"Are you almost done up there?" A voice called up to Maraschino Cherry's room, causing the mare to huff before looking at herself in the mirror for the thousandth time.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Hold your horses!" She nearly yelled back, worry, stress and panic starting to merge together to form a tight ball in her stomach. One more glance into the mirror: revealing her in a ruffled emerald green dress that just nearly touched the floor, her streaked mane up in a bun and makeup gingerly applied to her face- and she was then grabbing her bedazzled green clutch and closing the door behind her scurrying frame, lifting the skirt of the gown up so she wouldn't accidentally trip on the fabric down the flight of stairs.

When she finally reached the bottom, the creature who had called her earlier turned from their place by the front door of the house. It was her cousin, Crystal Apple, who gave her a look over and then let out a low whistle.

"Well, I'll be… No wonder you were taking so long! I didn't know you'd be getting this dolled up for an outing with your coltfriend."

Cherry merely shook her head, leaning over to grasp the dragon hybrid's hands. "It's not just an outing, dear. It's a dinner party. A Canterlot dinner party. I have to make a good representative for our family, especially knowing who I'm with."

Crystal rolled her eyes. "Right… and I know cider from Apple juice. Look sugar, I don't think it really matters what they think, but that's just me. You be careful now, alright? Would be quite the shame to hear that you got kicked out by getting too rowdy after drinks. I know how your pottymouth gets when you're tipsy."

The reddish pink earth pony smirked and sighed, bobbing her head in a nod. "Yes, Momma."

"Good. Now get out there! Your prince in a white cart has come to take you away."

Mari giggled before hugging the other goodbye, then heading out the door to be greeted by-oh. Oh, she wasn't joking. He did bring a white cart.

Standing in front of the vehicle was a tall, purple furred unicorn stallion, dress shirt and vest on his torso while black pants adorned his long legs. His violet eyes were staring at his shoe covered hooves shuffling in the dirt until she called his name.

"Cosmic!"

His head snapped up, mane shifting back to its original position while his gaze locked onto her, smiling a little when she got close enough to hug him, drawing back a bit afterwards to give her a glance over. "Hi, Mari. Aren't you the southern belle of the ball…"

She beamed up at him, shyly batting her eyelashes then lightly tugging on the edge of his collar to get him to lean down and kiss her. When they broke off, she peered around him to look at the object in question. "What is that all about?"

Cosmic grinned, guiding her to the cart's side and helping her in. "Mom said I could borrow it for tonight. She's got a few of them in the courtyard already."

The earth pony couldn't believe her ears. Cosmic Rays, son of Twilight Sparkle, could just...get a whole cart if he asks for it? No strings attached? Wow… He really is a prince. Though, something seemed off. “Er, that’s mighty sweet of you, Sunshine, but...where’s our way of moving? I don’t see any mice turning into white horses here.”

The stallion snorted. "No, you don't. But I think I have something better." His horn ignited, and four astral projections of sparkling, glittering horses (four legged ones) appeared out of the mist and hitched themselves to the cart. "Alright, let's get moving, fellas!" He called, and they quickly started along the path off to the main streets. Cherry was wide eyed in awe.

"How… how did you learn how to do that?"

"A simple hologram spell, doll. I don't think you'd understand something of such a high caliber."

She didn't hesitate to punch his shoulder, though it was super light for her standards. Had she gone full force, she would have definitely had him flying off into the dirt. "I get it, Mr. Prodigy… No need to rub it in."

He chuckled at that, cheeks flushing slightly. As they grew quiet, his ears started to slick back, glancing her way from the side. "You nervous?"

The mare hummed softly, just then noticing that she was repeatedly opening and closing the clasp on her bag, letting it go so it could rest on her lap. "Kinda, yeah… I've never been to one of these fancy pants parties before. I always hear about them from Bleu, though. Should I be?"

Cosmic shrugged, absentmindedly watching the star-laden sky above their heads. "It depends. I'm a bit uppity about it myself, this will be my first time on 'official royal business' on my own-er, you know what I mean. It's more up Mom's or my sister's alley than mine." A brief pause, and then he turned to face her fully. "And, it's less of a party and more of a 'let's stand and talk about trivial things until we get drunk and have affairs on our partners with someone we just met an hour ago'."

Mari couldn't hold in her laugh, loud and ringing through the air until she finally stifled it by hiding her mouth behind her hand. "I-is it that bad?"

"Not usually, but you can never tell with the crowd. I think you'll have a good time."

"I hope so…"

It was nearly midnight by the time the pair had reached the venue, and Cherry could feel the knot that had been sitting in her stomach grow tight. This was it… nothing to it, right?

Cosmic helped her down from the cart(which was much harder to retrieve from the train station than he thought), hooking their arms together once he sent it away. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Up to the doors they went, where two greeters stood stiffly until they approached. "Ah, good evening Prince Cosmic!" One said with a bow. "Such a pleasure to see that you have made it! The Duke will be ecstatic!"

"And such a lovely lady too," the other picked up, causing Mari to blush brightly. "He would be charmed to meet her!"

The purple unicorn nodded curtly. "Thank you both." With a quick clearing of his throat the doors were opened, and into the building the pair entered. The mare tried her best not to gasp out loud.

The main courtyard was lush and green, a softly bubbling marble fountain in its center and privacy hedges all standing tall on every side. Partygoers either stood by the fountain or sat on benches, and string lights illuminated the space above strategically placed flower beds of all colors. It was all so beautiful. A waiter zipped over to them to offer them a drink, which she took with a small "thank you", though her coltfriend declined. Guess whatever he was going to talk to this Duke about was really important if he didn't want to loosen up a bit first. He slipped his arm from her's, but continued to hold her hand.

"I guess this is where we part ways for a moment. The Duke wishes to speak with me privately before I introduce him to anyone else. You can handle yourself, I presume?"

Cherry grinned. "I'm not a maiden in need of defending, darlin'. You know this."

He smiled back, finally pulling away to start his way down the moonlit hallway where a silhouette was standing at its end. Here goes something…

The earth pony meanwhile had been admiring the other outfits that the aristocrats had been dolled up in, though something in particular caught her attention-from the mares to be more precise. They were all… skinny. Not slender, but skinny, almost nearing unhealthy levels. Mari knew that being trim and tucked was commonplace in the world of the rich and noble, but it didn't really ease her self consciousness when literally no one else there had an extra ounce of weight on their bodies. She was nowhere near "fat" levels on her part, but due to her family's genes she was a bit more big boned, and carried a fair amount of muscle on her shoulders, hips and thighs.

She felt like she was sticking out like a sore thumb, and did her best to mingle with some others just until Cosmic got back. Yet...there were some unicorns who were keeping their eye on her, and they felt that they had some questions to ask her…

The prince mostly expected to return to the courtyard after a successful conversation (in his book) with the Duke to go without a hitch, rejoining with his beautiful marefriend and having a few drinks to mellow out his mood before crashing into an inn's room to sleep off the alcohol. ...Yeah, he didn't get that whatsoever.

Instead, ponies and other creatures alike were either screaming or running off to hide, the bubbling and gurgling of the fountain sounding extremely eerie given the new context. Right beside it stood Mari, back to him as she heaved heavily. Something was wrong, very wrong.

Cosmic didn't get the chance to call out to her before she turned around, and he saw why she seemed so upset. Her dress was ripped and tattered, and a freshly made black eye adorned her face where makeup graced it earlier. Tears sprung from her good eye, and her body trembled as she clenched and unclenched her fists, looking at anyone who even so much as crossed her path with a mixture of confusion, anger, and hurt. Mostly hurt.

The stallion quickly realized that there was no time for questions, no time for pointing fingers. He'll deal with all this in the morning. Right now, he had to get her home.

Without a word he made his way over to where she stood, taking her hands to pull her to the entrance. The greeters-who undoubtedly heard of all the commotion going on on the other side of the doors- seemed worried when the pair made their way through.

"Your Highness! Leaving already? But the music hasn't even been brought in yet!" One was quick to note.

Cosmic simply shook his head, gesturing to the mare. "No time. We're going home."

"Whatever's going on in there?"

The unicorn didn't respond, just whistled and his cart came gliding into view with the horses pulling it along. Helping the earth pony in, they took off into the slow setting of the moon.

The ride back to Sweet Apple Acres was mostly- if not completely- silent, Cosmic occasionally stealing glances towards the mare who only held the ice pack he gave her to her bruised eye and stared off into the distance with the other. So many scenarios and questions were swirling around in his head, but he knew better than to ask when she was this distraught. Still, she had never seemed to want to let go of his hand with her free one ever since he offered it on the start of the trek, so that gave him a little bit of solace at least.

It was only when those familiar Apple trees came into view did Cherry start to lean towards him, causing him to pull on the reins to stop the horses abruptly. They stayed motionless for a while, but then she began to talk, softly.

"Sorry for ruining your night, sug'."

"I wouldn't say that you did that. What happened?"

Her eye darted up to look at him, sighing with a heavy heart. "Some mares had been looking me over like I was some kind of experiment gone wrong the whole time you had left. I tried ignoring them, but then one of 'em started talking about how interesting it was to see how someone like me was able to even get inside the venue. 'Didn't know a Prince would be interested in a heifer,' was what she said. I kept my mouth shut, but then they started pushing me around, and pulling at my dress. I got so...so…"

Cosmic's eyes lidded. "Mad?" He finished.

She nodded. "Yeah… Aunt Rarity made this dress for me." She looked down at the torn fabric of the skirt that now sat limply against her legs. "And to see those arrogant high lifes tearing it apart, I… I snapped. Punched her straight in the muzzle. Too bad her little friends managed to get me too, but they're probably getting fountain water out of their manes since that's where they ended up."

He started to chuckle then, spurring the cart back into moving again. Cherry raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"I just wish I had been there to witness it."

The earth pony blinked. "You're not mad?"

The unicorn shook his head. "Not at all. I'm proud of you, actually. They got what they were looking for-and were the first to throw punches. You were standing up for yourself, there's nothing to be mad about. However, maybe try waiting for me before you dunk another girl into a fountain next time? Just in case I need to cover any damages."

"...No promises."

The house finally came into view, porch light on to welcome Cherry back home. And oh, was she grateful. Cosmic was quick to hop down and help her out, but instead of bringing her to the front door, he led her to the horses in a slight detour. "They wanted to say good night too," he murmured.

She smiled a little, going around to pat each one on the head, surprised by how real they felt. "Thanks for your service, fellas. I really appreciate it."

They whinnied and nickered in response, and it was then that the stallion brought her to the lit porch, knocking on the door. He looked her over with concern. "Are you sure you don't want me to speak with your father? I'm sure I can convince him that it was a weak branch that hit you on the way over."

Mari laughed weakly, reaching up to pinch his cheeks. "Nah, I'll be fine. I'm an Apple, remember? The truth will come out sooner or later. You get yourself home. Your mother must be starting to get worried that she hasn't heard from you."

He huffed, but laid his hands on top of hers, squeezing them gently. "Alright, alright. You take care of yourself. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sounds good, Sunshine. Love you."

"Love you too, Mari."

The door opened then, and Cheerilee poked her head out, first looking pleased then worried the second she realized the state her daughter was in. "Oh, goodness! Maraschino, is that you?"

The younger mare shrugged sheepishly. "Hi, Momma."

Her mother was quick to bring her inside, flashing a thankful glance to the unicorn. "Thank you for bringing her home, Cosmic. I'm sure she'll tell us all the details of what happened, yes?"

He nodded, though he struggled to keep from smirking too widely. "Of course, Mrs. Lee. And I'm sure she will… Have a good rest of your night!"

She nodded as a response, and the door was shut. Cosmic sighed before turning to get back into the cart and head to his room. He was going to need to write some letters…

A week had passed since that night, and Cherry had nearly made a complete recovery, Cosmic making sure to drop by every chance he got so he'd know that she was alright. She in turn often pushed him away (playfully), saying that she "wasn't a foal anymore," but appreciated his company nonetheless. Currently, she was in the middle of fixing a broken part of a fence when the prince sauntered up to her, something in his hold.

"Ah, good morning, Princey! Surprised that you got here this early. Don't you start with your duties at noon?"

He grumbled something under his breath, shrugging dramatically. "Usually, yes. Dear, sweet Mother thought it would be a wonderful idea for a 'Family Breakfast' at six in the morning, even though she saw me going into my room around two. Let's just say that I'm peachy right now."

The earth pony snorted, rising from where she sat on a turned over bucket to lean against the newly repaired fence. "Oh, boo hoo, sugarsnap. Six is usually when we get our first break. Aunt Jackie's been taking it easy on me for a while for my eye, but once I'm back in the saddle for good it's back to normal hours for me. Now, what you got there?"

"Oh, this? It's from Shimmer. She said that she felt bad for not being able to come over to see you, so care package has been delivered, I guess?"

Mari beamed from ear to ear at that. "Aww, ain't she just a sweetheart. Why couldn't you turn out more like her?"

Cosmic rolled his eyes while handing the box to her. "And be all 'sunshine and rainbows and everyone should be happy' 24/7? I'll pass."

"Your loss." She turned the package over in her hands before tucking it under her arm. "I guess I better get this inside before it gets trampled on. Is that all you needed?"

Her fur bristled when he suddenly leaned over, cupping her chin with a finger to have her meet his gaze, nose very close to her own. "Not quite," his voice rumbled, sending shivers down her spine. He then looked around to make sure no one else was nearby, moving his lips to her ear. "Meet me on the hill tonight and bring a spare rope," was what he whispered into it, causing the mare's cheeks to turn several shades pinker than she already was.

"R-right," Mari said while trying not to cough shyly, eyes wide, but her tail couldn't stop twitching just thinking about it. "I'll be there."

Cosmic grinned slyly, planting a quick kiss on her cheek before backing up, starting on the path from whence he came. "Wonderful! I'll stop by to get the order later, then. Have a good rest of your day!" He called out in a louder tone, serving as a distraction just in case anyone was coming their way. And with that, he was gone.

The mare gnawed on her lower lip while her fingers traced over the spot where he kissed her, letting her tail sway and swish freely against the backs of her legs now. "Celestia, I'm dating a fox…"

The coil of rope felt heavy around Cherry's arm as she carefully made her way out of her room and down the stairs under the cover of night's shadows, each step as cautious as the last. She was hesitant upon reaching the front door, knowing that it would make a noise if it was pulled open too quickly-something that could alert her sleeping parents above her if they weren't actually sleeping for some reason. Her being caught awake wasn't a problem; it's why she was awake that was, so she had to be quick.

Her fingers gingerly wrapped around the smooth knob. Slowly, slowly it turned. Slowly, slowly… Careful now… Got it! She was through, and the door slid behind her until it closed successfully and she was nearly barreling down the porch steps. What in the world was that bookworm up to?

Her question would soon be answered as she headed towards the hill that overlooked the entire orchard, a single apple tree serving as a landmarker. A faint light glowed at the top of it, spurring her onwards and upwards until she was there, coming face to face with a cheeky looking Cosmic sitting on top of a picnic blanket once she rounded the tree. Her hands butted into her hips as she peered down at him in slight confusion. "Nice seeing you, but could you tell me what's going on here? I hadn't been able to sleep a wink after thinking 'bout what you told me."

The unicorn’s smile never wavered, but he merely pointed to a box that sat beside him. “Figured as much. But I think it’d be better if I showed you instead. Have a seat.”

Cherry did as was asked, but not without a clearly noticeable suspicion. "Cos-"

His lips were on hers before the rest of his name could come out, sending her mind swimming as her body lit up in shock, fur tingling as passion seeped into the kiss… only for everything to stop when he pressed her into the tree's trunk and pulled away. The look in his eyes nearly made her melt by how intense and hungry it was, stealing her breath away.

"I need you to promise me something," he breathed in a soft, almost desperate tone.

"What is it?"

The stallion leaned in, letting his lips graze the warm skin of her neck before kissing at the collarbone that poked through the thin fabric of her night shirt. "That you will know your limits and can tell me when to stop if I need to...I may not be able to do it on my own…"

She had a vague idea of what he was implying, but had the urge to ask anyways. "W-what are you going to do?"

Their gazes met, and he interlocked their fingers, horn igniting to undo the buttons on their shirts one by one. "I've been doing some thinking this past week, Mari. You've faced ridicule, and I want to fix it with you. You're so beautiful, and there's no one else I'd rather be with right here, right now. I love you, and I want to make love to you-but only if you want me too."

Cherry could feel her heart ramming away within her chest, mind hazy and ears on full alert so she didn't misinterpret a word that came out of his mouth. "Cosmic, I… I love you and want you too. And I promise. A-and… Celestia, why do you have to be so darn attractive?"

A playful grin pulled at Cosmic's lips, which were soon locking with hers again before he broke off a second time. His eyes were twinkling as he not so subtly bragged, "Blame it on the genes."

Yet as soon as their shirts were pooling onto the blanket beside them, he was standing, holding the rope in his hands to then lean over and tie a loop around one of the mare's wrists. When she gave him a look, he simply shrugged. "You forget that I am a reader of literature. All types of literature. And I'm no stranger to the world of rope play. Thought it would be a nice homage for you. Now if you could hold still…" Around the base of the tree he went, the slack on her wrist getting tighter the more rope was pulled. By the time he was securing the knot on her free wrist, her whole nude upper half was stretched out against the rough scratchiness of the bark behind her.

She tugged and pulled at her restraint, but didn't budge forward an inch: she was successfully bound to the tree like a book's binding. And for once she didn't mind it. Her pants were suddenly pulled off in an instant, the cool breeze smacking into her now bare legs and triggering a shiver-though anticipation may have played into it too.

Cosmic was soon kneeling in front of his marefriend again, lower garments removed and crown jewels proudly in full display, though he didn't seem particularly into giving them any attention just yet. "May I?" He questioned, his hands hovering above her frame but not touching her.

Mari nodded, a little nervous but more so excited. She bit her lower lip when the heat surged against her wide hips, and nearly broke into a pant when his gentle touch rubbed over the soft thinner fur of her belly. Up his slender fingers roamed, splaying out over every inch they could reach. There was no rush, no hurry to tear her underwear off and plow into her like a bull claiming his mate, just slow, tender caresses to her trembling frame. She gasped the second her nipples were brushed with his thumbs, already perked and stiff from the cool air around them. Her cheeks flushed deeply when a low throbbing from her loins caught her attention, engorged clit winking hard.

"S-Sunshine…"

The unicorn knew exactly what was the issue, but didn't make any headway towards it just yet, hands gliding down her taut shoulders now. "Patience, dear. I'm getting there." The touch tricked across her bound arms, pressing into each one of her finger tips with calculation and care. It grazed over her round cheeks and forehead, now scrunched up from the struggle of keeping her hips down and not thrusting helplessly into the air. Back along her hips his hands rested on, causing her to internally let out a sigh of relief when a tug came to the waistband of her panties, and…

They passed over it completely, redirecting their attention to her strong, toned thighs and calves. The mare was getting ready to start crying out curses, but the expression he was wearing prompted her to hold her tongue, filled with the same need and desire that she was feeling, if his erect and bobbing shaft wasn't any indication. "You're so beautiful," he whispered over and over each time a new part of her was being rubbed and groped at.

A thorough massage to her hooves, and finally the material covering her drenched marehood was being pulled off, exposing her puffy labia and dime sized clit to his scrutiny. Cherry didn't hold in her groans and gasps anymore, head fully lolled back and legs unable to keep herself lifted. She was at his full mercy, every fiber of her body on board and ready to follow through with this.

A ripping noise made her ears perk, eyes blearily opening to find the prince unrolling a condom over his length and lubing it generously. "Just to be safe," he noted simply, teasing her by sinking his slick digits into the wet flesh for a few seconds before pulling them out, hooking her legs around his hips and entering her leaking cunt without wasting another second.

They both moaned breathlessly, the mere friction of the thick shaft dipping into her depths spurring the earth pony's walls to spasm, unleashing a first load all onto the cock that speared in harder, her back fully arched.

She was unable to speak as the thing continued to fill her until it was buried at the hilt, the stallion pausing to catch his breath, taking his time to dip his head and rest it close to her own, shuddering every time she clenched around him, the boiling heat shared between the both of them nearly more than they could bear. His hips started to rock, at a snail's pace at first, though quickly picking up speed to the point where his horn sparked and buzzed erratically, ears fully slicked back in concentration.

Their heavy breathing and wet slaps were loud compared to the quiet stillness of the night, but cares had flung out the window by now, the only thing mattering being that the pair were intertwined in the most intimate way possible, that thought kicking their systems into overdrive to push them to the finish.

The pressure continued to build, teetering towards the breaking point when Cosmic slowed to a stop, balls snug against the curve of Cherry's ass cheeks but otherwise not moving, continuing to hold her legs as steady as possible.

She in turn was fully snapped out of her lovely trance, eyebrow raising to silently ask him why he'd stop, and then she felt it. Past the stretching and contracting and throbbing, the twitching tapered tip deep within was held mere inches away from the entrance of her cervix, which had now opened wide enough to allow it access. Even if it wasn't going to receive the hot, bubbling spunk that churned on the other end, it was prepared for the final threshold to be crossed.

Both ponies looked at each other, all sorts of emotions coursing through them, yet soon nodded quietly in unison. They had to know.

She raised her hips, he pushed his forward, and the gap was closed. His head kissed her cervix, and it was over. A low grunt sounded from the unicorn as the tip of his cock flared, cum firing down his shaft to flood the latex barrier that covered it. Warmth filled her insides, and she gushed for a second time, not thinking about her image any longer as her own fluids dripped from the previously empty pockets of her walls onto their thighs and the blanket beneath them. Serenity had come at last.

Mari heaved blissfully as the rope holding her was undone, falling into her coltfriend's arms and letting him hold her tight. She relished in his scent, the sweat matting up the fur on his back, his heart pounding in his chest...just, everything.

"You alright?"

"Y-yeah," she hummed, her high wearing off and dragging her into a state that longed for sleep. "Just peachy…"

Cosmic couldn't help but snort lightly, easing himself out of her and working the filled condom off before tying the end in a knot. "I'm glad. You want me to bring you down later?"

"Mmm, no… Can I stay with you? You're so warm…"

He chuckled, pulling the unsoiled end of the blanket over them and casting a spell so their clothes whisked back onto their bodies without the need for disturbing her. "Sure, Mari. Whatever you want." The lantern that gave them light throughout the whole ordeal was turned off, showering the space into comfortable darkness; leaving just them, the chirping crickets and the starry night sky. As he drifted off, a ringing thought came to mind. The next time a party were to pop up, he would be sure to bring her- if only to announce just how much he loved her...for her.

Author's Note

Two months and lots of lost and found motivation (and sleep deprivation) and this is completed! Thanks for Reading! If you have any questions or suggestions for future fics, feel free to let me know. Until next time!