The earthy smell of medium-roast coffee filled the air of Cadence’s kitchenette. It was a scent that was comfortably familiar to the rose-colored alicorn, the beginnings of a smile forming upon her lips before a yawn summarily removed it.
Shortly thereafter, the princess smacked her lips a few times, making a face at the taste of her own breath. She was really hoping the machine would be finished soon.
It was the first full day of her first full vacation in what must have been years. The sun was only just beginning to peek over the horizon, illuminating patches of fluffy snow that happened to be within its growing reach as it began its inexorable ascent into the sky. Leafless trees stood at attention in haphazard ranks off in the distance, standing motionless in the midst of a similarly still and tranquil winter paradise. As Cadence surveyed the landscape all around her, she could not help but giggle—this was exactly how she remembered it being when she was younger.
How close, and yet how far those days seemed; when her worries amounted to little more than homework and whether or not that cute stallion from the hoofball team liked her back. Nowadays, she bore the full weight of running an entire country on her shoulders, acting as a steady hoof of governance to a large collection of ponies whose livelihoods depended on the successful execution of her duties. To the mare of years and years ago, such a life would have seemed impossibly daunting—to the mare of today, it was just another Tuesday.
Even so, it was not without its stresses—and such was the reason why she found herself in the cabin she now occupied.
Speaking of which, the coffee was done!
With a flash of her horn, the pink alicorn took hold of the coffee pot in a magical aura, pouring a large amount of the dark elixir of life into her favorite mug. This accomplished, it took her practically no time at all to bring the mug to her lips to take her first sip. It was bold, rich, and scalding hot. Just the way she liked it.
After a few moments more of simply standing still and sipping at her drink, the rose-colored alicorn turned about to make her way towards the recliner in the main living area. It was nowhere near the distance from the kitchenette as it was back in the Crystal Palace—a fact she was eternally grateful for this particular morning. Her legs felt more akin to a mixture of molasses and honey than it did to bodily limbs as she slowly woke up; a process that the coffee would hopefully expedite. Before long, she had seated herself with an unceremonious ‘pomf’ into the chair, allowing a pleased sigh to drop from her muzzle shortly afterwards.
As if on cue, the tell-tale tapping of hooves hitting wood made its way to Cadence’s ears, causing them to perk up and turn in the direction of the hallway. A large, half-asleep unicorn adorning an alabaster coat, and a two-toned azure mane and tail gracefully stumbled into the kitchen, seeming to unconsciously follow the scent of the freshly prepared coffee before his eyes caught sight of the mare in the recliner. A smile immediately came to his lips. “Gooooood morning, honey,” he said, his tail idly, happily beating back and forth behind him. “How’d you sleep?”
“Like a rock,” the pink mare smiled back, blowing a messy lock of her mane out from in front of her face. “I can already tell that this is exactly what I needed. This morning has been soooo lovely, and I’ve only been experiencing it for ten minutes. How about you, dear? How’d you sleep?”
“Reeeeeaaaaally well,” the stallion mumbled with a grin. “I’ve only been up for… maybe thirty seconds myself, but—wait, is that coffee?”
Cadence only nodded, holding up her mug before taking a sip.
“Oh you beautiful pony,” the alabaster unicorn said in quieted joy. “May I have a cup?”
“No!” the pink pony said after having adopted a frown, scrunching up her muzzle and holding her mug protectively against her barrel. A few seconds of silence passed before she broke into a prolonged series of giggles, setting her mug down onto the table beside her in an attempt to stop herself from spilling the dark liquid all over herself. “Of course you may, Shiny; I’d have to be the cruelest wife in the world to deny you coffee any morning, let alone when we’re on vacation!”
Shining Armor tittered mirthfully. “Wasn’t that grounds for divorce in Maregypt at one point? A spouse not providing enough coffee for their other half?”
Cadence gave a faux scoff, holding a hoof to her chest in mock offense. “Are you implying you would divorce me if I said no back there? And you call me cruel!”
“You called yourself that,” Shining said with a playful look.
“Oh shut up, you giant nerd,” the princess laughed aloud, shaking her head. She loved it when they bantered like this—it was something that was not only humorously fun, but also deeply personal; it was something that she felt that she could only do with someone she knew well, and who knew her equally as well. “But yes, I actually think that used to be custom there; if a mare didn’t provide her stallion with a requisite amount of coffee, it was grounds for divorce on the basis of neglect.”
“We should bring that back,” Shining Armor chortled, pouring himself a sizable mug of his own. “A new piece of legislation to draft, perhaps?”
“Oh goodness, please don’t make me think about work while I’m here,” Cadence gave an exaggerated groan as her husband approached, the alabaster stallion taking a seat on the end of the couch closest to her. “Besides, the House of Nobles would never let me hear the end of that one…”
Shining Armor chuckled at the thought, imagining what it might be like to listen to some of snobbish politicians in that particular crowd reacting to a bill of that sort. “Yeah… that’d stay with you for a little while. It might win you some popular support from the caffeine addicts, though!”
“That’s an odd way to refer to yourself,” Cadence jabbed playfully, biting her tongue as she stifled a giggle.
“As if to imply it doesn’t apply just as equally to you, Miss ‘I ran us through an entire case of Saddle Arabian coffee in a week!’” the azure-maned unicorn shot back.
“Hey! That wasn’t just me, and you know it!”
“You had to have had something like nine cups a day that week, what do you mean?”
“Why don’t you try managing an entire country in the midst of a potential economic crisis while the House of Nobles is breathing down your neck to pass a piece of legislation that tries to hide at least thirteen different secret stipulations in it!”
“Why don’t you… okay, you win.”
Cadence blew an exhaling breath through her nostrils while wearing a smarmy, victorious grin before once again breaking into a fit of laughs. “No, really… that was way too much coffee. I’m surprised my casting curve was steady enough to be able to even so much as hold the pen I was writing with.”
“Bah, nonsense! My wife is strong as an ox—nothing could have prevented her from getting through that week!” Shining proudly professed, giving the rose-colored alicorn a look of confidence.
“D’aw, you…” she smiled bashfully, waving off the compliment with a hoof. “You’re a flatterer, that’s what you are…”
“I speak only the truth, my darling,” the unicorn smiled genuinely, giving his wife a loving gaze. “She’s a tough, resilient, hard-working, beautiful—”
The alabaster stallion was not given time enough to finish his sentence; just before the final words could leave his lips, he was suddenly tackled in a flash of rose-colored fur, knocking him back into a laying position as the alicorn princess clung to him in a tight hug. Her grip on the large, fluffy teddy bear that was her husband only tightened as she loosed a happy hum, burying her face into the tuft of fur on his chest. “And you, my darling… are a kind, helpful, caring, and dedicated wonder of a stallion who I could not be any luckier to know.”
“And you call me the flatterer…” Shining tittered, the beginnings of a light-red tinge forming on his muzzle as he returned the embrace with equal enthusiasm.
It was true that being a princess was difficult; it was equally true that being captain of the guard was difficult. But when afforded moments like these… the couple found that their burdens became lighter. Life became simpler. No longer was it a constant dredge of thousands of thoughts bouncing around in their heads from day to day—rather, it was what they saw to be their calling. And so long as they had each other? Well…
“Hey Shining?” Cadence murmured into her husband’s fur, keeping her embrace locked tightly around him.
“Yes Cady?” the stallion answered after planting a gentle kiss in between his wife’s ears.
“Could I ask a question?”
“You just did!”
“Oh, shut up! Three questions, then?”
“Ha! You already asked… wait, shoot.”
“I win.”
“Hmph.”
The princess of love giggled before looking up into her husband’s eyes, smiling happily. “You didn’t answer my first question, dork.”
“Does my answer really matter? Something tells me you’re just going to ask it anyway!” the stallion laughed before giving the mare snuggled against him another tight squeeze. “Yes, of course you may, love; what’s on your mind?”
“Could you get me another cup of coffee?”