The Prince's Predicament

Shining wasn't a regular at the gym, but the massage he'd experienced had him feeling energized, and a bit of light cardio was exactly what he needed. Prye was already there, coaching somepony on the use of the heavy bag. Shining couldn't make out what they were saying, but Pyre waved, and Shining waved back as he approached the treadmills.

Shining has made it a good half mile before Pyre came over. "How's it hanging, sir?"

"No improvements since last time," Shining huffed. "How about you?"

"Oh, my sex life is great," he smiled. "Had me a foursome last night. I see no reason to complain about that."

"I wouldn't, either."

"Two mares and the most adorable stallion. Weird mane, but he was phenomenal with his mouth. Such stamina, too."

"Was that him on the heavy bag?"

"Nah. New recruit. He's not interested in me, though."

Shining rolled his eyes and kept galloping.

"So did you find any stallions for yourself?"

Shining nearly tripped over his own hooves, but quickly recovered. "No, I haven't found anyone that'd be willing to help me out."

Pyre furrowed his brow. "Did you even ask?"

Shining could have very easily told Pyre to drop the subject, to stop talking about his personal life, or to be silent. He was the prince, after all, or at least the royal consort. He had the authority to shut this entire line of questioning down, and he even considered doing so.

"I forgot," he sighed. It wasn't a total lie. He'd considered asking Mustard and Cinnamon, as their affairs seemed hot and spicy, but when he'd actually gone over to their place to speak with them, he'd forgotten to bring it up, as his nightmares were foremost on his mind at the time.

"Honestly, you can't expect this problem to just go away. Let me put it this way..." He hopped on the treadmill next to Shining and began to outpace him almost immediately. "The number of mares that joined me in bed because their husband couldn't satisfy them is something I've started, and then stopped counting. I made it as high as thirty before it stopped being special and started being a regular occurrence."

"What's your point?"

"Ponies that are not satisfied with their sex lives tend to seek out solutions in other ponies than their spouse. Some mares want a bigger dick than that of their husband. Some stallions want a tighter pussy. Some weirdos want to take a dump on somepony else's chest and then smear it around."

Shining crinkled his nose and shivered. "No thanks..."

"If they can't find happiness with their spouse, they seek outside help," concluded Pyre. "If you can't fuck Cadance the way she likes, with another stallion on top of you, she'll find out about the stallion I railed last week, and he'll let me rail him while he fucks your wife. And I'm open to that."

Shining shot a scowl at Pyre. "That's not funny, Captain Pyrrhic Victory."

"Good," urged Pyre. "Perhaps you'll heed it as advice, then. Do what it takes to keep your wife satisfied, or I'll step in to replace you. I don't want to damage your relationship, sir, so don't make me step in."

Shining knew he was right, of course. He needed to kick this dream, and he also needed to find some stallion to test the waters with. Sure, he'd intended for Cinnamon and Mustard, but perhaps it would be better if he didn't impose on them.

"You know a lot of stallions that like this sort of thing," observed Shining. "Can you pick somepony who'll make it easier for me?"

Pyre chuckled. "Well, I had hoped you'd find one for yourself, but if it's a wingpony you need, I'll totally back you up. Come on."

They stopped their treadmills, and took note of their time and distance as measured by the machines. Shining had run four and a half miles today, and Pyre just short of six. They moved to the locker room where, rather than going straight to the showers, they stopped at Pyre's locker. He pulled out a small black book and opened it up.

"These aren't in any order. What are you looking for in a stallion?"

Shining shook his head. "Somepony who's willing to ease me into it. Other than that, I don't really care."

"You sure?" He held up a picture. "This one's really clingy."

"Not him, then," sighed Shining. "Look, just... Pick someone you think can help me, okay? I'm not really picky."

Pyre flipped through a couple of pages, then smiled. "I have just the guy."

"Great," smiled Shining. "When can I meet him?"

"In just a few minutes," assured Pyre. "He's just downstairs in the barracks! Let me go grab him for you."

"Shouldn't I go with you?" asked Shining.

Pyre turned to look Shining square in the eye. "There's a lot of stallions down there. I see that as either breeding jealousy among the ranks, which would cause a problem, or if not, a lot of other ponies watching you having your dick sucked by a lower-ranking guard. Up here, we can hide you away in a shower and nopony will know the difference."

Shining nodded. "Okay. I'll wait here."

As Pyre headed off, he left his locker open. While it was true that he had left it in the capable hooves of Shining Armor, who was frankly allowed to open it at any time with or without the permission of Pyre, Shining was not the type to go rummaging around in it.

Or so he thought.

For some reason, no matter how he tried to push the thought out of his head, something in that locker was calling to him. It was reaching out and willing him to invite himself in. He resisted at first, but something smelled wonderful, and his curiosity reasoned that there was no harm in just looking.

Carefully, Shining moved in front of the locker. He looked around to confirm that he was alone, then tried to sniff out the source of his desires. He couldn't see anything that could be producing that scent, so he closed his eyes and let his nose lead the way. It didn't take long to find it after that, and a strong whiff told him that whatever it was, it was something he liked.

As he pulled away, it fell on his nose. It was some sort of cloth, very lightweight. He took one more big sniff before opening his eyes.

It was a jock strap. Shining Armor had been sniffing a sweaty jock strap.

It was typical to wear these in the leg press to prevent any accidents with the machinery, and Pyre had three hanging up. For some reason, Shining had been attracted only to the dirty one.

The door squeaked as it opened. In a rush, Shining shoved the cloth back in the locker and pushed the door slightly closed, even going so far as to close his legs to hide the erection that was beginning to poke out.

"There you are," noted Pyre, coming out from behind the corner. "So listen, bad news is that he had a schedule conflict, so I'll have to talk to him after. But we'll set up a meeting tomorrow, and you can size him up for yourself. Good news is, some of the boys are pretty sure he's still good at sucking cock."