory of being in the guard. I’ve set up enough barracks and forward operating bases to know a thing or two about construction. All I really needed was a little extra muscle and, well…” He bumped into Cadance, nuzzling into her. “My big strong wife lent me a helping hoof in that department.”
“What can I say, I like to show off every once in a while,” Cadance said, kissing her husband on the cheek. She then flashed Sunburst a concerned look. “How are you feeling by the way?”
“A little bit better,” he said. “I no longer fear death.”
Shining grinned, letting out a low rumble of laughter. “Well that’s good.”
As they finally reached the cabin, Cadance and Shining continued towards the door. Sunburst, meanwhile, stopped by a window and peered inside. The interior reminded him a lot of his childhood home, being far more modest that the regal environment of the palace that now dominated his life. Though, there was far more pink and flamboyantness to the interior than what he was used to, likely the product of Cadance’s housekeeping.
“Looks cozy,” Sunburst commented.
“It’s a nice place to get away to every once in a while,” Shining agreed. “Nothing like getting to forget that you’re royal for a few days. Just kick up your hooves, enjoy a drink…” He sipped from his bottle again to accentuate his point. “And enjoy the company.”
“And we have some pretty good company this time around,” Cadance said, shooting Sunburst a contented smile. “About time that we finally got you out here.”
“Anyways, let’s get inside,” Shining said, tilting his muzzle towards the collection of cargo floating within his and Cadance’s conjoined magic. “These bags are starting to get a little heavy.”
Sunburst had opted not to help, unwilling to trust his own legs, let alone any form of spellcasting. Not that the two vastly more powerful mages even really needed his assistance, nor did they seem overly inclined to accept it.
Cadance went over to the door and stepped inside. She was followed first by their luggage, then Shining, and finally Sunburst.
Sunburst was honestly shocked at how well maintained this place was. There wasn’t a speck of dust on any surface. For a moment, he was going to ask how this was possible but soon realized there was a faint shimmer on every surface. A shimmer which immediately dissipated with a flick of Cadance’s horn.
“Stasis spell,” she explained. “Helps keep the place tidy so we don’t have to spend a day cleaning it whenever we come down.”
Sunburst couldn’t help but chuckle. Stasis spells were no easy feat, yet his partners seemed to use them so casually for something as trivial as keeping their summer home clean.
Shining dropped the bags off to the side of the room. In total, their luggage consisted of three suitcases, a cooler, and a bag that Cadance had not-so-politely stated contained all their ‘beach shit’. Light packing, though he supposed that was fitting. He knew these two and they had never really seemed like the high maintenance kind of ponies, especially in private.
While Cadance went about rifling through her suitcase, Shining opened the cooler and silently counted to himself, probably appraising their stocks.
“We really should’ve invested in another,” he said. “Barely have enough booze for the weekend.”
Sunburst smirked, nodding towards his suitcase. “I brought enough Crown for myself.”
“Well, some of us won’t touch your Canternadian swill,” Shining said, playfully sticking out his tongue. “But nah, five litres of beer should be plenty.”
Cadance snorted. “That’s like twice as much as you should be having.”
“I’ll be finneeeee,” Shining said, waving his hoof before peering into Cadance’s suitcase. “Wait… did you bring your strap?”
Cadance rolled her eyes. “Stop spoiling your surprise for tonight.” She shooed him away with a hoof. “Go hang out with Sunburst or no one will be getting topped this weekend.”
Sunburst heard his name and nodded vaguely in the direction it came from. However, his attention was on the room, examining it. Cadance had really done a good job putting the place together. Everything looked like it belonged and gave the room a warm and cozy vibe. There was an abundance of memorabilia everywhere and it made the place feel like a real home.
There were old photos of Cadance and Shining together, knickknacks collected from old dates, and mementos dedicated to Flurry Heart…
He couldn’t help but glance at the royal couple, animated in discussion. For a moment, he wondered if this was the life they really wanted, just a small home that they could call their own. Did they really enjoy all the hubbub, duties, and protocol of being royal?
His train of thought was derailed as he came upon another photo, perched above the fireplace. It was of himself, laying in bed and looking like he’d just woken up. He remembered when it had been taken, after their first night together.
This was the first time he enjoyed the morning glow, wedged between the two ponies he would soon learn to adore.
He felt a hoof on his withers and looked over, seeing Shining at his side.
“A little something to help remind us why we want to get back to the capital,” Shining said, nuzzling into Sunburst’s neck. “I’m telling you, if we could smuggle you and Flurry out here, we’d likely never go back.”
Cadance chuckled. “Well, that’s a tad over dramatic but… we do miss you a lot when we’re out here.”
“I had no idea,” Sunburst whispered. “I just assumed you two wanted a little alone time.”
“Oh, we do,” Shining said. “But well… we’d much rather have that private time with the stallion we both love more than anything else.”
He leaned over and kissed Sunburst on the cheek before stepping in front of him and brushing his lips against his.
“I got you a present,” Shining whispered, his eyes half-lidded.
Sunburst warmed as he saw nothing but lewd intentions in Shining’s gaze. “What did you…” He cleared his throat, trying to remember his words. “What’s… what’s that?”
He felt ice against the back of his neck and yelped, jerking forwards. This made Shining snicker as he levitated the dark cocktail in front of Sunburst's snout. “Might as well enjoy it while the cola’s still cold, right?”
Sunburst nodded and took the glass. “Right.” He took a sip, his eyes instantly widening as he sputtered at the taste. “Dude, this is so strong!”
Shining chuckled and slapped him on the back. “Phhh, did you never binge back in high school?”
“I had a private tutor,” Sunburst grumbled, looking away.
“Well in that case,” Shining teased, bumping into him, “you have no idea what strong is.”
When Shining turned away, Sunburst aggressively stuck out his tongue at him, earning a playful snicker from Cadance. As Shining turned back to investigate, Sunburst promptly took another sip, trying to look as innocent as possible.
“Hey babe, do you know what Sunburst might like?” Cadance asked, a coy undertone filling her voice.
Shining glanced at her, allowing Sunburst to go back to silently mocking him by sticking out his tongue.
“What?” he asked.
“He’d probably love to watch you cut wood,” she said, smirking and batting her eyelashes. “I know I would.”
Sunburst deadpanned. “You mean… I’d get to watch my big sexy coltfriend play lumberjack?”
Cadance nodded, her smile growing. “Yep.”
He grinned nice and wide. “Hell yeah.”
The three of them sat in front of a massive crackling fire, each of them holding out a long metal fork with two haydogs hanging from the prongs. They each seemed to have their own separate, and unique, way of cooking them.
Cadance seemed to try and get hers as close to the embers as possible. Shining used some folksy method of knowing just the right moment to turn them over. And Sunburst, well he just kind of rolled his back and forth, not quite sure if he was doing it right.
“How do you know if they’re cooked?” he asked.
Shining shrugged. “No idea, I usually just wing it, in all honesty.”
“I get mine to look cooked on the outside, then tell myself that the raw bits are because we bought a cheap brand,” Cadance said.
Sunburst frowned. “Aren’t these made by the royal chefs?”
Shining snorted. “If you mean that the royal chefs bought a pack of Colts and shoved them in our cooler, then yes, yes they were prepared by the royal chefs.”
He then paused for a moment, glancing at the bag of campfire supplies.
“Hey Sunburst?” he asked, pulling his haydogs back. “I got a question for you.”
While he waited for an answer, he slid his two haydogs into a pair of buns before topping them with chopped onions, sauerkraut, mustard, and ketchup.
“What’s up?” Sunburst asked.
“Have you ever smoked pot before?”
Sunburst’s eyes widened. “What, of course not! I was a good stallion growing up.”
Shining snorted and grabbed the bottle sitting next to him, pointing the tip at Sunburst “I mean so was I…”
“And I was a perfectly good mare growing up,” Cadance commented. “Didn’t stop me from trying it out.”
“Wait… you’ve both smoked pot?” Sunburst asked, glancing between them in disbelief. “I had no idea.”
Shining shrugged and pulled out a little cigarette tin with his magic. “Not really something we get to do all that often back in the castle. You know, between raising our daughter, running a kingdom, and trying to be the pinnacle of just leadership and stoicism there isn’t really a whole lot of time to cut loose.”
He popped open the tin, revealing a small blue pipe made of glass, a baggie filled with a ground herb, a coil of a thin beige rope, and a little magic-infused lighter.
“You’re comfortable with us smoking, right?” Cadance asked, flashing Sunburst a worried look. “Wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
Sunburst shook his head. “What, no! No, it’s perfectly fine. I’m just a little surprised is all.”
“Kind of impossible to play Ogres and Oubliettes in high school and not become a stoner down the road,” Shining joked, opening the baggie and stuffing herb into the pipe.
“We clearly had very different campaigns, growing up,” Sunburst murmured before glancing at Cadance. “What about you?”
Cadance shrugged. “Popular girl who ended up dating a stoner.”
“Ok, I wasn’t that big of a stoner in high school,” Shining said. “That came much later.”
“No, but Fleur was. I swear, that girl had like a bowl a day.”
“Fleur?” Shining snorted. “Never would’ve guessed it.”
“She was spaced out for like the entire twelfth grade,” Cadance said. “How did you not notice that?”
“We were all a little spaced out in the twelfth grade, dear. Kind of comes with being eighteen and realizing that you better not fuck up, lest you ruin the rest of your life.”
Cadance snorted and glanced up at her horn, then down at her wings. “Yeah… I didn’t really have to worry about that, in all honesty.”
“So… how do you smoke it?” Sunburst asked, his eyes glued to the pipe.
Shining looked at him and smirked. “Here, let me show you. First off…” He held up the thin bundle of cord. “This is hemp wick, which honestly is more for stoner aesthetic but can help control how you smoke. So, you light the tip…” Which he promptly did. “Then you char some of the weed on the edges. As you do that, inhale the smoke, then pause for a fresh breath, hold it for maybe a second, and finally release it all. Got it?”
He followed this explanation up with a physical demonstration, putting his lips to the pipe and charring some of the weed on the edges of the bowl. He inhaled as this happened, making the darkened herb glow a hot red. Once he’d had his fill, he pulled the pipe back, drew in an uncorrupted breath, held it for maybe a moment, then let it all out, expelling a thin cloud of grey into the night sky.
“You want to try?” he asked, his voice a little raspier.
Sunburst nodded and took the pipe and accessories in his magic. He did just as Shining instructed, lighting the wick, then the marijuana, before inhaling and drawing in smoke. He was surprised at how it heated up his mouth, though it didn’t irritate or cause discomfort. Once the initial inhale was done, he moved the pipe away and drew in a waft of fresh air, moving the warm smoke from his mouth and into his lungs.
Finally, he exhaled, ending his hit with a series of hacking coughs. “F-fuck.”
Shining smirked and kissed him on the cheek. “Everypony does that on their first time, babe. It just means that it’s working.”
The pipe went over to Cadance who promptly took her own hit. It was a rather large one at that, as she skipped the wick and just used the lighter to make the whole bowl positively glow red in the dark.
Sunburst couldn’t help but stare in awe as her powerful alicorn chest expanded to some seemingly impossible degree. When she finally let it out, it took almost a dozen seconds to expel all of the smoke from her maw.
“Holy fuck,” Sunburst muttered, staring in disbelief.
Cadance grinned and closed her eyes. “Fuck, I needed that.”
Shining looked at the pipe and shook his head. “You cleaned the bowl.”
“Just pack it again. It isn’t like we’re short on weed.”
“This is nice,” Sunburst whispered, feeling himself grow a little lighter, a fog filtering through his thoughts. “It’s peaceful out here.”
He looked up at the sky and couldn’t help but smile a very dopey smile.
“Hell, there isn’t even any light pollution out here. You can see… everything.”
“It is pretty nice,” Shining agreed.
“Thanks again for getting me out here,” Sunburst said before looking at them. “I… I love you guys… a lot.”
The two of them each leaned over and peppered Sunburst’s face with a pair of kisses.
“And we love you too,” Cadance said, Shining nodding in agreement.
Sunburst’s smile grew and he drew in a deep breath of chilly night air, shoring himself up. “Do you two ever wonder…” he paused for a moment, forgetting where that train of thought was going to go. “Uh…”
“Wonder what?” Shining asked.
“I…” Sunburst snorted, giggling to himself. “I can’t remember.”
“Somepony’s stoned,” Cadance teased.
“Am I?” Sunburst asked, shaking his head. “Is this what getting high feels like?”
“Well how do you feel?” Shining asked, taking a bite out of his haydog and downing it with beer.
Sunburst hummed, mulling that question over for a moment.
How did he honestly feel?
His thoughts were slower, less cluttered together and frantic within his mind. Physically, he felt a little lighter, his pulse beating a bit swifter than usual.
“Pretty good,” is what he eventually settled on.
Shining grabbed the pipe and took another hit, blowing the smoke out through his nose, allowing the twin contrails to curl upwards as he exhaled. “That’s good to hear. Not everyone has a good first trip.”
“So, what do you two want to do after we’re done with this fire?” Sunburst asked, letting out a tired yawn.
Cadance and Shining exchanged a coy smirk, the two of them smiling at each other.
“Oh… we have something in mind,” Cadance said, nodding to her husband.
“But that can wait until after you’ve sobered up a little bit,” Shining added. “Can’t have you making poor decisions while stoned.”
“What are you two up to?” Sunburst asked, narrowing his gaze.
“Oh nothing,” the two chimed in unison, looking away and trying to seem as innocent as possible.
Sunburst didn’t buy it for a second. Though he didn’t comment, instead pulling his haydogs away from the fire and sliding them into a pair of buns. He then covered these in a mixture of mustard and onions before taking a bite.
Also, strangely, the hit had seemed to trigger a reflux in his appetite.
Were these… the munchies?
As he chewed, he winced, not at all enjoying the weird texture and odd temperature differences that seemed to permeate through his food. It didn’t take an expert to figure out that these were not at all cooked properly, though he supposed that was one of the risks of camping.
Cadance nudged him, seeming to pick up on his displeasure. “See, told you they always packed the cheap ones.”
Sunburst nodded, and even though he didn’t like the taste one bit, he was surprised to see that an entire dog was gone by the time he looked back. Had he really eaten one that quickly?
Though one seemed like enough of a tribute, sating these early bouts of munchie-induced hunger. Instead he looked back to the night sky, letting out a contented sigh.
“Do you two want an astronomy lesson?” he asked.
“Hell yeah,” Shining whispered, his voice accented by an intoxicated tinge. “What you got for us, babe?”
Sunburst pointed his hoof towards the heavens, aiming his frog at an especially bright star. “Do you see that star? The really bright one.”
“Yeah,” Cadance said, her voice adopting a similar haze.
“That’s not a star at all,” Sunburst explained, propping up his glasses as he used his teaching voice. “It’s actually a comet heading directly for Equestria. My buddy at the Royal Observatory thinks it's probably going to impact in the next few decades.”
He heard Shining spit out his beer.
“What?” his coltfriend rasped. “Are you fucking serious, dude?”
Sunburst kept his expression as neutral as he could, for as long as he could, but eventually burst out laughing.
“You dick!” Shining screamed, though with no malice. “You actually had me there!”
Cadance snickered. “Babe, you can’t just drop something like that in your nerd voice. What are we supposed to do, not believe you?”
For a second, they all paused before bursting out into a fresh bout of stoned laughter.
Sunburst had no idea what time it was when they finally stumbled back into the log cabin. He felt tired, his mind buzzing with a combination of THC and alcohol. His cape smelled of smoke and his fur felt greasy and in need of a good shower.
Still, he was on cloud nine. This trip had been everything he’d hoped for.
He was getting to spend some much-needed quality time alone with his significant others. Sure, they’d have to head back to the capital in a couple of days, but still, he was cherishing every moment of private bliss he could get his hooves on.
And well, Shining and Cadance had no problem supplying him with as much of it as he could possibly want.
“So, what’s that big surprise you had in store for us?” he asked, spinning around as soon as he was in the living room.
Shining bit his lip and glanced at him. “Are you sure you’re sober, babe?”
Sunburst nodded, offering a totally not intoxicated smile. “Totally.”
Cadance frowned. “Are you absolutely certain, sweetie. We kind of want you to be all there before we… show you.”
“How about…” Sunburst tapped his hoof to his chin, trying to think of a solution “Do you guys have any coffee lying around?”
Shining snorted and trotted towards the kitchen. “Probably. Though, do you think it’s honestly such a good idea? It’s pretty close to two in the morning, dude.”
Sunburst waved a hoof. “Eh, I doubt that’ll be much of a problem. It’s not like I’ll be able to sleep without knowing what you two are up to.”
Was his tail wagging?
He looked over his shoulder.
His tail was totally wagging.
Shining nodded and his horn glowed as he pulled out a small coffee maker, filling it with water and ground beans.
“Are you sure that’s safe?” Cadance asked, tilting her head to the side. “That coffee is old as balls.”
Shining shrugged. “Knew this vet who used to drink coffee from old rations. Said that stuff could last for like eighty years.”
“Just don’t give our darling nerd botulism, please.”
Together the three of them made idle small talk as the coffee continued to slowly drip. Even in his less than sober state, Sunburst could tell that something else was brewing. His partners were not at all subtle about it. As time dragged on, they grew a little more tense, made more and more sideways glances at each other, and they even started to lose track of their conversation.
What were they up to?
Eventually the coffee finished and Shining poured a nice big cup for Sunburst, hovering it over to him.
Sunburst bowed his head and took it, taking a testing sip. It tasted… black, which in his mind meant it was one hundred percent drinkable. After a few more sips, he felt his thoughts clear, or well, that’s what the caffeine was telling him anyways.
“So…” he began, placing his mug aside. “What are you two up to?”
Shining and Cadance exchanged one last look.
“Sunburst,” Cadance started, pausing for a moment to take a breath, “we’ve… really enjoyed the time we’ve spent together.”
Shining nodded. “And you are honestly the most important stallion in my entire life.”
Cadance smirked. “Well, tied for first in my opinion, but you get the point.”
“And well, over the course of our last few trips to the cabin we realize that we’ve really gotten attached to you and that we found ourselves missing you during these trips. That’s… part of the reason we brought you here.”
Sunburst looked between them. “What are you….”
Cadance lifted a hoof. “Just give us a second, babe. It’ll all make sense in a minute, I promise.” She drew in another deep breath. “Like Shining was saying, that’s part of the reason we brought you here, but we had something else in mind… an ulterior motive if you would.”
Shining nodded and his horn glowed, its matching aura fiddling with his suitcase. “We wanted to bring you out here because this place is really special to us. It’s our home away from home. The sanctum that we’ve always wanted to have. A nice little place to raise a family, removed of all our regal responsibilities.”
“And that’s what we are,” Cadance said, tears in her eyes. “We’re a family, Sunburst… and, well…”
Shining’s magic finally managed to retrieve its cargo. It was a little black felt box. One which any lovestruck pony would be familiar with. “And we felt like it was time to finally make that official.”
He opened the box and inside were two rings. One was made of rose gold, the other a glistening platinum.
“Sunburst,” the two said in unison. “Will you marry us?”
Sunburst felt his breath catch, his eyes widening and heart skipping a beat as he looked at the pair of rings.
Was this really happening? There was no way this was really happening.
“You want to marry me?” he repeated, trying to grasp those words as if they were spoken in some exotic language. “Like… for real?”
Cadance giggled, her voice only a little tapered by tears. “Of course, silly. We’d love nothing more than to spend the rest of our lives with you.”
Sunburst lunged forwards, pulling the two of them into a group hug.
“Yes!” he exclaimed, closing his eyes in order to head off his own watering eyes. “Of course, I want to marry you. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”
He just held them for a good long while, unable to pull himself away and risk ending this moment of bliss.
However, Shining and Cadance acted first, drawing away. He then felt a pair of rings glide down his horn. When he finally opened his eyes again, he looked up at two smiling and equally love-stricken faces.
“So… good surprise?” Cadance asked.
Sunburst nodded. “This is the best surprise ever.”
Author's Note
This fic was literally straight fluff injected straight into my veins and was a fantastic change of pace from what I've be writing lately.
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