Shining Armor breathed a heavy sigh.
It had been a day like many others. Hours of meetings with hot-headed staff-officers. Hours of reading through various reports from the different branches of the Royal Guard under his supervision. Hours of authoring responses to said reports, his writing getting progressively messier as his coffee machine’s capabilities were exercised liberally. Hours of politics, military affairs, national security concerns, intelligence matters, and the occasional explanation to the inevitable visiting Canterlot Noble that no, they would not be given a senior command post, and no, it would not be done no matter how many bits they offered.
Days like these were always draining—a sad reality considering how frequent they were. The alabaster prince felt as though he had been hit by a train, and in some cases, he found himself wishing that he had been, as it would have been preferable to the excruciating pain of his work. A couple weeks of recovery leave, some time he did not have to be on the ball for anyone, getting to spend most all day every day lying in the comfort of his own bed as his body was healed by the finest doctors in all the Crystal Empire… it was tempting. He would never do it, of course—the stress caused to his family, his friends, and also the fact that it would mean someone else would have to take up his position temporarily while he was on what would probably amount to a rather… extended period of leave—all were factors that made him resolute in his determination not to ever do something such as that. Still, it was a fun thought to entertain at times.
As he trudged through the halls of the palace, trying his best to keep his head held high and his pose dignified, he caught a glance of a painting of his predecessor. The rank of “Captain of the Guard” (not to be confused with the officer rank of “Captain…” a painful mistake the prince had made once, and only once) was one lauded with attention, glory, and prestige, and only a select few brilliant and competent commanders had ever held the position previous to him, their names having been immortalized in all but mythological legend. But for all of the bravado, all of the respect, all of the honor… he remembered well the words of his former commander: “No matter the title, you’re still another officer, and have to deal with all of the duties and responsibilities therein… including the bullspit.”
The azure-maned unicorn chuckled. “Including the bullspit indeed, old stallion…”
“Are you going to quote that in your head every time you walk past his portrait?” A familiar, sweet voice called out that made all of Shining Armor’s exhaustion and irritation melt away. Before he could even so much as turn around, a pair of large, downy wings had unfurled around him and were now clinging to him tightly as a pink muzzle pressed into his cheek for a kiss.
“Hi, Honey…” Shining Armor sighed happily as he turned to nuzzle his bride affectionately.
“Hello, my big, strong Captain~” Princess Cadence crooned in return, pressing against her groom. “How was work today?”
“Long. Tiring. Boring,” the prince said blandly, but still with a smile. “But… I’ll admit that my day is looking up!”
A cute giggle left the lips of the Love Princess as she folded one of her wings, but kept the other draped around the back of her husband. “Oh? And why might that be, hmm?”
“Oh, you know… a beautiful mare just trotted up and kissed me on the cheek. I’d say that’s bound to make any stallion’s day better,” Shining Armor tittered with an exaggerated gesture as the two ponies began to trot down the long hallway together.
“A beautiful mare? Shining, how dare you cheat on me!” The pink alicorn feigned hurt, barely suppressing a laugh.
Raising an eyebrow, Shining looked to his wife inquisitively, a smile still on his face, but one that he did not quite know what to do with next nonetheless. “Uh… sweetheart?”
“Don’t you ‘sweetheart’ me! Your wife is nothing less than an absolute immaculate goddess! And you dare settle for just a ‘beautiful’ mare?!” Cadence managed to keep her act up until the final word, when she burst out laughing, practically falling on her husband as her wings instinctively flapped to try and catch her balance.
“Ah… my apologies, dear—it won’t happen again!” The prince began to laugh in unison, leaning back against his wife as she continued to lean on him.
“It had better not!” Cadence managed to say through fits of giggles. “Otherwise, I’ll just have to start getting my kisses from just a ‘handsome’ stallion… and not the illustrious god I have before me now~”
Shining Armor loved it when they bantered like this. It always made him feel so… fulfilled. Like everything was alright in the world, even in spite of all of the difficulties and hardships that lay within it. Hearing her lovely voice, her musical laughter, seeing her beautiful smile… all of it made everything worthwhile. Even in the hardest and most grueling days, where he wanted nothing more than to throttle the angry staff-officers who would pester him or the blabbering nobles who would continuously barge into his office... she made it all worth it, and never failed to put a smile on his face. It was love unlike anything he could have hoped for… unlike anything he could have ever even dreamed of.
And as the two passed in front of the large, ornate doors that led to their chambers… Cadence stopped. Shining very nearly fell over, such was the amount he had been leaning on his wife, and after a few awkward hops… he stood to look at her. “Hey!” He said mock-indignantly. “You almost made me fall!”
“As if you weren’t putting your full body-weight on me! I may be an alicorn, dearest, but your body is still heavy!” Cadence retorted with a giggle.
“Are you calling me fat?” The white unicorn challenged with a grin, leering at her in a playful way.
“And what if I am, hmm? What are you going to do about it?” Cadence smugly stuck her tongue out in reply.
“Then I’ll… you know what, never mind. I don’t feel like sleeping on the couch tonight.”
“Good call, honey.”
The pair of ponies giggled again, rolling their eyes at each other as they shared a brief, but loving kiss.
“Sooo…” Shining Armor began as they broke away. “Is there any particular reason we’re stopped outside of our bedroom door?”
“I’m almost tempted to make a joke that will make you blush, but I’m going to be nice and refrain for now,” the rose-colored princess tittered. “I… heard a few things about your day today. I don’t know much, and you don’t have to tell me, but I heard that some of your fellow officers were a touch… miffed, we’ll say, about one of your decisions earlier this week. That, and… well… any day with a visit from Count Golden Chain is bound to be… difficult. Sooo… I thought that maybe some cuddling would do you some good?”
At that word, Shining Armor’s ears perked up, and his pupils dilated. He tried to fight the smile rapidly growing on his muzzle, but it was no use—the bells had been sounded.
“I will take that as a yes~!” Cadence practically sang, excitement being clearly present in her own body language as well as she threw open the doors before them. Prancing inside, she quickly removed her regalia with a spell, and then snaked underneath the covers of their bed, looking with large, hopeful eyes over to her husband. He was not far behind, speedily closing and locking the doors as he threw off his uniform, being careful not to damage it, but caring little that he was tossing it on the floor. Soon, both husband and wife were relieved of their restrictive garments and were clinging to each other happily underneath the sheets of their bed.
The bedroom was pleasantly cool, and as Shining cradled his bride’s head against his barrel, he breathed a sigh of pure and blissful satisfaction. The feeling of her silken fur against his was heavenly, causing him to hum with joy as he stroked her back with a hoof. She was warm, and her intoxicating, flowery scent only added to the experience as he breathed in and out again slowly. The rose-colored mare could only smile as she nuzzled into the floof of her husband’s chest, occasionally sighing, occasionally kissing as a light blush formed on her cheeks. It was a perfect, serene moment that they shared… a moment that both of them wanted to lose themselves to.
“I love you…” Shining cooed softly, giving Cadence a soft squeeze.
“I love you too…” she replied, returning the gesture.
Shining Armor breathed another sigh. It had been a day like many others, but even in the repetition of it all… there was still joy to be found and still happiness to be gleaned. In the loving embrace of his princess, he was comfortably reminded of why he carried on… why he continued to endure the same things day after day. Because even when the days were not kind, when work exacted its toll, when anger and negativity clouded his mind… she was still here for him, no matter what, and through anything at all. As he kissed the top of her head between her ears, he received a happy sigh in reply—a sigh that may as well have been the sweetest sound a pony could ever hear.
