The Prince's Predicament

Luna explained the intricacies of the compound; how it was made, how it was supposed to be made, how the proper compound was kept locked away, how ponies that were caught abusing it were typically punished, everything Shining wanted to know aside from who had been doing this and why.

"Can't you at least make a guess?" he asked, starting in on his cheesecake.

Luna shook her head. "We could, but our focus has shifted. Rather than finding the guilty party, we are content with being able to prevent further damages. We have set up systems within your guards that should target this bootleg drug, as well as the real one and any similar setups. You should be safe."

"Are you sure that's wise?"

Luna put down her fork. "Prince Shining Armor, we have full faith that your guards will work to protect you now that they are familiar with the threat. If the pony responsible tries this again, Not only will you be able to identify the taste, but they'll be able to identify who brought it in, for what purpose, where and when it was created. They will report to you, the victim, and they will report to us, the expert. Rest assured that this will not happen again without both of us knowing exactly who is to blame."

Cadance swallowed hard. Luna already knew who was at fault this time, and Shining would know soon enough. If somepony else was to blame next time, she'd have to join in on the investigation and prove that she wasn't involved. It would be an uphill battle, and to that end, she had a vested interest in ensuring that those standards were upheld.

After dinner, they all returned to their rooms, with Shining stopping Cadance outside of theirs. Luna had made it clear to Cadance that she wasn't leaving until Shining knew the truth, and that if Cadance didn't tell him, she would. Nevertheless, Luna's request that Cadance wait until after Shining had finished his would be upheld.

"Cady, there's something important I have to say, and I've been trying to come up with the best way to say it. I didn't want to say it with just my words, because actions are more important. After my staunch resistance to it, I've finally taken steps to open up my heart. I truly am sorry about the way I acted, the things I said and the twisted things I used to believe. The help I've received from this would not have been nearly as effective if I hadn't truly meant it when I said "I want to be better.""

"And I believe you do," answered Cadance.

"That's why it took me so long to put this together," continued Shining. "It's not enough to say that I want to be better, nor is it enough to say that I am better. It will never be enough until I can prove that I'm a better pony than I was. In effect, I've been so resistant to the change that I've damaged a few relationships, but I've been working on repairing them. Cady, If you'd step into the room..."

Cadance put her hoof on the handle and took a deep breath. She didn't know what to expect, only that it was supposed to be big. As the door swung open, she was met with two guards, a masseur, and a waiter in a skirt.

"Shiny, what's going on here...?"

Shining stepped forward with a big smile on his face. "Cady, you have always wanted to expand our orgies. You're always pushing me to try new things, and out of all the things I've pushed back on, there's only one that I did out of ignorance. It's also the only one that I've ever stood in support of once that ignorance was diminished. Now, it is entirely gone, and I have these four wonderful stallions to thank for my change of heart." He turned to them and smiled. "Thank you all for your help. I could not have done this without you."

"Oh, yes, you could have," smirked Pyre. "But it's a lot easier with help; I'll give you that."

"Honestly, I can't tell how much help I really was," blushed Diamond. "I don't know if I deserve the same praise as these other three..."

"You helped," assured Cinnamon. "Not as much as I did, obviously, but if you didn't, you wouldn't be here. Unless you're calling the prince a liar, and that's a bad idea..."

"Oh, hush, you," scolded Mustard. "Tonight's not about you, so stop tooting your own horn."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll toot it for you," snorted Pyre.

Before Cinnamon could ask what he meant, Pyre reached over and grabbed Cinnamon's flank, giving it a firm squeeze. Much like a horn, Cinnamon squeaked and contorted. "What was that for?"

"You wanted to be the center of attention," chuckled Pyre. "All eyes are on you, now."

Cinnamon's face turned bright red and he shrank down. Diamond couldn't help but giggle at the exchange. If nothing else, he felt more comfortable knowing that the focus wasn't going to be on him, but on somepony else. He'd still do what he could to guarantee a nice time, but he still felt that he hadn't contributed much, and didn't want to be mocked for being such a small influence.

"So, what do you say, Cady?" smiled Shining. "Do you still want to have a fun night in?"

Cadance took a deep breath. This was exactly what she had wanted. This was the whole point of what she'd been trying to accomplish. Shining had put it together, despite her botching the entire process. Not only had she mixed the components poorly, as Luna had pointed out at dinner, but she'd ended up overdosing her husband by a wide margin. After all of that, he had still taken the time and effort to not only push past his personal gripes, but to set up a whole thing for her, bigger and better than she'd asked for.

"Shiny, I..." she couldn't find the words. She closed her mouth and shook her head. "I don't know if..."

After a long pause, Pyre stepped forward. "Looks like she needs to see how much fun it's going to be. Let's go, boys!" He pushed Shining onto the bed and climbed on top of him. "Let's give her a preview!"