> Keep it in the Closet
>  by tailsopony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Staying on Track
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance hated the train ride to Shining’s family house. She snorted in frustration as she tried to distract herself with a book. Flurry, bless her pure little heart, was absorbed in the Power Ponies comic book that Shining had bought her. The adorable little nerd had packed three different cosplay costumes for the three day Power Pony conference, and Shining had packed three matching costumes. 

Of course they were going to be famous already, what with Flurry being a princess and Shining being a prince consort, but both Shining and Flurry had been determined to be dressed to the nines regardless. Flurry was getting to that age where a normal teenager would have wanted to go with her friends, but Cadance supposed she was lucky that Flurry was such an absolute dork. She had a much better costume coordination plan with her father, Shining, and it had taken very little convincing on Cadance’s part to get her to agree to have him as her chaperon. 

A contingent of guards would make it hard for Flurry to enjoy the conference, or “Con” as she called it, but a lone guard in costume wouldn’t be a problem. Quadruply so if it was Flurry’s father. Cadance felt her cheeks flush at the memory of Shining’s fight against Sombra. Her husband was hot.

Shining was a certified bad-ass, frankly, and he’d go more than all out if something came after Flurry. 

No, her anxiety wasn’t about Flurry for the coming weekend. Nor was it over Shining. He was going to have the time of his adorably dorky life. Her worry was about herself.

She had to make nice with the in-laws for three days. Twilight was easy—Cadance always considered her a close friend. Velvet was always polite, but there was a quiet air of judgment about her. Cadance got the feeling that Velvet didn’t particularly like her, even if she was the picture perfect example of an attentive host. That was all well and fine. Frankly, it was normal to have an odd relationship with your mother in law.

Then there was Night Light. 

Cadance audibly growled, causing Shining to look up from his own comic. 

“Already, Cady? Are you sure you’ll be fine for the weekend? We can just take you to the con with us.” Shining’s offer was earnest, and Flurry’s ears picked up. Cadance saw a grin forming on Flurry’s face as her eyes flickered between the two of them, dressing Cadance up in Power Pony costumes with her eyes.

Cadance frowned, imagining a weekend of ridiculous costumes and incredibly boring nerd stuff. She sighed, sending a pout towards Flurry, “No, No. I need to be on better terms with your parents. We get along great most of the time, it’s just… “

She trailed off, trying not to think about it. 

Shining cut in, “Look, I know you and Dad have had some issues,”

She snorted, but didn’t say anything.

“But he’s a good guy. I know he’s a little weird, but our whole family is. You’re a little abnormal yourself, Mrs. Princess of Love. I’m sure if you give him a chance, you’ll see that he’s worth your time.”

Cadance angrily huffed. She couldn’t tell Shining what really bothered her about him, and that wedge alone was enough for her to hate Night Light forever. Shining looked at her innocently and lovingly, and her stomach sank. Guilt was something she’d never come to terms with, and in this case it wasn’t exactly guilt—not anymore. Nowadays it was a more complicated emotion.

A small part of her shouted that she should just tell him. A larger part of her silenced that idiot. Shining could never know exactly how terrible a pony Night Light was. The truth would destroy him—the stallion idolized his father. 

She tried not to think about it, but the memories came tumbling back.





She was only a few weeks from graduation, and wanted Shining’s input on a matching outfit she’d selected for the final school ball. She’d also wanted to talk to him. They were both starting an intimidating chapter of their lives, and she wanted to affirm him that she’d be there for him. She was on track to study how to be a proper princess from Celestia herself, while he was applying to the Royal Guard.

Their hope was that she could pull some strings and get him assigned to her, but that might take some time. Until then, he’d be going through the same training everypony else did and get the same boring door guard assignments all new guardsponies started with. 

At least that was their plan. She was terrified it wouldn’t work. What if she couldn’t talk to him while they were both in training? How long would it be? What would her first princess duty be? What if his first guard position was somewhere remote, like the crystal wasteland?

Worries like these hammered her mind, and she just wanted to settle them. A simple conversation would do it. So here she was, standing awkwardly in front of his family’s manor and waiting for somepony to answer the door. She should have sent ahead, she knew that, but in her disarray she’d simply come up with the excuse about the matching clothes and marched straight here. 

Nervously she waited, tapping her front hoof impatiently. Rain started to slowly fall. She knocked, now even more committed. She certainly didn’t want to go back in the rain.

The door creaked open, and a young Twilight Sparkle peeked her head through the door, locking eyes with Cadance. 

“Cady!” The younger mare shouted.

Cadance smiled back, relieved to see a friendly face. “Twily!”

Twilight pulled her inside out of the rain, and immediately spun around to do her silly little sunshine dance.

Cadance followed suit. Sure, it was ridiculous, and probably very embarrassing, but who was she to deny the whims of her once favorite babysitting charge?

“And do a little shake!” They both shouted together, laughing.

As she put her hooves on the ground, Cadance smiled. “Thank you so much for letting me in, Twily. Do you mind if I stay a bit? The rain seems to be picking up.”

While Cadance was originally a pegasus, no amount of feather oil would protect her mane from a sudden downpour, and she hated the thought of re-doing it. 

Twilight nodded emphatically. “Of course! I’m halfway through a book about Lemurs and other nocturnal scavengers, but I’m sure Shining is here somewhere. And it’s about dinner time! Dad is making fried oat burgers!”

Cadance winced. That sounded particularly unhealthy. “Golly, Twilight, I’d love a fried oat burger, but I didn’t send ahead. Your father isn’t planning on me being here, and I wouldn’t want to impose.”

Twilight cocked her head. “Oh… I suppose that would be a problem. I guess you can have some of mine then. Dad says I eat enough for three ponies, it wouldn’t hurt to share one pony’s worth with my favorite babysitter!”

Cadance chuckled as she followed Twilight to the kitchen. A third of a filly’s portion would be hardly enough to politely feed a guest. She still had an easy out, and Night was unlikely to be rude about it.

Minutes later, Cadance found herself staring at a pile of fried oat burgers nearly the size of her head as Twilight happily dug into a pile comfortably twice the size of her head.

She wasn’t sure how it had happened, but now Twilight was reading her book and shoving burgers into her mouth. While it was very rude of the young mare to ignore a guest, Cadance wasn’t about to correct her on it, and the reading was very typical Twilight behavior. 

What was atypical for Cadance was the other company for dinner. Awkwardly, Cadance looked over her pile of burgers to Night Light, the only other pony at the table. 

“I’m terribly sorry for imposing, but I was in the neighborhood and needed to speak to Shining. Twilight invited me to dinner, and, well, I couldn’t say ‘no’ to her.” She smiled apologetically.

Night shrugged, and smiled back with a surprisingly disarming grin. “I’m happy to see you for the evening, Cadance! There’s plenty to go around, so feel free. I’m afraid that Shining and Velvet are out tonight, and they won’t be back for an evening or two. It was just going to be Twilight and myself tonight, and between you and me...” he winked conspiratorially before whispering, “She’s not great company when she’s nose deep in a book.”

Hiding her disappointment, Cadance chuckled as Twilight absent-mindedly shoved another burger in her mouth, completely oblivious. “Well, then thank you for your hospitality. Truth be told, I’m not sure I can eat this much. It’s a little… heavy for me.”

Night pointed at Twilight’s plate. “Just shovel over whatever you don’t want. She’ll eat it, and I wont be offended. That filly is basically an empty hole nowadays.”

Cadance moved all but one burger to Twilight’s plate, and Twilight didn’t seem to notice at all. The utter lack of a response from Twilight wasn’t exactly surprising. Cadance mused aloud, “Sometimes I forget how much she loves books.”

Night rolled his amber eyes. “I certainly don’t. Somebody’s gotta keep her alive. If no one stopped her, she’d forget to sleep and eat!”

Cadance warmly smiled. “Still, it’s adorable. You’re lucky your foals are so amazing.”

Night frowned slightly. “Speaking of my amazing kids, what exactly did you want to speak about with Shining tonight?”

She blushed, suddenly feeling awkward. Night always had probing questions, and wasn’t afraid to cut to the quick. It didn’t help that he had this presence about him that always made her quick to answer. Like she would get in trouble if she didn’t. “We were thinking about plans for after graduation, and I just wanted to make sure everything matched and we were wearing the same thing.”

He stared at her uncomprehending. “That hardly seems appropriate.”

She blushed, mortified that she’d mixed up her stories. “I misspoke. What I meant was, I need to coordinate what we’re wearing to the ball.”

Night raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. “You said something about after graduation?”

She swallowed dryly, glancing to Twilight in hopes of finding a distraction. Instead all she saw was a slightly shorter stack of oat burgers and an over-sized book. She turned back to Night and coughed. 

He stayed silent, letting the quiet fill the room. His eyebrow lowered as he continued to stare at her. Cadance stared back, the silence making her uncomfortable as her eyes drifted down his chin and to his neck. He was in surprisingly good shape.

Cadance bit her lip as the panic slowly rose. Shouldn’t she say something? Shouldn’t he? The silence was growing louder.

Twilight loudly smacked on a burger.

Night continued to look at her incredulously.

She blushed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and panicking as she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “I’m going to marry him!”

Twilight stayed focused on her book, mumbling something, “Mhhhm.”

Night grinned wide and his eyes twinkled in amusement. “Oh really?”

Cadance’s blush grew deeper. “I didn’t mean to say that!”

He laughed, “No take backsies! Isn’t that right, Twilight?”

Twilight hummed from behind her book, “Mhhm.”

Cadance buried her face in her hooves, wondering how her night had spiraled out of control like this. “He doesn’t know! Please don’t tell him!”

Night continued to chuckle at her expense, “Of course not! In fact, it only makes sense to ask the father for permission first anyways. I do believe that’s the tradition.”

Cadance looked up to see him staring at her with a strange twinkle in his eye. “You know, I remember when I asked Velvet to marry me. Of course, we’d been together a little longer than you two love birds. Definitely lived a little more, too, you know what I mean?” He winked.

She stared blankly, trying to calm her frantic pulse. “Umm… no?”

His eyes darted to Twilight, then he shrugged. “What I mean is that Velvet and I tried each other out before we got married. A try before you buy deal.”

Cadance continued to stare, unsure of what he was getting at. “Yes, that’s dating.”

Night rolled his eyes. “No, well, yes, but no. What I’m trying to say is…” He took his hooves and gently started knocking them together over the table in a lewd fashion.

Cadance’s eyes drifted to his hooves in surprise. She’d never seen someone make such a rude gesture directly to her. She continued to stare uncomprehendingly as he repeatedly made the gesture. 

He added, “You know? Come on, do I have to say it?” His eyes darted to Twilight. She was still completely absorbed in her book. Cadance’s eyes darted to his hooves, then his mouth, then to Twilight, then back to his hooves—which were still knocking. 

Night sighed, giving up on the visual innuendo, “I mean sex. Velvet and I used to do the nasty all the time before we got married. We’d get busy. Like all ponies do.”

Cadance kept her eyes staring firmly at his chest. She refused to look up as she considered what he’d just implied. “We do not.”

Night kept on, “Really? You two have never done it? I knew Shining was a nerd, but to not stick a hot young bird like you, he’s an idiot. I’d have done you up six ways from summertime by now if I was him. Hell, I’d be the one sneaking out to find you, instead of you sneaking over here.”

Slowly, she let her eyes drift to his face, absolutely disbelieving the crass verbiage that she was hearing. There was no way any reasonable pony would be talking to her like this, certainly not the father of her future husband. Was she imagining the sudden change in his demeanor? Carefully, she defended her position, “I… do not sneak. I came to the front door and asked to see him. There may have been a miscommunication in the process.” She glanced awkwardly at Twilight. “But my intent has been, and continues to be honest.”

He furrowed his brow, then let out a laugh that was a little too loud, “An honest mare, huh? I don’t believe it. You know Velvet fucked at least fifteen other stallions before she met me? Probably more. None of them could really satisfy her. Then I took her all the way. She was even dating someone else when we met.” His smile seemed suddenly greasy.

Cadance’s eyes lingered on Twilight, who was still quietly reading the book.  She nodded meaningfully. “Is this really appropriate dinner conversation, especially considering the company, Night?”

He shrugged. “Not really, but watch.” He cleared his throat and talked directly over the stack of burgers, “Twilight, your mother was a whore when I met her.”

Cadance covered her mouth as she gasped.

Twilight mumbled from behind her book, “That’s nice, Dad.”

Night deflated as he glared at Twilight’s book. “Sometimes I’m a little jealous of her ability to tune everything out.”

Cadance muttered to herself, “I’m very jealous.”

Night turned back to Cadance, looking a little wistful as he sighed and sank into his seat. “I miss the game, you know? I used to be quite the player myself. I couldn’t even guess at the wild oats I might have sown, but then I met the old ball and chain. And what a ball and chain she was.” His eyes got dreamy.

Cadance tried not to think about what he was saying, instead deciding to remove herself from this increasingly uncomfortable conversation. “I think I might be done with dinner, Night. Will Shining be available tomorrow evening?”

Night’s eyes drifted back to Cadance. “I don’t actually know. He and Velvet were planning on attending a music show in Vanhouver. Might be a day, might be two. I planned on making dinner for Twi and myself tomorrow as well.”

Cadance deflated. “I see.”

Night blinked. “If you two are getting married, do you want to see our rings? It might help you plan for the wedding if you know what he’s going to wear.”

Relieved to be off the topic of sex, Cadance’s interest was suddenly piqued. “Actually, yes. Is it okay to leave her?”

Twilight stared at her book, muttering quietly, “Okay, Mom.”

Cadance raised an eyebrow. “Twilight, I’m not your mother.”

“Mhm.” Was all she got in response.

Night laughed, “Whole different world, that one.”

Awkwardly, Cadance got up from her seat and grabbed her plate. Night did the same, and Twilight stayed silent, working on her pile of burgers. They went to the kitchen, dropped their plates in the sink, and then she followed Night across the house to his and Velvet’s room.

As they walked, he talked, “So this one mare I met before Velvet, she was the daughter of a duke. And she hated her daddy. I mean, really hated. So I set myself up to piss him off at the next ball we were at. Well, my plan went off without a hitch, and wouldn’t you know by the end of the ball she was riding my balls?” He laughed uproariously at his own story.

Cadance stayed politely quiet, suddenly regretting her decision to follow him.

The next story was about a drunken mare he’d found passed out. She was pretty sure that was considered rape, but apparently the drunken mare had been ecstatic to find him in her bed in the morning. The story after that was about a mare he’d dated for a while, only to discover that she wouldn’t let him do anal, so he’d left her tied up in her flatmate's bedroom before he was out.

Cadance was growing increasingly uncomfortable from his horrifyingly immoral stories, and by the time they made it to the door she was seriously considering turning tail and running, social politeness be damned. But when they got there, he hung his head and sighed.

“Now all those days are over, and I’m a father. I have two beautiful children, a smoking hot wife, and it looks like there’s someone else joining the family real soon. I’m sorry if I overshared a little. I just got caught up in the memories is all. Tell you what, you don’t share my list of indiscretions with Shining, and I won’t share that you’re planning on asking him to marry you. Deal?”

She should have said no. She should have high tailed it out of there and never agreed to a life of guilt and being an unwanted secret keeper. She didn’t realize that agreeing to this meant she could never tell Shining, her future husband, about exactly how bad of a stallion his father was. Instead, she was oddly moved by his confession. 

Love makes ponies do strange things, and hell or high water, she loved Shining Armor. So she decided to stay the course, and stick it through. Besides, she was very curious about the wedding ring.

She nodded, suddenly serious. “I agree.”

He nodded back, and the deal was sealed. The door creaked open. “Come on in. Let me get the ring. I think I know where Velvet keeps the other things from our wedding, too.”

Cadance’s ears perked up curiously. “Other things?”

Night went to a walk in closet and started rummaging through it. “Yeah, we had a box… It had her dress, some pictures, the invitations, My ring and hers, our backup rings, the whole shebang. I’m sure it’s here somewhere…”

Cadance let her eyes drift across their bedroom. She hadn’t had a chance to explore it just yet, and the peek into their life was too tempting to resist. As Night dug around in the closet, she looked over family photos, a note pinned to the wall with instructions for when Velvet was gone, some artsy pictures of flowers, and an interesting candelabra. Something about it caught her eye, and she couldn’t figure out what. Each candle seemed to be made of different waxes, and they all had odd conical shapes.

“Night, what’s this candelabra for?”

He laughed, “Ha! Velvet would say that it’s for lighting, if you asked her. But I’m sure an honest mare like yourself noticed that it’s designed for something else entirely. It’s a little toy we use sometimes to spice up the evening.”

Cadance immediately regretted asking, and let her eyes drift to something else.  “Oh… I see.”

His laugh dwindled down to an amused chuckle. “The candles are made out of different waxes and burn at different temperatures. You can take out each stick and they're designed with different things in mind. One’s just a dildo, it’s not supposed to be burned, a few are for dripping across her skin at different heat levels, one smells great to set the mood, that sort of thing. It’s a fun little toy, we got it at our favorite shop in downtown Canterlot. They also sell replacement candles. Have a few spares in the closet.”

Cadance stared blankly at the wall, horrified that her boyfriend’s father was sharing the details about his and his wife’s sex toys. She didn’t need to know that. She didn’t need to know any of that. And now she did. She knew that Velvet liked hot candle wax dripped across her, and now Cadance’s imagination was running with that information. Did they drip it on her snout? Across her belly? On her… 

Night interrupted her thoughts, “We know the owner of the store, if you want I can set you up for a discount. Although, I’m sure an honest mare wouldn’t be interested in such a scandalous item.”

She could hear the smirk on his face. Her response was high pitched and nervous, “No thanks! I’m fine.”

Night didn’t retort, instead there was a loud “thump” and then his relieved voice called out, “Here we go! The whole box, as advertised. Come on in and let’s crack this baby open. I haven’t looked inside in a while.”

Cadance nervously smiled as she stepped into the closet.
> Ancient Secrets and Hidden Treasure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Glad to be off the topic of the incognito sex toy, Cadance stepped into the closet to get a peek in the box. The closet was surprisingly large, almost a small bedroom in itself. There was a pile of dirty clothes, some hanging dresses, shelves of boxes and shoes, and plenty of floor space. In the middle of that floor space was Night, standing over the box. It was a white box, wrapped in lacy ribbons, and Night was untying them. As the final tie was undone, and the lid creaked open, she stepped just a little closer to look over his shoulder.

It was a marital treasure trove.

Inside was white lace, a few shiny bits of metal and gems, several scraps of paper and a booklet of photos. Night was staring at the contents with a far away look in his eyes. “It’s been a while…” He muttered.

Cadance desperately wanted to see the dress and the rings, but wasn’t rude enough to grab them with her magic, so she waited as Night slowly picked up the book of photos. He opened it up with surprising care, and smiled deeply as he looked at the pages. “Stars, she was so beautiful back then.”

Cadance leaned over his shoulder to take a glimpse. There was Velvet, dressed to the nines in a gorgeous white layered wedding dress, frills and all. A brilliant gold ring was around her horn, inlaid with glowing runes. Night was leaning against her, a shit eating grin on his face while his eyes looked just as starstruck in the picture as they did now. His plain black tuxedo was put to shame by the dazzling lacework layered throughout the dress. Velvet’s smile was as wide as her face, and she seemed to be crying happy tears.

Night sat back, quietly looking at the picture as he was lost in his memories. Cadance chimed in, “She really is something to look at. I’m not sure how I’m going to compete with her dress. That’s amazing.”

He blinked, nodding over to the box. “It’s right there if you’d like to take a look. We hardly go through this box anymore, and I think it deserves a chance for someone to see it again.”

Cadance levitated the frilly dress out, surprised at how much dress was hidden in the little box. “Wow… It just keeps coming.”

Night chuckled slightly, then started a rolling laugh. “I said something like that when I met her.”

Cadance pointedly ignored his crass comment as a blush formed on her cheeks. For better or worse, she was getting used to his off-color jokes. “This dress is absolutely fantastic! She must have spent a fortune on it.”

He glanced up from the photos to look at the dress she was holding in front of her. “Yeah it’s something all right. She never thought that she was the kind of mare to get married, so she actually did spend a small fortune on it. This isn’t it at its best, though. It’s best on a pretty mare. Shame that it doesn’t look like it would fit you, even though you’re young and hot.”

Cadance’s ears folded back, part in disbelief and part in confusion. “Excuse me?” 

Night put a hoof on the dress. “It’s just that you’re bigger than she was. Don’t get me wrong, you’re absolutely stunning and if I was twenty years younger I’d be all over you, but Velvet and you are just built different.”

Cadance blinked, her mind unsure what to be offended by just yet. “And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?”

He sighed, “You’re taller, for one. The hemline would be far too high. Also, you have wings. It would change the lay of the dress on your shoulders and flank, almost certainly ruining the presentation of the layering in the process.”

She sighed, surprised at his quick and comprehensive answer as she realized that he wasn’t trying to insult her. “I see.”

He glanced at her, then the dress. “Still, it’s a shame. I bet you’d look as good as she did if it fit you right. That kind of raw beauty only comes once in a lifetime.”

Cadance gently smiled, imagining her own dress. The layered lace was enigmatic, and she was sure she could order something with the same soul, even if it was a new design. “I’ll make sure Shining gets to see something just as pretty on his wedding day, then.”

Night opened the picture book again, slowly flipping through it. “As pretty as she was in the dress, a mare is always prettiest when you get her out of one.”

And there it was, the off-color quip that she’d been quickly growing to expect. This time instead of ignoring it, she retorted, “Well, at least Shining will have something to look forward to for after the wedding.”

Night glanced up, seemingly confused. “You’re not serious, are you?”

She frowned. “Whatever do you mean?”

“I mean that you’re not going to make him wait until the wedding?”

Cadance raised an eyebrow in surprise. “I’m a princess. There are certain expectations.”

He took his roof and rolled it over in an explaining gesture. “Yes, but I figured all that was just an act. You’re pulling my leg, right? You two have to have done something. You’ve been dating for a year now, and he’s crazy about you.”

Her eyes went wide. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business at all.”

Night bit his lip, standing up. “He’s my son. Of course it’s my business. I always knew he was a bit of an idealistic airhead, but I don’t want you ruining him.”

She glared. “I’m hardly ruining him! He and I decided this together. The most we’ve done is kiss.”

Night raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s something I guess.”

She covered her face in embarrassment, she hadn’t meant to say that! Why had she just blurted that out?

Night somewhat angrily took the dress back from her. “Well, is he a good kisser at least?”

She continued to blush, stamping a hoof. “It’s not your business!”

He glared at her. “Are you sure about that, Princess? I mentioned that I was a bit of a player, and that I have no idea how many mares I bed before I met Velvet, right?”

Cadance frowned. “I believe you said something of the kind.”

He continued to stare at her, a strange glint in his eye. “How many of them do you think were married?”

She gasped, “You didn’t!”

He continued to glare. “I absolutely did. Committed mares were the easiest, and usually the most fun. I’m sure I mentioned that Velvet was seeing somepony when I met her. I didn’t mention that she was engaged to them. That dress wasn’t originally bought for me.”

She covered her mouth in disbelief. “You’re disgusting!”

He snorted, “Married mares who have never fooled around are easy targets for a pick up artist. And I don’t want Shining’s heart broken because the two of you never fooled around before getting married. All it takes is a few words, an unexpected touch, and then you’re feeling things you’ve never felt before.”

He stepped closer as his magic folded the dress and gently set it back in the box, He seemed almost angry as he spoke, “You need to have felt those things, experienced those emotions, been the target or the pickup artist once or twice to understand what it means to be actually devoted to somepony. It takes more than love. There are hundreds of stallions and mares like me and Velvet out there, just salivating at the chance to turn a pretty little loving couple like you two into a pair of broken hearts, simply for one more notch on their bed. And you’d be a royal notch. You will be targeted.”

His eyes pierced into hers and she glanced down, afraid to meet them. It felt like she was being scolded by a parent.

She shivered as she spoke, “Our love is not that weak.”

He rolled his eyes. “It’s not about the love, Cadance. I don’t doubt for a second that you love him more than anypony else. Artists don’t rely on love to get what they want. They rely on base, primal instincts. Pure, raw emotion that you can’t protect yourself from if you’ve never experienced it. The kind of thing that they mold like clay while the target has no idea it’s even happening. It’s not related to love at all,” He glared at the picture book, floating it up and flipping through it. 

She looked up, still feeling like a foal in trouble as she watched him aggressively flip through the book. He held it out to her. “Here, look.”

There were two pictures hidden away in the innermost folio of the album, one on each page. Velvet, wearing her wedding dress leaning on one of the groomscolts on the left side of the book, while Night was leaning on one of the bridesmares on the right. The pictures looked oddly different from the rest of the album, as though they were captured by an amateur photographer.

The groomscolt was blushing, avoiding looking at the camera and his neck had little red marks that stood brightly against his green fur. His posture made him look nervous, but his face was one of ashamed enjoyment. Velvet’s hoof was placed firmly on his far shoulder, and her smile was a confident and knowing smirk. If you looked, you could see the shadow of something long, dark, and thin hidden against the neckline of his black tuxedo. 

In Night’s picture the bridesmare’s dress was sloppy and tilted sharply to the side. Her eyes had deep, dark bags against her otherwise bright and cheery yellow coat. Immediately obvious was how strangely they were leaning into one another. From the angle the photograph was taken you could just barely see that their awkward stance was due to his back leg slipping over her waist, almost hidden by the canted, ruffled dress. The details of how that was happening were obscured behind her large curly blue mane, which upon closer examination was matted and frizzled, as though something sticky had dried in it and it hadn’t been brushed or washed in a few days. 

Now that Cadance was looking at the mare’s increasingly obviously unkempt condition, she even saw a strange sheen around the mare’s snout. The mare’s mouth was slightly open, and she appeared to be drooling with a goofy smile as her tired eyes focused on something just beyond the camera. Night, however, was almost completely composed. His hair was slightly out of place, and his face was slightly flushed as though he’d been exercising. His smile, though, was just as predatory as Velvet’s had been.

“Velvet and I loved each other deeply. We still do. But we planned a last hurrah before our wedding. A sort of partnered… last work of art. These two were associates, not friends, that we invited specifically to be our last little adventure. They had no idea what they were getting in to. A week long all expense paid vacation to a resort destination for our wedding wasn’t something they could turn down.” 

He smiled fondly at the pictures. 

“By the deadline, our wedding day, they were too ashamed of themselves to even look at each other. Velvet trained her poor sap to do tricks for her whip, while I trained his little wife to beg like a dog and squirt like a hose for my cock. She barely stepped hoof outside of my hotel room for the entire trip, and by the deadline she’d spent more time with my dick inside of her than outside of her. Neither of them spent a single night in the room we bought them, and I know that she never even opened her suitcase—the dress was part of the wedding package. It’s how I got her to go into my room at first.” 

He blinked, his smile suddenly flickering from excitement to a more reserved look of regret. 

“Now I can’t even remember their names. We got married the last day of the trip while they awkwardly stood as far away from each other as they could during the ceremony. That was the first time they’d even seen each other since we’d split them up at the dock.  They divorced shortly after their free vacation was over. Technically, everything was consensual, but Velvet and I knew better. What we did to them had nothing to do with love; far from it. It was a manifestation of pure, selfish ego. A simple contest of ‘Look what I can do.’ between us before we got married.”

Cadance was horrified. “That’s… disgusting.”

Night tapped the picture again. “Maybe, but it’s also how the world works, kid.”

Cadance glared at him, frowning as a sick feeling was in her stomach. She could see how some mares might be swayed by his looks, but his personality was abysmal. How could any mare deprave herself so low? “That’s not how my world works.” 

He glanced at the mare in the picture, letting out a sigh. “It could very easily be, if you’re not careful.”

She ignored the comment, glaring angrily. “I don’t want to know any of this about you. Why are you telling me this?”

Night closed the booklet and put the pictures back in the box, He sighed. “If you’re going to marry my son, I don’t want you two to end up like our special guests did. Somepony will target you. When it happens, not if, I don’t want it to ruin your lives—like Velvet and I ruined theirs.”

She tried not to think about what he said, biting her lip with barely restrained rage. “Our love is stronger than that.”

He levitated out the ring, holding it up in the air over them. “It’s not about love, Cadance. Velvet and I love each other immensely. That held true when we met. Our love was dangerous, though, and we tore others apart. We loved each other, but we were bad ponies.”

Cadance stamped her hoof. “I don’t see how that makes it not about love. Bad ponies can love each other.”

He raised an eye at her. “Exactly. And bad ponies can love good ponies just as powerfully as they can love anyone else.”

She glared at him, suddenly feeling insulted somehow. “What are you implying, Night?”

He lowered the ring to eye height so he could see it more clearly. "Just that I love Shining very much, and that I’m worried about him.”

Cadance furrowed her brow and continued to stare as Night moved the ring right in front of her face. “The question I have for you, is ‘Is love alone enough to keep him safe?’”

Cadance’s eyes drifted to the sparking runes on the ring. It was a masterclass in white smithing, another gorgeous artifact to coat Velvet on her wedding day. Another beautiful thing ruined by the story that Night had just told her.

She frowned, taking the ring from him and looking it over even closer. Everything about it was exquisite, and now instead of awe she was filled with a deep sense of disappointment. “More than I care to explain to you.”

Night stepped closer, gently reaching for the ring with his hoof instead of his magic. He spoke softly, “Don’t be angry, Cadance. I’m only trying to protect my son.”

She held the ring tight in her magic, reluctant to let it go. “It’s a shame ponies only wear their rings when they get married, they’re beautiful pieces.” Her eyes glanced up to Night. “Even if they represent something wicked.”

He grabbed the ring, but still didn’t pull against her magic. “There’s nothing wicked about our love. Some of what we did, maybe, but that’s one of the things I’m trying to explain to you. “

She glared at him, releasing the ring to his grasp. “I’m not talking about your love. Is your story true? Or is this some sort of test?” Her eyes darted about, suddenly concerned that Velvet and Shining were hiding around the corner, waiting to pop in on a terrible joke.

Night pulled the ring to his chest, cupping it safely.  “It’s true, but in a way, I suppose it is a test of sorts. Or, maybe it should be?” He squinted at the ring curiously.

She frowned. So not the kind of test where the others were waiting nearby. “What do I need to do to prove to you that I’m serious, Night?”

His eyes slowly rose from the ring and settled on her as his mouth curved into a disappointed frown. His response was slow. “That was exactly the wrong thing to say to me.”

She huffed, his games were getting frustrating. “I don’t care. What do I need to do to prove that I’m worth marrying him?”

Night bit his lip in contemplation, then glanced back at the wedding box. After a quiet moment, he looked back towards Cadance. “Okay. We can play it like that.”

“It’s not a game, Night. I’m serious—I love Shining. I want to marry him.”

Night took the ring out, and tenderly kissed it. He talked softly to it instead of her.  “It’s always a game, Cadance. It’s just a question of who’s playing, and if the game’s important enough to win. It’s been that way since foalhood, the only parts that change are the games themselves.”

Something about the faraway timbre of his voice made her shiver. Frustrated at his obtuseness, she narrowed her eyes and glared at him. “Say what you mean plainly. I’m not a fan of cryptic riddles.”
> A Game and a Point Ahead
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Night held the ring out. “Here’s the game, then. This ring, for better or worse, is a symbol of love. It’s a symbol of my devotion to my wife, Twilight Velvet, and the promises we made when we were married. It sealed some hard times, some good times, some acts of kindness and some of wickedness. But through it all, our love and our marriage has remained true and pure, symbolized by this ring.”

Cadance blinked in confusion at his sudden theatrics, but didn’t say anything.

“If you want to prove that your love’s strong enough to survive anything, then it at last needs to be as strong as Velvet and mine. This ring is a symbol of us. It’s our bond and our seal.” He stared at her with a sudden fire in his eyes. “Can you break it?”

She blanched. “What? No! I’m not going to destroy your wife’s wedding ring!”    

“Why not? Isn’t your love stronger? Isn’t ours wicked and evil, as you’ve said? And this is just a ring, regardless. A simple piece of jewelry. Velvet and I would be fine.” He eyed the ring, turning it slowly in his hooves.

Cadance stared at the ring. “That’s wrong. Love isn’t destructive. I don’t like what you’ve done, frankly I think it’s horrendous, but that doesn’t mean I want to hurt you and Velvet. As you said, for better or worse, you’re the parents of my true love.”

Night laughed. “You can’t hurt our relationship. That’s the lesson here. You don’t have the experience, or the tools to. Even if you did destroy the ring, nothing would change between Velvet and I. There is nothing you could do to change what we have.”

“So? How does that prove anything?” Cadance stared at him in disgust. His pretentious, preaching speech was growing stale. Where at first she’d been cowed by his presence, now she was tired of it. He could shout about how strong his relationship was, and nothing would change. She knew hers was stronger, because hers was true love.

He seemed tired. “Everything. I could destroy yours.”

She stared at him obstinately. “You couldn’t hurt us either.”

He chuckled, muttering to himself. “Like a bicycle.”

She tilted her head. “What?”

“If you’re so confident that you’ll never be swayed by somepony like me, then back it up. We’ll play a game for the ring, the seal. If I win, I choose where it goes. Back in the box, on Velvet’s horn; anywhere I want. It won’t matter. Because the seal is just a symbol.”

He floated the ring back into his hooves, and longingly looked it over with a strange adoration.

Night’s voice was slower when he continued, still marveling at the ring. “If you win, you choose where the ring goes. You can keep it for your wedding, toss it in a fire, or give it back. But we’ll play for keeps. If you get the ring, it means that your relationship with Shining is definitively stronger than mine and Velvet’s, and I’ll even approve the marriage. If I get the ring then I won’t let you marry Shining, but only because your relationship wouldn’t survive anyways.”

She snorted, “Our love will last forever. Even if you don’t approve, he’ll still marry me.”

He didn’t look up. “Maybe. But the ring can prove which of us has the stronger relationship. It can prove, without a doubt, that experience is more important than love. Or, maybe you can prove that love always wins?”

Cadance didn’t hesitate, almost spitting her response in anger. “Of course love always wins!”

Night held the ring out in between them. “Then prove it. We’ll play a game. Whoever quits loses. If either of us, or the ring, leaves the closet, then whoever is responsible loses. We each get turns, one after the other. No wings or magic allowed. Whoever has the ring at the end wins.”

Cadance couldn’t figure out why he was proposing such a physical game. She was pretty sure that he’d forgotten that she was an alicorn, and she could easily floor him if she needed to. “How do we get the ring?”

His eyes flickered to hers, and then back to the ring. “We say exactly what we’ll do, then we have do it. You get as many tries as you need, but you have to do it the way you said you would. The other pony doesn’t have to help, but can’t stop you from getting to the ring, or prevent you from placing it.”

His explanation cleared up that it wasn’t a physical contest, but a mental one. Still, it felt hollow somehow, so she tried to get him to explain further. “What do you mean?”

Night shrugged, then held the ring forward in his hoof, right in front of her. “The best way to learn is to do. My first move will be to hold the ring in my hoof. Your first move may be to grab the ring, and put it in your own hoof, or it could be something else. It just needs to be some kind of getting, and some kind of keeping. I can’t stop you from grabbing it, but I also don’t have to lower my hoof, and I can’t stop your hoof from holding it. Once you have it, I can’t interfere with how you intend to keep it until it’s my turn.“

Cadance raised an eyebrow, confused by how childishly simple the game seemed. It reminded her of schoolyard games where a foal would make a pretend move, and another would imagine a countermove. “This hardly measures the strength of our relationships.”

Night smiled confidently. “I promise that it will. But if you quit right away, then I guess I win?”

She squinted at him in confusion before a slight anger reddened her cheeks. “I never agreed to play!”

He continued to smile, then winked as he fawned a concerned frown. “I wasn’t asking. If you aren’t agreeing, then you must not be confident enough in your ideals. If you beat me, it will prove otherwise. Hitherto my ideals are proven stronger, and I won’t approve your marriage to Shining.”

It was dumb, but if she played then maybe he’d agree that Love was all that mattered in a relationship, “… Fine. I’ll take the ring.”

He blinked. “And? You take the ring, but what do you do with it?”

She stared at him blankly, and her answer was just as flat as her disappointed gaze. “I hold it.”

He smiled calmly. “Sure. A simple move, but a decent opener. As expected for somepony with no experience but complete confidence. I’ll take the ring back, but hold it very far away.”

Cadance scoffed as Night took the ring and held the ring behind him, but otherwise didn’t move. “Like yours is much better. I take the ring back… and hold it above my head.”

Night made a disapproving clicking noise as he watched her grab the ring and hold it above her head. “Poor move. I’ll climb over you to get it with my hooves, then put it in my hair.”

Cadance was aghast as he placed a hoof on her shoulder, preparing to pull himself up. “Wait! You’re going to climb me? Why not jump or something?”

He paused with a hoof on her shoulder. “I you don’t like my answer, you can quit and I’ll win. That’s why I have to tell you first. So you have the opportunity to back out before I do it.”

She glared silently at him as he swung his other hoof around her back, and clambered up to her shoulders. He was heavy, and his hooves hurt as they scraped slightly against her side while he climbed. He quickly grabbed the ring, then awkwardly climbed back down her shoulders. Something about the way he put his hooves on her back made her hair stand on end. She didn’t like that, she didn’t like it at all.   

Her silent stare turned into an angry glare. “That was crude. I reach into your hair, grab the ring and… I… hold it?”

Cadance internally cursed to herself. She couldn’t think of what to do with it. She didn’t want to put it above her again, him climbing on her was terrible.

Night tilted his head in surprise and disappointment. “You’ll have to do better than that. I grab it with my hoof and place it in my tail.”

Cadance stared dumbly at him. This was stupid. Incredibly, unbelievably stupid. “I don’t see how this game accomplishes anything, Night.”

He frowned in mock contemplation. “You know, you’re right. Maybe we’re missing  something? It has been a while since I played for a seal… perhaps I forgot a rule. The new rule should be simple. If we both make the same move to retrieve the ring in a row, that move can’t be used again. We have to clearly specify how we are getting the ring. So climbing wouldn’t count, but getting the ring with my hooves would. That should fix this right up.”

Cadance could see a layer of strategy suddenly form. How you got the ring, and how you kept it just became much more important with that new rule. She intended to test it right away. “I agree. I grab the ring with my hoof and hold it above my head again, this time at an angle. That makes it twice grabbed with hooves.”

“So now I can’t use my hooves to grab it, and it’s above your head.”

Cadance smiled evenly. “Correct. So I win?” 

Night snorted a short scoffing laugh before continuing. “Hardly, I climb you, slapping the ring free once I am on top. I then hold it right in front of your face to taunt you.”

Cadance snorted angrily in return. “Slapping? Wait, do you mean hitting my hoof? Doesn’t that use your hooves? And wouldn’t it hurt?”

Night shrugged. “Well, yes, but I’m not grabbing it with them. I’m slapping it out of your hooves. And I suppose it might hurt if I hit you too hard. Remember, you aren’t supposed to impede me, but you don’t have to help. You can’t hold it so tight it won’t come free, but you don’t have to just drop it, either.”

Cadance blinked as she thought about it. She didn’t like it, but it could be in the rules. If Night could add rules, then so should she. “Fine, but punching, slapping and kicking are all the same thing, regardless of which limb does them. I don’t want this to get violent.” 

Night tapped his head, smiling. “You know, that’s a good rule. We don’t want to hurt each other. Now, assuming you don’t have any other conditions, up I go!”

Cadance grumbled as he stepped on her shoulders again. This time she tensed her muscles a little harder so his hooves couldn’t dig in. Once he was on her, he sat comfortably back on her back for a moment, with his hind legs dangling over her wings.

“Get on with it.” She growled.

Night’s response was, perhaps, a little too mirthful. “I’m just getting settled so that when I slap your hoof, I don’t fall off!”

Cadance waited a second or two while he shifted back, then forth, his weight settling heavily on her. This whole situation was incredibly awkward. Here was a stallion easily thirty years her senior, her potential father in law, climbing on her back like they were schoolyard foals playing knights and dragons. There was something utterly surreal about the situation when he swung his hoof over her head, and her own hoof was smacked just hard enough to send the ring flying into the corner of the closet. 

She was quiet as he gently climbed down, trying to ignore when he slipped and his head fell into her mane. She was incredibly uncomfortable about the way he had been sitting on her, but couldn’t place why. As far as she could tell, it was harmless.

Night walked calmly to the ring, picked it up with his hooves, then walked back and held it in front of her face. 

She stared at the glittering ring, wondering if it was worth all this hassle. “I’ll slap it free like you did, then I put it in my feathers.”

Night clicked aggressively, then waggled the ring like she was in trouble. “Ah! No wings.”

Cadance rolled her eyes. She’d forgotten that rule. “Fine. I hold it in front of your face as well. Then no slapping or hooves will be allowed.”

Night didn’t have time to blink before Cadance had slapped his hoof hard. She smiled, deeply satisfied as he clutched it in surprise and pain. Smirking, she sauntered happily to the ring as well, and held it in front of the somewhat off-put Night Light as he cradled his still stinging hoof.

“I’m stronger than I look.” She waggled her eyebrows as she held out the ring to his face. Ponies forgot that she also had earth pony powers, and rarely did she have a chance to remind them in such a satisfying way.

Night grit his teeth and sucked in a breath. “I forgot you were a princess for a second there.”

She waggled the ring like he had. “So I win?”

He put his hoof down gingerly and shook his head. “Not a chance. I use my horn to retrieve it, and I keep it there as a horn ring. While I pretend to be someone you know.”

Cadance sighed, quickly deflating as she let out a disappointed whine,“Fine…”

Night easily speared the ring with his horn, then tilted his head up and stood like one of the royal guards. “Ready to serve, Princess.”

She stared incredulously at his terrible posture as he completely failed to do a proper guard pose. “Really? That’s the best you can manage?”

He glanced at her briefly, then stared forward. “Yes, Ma’am!”

She held back a chuckle at how ridiculous he was being, but paused when she realized she needed to come up with a plan. “I… I guess I’ll use my horn to scrape it off yours…”

He stared straight ahead this time. “Yes, Ma’am!”

“I’ll leave it on as well? Like a horn ring. And this time you can’t use your horn to get it off.”  

“Yes, Ma’am! Understood. I will get it off.” He quickly saluted with his uninjured hoof, then put it back down. 

Cadance couldn’t help but crack a smile. He wasn’t very good at pretending to be a guard, but the absolute silliness of his flailing was amusing. She had the odd thought that Night could probably make a good comedian.

As she got close, she tilted her head to scrape the ring gently off his horn. She had to be careful, she didn’t want to really hurt either of their horns. As she gently pressed upward, she felt his snout pass awkwardly past her ear, and Night gave a hot breath out. She paused, momentarily distracted as a chill went down her spine and her ear flicked backwards. His hot breath was oddly wet, and the realization made her purse her lips tightly. She slightly spread her hooves to stabilize herself while her delicate horn was so close to his. 

Maybe she picked the wrong way to do this, she didn’t want to damage anypony’s leylines. Still, Night was surprisingly calm about this. She could easily scratch, or even spear, his horn like this and he didn’t seem to mind at all. If anything, as she raised her head slightly so that her eyes were even with his, he seemed to be just barely smiling. 

She paused again, staring into his large, amber eyes as they were almost snout to snout. He was looking directly at her, and his pupils were practically twinkling. The look he was giving her as their eyes locked was enough to make her shiver. He was intensely focused on her. Something about his eyes seemed deeper, more intense than just a second ago. She was reminded that Night was, unfortunately, quite handsome. 

The shiver ran from her neck, down her back, and to the base of her tail where she felt it give a little swoosh. This strange, almost electric sensation from his intense gaze caused her to pull slightly away as a deep, unknown anxiety bubbled up within her. The ring slipped down as she lurched away, and she had to quickly swing her head to catch it, preventing it from falling too far.

As a result, her head was tilted sideways, with her ear right in front of his mouth. Night took the opportunity to whisper to her, his lips just barely not touching her ears as his voice rolled through her spine. “Ma’am, I need to report that I just noticed that you are alarmingly attractive.”

Cadance froze, completely unsure of what to say. The warm air over her ear felt almost nice, but a little primal voice in the back of her brain filled her with fear. It wasn’t the cloying, shivering kind of fear she as used to occasionally feeling. It was a light, antsy sort that made her want to run, but she wasn’t sure what from, or where to. It made her hair stand ever so slightly on end, and her ear flick forward, brushing against his surprisingly soft lips.

She swallowed it, choosing to ignore his comment and the fear as she carefully slipped the ring up and off his head. She made extra sure not to look into his eyes as she lifted past him again; the thought of him sending another shiver down her spine made her tail swish again. Why was she warm? Why was her… tail warm?

The ring clanged on the ground, startling her, and she stared at it like it was poisonous.

Night chimed in, still doing an awful guard impression as he saluted. “Mission accomplished, Ma’am!”

Cadance shook her head, clearing the odd sensations. She needed to focus. “Drop the act, Night. I’m going to put it on my horn now, and you’re out of ways to get it off.” 

Night tilted his head in confusion, then laughed, “Oh! That’s what you meant! No. Princess, we are just getting started. You’re going to need to expand your imagination.” 

She ignored him to spear it with her horn, picking it back up. It slid down smoothly and felt oddly cold around the base of her horn. The heavy metal ring was strangely uncomfortable. Cadance huffed, still feeling lightly anxious. Her heart was beating a little too fast as Night’s amber eyes focused on the ring that was now seated firmly on her head.

Cadance goaded him, maybe a little too loudly. “So if this isn’t the end, then how are you going to get it?”

Night shrugged, clearly contemplating something. “You’re still taller, so I might have to climb you again.”

Cadance took a deep breath, trying to settle her nerves. “Yes, but how do you propose to remove it?” 

Night’s eyes glanced to hers, and they made eye contact. Her tail gave a little tingling swish as he smirked, and she squeezed her legs together to stop it. “With my mouth, of course.”

She froze. Putting your mouth on another pony’s horn was taboo.  “That’s absurd.”

He firmly held his gaze on hers, unashamed and unabashed by her supposed beauty. “So do you quit, and do I win?”

She thought about that. It wasn’t something explicitly taboo, it was just something ponies never did. Maybe it was one of those old fashioned rules that everybody knew but nobody followed? Like no hats at the dinner table?  She wasn’t particularly worried about it, but she wasn’t going to let him steal her victory so easily. “No… Fine. What will you do with it?” 

Night’s smile grew devilish. “I’m going to sit on it.”

She couldn’t believe this. “What are you, twelve?”

He laughed, “I’m just enjoying the game, Cadance. You should too.”

She ruffled her wings. “Night, this is important to me. Is it just a joke to you?”

Night put a hoof on her back as he prepared to climb her. “Oh, it’s very important to me. But I have the experience to know how to enjoy what I’m doing. You don’t just yet, but maybe you’ll get there.  That’s one of my points, Cadance. I don’t want Shining married to a loving sour puss that doesn’t know how to have fun.”

Cadance grumbled, widening her stance and tensing her muscles to support the now familiar weight of Night Light as he prepared to climb her. “I’m not a sour puss… I’m just taking this seriously.”

He hoisted himself up over her back, and she felt the odd sensation of him shifting to get comfortable again. He slid slightly forward and backward, gripping her torso firmly with his legs and her neck gently with his hooves, just enough to keep him steady. She was growing used to the sensation of his weight on her back, and was learning how to support his body without him having to dig his hooves into her side.

Something about his fur still seemed uncomfortable, but she couldn’t place it. Somehow he was making her skin crawl, as though it was trying to get away from him. There wasn’t any reason for it, he didn’t appear to be doing anything untoward, but the sensation was still distracting. 

Night seemed to be settled, then he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, with a particularly low voice. “And that’s why you’re going to lose, Princess.”

He let out a long, slow breath over the back of her ear and she froze. Cadance felt the tingle again, the one from when their eyes met, and this time it sparked from her ear to her hooves, then back up to her tail—which swished in response. She couldn’t close her legs to stop it, she needed the leverage to stand steady.

The uncomfortable feeling in her fur began to feel different. Instead of a strange crawling, it felt warm where he touched. It almost felt like a hug, but he was on her back with his legs around her. It wasn’t comforting, it was just… tingly and warm? Especially in the middle of her back.

She shook her head just slightly, flicking her ear forward so he couldn’t blow into it. “I’m not going to lose.”

She couldn’t see his face, but she imagined him smirking and about to gloat. Instead, she felt another hot breath over the back of her ear. Her back tingled, and her swishing tail slowed down to a crawl as he did it again. This time he leaned forward, and wrapped his hooves around her chest in a reverse hug. The feeling of his breath so close to the back of her neck, coupled with his hooves now wrapped around her body should have made her uncomfortable.

She should be panicking somehow. There was a small voice in the back of her head telling her that Night shouldn’t be touching her like this. But that voice was very quiet, and the comforting warmth from his not a hug was very loud. She shivered as she realized that the reason her tail had stopped swooshing was that it settled to the side.

All the way to the side.

Cadance was absolutely mortified as she stiffly and almost painfully forced it back into place. Hopefully Night hadn’t noticed; she wasn’t sure what he would do. She found her mind reeling in panic as she wondered how he was going to respond. Would he taunt her? Harass her more? See it as an invite—Which it most definitely was not.

Instead, he blew on her ear again, this time with a whisper and a loving stroke down the underside of her neck. “That’s a good little princess...”

Her ear flicked backwards out of reflex, and the warm air rushed into it. Her whole body froze, and she felt things she hadn’t known she could feel—things she had no words for. Cadance’s voice cracked as she fought to keep her tail in place from the lightning he’d just poured down her spine. “Aren’t you going to get the ring?”

She sucked in a quick breath, forcing out a second desperate question before he could answer the first, refusing to acknowledge what he’s just done to her. “Or do I win?”

Night sighed, his voice still low but sounding disappointed. “I was just having some fun, Princess. Of course I’ll get my ring, if that’s what you want?”

His question lingered in the air.

She didn’t think about it. She definitely didn’t pause to think about what she wanted. “… Yes!”

Night shifted forward slightly, and she felt an awkward weight on her back as he slid up to put his mouth near the base of her horn. He paused, ostensibly looking at her horn and the ring. “Now, let’s see… That is one tight fit. I could bite it from the side, but if I mess up, that might hurt you.”

She waited, wondering about the strange pressure that was growing near the base of her neck. It felt warmer than the rest of Night’s weight for some reason, and was oddly distracting for her as it pressed seemingly under her mane. 

“Hurry up,” She complained.

Night seemed to shrug. “All right. Just gotta loosen it up a bit first.”

Cadance felt a warmth near the base of her horn, then a soft tug as something grabbed at the ring, then a slight wetness. Night was gripping her chest tightly so he could stay secure, and his legs were almost painful in their squeezing. The warm, uncomfortable pressure near the base of her neck felt like it was pulsing. 

He lifted the ring a little, and it slid roughly up her horn for maybe a quarter turn of her leylines before he dropped it, and it slid back down. Night muttered to himself. “Well, that didn’t work. This might take a few tries.”

Cadance shivered as something warm surrounded the horn just above the ring, and let out a surprised squeak as magic was drawn up into her horn without her willing it.

Night stopped, letting the ring drop again. “Did you say something, Princess?”

She hoped he couldn’t see her face, it was burning right now. Embarrassed by the noise, she panicked just a little. “No… I mean, yes! It’s just, uh…”

He waited patiently as she tried to come up with something, and the warmth on her back seemed to grow. 

Cadance shivered. “If you can’t get it off, then I win?”

Night chuckled. “Oh, I can get it off, princess. It might take a few tries to, uh, get it off, though.”

She awkwardly widened her stance just slightly so she could be more stable. All his shifting around was off-putting and she wasn’t sure why. “Then… just hurry up.”

Night didn’t answer, he just went back to trying to get the ring. Come to think of it, Cadance began to wonder exactly what he was doing up there. Was he nibbling it? Biting it gently? Or maybe that warm thing was his tongue?

The warmth slid up her horn, spiraling with her leylines and pulling another surge of unbidden magic. This time she grit her teeth, holding back the noise of surprise. Instead of a squeak, it came out more like a grunt. Night didn’t comment, instead sliding the ring up just slightly.

She felt him shifting on her back again, and mentally groaned in frustration. This shouldn’t be hard. All he needed to do was gently grab it with his teeth and lift it. What was he doing that was taking so long, and was so warm and…

She eeped as more magic surged up her horn, completely derailing her thoughts. Sucking in a breath, she focused on the tingling magic currently soaking in her leylines. It was too raw to be a spell of any kind, she hadn’t put thought into forming it. It still felt like it was collecting for a cast, though. Strangely, the gathering magic felt different than any she’d used before. 

It was making her spine tingle almost as much as his stupid breathing over her ear. She realized that she was entirely focused on her horn and she hadn’t noticed her now flagging tail. Her body felt hot now, and she was sure her face was flushed. What was he doing to her? Was this some spell? Everything felt far away, and everything felt so warm and tingly, and now she was feeling… so… 

Cadance’s whole body shivered, and the little voice of panic in the back of her mind found purchase through the strange storm of sensations. “Wait!”

Night stopped, and the ring fell back down her horn, all the way to the bottom. All his hard fought progress has been lost, but he didn’t seem to mind. His voice sounded almost smug. “Yes, Princess? Did you need something?”

Gasping for breath, she stuttered, “I… I just need a minute.” 

She struggled to regain her faculties—calming her beating heart, relaxing her breathing, and forcing her tail back into place. She wondered when her hind legs had slid so widely apart, and then decided not to think about it.

Night stayed quiet, but rubbed up and down her soft chest fur with his surprisingly firm hooves. 

Cadance ignored the wandering hoof, she had bigger concerns.  She let her little, panicked voice finally speak. “I… we… we should be doing this, Night. This… I don’t know what this is, but I know we shouldn’t be doing it.”

Night let his hoof trail up her neck and to her chin as he leaned against her back, whispering into her ear again, “And exactly why shouldn’t we be doing this, Princess?”

She shivered, wishing the lancing pleasure from his whisper was painful in some way. Unfortunately, it was very much not, and her tail slid slowly to the side as her body shook. His hoof on her chin felt so oddly demanding, and she knew she had to answer.

“This isn’t a game anymore. You’re… I’m…” She wasn’t sure how to put it into words, so she settled on what she knew. “You’re married. I’m with Shining. I don’t know what this is, but it’s wrong.”

Night pressed his lips softly against the base of her ear, and his whisper was so quiet she had to struggle to hear it. “That’s the point, Princess. This is supposed to measure the strength of our relationships. The strength of our willpower. What I’m doing to you isn’t sex, it’s just a… special type of magical expulsion—hardly different from learning a new spell. Something like this is nothing between Velvet and I, but for you...”

Cadance opened her eyes wide and stared blankly at the closet wall with the slowly dawning realization of the true nature of this game. Maybe she already knew. Maybe that’s why that little voice had been so upset by this. It was obvious in hindsight. He’d told her it would measure their convictions. She bit her lip, unsure of how to reply.

Night continued, her ear turning to face his mouth so she could better hear his barely audible whisper. “You can quit any time you like, but that would mean I win. Is your love strong enough to see you through? Or have I won this game?”

Cadance’s heart raced. She felt like an idiot, and anger welled up inside of her. Why had she agreed to this dumb contest? She’d known it was wrong. Night had been incredibly open with his designs, she just hadn’t thought them through. She knew he could do something like this, but she hadn’t considered that he might actually do something like this to her. 

How could a pony she’d known and respected for so many years, a pony who was in many ways one of her father figures and mentors choose to do something so cruel to her? To his own son? She hadn’t considered the reality of how much of a terrible pony he could be, even though he’d literally just told her. 

She’d been naive, and that had been his point, hadn’t it?

Now her and Shining’s future hung in the balance, all because she hadn’t considered all the ramifications of what he’d proposed. In short, she’d been an idiot. 

He pressed her, gripping her chin firmly in his hoof and forcing her to tilt her head slightly up. The exact, controlled motion pushed her ear into his snout, and he softly nibble at it while he spoke, “So, do I win, or are we going to get back to getting it off?”

Cadance almost collapsed from the nibble. It wasn’t some sly breathing, or an excusable stray hoof. It was deliberately sensual, and her whole body understood exactly what it meant. Her wings struggled to spread, but his tightly squeezing legs kept them firmly in place. They ached strange and warm underneath him, as though this was deliberate on his part. 

She tried not to think about how her legs had spread again, or about how her tail was firmly and inexcusably flagged. Even the strange magical energy in her horn was distracting, pulling her mind another direction as she felt it pulsing, pressing to escape.

She was being pulled apart by Night. 

She’d never done something like this. Shining and her had kissed a few times, maybe even made out. But it had never felt like this. Nothing she’d done with him had left a burning in her gut that felt like a sickening ache of pleasure. 

She couldn’t betray Shining. That’s why she had to do this. This was a measure of her love and their relationship. She would prove that her love and devotion outweighed whatever sick thing Night was trying to prove to her. She just had to believe in the power of love, and it would carry her through.

Cadance steeled herself, trying hard to force the blush out of her cheeks. She would prove that she was stronger. She tried to put mettle in her voice by adopting a more commanding tone, hoping the fake confidence would manifest somehow. “I’m not losing. Get the ring.”

Night didn’t say anything in response, instead holding her firmly by her jaw as he pressed his lips to the base of her horn.

This time she was ready when the magic was forced into her leylines. She tried not to think about the sensations it brought, focusing instead on the end goal. She would prove to Night that her love was the real thing.

The little voice in the back of her head told her to run, and some small part of her body agreed. This wasn’t sex, but it was something intimate. Something she hadn’t done with Shining, and the nagging weight of guilt fought against the acidic pool of pleasure as both grew with Night’s increasingly aggressive licking.

It was clearly licking now. He was slowly lifting the ring with his bottom jaw while his tongue wandered salaciously around her increasingly sensitive horn. The weird part was his drool pooling down her forehead, and the increasing sensation of dizziness as her magic was pulled again, gathering in her now almost painful horn tip.

Cadance’s mouth hung open as she forcibly gasped for breath while her eyes unfocused against the closet wall. She forgot most of her senses; the overwhelming sensations being simply too much for the young mare. Her world narrowed down to the moist, firm tongue bathing her horn. She focused on the juxtaposition of the heat from the tongue and the cooling sensation of Night’s breath over the lower part of her horn as his own heavy breathing washed across the spit covered length. 

The increasingly common pulses of magic that his tongue seemed to pull up felt more and more natural as her leylines grew accustomed to this new spellwork. Blinking dumbly, she basked in the surreal experience as the sedative and pleasurable magical pressure grew.

How would this end? Her ragged mind couldn’t comprehend anything more than a few moments ago, let alone something in the future. All she could feel now was that pressure, an overgrowing mass of pure euphoric magic that was consuming her thoughts. Desperately, some small part of her fought for control, but there was none to be had. 

Her legs were locked stiffly out, her tail was flagged hard to the side, her head was held firmly in Night’s strong grasp, while the rest of her body was preparing for the inevitable. She wasn’t sure what the coming inevitable thing was, but she felt a pulsing heat from under her tail that matched the hypnotic rhythm of Night’s tongue with the heady waves of magic. 

Night made it to the tip, and when his tongue scraped over her sharp personal spell focus, a small flick of magic arced from his tongue to her tip and she realized that she’d never let somepony else touch her casting point. 

Ever.

The realization dawned on her as his little spark of magic turned into a fire. He slid up her back, pressing something long and hard against the back of her neck as his legs shifted to over the front of her shoulders instead of across her sides. Her wings flew out, painfully spreading to a full feathered display of arousal in a movement of cathartic physical release. They stretched to their absolute limit, painfully so, as he slipped his mouth over the tip of her horn and used his spark of magic to cast a spell from her horn.

Barely able to put together enough mental focus to recognize what was happening, she dumbly accepted that he had commandeered her horn. Her personal casting point had been co opted by another mind entirely, and she was too shocked at the violation to do anything about it while he sucked on her horn like a straw. 

The mass of unformed magic found purpose under Night’s guiding ministrations, and the inevitable was made clear in a moment of pure, euphoric helplessness. 

The little voice inside her head was momentarily paralyzed as her entire leyline network triggered to cast the first spell of her life that was entirely someone else’s will, all focused through her now alien casting point. 

Cadance was completely, utterly at the mercy of Night in that moment. Her front legs gave out, but he had been ready. As she fell down, his back hooves landed smoothly on the floor and he held her head up with his front hooves. Her wings fluttered helplessly, already fully extended but trying desperately to find more room. Her legs felt warm as something leaked from her now burning pussy. She’d never felt like this.

The best part was the spell. In a moment of final, ecstatic release, the magic coalesced into a raw spurt that tingled everything it touched. Night hadn’t cast a complicated spell, but rather a simple one. The gooey manifestation of her magic caused intense physical pleasure wherever it touched. As it oozed out the tip of her horn, Night pulled away to let it drip down her face. 

Cadance’s mouth was locked in an impossible smile as the glittering spell-plasm dripped down her face. She stared blankly, serenely forward as her mind was captivated by this new experience. The spell burned as it ruptured from her horn, an uncontrolled fountain of pure neurological bliss while Night held her head up with his hooves. Vaguely, she was aware that he’d pressed his hips forward and groaned as he tilted her head backwards and let the spray run down her back and across his stomach.  

Night shivered around her. “Fuck… that’s intense. I gotta remember that you’re a princess.”

Cadance dumbly stared forward, captivated by the spell as Night used her for something she simply didn’t have the mind to comprehend. The warmth on her back, the pleasure across her neck, all of it was so much that she couldn’t recognize the oddly balanced weight that was slowly being thrust between his stomach and her magic soaked mane.  

The world seemed to blur, fading and coming back in strange pulses of reality until Cadance found herself laying on the floor gasping. She blinked a few times, unsure of what had happened, or what state she was in. Night was crouched in front of her, his face eerily close to hers. As their eyes locked, she realized she had been crying in blissful joy. He was watching her intently, soaking in her vulnerable state. 

She felt wet. Her tail felt moist and uncomfortable, and her mane felt weirdly sticky. Even her fur was covered in a light sheen of sweat. A strange cool chill ran through her body, almost soothing her. She was still so happy. 

And then, it faded, leaving Cadance to blink the tears out of her eyes as her mind slowly began to think again. 

What the absolute fuck just happened?
> Loose Lips and Rocking Ships
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Night Light reached a hoof forward and stroked her cheek, and oddly, she wasn’t startled by it. The gesture felt natural. It felt appropriate, even. She looked at him, somewhat terrified by what had happened and somewhat calmed by his touch. Unsure of what to feel, she blinked out another set of burning tears, wetting his hoof. 

Night took a long, slow breath, simply staring at her face. “I can’t get over how stunningly beautiful you are.”

She closed her eyes, trying to shut him out. Why did the words feel so good? What had they done? Had it been wrong? The little voice could talk again, and piped up that it had indeed been wrong. She’d been unfaithful. She’d cheated on Shining.

She wrestled with that idea, tossing it around in the dark of her mind. She still wasn’t sure what Night had done to her, but it had clearly been an intimate act. Maybe… it didn’t count?

Cadance desperately clung to that idea. They hadn’t had sex, and she’d done it to prove her devotion too Shining. She needed to do it. How it had felt was irrelevant, what was important was that it had been a necessary act. Nothing more. It was fine. She hadn’t cheated with the… whatever it was.

She opened her eyes, letting Night fill her vision again. Somewhat angrily, she squinted at him. “What the hell was that?”

He smiled back, affecting a caring and almost fatherly tone. “Experience, Cadance. Just a little taste of what you’re missing.”

She stared blankly back at him. “So can I marry Shining yet? Are we done now?”

Night smirked. “Not at all, Princess. It’s still your turn. I’m sitting on the ring after all.”

Cadance stood up, feeling the awkward and embarrassing sensation of her wet mane and tail. Worse was how messy they were, and the cloying moisture between her legs. Even though her outsides felt disgusting, her insides felt warm and fuzzy. She was oddly energized, and felt entirely unashamed of her ragged state. Even her wings felt good to flex. 

She looked at Night, still angry with him. “I’m going to push you over, then take the ring.”

He shrugged, then grinned and winked. “Fair. Going to put it back on your horn?”

Cadance gaped, swallowing hard before answering, “No. You’re not doing that to me again. I’m going to.. uh… hold it in my hoof, very far away from the rest of me.” 

She glanced down, slightly ashamed that she couldn’t think of somewhere better to keep it. Night didn’t say anything, and when she looked back up, he had his hooves spread wide like he was waiting for a hug.

The gesture made her angry, and she reached out to put her hoof on his surprisingly muscular chest. She took a moment to feel it before she realized what she was doing and shoved him away, hard.

Night went tumbling across the closet floor, sliding into the wall with a light thunk noise. He grabbed his head with his hooves. “Ow! That hurt.”

She just nodded as she took the ring and held it out high and away from her. “Good.” 

Night stood up, dusting himself off as he walked back. “Then I guess I’ll push you over. The ring will fall off your hoof and I’ll put it… in my mouth. Pushing will be outlawed.”

Cadance groaned. Of course it would be something weird. “Your mouth?”

Night frowned. “Yes. Now, It’s my turn.”

When he pushed her, she thought he’d just press hard enough to send her to the floor. Instead, he braced himself and shoved her hard, sending her tumbling almost as far as he’d been. Cadance felt the thump as she landed, and the ring rolled away from her. “Oof. That was hard, Night.”

“I can take it and I can give it, Cadance. What about you? Anyways, in it goes.” He plopped the ring into his mouth, swirling it around for a bit before he added. “Tastes like metal.”

Cadance blankly stared at him as her mind reeled. She couldn’t just grab it, her hooves were out. She considered punching him to make him spit it out, but punches were outlawed. Her horn was also out—for many reasons. She couldn’t use her wings, or magic. Groaning, she realized that she was running out of options.

Shining smirked. “Does that groan mean I win? You really can’t think of anything?”

Cadance blushed. She absolutely could think of something, but she didn’t like it. “No…” She didn’t like it at all. “I’ll… use my mouth to get it from yours. And I’ll sit on it again, since pushing is out.”

Night winked at her, then pursed his lips in a quick mock kiss. “You’re cute, but you still have to find it. It’s hidden in here.”

Cadance groaned. Her wet back end felt cold, and her hair felt unnaturally heavy. She was incredibly uncomfortable about what she was about to do. It wasn’t a kiss. She was just going to be digging around in Night’s mouth with her own. Begrudgingly, she admitted that at least it wasn’t as bad as the horn thing. Even if it was, by some technicality, a kiss, it would still be just a kiss. 

With a sinking feeling in her gut, Cadance stepped forward, closed her eyes, and pressed her lips to his. Cautiously, she used her lips to pry his open, finding them pliant and easy to move. He wasn’t resisting her, but he also wasn’t doing anything on his own. 

Her tongue slipped between, and she found herself frozen. When Shining and her had kissed, they’d kept it to little pecks. She had a strict no tongue rule that he’d followed. She’d completely forgotten about that up until this moment, even though it had ruled their few make-out sessions.

Yet here she was, already past that. She hadn’t even hesitated to shove her tongue into his father’s mouth. Her tail tingled as she tasted him. Cadance wasn’t sure how to proceed. Night’s mouth was slimy, a little cold, and his tongue was… bumpy. The odd texture gave her pause, and without thinking she raked her tongue across his. 

The spark in her tail lit a small fire as her tongue continued to explore. Night tasted… fine. Not good, not bad, just like an extension of her mouth. The only odd thing was the occasional tingle she got from her lips, or the sensual way his tongue felt on hers (which she tested again, just to be sure) or maybe the way his breath rolled from his nostrils across her face. All the cold wet places across her body where she felt uncomfortable were turning into warm wet places that felt uncomfortable in a whole different way. 

Her heart throbbed in her chest, and she made an odd noise into his mouth. She tried not to think about it, when suddenly she tasted metal. There it was, hidden in his lower cheek. Carefully, she fished it out of his mouth with her tongue, slipping it into hers before she pulled away.

She spat the ring out, staring at it as she caught her breath. How long had that been? How many seconds had her tongue been buried in his mouth. Her eyes glazed over as she remembered the textures, the slimy sensation, and the strange warmth throughout her body.

Night piped up. “So, are you gonna sit on it?”

She glanced at him, her eyes slowly refocusing. Oh, yeah. They were playing a game. “Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

Night laughed. “I’m a pretty good kisser, right?”

She absentmindedly lied as she sat on the ring, her voice calm. “That was not a kiss.”

Night shrugged. “Then we’ll go for a real one. I’m going to pick you up, and slide the ring out from under you with my back hoof. Then I’ll put it back in my mouth, and maybe we can try again.”

Cadance blinked, her heart dropping at the prospect of doing that mouth thing that definitely wasn’t a kiss again. Her dropped heart beat heavily, thrumming from just above he belly while her mind circled around the horrifying realization that she was sitting on the ring.  Her tail was soaked. Was she sitting directly on the ring? Was it under one of her cheeks? 

She shifted uncomfortably, mortified as she felt the ring rub pleasantly against her very, very wet pussy. A sinking feeling consumed her as she realized that Night was going to pick her up, and then put the now very wet ring in his mouth again. The ring that had been coated in both of their spit, and now was soaked in her leaking arousal. 

As he stood up and reached down, she fruitlessly determined that her only hope was to become as heavy as possible. Since that wasn’t going to work perhaps she could convince him to keep it somewhere not his mouth? “Maybe you put it…” 

She was cut short as he wrapped his hooves around her body, and hefted her up with a slight groan. His arms and chest squeezed her tightly and she was pressed against his stomach. The sudden momentum distracted her and she squeaked in surprise. She was squeezed tightly, making it a strain for her to talk,  “Oh… You’re stronger than I expected..” She realized that it may have come across a little too nice, so she added. “for an old stallion.”

Night stared at her, their faces inches away while he scraped the ring across the floor. “I might be old, but I’m in good shape. You’re a little bigger than me, but it’s kind of nice to hold you like this…”

Cadance couldn’t help but blush as her body was held firmly against his, belly to belly. She noticed the lines by his eyes. He was old—at least much older than her. In a way, she found them handsome. It made him look a little more distinguished than she had previously realized. As she realized she was having this thought, she glared angrily at him. How dare he be attractive.

Night smiled warmly as he gently put her back down. “I can’t wait to pick you up again. It was nice.”

Cadance wasn’t sure what to say as she watched him reach for the ring. With a squeaking, desperate voice she made it as far as. “Wait… it’s…” 

He picked it up from the wet spot on the floor and plopped it directly into his mouth. 

Cadance’s face turned a dark red as she pathetically finished her sentence. “dirty…”

She couldn’t believe he’d done that. Surely he’d seen the mess. He’d grabbed it with his hooves, he had to feel how slick it’d felt, and he’d just thrown it into his mouth without a moment’s hesitation. Now her pussy juice was inside his mouth. Shining had never done that. He’d never come close. She’d never been this turned on, and she’d never been this close to another pony while turned on. The worst part was how inconsequential it seemed to him. Night was simply shuffling the ring around in his mouth, probably hiding it again. 

Did she like this? All of this? Curiously, she felt a weird tingle at the realization that he’d just swallowed some of her juice. She was inside of him, and that thought was strange. Here he was, this incredibly confident older stallion who seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and her pussy juice had gone down his throat.

She shivered, unsure how she felt about it, but her face still burning red from some feeling.

Night smirked and then winked. “Ready.”

Cadance’s heart raced as she considered her options. Maybe she could try to use an elbow or something? No, her mouth was still the best option. She swallowed as she slightly salivated. Yeah, she definitely should use her mouth, but it was also definitely not a kiss. She was going to not kiss him again, and she’d get the ring. She licked her lips, slowly whetting them.

It wasn’t like she enjoyed this. It wasn’t a real kiss. There was a tingle under her tail, and she ignored it. She couldn’t control her body anyway, she’d already tried that. So what if she left a wet spot on the floor? Apparently Night wouldn’t even notice. All she had to worry about was getting the ring, not what her dumb body was doing.

The little voice in the back of her head was quiet, only sadly observing as Cadance stepped forward and pressed her lips into Night’s. He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t stop her. Cadance watched his eyes as she slipped her tongue through his lips. This time, she noticed that his tongue was oddly slick, and slightly salty. The bumpy texture was still there, and she focused on his warm amber eyes while she drug her tongue slowly across his, experiencing the oddly slick, but heavily textured surface of his tongue. 

She almost felt like she could see what he was thinking, and the slight hint of a flush to his face made her heart race. Was he blushing because of her? The thought stuck in her mind. Was he feeling the same things she was? The same slight burning under his tail, the same odd shortness of breath, the same almost tingle that treacherously rippled under her skin wherever they seemed to touch?

The thought was thrilling.

Her tongue glanced against something metal, tucked near the back of his mouth and she paused—unsure of what to do. She didn’t want to push it deeper, but it was really far back. For a second, she considered pretending she hadn’t found it. When she realized the thought that crossed her mind, her eyes focused on his again, and she could tell that he knew.

He was amused.

Embarrassed, Cadance closed her eyes and opened her mouth wider. She pushed her mouth into his, hard, and thrust her tongue deep in a strange gesture. It felt wild invading another pony like this, and Night just let her. Cadance had to turn her head sideways, and was sure her cheeks were flaming red again. She wondered when she’d stop blushing, when she’d be able to not kiss him and stay her normal shade of pink. Carefully, she fished out the ring and slid it back through his mouth and into hers. Her tongue had gone in far enough that she could have thrust it down his throat.

She pulled away from his lips, breathing heavily around the ring, and refusing to look at him.

Night put a hoof on her shoulder. “That was one hell of a kiss, Cadance. You’re going to be good at that… with a little experience.”

Cadance glared back up at him, her face still flushed and a forced anger in her voice. She had to be offended. The little voice only weakly sort of agreed. “That was not a kiss, Night.”

He cocked his head, confused. “But you didn’t say your moves before you did that. You’re going to have to put the ring back, so you must have kissed me for fun.  And it was fun. I’m glad to see you loosening up a little.”

Cadance stared in shock as her heart felt lower, and the pleasant burning in her stomach turned sick again as it flopped and turned like a coiling snake. “What?”

Night licked his lips and waggled an eyebrow. “You didn’t say your move. You just leaned in to kiss me.”

Cadance whispered as she tried to remember what, exactly she’d done. Her body and mind were trembling as she mulled it over. “I didn’t… I was trying…” She glanced up at him. “it wasn’t like that…” she said, weakly.

He shrugged. “Either way we have to put it back, then you have to get it out. Now come on. That pretty little mouth of yours has some work to do.”

She stared at him in disbelief as she felt something crumbling inside of her. What had she done? It hadn’t been a kiss, right? It couldn’t have been a kiss. She weakly turned her head from side to side, pleading with her eyes to Night.

He raised his eyebrows, then softly nodded his head up and down as he lightly bit his lip. His answer was clear. As far as he was concerned, she’d kissed him. She’d kissed the handsome old stallion tongue deep and he’d liked it. Cadance shuddered at that horrifying arousing realization. 

She hung her head in shame as she tried not to think about it. Shining would forgive her. He’d have to. With that little bit of consolation in the back of her mind, she slowly swung her head up to see Night motioning towards her with his hoof.

He was smirking.

“Since you kissed me without asking, it’s only fair that I get to kiss you. I might as well take the ring back while I’m at it.” His eyes narrowed and he held up his hoof expectantly. 

Nervously, Cadance stepped forward. She wasn’t sure if she should do this. The little voice piped back up, weakly telling her not to with the full understanding that she would. It lived in her body as well, and it could tell exactly how unbearably warm she was. 

As she stepped within reach, his arm snaked around her neck like some sort of chain pulling her forward. He made her feel like a dog on a leash, doing tricks on command. He pulled her the last little bit of the way, and she was surprised by how strong he was. His arms didn’t look it, but Night moved her like she was nothing. Or perhaps she wasn’t exactly resisting him.

Cadance’s lips pressed against his, and she felt his hoof around the back of her head. She was trapped between his steel hoof and a warm, increasingly inviting sin. As his lips parted hers, she closed her eyes and tried not to understand exactly why ponies sin.

This time, he wasn’t passive. Night’s tongue teased across her lips, just barely entering her mouth. He breathed, deliberately filling her with warm air directly from his lungs, let her hold it for a bit, then gently sucked the air back out of her. The sensation was truly unique as he quickly taught her to share the same breath, passing the hot moist air back and forth. His tongue hadn’t even started exploring her, and she was already feeling dizzy.

Her fluttering eyes opened, and she saw his eyes narrow down on her, focusing on her with an intense and hungry gaze. Cadance had never felt so exposed as that moment, her whole existence down to this one fraction of a second where Night’s probing eyes could see what she truly was, sinfully dripping tail and all. And he wanted her for it; all of her.

Cadance whimpered helplessly into his mouth, using the air they shared for a shameful admission that didn’t deserve words.

Shame only meant something if the other pony couldn’t see right through you.

Night’s tongue slipped further into her mouth, this time the aggressive flesh draped over hers, sensually massaging it with the same hot, rough texture that she’d felt before. It was so much more dangerous when he wasn’t being passive. She wanted to melt for him. Cadance felt the sick snake of pleasure in her stomach coil and crawl up her chest, forcing its way up her throat to meet his mouth. It wanted to dance for him like her tongue was.

She blinked, perhaps a little too long, and then found herself lying on her back. Her wings were pressed wide and flat against the floor, and her tail was splayed messily somewhere underneath them. When had it happened? It didn’t matter; Night was still holding her by her head and buried in her mouth. She couldn’t think, she could barely breathe. 

When he pulled away, she was left breathless on the floor and staring straight up at the ceiling. The ring was gone from her mouth, but that wasn’t the problem. The kiss was the problem. That was a kiss. He’d kissed her. She’d kissed him. They’d kissed. They had kissed and it had been unlike anything she’d ever done before.

Cadance let her confused eyes drift to Night’s. Mindlessly, she watched his eyes as they slowly fell. Absentmindedly, she realized that he was looking down her body. Her neck. Her chest. Her belly. Her teats. Her…

Cadance stared helplessly at his eyes as they devoured the sight of something that was most definitely not her eyes.

Something down there twitched and she felt a warm, wet sensation drip down into her already messy tail. She tried to say something, anything at all, but all that came out was a choked gurgling noise as her throat refused to cooperate with her lungs. 

Night licked his lips, and his mouth drew up into an amused sneer. His eyes stayed laser focused as she fought against the unknown sensations that threatened to overwhelm her.

Did she like this? His eyes were alluring, and she’d never felt so exposed. 

Shaking with a sudden bout of tremors, Cadance otherwise calmly rolled over. He’d seen everything. Her jaw felt almost painfully frozen, and she couldn’t say anything. What was there to say? She stood up, turned to face him, and barely opened her mouth. 

Nothing came out. No denial, no quip, not even a whisper. Her mouth hung dumbly as she stared at him, blinking back shaky, burning tears.

Her hooves were trembling. Her body felt like it was on fire. Something inside of her twitched again, and there was more warmth, this time spreading slowly down her inner thigh. 

She tried to talk again, and her voice was a nervous, trembling whisper. “I… I am going to kiss you…  to get the ring.”

She blankly stared at him, then added. “and put it… somewhere.”

Night smirked aggressively stepping forward. “Where is somewhere, Princess? Or is this another practice kiss?”

Her tail twitched, needfully. Her legs shifted, spreading further apart. She spoke absentmindedly, distracted by the line that had been thrown to her.  “My tail,” She said without thinking. 

It had been a practice kiss. Purely practice. That was fine. Filly’s practiced kissing all the time. Not usually with their boyfriend’s dads, but she was sure it happened. That’s all it was. Just a practice kiss. 

She swallowed the guilt, pretending it wasn’t there.  She could ignore that much, at least for now.

Cadance just needed to get that ring. She didn’t need to think about the rest of this. She didn’t need to think about what she’d just done, what she was going to do, or what the implications were. It wasn’t going to help her. She just needed that ring back. 

For some reason.

Night was still smirking, the ring having long disappeared into his mouth. 

When she leaned forward to kiss him, she decided to do it quickly. Their mouths crashed together almost violently, and his lips spread with hers. Before she knew it, her tongue was in his head, and his was in hers. She felt him licking around her, mingling his spit with hers as her eyes fluttered open. She met his eyes, then froze as his amber irises contracted.

He was focused on her again. Watching her intently, probably wondering what she was thinking. She shuddered as his tongue curled over itself, coiled backwards into his mouth, and then thrust violently into hers. His tongue rubbed against her tongue, forcing it down and her lips to open slightly. The strange invasion was followed by a moment of stillness where they just stared at each other.

Something about her tongue being held down by his was entirely too embarrassing, and she felt her already flushed cheeks tingling. She felt more exposed than when he was staring at her… tail. A cruel glint sparkled in his eyes, and he coiled the tongue back, massing it back into his mouth. She let her lips close around it as it left her mouth, and she awkwardly pulled her tongue back.

A tingle ran down her spine as their lips puckered against one another, both closed but pressed tightly to each others skin. His lips were warm and soft, somehow his felt softer than hers. She wondered if she felt as warm to him as he felt to her. 

Night sucked in a long, slow breath through his nose, and she felt his hoof wrap around her head again. She didn’t feel trapped, at least not in a bad way. Something about feeling his strong hoof holding her face next to his caused another tingle, this one lingering a little longer in her quivering underside than she was used to.

His lips slightly parted, and she let them carry hers. His eyes seemed to pulse as they opened slightly, and suddenly his tongue invaded her mouth again. She let it, feeling it spread her jaw and roughly rub against her tongue. 

His eyes narrowed, and he pulled his tongue back only to thrust it in again. 

She had another moment of strange dizziness, and her wet tail limply careened to the side. Something tingled across her belly and up her chest. The sensation caused her to lean into his thrusting tongue, pressing harder into his mouth.

He did it again.

She whimpered.

And again.

She felt something good under her tail.

Again.

Her legs spread wide, bracing her body strangely.

Again.

She moaned.

Again and again and again and again.

Cadance’s body mindlessly thrummed in tune with his strange assault. Sparks arced up and down her, and the good feeling began to flicker in time with his thrusting. She was shamelessly on display, and vaguely she realized that the feeling was her clit winking. 

Her blurry eyes refocused on his, and she realized how intensely focused he was on her. He knew. Obviously he knew, he was the one doing it. He was the one making her feel like this.

She gurgled into his mouth, surprised to find something metallic in hers. He pulled her out of the kiss, and shamelessly used his other fetlock to wipe the drool from his face.

Cadance stared blankly, her clit still winking in time with the now nonexistent thrusts of his tongue. She was confused. Her body screamed at her in frustration, and the little voice screamed back that she better make up her damned mind. 

Night used his same spit covered fetlock to wipe the drool from her flushed face. He smirked as he closed her lips with his wet hoof, slightly toying with them. She felt his hoof slip slightly inter her mouth, and she gave it a light suck out of reflex; as though it had been his tongue.

It was warm, but hard, and it tasted the same that his mouth had.

Night smirked as she lightly sucked on his hoof. His voice was low and surprisingly sweet, almost loving when he praised her. “Good girl…”

Cadance’s eyes went wide as a very warm tingle rushed through her body. Horrified, mortified, and absolutely thrilled, she gently grabbed his hoof and pulled it out of her mouth. He didn’t resist her.

Her voice shook as she spoke. “Don’t… do that.” She wasn’t very convincing.

He shrugged, putting both hooves down and finally freeing her. “I suppose it’s your turn. I believe you said you were going to put it on your tail. Do you want any help getting it on?”

Cadance shook her head, not trusting her voice as she sat down and gently began working the ring over her tail. She didn’t want his hooves anywhere near her tail right now. 

The thought gave her pause, and she looked up to him with pleading eyes. What was she doing?
> Ties, Rings, and Other Closet Things
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Night just smiled at her.

Cadance nervously looked back down and silently got to work with her shaking hooves. It didn’t take long to thread all her ragged and wet tail hair through the ring, but it did give her a little time to calm her raging heart. She focused on her breathing, just gently putting the tail hair through the ring while trying to ignore how Night was watching her.

Maybe he saw something when she flipped her tail around. Maybe he noticed that her clit was still reflexively winking. She shivered as she worked, wondering why this was happening to her. She’d never had her body betray her like this before.

Then again, she’d never been this turned on before.

Cadance glanced up from her work, not trusting her body or her voice anymore. Of course he was watching her. Since she was sitting, she let her eyes drift below his barrel and noticed something there. Something long and hard. Something thick. Something that was fully erect.

Her eyes ripped back to the ring. It made sense. It was obvious. He was turned on just as much as she was. They had some sort of chemistry, after all. Was that this was? Was this just chemistry?

She swallowed, realizing that the ring was fully around her tail, but not steady. It wasn’t a tail ring, but it could be positioned so it would be secured. She’d have to slide it all the way down to her dock. The little voice told her to give up. That she’d find some other way to get permission to marry Shining. Maybe they could elope?

She looked back up at Night and swallowed, her face turning into a slight frown as she considered it. 

He leaned towards her. “That doesn’t seem like it will hold for very long. Are you passing the round? Or are you getting ready to quit and admit that love alone isn’t enough?

Cadance shivered, that was right. This wasn’t just about her and Shining, it was about love itself. Night claimed that his relationship was stronger than hers, and now she was beginning to understand why he thought that. 

From the sound of it, Velvet probably wouldn’t much care that Night was tonguing her a minute or two ago. Shining, though, would be absolutely crushed. He’d still love her, but something would change. 

Was Night right? Should she cede before this got any worse?

Her heart raced as she considered the option, and she remembered how light headed and dizzy she’d been. Even her now winking clit still felt good in a novel way. Everything about this experience was new, but it wasn’t exactly bad. How much worse would it get?

The thought made her shiver and her tail tingle. How bad was worse? She had no idea. And if she left, she’d never know. She was sure that Shining and her could survive this much. She could do it, whatever it was. If she was smart, she might even win. She just had to pay more attention to the game, and less attention to her slippery, pulsing, hungry clit.

She slid the ring all the way down her tail so it sat comfortably over her dock. It was a smooth and tight fit, he’d have a hell of a time getting it off without magic. She shivered as she stared him down, feeling her stomach turn over and over again as she tried desperately to mask her nervousness.

If only the shaking would stop.

Night raised an eyebrow. “I guess we’ll get another round out of this. You have it stuck pretty good on your dock, so I’m going to need to use my mouth to get it out.” He sounded disappointed. “That means no more kisses.”

Cadance blushed, but quietly nodded. Of course she should be happy about that. 

Night stepped forward, whispering into her ear. “and afterwards, I’m going to keep it on your clit.”

Cadance froze for a quarter of a second, then stepped back to glare at him. “What?”

He continued. “Your winking clit is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve been staring at it, and I think I can get the ring to fit on it. You’ve got a pretty big clit.”

She stuttered. “You… can’t do that. That’s…” 

It was what? She wasn’t sure. The reasons didn’t sound convincing. It was her body? It wouldn’t fit? It’s not allowed? In the haze of confusion she was buried in, she wasn’t sure any of those were true.

He smirked. “It’s not against the rules. As a matter of fact you aren’t allowed to stop me. Unless you give up. Will you give up? 

Her mind raced over the possibilities. He was allowed to “keep” the ring anywhere he wanted, and she couldn’t stop him. Or she could quit. She glanced back at the ring over her tail dock, then to Night. He looked calm and confident.

He spoke up again, sounding impatient. “So do I win? Is love not enough?”

Cadance growled, refusing to think about it. She couldn’t lose. She’d figure this out somehow. “No. Fine, do it. But after it will be my turn again.”

Night wasted no time walking around her. He lowered his head and she felt breathing on her flanks. There it was—the sensation of warm breath that she was growing intimately familiar with. Only now, it was somewhere else entirely. He was quiet as he breathed heavily behind her. She didn’t look; it wasn’t that she couldn’t look, she chose not to.

She tried not to imagine what he saw. What he smelled. His nose was poked right into her wet tail, and suddenly she felt his mouth around her dock. It was strange, warm, and oddly wet. His tongue slipped around the base of her tail, licking up against her naked skin as it slipped lower, rubbing against a tight ring of flesh that was nestled down there.

She bristled, standing straight as a cold wash of reality ran through her, what the hell were they doing?  She almost growled,  “That is not my dock!”

He’d just unabashedly licked her asshole. The thought was disgusting. She almost squirmed away, but he put his hoof on her flank to hold her in place.

Night’s voice was amused. “Hold still. I’m working on getting the ring off. It might take a while; you put it on pretty tight.”

She glanced over her shoulder to glare at him, but he wasn’t looking at her face. His eyes were transfixed under her tail, watching something intently. It clearly wasn't the ring, and the pulsing sensation grew stronger. Cadance turned away, unwilling to watch this play out.

She tried again. “My… bum isn’t the ring. Focus on that.” She bit her lip, deciding to urge him along. “Or are you giving up?”

Night snorted. “If you’re in such a hurry, I suppose I should stop playing around. Fine, one more for good luck, then back to work.”

She didn’t startle this time as a long, wet lick trailed unsurprisingly across her tail hole. She muttered. “Disgusting…” surprised at how little revulsion she actually felt now that she wasn’t startled by it.

It almost felt nice.

Her face blushed, and she tried not to think about that. 

Surprisingly fast, Night gripped the ring in his teeth and pulled it off her dock. In a flash of pain, her tail was pulled. There was a moment of tension, then a feeling of release as the ring slid up her tail. Far, far faster than it had taken her to put it on. 

He stayed behind her, still holding her flank with his hoof. His voice was oddly low. “Are you ready, Princess?”

She shivered, choosing not to think about what was about to happen, or how her burning dock was just stretched a second ago. “Yes.”

There was a moment of silence then something warm pressed on her. She’d been ready. The sensation tingled, and she didn’t move at first. The warmth touched her outside, then slowly spread her lower lips. Something warm and wet slid between them.

She jumped forward and turned in surprise. “What the hell, Night?”

He glared at her, slurping his tongue back in. “I was putting the ring on, as we agreed.”

She blinked, staring back. “Mouths aren’t allowed anymore! I thought you’d use your hooves or something.”

He rolled his eyes. “Hooves aren’t allowed either. But only for getting the ring. I’m placing it. We’ve been using hooves for that the whole time.”

She swallowed, realizing he was right. “But… why your mouth?”

He reached out and grabbed her flank, pulling her back towards him. “We can’t use magic, and my hooves aren’t dexterous enough. I’m not an earth pony.”

Cadance shuddered. Magic and wings weren’t allowed for anything, but all the other things that had been outlawed had been just outlawed for getting not putting. 

The little voice told her to run forward as Night pulled her another step backwards. She told it to shut the hell up, it had hardly been helpful tonight. 

He licked his lips. “Do you give up, Princess?”

She quieted the voice again. “No… I… do what you must.”

He paused, staring at her exposed body while her blush grew. After a moment, he spoke up. “Actually, princess, the ring isn’t designed for this at all. It would help me get it on quicker if you could flex your clit.”

She hung her head in shame, horrified to be having this conversation at all. “What are you talking about, Night?”

He slowly rubbed circles in her flanks. “I’m just saying that the ring is pretty big, and I’m going to have to get it pretty far down for it to stick. It would be faster if you flexed your clit.”

Cadance took a deep breath, trying to just answer his question and not think about the implications. “I don’t know how to do that.”

She felt his hoof trail down her flanks, then slide slowly under her belly. He pulled it forward until it was settled just under her winking clit, pressing softly into her sensitive and soaked underbelly. 

“Here. You have a muscle here. Just clench here. Try it.”

Awkwardly, Cadance tried to squeeze where his hoof was, and was surprised when she felt a long, satisfying squish as her clit was forced slightly further out of its sheathe than the usual winking. 

She let out a surprised guttural sound. That had felt strangely good.

Night sounded almost paternal when he spoke in a calming voice. “Good. Now relax and let it slide back in.” He pressed slightly under her clit, rubbing her lower abdomen.

She shivered as she relaxed the muscles and it slurped slightly back in. 

“Excellent. Now do it again, but try to keep it in time with your winking. Squeeze and relax, each time squeezing just a little harder. It’ll stick out further.”

Cadance didn’t say anything as she did as she was told. Her little clit squished satisfyingly out, and pulled back in. His hoof pressed in rhythm with her, gently massaging her abdomen from underneath as it coaxed the clit out further with a little higher pressure each time.

This wasn’t just a little lewd, this was obscene. She’d never even considered something like this. Here she was, slurping her clit in and out like it was some second tongue while Night Light, her colt friend’s father and a married stallion, had his hoof massaging under her pussy. 

A growing, strange heat was burning her. Each little squish was far too satisfying, and the repeated motion was quickly numbing her to any sort of shame about this. As she flexed her little clit, she felt more of it exposed to air and remembered Night’s thrusting tongue. Shivers ran down her spine, and she bit her lip as she imagined him doing it again.

The electricity burning through her felt strangely vivid, as though it had colors. Everything was simultaneously numb, and tingling pleasantly. She blinked, wondering what was even happening to her as something incredibly, overwhelmingly warm filled her senses.

He kissed her. Not in her mind, but on her clit.

He wrapped his lips around her little clit and he sucked as she flexed, ever so slightly pulling her even further out and this time into him. Everything changed in that instant.

The little voice in her mind actually shut the fuck up, silenced by the raw understanding that this was happening now and there wasn’t a thing either of them could do about it. Her body knew what this meant, and her mind finally gave in and let it take over as her pussy pressed eagerly into his hungry lips. 

He gave her now slightly engorged clit a long, sensual lick while still suckling it in his mouth. Cadance’s front legs practically collapsed, cursing quietly at how damned good it felt. “Fuck… “

The warmth blazed into a fire, a strange heat that now circled her body as Night gave another suckle and lick. She expected it, her body was already moving at his tempo. The surprise of how natural it felt, over how good it felt made her moan a curse again. “Fuck… m…?”

Her body wanted this. It was going for it. She wasn’t going to fight it anymore. Some primal part of her brain relished every heated lick, every lewd suckle, and every pulsing quivering flex. She let that primal brain control her legs, her tail, everything it wanted.

Cadance bit her lip to hold back the tide of cursing. This wasn’t her. She wasn’t a mare who would let some stallion do this to her. She wasn’t the kind of mare who would be give in to her body like this. It couldn’t be her. This was just the game.

She shivered as she felt something cold and metallic brush against her clit.

A panic settled in as she realized he was getting the ring ready. She wasn’t ready. Not to stop; not yet. There was something rising inside of her and she had to feel it. It needed out.

She flexed, pressing hard into him and biting her lip hard to hide a whimper as she pushed as much of her pussy into his mouth as possible.

A cold, hard sensation surrounded her clit and pressed almost painfully hard into her. She shivered as Night pulled away, and her hot, now tingling clit sucked back into her body. The ring went with it, and she felt the cool, metallic sensation of it wrapped snugly around her clit and slightly distending her pussyliips.

It tingled strangely, almost burning with numbness. She groaned in frustration. “Night, I was…”

She stopped, unsure of what to say. She was what, exactly? She didn’t know.

Night’s voice sounded cruel. “I’m sure you were. But I placed the ring, and now it’s your turn to remove it.”

Her horn lit up in a panic, and his hoof quickly grabbed it to silence her magic. She glared at him with a barely restrained fury as he chided her. “No magic, remember? And no wings or hooves either. You have to get it off some other way. And if you can’t, then I win.”

She stared dumbly at him before slowly nodding. Him winning was bad, she knew that. But the growing pressure was not only uncomfortable, it was holding something back. The ring was squeezing her clit, and as long as it was there she wouldn’t be able to…

to…

think.

She looked over her shoulder. Night’s face was slimy, stained with an oily sheen. Especially around his deliciously sinful lips. Her body knew exactly why. 

She shuddered, feeling the burning sensation, and tried to flex her clit like she’d just learned. Nothing happened, the ring was embedded surprisingly deep in her flesh, keeping her from using that muscle. 

Night was watching in amusement, a glint in his eye as he enjoyed her panic and confusion.

She shivered, trying again to flex it. Instead of feeling good, there was a slight pain, and the pressure was growing. She tried gyrating her hip slightly, but nothing happened.

Night spoke up. “Can’t you think of anything, Princess? If you can’t get it out somehow, I win.”

She bit her lip. No hooves, no mouth, no wings, no magic, no nothing. She had nothing. How had she let it get to this? Could she shake her tail until it fell out? She couldn’t let him win. There had to be something…

Her mind drew blanks as her tail angrily swished. 

“I… I’ll… I need it out…”

Night shrugged. “I suppose you’ve done pretty well. You’ve been a very good sport so far. Looks like I win, though?”

She shook her head, she could do this. She could free it. She couldn’t lose. She was missing something. She had another tool somewhere. Some other limb, or something.

He tapped her flank, she could hear the slight tinge of disappointment in his voice. “You really can’t think of anything? Is this really how it ends?”

She nervously rubbed her legs together, hoping the ring would work itself loose. Instead all she got was a strange, almost erotic sensation from her swollen lower lips as they rubbed on each other. It couldn’t end like this. He couldn’t beat her. Even he didn’t want it to end just yet. She mumbled her last hope. “Y… You could get it out for me…”

Night’s hoof pressed firmly into her flank. “Now that’s an idea. You haven’t used ‘me’ to get the ring yet. But why would I help you? I’m about to win?”

She shivered, begging him with her eyes. “You… You don’t want this to be over.”

Night pulled his hoof off her rump, and walked around to stand nose to nose to her. “True. I am having fun, as I said before.”

The ring tingled strangely as her body tried to wink but couldn’t. She wasn’t sure what to say, so she closed her eyes and bowed her head. “Please!”

Night pressed his snout to hers and breathed heavily. Cadance breathed in his scent, shivering and unsure as he spoke with a smug calmness. “I can’t say no to a mare in need. How’s this for an offer? We’ll pause the ring game. I won’t give you my blessing to marry Shining, but I also won’t say no, either. Instead, we’ll pick the game back up, starting from scratch. Say… this time next week? When Shining and Velvet are out of town for that guard camp?” 

Cadance shivered, feeling the ring coldly inside of her. She needed it out. She also needed more of before. She hadn’t wanted to stop, but now she just wanted the damned ring out. It sat cold and heavy, tightly fixed around her clit. Buried unnaturally in her flesh, and making her ache. She bit her lip.

Night rubbed their noses together, affectionately nuzzling her snout. “Of course, since it’s a tie in my favor, that means that I help you get a little experience before the next game. You’d have to spend the night here—I’ll teach you a few things. Come morning, you’ll be… quite a bit more experienced. And maybe next week you’ll have a better chance.”

Cadance nuzzled needfully back, keeping her eyes closed as she listened to his corrupt offer. She shouldn’t do it. That was certainly an offer from beyond the pale, a place where there was no coming back from. Everything up until now was excusable. The voice in her mind didn’t agree, but she hadn’t been listening to it anyways. She couldn’t do it. It sounded so good right now, but she couldn’t do it.

He slid up her cheek to whisper cruelly in her ear again. “You are about to lose. If you lose now, then you lose everything. I take the ring, you go home in the rain, and I’ll never let you marry him. If we tie, well, we can work it out together over the course of the night.”

She shuddered, aghast at his cruelty. Her heart raced in time, growing angry as much as she was growing desperate. Her cheeks flushed red with frustration and she bit her lip hard as she opened her eyes to glare at him. Her tail twitched. The numbness was painful, but underneath it all was a strange cold fire. It tingled, both hot and agonizing at the same time, while her brain was struggling to keep up with whatever Night was talking about. She couldn’t agree. He was an asshole, openly manipulating her.

He kept talking as he slid back from her face, standing up to lord over her and letting their eyes lock together. “I’m very, very willing to tie with you, Cadance. I’d be excited to. But you still need to learn a lesson or five. You’re far too naive.”

He grabbed her by the chin, gently but firmly pulling her face upwards to his as he frowned in disapproval. “Not everything comes up princesses all the time.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but not even a silent breath came out. Her pussy was pulsing. It felt like the whole thing was trying to flex, but couldn’t. The damn ring was in the way-doing something to her. She couldn’t stay like this. What he was suggesting wasn’t much better than losing. She couldn’t allow it. But it wasn’t any worse, either. They’d already practiced kissing. Her tail was already soaked. He’d already tasted her. It wasn’t like he’d see anything new.

It wasn’t like he’d do anything new. What else was there left to do? It’s not like he would…

Her eyes were still locked on his and she recognized the glint in his eyes. An intimate understanding the hunger in his predatory amber gaze filled her. He totally would.

Cadance closed her mouth in a startle, almost squeaking with the tantalizingly decadent realization that he was going to fuck her tonight. Her whole body felt weak as she shook her head gently from side to side, desperately and willfully not believing it even as she knew it was true. 

Night shrugged, letting her chin go but keeping his mouth far to close to hers. “That’s my offer. You don’t have to take it. But it is your turn. What are you going to do?”

She stared at him, keeping her mouth closed. She wasn’t going to do anything on her own, and they both knew it. She couldn’t last forever and they both knew it. Her body was going to explode, and they both knew it. She had been trapped by him. Trapped by his strong blue hooves, his beautiful amber eyes, and his complete and total cruelty towards her. 

And they both knew it.

Something about the sheer conniving indifference he’d wielded against her made her feel weak. He didn’t care about her. He would do anything, and he had. What else could he do to her? What else would he do to her?

She truly hated him in that moment. That singular moment where she knew he’d won. Maybe he hadn’t won their game, but he’d won nonetheless. This was at best a pity offer, but realistically had been his sadistic goal all along. Her tail swished angrily, and the little voice in the back of her head had a new timber to it as it tried to console her. This was out of her control, and it wasn’t her fault. He’d tricked her. She could take solace in that. Maybe once the ring was out and the game was paused, she could convince him to stop. The voice reminded her that he wouldn’t stop. 

She also knew that she wouldn’t want him to stop.

Cadance closed her eyes, and opened her mouth. Her voice was ragged, and angry.  She could never agree to this. She wasn’t this kind of mare. She was the Princess of Love, and she would absolutely never allow this utter asshole to manipulate her any longer.

Angrily, she gave him her answer, glaring at him with now furious eyes. “Fine. We tie. Just take this moon cursed ring off!”

The little voice told her that wasn’t what she had meant to say. She continued to ignore it.

Night lifted her face fully to his, staring coldly at her as he breathed over her taught lips. “The game is a draw. Until the sun rises, you’re going to be my little toy. We’ll see how you feel about my air headed son in the morning.”

Cadance narrowed her eyes in disgust, her heart beating rapidly. The cold hunger in his eyes excited her. The scent of his sweat enticed her. Everything he’d said had made her shake. He wanted her, and he was going to have her. Was this betrayal? It didn’t feel like it. It felt like something different. The heat in her cheeks pulsed as she glared at Night. Her voice was low and angry in her defiance. “I’ll still love him.”

Night pressed his snout to hers, talking directly to her lips in a rough mockery of a kiss. “I love him too. But that’s my point, princess. This isn’t about love. It’s not about love at all.”

Cadance silently agreed as he pressed her into a hungry kiss, this time pushing her slowly backwards with his intensity.
> Packing, Sealing, and Shipping
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance tasted herself on his lips, and on his tongue. She could tell the difference, he was saltier now. Smoother. There was a hint of her own scent rolling through her nostrils, a debauched and taboo sensation added to the already illicit act. Her ears flipped forward, focusing on the experience, and the sensation of being forced backwards by a kiss. Her pussy clenched, but her clit hung like dead weight, saddled with the iron numbness. She shivered.

Step after step, she found herself retreating as he advanced. As their tongues entwined, she was surprised at how aggressive he was being, and how timid her response was. She felt like a cornered animal, exhausted after running for its life and finally cowed by the predator chasing it. The kiss lingered, and she imagined the cornered animal quietly sitting down, accepting its fate. The voice in the back of her head consoled her that she’d had no choice. He pressed their lips tightly together, keeping the distance close and the pressure high, all while invading her mouth. 

With a thump, she realized that she’d been backed into the wall of the closet. Her legs stopped retreating, but Night didn’t forgo his advance. With surprising dexterity and a constant kiss, he kept pressing her backwards. Startled, she found herself lifting upwards as they transitioned to standing on their hind legs, all the while she was never let out of his domineering mouth. 

Cadance’s back was pressed against the wall, and Night’s chest was pressed to hers. Something long and hot was pressing tightly between them, and Cadance’s animal brain knew it was his cock. The deep seated understanding that this was real, that it was happening right now, to her, caused her to squirm in his grasp. With a horrified shudder, the reality solidified in her mind and she moaned into his mouth. She couldn’t escape, there was quite literally nowhere to run—physically or metaphorically.

Her body and animal brain screamed at her mind with need. The ring was still in, but the warm, tingling dick nestled between her teats and settled up her belly was making her feel things she didn’t know she could. She needed to get the ring out. Her body didn’t care about the ring anymore, it wanted something else inside of her right now. 

She shouldn’t be doing this. She shouldn’t have Shining Armor’s father pinning her to a wall with his dick. She shouldn’t be sweating in anticipation for it, quivering with excitement and wondering how it would feel. Her cheeks shouldn’t be as flushed and hot as they were, and her legs shouldn’t be shaking quite so much. 

She most definitely shouldn’t be locked in what was now at least a few minutes long passionate kiss with him. Cadance reluctantly gasped for breath as Night pulled out of the kiss, realizing that she hadn’t breathed at all for those last few minutes. She swallowed hungrily, panicked and confused as he leaned into her ear while she caught her breath. “Now I believe I promised to help you get it off, didn’t I?”

She shivered, and then nodded. This wasn’t her fault. It was out of her control. She needed the ring off.

He slowly lifted her upwards, using his hooves to pick her up off the ground while using the wall as a strange brace. She was once again enamored by his strength, although she was growing intimately familiar with it. Her back hooves lifted off the floor like she was on her tip toes for a dance, and her wings spread wide against the closet wall. She looked down at Night, and he looked up at her. He was gorgeous in the dim light, his amber eyes glinting mischievously.  

He winked, and smirked. “Since the game is over for now, I think I’ll use a little magic.” 

Cadance silently nodded as she put her hooves over his shoulders for stability. She didn’t trust her voice. If she said anything, it would be some sort of pathetic begging. Night’s shoulders were warm and rock solid. His horn was just at her neck, and he looked down as the magic in it lit up. She watched his blue hair shimmer around his casting horn as his head tilted slightly forward and he pulled her waist towards him. He looked so powerful in that moment, the magic flowing around his horn and causing his hair to float in the ethereal wind. Her back hooves lifted off the ground, and she felt them wrap around his waist in a moment of weightlessness.

Had she done that, or had he?

She could feel him in a whole new way. Her numb, burning clit screamed in frustration as his rock hard dick was braced against it. He wasn’t penetrating her, and that made it so much worse somehow.

Night’s dick was nestled erotically between her lower lips, pointing straight up between them while she straddled him. She could feel his length, the meat of his shaft pulsing against her numbed clit, teats, and stomach. She squeezed him harder, using her legs to press him tightly, but uselessly, against her. 

Night looked back up, his horn still glowing and his hair still enigmatically floating, as he pressed his snout into her neck and gave a long, slow lick.  “That’s a good little princess.”

His tongue was hot, leaving a warm, tingling trail up the side of her neck and to her chin. 

Cadance gasped as the lick created a burning arc of electricity down her spine. She couldn’t help it. He was a force of nature and she was only mortal. A moan escaped her once silent lips. A moan that he ignored, continuing to nurse on her chin while she quivered.

And as she quivered, she realized there was friction. Another arc of debauched electricity ran through her, this time from the bottom up. Her spread lips felt good around his shaft. This one, she could control.

She pressed into him, slowly using her straddling hooves to grinding herself slightly upwards against his cock. 

This was wrong. She shivered as the pressure of his cock against her numb clit caused her to tingle. Everything felt so good. The heat, the pressure, the strain in her wings, even the burning in her hooves where they were latched around her back. He nibbled somewhere new on her neck, causing her to gasp and slide slightly down his pulsing cock. 

This wasn’t sex—but only technically.

She moaned again, tilting her head up so she didn’t have to watch his beautiful blue hair, and his glowing horn. It certainly wasn’t to allow him better access to her neck. Access that he immediately used to suckle deeply on her throat.

She almost cried out in mindless pleasure, stifling the surprising noise on her lips as her legs gave another solid squeeze, grinding herself against his sinful dick. 

As she stared at the ceiling of the closet, desperately trying not to think about what she was doing, she idly missed kissing. At least with the kissing she didn’t have to worry about making weird noises. She wasn’t used to making these kind of noises, but Night was squeezing them out of her like some kind of perverse musical instrument. With that thought, Night chuckled into the nape of her neck.

“Don’t hold back, Princess. You are an honest mare, aren’t you?”

A flash of anger raced through her veins, pumping her heart and her body with a strange sensation. She understood him, and she didn’t like that. This wasn’t about love at all right now. If anything, what she felt for him was closer to, but not quite, hate. An intense dislike of him fueled by his cutting good looks, his charming smile, and his asshole personality. As she thought about him, the sensations in her body, and how her legs quivered around his back, she confirmed that this wasn’t love at all. It was something far more physical. This was in some ways love’s companion and in some ways it’s enemy. This was lust. 

Cadance ever so slightly gave in to his request as she loudly and throatily moaned. “Fuck you, Night.”

That seemed to fire him up, and his nibbling and suckling grew more intense between heavily drawn breaths. His voice was distracted as he thrust against her, the tip of his dick sliding wetly between her teats and causing her to shiver as she felt herself spread lewdly around the base of his shaft. “That’s a very good little princess.”

Cadance wasn’t sure what she was doing anymore, or why she was doing it. He slid himself lewdly up, just in between her, and she slid herself obscenely down, barely around him. Wasn’t there something about Shining? They slid together again while she realized that she didn’t exactly remember. She could make out the full length of Night’s dick as it teased her, the cock head sliding roughly from her clit to well above her teats. 

She senselessly moaned to the ceiling, making a distinctly unfeminine and guttural noise as her body was lit up with an erotic and electric fire. Cadance’s eyes glazed over as the world grew fuzzy, her abdomen twitching with a strange euphoria that made everything feel like some sort of faraway dream.

Dream, or nightmare, it stretched on and on into some indefinite drowsy timeline. Whatever it was, she was vaguely aware that it was Night’s fault. As the world came back into focus, she bit her lip in a brief moment of clarity and frustration. 

Feeling achingly hungry in a confusing way, Cadance used her front hooves to grab Night’s head. He didn’t want her to hold back, and she didn’t want to anymore either. She angrily tilted his head backwards, forcing his lips to hers so she could kiss him. When they were kissing she didn’t have to worry about the noises, or whatever they might mean. She didn’t have to think about what she was doing, and how wrong it was or the strange things she was feeling, and discovering that she liked. The electric fire threatened to burn through her core once more, and anger coursed through her.

She lightly bit his lip while his cock pulsed against her inner thighs. Maybe she moaned. She didn’t know if it counted since it was muffled by his lip. Why should she bother keeping track, anyways?

Her clit had a strange and toxic burn lingering in it, hungry for more attention and desperate to be free from the cold, annoyingly heavy ring. She rubbed it up and down, mashing it against him in a passionate fury. Something about the motion, the rhythmic grinding against and with him filled her animal brain with a gloating primal satisfaction.

Maybe this was sex.

Cadance and Night thrust with each other, locked in a multifaceted embrace. Her hooves wrapped around him, his tongue was in her mouth, and the skin of his cock was rubbing intimately across the cleft of her spread pussy lips. The burning in her clit hadn’t let up, either. If anything, that numb inferno of strange sensations had only grown even more dangerous. Everything about this was alien and her clit pulsed agonizingly as it was trapped numbly in the ring.

She tried to squeeze her clit outward like he’d taught her earlier, desperately hoping that the friction had freed it from the paralysis of the cold, metallic ring. Nothing actually moved when she squeezed, but the restraining pressure of the intimate binding felt good as it slammed against his cock.

The feeling surprised her in its intensity, and she moaned loudly into his mouth, her breath almost a grunting scream muffled by his tongue.

What the hell was happening to her? The little voice in the back of her head told her not to worry. That they were far, far past the point of worrying. Now all they could do was to ride this out and deal with the consequences later. Something inside of her ached, and she realized something that was wonderful.

She just didn’t care anymore.

Whatever point he was trying to make, she couldn’t remember. Whatever she was trying to do before didn’t matter. Holding back didn’t mean anything. All she needed was more of whatever this was, and she needed it now. Let him win—Fuck it. She didn’t even care what that meant anymore. 

Cadance angrily pressed down on his shoulders as she loosened her legs, lifting herself up and feeling his dick slide down and across her clit. His cock head slipped between her lower lips as she pulled out of the heated kiss, then flopped mercifully underneath her. Night looked a little disoriented as she glared heatedly down at him, his amber eyes twinkling while his brow furrowed. He’d clearly been absorbed in the heavy grinding they’d been doing.

She felt her heart beat one too many times, and realized that the brief look of confusion and hunger on his face had been entirely too enticing. Why did he have to be so damned handsome?

Night slowly licked his lips, then lazily grinned. Her breath faltered, and her hooves shook on his shoulders. Even with his heavy breathing and tight muscles, he seemed completely calm. He’d taken the transition from rough passion to a moments respite with all the placidity of a monk, while Cadance felt like a starving animal being deprived of meat. 

Why had she done that again? That was dumb of her.

She was the one struggling to hoist herself upwards. She was the one sliding his dick downward, or rather, positioning herself over it. She froze, momentarily incredibly self aware of her own desire as her eyes met the hunger in his.

Cadance had a moment of odd self awareness, a cold realization that she’d been consumed by something. Embarrassed by her senseless depravity, terrified that Night would see it in her eyes, she averted her gaze to look down between them. She tried to rationalize what she saw. 

The lower part of his deep blue underside appeared wet, his fur matted and stained slick. Her pink legs were spread wide around his waist, and her tail hung in a damp multi colored tangle beneath them. She had two little pink teats jutting towards him. They looked more firm than she remembered. Just under that, visually filling the space between them was his dick. 

She couldn’t see the tip, it was positioned just under her, probably buried in her tail somewhere. She wondered what she looked like down there. Was she as soaked as his underbelly? Was her pussy throbbing and sensual, like his cock? An ache filled her, a novel hunger as she stared at the distinctly masculine shaft. She’d never spent time to stare at one before. Now it was close. She’d already felt the shaft, and her pussy had kissed the head. Just a brush—a singular electric spark.

What was a little more?

Her heart was fluttering. Her arms were aching. Her clit, normally something she never felt, was heavy and strange. He wasn’t holding her up, he was only pinning her against the wall. He provided the friction while she provided the leverage. Her wings gave a weak flap and she uselessly swished her tail beneath her. She let out a light laugh, entirely unsure of everything while her heart beat wildly and erratically. Every frantic beat was a missed beat, it was entirely out of rhythm.

What were they doing? What was she doing?

His voice seemed to soak into her bones, startling her as he spoke in an almost patronizing tone. “An honest mare like you should ask for what she wants instead of just taking it.”

She glared at him, her emotions warring inside of her. His arrogant smirk was so… absolutely shiver inducing. He was such an asshole. Cadance bit her lip, trying to decide on how she felt as her eyes soaked in his gorgeous face. Her heart thrummed noisily in her chest. She let out a shaky breath before settling on anger. “You wouldn’t bother to ask.”

His smirk turned into a cruel grin, and her heart beat wildly as he spoke. “Oh, I always ask. Not for permission. I just like watching honest mares squirm before I fuck the honesty out of them.”

Cadance struggled with that. He’d been teasing her by calling her an honest mare, but they’d both realized she wasn’t. Of course, he’d known that from the beginning. She was just now discovering it. The smile on his face, the shimmer in his eyes, even the heat of his chest against hers as he pressed closer to her all made her weak. 

Frustrated, she glared at him. “What do you want me to say, Night?”

He pressed his chest into her, and her teats touched his surprisingly firm abdomen. She shivered, wishing there was more flesh to contact. “Just a yes will do.”

Cadance groaned in frustration. “What the hell does that mean?”

Night nibbled on her chest, wetly suckling on her fur. Cadance swallowed, focusing on the warm sensation. His tongue soaked into her fur, and she was surprised when he finished the little adoration with a slightly painful bite. She winced, unsure of what to say but unwilling to chastise him for the bite.

He practically purred up her body as he spoke. “What it means, Cadance, is that I want your permission. You agreed to stay the night. We both knew what that meant.”

Cadance bit her lip with a shiver. She knew exactly what she’d agreed to. 

Night gave her another wet and warm suckle, followed by yet another nip. This time she squeaked when he bit her.

She was shaking again. Her legs and hooves quivered. Her body was trembling. Her heart hammered uncontrollably. She licked her lips.

His voice was deep, and he spoke into her chest. “So tell me that you’ll be my play thing tonight. My little fuck toy princess till morning. You already agreed to it. You’ve already done it. I just need to hear your sweet, honest voice one last time. Just give me a nice honest yes from a nice honest mare, and I’ll put it in. That’s all you have to do.”

She knew she shouldn’t do it. She knew she didn’t have to. The little voice in her head reminded her that it didn’t matter anymore, that she was already fantasizing about what he’d do to her. That she already wanted this. Cadance didn’t know why she shouldn’t at this point. 

She glared at him, her mouth hanging dumbly open as she stared at his eyes and wondered how she’d gotten here. God, he was beautiful. It was a shame he was such an asshole. 

While she was mostly holding herself up, he slipped one of his hooves down and gave her teat a light pinch. He gently rubbed it, and she flinched from the sudden pain. Cadance lost her grip around his shoulders and lurched downward, dropping until she was face to face with him again. Her mouth hung open and she gasped for breath while her eyes stared wide at his in utter surprise.

That pinch had hurt. 

The stinging teat was growing warmer in his hoof. He’d been ready to catch her with his other arm, and he easily pressed his mouth forward, invading her open lips. He’d been prepared for her to fall, and she suddenly realized that the base of his hard dick was pressed against her again. This time, his cock ran under her pussy, across her asshole, and was rubbing against her dock. All it would take was a slight change in angle, a quick readjustment, and her open admission. All she had to do was say yes.

Cadance’s reluctance gave out as her tongue gave in. She met his lips with her own and pulled his face to hers. He gave her teat another pinch, and she squealed into him. What had he asked? His tongue was so hot. His arms were strong, and his hoof stung but also tingled warmly.

God, his cock was so close. 

Night pressed her tightly against the wall, and she wrapped her wings around him, trying to pull him closer. She needed more of him. There had to be a way to get more of him into more of her. 

He pulled out of the kiss, keeping her pinned to the wall with one hoof while he toyed with her teat with the other. Cadance squirmed and moaned. 

She’d wanted something. No, wait, he’d wanted something. Fuck. What was happening again? Why did her clit hurt so much?

His voice was a whisper, sweet and dark. “Just say, ‘yes’, and I’ll put it in.”

She didn’t remember why that was wrong, but she knew it was. Her heart beat drummed, fully out of cadence with the lone strange worry. She didn’t care if it was wrong. Cadance moaned back. “Yes…”

Night licked his lips as he smiled. “Now that’s a good little fuck toy.”

Cadance wasn’t really paying attention. She focused on the sensation of his cock as he slid it backwards, and maneuvered it with his magic. She felt him create some space, lining himself up with her and feeling the flared tip press hotly against her dripping pussy lips. 

He pulled further away from the wall, but held her to it by pinning her wings with both of his hooves. It slightly hurt where he pressed, but not enough that she minded. She was hanging from her wings, almost like she was in flight, but as a result she’d tilted slightly sideways as her legs stayed wrapped around his retreating waist. 

She slid down a little off his shoulders, and clung to his arms as she hung suspended in an awkward supine position, anchored by him pinning her wings on one end, and by her quivering legs on the other. His cock twitched at her entrance, and the flesh inside the painful metal ring agonizingly throbbed. He paused looking at her face as she awkwardly slunk downwards.

She tried again, desperate to continue as she begged. “Yes…please?”

He just chuckled. “Let’s play, Princess.”

As he moved his face towards her, There was a new sensation. The pressure on her pussy grew, and with an obscenely wet slurp, Cadance knew what it felt like to be filled.

He slid all the way forward, leaning downward to kiss her. Her breath stilled as the new sensation grew.

The world grew still and quiet around her, and she breathed deep. The hunger, the craving, the need was being… sated.

Cadance moaned into his mouth experiencing a deep and newly fulfilling satisfaction for the first time. He kept her pinned against the wall, slowly pressing forward until their hips met. Something slapped gently against her asshole, and she groaned into his mouth again. He wasn’t letting her out of the kiss to discuss this.

Her clit rubbed against his abdomen, and she realized he was all the way inside. Completely and totally inside.

There was no question. This was sex. She was doing it. 

The thought sent another a cold shock through her body. What would Shining say when he found out? She threw that thought away. The more pressing question was when was the damned ring going to come off? The numbing sensation seemed to be growing, and a small part of her was worried it was dangerous somehow. Would having sex change her? Would other ponies know? They said you could tell a virgin by her walk. Would she walk different now? Would she… smell different or something?

The panicked thoughts came and went in an instant before his teeth distracted her. He’d bitten her lip, and she glared angrily at him, even as he was fully buried in her. 

He pulled out of the kiss, breathless and smiling with an intense but calm glare. Cadance stared back at him with wide, almost terrified eyes and an open mouth as she tried to come to terms with the feelings and thoughts that swarmed her. She’d just done something very bad. It felt good. 

It had felt very good.

Night’s cruel smile and intense eyes sent a shiver though her spine, and this one settled on the base of her tail, where it seemed to loiter. The shiver swirled out from her dock, giving her a rush of adrenaline as it made her pussy quiver around his cock. She squeaked again, unable to hold in the gasp.

His voice was amused. “You feel absolutely wonderful around me, princess. I’m thrilled to be your first.”

She didn’t think about that. Instead she focused on the filling sensation and her tight squeezing.

He put his lips by her ear and whispered the rest. “How do I feel inside you my little fuck toy?”

Cadance shook, she wasn’t sure what to say. Blinking, she stared past his blue mane towards the ceiling. She opened her mouth and some words came out. She didn’t think about them, either. “Full… So full…”

His nibbled hotly on her ear, taunting her. “Oh, that. You’ll get used to that. Very used to that…”

Cadance moaned as she felt him press harder into her, if not deeper. The flesh wrapped in the ring ached, but the rest of her stretching felt so good. She forced her legs wider even as she squeezed them around his waist. 

He pulled his head just far enough back to kiss her again. She shivered as his lips met hers. She was becoming familiar with his mouth. The little ridge on the roof, the lay of his teeth, even the warmth of his tongue was growing to be something she knew. The tingle from the kiss almost distracted her as he pulled back, leaving a strange sucking void inside her as his dick slid most of the way out.

She moaned into him, and he growled back into her.

He thrust forward, this time with force. Her pussy spread, and he slapped into her. The impact jarred her, and she blinked. The full sensation stole her breath, and his suckling mouth didn’t help either. It happened again, slamming her against the wall. She shivered, the thudding building up in rhythm to match her out of tune and frantic heartbeat.

His kiss lingered, and she squirmed underneath him, eager and desperate to feel more. She was already full. She was already pinned underneath him, against the wall and helpless as he rammed his cock into her. Cadance begged him, uttering the word that she knew did something.

He pulled away, and her desperate voice sounded like a loud and ragged whisper. “Yes.”

Night smirked at her as he picked up his rhythm. She stared at him, mouthing the word as sometimes her breath just so happened to come out and let her say it.

“yes…es… Ye… e…yeS!” Her voice sounded like some animal that was learning to speak, like a dog barking for food. The idle thought wasn’t far off, and surprisingly didn’t disgust her. 

She was performing for treats, after all.

Cadance smiled up at him as they fell into a rhythm. Her heart slowly fell in step again, and with each slam, she drew a hungry breath. With each exhale, she’d beg. She was learning.

“Yes!” Her voice was growing louder and clearer as she grew used to the fullness.

Ten, twenty, thirty more times, she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t counting and neither was he. It didn’t take long. The rough pounding and stretching did its work, and she felt Night finally begin to fulfill his promise. Agonizingly slowly, the ring was sliding outward over her engorged clit. The movement over her tender flesh was painful, but incredibly satisfying.

The numbing pulsing sensation around her clit was untenable, and she grunted out eagerly as she squeezed Night in every way she could, “Yes!”

For his part, he didn’t seem to notice or care, only biting his lip in concentration as he fucked her. Cadance used her hooves to pull him closer, slipping a kiss on his nose when dipped low enough. It was happening.

As the ring slipped forward, it hurt, the swollen part of her clit resisting it. She pushed, feeling her tender clit quiver as she fought the dead iron with her live flesh. With a loud grunt, and a pained scream, it finally happened.

Cadance felt the ring pop off with a maddeningly long slurp, and fall harmlessly to the floor.

The first sensation was burning. Blood rushed out of, and into, her now grossly swollen clit. It hurt like a bitch, but the hurt was good. The burning caused her to moan in pain, her rhythmic “Yes!” morphing into a pained scream. 

Night only slammed into her harder.

Cadance’s engorged clit was slapping into him with each thrust, and now that she could feel it again, the burning gave way to relief. A deep, euphoric sensation soaked through her, and her body convulsed in response. The numb pressure that had been building, the tense agony that had been kept trapped within was finally let loose.

With a deep and throaty moan, she let it flow out of her. Her voice had never sounded like that before, not that she could hear it. It wasn’t the pretty little princess, or the frantic high pitched begging she’d been doing earlier. It was a low, almost baritone and voiceless noise as her mouth locked open wide while she grunted it out like some kind of bellowing animal. 

Cadance couldn’t hear herself because her entire being was focused on the sensation of release, the actual bliss that was leaking from between her legs. It hurt, burning in a wonderfully pleasant way as her body twitched and convulsed around him. She felt herself squeeze him inside of her as something hot and wet gushed from inside. 

She’d never felt like this before. The white hot and intense euphoria was overwhelmingly blinding, and somehow made her feel complete. She clenched, frozen in the moment and frozen in time as the world seemed to fade out.

There were flashes of reality, momentary frames of color and feeling. Night’s tongue in her mouth. His dick pressing into her. Her wings fluttering rapidly as she ripped herself from the wall and wrapped everything around him. The intense, ultimate desire to be closer somehow. Satisfying warmth. So much warmth. 

Deep, oozing warmth.
> Keep the Light on in the Closet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance took a deep breath, finding herself lying on the floor. She blinked a few times, confused. Her eyes were blurry. How had she gotten here? Why did she feel so good? Why was she so out of breath? Laying still on the floor, she sucked in breath after breath as she looked up. Something blue was above her. 

The blur moved, and she saw something glint. Her unfocused eyes lazily followed the blue blob as she lay in a tired and confused state of contentment. Worrying about this was too much work. Instead, she just watched as things slowly came into focus. There was a blue pony’s stomach. Some pony was standing over her. Looking down, her eyes followed the lay of it’s heavily breathing stomach as faded memories of amber eyes and an all too charming smile flickered in her mind. 

She smiled contently at the warm, warm memory.

Was that a penis? Her eyes focused on it. It was dangling loosely, hanging out of its sheathe like a long, thick rope. How weird. It was dripping something, and seemed to be swaying slightly. She tilted her head, trying to focus on the alien organ. Something was off about it. 

She sucked in another deep breath, noticing as more color came back to the world. The penis was absolutely soaked, the fleshy organ veiny and dripping as it laid lazily against a pair of dangling dark blue balls. The outside seemed to be coated in something oily, a wet sheen. But the tip had a thick, white string running from it.

How odd. Not many things were sticky like that.

Shouldn’t the penis be harder? She looked closer, and it seemed to pulse slightly as it shrank a little. A bead of something thick rolled down the white string. She followed the drop down with her eyes, watching as it fell somewhere between her legs, but didn’t quite land in her splayed tail. 

Oh.

Oh shit.

Cadance looked back up as she realized how full she still felt. She fought to catch her breath as Night took a step back so he could get a good look at her. Her eyes desperately searched his for some sign that she was wrong as he cruelly looked her over. All she got was a smirk when he focused at the base of her tail.

She whimpered as he licked his lips. “Now that’s one stuffed cunt.”

Her voice was ragged and dry as she desperately plead. “Night… you didn’t.”

Night snorted. “Yes, we did. We both did, my little princess. Remember?”

Cadance stared blankly trying to process what he’d said. The little voice reminded her. She had. She had, in fact, for the very first time. 

Unsure of what to do about this, she slowly asked. “Did… you wear a condom?”

He blinked as he looked at her in confusion and maybe a little disbelief. “Uh, no? I did not.” He shrugged, then added. “I never do.”

She was warm inside. Too warm. Her thoughts ran into a panic as a million things slammed through her head. What if she got pregnant? What if the tabloids found out? What if Celestia found out? What if Shining found out? What would she do with a foal? Could she still be a princess? She wasn’t ready to be a mother! She was only eighteen! 

The voice in the back of her head told her that the warm full feeling felt nice, though. She reluctantly agreed. Shakily, she looked up to Night, hoping for some kind of assurance.

Her voice was flat. “Am I going to get pregnant?”

He shrugged. “Probably not. I’m not as much of a buck as I used to be, and you aren’t in heat, so you’ll be fine. If I was, oh, twenty years younger though…” He shivered. “Well, don’t worry about that. What’s done is done. You should probably learn a contraceptive spell before next time, just to be safe. It’ll save you a stomachache or two later.”

Cadance weakly nodded in agreement. She hadn’t bothered to learn one before because it had seemed low priority. She was saving herself for marriage, after all. Now it had suddenly jumped to the front of her study list. 

She let her head rest on the floor, staring vacantly at the ceiling. “You’re an asshole.”

He shrugged. “Assholes get what they want, princess. That’s one of the things I’m trying to teach you.”

She glared back at him. “Don’t hide behind that lie. You’re doing this because you want to, not because you’re actually trying to help me or Shining.”

He wanted her. The thought caused her cheeks to flush.

Night smirked, his charming smile disarming her again and making her tear her eyes away as her heart pounded. He was still hot. “Maybe a little bit of both, Cadance. Besides, you wanted it, too. You said yes, remember? You even begged me.”

She continued to stare at the ceiling, refusing to look back at him. Why deny it? She sighed before answering. “Yeah. Fine. You win. I wanted it.”

He gently placed a hoof on her stomach. It was warm, and his touch was surprisingly soft. Cadance shivered as she kept staring upwards, refusing to look at the contact. Night’s voice was earnest as he spoke, almost giddy. “I had fun. What about you, did you enjoy it? How was it for you?”

Cadance’s blood was still pulsing with the odd beat. Her heart was still out of tune, and she was still out of breath. Tired and a little disoriented, she didn’t deny it. “I… liked it. I think?”

She wasn’t entirely sure, but she’d think more about it later once she’d had time to process everything.   Something about the closet floor was debasing, and it was starting to bother her. Maybe it was the pile of dirty laundry she noticed next to Night. The wedding box had made its way back up on the shelf at least.

The cursed ring floated by her face as Night picked it up with his magic. “I’m surprised this thing was on so tight. You’ve got a pretty big clit.”

She blushed, unsure if that was a compliment or an insult but feeling insecure nonetheless. “I’m sure you planned for it to end that way.”

Night held the ring in front of his face, looking it over. “No, I didn’t. I don’t really plan the ring game anymore. It’s more fun if I make it up as I go along. Life in general is a little more fun that way, too. You never know when an opportunity will pop out and get stuck in your ring.”

Cadance bit her lip, feeling slightly betrayed somehow. “Anymore? You’ve played it before?”

He laughed. “Of course I have! I’m pretty damned good, too. It’s how I convinced that mare during my wedding to stay the first night. Velvet’s actually the only pony who’s ever beaten me at it.”

Cadance felt her breath finally catching back up. “Here I thought you were some sort of master pickup artist, when really you’re just a perverted expert at sleight of hoof.”

Night smiled. “Now you’re getting it! There’s not really much difference in the art. It also makes a mare easier to seduce if she already knows what it feels like to have your cock inside of her,” He stepped over Cadance and lowered his nose to hers, gently touching them together as he whispered with an evil smile. “You know?”

She froze, the close contact and the intimate gesture causing her breath to slip out. Cadance’s tail swished against the closet floor, and she knew very well exactly how right he was.

Night gave her a light kiss, and she felt herself relax into it.

Cadance closed her eyes, and breathed the kiss in deeply. Night pulled away slightly and slowly looked her over while licking his lips. He winked at her. “Damn, you’re delicious.”

She shivered as his eyes drank in her exposed body. There was no maybe. She definitely liked this. “Now what?”

He glanced back up at her. “Now? Now I get the rest of this long, wonderful night to give you some worldly experience while you get the rest of the night to be my little fuck toy. The only difference between you and one of my regular sex toys is that you’re done when the sun comes up. Unless you don’t care if Shining finds out. You’re more than welcome to stay until they get back. Velvet won’t care, she might even want to have some fun with you. Shining, though...”

His voice lingered, leaving the rest for Cadance to think about.

Cadance felt something warm and steady inside of her as she thought about Shining. “I’ll still love him. That’s never going to change.”

Night kissed her again, this time slow and deep. She thought about denying him, but quickly relented, letting his tongue explore her mouth, and even dip towards her throat. The kiss burned again, and her heart started to thump. He pulled out of the kiss as quickly as he’d started, leaving her breathless. She glared angrily back, unsure if she was angry because he’d kissed her or because he’d stopped kissing her.

Night’s eyes leveled dangerously at her as he floated the ring down between his legs, and slid it up the length of his softened dick. His voice was challenging her. “It’s not about love, Cadance, but you can still prove it.”

Cadance watched in fascination as the ring settled at the base of his shaft, right above the well of his sheathe and nestled against his balls. The cock seemed to throb slightly, and slowly began to elongate with each of Night’s heartbeats. She could literally watch the beat of his heart with each, slow shuddering growth of his cock. 

Cadance realized that the shuddering beat of his heart was in cadence with hers. That’s why her heart was out of tune. That’s why it felt so strange. She bit her lip.

She rolled over and stood up, finding her legs shaky at best. As she stood, her wet tail swayed a little too close to her flanks, matting against her fur. Her wings had some misaligned feathers from where he’d been pinning her, and her hair was absolutely tangled in a mess for some reason. As her footing grew more steady, she realized something warm and wet was oozing from under her tail. Something that was both hers and Night’s.

She shuddered at the warm sensation, unsure if the response was from disgust or intrigue. She shifted as she realized her teat burned where he’d pinched her. Was this what it was like? Each individual thing was an annoyance at best, and gross at worst. All together, they were… erotic. Enticing. It made her feel like a full bodied mare. 

Cadance felt strangely powerful in the moment. She wasn’t some innocent princess filly. She was a mare. The realization was both heady and a little scary. Night wasn’t some older stallion anymore, or even her boyfriend’s father. He was… what was he? Not a lover, that was for sure. Certainly not a friend with benefits.

Cadance looked at him, unsure of how to define their changing relationship. They weren’t equals, not exactly, but he was a stallion and she was a mare. They’d had each other, and she was comfortable in that fact. She decided that she’d worry about defining things later. 

For now, she understood that she was sexy as hell, he was hot, and they were both willing. Cadance walked herself to him, and pressed her mouth next to his ear, like he’d done with her. Her voice was quiet and low, laced with confidence and determination. “I’ll prove it, Night. You can do whatever the fuck you want to me tonight, but tomorrow morning I’m out of here with the sun.”

She felt him shiver when she said that, and smiled a secret smile. She had power over him, too, and she was growing to understand it the same way he understood his power over her.

His answer was slow, just as quiet, and somehow more confident. “Oh… Is that how it is? And here I was going to go easy on you tonight.” 

Maybe she didn’t have as much power as she thought.

His tongue curled around her ear, slightly dipping inside and leaving a weird, warm tingle.  Cadance’s secret smile quivered at the strange sensation. Quivering smile still on her face, she remembered that what’s done is done.

This time he wasn’t as gentle. He wasn’t even seductive. He bit her neck from there, holding her in place while he maneuvered around her back. It wasn’t romantic, or particularly sensual as he did it, but the firm, commanding movements had a strange hunger to them. Something about the sudden and direct way he slipped over her back, sliding up her body and settling his weight on her still shaky hooves was erotic in a different way.

He’d just fucked her senseless minutes ago, and here he was on her back, cock dragging underneath her body. Cadance stared at the closet wall, unsure of how to respond to his sure and swift maneuvering. 

Night’s voice crawled up her spine as he settled down on it. “The thing about this ring is that it’ll keep me from cumming. Kinda like how it kept you from cumming when it was on you.”

Cadance tilted her head back in surprise. “Wait, it’s enchanted?”

Night didn’t sound impressed. “Uh, yeah. I thought that was pretty obvious, you know, from the runes? It’s not a strong enchantment, but it’s enough to hold you back for a while.” He bit the base of her neck causing her body to shift slightly. The bite had an effect that Cadance hadn’t been prepared for.

She was still thinking about the ring, so she’d forgotten about the mating stance. This was how most ponies had sex. It was as vanilla as could be, and a position as old as the plains themselves. The stallion climbed on the mare’s back, and gave her a light nip. The nip kept her from moving, and forced her tail to the side—out of the way.

It was basic sex education. Everypony knew about it. She’d never done it before, though. Clearly Night had. He didn’t even hesitate to slide his once again engorged dick into her aching pussy.

She hadn’t been ready. The sudden invasion was a surprise, and she went from feeling full, content, and giddy to being almost painfully full. The warm wet stuff leaked out around his dick, slurping loudly as he plumbed into her, forcing the mess both deeper and out around his dick. 

She shivered. That was how the mating stance was supposed to be. It wasn’t a screw around and have fun position. It was a make babies position. Something in the back of her skull, an ancient primal part of her brain, rewarded her for being a good mare. 

Cadance shuddered as he began to pound her again. This felt entirely different than the sex they’d had before. That’s probably why he was doing it like this—to show her something new. It didn’t feel as immediately satisfying, but there was a strange lethargy laced in her responses. The bite on her neck, the pressure on her back, even the sloppy sliding in and out of her aching cunt all felt… right.

Cadance opened her mouth and then closed it, unsure of what to say. It didn’t feel as good as the face to face sex they’d just had. It certainly didn’t feel bad either, at least once she got past the shock of being so easily penetrated. 

He slammed into her again, letting his balls slap her clit this time. The slap sent a small fire through her system. 

Hello. There it was. She shivered at the contact. 

His bite grew tighter, and as he slammed into her she felt her muscles tensing. Something was going to happen. 

Cadance rolled back into him, eager for the sensation to come and pass. She didn’t really like this. Not like… she’d… liked the other thing.

Biting her lip, she spread her legs wider as she pressed back into him. Maybe she could make this faster at least. His cock was nice, but she missed the sensuality of the face to face contact. She missed the cruel verbal exchange. She missed his amber eyes. She missed the kissing.

Cadance shuddered, remembering his warm tongue. Why had he given her such a tantalizing ear lick if he was going to tease her like this? This was far from sensual. The rising sensation grew, and she felt herself reflexively squeezing around him. Grunting helplessly, she felt her body find and reach a plateau, hardly comparable to her mind blowing first but something of a pleasure nonetheless. 

He kept thrusting, silently and mindlessly as she squeezed him tightly. After a moment, she caught her breath, still feeling him uncomfortably pumping. 

She shivered as she stared blankly forward. She’s finished, why was he still pumping away? It almost sort of hurt. She needed a moment to recover, why wasn’t he stopping?

Oh… the ring.

Cadance stared dumbly forward, trying to figure out what was happening. With the ring, he wouldn’t cum. The mating stance’s job was to feel really good for the stallion, to get him to blow his load right away, and to keep the mare in place while it happened. If he never came, then she… 

Her body found that peak again, and she was trapped between his teeth and his cock as another quick orgasm blew through her body, this time sucking away her breath. 

Shit. That felt actually good. Cadance’s pussy began to ache from the abuse. It needed a break after the little orgasm. It was too sensitive right after… right after…

Fuck.

She felt it happening again.

Suddenly, his plan became crystal clear. Cadance began to struggle, attempting to move forward from the stance. Instead, she felt her body clench again and this time her mouth hung open and a slight groan slipped out of her mouth.

After a moment, she was sensitive again. Her legs stayed shakily locked to the side, and her tail continued to flag hard. Each thrust now felt like fire. She was getting too sensitive too quickly. He knew exactly what he was doing to her, didn’t he?

Another one crept up on her, and another slightly louder noise crept from her mouth. Her body quivered, and her abdomen clenched. She started to suck breath like she was in pain. It felt good, but it also hurt. But the hurt was good, too.

Cadance felt him hammering into her with a continuous steady rhythm. He hadn’t slowed down. He hadn’t faltered. It had been just a few minutes. How much longer could he last? How much longer could she?

This one caused her to squeeze him and let out a squeak. Her body screamed in victory, her primal brain rewarding her with endorphins for being a good mare and getting bred. She knew that wasn’t happening. Well, she’d hoped that wasn’t happening.

But her body didn’t. And it sure as hell didn’t care.

Another one wracked her. They were coming quicker, and feeling more intense. It was harder for her to focus. Something was dribbling down her leg, and it wasn’t just his spent cum from the last time he’d fucked her. 

Cadance let out a forced chuckle as she leaned back into him again, meeting his thrusts.

The little voice in the back of her head encouraged her as she decided that this could be fun, after all.

It hurt when she came again, but the pain was satisfying. And her primitive animal brain wanted her to like it oh so much. Her body clenched again, and this time she held it.

Night kept pounding her, and she tried to keep herself whip tight. She was playing a new game. It only hurt between the orgasms. The orgasms themselves felt good. Even when they hurt, the hurt was… nice. 

It only took four more before Cadance managed to ride one clean into another for the first time. The euphoria of her victory was enlightening. Her body loosened up, the pain dulled, and thick, wet slurps filled the air as Night pounded into her now oozing and eager cunt. 

Cadance laughed as she rode her high, letting Night be her dildo. Orgasm after orgasm bled into one another, and soon she lost grip on what was happening or why. All she knew was to make sure the good feeling didn’t go away. 

Night let go of her neck, and slid his head up over hers, not even bothering to whisper in her nearly catatonic ear. “That’s good fucking princess! You learn damn quick.”

She didn’t pay any attention, at least until he bit her ear. Cadance laughed almost mindlessly as he fucked her. 

She’d figured it out. It had been great. She’d won. Cadance rode the wave of victorious euphoria with a  drooling grin.
> The Closet is What You Make it of
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance lay in the bed, her whole body aching. The night had been rough on her. The sheets were scattered across the room, while she and Night Light lay on the bare mattress. The mattress would have been ruined if not for the mattress covers that Night and Velvet owned. The cover, though, was covered in fluids from the both of them. She glanced at a little red spot by her nose, unsure of if it was blood from one of his possessive “nips” or cooled candle wax from the damned toy. A light touch with her nose confirmed that it was wax. He’d groomed most of the wax out of her fur with his teeth, at least.

Most of it. Some of the patches had been hot enough to leave little welts, and little red dots peppered around her still sensitive pussy lips. Of course, the welts hadn’t stopped him from fucking her. Nor had it stopped her from enjoying it. Cadance wanted to roll over, but she was still pinned by his dick. He was buried, balls deep in her ass while she had an entirely different rubber toy still buried in her pussy.

He was deep in her gut, the only lube his own cum mixed with hers. She shuddered, glad that it was pretty damn good lube. Night was nibbling across the base of her wings, occasionally muttering and sometimes giving her a “nip”. She’d grown to like the nips.

Anal was painful, it seemed. She didn’t mind. The pain kept her somewhat focused. Somewhat in this world and not in that strange blind euphoria she’d sometimes retreat to when he fucked her pussy. Although, she liked that very much. It actually scared her how much she liked that. At least with Anal, she’d come down occasionally. And the nips…

“Oooh… fuck….”

The nips helped her stay right where she wanted to be.

Her pussy weakly flexed around the oiled toy, finding the firm filling sensation comforting as she clenched around it in a mild, wonderful euphoric bliss. 

As the world faded in and out from her eyes and her body weakly shuddered, she idly wondered how many hours had it been? How many times had they… done… stuff. She stared blankly at the red dot of wax, the only thing she could see with her blurry eyes even as her tired mouth gasped for air. 

They hadn’t just had sex. They’d touched, they’d kissed, they’d licked, they’d parted, they’d penetrated, and then they’d done it all wrong and backwards and upside down and that had been even better.  She quivered as he moved his lips over her horn, feeling him drawing up her magic again.

It was his magic now. It had been all night. He’d used her horn to cast spells on her almost relentlessly once they got to the bed. Some to rejuvenate them, some to make her feel blinding bliss, and some just to show that he could. His lips on her her horn just felt so right. She could sink into this feeling forever, relinquishing her casting point to him entirely. 

The idea that she’d never shared it before tonight felt so wrong to her. In his lips, it felt like it belonged. He knew how to use it like any other part of her body. Cadance shuddered as the magic welled up again and her eyes rolled back.

“Night… Yess….” She moaned, feeling his dick press even deeper into her gut. She squeezed him with her ass. He belonged there. It felt so good when he was inside of her. It felt so right when he was on top of her. Cadance tried to scream as the magic bubbled over, Night stealing the spell from her horn like an apple from a tree. Willing and sweet, the now familiar sensation of Night’s euphoria spell soaked into her. The magic oozed down her head and he dipped his hoof in it before slopping the plasm over her clennched pussy.

She really did scream as she came again, her body unsure how to even process the continuing bursts of ecstaticy that ripped apart her nervous system.

With a soft coo, the spell settled and she sunk into the mattress. Night settled on her, pressing deep and groaning as he burst through the sealing ring’s enchantment one more time. His warm seed painted her insides, coating her with yet another obscene layer of his essence. He marked her once again, and the warmth flooded her gut.

Sighing deeply, she settled into the bed. This wasn’t just nice, this was some kind of tortuous heaven. Some kind of horrible, awful, wonderful afterlife. He pulled his sopping, spunk covered dick out of her, and she moaned.

“You’re one hell of a fuck toy, princess.”

She rolled over, kissing him deep and squeezing out the rubber toy with a lewd wet slurp before answering. Her smile was an easy, confident grin. God, she felt so good right now, so sure of herself. “I sure as hell am.”

He wrapped her in a warm embrace, something loving and sweet. Cadance returned it, enjoying the  intimacy of the act, being belly to belly and face to face with him was easily her favorite position—dick or no dick. She just loved kissing him so much. 

She looked into his eyes, his gorgeous amber eyes. “What’s next, Night?”

Night looked up from her face and across the room. “Well, I since you liked the candle and my little love bites so much, I was thinking about getting the paddle. You’ve been a very bad princess, and it’s about time for some… comeuppance.”

She shivered. The candle had been nice. Very nice. She was learning so much about herself. It turns out that Night had been right about a lot of things involving her. She wondered how the paddle would feel across her already stinging ass. How it would tingle across the wax marks. How it would shock her when it glanced across her already tender pussy lips.

Night kept talking as his eyes drifted towards the window. “But it looks like the sun’s coming up. So I guess it’s up to you. How are you feeling, my little fuck toy of a princess? Are you feeling like a good, honest mare?”

Cadance’s mind blanked. Fuck. 

Night turned to look down at her and pressed into a soft kiss. “Or are you a bad little princess who’s had the honesty fucked right out of her, and might need some beat back in?”

She glanced out the window, watching the rays of the rising sun, a growing frustration in her gut. Reluctantly, she pushed his face away from hers. She took a breath, looking inside to see what she felt.

The little voice was silent.

She opened her eyes, staring deep into Night’s. Fuck he was still handsome, even with dark, sleepless bags under his eyes and covered in splotches of their filthy adventures. If anything, the tired look of degradation only made him more beautiful. She rolled her eyes and groaned, torn by whatever was happening between her heart and the rest of her. 

He always knew how to pull her apart.

Why was this happening to her? She was a princess. Princesses should get what they want. She angrily pulled him into another kiss. “I’m sure you have curtains, Night.”

Night quickly kissed her, and she closed her eyes and soaked into the kiss. 

His horn lit up, and his hair floated gorgeously around his head as he closed all the curtains at once, blocking out the sun’s light. He pulled out of the kiss and looked at her with intense, twinking amber eyes. 

Those were the hungry eyes she needed. She shivered and squirmed under his cruel gaze. 

“Curtains it is, my bad little princess.”






----

The train cart bumped, waking Cadance from her memories. She blushed as she looked around the interior, hoping no one had noticed her heavy breathing. That morning hadn’t exactly been her best moment as the princess of love. Luckily, Shining and Velvet hadn’t come home that night either. 

Cadance had practically crawled out of that bedroom after almost two full days of decadent debauchery and sin, and the only witnesses had been her co-conspirator, Night, and a completely oblivious Twilight who had absentmindedly thanked her for the lovely visit and the cookies from behind an over sized tome on the history of pegasus architecture. Cadance had not brought, nor seen, cookies. 

She’d spent a week rationalizing it. Trying to come to terms with what she’d done. What Night had “made” her do. She’d met Shining once during that week, and almost felt better about everything. He didn’t treat her any different, and she didn’t treat him. Even their hug felt the same at the end of the evening. Still loving, and still wonderful. She’d almost forgotten, at least until the next week rolled around.

It was a small solace that she managed to leave as the sun came up after her next tie with Night; and almost every re-match after. Cadance shifted her knees awkwardly as her tail swished into the seat cushion. Flurry and Shining were absorbed in their comic books. 

Her heart calmed slightly as her eyes settled on her family. They’d love her no matter what. She was confident now that her relationship with Shining was, in fact, strong enough to survive the reveal. But she still wouldn’t do it to him. He loved his father and her so much. She could literally feel the love from him. Cadance wasn’t cruel. There was no need to hurt him.

At this point, she didn’t even really feel guilty about it. It may be taboo, but the dark secret was more of an annoyance than anything. Velvet truly wouldn’t care, assuming the years of stories that Night had shared with her by now had any inkling of the truth to them. Literally the only ponies left that the truth could hurt were Shining and Flurry; and she loved them with everything she had. So she kept up the lie. 

It wasn’t truly a lie, either. She really did hate Night Light, with a unique passion, and she was fairly certain he didn’t like her all that much. That’s probably why he enjoyed fucking her so roughly. Once upon a time, she’d struggled to identify what they were to each other. She’d eventually settled on enemies with benefits. 

He was an absolute dick, mostly to her, but she still had to admit that he was handsome. Almost mythically so. Even as he got older, he only seemed to grow more distinguished, like a wine aging in a cellar. Cadance growled, shifting uncomfortably in the seat. Her thighs were warm. 

He was doing this to her again. It wasn’t even the weekend yet, and she was already getting uncomfortably wet. This weekend was going to be hell with Velvet around as well. Night had discretely told Cadance to pack her wedding dress, and for some Celestia forsaken reason she’d done it. Over the now decades long affair, Velvet had never let on that she knew, so Cadance doubted he planned on including her. The weekend was likely to be incredibly uncomfortable for everypony. 

She glared angrily at Shining. “Shining, dear, you better enjoy this weekend.”

He looked up in daze, then smiled. “Cady? Of course! Flurry and I have it all planned out!”

Flurry nodded from behind her book, not looking up. Cadance sighed reluctantly. 

Shining nudged her. “You’re still welcome to come with us, honey! We have plenty of space in the hotel room. Of course, we wouldn’t need any more space for you. You’d just share my bed, anyways.” He waggled his eyebrows.

Cadance flapped her lips in amusement, and Flurry groaned. “Don’t be gross, guys. I’m sleeping in the same room. If Mom comes, she’s sleeping in her own bed.” Flurry squinted over her comic book. “At least while I’m in the room.”

Cadance laughed at her daughter’s innocence, and a small voice in the back of her head coldly reminded her that she should do something about that. She shushed the voice. Flurry had a few years before that was a concern, and she was a far more rebellious child than Cadance or Shining had ever been. She wouldn’t need any sort of intervention.

Probably.

She kept up the happy family routine while her mind idled on that cold, horrible thought. “You’re not convincing your mom to spend the weekend surrounded by nerds and sleeping in a cold bed, thank you. I’ll just stay with your grandparents and enjoy Canterlot. I could catch up on some shopping!”

Flurry rolled her eyes, and Shining laughed.

Cadance’s mind wandered on the thought. Night had been right, after all. His fucked up, absolutely disgusting education had ended up paying dividends. Forget the endless parade of idiot wannabee pickup artists that came after her and Shining. They would have survived a few sordid affairs just fine. Night had comfortably proven that to her. No, the thing that would have broke them was Chrysalis.

Cadance’s eyes darkened as she began to brood. Night had been insatiable leading up to the wedding. The disgusting old pervert had realized that his little pet princess fucktoy was about to be a lot harder to play with once she tied the knot. She shuddered remembering a particularly dangerous family outing where he’d cornered her in the bathroom. The rest of the family had been slurping pasta while she’d slurped his dick in a bathroom stall.

Night had always been arrogant and cruel to Cadance, but somehow they had never been caught. So when Chrysalis captured her and started playing her fucked up games, Cadance had been surprised at how gentle the games turned out to be. Oh, she pretended the games were rough. She pretended she was hurt, betrayed, that it was a truly harrowing experience. But really? It wasn’t any worse than an extended stay with Night. A long weekend with no adult supervision. 

And when it was over, and Shining teary eyed confessed that he’d done that and “So much more” with Chrysalis, Cadance hadn’t even flinched. She hadn’t cared at all. All she cared about was that he was safe, and they were together again. Their love was stronger than any carnal act of debauchery, any possible thing that Chrysalis could have done to the young prince couldn’t compare to losing him, and she had the perspective to fully understand that and help him work through his trauma.

Night had given her that perspective. That horrible, terrible, incredibly valuable perspective. 

Cadance stared at Flurry, suddenly afraid of another monster like Chrysalis. Maybe it was time. Reluctantly, Cadance decided to assign Flurry some personal guards when she got home. She’d scour the guard for the most handsome stallions and the most beautiful mares. Cadance would personally interview them. Flurry might need the experience. 

Angrily, she whipped her head down and into her hooves. That wasn’t a thought a mother should have about their daughter. Night had done this to her. And here she was, barreling along in a train to meet him, full well knowing that he’d do it to her again.

Her legs squirmed uncomfortably, as her heart beat out of tune. He was going to do it again very soon.