A few days after the reading of the letters, Blueblood returned from his 'vacation.' His snout had been bandaged, and his demeanor was meeker and less overt than usual. When he crossed Shine's path in the corridor, he gulped, nodded respectfully, and then moved aside, letting him pass.

"Please." Blueblood held out his hoof. "I insist."

"Okay..." Shine shrugged, walking past the strangely docile prince.

Shine, who still had no idea of what Luna did to Blueblood that night, was mystified by the prince's actions, but his burgeoning feelings for Celestia kept him from focusing on it. He had become gradually more comfortable in her presence as time went by, and although he didn't know, Celestia was feeling the same way. Unfortunately, the same old doubts the two had felt kept them from giving a voice to their feelings. For the moment, they were merely very close friends, but getting closer by the moment.

All the royal ponies - Blueblood included - looked on as the relationship between the two grew stronger and stronger as the days went by.

Luna came into Celestia's study one day, finding that Shine had finally made friends with Philomeena. The phoenix was perched on Shine's hoof, allowing him to stroke her beak.

"There's a good girl." Shine said softly. "Not so bad after all, am I?"

Philomeena cooed in response.

The look Celestia was casting Shine's way was one of complete adoration. Luna took on a smug smile of triumph, and quietly backed out of the study.

"It seems that you now have Philomeena's affections, Shine." She smirked. "And from here, it's only a small leap to Celestia's heart..."

One morning, Constell saw them playing croquet together. Shine, who was unused to the game, swung his mallet too hard, sending the ball flying like it was in a game of golf.

The ball then pelted a guard who happened to be perched on the nearby castle wall, knocking him out.

"Sorry! My bad!" Shine cringed in embarrassment.

"Hmm, it seems like croquet is not your cup of tea." Celestia mused.

"Yeah, I guess so." Shine shrugged as he rubbed the back of his head.

Celestia simply laughed kindheartedly. Upon hearing the Alicorn laugh, the Pegasi soon began laughing along with her.

"Ooooh." Constell snickered. "Looks like mom was right after all! Celestia and Shine, sittin' in a tree..."

The young Alicorn skipped away, still singing under her breath, as Shine and Celestia continued their game.

As Gothic passed the dining room one evening, he witnessed Shine serving up a cherry-flavored cake for himself and Celestia, a spontaneous treat he had baked earlier in the day. He cut off a slice and placed it on his dish. He turned back to the cake, only to find it was gone. Celestia gave him a shifty eyed shrug, a splotch of red on her lips.

"Wow, you must really love cakes." Shine chuckled.

"On occasion." Celestia smiled widely, revealing more splotches of red on her teeth.

"Good to know." Shine sniggered, as he then passed her a napkin. "Here."

"Oh, thank you." Celestia blushed, taking the napkin with her magic.

"Good going, Shine." Gothic whispered. "The way to a mare's heart is through her stomach. Or in Celestia's case...her sweet tooth."

Even Blueblood managed to witness a similar scene. As he entered the royal study, looking for his favorite manecare book, he saw them sitting together on a pile of cushions. Shine was reading a farmer's almanac, Celestia a romance novel. They briefly looked up from their tomes and glanced at each other, before turning away, blushing.

"Ugh." Blueblood grimaced. "Commoners and royalty should not mix."

As Blueblood turned out of the room, he encountered the others, who had also witnessed the pair getting cosy.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Luna whispered.

"It sure is." Gothic smiled. "I daresay it won't be long now..."

"Looks like I'm gonna get a new uncle soon!" Constell squeed.

"Disgusting." Blueblood said under his breath.

"What was that?" Luna asked, staring daggers at Blueblood.

"Nothing!" Blueblood said hastily.

"It had better be." Luna growled.

"Oh, is that the time?" Blueblood tittered falsely. "If I don't get to bed soon, I'll have those unsightly bags under my eyes in the morning! Toodles!"

Blueblood dashed off as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Sometimes, it's hard to believe he's related to us." Constell frowned.

Later that night, Luna approached Celestia, just as her sister was going to bed.

"So, you and Shine have been spending an awful lot of time together lately, haven't you?" She smirked.

"Yes, so?" Celestia shot back, eyes darting back and forth. "What of it? We enjoy each other's company."

"I'm sure you do." Luna chuckled.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Celestia asked, blushing.

"Oh, nothing. I just find it nice that you and Shine are getting along so famously." Luna mused.

Celestia let out a huff, trying to conceal her blush.

"I'm sure that you do." She said tensely. "Shine has been an excellent guest for the last couple of months. Now if you will excuse me, Luna, I wish to rest in peace."

"Of course." Luna coyly smiled. "Sweet dreams, sister."

As Celestia got into bed, she was still fuming at Luna's words.

"I'm onto you, little sister." Celestia said to herself. "I don't know what is it you're up to, but I assure you... Shine and I are just good friends... that is all."

However, as she said those words, there was a part of her (and she had no idea how big that part of her was) that made those words feel like nothing more than lies...