Survival Begins at Home

Shining and Cadance gently swayed to the music she'd prepared. Whatever had happened that wonderful day, Cadance wanted to recreate it. When Shining woke up, before he could shower, she insisted that he dance with her, not only to help him calm down, but to show him that she was still standing next to him, still ready to support him, and still in love with him despite his circumstances. It may have just been confirmation bias, but she was sure it was working.

When the music was over, he gently nuzzled her. "I don't know what it was, but this kind of made me feel better." He leaned down and kissed her lips. "I owe you for this, Cadance."

"It was my pleasure, Shiny."

As she began directing him to the shower, he stopped her and pulled her toward the bedroom. "I want..." he trailed off. "Forget it, nevermind."

"No, no, tell me," urged Cadance. "What would put you in a good mood?"

Shining took a deep breath and looked into Cadance's eyes. "I want to be a better husband to you. I want you to be proud of me again. You've done so much for me, and I want to make it up to you."

Cadance smiled. "Shiny, you don't have to make it up to me. You needed cheering up, I came in to support you. That's what wives do. They support their husbands. You don't have to repay me for that."

Shining shook his head. "It doesn't matter if I have to; I want to. I've been a real sad sack these last few months, and you deserve better." There was a short pause. "I want to feel like I'm worthwhile again."

Cadance stepped closer and wrapped her hands around his body, letting them drift down to his buttocks. She stretched her lips up to meet his. "You're definitely worth my while. You're a good husband, even if you're going through a difficult time right now. Once you find your feet again, you can show me every day how wonderful a husband you can be."

He reached down and squeezed her arse gently. "I'd like to show you what your love means to me."

She chuckled as she moved to the bed. "Show me, then."

Shining followed his wife to the bed, grabbed her by the shoulder, and gently pushed her onto her back. He pressed his lips to her neck, slowly moving down to her breasts, gently tickling her nipples with his tongue. He then moved down to her navel, digging his tongue into the bundle of nerves and tasting the salt of her sweat. He continues to make his way down, stopping between her legs. Dragging his tongue between her labia, he gently pushed his hands against her thighs. This was her moment, and he wanted to do it right.

She pressed against his hands as he found her clitoris. Sealing it between his tongue and his upper lip, he sucked gently on it, eliciting a moan as his wife clenched at the sheets. He pulled his face away, separating from her with a loud slurp, then immediately digging his tongue into her vagina, pressing her walls apart. She was already sopping wet, having started with the slow, intimate dancing. She tasted sweet, like she was drizzling honey from a bottle she had stuffed up inside herself, an apt analog, considering how sticky it was.

Cadance grabbed her husband by the mane and brought him back up to her face, sucking his wonderful tongue into her mouth and licking every square centimetre of it. Her other hand reached down and guided his hard length between her lips, as she was very ready for him.

With a strong but gentle thrust, he buried himself in her velvet folds, gliding in easily due to how slick she was. He had already hilted, and they'd only just begun. He pulled back until his medial ridge popped out, then pushed back in, brushing the tiny mound of flesh against her clitoris and slapping his testicles against her arsehole. Barring a few days prior, there had been a long pause in their sex life, and his testicles had swollen up in the interim. Every thrust, they would smack against her until he came close to the edge. Leaning down and digging his tongue into her mouth, he picked up the pace as his cock throbbed and his testicles scrunched up. A moment later, he was filling her womb with hot bursts of his seed, his grunts of ecstacy muffled by her mouth.

As the crashing waves of their combined pleasure quieted down to soft ripples, they lay next to each other, staring at the ceiling as they listened to the sounds of their own heavy breathing, the only noise in the suite. Shining rolled onto his side, looked deeply into his wife's eyes, and said honestly, "I love you, Cady."

After his shower, he put on his armor and made his way to Lieutenant Commander Stone's office again. He was feeling much better after his morning exercise, and he was ready to provide aid wherever it was needed. He knocked on the door, which was already open, and Stone waved him inside.

"How goes the plan to set up the barricades?" asked Shining, sitting down. "Have you collected enough glass?"

"We have," nodded Stone. "Like I said, with a city this big, there are plenty of broken bottles. I asked the street sweepers not to send the broken pieces to the recycling center, but to a number of special bins. Other trash, certainly, that all goes to the same place, but the glass came to us. The recycling plants also helped out, sending in their stock of broken glass, so there's plenty to go around. Enough to put up a five metre wide barricade around the city, leaving our main roads open. If the zebras are going to march on us, we know from whence."

"And the towers?"

Stone waved his hand. "Like I said, the city loves its towers. A few steel support beams, a wooden platform, and a protective wall with lookout points and arrow loops. There's one every two hundred metres surrounding the north half of the city, and by tomorrow, the south half, as well, each covered by a trio of archers. Let Major Pyre take it from here. He may be an incorrigible arse, but I have faith that he at least knows how to cover this."

Shining nodded. "Sounds like you have all your bases covered."

Stone pursed his lips and furrowed his brow. "For the land battle, yes. Zebras are known for their formations and armies, but not for their navies. We have no idea what to expect at sea, so I was hoping you might come down to the docks to see the men and perhaps offer some encouraging words."

Shining looked up. "Really?"

Stone nodded.

"I accept your offer."