Pumpkin Spice Delight

“Here you go, Prince Shining! Thank you so much for your order~”

The mare behind the counter had a smile as wide and genuine as could be, and had her horn as brightly lit as her glittery form. The Crystal Pony floated over two large cases of steaming coffee cups, which were carefully placed on top of Shining Armor’s back. The stallion was smiling just as wide as the barista, and made sure to provide a generous tip into the coffee tin beside her register. “Hey, it’s no problem at all,” he said before picking up the venti-sized cup he purchased for himself. “After all, it is the start of the fall season. What better way to celebrate than with some pumpkin spice lattes?”

Shining made sure to trot away from the counter before taking a sip of his seasonal brew, and hummed contentedly with his eyes closed. Even though he had about two dozen other cups carefully balanced on his back, the Prince carried a spring in his step as he made his way back to the Crystal Castle. For most members of Equestrian Royalty, they would’ve likely sent out an assistant or Guard to collect such a large order from the local coffee shop. But in the case of Shining Armor, who preferred to see himself as more of the “Everystallion” in comparison to his Nobility, making a simple coffee run wasn’t a big issue for him. Not to mention, he wanted to see the smiles he put on ponies’ faces when he surprised them with one of the cups he purchased for the fall season.

“Oh, Sunburst! Flash Sentry!” Shining was beaming cheerfully when he reached the front doors of his castle, and found the Royal Guard and Crystaller happily chatting with one another. The two stallions glanced back at Shining, only to be delightfully surprised when a couple of coffee cups were floated towards them. “Here you go, guys! I went to get a pumpkin spice latte, and figured I could get some for the staff as well.”

“Oh! Thank you so much!” Flash Sentry may have been on duty, but he wasn’t one to refuse such a generous treat from his Superior. The Guard carefully blew on his lid before taking a sip, shivering with a pleased grin from the sweet and spicy flavors that combined so well. Sunburst looked equally as happy when he took a sip from his cup, and used his magic to pull his goatee out of the way.

“Oh, wow!” The unicorn blinked a couple times after tasting the seasonal drink. “Is this from that small corner shop down the street?”

“Indeed it is,” said Shining with a prideful grin. “Since the fall season officially began for the Crystal Empire, I was planning to get one for myself. But while I was there, I figured it was only fair to support a small business, you know?”

“Mmmm!” Flash gave his Prince an approving nod and said, “Good thinking, dude.”

“I agree,” said Sunburst, just before his brows suddenly flagged up. “Oh! That reminds me, I was meaning to ask if you’re ready for that speech today?”

“The speech?” asked Shining with a tilt of his head. Fortunately, the Prince’s eyes widened in an instant before adding, “OH! You mean the opening of that new fall exhibit at the museum?”

Sunburst took another sip from his latte before clarifying, “Yeah, that’s the one. The head of the Crystal Empire History Museum wanted to make sure you and Cadance would be there by Noon to unveil the arboretum designed by Mistmane.”

“Right, right…” Shining didn’t want to look too surprised by the Crystaller’s detail, but he couldn’t help shaking his head with an embarrassed smile. “I’m not gonna lie, Cadance and I thought that was happening next week. But don’t worry, our schedules are open for today, so we’ll definitely be there.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.” Sunburst may have been happy about the Prince’s assurance, but his muzzle skewed a bit before asking, “But, uhhh… Do you think you could tell Cadance first? I just want to make sure everything will go by smoothly.”

“Oh, don’t worry!” Since Shining gifted the two stallions their drinks, he readjusted the remaining cups on his back with the aid of his pink aura. “I have a custom-made latte for Cadance anyway, so I’ll be sure to remind her of the opening. I’ll see you guys later!”

Shining then walked into the castle with a spring in his step, leaving Flash and Sunburst to resume their conversation with a couple of tasty drinks. As the stallion made his way across the castle, the weight on his back slowly lightened as he gifted more of the lattes to various Guards or staff. Many of the Crystal Ponies were surprised by their Ruler’s small gift, but all of them were grateful to try a pumpkin spice drink while doing their jobs. By the time the stallion reached the upper floors of the castle in search of his wife, Shining now only had three drinks on his back; he also had his personal cup in his aura, but he had been too busy with his gifting to take more than a couple sips so far.

“Oh! There you are, honey…” Shining managed to find Princess Cadance in one of the castle’s unused rooms, which had most of the vintage furniture draped with heavy plastic tarps. Even though the pink Alicorn was looking over a checklist with her magic, her privacy didn’t seem to be interrupted upon hearing her husband at the doorway. The moment she turned around to see Shining, her face lit up when a venti-sized cup was floated towards her with her name written on the side.

“Surprise!~” Shining looked rather giddy when he hoofed her the cup with his magic. “I know I should’ve gotten one of the Guards to get this, but I just couldn’t wait to celebrate autumn properly.”

“Hmph~” Cadance smirked back at her hubby with a playful scoff as she took the cup from his aura. “Why am I not surprised you would do something this sweet?”

“Well, what did you expect?” Shining shrugged lightly and pointed out, “I do it every time the pumpkin spice flavor comes out! It’s almost like a tradition betwee--”

“Shining?!”

Both ponies turned back towards the doorway, only for Shining to be taken aback by the sight of Princess Cadance standing there with a baffled look. The Alicorn was wide-eyed, and gawking at the presence of a copy standing in the empty room with her husband. Meanwhile, the “Princess” Shining was speaking to dropped her smile, and rolled her eyes with a bitter groan. “Oh, dammit…”

After floating the drink meant for the real Cadance back to Shining, the mimic stepped back before lighting up her horn. A powerful gust of green flames engulfed the mare’s body, only to be replaced with the figure of a familiar chitinous being in its place. When the flames finally dissipated, Queen Chrysalis huffed with a displeased scowl while looking away from both of the Royals. Shining had to take a couple steps back from the former foe, looking downright offended through his glare. “Are you serious, Chrysalis?!” he shouted angrily at the changeling. “Five months! FIVE MONTHS OF REFORMATION!”

“Oh, don’t give me that!” griped Chrysalis as she rolled her eyes back in his direction. “You know I have to keep my shape-shifting magic up to keep from passing out! I chose to do it in this room to avoid freaking any of your staff out! It’s only coincidence that I was in her form when you walked in.”

“Yeah, that’s an excuse,” he muttered sarcastically, before floating the latte towards his real wife instead. Meanwhile, Princess Cadance looked unbelievably pissed as she stared daggers at the Ex-Queen, even when she took her cup with a hoof. “Chrysalis, you know better than to take the form of Royalty!” he scolded at her through his sneer. “That’s not allowed during probation!”

“Yes, I know!” Chrysalis griped with an exasperated sigh, clearly not her first time being caught breaking her reformation rules. “For crying out loud, it’s not like I was planning anything! You know how many defense spells Twilight and Thorax set up around this castle!? I can’t even take a piss without feeling surveillance auras on me!”

“And yet, you’re here in this room, with my checklist, disguised as me!” Even though she was rightfully livid, Cadance could only groan to herself when she saw the magic ankle bracelet strapped to Chrysalis’ hoof. Shining tried not to wince when he noticed that accessory as well, since it was something he should’ve seen on the fake Cadance to indicate her true form. Despite knowing that the Ex-Queen’s chances of reclaiming her power were about as nil as Sombra getting his horn back, Cadance was still upset by her former enemy’s antics. “Seriously, what were you planning to do with my husband if I hadn’t shown up?!”

“Oh my god,” she griped with a furious grinding of her fangs. “How many times do I have to tell you two, I NEVER HAD SEX WITH SHINING! I never even touched him before your guys’ wedding! I might be a temptress, but I’m not a rapist!”

Cadance was still staring the changeling down, but Chrysalis just sighed before adding, “Besides, I’m asexual, remember? You’re the Princess of ‘Love’, missy. Not me! If there’s anypony in this castle you should worry about, it’s that man-whore you two are stupid enough to kee--”

“Alright, alright!” Shining intervened as he stepped in between the two mares, and held out his hoof to interrupt their bickering. “Chrysalis,” he said over to the Ex-Queen first, “even if you were only ‘training your magic,’ you know better than to assume the role of Cadance without telling me.”

Chrysalis didn’t say anything, and just averted her eyes from Shining with a huff. But before Cadance could say anything snarky to her former foe, Shining caught her attention and added, “But! I also screwed up by not seeing the ankle bracelet, which is my fault. I should’ve been on guard, and I apologize.”

Cadance’s upset glance at Chrysalis only lasted a moment, before she sighed and gave her husband a forgiving smile. “Well, thank you for telling me that, honey.” She went in to give Shining a light peck on the lips, making sure that Chrysalis saw before shooting her a shit-eating grin. Chrysalis used her magic to form a human hand in her right hoof, and flipped Cadance off while Shining wasn’t looking. The Prince glanced between both of them confusedly, which gave Cadance enough time to take a sip from her personalized latte. “Mmmm!~ Shining, you got a pumpkin spice latte already? I would’ve expected you to wait until lunch.”

“Hey, it’s the start of the season.” Shining smirked back at his wife happily, but made sure to add, “Oh, and before I forget. Sunburst informed me that the museum opening ceremony is--”

“Why, is that pumpkin spice seasonings I smell?~”

The new stallion’s deep, regal tone of voice caught the attention of all three ponies in the room, Shining, Chrysalis, and Cadance all glanced back to see another “reformed” villain leaning against the doorway with a confident smirk. The charcoal grey stallion wasn’t wearing the luscious red cape or regalia he had donned back in his days of rule; but given his blood-red eyes and his piercing fangs, it would’ve been hard not to recognize the unicorn as the former King Sombra. Even with his curved red horn broken off from the base, which left only a jagged stump that was replaced with a carbon-fiber prosthetic, Sombra’s mere presence was enough to make Cadance shudder uncomfortably. Shining looked equally as unnerved as his wife, but he also carried a light blush when he saw the Ex-King shoot him a suggestive wink. But unlike Chrysalis, the Prince remembered to glance down at the stallion’s hind-legs to see that ankle bracelet tightly latched in place.

“Why hello, Sombra~” purred Chrysalis with a taunting grin, emphasizing the stallion’s first name greatly without any Royal title attached. “And what have you been doing this morning, hmm? Gallivanting around the castle and daydreaming about when you used to own it?~”

Shining shot a warning glare back at the Ex-Queen, but wasn’t able to chastise her before Sombra gave a retort. “Well, at least I’m still allowed in my former place of residence. How long has it been since you saw your throne again? I just saw mine ten minutes ago~”

“Hmph…” Chrysalis looked away from Sombra with an aggravated scowl, while Cadance struggled not to giggle at their exchange. But after a brief scoff, the changeling made sure to say back to her rival villain, “You were probably just trying to get another Guard’s cock in your muzzle like usual.”

“HEY!!” Shining pointed a hoof at Chrysalis warningly, while Sombra stood with his mouth agape in offense.

“HOW DARE YOU!” roared Sombra as he glared at her venomously. “I would NEVER stoop to something that low!”

Even with his genuinely the Ex-King made that statement, the flat stares from Cadance and Shining were enough to question his validity. By the time Sombra took notice of their unamused stares, Chrysalis was grinning smugly without needing to say a word. Nevertheless, Sombra kept his attention on the couple as he rolled his eyes with a groan. “Ugh! For the last time, that Guard came onto me, okay?! And he was sucking ME off! I don’t bottom!”

Shining and Cadance just looked away from the stallion, not wanting to entertain that excuse following that... incident. Even though neither of them were judgemental about Sombra’s orientation, his promiscuity caused a few awkward moments since his probation in the castle. Meanwhile, Chrysalis decided to press her luck by asking, “Oh, while we’re on that subject, was it him who decided to dress up like Shining Armor? Or was that your insistence?~”

“Okay, OKAY!” Shining was quick to interrupt another fight from erupting, and even stood on his hind-legs while keeping some distance between Chrysalis and Sombra. He lit up his magic to float the remaining two coffee cups off of his back. “Guys, this is NOT what I wanted to happen today! I was in a really good mood this morning, and I don’t want that ruined because YOU two are unable to act like adults!”

Due to Shining’s vigilant attitude, the two ex-villains relented with identical sighs. Chrysalis and Sombra scowled away from each other, even though it was obvious both of them wanted to throw a punch or two. Cadance managed to keep her composure while in her husband’s presence, and carried an equally neutral expression to hide her enjoyment of their bickering. Meanwhile, Shining closed his eyes with a forelonged groan, and reluctantly floated both of them the remaining lattes he purchased. “Here, you guys,” he said with a begrudging tone of voice, “I originally bought these for you two as a reward for keeping up your behavior. And even though you’re both disappointing me greatly with your fighting, I don’t want them to go to waste either.”

Fortunately for the Royal couple, Chrysalis and Sombra accepted the cups with thankful nods. Chrysalis was the first to respond cordially. “Thank you, Shining Armor. This was a kind gesture of you, and I apologize for taking your wife’s form. It was merely for magical upkeep, and nothing more.”

Even with how honest Chrysalis’ tone sounded, Cadance rolled her eyes with a disbelieving scoff. She also used her magic to float away the clipboard Chrsyalis was holding, which happened to be the Princess’ personal schedule. But before Shining could say anything about his wife’s unsubtle glare, Sombra gave his thanks as well. “Yes, thank you for the coffee. That’s very thoughtful of you.” The Ex-King gave a gracious smile before taking a sip, and shrugged with an impressed look on his face. “Mmm! And might I say, it’s almost as alluring as yourself, your Highness~”

Sombra’s tactless grin caused the Prince to avert his gaze from him once more, as well as Cadance to stare at the former foe warningly. Chrysalis just rolled her eyes before saying, “Seriously, Sombra? Was your sense of subtlety removed alongside your horn in that magical blast?”

“Okay, let’s go!” Like a father taking control of his unruly children, Shining used his magic to escort both villains out of the room, and then down opposing ends of the hallway. “Just enjoy your drinks, and please try to stay out of each other’s manes!”

“Hmph~” As he walked away freely, Sombra gloatingly brushed back his luscious black mane with a hoof. “As if I would want to be around that tangled mess of chitin she claims to be a mane.”

“I HEARD THAT!” snarled Chrysalis, even though she was storming off the opposite direction of Sombra. Under her breath she muttered to herself, “I swear, I thought Discord was the gayest villain…”

“Ughhhh…” By the time both villains dispersed with their cups, Shining was too frustrated to even think of enjoying his own. Cadance couldn’t help looking disheartened, even though she found Chrysalis and Sombra’s fights to be very entertaining. But even when she placed a hoof on his shoulder, the Princess was upset to see him so downtrodden following that scuffle. “Darnit,” he muttered under his breath, making sure to keep up his parental habit of not swearing. “All I wanted to do was make ponies happy this morning.”

“Oh, Shining!” Cadance instantly felt guilty, and wrapped a hoof around her husband to give him a caring hug. “Honey, you shouldn’t blame yourself for how those two acted. Chrysalis should’ve known better than to use her shapeshifting magic away from surveillance, and Sombra wasn’t acting appropriately either. Besides, it says a lot that you diffused the situation so quickly, without resorting to any restraints like usual.”

“Hmmm…” Shining looked down at his hooves for a moment, and shrugged in realization of that last point especially. Considering how badly Chrysalis and Sombra acted in their first couple months in the couple’s custody, he was grateful that he didn’t need to conjure up any zip-ties or muzzle guards again. Even though that wasn’t necessarily the best sign of progress, it was just enough to make him smile weakly. “Yeah, I… I guess that’s something to be happy about.” Shining gave his wife an appreciative smile. “Thanks, honey.”

“It’s no problem~” Cadance gave her husband a light peck on the lips, which made his smile widen with a blush across his cheeks. She then took a sip from her latte, which she was finally able to appreciate well enough to catch the custom detail he added. “Ooh! Is that brown sugar I taste?”

“Yeah, it is!” Shining looked rather proud of himself for thinking to ask for that small addition to her drink. “Heh~ At least I know that you’re the real Cadance this time.” Both of the ponies chuckled from that little quip, with Cadance clearly able to forgive her husband for that earlier mix-up. As she took another sip from her cup, Shining looked down one end of the hallway and asked, “Hey, would you mind if you held my latte for a moment? I need to find a restroom.”

“Oh, just use the room right in there.” Cadance pointed inside of the room they were all just in. “I know there’s a bathroom in there, so it’s probably fine.”

“Oh, good thinking!” Shining handed his wife his cup, which was still about two-thirds of the way full of his seasonal drink. As he trotted off to the bathroom, Cadance hummed to herself in thought while glancing down at her husband’s latte. The venti-sized cup had an open lid for the whipped-cream, which had now melted enough to settle inside of the brew. After hearing the bathroom door close shut, Cadance grew a piqued smirk to match her devilish chuckle.

“Hmmm… I think I might know how to make him feel better~” With a quick flash of her magic, Cadance conjured up a small purple vial that she had purchased from Zecora the last time she was in Ponyville. Even though she knew it was inappropriate to alter her spouse’s drink without permission, she had heard enough praises from Missus Cake to know how well the potion served as an aphrodisiac. After looking around to make sure she was in the clear, she emptied the tiny vial of liquid into his cup while grinning lewdly. “Theeerrrrre we go… In just half an hour, you’ll be as hard as a rock and ready for the Princess of Love~”

Just as she was about to conjure up a second vial for herself, her attention was brought towards the closed bathroom door. “Uhhhh, Cadance?!” Shining’s voice sounded a little distressed while inside the bathroom. “I… I might need some toilet paper…”

“OH!” Cadance covered her muzzle to keep from laughing, and placed Shining’s cup on top of one of the tarp-covered tables in the room. “Okay, one second! I think I saw a roll in one of the guest rooms.”

Cadance quickly rushed out of the room to find her spouse some TP, not wanting to embarrass him with such an un-royal problem. Meanwhile inside the bathroom, Shining could be heard sighing to himself. “Oh, great… Well, at least this didn’t happen in the coffee shop…”

The Princess had to go down the hallway quite a bit, which left her husband’s latte to sit alone with steam simmering from the top. As soon as Cadance was out of sight, one of the ex-villains silently trotted inside of the room upon hearing Shining’s dilemma. Sombra was grinning rather suggestively, and paused when he reached the table holding the Prince’s cup. Since he hadn’t seen what Cadance did with his drink, the former King felt no shame as he reached inside the strap of his tracking device. “Hmmmm…”

Sombra pulled out a tiny glass vial of his own, which was glowing with an ominous red hue. After glancing back at the doorway to make sure he was unseen, the stallion uncapped the bottle to add his own mixture to the latte. “So, Chrysalis thinks I can’t have Shining as my personal slut, hmmm?~” Since he was keeping his voice too faint for Shining to overhear, Sombra was able to giggle excitedly when he slipped the empty vial back in its hiding place. “Well, let’s see how he handles my charm with that aphrodisiac in his drink~”

Cadance’s potion was already potent enough to leave a regular stallion a horny as a preteen alone in his bathroom with his Dad’s Playcolt magazine; but with the addition of Sombra’s equally concentrated brew, Shining was going to be in for quite a ride. While the Prince was left trapped in the bathroom, Sombra slipped out just as effortlessly as how he entered. “Hmph~” The Ex-King was grinning to himself cockily while muttering under his breath, “Oh, I can just imagine how upset both those mares will be when I fuck the Prince myself~”

Since Cadance was still in search of some toilet paper, Sombra’s plans of adultery were completely unseen by the time he escaped down the hallway. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to return to the room before the other ex-villain snuck back into the room herself. Chrysalis only peeked inside the doorway for a moment, but her face lit up when she saw Shining’s drink unattended. Since her magic wasn’t incapacitated like Sombra’s, the changeling quickly scurried towards the cup with her horn brightly lit. It may have taken a strenuous amount of effort to maintain her aura under the castle’s magic-inhibitors; but much to Shining Armor’s impending doom, the former Queen was able to cast up another tiny glass vial. This one was full of a glowing green potion, which was more powerful than either of the ones Cadance and Sombra used.

“Oh, don’t mind me,” she said to herself in a jaunty tone, making sure to keep her voice a light whisper so Shining can’t hear through the door. “I’m just wanting to see you squirm a bit from your own hormones~”

Unlike the previous two vials that were deposited into Shining’s cup, Chrysalis’ brand of aphrodisiac was literally considered military-grade back in the Changeling Kingdom. In fact, the last time it was used in a training exercise, it had to be banned by Princess Twilight Sparkle when it caused a mass orgy involving twenty ponies. But since she still had a vial of it in hiding, Chrysalis figured it could be a fun way to entertain herself after the embarrassment she endured. By the time she poured the remaining mixture into Shining’s cup, it was now almost completely refilled to the brim.

“Oh, it’s so fun to be asexual sometimes,” she murred to herself with an evil grin. “He gets to act like a horny fool, and I’m just going to watch like a ‘good girl’~”

Chrysalis then exited the room without detection, just like Sombra was able to do earlier. By the time the changeling disappeared down the hallway, Cadance didn’t notice her when she finally returned with a toilet paper roll. She trotted back into the room like it was nothing, and knocked on the door without noticing anything amiss with her spouse’s drink. “Shining, honey? I found you a roll.”

The door quickly opened the tiniest bit, allowing a large enough gap for Shining to pull in the TP with his magic. “Thanks, babe!” The door promptly shut, allowing the Prince to finish his business in privacy. Due to his predicament, Shining had completely forgotten to inform his wife about the museum opening they were supposed to attend that day. Because of that, Cadance wasn’t given any warnings as she exited the room politely.

“Alright, I’ll be in the bedroom if you need me, honey~” Even though the Princess had some plans to attend to herself, that potion she deposited was enough to make her pause her schedule for the time being. Her tail was already beginning to flag up in excitement, and she was smirking to herself devilishly by the time she returned to the hallway. “Hehehehe~ And I have a feeling he will need me very soon…”

After a couple more minutes in the bathroom, Shining finally exited with a relieved sigh. “Aaaahhhh… that’s better.” The Prince smiled when he saw his latte, and picked it up with his magic instead of his hoof. Since his aura couldn’t discern weight as well as physical touch, he had no way of knowing that it was slightly heavier from the three vials worth of aphrodisiacs that were floating around inside. Unfortunately, since all three of the different brews were tasteless, there wasn’t any way for him to catch the difference by flavor either.

“Mmmmm…” Shining Armor closed his eyes in pure nostalgia, and finished up the entirety of that cup in one go. Since the mixture had cooled down quite a bit since his purchase, there was nothing to distract him from the sweet and creamy treat that he guzzled down with glee. If he had only taken just one of those vials (especially Chrysalis’), he probably would’ve been in enough trouble as it is; but with the dangerous cocktail of three different aphrodisiacs now in his system, there was no telling what would occur by the time he drank the final few drops in his cup.

“Ahhhhh~” With a satisfied sigh, Shining wiped the excess foam from his upper lip before lighting up his horn, and tossing the empty cup in the nearby wastebasket. “There we go,” he said with a more content smile on his face. “Now I just need to get ready for that big speech today…”

Shining may have not felt anything weird when he left the room, nor by the time he headed back downstairs to resume his Princely duties. But even with the content smile on his face, and his optimistic mindset when it came to the Crystal Empire’s fall season, it didn’t take long for the fur along the stallion’s back to slowly stand on end. It also didn’t take long for his heart rate to gradually increase, which pumped more blood through his system. And even as his cheeks began to blush, and his breaths grew slightly winded without any explanation, he wasn’t able to notice anything was amiss until he felt a faint, but very notable twitch in his sheath…