"Gonna pass out yet?" Sin asked, mocking his opponent with the dramatic expression of running in place without breaking a sweat. This man had to give her some credit for lasting an entire hour after putting her everything into a real fight for domination, but the sheer difference in magic and experience made Sin overwhelm her with the most simple defenses.

Shield built with fire, barriers made with stone, and even a dome of air that repelled the passionate alicorn's attacks with ease. She was starting to feel weight of exhaustion take hold as she panted heavily from her last ditch effort of at least hitting Sin with a small beam. Her fur was coated in sweat and dirt, the royal attire was in shambles and her legs were starting to shake while Sin leaned against a pillar and rotated a small orb of light around his finger.

This pony had some serious backbone, Sin had to give her that. But being a good husband did not mean letting her win a real fight. It's all he has done during his travels and he—sure as hell—wasn't going to be easy on her, especially when she was needing someone to push her limits.

"You must tire out sometime!" Luna panted, a devilish grin on her muzzle as she slowly approached with another idea in hoof.

Sin's sarcastic grin dropped into a frown as he watched his lunar wife struggle to stay on her hooves. He was starting to worry that maybe the old Luna was still in there and she was going to wear herself out too much.

"Luna, that's enough." He told her sternly, lowering the air dome he had around himself, which confused the blue princess for a moment before she regained her sense of battle.

"No, I am not done." She replied defiantly, fighting the numbness coming to her legs. "I am enjoying myself too much to let this end so soon."

The declaration of that made the man glare at her and dissipate the orb floating above his finger, his eyes stricken with concern while he thrust his hand in front of him to block a punch that suddenly came his way.

"I said enough." He told her again, grasping the hoof this time so she couldn't attack a second time. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep going."

She smiled once more, before trying to make direct contact with his chin by rearing up to uppercut him with her other hoof. The speed was not there however, and the intensity of her husband became anger with his voice rising to echo in the throne room.

"KNOCK IT OFF!"

She flinched away with a hurt look on her. He'd never yelled like that before, not at her at least. But it worked and she was realizing how worried he was for her. Still, it did not help that she actually provoked him to the point of yelling in her face before letting her go.

She stepped back with disappointment, watching as he took a deep breath to calm down. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to have a little more fun before your date with Cadance."

"Having fun doesn't mean tiring yourself out though." Sin scolded firmly, making the mare's ears fold to her head.

"I know, but. . ."

"Luna, I love you," Sin interrupted, kneeling to her at eye level. "But I am much more experienced than you are. As sad as it is for you to not have the power to protect me like when we were teenagers, you need to see that I don't need protection."

She frowned with him, before lowering her gaze to the floor as he pet the back of her head. It was soothing to have that feeling across her fur and all-too alluring for her to resist grasping his wrist to place his hand on her cheek. And judging by the strength in her grasp, and the way she hummed with each gentle stroke, it looked like Sin would be getting back into old habits they had behind closed doors.

"I have missed this for too long." She admitted, rubbing his palm lovingly.

Sin could not resist chuckling at his princess as she continued to hum when his fingers made their way behind her ear, scratching a very sensitive spot that not even Celestia knew about.

"Right there. . ." She moaned lightly, forgetting what he said entirely.

Not at all phased by their old ways or the neediness of this pony, Sin stopped the fun by putting one arm on her rump and the other on her back, before scooping her into his arms. His movements made Luna yelp and wiggle a little as he felt her hooves tighten around his back.

"Where are we going?" She asked in a panic, blushing at the way his hand was curled around her flank and touching her cutie mark.

"I think a certain mare of mine deserves a reward for sparring with me," he mused whilst rubbing her back.

Luna's cheeks became hot before she leaned away to meet his eyes. "Sin, if what I am assuming is correct, then I am afraid we cannot. Right now, I am—"

"I was talking about taking a bath together," he clarified in a flat tone of his voice.

She tilted her head with a questioning raise of her eye. "And just how do you propose we bathe together without taking things too far?"

"I have no idea," he reassured her with a smile. "And it's not like it matters who jumps whom. Besides, taking a bath together always did calm you down."

Luna kept quiet for a second or two before looking away and letting out of snort, "I seem to recall our time in the bath consisting of us fornicating to the point of exhaustion." Squeezing on his neck a little tighter, she played her cards by issuing a few other memories whilst finding a good spot on his shoulder to rest her chin. "Seriously though, we were worse than rabbits. Even mother and father were begging us to keep our voices down."

"We were young and horny back then," Sin affirmed her with a chuckle. "Well, I'm still a horny bastard. I don't know about you though."

"I was on the moon for a millennia," she cooed, bedroom eyes fluttering as she leaned into his ear. "So that should a good enough answer for you."

Sin remained silent for the duration of carrying Luna to the royal showers where they relax and talk a little without someone to bother them. Surprisingly, he came across the darker and less populated sector of the castle, where very few former guards for her were walking around and complaining about the changes he was going to make. It was on deaf ears though as he passed them without batting an eye at them. As far as he was concerned, they could nut-up or pack their things and get the hell out of the castle.

Hoping to alleviate his princess of her exhaustion, Sin wasted no time finding the bath and swaying a finger to magically open the valves for a steamy, good time. He was little impressed though by the marble engraving and obsidian layout that colored the room in a very depressing atmosphere until a wave of Luna's horn cast the darkness away with the water suddenly turning a bright blue.

"Not bad," he complimented, setting the alicorn down so as to remove his clothing. He didn't care much for Luna seeing what he underneath, but it was still a bother to hear her gasp when the scars on his back were exposed.

Luna had no strength in her to question his past, but the depth of those scars made her cringe and wonder if the man she loved was really alright? She did not enjoy seeing the pain he endured and looked away before it could draw a tear or two. She hesitated to talk at a personal level with the man, whether recognizing it was alright as his wife or as someone that understands what it means to be hurt.

Sin wasn't so sure of himself either of how to talk with Luna without getting out of hand about his scars or his past. He knew better than to think that Luna had already forgotten about his past or what he could become. He sighed in defeat and went with the best thing that came to mind.

He walked past the mare and descended into the water, before looking back.

"Are you gonna get in the water?" His smile was confusing to the alicorn, but she wasn't going to question it or deny herself some personal time with her husband, especially when he was holding out his hand to her.

Luna hesitated for a second before grasping his hand and gave him a warm, closed smile, so as to not confuse him. She took her time joining Sin in the warm water as it rose to the rose, letting him help get in the water since her muscles were aching from having her flank handed to her.

Sin continued beaming that genuine smile as he took things to a whole new level of intimacy, bringing his first love close to his chest before falling back in the slightly deeper part of the bath. Falling to his backside, Sin ventured touching Luna's rump before letting her rest against him.

"Comfortable?" He asked, petting her cheek with his other hand.

Luna was still unsure of this intimacy, but she wasn't refusing to have Sin hold her and let her rest against him while they still had time, allowing the moment to overtake her with a deep contented sigh.

"My memory is clouded of this." she admitted, dragging her hoof across his chest in a figure eight. "Was this something we did in the past?"

"Ever since Sombra made the crystal empire disappear." Sin said with disdain, his mind shackled on that vivid retelling of the monster he once called a friend.

He sighed with Luna and stared at the overflowing pipes filling the bath with soap and water, allowing his mind to concentrate on the glowing blue aura that filled around their bodies. He felt Luna's tail curl around his leg and listened as she breathed in rhythm of his own. The sensation he got from her was more relaxing than anything he'd felt in years, and he found himself thinking fondly of how he could make their together a little better.

"I wish the past did not happen the way it did," he admitted, as he pulled the mare closer to him.

"Which part?" Luna asked, sounding lifeless and guilty with the recollection of her crimes.

"Us," he replied, as he looked up to the ceiling to find it painted with the night sky. "I wish our past did not happen the way it did."

"You are not alone," Luna agreed.

"Yeah," Sin nodded. "If it didn't, we might have been a functional family, and our daughter wouldn't have to come here to find out her parents are a couple of nut-jobs." With that said, he laughed with his wife as she lifted herself to find a better spot on. "God, she's going to freak out when she is told her mom and dad are a prince and princess."

"I don't know how we're going to tell her." Luna giggled under her breath.

The laughter continued throughout making jokes about how they would tell Trixie that she is their daughter, but after having to catch their breath and actually think about the reprecussions, Sin and Luna fell into silence and decided it was time to get cleaned up before someone came in and got the wrong idea of what was happening.

Removing herself from the addicting touch of her lover, Luna stood up and turned around to have the worst of her problem cleaned first before the rest of her was washed. But as quick as she was, there was nothing stopping Sin from eyeing her plot and giving it a little pinch.

"Sin!" She yelped, spinning once again to loom over the smiling man and glare at him.

"What?" he shrugged his shoulders. "You have a beautiful butt, and it was calling to me."

Luna wanted to scold him for that, but the latter of the situation made her bite down on her tongue and think about what she was about to do. This was her husband after all, and it was not new to her to have his hand touch her back there since they did it all the time. But time had taken her mind and heart away from the more exciting parts of her life and made her more of a drone than a mare that has needs and wants.

And right now, she wanted to kiss that man and make him remember why she was always on top, but the heat of the moment became hotter than the very room. She more concerned about what would happen to her should they go far and feeling grief for not having the luxuries most wives have. With a shake of her head and her tail finally lowering, Luna could practically feel the disappointment and the man's penetrating gaze. . . seeing through her mask.

"We can't," she whispered, turning away and plopping into the water to sit between his legs.

"I'm sorry?" Sin drawled confusedly.

Luna cleared her throat before continuing.

"Come on, Sin. You can't tell me that you do not desire to make love right now." She exclaimed with a huff, raising her head to avoid his gaze when he leaned around her side. If she had paid attention she would have seen how irritated he was becoming.

"You really think that I wanted to have sex with you right now?" He asked defensively, surprising her a little before standing up.

Luna was more than inclined to accuse and call him out on this assessment. In fact, having him crumble a little for his urges made her smile on the inside until she realized that he was out of the bath and walking away.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

The soaked yet clearly annoyed immortal shifted to the other side of the bath, drenching his hair with a nearby bucket before levitating two bottles to himself. He then poured shampoo with one and glared at the alicorn swimming to him, and pointed a finger at her.

"Stay on that side." He said in a threatening tone.

Luna flinched and blinked with uncertainty while casting her glance back to where they sat to think about what had made Sin leave her alone. Then, she thought back to her statement and pondered how childish her husband could be to leave her for not getting sex.

She stared at him with a neutral look. "Are you really pouting right now? If so, then that is absolutely the most foalish thing you have—"

"I am pissed at you for assuming such things." He countered, and turned away to avoid the confusion growing on her face. "Can I not enjoy touching my wife like that?"

Luna came out of the water a little, swimming closer to him, her long mane swept back in a trail across her back. The silken mass was lighter than she would normally have, but the realization of what he meant to do had her worried that she just ruined things between them. Her eyes shone like sapphires and she had fear in them. In her short trek to the man who was repeating for her to stay away, the flames of terror ignited and streaked the surface of her mind as she recalled that same look he had when he first ran away from her.

She looked horrified, stolen of her breath with the anger in his eyes that sent a chill down her spine. The memories looped her vision and then rose as heartache as she ignored the hand that was pushing her chest.

"Fuck it. I'm leaving!" Sin barked, rising out of the water to grab his clothes. He did not care if he walked around the castle for all to see him in the nude. He just wanted to get the hell away from Luna.

That is until she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly.

"I'm sorry. . ."

Sin noted that Luna was sounding different from before. "I don't care. If you're gonna assume that all I want is to fuck you, then this relationship should not—"

"Don't leave me again!" She pleaded, pulling his hand a second. "Please! I don't want you to go!"

Sin sighed. When Luna said that for him not to go, that was clearly the indication of her thinking that he was going to walk out of those doors and not come back.

He scowled at his reflection in the water, remembering the first time they went through this, trying to recall how horrible it must felt for her to watch him walk away, and fell back into the water to embrace her. "Dammit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think I was leaving for good. Come on, don't cry."

Luna was one of the toughest mares to live, tougher than her sister who had become much softer and less active over the years, but Sin had left a soft spot in her heart that was a trigger to more emotions than any pony should have to deal with all at once.

"Luna, don't think about that anymore," Sin suggested, pressing her nose against hers." There was a hint of care, just a feeling that rattled the princess as he proceeded to kiss her. "Listen, I'm not going to leave you ever again. I'm just mad that you assumed I wanted sex."

Soft laughter rippled from the pony, almost a giggle, a sound Sin had thought to be her calming down until he saw how upset she was.

"But isn't that what you want from me?" Luna sobbed, gazing into those guilt-stricken eyes. "Isn't that all I am worthy for after betraying you?"

That idea wrapped around his heart and clenched it. So she thinks I only love her for her body. Dammit, did being on the moon really mess you up?

He didn't want to admit to her that there was still a place in his heart for her, not until she earned the right to know. But he'd seen enough grief and despair from his past significant others to know what would come should he keep his feelings a secret. He could see how damaging it would be to keep Luna from knowing.

He slammed his hands against her sides and spun around to pin the surprised pony against the edge of the bath, coming a little too close to her nethers with his own. Every ounce of his body urged to make things right.

Luna's breath caught in her throat when she felt the powerful thrust of his lips against hers. Inside her, the tightness in her stomach exploded into butterflies carrying her from the pain. Her husband's soft touch brought shock then pure joy, and both of them moaned before deepening the kiss.

The cool blue of her mane darkened, going back to its dark blue shade as it made intricate patterns of stars in the night, all the while her body moving in to hold the man.

Sin parted with Luna still reaching for another kiss and glanced at the hazy expression. He smiled at her, his gut tightening with knots for finally concluding what had her on edge. "I love you for you, not for your body. But I suppose being on the moon for a thousand years has messed up your body, right?"

Luna curled her lips and looked away before he could see how embarrassed she was, but he was right. The time she'd spent on her moon had jumbled her body's needs and desires, into a conflicting war of knowing precisely when she was going to be fertile.

"It's a nightmare," she answered before looking back at Sin with pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry baby," he cooed, comforting his princess with loving kisses. "I should have been careful."

"Sin, I want you to touch me," she said desperately, kissing his neck. "I want to feel your hands all over me, but it has been so long—not to mention my heat cycle coming and going so randomly that I can barely keep track of it."

"You're kidding," Sin answered before he could sensor his mock shock. "Sorry, I find it a little funny."

Luna huffed at him again, this time hard enough to send her breath against skin, sprawling on his form. "You are lucky that I love you."

"I love you too," Sin kissed her head, unable to tear his desires from the touch of her fur. "With all my heart. And don't tell Tia, but I love you the most."

"You should," she playfully tapped his chest. "I was your first marefriend after all."

Sin sighed. He couldn't very well fault Luna for having some confidence in that, but his body was definitely reacting like it did when they were young. He had to find some kind of balance while spending time with her. It helped that urge he would follow when they were alone.

He could see that Luna felt free and young and happy when they remained together in the water, something he had missed for a very long time. Clearly a peaceful bath was going to be a very often activity. He didn't want the moment for her. She'd had so little happiness or fun in her life, and sharing his time with her gave such. Sin thought it was poi, but their love was something different and unique in their relationship, something nobody could understand.

Luna spun around again, this time leaning against his chest rather than resting her rump too close to his privates. "Care to wash my mane?"

He wanted to—he wanted to have a little more fun than cleaning one another. It was important to him that Luna has something to go on so she didn't have doubt in him loving her, but he had to be respectful.

I suppose we can have a little fun when she is better and up for it. But right now, I have little time with my date going to be tonight.

"I will reward you." Luna added in sultry voice, rubbing her hoof against his leg.

Sin just chuckled and went for the shampoo before pouring a little on her head. "Spending time with you is rewarding enough. Now hold still. If my memory serves me right, you were very famous for getting knots in your hair."

"What am I supposed to with him, Spike?" Twilight asked, staring through a window to Canterlot, tossing the book onto the floor. "He's dangerous and obviously manipulating the princesses for. . ."

"Twilight, you can't," Spike interrupted, climbing the ladder to join his friend at the top of wall.

Twilight had hastily thought preparations for apprehending Sin without causing trouble, but remembering what he did to Discord gave an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach and tossed all ideas out of the window, leaving her a frustrated mess. Snow blanketed the damage in Ponyville, obscuring the scorch marks and torn ground, cutting repairs to a minimum with most of the townsfolk returning home or finding a place to stay. How could she manage arresting somepony that was on the same level as Discord but much more dangerous?

She was taking her time studying what she witnessed and guessed a few times on how to take him down, but the outcome stopped her.

"You don't know what he is capable of, Spike. He could destroy the princesses and there would be nopony to stop him." Twilight looked into the reflection of her dragon brother. "There has to be something that we can do?"

"Have you actually tried talking to the princesses about him, or why this guy attacked Discord?" Spike asked.

Twilight bared her teeth and went to yell at him for being so ignorant, but a familiar voice brushed her ear before a tall figure made his appearance by popping out of thin air, sitting on a bookshelf.

"His actions are my doing."

"Discord!" Twilight exclaimed, turning to the spirit at he filed his tooth. "What are you doing here!?"

"To stop you from making a mistake." Discord answered as he tossed the file in his grasp, watching it explode and scatter books across the room. "Listen to me, Twilight. If you do what I think you are going to do, you're going to regret it."

"But he's dangerous!" Twilight exclaimed, thrusting a hoof in the direction of Canterlot. "He's a monster that attacked you. He's manipulating the princesses."

"Celestia and Luna are his wives," Discord reminded her. "And I don't they will appreciate you attacking their husband. Besides, Sin is on whole other level that even I haven't reached."

Twilight leaned in, raising her eye at the Draconequus. "What do you mean a whole other level?"

"Twilight, he was holding back." Discord answered, shocking the alicorn.

In the far corner though, someone stirred excitedly in the darkness. He'd stayed quiet. How he had to return to his master and inform him what he just heard from Discord, but he would have to wait until nopony was in the room.

Larka is going to love this.