Dreamwalker's Tale: An Anthology

As I trotted down the hallway, slowly but surely closing in on Celestia’s study, I could feel just about any and every bone in my body and the exhaustion they seemed to be filled with. Who needs bone marrow anyway? Despite my fatigue, I smiled. No, I positively beamed. At every guard I came by. At the sun whenever I passed yet another window. At the castle staff, accompanied with a jolly greeting, as they went on their way. A little flutter in my heart and my stomach, and I felt light.

It was a good day.

By now, it was afternoon. Day Court had closed an hour ago or so, and I knew where to find her. Sitting on her desk, buried behind unyielding mountains of paperwork. As usual.

I did not mind leaving her to it. She very much preferred working in concentrated silence. And my intention was simple enough, accordingly. I would just pop my head in, see if everything was fine, if she was okay, and then I would continue on my merry way back to her chamber. I had a book in mind that I wanted to fetch from the Royal Archive for some light reading, a suggestion Moondancer had made a few weeks back.

The fact that it had been a few weeks was both a good thing, and a bad thing. Good, because it had not been a year ago, or two. I slowly caught up, sort of. Bad, because I still was not done doing so. I did not read as much as I wanted, or as fast as I wanted. And despite everyone constantly telling me that literature wanted to be enjoyed, and that reading faster was not preferable to said enjoyment, I still drowned in book suggestions and tried desperately to wade through those muddy waters.

A good book to spend a few hours on. I would not get it done, but that was okay. Tomorrow was another day, with another couple of hours to beat into submission. And the day after that, and so on, and so forth. Easy does it.

When I reached the study door, I still grinned. “Good day, gentlecolts!” I greeted the guards.

They were part of the day guard. So of course, both appeared as stallions with white coats and golden armor, holding their spears. One was supposedly a pegasus, one an earth pony. But the latter gave me that slightly crooked smirk in response to my greeting which told me that I knew this one. “Swift Turn, is that you?”

His smirk grew into a grin. “Well somepony’s having a good day! What’s the deal, found another vertebra to finally build yourself a spine?”

His little barb could do nothing to dampen my mood. And to be fair, he probably would not have used it had he thought it could. “Uhhh, I don’t know. Big words for you. You sure you can handle those? I see you’ve been promoted, good on you. You’re now allowed to stand uselessly in front of this door. So much better than the other door. Which one was that again?” As he chuckled, I shot a quick glance to the side and took note of the reaction of his companion. Or rather, the lack thereof. So the other guard was not his brother Cloud Rider. Honestly, I had never fully understood why Swift had switched to the day guard. And I did not know for sure if his brother had followed him as he usually did.

“Don’t worry, that’s Rough Hide, he’s alright,” Swift eased my concerns.

I nodded and finally took a step forward. The day guard had a certain image to uphold. But there were no guests in this hallway, a quick look around even told me of the absence of castle staff. And there was no need to uphold said image to other guards, as far as my opinion was concerned. So instead of standing stiff and at attention, I drew him into a friendly hug and he quickly reciprocated.

“It’s good to see you. It’s been ages,” Swift muttered.

I chuckled as I withdrew. “Well, if you would guard this door more often, we would run into one another all the time. So basically, it’s all your fault, really.”

He chuckled as well and shook his head. “Sure, sure, whatever you say. So… are we going to see you in the Last Round anytime soon? You know, the gang still tries to get together occasionally. Everypony’s busy, but we make due.”

I sighed. It was involuntarily the first dip in mood and it came from an unexpected source. Seeing Swift again was nice. He was a good friend. But at the same time, I had been absent from many social gatherings and little get-togethers. Most of them still remained here in Canterlot, while I, well, I did not. But despite the illusion of a rigid, expressionless face that his armor enforced, I thought I could still see a hopeful glint in his eyes. I sighed yet again and mustered a smile as I made a decision on the matter. “Tell you what. It sounds stupid, but… I know this way, it will actually work. Send me a letter. Two, maybe three days in advance. And next time you guys meet up, I’m going to be there.”

His playful smirk morphed into a genuine, warm smile. “Works for me. Earth Breaker occasionally asks about you and honestly, I don’t know what to tell him. And I’m sure Lightning Dust will be thrilled to meet up with you again.”

I groaned. It was a reflex, really. “We could still tell her we’re at the Last Round and then meet up at the Watchtower in secret, right?” I joked.

Swift chuckled once more and shook his head. “She’d hunt us down, you know that.”

I sighed, though I could feel that warm smile on my lips. For as much as she was an annoyance, a massive, massive pain in the rear, I somehow grew to like her a little. Just a little though.

“So anyway, what’cha here for?” Swift asked.

I shrugged and nodded towards the door. “Just a quick check-up, I think. See if she’s alright. Anything I need to know?”

Swift furrowed his brow for a moment and then shrugged as well. “Nothing, really. She had her afternoon slice a little early, maybe?”

He usually was not stationed here. So the knowledge of when exactly Celestia usually ordered her slice of cake had to have come from Rough Hide. Who I did not know. But from his lack of participation in the entire conversation, his rigid posture and his stern expression, I could tell that he was somepony who took most things, duty above all, way too seriously. And to be fair, Sunny rarely deviated from established routines without reason. Many of her days were like clockwork.

It was a minor detail, but still something to keep in mind.

“Well, thanks,” I replied and turned my attention towards the door. I opened it as slowly as possible to avoid any creaks and groans. The doors in the castle were meticulously cared for, but that did not mean they were incapable of producing treacherous sounds.

I peeked inside and saw basically what I had expected to find. Sunny was—

No.

She wore her crown, her peytral. The horseshoes had come off, as a compromise. But everything else was still in place. She was Princess Celestia. And she was busy. Intently focused on the document in front of her, while three separate piles of other paperwork patiently waited for their turn.

I slipped inside and closed the door. And the hair on my coat bristled a little as I felt several protective charms snap back into place. I took a moment to observe my love. She did not just seem focused. I knew her focused-face. She tried to force herself to concentrate. So something was giving her difficulties.

Her eyes scanned the paper. And I came to realize: I stood here for maybe half a minute, just watching her, and her eyes still scanned the page. The one, singular page. I knew her reading speed. Sunny did not read quite as fast as Twilight, who usually breezed through pages at roughly five times the speed I could muster. And that was already assuming that it was not some highly scientific text with complicated lingo.

It was hard to tell, but I got the impression that she was reading the same page over and over and over again. So whatever ailed her was not just giving her some difficulties, it was an actual roadblock. It made her struggle.

Huh. That rarely happens.

“Suuunnyyy~,” I sang quietly.

I smiled as I saw her ears swivel. High and alert and turned towards me. But her eyes remained glued to the page and her brow furrowed slightly.

I took a few tentative steps forward. The balcony door was open and a cool breeze swept around my hooves. Now that I was not constantly passing by windows that allowed the afternoon sun to bake my coat, it actually made me shiver a little. “Sunny,” I whispered again. It was a strange reaction that I got this time. Her ears splayed flat against her head. Had I annoyed her? But how? Her brow furrowed further, and so did mine now. Something was not quite right.

I took another step forward. It was hard to see anything of her, really. The desk she used for her study was a thing of massive proportions. And despite easily towering to twice my height, even Princess Celestia sometimes seemed to get lost behind it as this tiny little filly overwhelmed by expectations. And the three mountains responsible for said expectations knew not of mercy.

“Celestia?” I asked as worry slowly crept into me. And into my voice, apparently.

Her eyes snapped up, following the quick motion of her head. She looked startled. And that, too, was concerning. Her mask did not slip easily. The princess was regal and patient and never betrayed any sign of nervousness or anger or sadness or any other negative emotion, no matter how high the tide might have risen internally. And she looked startled.

I decided not to point it out, since I did not know yet what I was dealing with here. So instead, I smirked a little. “That busy, huh?”

Her muzzle scrunched up. “How many times did I ignore you?”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Twice. But don’t worry, it’s fine.” I craned my neck a little to get a peek at what she was dealing with. It looked like a letter. Maybe from some noble, or from some foreign dignitary or what have you. I saw nothing obvious that gave any indication as to what gave her so much trouble. So further prodding was required. “Are the nobles giving you a hard time again?”

She followed my glance down to the letter and sighed. “No. It is the monthly report from our emissary in Griffonstone. Nothing that should give me a hard time.” She traced the tip of her tongue over her lips to wet them a little. I considered offering to bring her a glass of water, but I noticed that she had one. Right in front of her.

“You were with Luna?”

Oof. Alright. Loads to unpack there. I furrowed my brow again. We were entering a familiar dance, it seemed. I knew something bothered her. And she had caught on to the fact that I knew. She tried to distract me. But the fact that she immediately resorted to the big hitters was just another droplet in the ‘I should be worried’-barrel that was slowly filling up. However, I found no trace of accusation in her voice either.

I walked a few steps to the side of the table in an effort to get around it while I answered. “Well. What to make of that question? Are you worried, or maybe even disgruntled, that I would sneak out, even though it’s currently our time and I’ll have my time with her in a few days?”

For the first time since I had entered her study, my Sunny came out to play. A warm, genuine smile graced her lips as she softly shook her head, her ethereal mane billowing behind her a little. “No. Never. I am simply… worried for her. I wish to know about her well-being.”

“Didn’t you see her at breakfast?” I asked in reply.

She nodded. “I did. But that was this morning, and you saw her more recently.”

That’s a distraction, alright. But at the same time, I could tell that she really did care, and that she really did worry a little. She probably had noticed Luna being unusually quiet at breakfast or something. So I sat down on the floor for a moment and sighed as the memories swept past me. “Weeell,” I started with an unnecessary pause. “She’s… okay. Could be better, could be worse, honestly. I don’t know if she told you, but apparently she remembered her first real argument with Twilight yesterday and that kind of… broke her? When I came by to spend some time with Stardust, she was still barely holding herself together. And I might have pushed her a little so she became undone again. She cried about it, and then she got a little angry at me for betraying her like that, and she’s still scary when angry, and then she immediately switched gears again and wailed. It’s… it was…” I sighed deeply and rubbed my neck. ‘Exhausting’ was the word I hesitated to use. Because frankly, in my head that sounded like an insult and I would not willfully insult Luna. Ever. “It was a thing,” I finally settled. “The waterworks ran dry after about an hour or so. Stardust was a little confused, let’s say. In the midst of it, I had two ponies bawling their eyes out. But it’s fine. I managed. Honestly, I thought that with his birth, her mood swings would get better. But apparently that’ll still take some time. I also kept her from writing another apology to Twilight. Apparently she had done so yesterday. Around twenty. Per hour. For half a day. According to the one answer she got, Spike is a little cross with her. And Twilight is probably on her way here, I would assume.”

Whatever ailed Sunny, hearing about Luna’s distress did help to distract her from it. I had a hard time telling myself that this was good. “And Luna?”

My smile shifted a little and became lopsided. "She’s fine. After she exhausted herself, we curled up on her bed for a while and she finally fell asleep. Her last Night Court had apparently been a little bit weird due to the whole apology-saga, but I think sleeping it off will help and she should be fine to open Court tonight. With any luck, Twilight will arrive before she wakes up.”

Sunny nodded, satisfied with my answer. And then the lull followed. The silence that slowly permeated the entire room. It was the loudest silence I had witnessed in quite a while. Her gaze occasionally drifted over to me, only for her to force it back down onto the table and that dreaded letter. Report. Thingy.

I took another three steps and could finally see her in full. I did notice how she seemed hesitant for a moment, almost as if she wanted me to ask to stay where I was. But she did not.

Once I could see her in full, a new and completely different smile bloomed on my muzzle. Eight months in and she was huge. “Gosh, you’re beautiful,” I mumbled as I shamelessly stared at her massively inflated belly.

She sighed quietly. “You do not have to do that.”

I knew that tone by now. Luna was a mare of passion and her mood swings had been accordingly extreme. Sunny however was more in control. Mellow and subdued, almost. I took a couple steps to close the distance and cautiously laid a hoof on her belly. “I mean it. Every word. Every time I say it. And I’m not going to grow tired of saying it anytime soon.”

She still avoided looking at me. “Lying is not nice, Applejack should have taught you that.”

My smile only widened. I took another step, turned my head and leaned in. I brushed my cheek against her belly. It was warm. Hot, even. It had been considerably softer in the past, but now it stretched to hold the precious gift inside. “She did,” I finally replied as I turned my gaze upwards. “And I like to think that I follow her lessons to the best of my ability. Love, you are gorgeous.”

“I look like a balloon,” she replied barely above a whisper.

“You are pretty,” I continued my assault.

“You will run out eventually,” she dared.

“You are irresistible,” I remained steadfast.

“Please. I just don’t—“

“You are desirable.” She was right, of course. I would run out of things to say eventually. At which point I had no qualms to repeat myself. That was how it usually went. I removed myself from her. Just a little bit. And I sparked my horn to life and captured her cheek with a weak tendril of magic. I guided her muzzle to mine and kissed her. Soft, hesitant lips against mine. A little quiver as she sighed unsteadily.

What ails you, love? Tell me, so I can try to make it go away.

When I opened my eyes again, I noticed how she did the same. And I noticed those tiny embers in them. Embers were an indicator of hidden heat. Our kiss had been innocent, an expression of love, above all else. The wind outside had slowed down in the past few minutes. And I finally noticed a familiar scent. My eyes trailed down and I realized why she had almost asked me not to come closer. She sat on her chair, sure, but between its upholstery and her delicious rump was a towel, folded in the middle.

I swallowed. My throat felt strangely dry all of a sudden. And I found myself licking across my lips as well. A single strike, and some embers began to glow in my own heart as my gaze inevitably sought hers again.

I’m done with those games, I decided. “Tell me, love. What bothers you.”

“Nothing,” she insisted. “I just have a hard time focusing.”

Don’t lie. “Shall we return, then? To me telling you how much I desire you?” And for a fraction of a second, a sound made itself known. Stuck halfway down her throat, because she would not allow it any further. Strangled to death within the blink of an eye. But it had been there. And it had sounded like a whimper, almost.

Mood swings were sometimes hard to deal with because of their unpredictable nature. But her libido had behaved rather erratic in those past few weeks as well. It was hard not to take it personally when the sight of my excitement almost made her hurl. But then there were these… other times. And with a smile that grew more confident by the second, I once more raised my head as high as I could and guided her down. She could have resisted, yet she did not. That already told me another thing or two.

I did not hesitate much. My tongue traced along her lips and was granted entrance within the moment. I cupped her cheek with one hoof, but quickly guided it along her jaw and to her neck to further draw her in. A few decent hits, to spark embers into flickering red. A familiar dance ensued. Exciting despite how well-known it was.

And when we broke apart again, I could see a small little campfire lit up in her eyes.

“Please… you are not helping!” she insisted.

“Au contraire, ma cherie,” I replied with an admittedly terrible Prench accent. “I think I know now what keeps you distracted, and I think I am helping. Right now. If, however, you are sure that I am mistaken, just say the word and I shall stop.” I craned my neck just that little bit to reach her ear. Her very, very sensitive ears. I sent a hot breath against them as I asked: “Are you sure?”

Another half-strangled whimper. Another barely suppressed shiver. I saw her tail swish ever so slightly.

“I-I am…” she replied, but quickly cut herself off. Too late.

Not only did she sound everything but confident in that answer, she sounded desperate beneath a paper-thin veneer of a sense of duty. And that stutter was more telling than anything else, really. Princess Celestia did not stutter. Heck, not even Sunny did that. “Tu, tu, tu. We can’t have The Princess stammering like that, now can we, love?” I teased her a little bit. Just a little bit. But already, I could see how little patience she had for that. Her gaze was drawn back to the mountain of paperwork. It was a reasonable defense. I had to admit that. These things, for as much as I despised their existence, were important. Taxes and reports and letters and law proposals and whatnot. She was basically running an entire nation from this very chamber, this very desk and this very chair, via daily battles with these very mountains. And they grew. They always grew. All she could do to keep her little ponies happy was to work tirelessly. To chafe down as much as she could, to at least keep their growth stagnant. And every day when she managed to reduce them by more than they grew that day was a win for ponykind.

I sighed internally and gave her an out. “If you really think I should leave you to it, I will,” I offered in a more serious tone.

The moment I did, something snapped. Something changed and that desperation seemed to veer into panic. It was such a weird and alarming sight. Sunny did not panic. Ever. But with a blink of golden light, her peytral was discarded, her crown nowhere to be seen. It was a statement.

One that made me smile again.

I was about to ask her when she quickly cut in. “I could not focus on Day Court. I am pretty sure I called someone something rude at some point. I need to work, but I simply cannot. I crave your—… I… I need you.”

I looked at her and felt my right eyebrow crawl higher. “So… you want me to… make it quick? So you can return to work? Seriously?” Even though her expression was pained, she still nodded almost eagerly.

For the higher good. The thought almost made me laugh. Instead I snorted once, shook my head and regarded her once more. She was beautiful. I had meant every word I said, every time I said them. Thinking about her always made me smile. And in those last months, seeing her grow had been an interesting experience. The further her belly had swollen, the more I found myself wanting her. And that revelation still felt weird. But I did not deny it. She was, right now, the most beautiful she had ever been.

I chuckled quietly as I made my decision. “Stand up.” It was not a question, not a suggestion. It was an order. And she complied with a shaky breath. The chair was surrounded in a golden aura and levitated off the ground, to be placed a little to the side. And she stood at her desk, unsure what to do, unsure how to proceed. We would usually retreat to her chambers at this point, with good reason, too. They were soundproof, first and foremost. Instead, she closed the balcony door.

I found my gaze drifting to the chair again. And I really could not help it. Especially after seeing her so strangely insecure, wound up tight like a spring coil. I noticed how she watched me. Observed as I took a few steps away from her, and towards the chair. A casual first glance already told me a little story of dismay. There was a damp patch on the towel. Not soaking wet, mind you, but quite damp.

And out of a silly little thought, I sparked my horn, grabbed the towel and slowly, right under her gaze, lifted it to my muzzle. I closed my eyes, my nostrils flared and I took a deep breath. “Oh wow,” I mumbled quietly as the strength of it hit me in the head. Within seconds, it clouded my rational thought. Blanketed it with a layer of desire, of lust. “That’s just…” I took another whiff. “Intoxicating.” My ears swiveled around and focused on her direction. I could hear her stifle that gasp. I could feel her gaze burn my coat like the warm afternoon sun had done earlier.

I opened my eyes again, shot her a love-drunk, half-lidded stare and with a wide smile, parted my lips and extended my tongue. Slowly, its tip crawled towards the patch. Sunny’s gaze was fixated on that. She chewed her bottom lip. Her ears stood ramrod straight. Her tail swished and spread her wonderful scent further. It also allowed me to catch the occasional glimpse of her glistening folds.

Before my tongue made contact, I stopped. And lowered the towel, retrieved my tongue, shut my mouth. “You know,” I mused while I put the towel back down, “why take this when I can go straight for the source.”

Did sniffing a towel like a pervert and almost licking it count as foreplay? If so: Another interesting thing learned. If not, well. Then apparently, we did not have any this time. I turned around, walked over to her and grabbed her flanks. The moment my hooves made contact, she released a shuddering breath and her eyelids fluttered. She was so sensitive already.

And that endearing little campfire in her eyes? Right now, it was an inferno. Insatiable as it devoured entire veldts. Her gaze only spurred me on. Seeing what my presence, my touch, was capable of. Seeing what I could do to her. How I could affect her.

“Show me,” I ordered next.

Sunny flagged her tail, its ethereal beauty swept to the side to allow me free reign over her most private bits.

“You are gorgeous,” I repeated. And as if on cue, her clit winked at me. The timing made me chuckle a little. “Well hi there, little buddy. Haven’t seen you in a while. So glad to finally meet again.”

“Do you wa~aahhh!”

The moment she spoke up, I knew her patience — whatever little of that had remained intact — had run out. And I did not want to keep her in suspense any further. So I extended my tongue again and gave her entire slit a good, slow lick, right from the bottom to the top. I saw that jolt of electricity run down her legs and freeze them in place so her knees could not buckle.

And I hummed in satisfaction. Her scent, the warmth her rear radiated, her surprised exclamation and the deep, satisfied moan that followed immediately after, everything served to draw me in further. And her taste, by this point, was… how would she put it? Ah yes.

Simply divine.

I grabbed her flanks more firmly and started to massage them a little while I dove right back in. I could not help myself but tease her a little bit, at least, by tracing my path around her folds, avoiding her winking clit, but soon enough my own patience ran dry and I simply pushed my muzzle in between.

It was a delight, as always, to hear her.

I knew that everypony reacted differently to certain stimuli. For some, it was important to see the action happening. They installed mirrors and wanted to look into the eyes of their partner as much as they could. Others valued touch a lot more and could climax simply by getting a massage.

I valued hearing her the most. Her scent was intoxicating, her taste was so pleasing that I did not want to hold back anymore, but what got me going the most was hearing her moan and gasp, hearing her breath quicken and hitch and sometimes become a little erratic. After all these years, that had never gotten old. And for better or worse — considering where we were doing this —, she had learned not to hold back. For my sake. And I relished that.

I took her little nub in my mouth and gave it a good suck right after retreating from her folds for some much-needed air. She cried out with an almost shrill voice. The tip of my tongue traced little circles around it, occasionally brushed with varying degrees of pressure and intensity over it, with no rhyme or reason or pattern to it, and she loved every second. She had placed her forelegs on the desk and had been smart enough to carefully set the paperwork on a different side table. Because reorganizing that after she might accidentally brush it off the desk was awfully unnecessary.

My gaze drifted a little up and I grinned. While my mouth was still very busy with paying proper attention to her clit and my hooves still drew circles on her flanks and occasionally pressed down on her cutie mark, I had another tool in my repertoire that was currently unused.

A single, lean tendril of magic snaked its way from my horn along her side and then back down her spine. It made her shudder even more and once it reached her tail, I reformed it to massage her sphincter. Another gasp and I grinned. I managed to elicit a raspy, rough moan as I pressed my magic into her. Easy does it, always be careful.

Two hooves, magic, lips and tongue. Maybe I was a little strange in the head, but that was a lot to keep track of. But I managed. And I desperately wanted to, because it was for her. Now I just had to avoid falling into predictable routines.

The fact that I was this busy helped on another front, at least. I felt an almost painful stiffness beneath my own barrel, as blood throbbed and rushed and demanded care and attention that was thoroughly denied. This… was about her.

I grinned and switched it up a little. By grabbing her flanks again and pulling her into me just an inch or so, by greedily diving in between her folds again to extend my tongue as far into her as I could, and by simultaneously pressing a little bit more magic against and into her as well. I thickened the tendril ever so slightly while my tongue swirled against her contracting walls. They tried so desperately to squeeze down on me. To hold me in, to draw me in further.

I could tell she was getting close. The contractions became more frequent and less predictable, her breathing hitched more often, her moans reached the volume my mind already subconsciously associated with it and her legs, albeit held in place firmly, quaked and quivered as if under constant shock.

I once more shifted my attention to her clit and retreated with my magic. Instead, I grabbed her tail right at the dock. She gasped once more and tried — maybe? — to call my name. Maybe she had wanted to warn me. Maybe she had simply wanted to inform me. Either way, she did not get far. A broad, strong stroke right over my little ally, accompanied by my magic pulling at her tail with almost-painful force.

That she got a kick out of me pulling her tail right when she climaxed was something the pregnancy had taught us. I hoped that would stay consistent afterwards. It was honestly a lot of fun to do.

She screamed out in a guttural, primal manner, something incomprehensible that filled me with more pride and joy than my little heart could hold, so it spilled over into the rest of my body and gave me a little bit of extra strength to keep at it, to lap up what her body provided with gushing gusto and in quantity, and to prolong each wave running up and down her body to the best of my ability. It allowed me to ignore the slowly increasing soreness in my hooves and jaw and the burning in my lungs as she subconsciously pressed her rump backwards against me, as her magic grabbed me and shoved me further in.

This is heaven.

When my muzzle came away from her rear, it was positively drenched. Everything I could smell was her, everything I could taste was her, every movement of air was incredibly cold and stung a little and the urge to keep at it, to dive right back was overwhelming. Despite it, I stood still. And I could not have been happier. I grinned like a madpony and marveled at my work. “You. Are. Beautiful.”

Her ragged breaths betrayed a faint laugh. She looked over her shoulder, her face reddened from exertion, a happy, deeply satisfied smile gracing her lips. She clearly considered disagreeing, but ultimately gave up on that. She was too spent to argue. “I… feel like I should lie down for a moment,” she let me know with a wry smile.

I smirked and nodded. “Can you walk?” She shook her head. I made my way over to the couch. It had not been a feature in her study for the longest time, but with her pregnancy coming along and with us learning a thing or two from Luna’s, it had seemed like a smart addition. “I’m ready,” I told her. She lit her horn and teleported the short distance over. And as soon as she reappeared, I carefully grabbed her by her shoulders to keep her steady. It took a little bit of maneuvering to lay her down into a comfortable position. “Everything okay?”

She smiled at me. “I’m fine. Thank you.” She pulled me down and kissed me. It was back to normal. A loving, tender kiss. Even though I could still see the same ember in her eyes as before.

I thought about maybe getting a pillow or two, just to bolster her comfort a little. And apparently, I had spaced out doing that. Because I gave a startled little gasp when I felt her nose brush against my sheath. “Ah! No, no, no, no, no,” I hastily mumbled and took a step back. I had been rock-hard and wanting the entire time I cared for her, and that had been fine. Perfectly fine, really. It was about her. And for as much as I could appreciate the gesture… “I’m not going to run around with… that…”

“You won’t have to,” she purred in a voice that went straight to my head. And my loins, probably. “This is actually quite comfortable. And the position is… ideal.” As to prove her point, she stretched out a little, lying on her side. She looked marvelous.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It really was not fair. Why did everypony I loved knew exactly how to push my every button?

Part of the deal, buddy.

Oh. Right.

“What about the paperwork?” It was a mood killer of a question. I knew that. But again: It had to be asked. I had done my best to help her. Not only with her desire, but with her work. These opportunities were so rare, so few and far between. That I could actually help her with her job for once. No matter in what way. I knew what it meant to her. And she would probably lament this lapse in judgment tomorrow, when the mountains would have grown a bit again.

“Screw the paperwork,” I heard her mumble.

Sunny never mumbled. I chuckled and shook my head. This pregnancy really was weird. Wonderful, truly incredible. But also downright weird at times. And I knew perfectly well that right now, it was simply her afterglow talking.

How I wished I could just relent. The position really seemed perfect. I could walk right up to the edge of the couch, place my forehooves against the couch’s backrest and she would have free access. And she had already told me that it was comfortable for her. That was a huge bonus these days, as many positions were not anymore.

Certainly something to keep in mind, but still — somepony had to keep their head straight. So I leaned down and kissed her and ignored the revelation that those embers, without my contribution at all, had already grown into campfires again. And I broke the kiss before she could escalate it. Because I knew that right now, she would. Without second thought.

“How about this, then: I keep you company until your legs play nice again. You get back there and show those letters who’s boss. And once you’re done, we’ll meet up in your room, hm? I can prepare a little and order dinner and we’ll have the entire evening to ourselves.” It was an offer. A compromise, sort of. And I hoped she was reasonable enough to accept it.

Her immediate response was a pout, of course. And it was adorable. It made me lean down and kiss her again. Then her eyes trailed across the room to the side table her work currently rested upon and a shallow sigh escaped her lips. “Fine.” I nodded, but before I could say anything more, she added: “The entire night… is what you meant. Right?”

There was a daring, mischievous spark in her eyes. I gulped and grinned at the same time and nodded maybe a little bit too eagerly. “Right, of course.”

You’re going to be sore tomorrow, a voice in the back of my head mocked, Sore and sleep-deprived.

The next few minutes trickles by surprisingly fast. We talked a little about our dinner plans and I had a good half a dozen opportunities to laugh and chuckle due to all the sudden innuendo she effortlessly managed to weave into her proposals and suggestions. How she did that baffled me. That she did it at all surprised me. Eventually, though, her body had recuperated enough. It took her a moment to stand up and I helped along as best as I could. She discarded the towel as she placed her chair back where it belonged, but I did notice that she simply levitated a new one from one of the cabinets. Which seemed to be filled with towels now.

I was pretty sure it had offered a small selection of wine bottles previously.

“See you later,” I whispered as I kissed her goodbye. “Can’t wait for it.”

She let me go. I was already at the door when suddenly, a decent force hit my flank and made me yelp. Mostly in surprise. I stared back at her with wide eyes. “Did you just…?”

She sported such a devious grin. “Two hours. Clock is ticking.”

I collected my jaw from the floor and felt it again. That flutter in my chest that ranged somewhere between panicked excitement and excited panic. “R-Right.” Maybe that flutter was not just in my chest, as I tried my best to ignore that tingling sensation downstairs.

I left.

The moment the door closed behind me, I sat down, leaned against it with my back and let out a deep sigh. Only after that did I remember two guards positioned to either side. I turned my head to the right. Rough Hide’s muzzle, despite his utterly stoic expression, was as red as a tomato. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I turned my head to the left. Swift was not any better off, but he silently snickered. Probably had been since I had opened the door.

“Don’t,” I warned him.

“Just a quick peek, eh?” he ignored my warning.

“Not. A. Word,” I tried again.

“Say, Dreamwalker, how did that turn out for ya?” He was on the verge of laughing. Of falling over and guffawing while rolling around on the floor, holding his belly. In full armor. While on shift.

I felt myself blush in sheer embarrassment. “She’s fine,” I declared taciturn.

He hesitated. Probably for my sake. I could see his inner conflict, how his grin threatened to split his head in half. Ultimately, I lost. “I bet,” he replied and the wall broke down. His laughter echoed up and down the hallway.

Fair enough, I admitted. I chuckled, I chuckled a little louder, and a few seconds later I could not help but laugh along. “You’re such an asshole!” I accused him while I still could not regain control of myself.

Eventually, after maybe a minute or two, we calmed down enough to wipe the tears away with a hoof and regain some semblance of composure. “You’re not going to make a fuss about this, are you?”

Swift snorted and shook his head. “Nah, what do you take me for? I’m just glad the princess is doing fine. Gotta admit though, I have no idea what she sees in you.”

I briefly laughed. “Well, that makes two of us.” My gaze drifted over to Rough Hide. I was worried, honestly. Maybe not teleporting to her chamber had been a lapse of judgment on my part. There were still enough nobles and castle staff and other ponies who did not quite approve of… well, a lot of what we did and were involved in. And I usually saw no need to stoke the flames.

“Don’t worry,” Swift read my mind, “he’s harmless. Told you before. He won’t go ruin the party. Right Rough?” He grunted in response. Might have been a ‘yes’. Or a ‘mhm’. Or anything else, really. I simply took Swift's word for it, as I saw few other options. “So, what’s the plan for the rest of the day?”

“Oh, you mean you didn’t hear?” I shot my snide remark.

Swift grinned in response. “Nope. You know, those doors are some thick and heavy doors, with some really sturdy walls to them. Takes a lot to hear anything out here, really. Still not as good as a soundproofing charm though.”

Don’t shoot if you can’t deal with the backlash, I reminded myself as I blushed furiously. “I… right. A-Anyway. I’m going to…” That was actually a good question. I had told Sunny I would ‘prepare’. But… prepare what, exactly? The bed was made. I highly doubted that we would get into the bath. Seeing how needy she had been, I doubted that there would be much foreplay later either. And now I did feel pent-up.

Two hours, her voice sultrily reminded me, Clock is ticking.

I swallowed. And blushed some more. “I’m going to get dinner ready and then… I… I don’t know. Trying not to go up the walls sounds fun?”

He chuckled. “Well… good luck with that.”

When the door to her bedchamber opened, I sprung to my hooves and out of the bed. I tried to be mindful and measured and all that, but in the end, I simply ran towards her. And with her long stride, she met me in the middle. I was about to say something when she immediately leaned down and captured me in a fiery kiss. Her wing swooped around and pressed me against her warm body. A shiver ran through and I could not tell if it was hers or mine. I briefly glanced up.

The inferno was back.

This is going to be a long night.

I would love every second of it. Of her. With her.

Brain, shut it. Lean back and enjoy, let her have this. We can get back to work later, when it’s our turn again.

“I’ve missed you,” I managed to squeak out between passionate, urgent kisses while she bodily pushed me back towards the bed. It was the only coherent sentence that would be spoken for a few hours…