Home Sweet Home (Original)

View Online

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon in your hometown. You had recently come back from your trip from the city after a video game tournament you won yesterday. As a reward for winning, you got a check for $5 million as well as purchasing your own trident made of metal.

It was this sort of trident that sparked interest because it was from your favorite game. Also, as far as having a house to live in, you chose to live on your own because you got tired of your parents nagging at you for doing nothing but play video games, mostly because they thought you couldn't make a dime from playing video games, but you proved them wrong.

Nowadays, you had nothing to do, other than to binge after another day of playing some of your games either on your computer or your PS4. You never really had anyone special to go out with, mostly because they didn't meet your standards, other times, they alreadys had boyfriends, were engaged, or they just didn't bother trying to give you a chance, but you didn't care about that.

As of right now, you were at home, watching some of your old childhood movies, thinking back on the lessons you never understood from the movies, but you do now. While you were watching, you started thinking about all the times that you took like for granted. You felt horrible for all the mistakes you made in your life and all the times you made your parents worry about you.

You knew they always nagged at you, but it was just their way of showing that they cared about you and they didn't want to see you get hurt. Feeling a change of heart, you gave your parents a call and explained to them how sorry you were for all the times you acted like a jerk to them. They told you that they understand, because they use to act the same way you do when they were your age.

They then told you that no matter what choices you make, they only want to see you happy. They even admitted their mistakes on shooting down your idea on making a living with video games and decided to support you the whole way and pray for you to keep succeeding. You thanked them and told them that you love them very much before hanging up, feeling much better now.

Just then, you felt a little drowsey and your eyes grew heavy. You turned off the TV and to your bedroom, slamming your head right onto your pillow. You never felt this drowsey before, and before you knew it, you drifted off into a deep sleep.

As soon as you woke up, you heard the sound of a female voice, but it wasn't your mother.

"Hey. Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" she asked. You lifted yourself up, letting out a yawn. You looked to your left and saw a beautiful anthro horse with a horn and wings. She her hair was purple and pink like her purple eyes and pink fur, but her hair also had a blonde stripe. Judging by the ring on her horn, she was probably already married to someone. You thought you were dreaming, so you didn't panic and talked to her like you would with anyone else in a dream.

"No, not at all, I'm fine, but who are you?" you ask.

"My name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadence for short. But, what's that thing on the ground." she asked, pointing to to your right. You looked and saw your trident. You grabbed it.

"Oh, this is just my trident. I bought it as a souvenir before I left a convention."

"Are you sure?" Cadence leaned over and gave it a few knocks. "It feels a bit too real to be a souvenir. It's made of metal, instead of wood."

"That's because some souvenirs at the convention I went to had real weapons on sale. Some people buy them because they look cool, others buy them as protection. I only use it in case of an emergency, like say, maybe a robber broke into my home or something."

"Oh. Well, at least you're careful, but if you ask me, you should be careful not to swing it recklessly. The ponies that live here tend to get scared a bit easily. If you want, I'll take you to my castle so you won't have to deal with the ponies judging you."

"Are you sure about that? I don't want to intrude."

"Don't worry, plus, I can introduce you to my family." She extended her hand out to you with a smile on her face, welcoming you to join her. There wasn't a hint of danger in her voice so you grabbed her hand and she picked you up off the ground and guided you to her castle. For some reason, you felt comfortable holding hands with her, but you also felt like you might end up regretting it.

Moments later, she opened the front door and allowed you to go inside. You went inside before Cadence follows you inside after closing the front door behind her. She grabbed your hand again and guided you upstairs and down the hall and took a left and headed straight at the door at the end of the left hall where she tells you to wait until she comes back to get you and she closes the door.

You leaned against the wall and waited patiently, staring at your trident for no reason. You waited for a solid 5 minutes before Cadence came back to get you and brought you into the room where there was a large bed made for two, and at the edge of the bed was a male anthro pony who didn't have any wings like Cadence, but he did have a horn and he was sitting with a smaller pony who resembled a smaller version of Cadence, only her fur was a lighter pink and had blue eyes like the stallion next to her and she had wings and a horn like Cadence and her har was a purple-ish pink with a light blue stripe.

"Aww, who's the little girl?" you ask.

"That's my daughter, Flurry Heart." Cadence says.

"Hi there, my name's Shining Armor." said the stallion. You introduced yourself to Shining and Flurry and shook hands with him afterwards. "So, how'd you end up here in Equestria?"

"Equestria? What's that?" you ask.

"The name of this country. But the kingdom you're in is called the Crystal Empire. Cadence and I rule this kingdom, keeping everypony here under our protection. Of course, we also have to keep a watchful eye on the crystal heart as well, so nothing bad happens" Shining says.

"The crystal heart? What's so important about the crystal heart and why does it need to be guarded?"

"Excuse me?!" Shining felt offended by what you said. But Cadence stopped him.

"Now now, honey. I'll explain." Cadence looked at you with a patient look on her face. "You see, the Crystal Empire recieves complete protection from the snowstorms. The first time this happened was right around the time Flurry Heart was born. Her screaming cries created a sound wave so strong it shattered the crystal heart to pieces and the storm nearly swallowed the kingdom."

"So then, how did you put it back together?" you ask

"We performed this event called "The Crystalling" for Flurry. Which in turn, restored the crystal heart and stabilized Flurry Heart's powerful magic."

"Wow, so how old is little Flurry Heart now?"

"Well, she's 6 years old."

"Aww, that's so cute."

"Thanks, now, what's your story?" Shining asks.

"Well, you see, back where I'm from, I participated in a lot of tournaments. Sometimes they were from my home or I had to travel from place to place. Either way, I won most of the tournaments and lost a few, either because I was unprepared or the others were better than me. But I never gave up or lost hope because I love enjoying being in a part of som friendly competition now and then." you explain.

"Oh, that's nice. Well, is there any place you live around here?" Cadence asks.

You were about to answer to her, but then you realized something: Whenever you were dreaming, you never really felt anything you touched. The things you touch in your dreams always felt empty and your movements in your dream were always out of your control.

But here in the Crystal Empire, everything you felt was real. The hard ground you were asleep on, your movements were completely normal and Cadence's hand felt soft and furry. You finally realized that this wasn't a dream, you had somehow gotten pulled into the Crystal Empire from your own world and you didn't have any way of getting back home whatsoever.

You looked down before speaking in a depressed tone. "Unfortunately, no."

"Why not?" Cadence asked, feeling sympathy towards you.

"Well, you probably already know by now, but I don't live in the Crystal Empire, or Equestria for that matter, I live in this place called Earth."

"I figured at much. You must be a human."

"What? How'd you know what I was?"

"My little sister-in-law's husband is a human. The very first human in Equestria. As for you, how about we allow you to stay with us in the castle?"

"Are you sure, Cadence? I don't know if that sounds like a good idea. I might get in the way."

"It's no trouble at all. You can stay with us as long as you want. We'll even help you get settled in as a permanant resident here at the Crystal Empire. Right, honey?" Cadence turned to Shining.

"Uhh...sure. Why not? Heh." Shining had a bit of hesitation in his voice.

"Come on, daddy. He looks like a nice guy." Flurry says, tugging on her dad's shirt. Shining looked down at Flurry's begging blue eyes. Shining looked down in defeat.

"Oh, alright." Shining got up and walked up to Cadence, whispering something inaudible to you. You could tell that he didn't trust you and you didn't blame him. From your knowledge, not a lot of dads approve of complete strangers being close to their daughters.

After talking things out, Cadence guided you back down the hall and towards one of the guest rooms where there was a bed big enough for to sleep on. There was a night stand on the right hand side of the bed with a little lamp in case there were a few books you wanted to read.

You thanked Cadence before she finally lets you have your privacy. You walked towards your bed and placed your trident near the wall and climbed onto your bed. For no apparent reason, one of your hands was placed in your pockets, only to find out you still had a picture of you and your parents when you celebrated your 20th birthday about a few months ago. This kind of memory was enough to leave tears in your eyes, knowing very well you might never see them again.

Afterwards, you turned around and buried you face in the pillow.

A few hours later, you heard a knock on your door. You told whoever it was they could come in. You looked and the the door open up by Flurry Heart. She flies over to you with her big wings and sits on your bed, looking at you with her adorable little smile.

"Hi, mister. Why are you sad?" Flurry asks, innocently.

You looked at her with a sad smile and said, "I just miss my parents, that's all."

"If you miss them, why don't you just go back home to them?"

"Let's just say they live in a place very far away from here."

"Oh. Is that a picture of you and your mommy and daddy?" she points to the picture.

"Yup. That's them. My mom and dad. They took me to this place called Raging Waters. It's a theme park that has a lot of water slides over there."

"Wow, really? Sounds like lotsa fun!"

"It is, and was."

"Well, thanks for telling me about it. See you later." Flurry Heart then walks out of the room and closes the door on the way out and you waved at her.

"See ya, Flurry." You turned your attention back to the picture and placed it on the night stand and laid back on the bed, reminiscing about your past.

A few hours later, Cadence comes over to your room, letting you know that dinner is ready. You got out of bed and followed her to the dining hall. There, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart were waiting patiently, looking over at Cadence with their happy faces. Cadence pulls out a chair and sits you down and pushes it back towards the table and then finally sits next to her husband.

You took the time to eat your food. Somehow, you felt like someone was giving you the watchful eyes like they still didn't trust you. But you didn't care at the moment because you were still distracted by your hunger and depression at the time. Then by the time you finished, you thanked Cadence and Shining for the meal and waited for one of them to finish eating.

Cadence got out of her chair shortly afterwards and took you back to your room. You still didn't get know your way around the castle, being fairly new to such a big estate. Once inside, Cadence taps you on the shoulders, getting your full attention and whispers in your ear.

"Listen. I know it's difficult for you to have to be so far away from your homeland, but rest assured, I promise to make sure you're welcome here with open arms. And if it makes you happy, I'll even search the library for any spells that can take you back home. Okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Cadence." you reply.

"Oh, and sorry if my husband was giving you that glare earlier. He's usually really nice. But he can get a bit overprotective of his little girl, just like how he use to be overprotective with his little sister."

"Eh, it's alright. I've gotten use to it."

"Use to it? What do you mean?"

"Back when I was just a teenager, my mom kept recommending me to get a part-time job as a babysitter after I was time off school for the summer. I looked after 14 boys and 37 girls in total."

"How'd you remember that?"

"I counted. To be honest, mom thought it was part of "building character" in case I was going to have children of my own, but obviously the fathers of the kids I babysat didn't really trust me and only hired me once and after that, I was finally free to do my own thing."

"Oh my. Well, I'm pretty sure I can trust you with Flurry Heart. She told me how sad you felt. Anyways, I promise to do all I can to help you get back home. But, if for some reason, you change your mind, I'll be more than happy to welcome you into our society."

"Thanks Cadence."

"You're welcome." Cadence leaned in and gave you a peck on the cheek. You blushed intensely as you were caught off guard by her actions. She giggles and lets you be, walking out of the room and back to her family while you still stood, dead in your tracks.

"What..... just happened?" you got confused, but realized that you were getting lost in thought over a simple kiss and casted your feelings aside. "Get ahold of yourself, man. Cadence may be beautiful, but that doesn't mean she's up for grabs, she's a married woman!"

But no matter how much you tried to deny it, Cadence just kept coming up in your thoughts. You groaned, disappointed and annoyed and just went to bed to clear your head. You covered yourself up under the blankets and forced yourself into a deep sleep.

Later into the night, you dreamt you were on some kind of white, fluffy bed, completely naked. And in front of you was Princess Cadence, also naked. She was walking towards you and crawled onto the bed hovered over you, her eyes half lidded and locked onto yours.

"C-C-Cadence, w-w-what are you doing?" you asked in a bit of a panic.

"There's no need to worry. I'm just here to make you feel more comfortable. Let me ease your pain and anxiety with my love and my body, sweetie." she said, seductively.

"Whoa WHAT?! Cadence, you can't! Shining's your husband! Doesn't he mean anything to you?"

"Sure, but you also mean a lot to me. I could never forgive myself if I left you out on all the fun. I could tell that you have feelings for me."

"H-How can you tell?"

"I have my ways, my love. Now please, let me ease your pain."

Cadence rubbed your cheek with her hand and you felt your whole face burning up with embarrassment. Your brain was sending off all alarms, tell you to push her away, but your heart was telling you to embrace her kindness and her love with no regrets. Cadence leaned down and nuzzled you. You wanted to stop her, but your body wouldn't listen to you and soon you heard her moan.

"So you've finally accepted me, huh?" she asks with the same sultry expression.

"What are you talking about?" you ask. Cadence gestures you to look down. You saw that your hand had gripped her left breast without you knowing and then you let out a gasp. "Oh, crap, I'm so sorry, Cadence, I-I-I didn't mean to, it was an accident, I swear!"

Cadence just giggled and rubbed your cheek. "It's okay. I don't mind. To tell you the truth, I was actually hoping you'd touch me there. Now how about we start off our little funtime with this?" she leans in towards you, closing her eyes and shortening the gap between you and her. You were overcome by the sensation of the strong beating in your heart and leaned towards Cadence, almost about to touch lips, until you felt something rocking your body left and right, with everything fading to black.

"Hey, hey mister! Mister! Wake up, it's breakfast time!" said Flurry Heart. You opened your eyes and saw her in her pink and blue pajamas, smiling at you. You smiled back.

"Thanks for the wake up call, Flurry." you said, patting her on the head.

"You're welcome."

Flurry walked out of the room and you followed her fairly close, but not too close. You two entered the dining and as soon as you got inside, your face got a little flushed when you saw Cadence. She was sitting in the same spot as she did last night during dinner. Shining Armor was eyeballing you, like he was warning you to stop looking at his wife, so you nodded and looked away.

"Come on, now. Breakfast is ready." Cadence says, patting the seat on her right. You nodded and walked over, taking your seat next to her. You kept your eyes locked on your food. You could still feel your face flushed, but you tried to ignore it and began to eat your food. You were unaware of Cadence looking directly at you as she was eating her breakfast. You took your time to eat as always. But then, Cadence spoke again, catching you off guard and almost choked on your food. "Why so nervous?"

As you choked on your food, Shining got out of his chair and got behind you, patting you on the back and helping you catch your breath.

"Don't eat so fast, man. You don't want it to go down the wrong tube." Shining says.

"Thanks, Shining." you reply, looking up at him. Shining only gave him a slight smile before heading back to his seat next to Princess Cadence. After breakfast was done, you were about to head back to your room, but you got stopped by Shining Armor, who had a look of concern.

"Hey, uhh, can we talk in your room? I promise, I'm not mad or anything." Shining asked.

"Y-Yeah, sure." you reply with a hint of hesitation. You and Shining exited the dining room and headed to your room and sat on the edge of the bed. You sat next to him.

"Listen, I know I've been acting like a bit of a jerk lately since yesterday, but I sort of jump ahead to conclusions and get a little over-protective with my wife and daughter."

"I can understand that. Because that's how my mom acted sometimes when I was still a young teenager, starting out in my high school years. She loved me too much to see me go out with a girl she knew nothing about and wanted me to focus on my studies."

"She did what?"

"That's right. But she overreacted because none of the girls in high school were my type. Some of them would have this nasty addiction to this habit called "smoking," others would either try to get together with the most popular athletes, but I preferred staying with one of my closest friends who always liked hanging out at our favorite food joint after school was done for the day."

"So then, where are your parents now?"

"They're back in my home land on Earth. They're doing well with business. Yesterday before I woke up and found myself in the Crystal Empire, I contacted my parents on this little matter that's been plaguing me for a really long time after a trip down nostalgia lane."

"What did you tell them?"

"I wanted to apologize to them for acting like a big jerk. I made a life out of participating in tournaments from home and traveling and they thought it would lead to the poor house, but I ended up proving to them that not everything career involves business, but also fun hobbies. They even admitted to their own guilt as I did with mine because all they wanted was for me to be happy. They told me that no matter what happens, they'll always love and support me for as long as they will live."

Shining felt horrible after what you explained to him. He then placed his hand on your shoulder.

"Y-You know. I think I can relate to you. A few years back, my mom and dad were a bit worried when I told them I was joining the Royal Guard. They didn't like the idea of seeing their own son pursuing a career that could end up costing me my life at an early age. Even my little sister was afraid. Every night, my sister would always cry herself to sleep in my bed, waiting for me to come home."

"Aww, that's sweet. How's she doing now?"

"She's doing good. She actually found herself a husband a few years ago. They even had a child."

"Wow, it's like the family gets bigger and bigger."

"Yeah. Anyways, I just want to say I'm sorry for glaring at you like that. I just noticed how you were staring at Cadence and I just want to ask... do you like her?"

"U-U-Uh..." you closed your eyes tightly and looked away, hiding your blushing face. You waited for Shining to at least smack you upside the head, but all he did was chuckle.

"Hey, relax. You can tell me. I promise not to get mad." you looked to see the reassurance in his eyes when he said those words and you sighed.

"A-Alright. I do."

"So, how did you fall for her?"

"I... When she took me back to my room after dinner last night, she gave me a peck on the cheek. I tried to drown out that crush by forcing myself to sleep, but then I had that... nevermind."

"What? You had a dream about her?"

"I know my boundries. I don't want to make a move on a married woman. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ended up hurting your family!"

"Hey, hey, calm down. Listen, I get what you're saying, but hey, if it makes you feel any better, maybe I'll try to work something out between the three of us."

"W-What do you mean?"

"Trust me... You'll know when the time is right."

After your little chat with Shining, he walked out of your room and gave you a wink and a thumbs up and finally disappeared from your eye sight. You didn't understand what he had in store, but like any good man, you were going to be as patient about this plan he had.

Let Me Welcome You To Our Herd (Original)

View Online

3 months have passed and since then, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor and Princess Flurry Heart have all made you a permanent resident at the Crystal Empire. It's taken a bit of time for the crystal ponies to warm up to you, but now they're more friendly with you. Shining Armor would even show you around the empire to visit some of his favorite spots to have a little bite to eat.

Cadence would always take you to the library inside her castle or at the local library in town to teach you about the history of the Crystal Empire. She and Shining even showed you this crystalized statue of this baby dragon named Spike holding the crystal heart. They explained how Spike helped Cadence and Shining save the empire from the tyrant, King Sombra. You laughed at how humiliating it must have been for the evil king to fall into the hands of a baby dragon.

Whenever Cadence and Shining were out on a few of their dates and when Twilight wasn't available, they put their trust in you to watch over Flurry Heart. Though, Flurry already had a dad, she felt like a daughter to you and you would spend all day playing tag or hide and seek with her. Whenever she was hungry, you helped fix up a nice tasty meal for you and her.

But there was one thing that Shining had offered you that you couldn't refuse: He had offered to train you to become his and Cadence's right hand man in the Royal Guard. You accepted and he even let you use your own tridant as your signature weapon of choice. Shining wasn't bluffing when he had told you about him being in the Royal Guard years ago and now passing his knowledge to you. As of now, you even had more strength, speed and stamina. You had progressed so much that you even kicked Flash Sentry's flank about 11 times. But when it came to a sparring match with Shining Armor, your sparring always ended up with a draw. Shining Armor was a force to be reckoned with, but you still thought of him as your best pal through it all.

Of course, it came as no surprise that your crush on Cadence was still lingering, but Shining didn't mind since he knew you kept your boundries. Cadence was well aware of your crush throughout the three months you stayed in the Crystal Empire. However, for some reason, despite not telling you about your crush on her, she and Shining have been acting rather strange lately.

Today, you and Shining were in the training room, you were a bit short of breath while Shining was still going strong, waiting for you to make your move. You summed up some more of your strength and charged straight at Shining and swung your trident at him, but he dodged and tripped you with a leg sweep, landing you on your back, but you got back up quickly.

As you got up, Shining took a swing at you with his spear, but you blocked it with your trident and held your position for a little while. But later on, Shining backed off, and you wondered why. You got your answer when you heard the sound of the timer go off. This meant that sparring was over.

Another sparring session had come to a close and you and Shining Armor smiled at each other over yet another job well done tofay. Both of you were smiling at each other, out of breath. You and Shining bowed to each other and exited out of the room with your water bottles and you approached Shining and asked him a question that's been bugging you for a bit.

"Shining?" you ask.

"What is it, Blade?" he replied. Blade was a nickname he gave you because of your sharp instincts in the heat of the battle and how your attacks were clear cut.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what's been going on lately with you and Cadence? You've been whispering about me each time I look over at you guys. Is there some kind of secret you're not telling me about, or is there some sort of surprise you're trying to plan?"

"O-Oh well... I-I-I think it's best if you wait until later on tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Trust me, you'll find out later on."

"Okay then, but can I at least have one hint on what you'r planning?"

"Let's just say that my wife and I came to an agreement."

You quirked an eyebrow at that statement, but shrugged it off and walked down the halls and over to the bathroom to get yourself cleaned up. You could smell the stench of your own sweat from that training session and you knew it'd bother others if you didn't freshen up.

Once inside the bathroom, you opened up the shower curtains and turned on the water. As soon as it was warm enough, you took off your training outfit and stepped into the shower and closed the curtain and washed yourself thoroughly. During your shower, you had a lot of time to think about whether you wanted to go home or not, and it was a tough decision to make.

You've been stuck in the Crystal Empire for 3 months, but you managed to turn it into your own home, thanks to the help of the prince and princess. But back home, you still had your video game career to continue and you always enjoyed a little bit of entertainment. However, all those training sessions Shining gave you, and even letting you use your trident, made you feel like you were in one of your favorite fightning games, although the catch was that you'd tire out when you first started.

Whether Cadence found a way to send you back home or not, you decided to move on and pray that your mother and father were pulling through alright. Now, the Crystal Empire was your new home and you figured it was time for you to grow up. Because to this day, you still loved playing video games, but sparring with Shining Armor felt like a virtual reality turned real world.

You chuckled at yourself for thinking a simple sparring session was equal to video games and you turned off the water after a nice, warm shower. You got out and dried yourself off from head to toe. You looked at yourself in the mirror and noticed how much improvement that you developed all around your body thanks to Shining's guidance during those 3 months.

Afterwards, you walked to your room and inside before locking the door. You tossed your towel aside and grabbed a fresh pair of clothes from your closet. You got dressed in your usual clothing and went to your bed and slammed yourself down. You never felt exhausted before. But before you could catch some Zs, there was a knock on your bedroom door and you let out a yawn.

"Who could that be?" you asked yourself. You got up and walked to the door and opened it. You quirked an eyebrow as you saw Cadence and Shining Armor at your door. "Oh, hi there Shining, Cadence, is there something I can do for you guys?"

"Well, Blade, you see, me and Shining have been talking lately and, there's something you need to know, so, if it isn't too much trouble, would you mind coming with us?" Cadence asked.

"Oh, okay, sure." You walked out of your room and followed Cadence and Shining. You didn't have any idea on what they were planning, but for some reason, Shining just gave you a wink and a thumbs up and you still didn't understand why. Suddenly, the three of you arrived at master bedroom where Shining Armor and Cadence slept together. "Umm, what are we doing here?" you ask.

Before you could get an answer, you could hear the sound of the door closing and locking. You turned to see Cadence, who was getting closer to you. Shining gave you another wink and thumbs up.

"Go ahead and have a seat on the bed." Cadence says. You obeyed and she sat next to you. "Blade, I'm going to be honest, I know you've had a crush on me." just as she said those words, you blushed and turned away in shame and embarrassment. "But that doesn't mean I don't feel the same. You're a very kind man and you've always helped us when we were in a tight spot, although mostly it involved Flurry. But right now I just want to say thank you for everything you've done for us. Anyways, me and Shining Armor talked about it and we decided to try something that's only happened thousands of years ago, Blade."

"What would that be?" you ask.

"Shining and I decided... to include you in our marriage."

"WHAT?!" you jumped back farther onto the bed. "H-H-How is that even possible?!"

"Let me explain. You see, thousands of years ago, when the population of mares would outnumber the stallions, they would usually formed herds, sharing their mates in hopes of keeping ourselves from going extinct, and surprisingly it worked out."

"B-But..."

"Blade, I know this seems weird and a lot to take in all at once, but just understand that... I've kinda fallen in love with you, just as much as I did when I met Shining." Cadence placed her hand right over your hand and you blushed, looking at her. You looked over at Shining, who was smiling at you. You thought he was angry, but there wasn't any tension in him at all. "So please, let me welcome you to our herd." When Cadence said this, you looked over at her and saw her blushing as well.

"I...I..." you stopped and let out a sigh. "If I do this, just know this: I don't want anything bad or awkward to come between the three of us. So I accept."

"Of course." Cadence wrapped her arms around you and pulled you into a deep kiss. Her lips felt so warm and you were taken by the heavenly feeling. You wrapped your arms around Cadence as well and held her gently as you two made out. You felt her tongue brush against your teeth, begging to be let in. You opened your mouth and let your tongues dance with each other.

Cadence's hair dangles over her face and brushed against your cheek. She moaned into the kiss the more she danced her tongue with yours. She then pulled away to get some air. She sat on her knees and removed her dress, leaving only her pink bra, panties and leggings. She blushed and gave you an embarrassed, yet aroused smile and you could feel your face blushing, too. Never in your wildest dreams back home have you ever encountered somepony so beautiful as Cadence.

"Wow... you look so beautiful. No wonder you're married." you say. She giggles.

"Well, go ahead and take your clothes off." Cadence turned to Shining. "You too, honey." Shining nods and starts stripping himself and you did so, too. Shining approached the bed once he was completely naked and began to make out with Cadence while you tried getting your pants off. You let Cadence and Shining have their moment until you were finally free of your pants.

You waited for 3 minutes and finally, Cadence and Shining broke away, panting. Cadence looked at you with a sultry look and pushed you down onto the pillow. She looked down at your hardened shaft as it was standing tall and proud.

"Wow, who knew humans could grow such large penises. It's really big." Cadence says seductively. She grabs your shaft and begins to stroke it. You moaned in ecstacy. Her hands didn't feel like any more woman's hands, these were the hands of a beautiful goddess. Shining then stood next to Cadence with his hardened shaft waiting to be pleasured by her. You were shocked at how big his was.

"YIKES!" you shouted, getting Shining's attention. He laughed.

"Relax, this is only for Cadence. You're sa-- oh, buck!" Shining said, before moaning that last part. Cadence had grabbed his shaft and stroked it while she gave it a few licks. Cadence would also give your shaft a few occasional licks so you wouldn't feel left out. Her tail began to swish left and right in excitement and soon she began to suck on yours and Shining shaft.

"Oh, shit! That feels good!" you moaned. Cadence moaned as she kept sucking on you and Shining, giving each of you equal amount of pleasure. Cadence enjoyed the expression on your face, and then she asked you a question that completely caught you off guard.

"So, I take it this is your first time?" she asks, making you blush. You look away, embarrassed with yourself before turning back to give her a nod. "Don't be so down. If it helps, this is my first time with a human and you're the lucky guy. Shining, would you kindly remove the rest of my clothing?"

"Huh? Oh, sure, honey." Shining got on the bed and removed Cadence's bra, exposing her beautiful D-Cup breasts as they bounced and jiggled. "Tell me, Blade. Like what you see?" she asks, placing her hands behind her head and swayed her upper body left and right. You felt your jaw breaking through the bed and floor when you witnessed her natural beauty.

"Hell yeah, I do." you replied in awe.

"Well, you've seen nothing yet." Cadence layed on her back and lifted her legs up, allowing Shining to take off her panties and reveal her beautiful, dripping pussy. Just looking at it made your shaft throb and you felt like you could rut her all day. Cadence sat back up and crawled towards you, placing another kiss on your lips and grinded her lower body on your lap, however, your shaft wasn't inside her.

You ignored your throbbing member and enjoyed a few moments of bliss with her. Her wings soon spreaded out wide, making her feel more excited. After a while, Cadence pulled away from you and signalled Shining to get behind her. Shining obeyed and grabbed a hold of his wife's butt.

"Whoa... double penetration?!" you asked.

"You bet. I've always wondered what it'd be like to have both of my holes filled up. Are you boys ready for the time of your lives or what?" She asks you and Shining.

"Ready when you are." Shining says confidentally.

"Yeah, it's SHOWTIME!" you shouted confidentally. Shining and Cadence laughed at your enthusiasm. Without any further delay, Shining plowed Cadence's ass while she sank down with your cock buried deep inside her pussy and she moaned. You and Shining thrusted inside Cadence hard, and loved the feeling of her insides hugging both of your shafts.

It was too good to be true for you: Cadence, a mare who was already married, accepted you as part of her herd and it was only going to get better from here on out. You watched her breasts jiggle with each powerful thrust you and Shining made and you grabbed her breasts. She moaned loudly in ecstacy, throwing her head back with her tongue hanging out.

"Oh buck yes! You boys are so big! I can feel your cocks expanding my insides! Give it to me more!" she shouted, stilll moaning loudly.

"S-Shining! I got a better idea!" you panted as you thrusted.

"What is it, Blade?" he asked.

"Let's give it to her while standing!" you smirked. Shining smirked at your idea.

"Oh-ho! Now you're talking!"

Shining carried Cadence from behind with his arms under her knees and stood on the ground. Her pussy was wide open and wanting you back inside her. You got off the bed and approached her with a confident smirk while she smiled seductively at you.

"Come and get me you sexy beast!" she said, licking her lips. You got close enough and placed your cock back inside her, pounding her hard again. "OH BUCK YES!" she shouted. Shining also resumed his pounding inside of her ass a little harder this time. Cadence wrapped her left arm around you and wrapped her right arm Shining's neck, making out with him.

You watched as their tongues danced and her breasts bounced. You got so aroused that you rubbed Cadence's butt cheeks as you rutted her silly. Shining and Cadence soon pulled away from their little make out session and then locked her lips with yours. Her wings were still spread out and her inner walls tightened around your shaft, trying to milk you for everything you had.

Shining felt it too, judging by his tightly closed eyes. Pulling out of Cadence was going to be a tough job, she wasn't going to let go until her pussy and her ass were completely satisfied. But you and Shining didn't mind one bit because you didn't want to stop.

However, the same couldn't be said for your climaxes. You could feel your climax getting closer as did Shining when he blabbed out loud "I... I'm gonna cum soon!"

"That makes two of us, man!" you grunted.

"Oh yes! I'm cumming, too! Go ahead and finish inside me! I want your hot cum inside me!" Cadence moaned out loud, holding onto you and Shining. You and Shining nodded and thrusted inside Cadence, putting more speed into them and made her moan even louder. Shining was getting winded as much as you and you only sped up a bit more from the feeling of Cadence's breast pinned against your bare chest.

Cadence was losing her mind from the pleasure she was getting and finally, she shot her love nectar all over your shaft and Shining's, too. That was enough to push you both over the edge. Shining shot all of his cum all over the inside of her ass while you shot yours in her pussy. Cadenced moaned loudly, holding you two together and finally coming down from her orgasm, panting.

You pulled out of Cadence and collapsed on the bed, panting heavily. Shining put down his wife and let her walk to her bed and fall down next to you. Shining laid down on the other side of the bed, now having Cadence in the middle, he was panting heavily.

"Damn. I never thought... my first threesome... would be that... amazing!" you panted.

"I've really enjoyed it. You boys really wore me out." Cadence says.

"Years of being with you will do that to you, Cadence. So Blade, you still want to stay in our herd?" Shining asked, with his full attention on you.

"Of course. I've always wondered what it'd be like to be married." you say, looking at Cadence.

"Well, thanks to you, now I'm going to have two husbands. I love you boys so much." Cadence pulled you and Shining Armor in for a group hug. You looked over at Shining and he looked at you, and you guys gave each other a thumbs up and a wink. Things felt like they were finally turning out for the better.

Opening an Empty Heart

View Online

Ever Herd of a Love Triangle?

Rewritten by Israel Yabuki

Edited & Co-written by NineTailBeastBall

You yawned and got to the kitchen to start your typical morning routine by pouring a glass of wine for breakfast. Taking your first sip, you trudged into the lining room to see what kind of pointless shenanigans they were showing on the news today.

It wasn’t always like this. The fact was little more than a year ago, you were a lively young man with a passion for video games. You always enjoyed playing them, even back when you were a small child. In fact, that same love for technology was to thank for this incredible mansion you called home, as even in this depressed state, you could remember as clear as day when you entered into an exciting video game competition and brought home the $5 million prize.

You laughed out loud at the look on your parents’ faces, who despite spoiling you with your games since childhood, never approved of your hobby. Even though you normally didn’t care what they said, you did grant their wish of moving out now that you had a small fortune.

On top of that, you also had a beautiful and loving girlfriend who was always there for you and shared your love for games since she was so fun and cool. Although, the past tense implied a lot... Yes, sadly, your relationship with her no longer existed.

One moment, everything was wonderful when you heard the news... that your girlfriend was pregnant with your child. Both of you were incredibly happy when you found out and even planned ahead on buying some new baby stuff when she would give birth. However… fate wasn't so kind to you. On your way to the hospital for the usual checkup on the baby, some asshole t-boned you and tried to make a run for it.

The man was later found and arrested for 2nd degree murder and hit and run. You, however, didn’t care what kind of sentence he got, the damage was already done. One particularly nasty conversation with your parents is what prompted you to cut ties with the rest of your world for good.

“You shouldn’t have been wasting time with her in the first place,” your mother had said back then. “I mean, what kind of woman actually encourages a grown man to use up his life with video-”

She had never finished her vile criticism before you, for the first and only time in your life, slapped her across the face. “Fuck you and your fucking slander! At least she treated me with respect! Who are you to judge? What do you know about love, you heartless old hag!” Was the last thing you told her before leaving her for good.

It’s been a whole year since you cut ties to your family and friends, and you still didn’t feel sorry for slapping your own mother. As far as you were concerned, she had it coming and was lucky you didn’t do worse.

“Okay, this is getting nowhere,” you groaned, turning off the tv. That’s when two things caught your eye: one was the painting of you and your beloved, which you made yourself, and the other was the stylish red trident that you remembered purchasing the same day you won the video game tournament.

You picked the trident off of the wall it was mounted on and rubbed it. “Oh, Julia... What would you have wanted me to do? I’ve lost my way ever since your death...”

If you were so far gone that you couldn’t figure out on your own how the woman you cherished like no other would have wanted you to live, were you truly beyond salvation?

“If only that fucker hadn’t hit us...! Or at least our kid would have been spared... He should have been the one who died, not my girlfriend!”

The rage left almost as quickly as it arrived and you were back to an empty shell of your former self. “Fuck this society, fuck those useless parents of mine, and fuck the so-called ‘big man above’ for taking away the closest thing I had to a family...” you mumbled before throwing your glass bottle against the wall, making it shatter. It was of no concern to you that the stains might attract pests.

It was bizarre, but as you stared at the trident in your hand, your emotions were switching on and off like a lightswitch. From an emotionless shut-in, to a raging hothead with so much anger for the world for how little value it had provided you since the day the love of your life perished with the child that never took its first breath.

“Julia... It’s too cold and lonely without you around...” You were so immersed in your sad thoughts that you didn’t immediately notice that it was getting harder to breathe. Following that, you felt a sharp pain deep in your chest.

Ironically, you were actually smiling in spite of the pain that made you fall to the floor on your side. It was like Julia was finally asking for you to come join her so you could be happy and warm again.

“I’m... Coming... Love...” you strained to say before you feel yourself slipping into an empty void, weightless and free.

“Hello? Are you okay?” a soothing female voice rang out. Ah, her voice sounded so beautiful and kind and gentle... just like your beloved Julia. You thought you might have finally made it to heaven with her and your unborn kid.

As you considered this, you realized that feeling in your body had returned to you, except for the excruciating pain in your chest. Your body felt... warm again. You opened up your eyes slowly to see where you were. However, the moment you did so, excitement and shock came back to you for the first time since the tragedy.

Sure, it was a shock that the walls and floors of this room you found yourself in looked like they were made of crystal, but it was your visitor that had you so worked up. First of all, no, this was not your precious Julia, even though that gentle voice could rival that of your late girlfriend’s. For that matter, she wasn’t even human, but some kind of humanoid horse. Now, you would admit she was lovely with her pink fur and multi-colored mane with gold and purple locks. You were also perceptive enough to see that unless she was just arrogant, she must have been someone important if she was wearing that tiara or hers.

“Your reaction doesn’t surprise me,” she said with a smile and reached for the nightstand beside your bed to pick up and sip a cup of tea.

“W-who-who are you? What... What am I doing here? And... w-where’s Julia?” you stuttered, amazed that she not only looked human, but could talk as well.

She set her cup down now that it was empty and looked at you without losing that incredible composure on her face. “You think you’re in the afterlife, do you not? I’ve seen so many cases like yours, sir, so I suppose it’s only natural that we should start with introducing ourselves.” She touched her... impressive chest. “I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadance for simplicity’s sake.”

“W-where am I...?” you asked, having calmed down a little. It just so happened that wherever you were, you brought your trident with you, but you were at least sane enough not to try and stab the mare who was being so patient with you.

“This is the land of Equestria, and you’re currently in a guest room inside my palace here in a place called the Crystal Empire. As co-ruler of this land alongside my husband, Prince Shining Armor, I offer you my greetings and condolences, my dear human.”

Even though you were separate species, it’s only because your heart still belonged to Julia that you didn’t feel anything for the mare. Then again, she just said she was married, and you didn’t see the logic to hit on a lady you just met anyway.

“Wait.” You realized something just then. “How did you know I was a human?”

“Well-” Cadance said, until both of you heard what sounded like a cute giggle coming from the hallway. From outside the door, came a mischievous little toddler with a little green toy snail. She had a swirly purple mane with blue streaks, a light pink coat that almost matched the shade of Cadance’s fur, and sparkling aqua blue eyes filled with innocence. On top of that, she had a set of wings and a horn just like the princess.

“Who’s the kid?” you asked, taken aback by how adorable a humanoid pony could be.

“I should have known I wouldn’t be able to keep her out,” Cadance giggled. “This feisty little one is my daughter, Flurry Heart.” Once the girl was within reach, her mother pinched her small nose. “You’ll have to forgive her, as she’s only 3 years old.”

“Is the monkey alright, Mommy?”

“Now, what did Mommy and Daddy tell you, Flurry, honey? Calling our guest here a monkey is a no-no. He's a human. Say be a good filly and say you’re sorry now, sweetie.” She then picked up her daughter and brought her up to your face. From this distance, there was no way to stop yourself from once again admiring how lovable she was with her chubby cheeks and huge, sparkling eyes.

“Sowwy hoo-man,” Hearing her sweet little voice, it was just way too impossible to stay mad at this precious little bundle of joy. In addition to getting jumpy for the first time in months, you were now back to smiling, even if it wasn’t a very big one.

“Aww, it’s okay, Flurry,” you replied, patting her gently on the head. You surprised yourself that you still maintained a soft spot for children, as normally, you wanted to avoid even eye contact with a child after losing your own.

“You seem to have a way with kids. Am I wrong?” Cadance asked, having absolutely nothing against you messing with her daughter’s mane. She did, however, frown when you stopped playing around with Flurry immediately after hearing her question.

“I... used to, but... certain events happened that... made me lose my touch...” you explained hesitantly. There was no way you were going to tell the whole story to someone you barely knew, especially with an innocent toddler in the room.

“I understand... You’ve probably had a long day and all, but let me assure you there are plenty of civilians who will sympathize with your situation.” She offered her hand to you. “Allow me to show you around.”

You looked at the pink hand in front of you for a good ten seconds, and decided you had nothing to lose. To be perfectly honest, she’s already implied that you weren’t the only humans, and you might be able to meet one of your kind on the tour.

Climbing out of bed, you stretched your limbs and followed Cadance out the door. Crystals of all kinds of colors awaited you beyond the guest room, hence the name of the empire. It wasn’t just the walls and ceilings, the armored soldiers stationed around the palace looked like they were made of crystal as well, even though you had reasons to believe that wasn’t necessarily the case. Then again, this was an entirely different dimension. Who were you to say what was possible?

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Cadance rhetorically asked, catching you red-handed, looking left and right. You couldn’t explain why your emotions were coming back, as now, you were even blushing that she caught you admiring the decor.

“Um... y-yeah, it... sure is...” you replied with a nod.

“Thank you, but I think you should know... it wasn’t always this pleasant. Time was, the Crystal Empire was under the tyrannical rule of a malicious pony known as King Sombra,” Cadance went on, but only after Flurry Heart was out of earshot. “Even today, his name strikes fear into us all. With a heart corrupted by dark magic, Sombra enslaved the crystal ponies and harvested our crystals for his own selfish gain. But his tyranny came to an end when this empire’s savior, a young dragon named Spike, helped rescue it some time ago.”

‘Dark magic? Dragons? What else does this world hold?’ you asked, feeling yourself steadily returning to your past, cheerful self as you began to feel a little excited. “Please go on. How exactly did he save the empire?” you asked, not completely satisfied with the story. After all, dragons were nothing but a myth in your world, and you wanted to know what one could really do.

“I was just getting to that. Follow me, if you would be so kind,” Cadance instructed. Narrowing your eyes, you stayed behind the princess, following her until you were led outside of the castle. She then directed you to an important looking spot where this heart made of pure crystal was located. The way the guards looked at you made it clear that they wouldn’t allow you to get much closer.

“Magnificent, isn’t it?” she asked. “This is the Crystal Empire’s most prized and important possession, the Crystal Heart. It is the kingdom’s strongest defense against the harsh storms outside. Spike will forever be remembered as a hero for finding the Crystal Heart and helping to put it back where it belongs. It was only then that we were able to banish King Sombra and his dark magic out for good,” she explained, closing her eyes as if she were reliving some of the most eventful moments in her life.

“You might find it hard to imagine, but even as a baby, my sweet Flurry Heart held incredible power that even I couldn’t have prepared for. Such untamed power comes with consequences, as we were left in quite a predicament when she screamed loud enough to shatter the Crystal Heart.”

You shook your head. “On the contrary, Cadance, I can quite easily believe that. You’ve already given me enough proof that the rules of logic are nothing like the ones back in my world. Plus, since you’re the only ponies I’ve seen with both wings and a horn after all that walking around the castle, I began to assume something about you and Flurry made you different from the others.”

“Ah, a sharp one, aren't you? Well, you’re right that Flurry and I are the only ponies with wings and a horn. It’s only natural since alicorns are a rarity in this world. We are a mixture of earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi combined together,” she explained. “Flurry Heart’s birth brought surprise to us all, as she’s the first and only naturally born alicorn in history.”

“Excuse me for changing the subject, but you obviously have more humans here in Equestria. Why is that?” you asked, revealing once again how perceptive even an empty man and broken hearted man like yourself could be. “I was hoping to get an answer before Flurry came into my room, but I hope up here, we won’t be interrupted again.”

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot to mention, but you’re actually the first human to arrive here in the Crystal Empire. The majority of them appeared in Ponyville and the city capital, known as Canterlot. Both locations are a fair distance from here, but we do have a train station that stops by either one.” Cadance explained in more detail. “Even so, you should consider yourself lucky since no other human came here to the Crystal Empire the same way you did.”

‘So you’re not here after all... Are you Julia?’ you sighed.

Cadance continued talking, unaware that your thoughts were stained with sadness. “Of the billions of humans that die in your world every day, less than 1 percent of them are able to live a second life here in Equestria. As far as I know, they’ve all adjusted and even raised families with the ponies around them.”

“They... have? But... but how? Don’t they miss their families back home?” It sounded way too good to be true,

“Some of them do, but the others were unhappy with their families for personal issues that I’d rather not say out of respect for their privacy, of course. But with humans dropping in Equestria every now and then, we’re making it a point to welcome them into our society.”

‘Well, I guess I’m the first human who’s not going to tie the knot with any of your ponies,’ you thought.

“You should really go into town next. There would be little to no point in bringing you back to life if you were to stay cooped up in the castle,” she encouraged. “Word about humans spread throughout Equestria fairly quickly since the first human is married to my sister-in-law, Twilight Sparkle, who is not only an alicorn like myself, but is also the princess of friendship.”

“Princess... of Friendship? How does that work?” you asked. This was definitely turning into a game of 20 questions.

Cadance looked up at the crystal ceiling with a big smile. “Twilight has come a long way, that much I can assure you.”

“What’s this... Twilight like?” you asked.

“I’ve known Twilight for a long time since she happens to be the filly I enjoyed foal-sitting for more than any other. But my husband is the only one in the empire who can tell you more about her than me, since he’s her older brother,” Cadance said with a wink. “Shining Armor is usually on the training grounds at this hour, but he could use a break by now. You should try having a chat with him.”

“Okay... you insist... It’s not like I have anything else to do...” you shrugged and used your head to gesture for her to give you directions.

“Then follow me. Naturally, I’ll be the one to show you where it is,” she instructed. The princess took you by the hand and guided you through town and over towards this building that seems to be guarded by more of the armored crystal ponies that you’ve been seeing around the castle. The guards allowed you and Cadance to enter the building, and they even saved you the trouble of opening the doors.

Once inside, you were guided down a smooth hallway towards this other doorway that was closed and had a sign that read “training in progress”. However, that was of no concern to the princess, who opened it ever so casually. Inside was a brightly lit gym, about as big as a high school football field, maybe even a college football field back home.

The floor was golden and smooth and in the center, you saw this unicorn stallion in white fur with a blue mane instructing a few other stallions. Your guess is they're mostly new recruits while a few others are skilled pros doing their daily routines.

“Again!” the unicorn up front demanded. It looked like he was having the recruits go through some endurance exercises with the way he had the other half of the soldiers slam them in the guts with either a gloved fist, or one of those bags that could be found in boxing gyms on a metal pole.

“Okay, Shining. I think we can agree that’s enough, honey,” Cadance interrupted, clapping her hands. Ironically, even though these were soldiers, at least a handful seemed to have a sense of humor since you noticed the small number biting their lips to keep themselves from laughing. “You have a visitor, so why don’t you give him whatever time you have before you pass out.”

“Alright everypony, take five.” Shining Armor said, grabbing a towel for his sweaty face before wrapping it around his neck and coming in your direction. “You’re the only one bold enough to interrupt me when training is in session, Cadance. What’s this all about?”

“I thought I should let you know that the Crystal Empire has a brand new resident. Given he’s the first human to appear in our society, I thought you would like to meet him personally,” Cadance replied, gesturing to you. It was only because you didn’t care about smells that you were able to stand being next to someone as sweaty as Shining Armor; questions could always come later.

“Your wife here has been a nice host, showing me around the castle and patiently answering many of my questions. However, when our conversation concerning humans got us talking about this Princess Twilight Sparkle, she insisted that you were the one who could fill me in,” you explained, easily blocking out the odor. “I’m just as curious as anyone else stranded in a new environment.”

“I see. In that case, I can always give you a brief explanation. And after I finish whipping these newbies into shape for the day, I’ll tell you everything there is to know about my sister. Fair enough?” Shining offered, along with a handshake.

“Okay then,” you agreed before accepting the handshake. His grip was strong... Almost too strong in your case. Maybe he was excited to meet a new face, or was just skeptical of you. Either way, you were sure that getting on his bad side could land you in the hospital.

“You see, my sister, Twily... She’s kind of like the egghead of the family. She's a real prodigy when it comes to the magical arts, but she never got the chance to make friends when she was little, nor was she interested. We hoped that her getting accepted into Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns would change that. And it kinda worked at one point... since she did make at least one friend upon acceptance. Namely, her number one assistant, Spike the dragon,” Shining explained.

“I heard that name before. I’ve never seen a living dragon myself, but Cadance was telling just a few minutes ago how this one helped save the Crystal Empire one time,” you brought up.

“Did she tell you the whole story?” Shining asked.

“I left out a few brief moments. There’s only so much about that fateful day that I can tell when you’re not beside me, hun,” Cadance admitted.

“Well, anyway... Twilight continued her studies in solitude until the day came that she was sent to Ponyville by order of Princess Celestia in order to make friends. Little did she know... that her friends became the best thing that ever happened to her. In fact, if it wasn’t for her, you wouldn’t be talking to either me or Cadance right now.”

It was Cadance’s turn to talk again, and she put a hand on your shoulder. “Chances are no matter where you are in Equestria, there’s always an interesting story to tell,” she giggled. “Shining and I have a debt we can’t possibly repay to Twilight, as the first time she saved us both was during our wedding. With an appetite for love, a shapeshifting race called changelings infiltrated Canterlot with their queen taking my form to drain Shining here of enough energy to take over. It was only because Twilight was able to see through her disguise that she was able to bring me back to my beloved.”

‘Back to my beloved... If only I could have that luxury...’

“I fell victim to the queen’s spell as she impersonated Cadance, and even today, I can’t forgive myself for lashing out at Twily. The things I said to her... the level of hurt in her eyes... The blame is mine to bear for being too weak to...”

He stopped blaming himself mid-sentence when Cadance gave him a peck on the cheek. “That’s all in the past, Shining. I’m here now, aren’t I, silly? Anyway, I think it’s time you settled the score and told us a little about yourself. What’s your story?”

“It’s unfortunate, but I don’t share your strength to tell a complete story...” you said, shaking your head. You were quite ashamed of yourself, not only for being selfish to the point that you didn’t want to fill the royal couple in after they took time out of their duties to talk to you, but of how you felt about their display of affection. You should be feeling happy that they lived to get married after that invasion they told you about, but seeing Cadance kiss her husband only made you feel that dreadful stab in your suffering heart.

With a frown, Cadance got down to your eye level to see how much pain you were hiding and carefully grabbed each side of your face. “Is it really so painful that you can’t tell us... anything?” She looked like she was about to cry. “You’ve been giving me these same empty eyes all day...”

“I just... I just don’t have the strength I used to... It’s a big mystery just how much this crumbling heart of mine can handle. I truly do regret keeping you in the dark, but I don’t have the courage to tell you what happened to me... At least, not yet...” you forced out, rubbing your arm. The guilt grew worse faster than you could keep track of, and before you knew it, a single tear fell from your eye.

Enough was enough. You rose from the bench you chose to sit on to listen to these stories and ran out the door.

A Hearts and Hooves Day Debt

View Online

You’ve been a resident of the Crystal Empire for little over a week now. While some of your emotions were indeed coming back to the surface again, there still weren’t many things that could put a smile on your face.

Princess Cadance was persistent, and while she wasn’t able to get any details about your late girlfriend, Julia, she was able to convince you to finally take a trip into town. There was a particular unicorn named Sunburst, who apparently acted as Princess Flurry Heart’s royal crystaller, which was just a fancy way of calling him her caretaker.

Since visits from Flurry Heart were one of the few things that brought joy into your hollow shell of a body, you decided that even though you’ve seen Sunburst around the castle, actually getting to see where he lives wouldn’t be a bad way to kill time. You needed something new to get your mind off of Julia.

With the directions on a card, Cadance led you to a small house that seemed appropriate for someone who preferred a quiet life. Sunburst revealed that he had been expecting you when the door opened just a few seconds after you knocked.

After exchanging greetings, your friend led you to a couch so he could fix some coffee. “It feels silly that even though we’ve seen each other around the castle so many times, we haven’t had the chance to have a proper chat until now,” he said, setting the cup that was meant for you.

“Well, it’s an old saying that there is no better time like the present. Anyway, now that I’m here, how does it feel being so close to the young heir? From what I know, Flurry thinks the world of you.”

Sunburst sipped his coffee and then brushed his beard. “Well, it was quite the shocker that I became her crystaller on the day of her birth. But you know, the more I spend time with her, the more confident I feel that I’ve found my true purpose in life. I never knew what it felt like being somewhat of a parent, and it became even harder to put any thought into it after I flunked out of magic school. It’s a sore subject that I kept hidden for years.”

He used whatever skill he did have with magic to refill both of your cups.

“While we’re on the subject, what are you going to do?” Sunburst asked, once again stroking the beard that he took pride in. “No offense, but you can’t honestly think Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor are going to keep letting you stay in the castle if they can barely persuade you to come outside. If you’re so concerned about Flurry’s safety, maybe you should...”

“What?” you asked, wondering if you should be offended that he stopped mid-sentence. “Tell me.”

“Forget it, it’s... it’s reckless...” he tried, but you were persistent. “Okay, you win. I noticed the trident you keep in your bedroom. I was going to say if you care about Flurry as I do and want to keep her safe, why don’t you enlist in the crystal guard?”

“Interesting proposition, but I just got here and still know hardly anything about the customs of pony territory. For example, what if humans aren’t allowed in the guard at all? Ignorant as I am to the process of becoming a royal soldier, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that it’s not the same as joining the army back in my world.”

“Humans aren’t allowed? That’s nonsense and you know it,” Sunburst almost yelled, fixing his trademark glasses, which always seemed to be slipping down. “Don’t you know Princesses Celestia and Luna, the highest authorities in Equestria, are married to humans? That means their human husbands LEAD the royal army.”

“Wait, are you implying... that there is no such law that says a human can’t enlist in any of the royal armies?” you asked, surprised even though your face didn’t change. Sunburst nodded to confirm.

You then reached into your pocket to pull out a small photo that Cadance took of you yesterday with Flurry on your lap. Sunburst had a point—eventually, both of the crystal rulers would grow tired of you sitting around doing nothing. And even if this idea came out of the blue, signing up for the crystal guard meant protecting the only child that hasn’t caused you heartache since the death of your own.

“I’ll put some thought into it... This isn’t something you can decide when you’re not mentally prepared,” you replied, stuffing the photo back into your pocket.

“I seriously doubt if you go through with it, your fellow trainees will give you any grief,” Sunburst said, electing not to say anything about the photo you just put away. “While not everypony shares our open-mindedness towards you humans, I haven’t heard so much as a peep of mockery from any of the castle staff during my shifts—we’re slowly learning to accept you.”

“Learning to accept me, yeah, Cadance told me the same, so I get it. I’m sure there’s at least some pony who talks about me when they think they’re alone. After all, look at me. We humans can’t fly or use magic. But enough about that. You said you flunked out of magic school? What forced you to abandon such an important education?” you asked.

“Exactly that. Not all unicorns are the same,” Sunburst sighed. “Let’s take my foalhood friend Starlight Glimmer for example. She’s one of the most gifted unicorns of the modern age, and rumor has it that she can even rival Princess Twilight’s own talents. I just... wasn’t the prodigy I thought I was when I earned my cutie mark, and I lost my way somewhere along the line.”

“That makes two of us...” you mumbled. “So basically, things didn’t work out in the end and you were forced to give up your dreams. If that’s the case, how did you wind up here in the Crystal Empire?” you asked.

“Well, building a small house up here was better than returning home where my rather overbearing mother would be waiting for me with another one of her stifling plans for what to do next with my life.”

“Hold on, your mother wanted to do all the planning for your life instead of letting you make your own path?” you asked in surprise. “Then I might as well tell you that’s something we have in common. My own mother was a nightmare who never agreed with anything I wanted to do. She just... You’ll have to excuse using this choice of words under your roof, but I mean it from the bottom of my heart when I say she really pissed me off...” you groaned in frustration, wanting to hit something, but you weren’t going to, of course.

You were done talking about the family you left behind, if that’s what you could even call them. “I appreciate your time and the coffee, Sunburst, but I need to get going. Your suggestion has left me with a lot to think about tonight.”

“Of course. Just remember that if you ever want to stop by for another chat, my door is always open. Please come back anytime,” Sunburst said with a comforting smile. Unknown to him since your back was turned, you were smiling too.

“Okay... So it seems we’re making progress since we got him to explore town. I just wish we could convince him to come down to breakfast on his ow-AH!” Cadance, who was mumbling to Shining Armor about how far they’ve gotten with you and your reserved self, ended up jumping when they walked into the dining hall to see you at the end of the table with some coffee. Up until now, you wouldn’t get out of your room on your own accord, and they would have to walk up to get you to stop staring out the window by letting you know when a hot meal was ready and waiting.

Most of the time, you would be thinking about this new world you wound up in and how Cadance and Shining easily warmed up to you while you're just barely trying to make yourself at home. On top of that, knowing that other humans arrived here before you was a big shock. You can only imagine how freaked out the locals felt as well as the humans in question.

“Good morning,” you said, taking a good sip of the coffee. You would need it to force out what Sunburst had put in your head yesterday.

“Well, this is a first. Nice of you to join us for breakfast,” Cadance said, waiting for Shining to pull a chair out for her like he always did. “I’m going to go out on a limb and assume something rather eventful happened when you paid our loyal crystaller a visit.”

“This won’t be a one time thing, first of all,” you said, referring to getting out of bed on your own. “But there’s a reason why I got up at this hour, and it’s convenient that the two of you eat breakfast at the same time.”

“Well, no holds barred. What’s on your mind?” Shining asked, reassuring you that you could tell him and his wife anything.

“I, uh... I’ve been thinking about it and I’d like to know... what would I have to do if I wanted to... maybe... join the crystal guard?” you asked.

Cadance and Shining Armor looked at each other with confusion. “The crystal guard? Well, where did a big plan like that come from?” the latter asked, and you reached into your pocket to pull out and slide the photo of you and Flurry across the table.

“I had a long conversation with your crystaller, Sunburst yesterday. The idea of me joining the crystal guard was mostly a suggestion of his because of the trident he saw me carrying around. It’s been circulating in my head all night. The thing is... you guys have done so much to help me adapt into this new world. So, I feel like I owe a debt to the two of you, and that I could repay it by becoming one of your soldiers.”

Cadance got up from her chair to give you a hug from behind. “It’s good to know that our efforts trying to befriend you weren’t pointless after all. Honestly, I think my Shining Armor here can polish you into a great soldier, but that can come later.”

“What do you mean? Why later?” you asked, wondering what exactly she was implying as she continued hugging you.

“Because the Hearts and Hooves Day festival is just a few days away. It’s a special celebration in which love is spread throughout the community between couples and families alike. I’ve spent time with other humans over the years, and they tell me that it’s sort of like what you refer to as Valentine’s Day.”

‘Don’t remind me...’ you thought, but gave the alicorn embracing you a nod.

“So while I think it’s honorable that you want to enlist in the army, try to make a decision after you’re done relaxing and enjoying the festival.”

“What do you do?” you asked, more tempted than ever to tell them about Julia and how she died and took the child with her.

“Well, Shining Armor and I tend to make a public appearance around the Crystal Empire to pay our subjects a visit while spreading our love and appreciation to all those who’ve been supporting us from the day we sat on the throne,” Cadance answered. “And while we’re at it, we bring out some good drinks and do a little dancing. Shining may not look like it, but he’s a big romantic softie.”

“...I see,” you muttered. Any urge you had to share your grief over your beloved’s passing disappeared. All you felt was shame since Cadance’s mention of drinks reminded you of how you became quite the alcoholic to deal with Julia no longer being part of your life.

Shining meanwhile, aside from blushing from his wife’s light teasing, looked at you suspiciously wondering why she was suddenly being so affectionate and hugging you. And if you were being perfectly honest, you wanted to know that yourself.

“You’re more likely to find your special somepony on Hearts and Hooves Day than any other day of the year,” Cadance went on, poking you lightly on the cheek after releasing you from the hug. “And like I told you when we met, all the humans that I know have formed loving relationships after adjusting to the pony life. You may not believe it, but a handsome fellow like yourself is bound to capture a lucky mare’s heart in due time.”

Shining finally joined the discussion now that his face had cooled down. “Even if you don’t find a girl at the festival, you should still join the celebration for a drink or two.”

“I... suppose... that would be okay...” you said, looking away, unsure. ‘I really doubt I’ll ever find anyone who’s a match for Julia. Aside from that... what is Cadance thinking? Hugging me like that? For that matter, what’s on Shining Armor’s mind? Is he keeping quiet because he trusts his wife that much, or what?’

“Your pancakes, sir,” a maid broke you out of your thoughts, setting a hot stack of flapjacks in front of you, complete with a nice helping of butter and syrup.

“Thank you,” you said. After that, no more words were said and you started to cut up your breakfast. The couple could tell you still looked uneasy about the whole Hearts and Hooves Day festival, but they were still just as determined to show you a great time with their subjects.

‘Is it time to move on?’ you wondered. ‘Is it really time to see if a girl can take a place in this pathetic excuse of a heart?’ Without explaining anything, you abandoned your breakfast and went over to the closest window, where you could see dozens of ponies passing by. ‘Who’s heart will I end up breaking?’

Cadance meant it when she said Hearts and Hooves Day was a time for relationships to bloom. Even before the preparations for the festival went underway, you saw stallions and mares holding hands and kissing as they passed you by on the street. You tried to at least look happy for the locals, but your smile felt as empty as usual.

“Hey!” a voice called for you while you were sitting down to watch some of the castle servants bring over some of the royal family’s best wine, and you glanced over with a bored expression to see an orange stallion pegasus with a blue mane. One look at his armor was all you needed to know he was one of the royal guards... Actually, that was an understatement.

“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. Flash Sentry, captain of the crystal army at your service, mate.” No one asked him to either introduce himself or sit next to you, but he did both. “There’s juicy news from Prince Shining Armor that you want to become our first human soldier. If that’s true, we might as well get acquainted.”

You said nothing as you watched the couples gather around, but you turned your attention to one couple in particular when a mare started shouting at her date for spilling wine on her expensive-looking dress. It was obviously an accident, but that didn’t stop them from swearing at each other like they were sailors on drugs.

“You sound pretty proud of your position, so give me an example,” you said, not taking your eyes off the bickering pair. “Isn’t it the job of the guards to escort troublemakers off the premises?”

“No need to,” Flash Sentry chuckled. “Just watch.”

The commotion easily caught Cadance’s attention, and she lit up her horn to create a tiny heart that floated over to the bickering couple and as it got close to them, it expanded and released a bright aura that stopped the poor fools from screaming at each other over a silly accident. Their demeanors mellowed down and they went back to having a nice, romantic conversation.

“As long as a crumbling couple is within her reach, Princess Cadance won’t hesitate to remind us that she’s worthy of being called the princess of love,” Flash said. “It’s kind of scary, but at least it saves us guards the trouble of breaking things up before they get ugly.”

“If she handles her subjects’ minor disputes, then what are the royal guards supposed to do?” you asked.

“Well for starters, protect Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, of course. Not to mention Princess Flurry Heart,” he answered, almost making you feel stupid. “Self-sacrifice is part of being a soldier. No matter which one of us you ask, nobody here will hesitate to give up their lives if it means protecting the royal family and the Crystal Empire.”

“Well, then I guess I’ll have to keep that in mind if I get the chance to sign up,” you replied. ‘It’s lucky for you that my life doesn’t really mean much...’

“But anyway, why aren’t you out there on the dance floor? This might be the last chance you’ll have to find a pretty marefriend before basic training,” Flash teased, elbowing you in the arm.

“Well, the thing is...” You were tired of holding back your pain and were about to share the heartbreaking story concerning Julia and the child that never came with your new friend, but there was no longer a reason for Cadance to concentrate on the now content couple, so she turned her attention to you.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your budding friendship with Captain Flash Sentry here, but I think you’ve spent enough time just sitting there,” she said with that warm smile you saw so many times in the short time you’ve known her. She grabbed your hand to pull you up to your feet. “How does some nice, friendly slow dancing sound?”

“I... I...” was all you could say before she dragged you over, leaving behind Flash Sentry, who waved at you with a smirk.

“Put your hand on my waist, silly,” she instructed once you were on the dance floor. You did as she told you, though you were a bit flustered. “Good, now just follow my lead one step at a time.”

Heeding her advice, you waltzed with her as the music started playing. You didn’t know it at first, but the longer you stared into her eyes, the more you felt like your heart was crying out, begging you to embrace her. But in your head, you just couldn’t make such a move if it meant ruining her marriage to Shining Armor. You understood that she was happily married, and you weren’t in the right to change that.

Of course, looking into her eyes, it almost felt like you were back at home... dancing with your beloved Julia. With her bright smile, sparkling eyes, she just felt so... perfect in every way. Maybe even too perfect. And it broke your heart that she wasn’t the one you were dancing with.

“Why are you doing this?” you whispered to your dance partner as you continued moving in circles.

“Because you can’t fool my eyes. The agony of losing somepony you cherish is written all over your face... and I acted like I didn’t notice until now...” She rested her head on your shoulder, and it looked more like you were hugging than dancing. “I won’t use my magic on you if that’s what you’re worried about, but you can’t keep this bottled in anymore...”

You realized she was resting her head on you so you could whisper your story in her ear and keep it a private conversation. In any case, there was no point in hiding it anymore. With no other option, you reluctantly spilled the beans.

“Fine, I guess you pushed me into a corner... I had a girlfriend once... Her name was Julia, and she was the best girlfriend a guy could ever hope for. We did all sorts of stuff together back home. Then one day, she told me she was pregnant with my child. I was so excited, I even started talking about... making vows, but then one day... my whole world came crashing down, when some asshole crashed into our car. I had lost my girlfriend... and my unborn child, and it felt like a part of me had died that day as well.”

“And that’s why you’re not even trying to find a date...” Cadance concluded. “Even though it’s easy to do so on Hearts and Hooves Day... Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I could have helped you get through it, I’m sure...”

“I didn’t think it would make a difference... On top of that... I’m overwhelmed with the fear that even if I fell in love for a second time, the same thing would happen all over again. The thought of reliving that nightmare is too much to bear... I would no longer be able to live with myself...” you explained while a few tears rolled down your face.

“I understand your feelings, but believe your princess here when she says you need not worry anymore. This new land is a safe haven, so it’s next to impossible for such a tragedy to strike twice. Trust me... you’ll know soon enough.”

From her resting spot on your shoulder, she was more than close enough to surprise you by planting a light kiss on your cheek. That put an end to your dance, and you stopped right where you were. You didn’t resist when Shining Armor took your place with his wife while you went to take a seat over on the bench and process both the advice and the kiss.

“Don’t tell me you’re settling on a married mare,” Flash Sentry, who never left the bench, joked, but you took it quite seriously.

“What’s that supposed to mean? It was just a friendly dance. Besides, I would never do something so unethical.”

“That’s nice to hear, but... there’s something you should know about the laws here in Equestria. Are you familiar with the term, herding?” Flash asked.

You got confused and looked at him. “Please enlighten me.”

“See, a long time ago, ponies were on the brink of extinction because the mare population was dominating over the stallions. The gender ratio was 8/2, so in order to preserve our kind, a law was passed that allowed stallions to have more than one mare in their relationship. Thanks to this, we managed to survive. On top of that, the law is still active and with the gender ratio 6/4, mares, conversely, are even allowed to take in multiple stallions. You can even be included in someone else’s marriage as long as both parties consent. In other words...” Flash gestured to Cadance and Shining Armor, hinting at the obvious.

“Hypothetically speaking... even if they’re married, I might have a shot as long as they’re okay with it?” you asked, putting two and two together.

“That’s basically it,” he replied, before holding both hands up. “Now, maybe I’m just taking the joke too far, but if you did in fact fall in love with the princess or some other married mare, you’d be the first human to start a herd. Then again, I’m a single stallion, so what would I know?”

This certainly was news to you and while you weren’t necessarily planning on starting a herd, you did, however, decide that if Cadance was going to continue to support you, you would repay your debt by joining the army, where they’ll teach you how to defend those important to you. If you were to acquire such experience, you might be able to fall in love again without losing anyone else.

‘This is it... No turning back now...’ you thought as you stood outside the crystal guard training grounds. With a nod of conviction, you pushed the doors aside and saw Shining Armor with his back turned.

“So you’ve decided to go through with it after all...” he said, still facing away from you.

“That’s right!” you said loud and firm, putting your feet together before pounding your chest. “It took a lot of thinking last night, but I’ve made up my mind. I know now that I’m making the right choice, and I plan to devote myself to protect both this kingdom and your family with my life. This is my way of repaying you for the kindness and hospitality you’ve shown me when I first arrived here,” you replied with confidence and another nod.

Shining finally turned around with a confident smile, very much satisfied by your answer. “Well said. In that case, you’d best prepare yourself, Private. Because I don’t plan on going easy on you!”

A Crystal Clear Family

View Online

“Who’s next?” you asked, looking at the stallions surrounding you as you stood in the middle of the royal guards’ sparring ring, barefoot. Up next to the plate was Flash Sentry, one of Shining's higher ranked guards.

“All right, both of you take and prepare yourselves!” Shining instructed. You and Flash both bowed to Shining, then at each other and assumed your fighting stances.

“Remember, pace yourself and look for an opening or just try and make one,” Flash advised. You stood silent, but nodded in understanding. Time and again, Flash had been ahead of you, but this might be the day you finally surpassed him. Shining signaled for the sparring match to commence and Flash came at you with a flurry of punches, which you carefully observed and blocked using your forearms and parrying them in a steady rhythm.

“Come on!” he yelled, knowing for a fact that you could do better. And that’s what you were about to prove. You pushed back with a couple of punches, keeping your breathing under control and then launched a roundhouse kick as a feint, which Flash bought and ducked to his left. That was the opening you needed. You leaped and spun clockwise in the air to perform a downwards spin kick on the back of his neck, knocking him to the ground.

This was your third week of training, and already, you’ve gained a reputation among the crystal guard as a beast. The very moment your training started, you threw away everything you learned from video games. Imitating stunts from games and movies was nothing like learning from a real teacher. Shining Armor stuck to his word about not going easy on you, and every morning you only had about a half hour to eat before the early exercises. Such included: laps outside in the hot sun, push-ups on your knuckles, and of course, hand-to-hand combat with other guards.

Naturally, you could barely keep up with the other privates, especially the weakest link, but you learned fast enough to even surprise yourself. However, you still had your faults…

Before you knew it, Shining Armor appeared before you with a teleportation spell and swept your legs to knock you to the ground.

“Private! I told you never to let your guard down!” he scolded, getting down on his knee to hold you down with a strong hand on your chest. “You get careless in a real battle, it’ll be the last mistake you ever make. Understood?!”

“Y-Yes Captain, sir!” you grunted a bit.

“I can’t hear you!”

“YES, CAPTAIN, SIR!”

“Get up and give me 50 push-ups on your knuckles!” You saluted him and got down to do as you were told. One thing you definitely acknowledged is that orders were not to be questioned. And while you had never served in the army back home, it was pretty safe to say the royal guard training was similar to boot camp.

As you were doing your push-ups, working up a nice sweat, the doors opened and in walked the lovely Princess Cadance. What were the odds for her to show up in the middle of your training, where she would catch you all sweaty and stinky? Not to mention she had a front row seat to watch her husband put his hoof on your back as you forced yourself up and down on your knuckles.

Aside from you, as you still had 30 push-ups left, the trainees saluted their princess by pounding their chests as she walked over to you and Shining Armor.

“To think you push these gentle-colts like a true captain when you were such a lanky novice when we met in high school,” she teased the latter. Embarrassed as he was, he kept his hoof on your back, while you behaved like a true soldier by refraining yourself from laughing and focusing on the remaining 20 push-ups. A part of you understood his embarrassment, though. As back in high school, you were a bit lanky yourself, but not like Lanky Kong.

That’s where your beloved Julia played another role in your life. Because she was very proactive, when you weren’t playing video games together, you’d tag along with her wherever she went. Whether it was at the gym, or taking hikes outside of town, all those adventures built some muscle behind those lanky limbs — that’s why you were so healthy.

Once you reached 50, Shining moved his hoof off of your back, but kept a close eye on you when his wife crouched down to look you in the eye.

“And how is our first human trainee doing today?” she asked, cupping your chin with her soft, silk-like hands. It didn’t even bother her that a pony’s smell was much more acute than a human’s, allowing her to easily pick up the smell of someone who was in desperate need of a shower.

“Suffice to say, I’m still no match for your husband,” you replied.

“Oh, you’ll come around eventually,” she encouraged before turning to Shining Armor. “Honey, mind if I talk to your private for a little while? Don’t worry, it’s merely a chat between good friends, nothing more.” She ran her fingers through her husband’s mane before kissing him on the cheek.

“Uh... sure honey...” Shining nodded. He looked down at you. “Make this quick, Private.”

“I didn’t know royal guard trainees were allowed to have visitors,” you said, getting off the floor once Shining Armor and the others left you alone with Cadance.

“I’m a special case, being the princess and the captain’s wife and all. Putting the jokes aside, I stopped here to see how you’re holding up. Is your broken heart getting any better?” she asked. “I ask this because I worry of it becoming too big of a challenge.”

“Well, hearing you mention your husband’s lanky high school physique brought up some of my old memories. I was a bit skinny myself before Julia came into my life and persuaded a change in my diet and workout routine. Ergo, I stand before you looking the way I am now.”

Cadance nodded. “I understand. Another thing I know you’re grateful to her for. But you know, even if you hadn’t joined the Royal Guard, I’d still treat you as my equal. You’re a brave young man and I commend you for that.”

You gave a side glance at the door Shining Armor left through and chuckled. Naturally, the princess of love wanted to know what was so funny. “Don’t take it personally, but... you interrupting training just to see me... It’s enough to make Captain Shining wonder if there’s something going on between us, don’t you think? I mean, I saw that look in his eye before he left.”

“Oh, the poor dear is just being paranoid. I made it as clear as I could that this is nothing more than a friendly conversation. If he gives you any grief outside the training room, I’ll make him sleep on the couch tonight,” Cadance giggled.

“But you know...” This is where the conversation became serious. “You kissed my cheek during the Hearts and Hooves Day dance. What was that about?”

“Consider it gratitude for always looking after Flurry Heart when Shining and I were caught up in our duties. You’ve learned the hard way that Flurry can be a real hassle when she’s bored, so for you to go out of your way to look after her, how could I not reward you with a kiss that day? Also... everypony deserves a special somepony and I volunteered to be yours at the festival,” Cadance explained.

“Is that really ALL there was to it?” you asked. “I thought maybe you were taking pity on me.”

“Of course not. I treat all of my subjects with the same amount of love and respect as I do with you. You’re part of something bigger than just a resident here. You're like family to us,” Cadance reassured, looking you in the eye.

“You’ll have to excuse me...” you sighed, acknowledging how shallow your last question sounded. “Even after all that training, I’m still trash...”

Even the gentle princess of love, adored by the entire Crystal Empire, had her limits — Cadance, appalled by your negativity, literally knocked some sense into you with a slap to the cheek. Definitely not hard enough to leave a scar or bruise, but enough to give you a message, but a verbal message was in order, too.

“I will not allow you to have such a low opinion about yourself. It was no mistake that you were brought to Equestria. You have a far greater purpose here, you just need some time to find it. So promise me you’ll never… ever… degrade yourself like that again.” Cadance gave you another small peck on your cheek for extra encouragement. “Promise me, okay?” she pleaded, small tears streaming from her beautiful purple eyes.

You were practically possessed — you just had to reach over and wipe the tears dry. “I... I promise...”

“Good. That’s all I wanted to hear,” she said before giving you a light hug for a brief moment. “Now go on and give it your all... soldier,” she winked before leaning in again. Neither of you noticed Shining Armor return in time to witness his wife plant a kiss on the same cheek she kissed on Hearts and Hooves Day. And as you went back with the other trainees, Shining held his hand up to stop you.

“Care to explain to me why I saw my wife kissing you, soldier?” he sternly asked. You were about to explain, but Cadance intervened.

“Now, now, Shining. It’s nothing serious, just a loyal soldier’s reward for volunteering to serve and protect our kingdom,” she assured.

You only had a few ideas of what Shining was thinking about after Cadance left. If he was indeed suspecting that you were in love with the pink alicorn and intended to steal her from him, you couldn’t just stay quiet.

“I assure you sir...” you began, walking past your captain. “...the last thing this heartbroken trainee is thinking of is another love interest. Cadance is beautiful and kind, I acknowledge that much, but by no means am I in love with her.”

“Yet!” someone interfered, and you both turned to look at Flash Sentry, who was being uncharacteristically sly today.

“What’s that supposed to mean anyway?” you asked through your teeth, genuinely confused.

“Enough talking, soldiers! Back to work, on the double! I want you all to run 10 laps around the training hall, now! Come on!” Shining commanded. You and Flash stopped your little chit-chat and joined the other soldiers in their run around the huge training hall.

“How’s my favorite girl doing?!” you cooed as Flurry Heart came to visit you in the cabins after training ended for the day. You didn’t even care if the other recruits were watching as you picked up the pride of the Crystal Empire to make her laugh. Of course, Flurry couldn’t get into the barracks by herself; her mother accompanied her over here.

The giggling toddler flailed her cute little arms at you, smiling happily and keeping your heart warm. The harsh training didn’t do anything to change how attached you were to Flurry, but it was playing a part in how you were beginning to feel for Cadance. In fact, all the other guards had their eyes on you, watching you like you were actors in a suspenseful drama.

“Are you moving away?” Flurry asked in her innocent voice. After all, you couldn’t sleep over in the castle while you were still training.

“No, Flurry. I’m just gonna be on a little... camping trip. I’ll be back before you know it. And when I do come back, I promise to play with you for a whole day. That sound good to you?” you asked, only for the toddler to fly up to hug your face.

“You’d better hold onto that promise,” Cadance playfully ordered as she helped pull her daughter off of you so you could breathe. The other soldiers and even sweet little Flurry Heart seemed to suddenly disappear as the princess leaned closer with half-closed eyes. “In the little time I’ve known you, you’ve never gone back on your word to any of us, now have you dear guard?”

“N-no, Princess Cadance... I don’t believe I have...” you stuttered. For a moment, your fellow guards, who were laughing under their breath, became visible to you again and you aimed to address Cadance like a proper soldier, hence why you referred to her with her title and not her name like you would have in a private conversation.

Just as quickly, however, as you looked into Cadance’s eyes again, everyone else disappeared from your concentration for the second time. What was this growing feeling in the pit of your stomach? This burning inferno in your heart? Without any regard to the witnesses, you paid heed to your instincts and leaned closer to capture the princess of love’s lips with your own... Your first kiss since you lost your beloved Julia.

In that short span of time, everything around you seemed to freeze. Alas, as incredible as Cadance’s lips felt, your training helped you realize what you were doing and you forced your distance. You’ve given everyone in the barracks quite a show.

Flurry tilted her head in confusion, too young and innocent to understand the concept of romance. A good thing, too. Anyways, Cadance didn’t seem to be angry with you and merely picked up her daughter and held her in her arms. “I’ll be sure to wait for your safe return,” she said with a smile and a faint blush that was just barely visible because of the shade of her pink fur.

You nodded like a dummy, watching her leave without an actual word. That incredibly kind voice simply left you in a trance that grew more powerful each time she talked to you.

‘It’s weird.,. Is Flash Sentry right? Is this love?’ you wondered, not paying attention to the stallions approaching you. ‘She understands my painful past and is always trying to take care of me... She didn’t seem even the least bit upset that someone other than her husband kissed her in front of her subordinates...’

“Dude, that certainly came out of nowhere,” Flash Sentry commented, resting an elbow on your shoulder to snap you out of your busy thoughts.

“I honestly don’t know the best way to explain myself... I guess I got so caught up in the moment when I... when I kissed her,” you replied, resting your hand on your head. It was beginning to ache with all that had happened in under five minutes. ‘Still... does this mean that... she feels the same way? If so, how are we supposed to make it work? What’ll happen between her and Shining Armor if she pursues me?'

“You’re pushing your luck as it is, Romeo. I got a good laugh during training, but I don’t want to imagine how Captain Armor would react to that kind of attention to his wife,” Flash told you with a tone void of humor.

“Trust me, even I don’t even wanna think about how pissed off he’d be if he found out. I mean, he is Cadance’s husband,” you agreed, wracked with guilt and anxiety.

Flash Sentry went quiet for a moment and gave you a hard look. “Okay, all drama aside, be straight with me, dude. Do you ACTUALLY care that the princess is married? Do you ACTUALLY care that showing affection could get you fired or worse? I mean, if we’re thinking logically, I can hardly imagine Princess Cadance would forgive Captain Shining Armor if he were to kick you out.”

"If she were married to someone who's heartless and cold and cruel, I wouldn't care, but this is Shining Armor, we're talking about. He may have a hard job as co-ruler of the Crystal Empire, but he’s also a devoted husband and father. So, unless there was some loophole I don’t know about, then yes, I do care that the princess is married,” you explained. “The last thing I’d want is to take away her happiness, no matter what she decides.”

Flash Sentry finally stopped giving you such a serious look and chuckled again. “You really are a good guy at heart. But surely after all this time in Equestria, you must have come across the term ‘herds’ at least once, right?”

Now that you thought about it, the word sounded familiar. One glance at the foolish look on your face was all Flash needed to know a history lesson was in order.

“All right, let me fill you in on the whole ‘herd’ thing so you’ll get it drilled into your head, Romeo. A herd is the Equestrian practice of having multiple mates... or lovers, in this case. It's a law that the princesses came up with centuries ago when the population of stallions was less than 5%. So, in a desperate attempt to prevent our extinction, the princesses passed a bill that would allow stallions to marry multiple mares. And as you can see, we’re still standing; even though the population of stallions has increased to 30%, the princesses have kept the bill active as a precaution.”

“Uh... I think I understand now,” you replied, trying to wrap your head around this new info. “But… I still don’t see how this benefits me. The population of stallions is still low and there wasn’t anything in the bill that said mares could have multiple stallion lovers.”

Flash playfully waved his finger, as if he were scolding a child. “That’s where you're wrong. The princesses’ bill also states that should the mare population decline or if the stallion population was 25% or higher, mares could choose to have more than one stallion lover,” he explained some more.

With another set of fresh info, you blinked in surprise. To think that such a law exists in this world. “You mean to say I actually have a shot at being together with Cadance? Even if she’s already married?" you asked.

Flash Sentry shrugged. “She let you kiss her, didn't she? That’s a start as far as I’m concerned. Where this adventure goes from here is for you to decide, not me.”

“I... I see...” you stuttered. Your face started to burn up again. The velvet soft sensation of the princess of love’s lips was still fresh in your memory and you wondered if this was just the first of MANY kisses.

“You’ve got that look in your eye. If I were you, I'd go to her right now and tell her exactly how I feel,” Flash advised.

“Thanks for your time and advice, Flash.”

"No worries,” he replied. “In all honesty, I don’t even know how I managed to come up with such deep advice considering I don’t even have a marefriend.”

You didn’t know how to respond to that.

By now, you had touched your lips so many times you almost feared they would get sore — your kiss with the princess of love was glued to the front of your mind along with Flash Sentry’s herd lecture.

With what you’ve now learned, at least now that heavy burden lightened up a bit. But you remained nervous about asking Princess Cadance such a question.

Awkward as you felt, it was too late to turn back at this point. It was time to man up and face the music.

You breathed in and out as you made your way to the chambers of the two crystal rulers. You eventually stopped right in front of the large double door before you.

‘Okay, this is it... I just hope I don’t regret this...’ you thought before you raised your fist and knocked on the door three times.

“Who is it?” Shining called out from inside. Even though the two guards on duty wouldn’t have allowed anyone to so much as touch the door unless they were trustworthy, the prince’s tone from the other side showed that you could never be too careful. Especially if you had someone to love and protect.

“It's me Sire,” you replied. “Permission to enter?”

“Oh, why sure. Please do!” Cadance answered in her husband’s place. Frankly, it was her voice that you wanted to hear.

With permission from both sides to enter, you walked into the chambers to naturally find the empire’s revered rulers sitting on each side of their king-sized bed. Shining was all dressed in a black tank top and dark blue sweats whereas Cadance wore a silky pink nightgown that you swore was almost see-through. Her long, smooth, flowing mane hung over her shoulder and part of her face. How could the mare be this beautiful?

“What’s on your mind tonight, brave soldier?” Cadance asked. For just a moment, you thought she had been flirting with you. Whether she was or not, you snapped out of your little daze and cleared your throat.

“Right, forgive me. Uh, actually, Cadance... it’s uh... something I wanted to discuss with you... in private. A rather important matter, if I might add,” you said, clearly flustered right now.

“Hmm... I see. In that case... Shining, why don’t you go and wait somewhere else while I grant our loyal soldier here the privacy he’s so kindly requested?” Cadance asked.

“All right, then. But no funny business while I’m gone,” Shining teased and punched you lightly in the arm. Gentle as he was, it almost hurt, showing he truly was capable of putting you in the ER. Cadance giggled at her husband’s silliness as he got up to take his leave. He stopped for a moment to pat you on the shoulder before heading out.

Shining closed the door on his way out and when he was no longer within hearing range, you approached Cadance and sat beside her.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Cadance asked.

“Well... Cadance... it’s been a while since you and your husband took me in and gave me a home after I crash landed into this world. I was lost, alone, broken up inside, I had nothing to begin with here. But as I progressed through your husband’s training to secure a place in the guard, I’ve become convinced that this was meant to be and that I really do have a place to call home. A place where I can reconnect with my social life...” you explained.

“Well, I’m happy to hear that. But I’ve seen that look you’re wearing more times than I can keep track of. You have something else to say, don’t you?” There was a gleam in Cadance’s purple eyes and her smile grew even wider as she prepared for the icing on the cake.

“Actually, yeah. It’s not exactly easy to say, but since I’ve gotten this far... I might as well go for it.” You stopped and took another deep breath before looking Cadance straight in the eye. “Cadance... I... I know this might come as a shock, but... after all the time we’ve spent together I’ve come to realize that... I’ve fallen in love with you. I didn’t want to believe it, but... I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore. And still, I felt like it was wrong because... well... you’re married.”

I’ve fallen in love with you. Six words you wouldn’t have even thought about saying after living through Julia’s untimely demise. And at one point in your life, you were too afraid to even try and fall for another lady and risk going through the same heartbreak all over again. Julia was a one in a hundred million when the two of you got together. It cut deep when she perished. But now, with this newfound courage you’ve gained, it feels like things might turn out a little different.

“Well... I have to say, it definitely took a lot of courage to come out and confess what you did. I realize this must be hard for you, considering you’ve already been through so much heartache in your previous world. Even though I’ve never had the privilege of meeting her, I know nopony can replace your Julia. But I believe it’s precisely that strong affection she had for you that gave you the strength to try and love again.” Cadance put her hand on where your heart was.

“You... you think so?” you asked.

“As the princess of love, I know so. She wouldn’t want you to suffer over her loss. Look me in the eye as I tell you that if she truly did love you, she would have wanted you to go on living life to the fullest. To pick up the pieces and stand back up. To show her that her death wasn’t for naught. After all, she lives on in your heart,” Cadance replied, speaking with strong emotions from the heart.

By now, you didn’t care about the consequences that could come with what you were about to do — it was your turn to act. Without any concern for the future, you touched Cadance’s chin and brought your lips to hers. She didn’t push away, nor did she gasp into your mouth. She knew this was going to happen.

And she embraced it willingly. She even returned your affections by thrusting her tongue inside yours and rubbing your cheeks. However, the kiss didn’t go any further than that. This was the first step to a new love life, after all.

“So... what now?” you asked, blushing and feeling awkward.

“What now?” Cadance scoffed and pinched your nose. “You finish your training in the guard and prove yourself worthy of protecting your beloved princess, of course.” She hugged you tight. “Word has it that you’re the top ranking initiative.”

“Well, we’ll see if he can maintain that rank,” Shining Armor entered the room and the conversation at last. You wondered and asked him how much he heard — with Cadance hugging and nuzzling you, you were prepared for her husband’s reaction.

“Like my wife just said, it obviously took courage to spill your guts out like that. If things had gone differently I might have been mad... but I’m not. And are you wondering why that is?” Shining Armor dared.

“Why?” you took the bait with a neutral tone that matched your face.

“Simple. One: I have complete trust in you. Two: I have a hunch you did your homework on how things work here. And three: It’s no surprise anyone would fall for Cadance. But it’s the way you confessed and approached her that assured me that she’s in good hands.”

Your blank expression turned into a small smile as you moved to scratch Cadance behind the ear, proving Shining’s point that you wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.

“I’m going to continue to get stronger,” you promised, steering back to the subject of the royal guard trainee ranking system.

Shining Armor nodded. “That’s what I like to hear. Now, go on and head off to bed.”

“And remember to keep up the good work… and maybe... just maybe... I’ll be able to come up with something big for you,” Cadance added with a wink of mischief.

You didn’t put too much thought into what she was implying, since there wasn’t necessarily any need to make big moves on the first night of a new relationship. With Cadance’s gentle arms still wrapped around you, you took Shining’s order to go to bed seriously and felt your eyes grow heavy. As exhausting a royal guard training could be, the exciting risk of speaking your heart out to a married mare was what really taxed you and you accidentally landed your face in between Cadance’s cleavage before you passed out.

“Of all the places to put my face...” you groaned, as you waited to see what kind of adventure you would have in tonight’s visit to dreamland. You were sitting in the middle of an open field where the wind blew softly in her ears and hair. It would be a good place for a picnic if you had company... and you soon learned that you did.

“You always did love it out here, baby.” a familiar voice calls out to you softly. Your eyes slightly shrink and your heart skipped a beat as your eyes locked onto your beloved Julia. The tears in your eyes trickled down your face and you couldn’t stop yourself from running towards your sweetheart.

“JULIA!!!” you called out to her. And as you embraced her, you felt her warmth as she returned the hug. It felt so real, you couldn’t let go of her. “I’ve missed you so much, babe! I just... I wish that I could’ve...”

“I know, I’ve missed you too.” Tears filled her own eyes as she rubbed your back. “But we both know you’re not here to talk about the past,” she said, seeing right through you. Even if it was a dream, you sensed a deep and meaningful conversation approaching. “You dreamt me up to discuss the future, didn’t you?”

You opened up the picnic basket between the two of you and began putting together some sandwiches. “Without you around I was on the brink of giving up on love. Even getting dragged into an alternate world didn’t change that right away.”

“I know, baby. And again, I understand your heart was in shambles with what happened during the accident. But I want you to know... it’s not your fault and you shouldn’t have to feel scared with falling in love again. After all... you're stronger than you think.” Julia says, patting you on the back of your hand.

“Thanks, babe. And... I know this sounds crazy, I know for sure that... I’ve fallen in love again,” you confess with a guilty look.

“Then why the long face?" she asked.

“Even though the laws are the laws, romance-wise, are different in this world, my head is a mess because I’ve fallen for someone who’s already married. Her husband’s already approved, but I’m just wondering if this bizarre relationship is built to last.”

“Oh, babe... You should know that even in another world, I can see you perfectly fine. And if you want my honest opinion... you picked a real winner. Will she have any reason to hate you if you take care of her as you took care of me?” she asked rhetorically.

“I guess... I guess I never thought of it like that...” Julia let out a small chuckle from how embarrassed you looked.

“Just remember, babe. No matter where you go, no matter what happens in this crazy new world... I’ll always love you and I’ll always be with you... right here.” She pointed to your heart. “Or perhaps I should say... we’ll always be with you.”

“We?” you asked.

It was time for the next emotional turn — Julia revealed what was next to her and held it in her arms. Fresh tears brimmed in your eyes as you saw Julia hold the child who never got to take its first breath in her arms. The innocent child looked over at you and started cooing. Judging from the color of the faded blue blanket, she was having a baby boy when she was alive.

“Daa...” the baby said. Nothing could stop you now as you hugged your deceased girlfriend and unborn son, sobbing tears of joy.

“Thank you both so much...” you sniffed. “And no matter where my relationship Cadance leads... I’ll always love you... with all my heart!”

“We know you will, babe,” Julia said as her own eyes filled with tears. “Just promise me... Promise me you’ll never stop loving for as long as you live...”

“I promise... I promise with every fiber in my being!” Nothing else was said and the three of you went back to the imaginary picnic before the next hug and kiss brought an end to your dream. The moment your lips touched Julia’s, the dream landscape faded in a bright light.

Morning had arisen and you opened your eyes and slowly sat up as you recalled everything from last night’s dream. At long last, all that guilt and torment had washed away — you knew now that your girlfriend and unborn son were now at peace. Feeling that your face was slightly wet, you realized you must have cried a little in your sleep. But that’s okay. You wiped what was left of the tears and sighed.

Coincidentally, Cadance was still fast asleep beside you in the royal bed. You felt your affection for your brand new lover grow as the morning light reflected off her fur and mane. You reached out and began playing with her ear like you did the other night, being gentle to reduce the chance of waking her up.

‘I promised both you and Shining Armor I would get stronger. Once I’m a full-fledged guard, I’ll make sure neither of you will find even the slightest reason to doubt me,’ you thought and got out of the bed. You had decided to seek out Shining Armor early today for a special request. What better way to earn the full trust of a captain than to train under them directly?

As one would expect, your last weeks of training were the most difficult. It was one thing to take Shining Armor’s coaching along with the other initiates, but you maintained your position as the top rookie by pushing through the one-on-one lessons you had requested from your captain the morning after you confessed your love to his wife.

It had been 5 months since your formerly heartbroken self woke up in Equestria. No longer were you a trainee, but the Crystal Empire’s first full-fledged soldier operating under the nickname Blade. It was something Cadance had begun addressing you after your graduation and you wore it with pride.

It just so happened that today was an eventful day in the castle. And you owed that to your special visitor, Princess Celestia, who, along with her husband Prince Platinum, wanted to introduce you all to the beautiful twins she had given birth to just last month.

“Please let me introduce you all to our son, Bright Day and our daughter, Sun Gleam,” Platinum said as he held onto the latter while Celestia took care of Bright Day. With her father’s permission, you took and cradled Sun Gleam and were relieved to see that she was still fast asleep. All those weeks of training hadn’t turned you into an empty shell and you smiled at the newborn filly.

Platinum leaned over to you. “You should’ve seen her...” he whispered. “Turns out even a benevolent and revered ruler can be a real piece of moody work when she’s pregnant...”

Celestia’s ear flickered with a dangerous frown. “What was that Platinum?”

“N-nothing, dear!” he panicked.

Celestia offered her son to Cadance and the princess of love took him without a word. Suppressing a chuckle from Platinum’s joke and fear of his wife’s wrath, you studied Cadance’s face as she looked down at Bright Day. You returned Sun Gleam to Platinum and went over to touch her shoulder.

The rulers of the sun saw no reason to leave, at least not until dinner was over. Cadance had to put her hoof down and tell her adoptive aunt that while they had plenty of wine, the chefs wouldn’t be fixing any cake. Apparently, Celestia went to town on the cake they had prepared for her on the last visit and there was nothing left for the others. Platinum snickered as his wife’s fur turned red, but the table shook slightly when she kicked him in the shin. Bottom line: Cadance wasn’t going to have the cooks bake something that wouldn’t be shared.

After Celestia reluctantly accepted there would be no cake during this visit and gulped down her wine with a pout, you felt Cadance’s soft hands touch yours under the table before you could reach out to take a sip of your own wine. You no longer felt thirsty as the silky texture moved up and down your hand before changing to move in circles. You glanced sideways without moving your head, but Cadance’s eyes never left her meal.

Celestia and her family left after dinner, but you didn’t say a word to Cadance until after you had retreated to the royal bedroom and changed out of your armor. You were laying on your side thinking about your new lover’s behavior when you felt her hands wrap around your chest.

“All right, this needs to be said. What’s going on in your pretty head?” you asked without looking back. Cadance grew just a tad bit forceful, reaching up for your chin to turn your head and meet your lips with hers.

“The royal family is changing quickly...” she whispered, turning you to lay on your back. “Allowing Auntie Celestia into the castle so she could introduce the twins gave me big ideas...”

You would have to be an idiot not to know what she was implying. In the months that followed your confession, you’ve grown close enough to Cadance to tell more about your past. How you would have been a father if Julia’s accident hadn’t also killed the son she was carrying. It was enough to make the kind princess cry.

“And my guess is you want to expand our own family with some more pitter-pattering young ones, don’t you?” You weren’t completely serious, but your joke might have just hit the mark when Cadance, now sitting on your sturdy chest, blushed and undid the straps of her dress.

“There’s no way Flurry will be lonely after this...” she whispered, undoing her bra next to give you the full display of her F-cups. She was proud that your eyes were locked onto them. “Shining can’t get enough of them either.”

“And I’m sure plenty of jealous stallions can’t either,” you replied and leaned up in order to capture the left one in your hand. Your voice didn’t give it away, but you were getting excited and almost forgot your own strength. When Cadance started to moan from your touch, you relaxed your grip.

Her breasts were so soft, yet so firm. The smooth texture clung to the palm of your hands and you were reminded of the night you passed out in between her cleavage. As you took your time appreciating her royal bosom, you were grateful to this day that Cadance had never reprimanded you for your mistake that night.

“Are all you pony princesses this beautiful, or is it just you, my dear Cady,” you teased, tugging lightly on her left nipple.

“Keep up that... ahh... that flirty attitude and I’ll show you everything there is about me,” she flirted back. “Shining Armor... already... ah... had his chance when you went... for early morning training, and now... you get yours...”

Knowing now that neither of you would be betraying anyone, you latched onto Cadance’s left nipple and lightly sucked. She cooed in delight and moaned softly, watching you with a smile as you gave her breast some love. She responded by running her soft fingers through your hair.

This was only the beginning and you couldn’t be happier. Every heartbroken man deserves a second shot at love. While sucking on one nipple, you groped her free one again. Cadance moaned a little louder this time, but not before teasing you with giggles.

“Someone seems to love my breasts...” she said, before gasping when you bit on her nipple. “Fun as this is... how would you like to taste something much... sweeter?” Hearing this, you stopped and looked up at her alluring purple gaze.

Before you could ask what Cadance was proposing, she moved herself on the bed, getting on her hands and knees and for the coup de gras, she showed off those big, mesmerizing crystal-marked moons in front of your very eyes.

“Wow... You’re really getting into this...” you replied with your eyes nice and open.

“Please do not keep your princess waiting... Less talking, more eating...” Cadance urged while shaking her jiggly mounds up and down. Oh, what the empire would say if they saw their ruler in such a state. Not that you intended to tell anyone, of course.

With one hand on each of her crystal heart cutie marks, you squeezed Cadance’s silky smooth derriere before spreading them apart. And there, right before your eyes was your grand prize. Her glistening, wet alicorn folds and winking love button, or her clit, playing peek-a-boo with you.

Your face heated up a little. But with your new lover on the verge of begging as she waited for you, you quickly shook off your nerves to give those delectable folds some proper love. You leaned in and placed your mouth against her alicorn nethers, slurping her juices while your hands kneaded her fleshy butt cheeks.

“T-That’s it...” Cadance moaned out. “T-That’s... That’s the spot...!” You liked what you heard and decided to go the extra mile, thrusting your tongue inside her nethers. Now you were slurping up her inner walls. And just for fun, you smacked her cute ass and even licked her clit.

Cadance yelped and her inner walls tightened up a little. “F-Fuck! That’s it! More... Use me more, please...!” she moaned again.

At this point, even with Cadance’s unfolding dirty vocabulary, the fun was just beginning. For a little extra tease, you moved one of your hands away from her ass cheek and stuck one of your fingers inside her anal hole. You had yourself a little fun, pumping your finger in and out of her ass.

Cadance gasped and shivered at this, even her wings began to spread out like a pair of boners. She jolted her head up, moaning louder and sticking her tongue out. You chuckled and kept up your combo of eating out her royal cunt, flickering her clit, spanking and kneading her booty and fingering her back door.

Cadance was near the edge and could barely keep it all contained. “F-F-Fuck...! I... I... I can’t...! P-please! Give it... I... I’m gonna… GONNA…!” she moaned, stuttering and unable to finish her sentence properly. At that moment, the love princess hollered out loud as she reached her orgasm and sprayed what was almost your entire face.

You made a bold move by drinking her sweet love nectar to avoid choking, even licking her folds clean for the grand finale. Now that your work was done, you pulled away from her folds and crawled up to your awaiting princess.

“How’d you like that?" you asked, stroking her pretty face. You also wanted to know if she used such language during intimacy with Shining Armor, but the question of what she thought of your treatment was more important.

“Nopony aside from Shining Armor... could possibly pleasure me like that...” Cadance replied, catching her breath. “I think... I’m falling in love all over again...” She gave you another, rather seductive, smile. “I think it’s time I returned the favor after you made me feel so good. Favors that I’ve never bestowed to anypony since my husband.”

She then quickly lays you down on the bed while she gets down to eye level with your crotch. Cadance pretended to pout about how you still haven’t taken your pants off and her horn came to life with a beautiful light blue glow.

Before you know it, your pants and your underwear go poof right off your legs and are now on the floor. Now your little friend down there could breathe easy and stand tall and proud. Cadance looked to be very pleased by the sheer size of your human phallus. Granted, the shape was different from her husband’s, but hey, the world would be boring if everyone was all the same.

“Very nice, Blade... Very nice, indeed...” she whispered and wrapped her wonderful fingers around your manhood. Up until now you had been so caught up in the excitement of licking Cadance’s folds that you didn’t even notice how painfully erect you’ve become. A pain that gradually went away as the pink alicorn and good-natured princess of the Crystal Empire stroked you off from the tip to the back.

Her sweet, tender fingers work your manhood like no other. It feels like the time you and your girlfriend got intimate with each other.the first time. But now, the honor goes to your brand new sweetheart in front of you.

Cadance kept on stroking your hot meat piston and gave the tip a few licks just to turn you on. For a second, it felt like all that training meant nothing, as your body was tingling as you felt goosebumps turn up all over. Cadance, meanwhile, enjoyed your reaction and decided it was time to give you the good stuff. She opened wide and took in half of your cock. Bobbing her head up and down, she slurped and sucked on her new tasty morsel.

“Ahh...! H-H-Holy s-shit, Cadance...! You’re freaking phenomenal...! I... haven’t felt this... this good... in a LONG time!” you groaned in pleasure. Cadance likes what she was hearing. She kept up the pleasure and sucked on your meat pole some more. But she had some more tricks up her sleeve to really rock your world.

While she was still enjoying her treat, you suddenly felt something soft, squishy and smooth covering up the lower half of your cock. You looked down and saw that Cadance was now jerking your cock with her proud bosom. The beautiful sovereign was on a mission and she wouldn’t stop until you gave her what she gave you.

At the rate she was pleasuring you with her warm mouth, slippery, wet tongue and massive, soft bust stroking your beastly behemoth, you could practically feel your balls churning. And you also found it a little hard to keep yourself in check just by breathing. Cadance was way too good. She’s obviously had plenty of practice considering her marital status.

Sadly, your efforts weren’t enough to keep it down, so you grabbed the sheets tightly and braced yourself for the big climax. “C-C-Cadance! You... You might... wanna watch out!” you barely warned her, but the love princess refused to stop what she was doing. She even hummed and moaned sweetly, desperately trying to suck your massive dick dry.

You eventually grunted and thrust your hips upwards and erupted your little volcano inside her warm mouth. Cadance yelped in surprise at how much of your seed shot down her throat while some of it inflated her cheeks. She took it all down in big gulps to avoid choking.

‘Sweet Celestia, he must’ve been really pent up! If this is all just from a titty-fuck, blowjob combo, I can’t imagine how much it’ll be when we get to the main event. Mmmmm... I’m getting excited just thinking about it...’ Cadance thought. Indeed, she felt the nethers between her legs grow moist. Instinctively, she wagged her tail to spread the scent of her arousal around the room.

Now, your sense of smell wasn’t nearly a match for a pony’s, but you knew full well how this was going to end. If you needed any more hints, Cadance failed to stop some drool from leaving her lips before she wiped it away and climbed on top of you.

“I know I said before how lovely you are, but if you can excuse a guard with a colorful tongue, damn... you’re drop dead gorgeous when you’re like this,” you complimented, mesmerized by her natural beauty. “It’s no wonder you’re married.”

That was as good a time as any for fate to make you feel like an idiot. More specifically, fate intervened with the intensity by allowing the doors to open up for Shining Armor.

“I... I hope I'm not interrupting anything...” For a split second, even with Cadance’s reassurance, you thought your life was over until Shining Armor helped push away those ridiculous worries with a quick smile and an equally quick change in tone. “Mind if I join in on the fun?”

“You... You’re not angry with what Cadance and I are doing?” you asked, your fear now replaced by confusion. “I mean... she’s YOUR wife...”

It was still an uncomfortable atmosphere, given how Shining Armor was now shamelessly undoing his pants and sporting an erection.

“Yes, that's true. But she’s also taken a liking to you in the same way. Remember that the laws here in Equestria are different from your world. As long as there’s mutual consent between more than one love interest, they’re allowed to pursue a romantic relationsh-OH!”

Having closed his eyes in the middle of voicing his reasoning, he failed to notice that Cadance had already gotten off the bed to take his stallionhood into her warm mouth and bestow the same treatment she had given you only two minutes ago.

“Whoa, how’d she move that fast?” you asked, surprised. That, of course, wasn’t important as Cadance wagged her tail to spread her pheromones again. From your place on the bed, you could see just how much her marehood was leaking as she continued to fellate her moaning husband.

One thing you’ve learned from your training was self-control, as was necessary for a soldier. Envious as you were, you understood that you weren’t the only one Cadance loved and sat quietly on the bed to watch the show.

Cadance worked her husband’s shaft like a true pro, making him groan in satisfaction. The alabaster prince massaged his wife’s horn while thrusting his hips back and forth. His huge erection made an obvious bulge in her throat, getting her to moan. Once he eased up, Cadance swirled her tongue around his tasty meat pole, unable to get enough of him.

With her tail still swishing left and right, Shining could really smell his beloved’s arousal and it threatened to drive him insane. His hips moved faster, thrusting himself deeper down her throat.

The princess of love made a few gagging noises, but didn’t put up any resistance. She always liked it when her knight in shining armor got rough with her in the sack. You just sat there on the bed, blinking in surprise, watching firsthand how these two get it on.

You’ve accepted at this point that you had a long way to go before you could match the Crystal Empire prince’s stamina. You kept watching Shining toyed with his loving wife's throat, doing all you could to push away the throbbing pain in your loins.

“H-here it comes, sweetie...!” Shining finally said after an impressive 8 minutes. Reaching his breaking point, he grabbed his wife’s head and hit balls deep, shooting his essence down her throat and groaning in ecstasy.

She swallowed it all down in big gulps with ease, savoring the taste of her husband’s seed just like in their many previous sessions. Once Shining Armor had nothing left to offer for this round, Cadance made her way back to the bed with a sway to her hips to spur both of you on for the next one.

You were instantly captivated by her movements and layed back on the bed as the approaching princess looked down at you with her lovely eyes. With shaking hands, you reached up and cupped her cheek.

“How... How did you ever get this beautiful?” you asked in awe. All she did was reach behind her to caress your throbbing manhood. You felt the goosebumps from the sensation and your legs started to tremble along with your arms.

“You’re shaking... Are you sure you’re ready for what’s to come?”

There was a slight pause in the air before your other hand reached up so that you were tenderly holding her face with both hands. “Thanks to you, I feel more than ready for this...” you assured with a bright smile. To back up your claim, you forced yourself to stop the shivering.

“That’s all I needed to hear... Here we go...!” she said. Cadance soon grabbed your throbbing member with her one hand and slowly descended once she was sure her royal nethers were directly above your shaft. She was very tight in spite of her experience, but soon enough your entire shaft was enveloped.

Moaning at the warm vice grip of the love princess’ marehood, you instinctively reached around to clench her glutes. She gave a yelp, once she felt your hands touch her royal posterior.

“A-are we g-getting... ah.,. handsy already?” she giggled and leaned down to nuzzle your blushing cheek with her own. “T-tell me... does my t-tush feel good in the... ah... p-palm of your hands... B-Blade?”

“I-it’s more t-than j-just g-good... I-it feels... magical!" you replied with a slight growl. Cadance recognized that kind of growl anywhere. The type that told her that you wanted her here and now.

And you weren’t the only one. Through all this excitement and moaning, Cadance’s left ear flicked as she sensed a pang of jealousy from behind and smirked as she looked over her shoulder.

“D-Don’t go wandering... ah... in s-self-pity, darling...” she teased. Although her royal nethers were occupied, Cadance reached behind again to spread her rear and reveal one more hole. “You’ve never gone down this route before... Why don’t we change that on this special night?”

Gulping with a spark of excitement in his eyes, Shining Armor practically ran over to the bed to mount his wife from behind and slowly slid his stallionhood which was still wet with Cadance’s saliva into her back entrance. It was a steady process, as he didn’t want to hurt the love of his life, but his patience and caution was rewarded in time when his sack made contact with Cadance’s rear.

The love princess gave a pleasurable moan while spreading her wings all the way open. Having both of her holes taken by two strong military males was pure heaven. After Cadance adjusted to your incredible sizes, you and Shining began thrusting your hips, plowing the princess you had come to agree on sharing.

“I’m... I’m so lucky...! AH!” she screeched. Looking over her shoulder, Shining stole her lips and challenged her tongue as both of you focused on maintaining a steady, synchronized rhythm. Never in Cadance’s life had she experienced such pleasure. Two handsome, strong lovers were turning her royal chambers and back entrance into mush.

“S-So am I...!” you gasped, reaching up to grasp both of Cadance’s breasts while she was still making out with Shining. Thrusting just a tad bit faster, you started to softly pinch and pull on the alicorn’s dark pink nipples, listening closely as your games made her squeal into Shining Armor’s mouth. With one more pinch of both nipples, Cadance finally pulled away from Shining’s mouth, but the crystal prince insisted on leaning down to suckle on Cadance’s neck.

She felt shivers coursing throughout her body. The crystal monarchs have been married for many years and after their many sessions of intimacy Shining has come to know all of his mate’s weak points. But, it wasn’t long before you hit a sweet spot in Cadance’s love tunnel. And with enough time and practice, it wouldn’t be long before you memorize each and every one of her weak spots, too.

But at the moment, you were too focused on ravaging the amorous princess, hitting her deep and hard, making her moan out in pleasure. Cadance could feel her mind slipping. Her inner walls, both front and back, get tighter, hugging and lubing yours and Shining’s meat rods.

“Y-you’ve got some s-serious skills there, Blade...” the alabaster prince commended you. “Here. I t-think it’s time you t-took... ah... a turn with her...” Shining helped bring Cadance down slowly until her face was just inches from yours. After that, Shining got to work on having fun with his wife's fantastic ass. “You go ahead and... ah... w-work those l-lips while... ah... I d-discipline this flank...!”

He added a little spanking action to his thrusts, causing Cadance to yelp again. You did what you were and pulled Cadance in, capturing her lips while keeping your rhythm. The hotter things got, the faster and harder you and Shining would go.

Suddenly... an idea popped into your head as curiosity hit you. You reached around and caressed one of Cadance’s wings, absolutely loving the way her feathers felt in between your fingers. She shivered and gasped in the kiss, her two holes growing tighter in the meantime.

‘Does this... Does this mean her wings are sensitive?’ you asked in thought. You went through with the experiment and very lightly pulled on one of her feathers. She yelped in surprise, once again, her inner walls squeezing yours and Shining’s cocks and her ears flickered when she got some nice moans out of both of you. ‘That’s... too cute...’

Pulling away from Cadance’s warm lips, you leaned up and blew into her ear, making it flicker once again. Her giggles served to prove your point of how adorable she could be even when she was on cloud 9.

As the minutes rolled by, Cadance’s two holes only grew tighter on account of the two healthy and throbbing phalluses inside her. Her swishing tail brushed and tickled Shining Armor’s chest as she followed her instincts again in spreading the scent of arousal through the air to entice her mates.

Those said instincts won out against both you and Shining Armor. Almost simultaneously, the two of you fell under Cadance’s spell and thrust even deeper and faster, shaping her two, gaping holes with your massive shafts, forever marking her as a shared wife. And soon, with the time going by as it did, you and Shining could both feel your shafts growing and throbbing, ready to burst at any moment.

Cadance was also reaching her limit. Fun and wild as it was, even the princess of love had her limits and with two healthy males pounding away at her, she was no doubt about to experience her biggest orgasm of the evening.

That helped a logical thought cross your mind, even in the midst of all this excitement. “C-Cadance... Does all this m-mean you’re not worried about g-getting... You know... Pregnant?”

Both she and Shining Armor looked at you with raised eyebrows on their sweating faces.

“Why else... would I be l-letting you... ah... cum inside me?” Cadance asked through her moans before flashing a seductive smile. With her well trained body, she deliberately squeezed her marehood around you for the umpteenth time. “T-This is the... ah... start of a brand new and... ah... beautiful family...!”

“And if we... t-take Flurry Heart... into account... she w-would... adore a little b-brother or sister...” Shining added.

At first, you thought you were going nuts, but no... it was clear as day. This was the start of your new life... and the start... of a new family. Reaching down and holding onto Cadance's calves, you thrust deep inside and felt your meat pole throb violently before the dam broke for you to shoot your hot seed into her fertile love chambers. Her warm, tight, welcoming womb filled out and expanded from the large orgasm you shared.

No more than five seconds later, Shining Armor groaned out loud to the blue crystal ceiling as his own cock flared inside his wife’s ass, marking and overflowing it with his own seed. Once neither of her mates had nothing left, Shining collapsed on top of Cadance, who in turn collapsed on you. You were far too tired to care enough to complain about two bodies on top of you, not that it was necessary since Shining Armor rolled off of you to lay on his back.

“I can feel it...” the princess of love whispered. “The warmth of your love flowing inside of me. Soon... it’ll combine inside and... within a few months...”

You kissed the top of Cadance’s head as she laid on your chest and then reached under to feel her belly, where a life was about to form. “I know... and I can’t wait... my beautiful bride-to-be...”

With a whole new chapter unfolding before you and your newfound family, the sorrow and sadness that once held you back was now gone. You’ve finally made peace with your beloved girlfriend’s passing, along with your previous unborn child. And on top of that, you’ve finally learned a valuable lesson. Though your loved ones are gone, it was the love within your heart that was going to make it possible to hold someone dear once more.