The Rise of Passion

Gallus looked up at the clock. It was already three in the morning. They'd spent more than half the night in here, just waiting, making sure that all traces of them were cleaned up so that nopony would know they were there. With the chiming of the clock, Gallus unfolded his claws. "Time to go."

Cozy hovered off the ground and grabbed the bag they'd put Flurry in, draping it over Gallus's shoulders before sitting behind it. He was strong enough to carry both of them, and his paws were still quieter than her hooves. In the worst-case scenario, if they had to bail out, she would fly off on her own, and Gallus would carry Flurry. Starlight could come up with a way of engineering a pardon, and if she couldn't, they could find a replacement.

Gallus opened the door and stepped out into the hall. There were no guards in sight, so Gallus started down the path in the direction of the patrol route. All seemed fine at first, but as they came up to the first turn, they saw the glow of a lantern approaching them.

"Gallus?" whispered Cozy. "What the fuck is this?"

Gallus shrunk down. "I forgot that the rotations reverse at midnight! What do we do?"

Cozy bolted to a nearby door and gave it a push as silently as she could. It swung open, and she beckoned Gallus over. "In here!"

Gallus followed her in and they shut the door. He breathed heavily, watching the underside of the door until the lamplight passed. He breathed a sigh of relief after it was gone. "We can go again," he sighed. "As long as we remember that the rotations are backward."

"Not yet," chuckled Cozy from the center of the room. Gallus turned to look, and all of the tension that had melted away with the passing of the guard came back twofold. They had just ducked into a room without looking, and by some miracle hadn't been diving right into a trio of guards in the middle of a cribbage tournament. Where they were instead was much more dangerous. "I-is that...?"

"Princess Cadance and Shining Armor," Cozy nodded, "sleeping soundly, with no clue that we're even here."

"We should go," urged Gallus. "We can't take them both on at once."

"I don't think we need to," smirked Cozy. "Stuff Flurry in the closet and stand near the door. If they wake up, we can stick to the cover story of "I'm a little lost foal, and you're the guard who's trying to keep me safe." We'll just add that I was scared and bolted, and you followed me in here cautiously to avoid trouble. They'll eat it right up."

Gallus did as he was told, holding himself to keep his armour from rattling. He was selling the role of "nervous first night on duty" very well, as if he actually were afraid that they'd wake up and find out what he'd done.

Cozy set herself down next to Shining Armor and gently moved the comforter, centimetre by centimetre until she was sure of what she was looking at. "Just as I suspected," she smiled. Fluttering to the other side of the bed, she stuck her head under Cadance's side, inspecting her without lifting the covers at all. "Not so much over here."

"Wh-what is it?"

Cozy fluttered over to Gallus. "We don't have to fight them both. Do you have a spare ring?"

"No," answered Gallus. "We only needed one. So, I only brought one."

"That's fine. Stop shaking. Look around and see if you can't find another ring and some rope."

"Wouldn't we need two?"

"Shut up and look. Don't argue, just do it."

With a sigh, Gallus started rifling through their wardrobe drawers. The first two were nothing but clothes, but when he looked in the closet he'd dumped Flurry in, he found what he was looking for. In a chest of drawers filled with all manner of sex toys and bondage gear, he found a box with five rings. There was a slot for a sixth, but it was empty. He grabbed the whole box and the various lengths of soft rope used for tying up naked bodies without harming the skin.

"Great, I found them. Now what?"

Cozy grabbed one of the rings and slipped it gently over Cadance's horn, tightening it so that it wouldn't slip off, the same way she had done to Flurry. She had also picked up a ball gag out of the closet and was ready to pounce. "When I say go, you pull back the covers and tie her up. I'll handle the gag. Ready?"

"What about him?!" urged Gallus, indicating Shining Armor. "He'll wake up for sure!"

"Probably," smiled Cozy, "but you can kick his arse, right? Go!"

Cozy immediately jumped on Cadance, waking her up. Her hooves started flying immediately, and Gallus had his claws full trying to tie her up.

By some miracle, they somehow managed to bind her despite her struggling. As soon as Gallus tightened the final knot, he turned to Shining Armor, to see his very angry glare way too close for comfort. He toppled backward off the bed and covered his head with his claws.

"Oh, stand up, you big baby," chided Flurry, smacking his rump. "Cowardice is a bad look for anyone."

Cautiously, Gallus raised his head. Just past Cadance's heaving abdomen, he could see that Shining Armor was already wearing a ring, was bound and gagged more completely than they could have done with all of the struggling, and for some reason, wearing a chastity cage on his cock. Given a moment to inspect Cadance's body amid the calm, she was sporting a rather hefty-looking strap-on dildo.

"It seems they were having a fun evening," chuckled Cozy. The smile drained from her face. "Separate them. Don't let their horns touch."

Gallus grabbed Cadance and pulled her away. She was draped over his shoulders, with the dildo poking him in the ear. "This wasn't part of the plan," he said. "How are we going to sneak all three of them, and you, out through the garbage chute?"

Cozy took a deep breath as she sat down next to Shining. She rubbed his cheek and neck with her hoof as she thought about it. "Plans change all the time. We ended up in here by mistake and had to adapt. We'll just have to adapt again."