Thankfully for Twilight, no other stallions had come to call since the failed attempt of the Flim-Flam brothers, and thus, she had her friends had been able to spend the rest of the afternoon simply enjoying each other's company. But, when the sun had set and all had said their goodbyes, the young princess, as one might expect, had elected to turn in early. After all, this whole ordeal had been pretty exhausting for her, and she relished the chance to rest for a bit. And rest she did, as she fell to sleep pretty much as soon as her head fell to her pillow. She dreamed and slept peacefully for hours, never stirring until the first rays of sunshine began to pour in through the window of her large and ornate palace bedroom. Although she woke with a smile on her face, feeling utterly content, it faded a little when she remembered the visits of yesterday. Even so, she shook her head, trying to forget them as best she could. Today was going to be a good day, she was certain of that, and she would greet the dawn with enthusiasm, rather than dread at whatever stallion would pop up next. So, after giving herself her usual morning preening session on her wings, she straightened out her mane slightly before trotting in a dignified manner towards her bedroom door. However, no sooner had she opened the thing when she was greeted with a bubbly and familiar voice.

"HIYA!!!"

Immediately, Twilight took a step back from the bombastic morning greeting of her pink friend, who, as always, smiled widely to her. After catching her breath and calming herself, Twilight finally managed to get some words out.

"Wha...Pinkie?! What are you doing here?!"

But the mare merely giggled.

"Silly! I've been here all night! I figured you'd need somepony here with you in case one of those stallion guys comes-a-knocking on your door at night or something!"

Twilight raised a hoof to her forehead, sighing a little.

"Pinkie...look...I appreciate the sentiment, but I assure you, I can handle a late-night visitor. I'd just tell them to come back at a more convenient time in the morning or something of the like."

Gradually, the young princess' expression softened.

"But still...thank you. It's still nice to have a friend here."

As expected, the pink mare gave a smile at that, and, as normal, was prepared to rush forward and give her alicorn friend as big hug. However, before she got the chance to do so, there was the distinct sound of somepony clearing their throat behind her. Turning, both Pinkie and Twilight looked on to see that Spike had arrived. At first, Twilight would have wanted to ask him what he was doing here, but, one look at his face made it clear why had had come to her; there was another suitor here to speak with her. Although somewhat irritated at this sudden arrival, she nevertheless let out a sigh and composed herself, nodding to Spike, who returned it afterwards. Without saying another word, the three of them began to head on down from the bedroom, to the large staircase that led to the main floor of the palace. Once there, they proceeded into the main chamber, where the new arrival was waiting for them. And when they got there, Twilight froze completely. For there, standing on the other side of the cutie map, was a member of the royal guard that she was very familiar with. Bearing orange fur and a distinct blue mane, this was Flash Sentry, a young cadet that had made a name for himself as an announcer for royalty up in the Crystal Empire. As soon as he saw the princess, he gave, as was customary at this point, a bow.

"Greetings, princess! I am Flash Sentry, and I come here today to speak with you regarding your current marital needs."

A somewhat poorly-worded opening line, but nevertheless one that seemed genuine on his part. But Twilight said nothing, instead staring at him as if she'd just seen a ghost. The young stallion, as well as her friends, seemed somewhat confused by this reaction, prompting the former to clear his throat before speaking up again.

"Um...princess? Is everything alright?"

Hearing that, Twilight shook herself out of her trance-like state and chuckled nervously.

"What? Oh, yes! I'm fine! Great even! So...um...Mr Flash? I must say that I'm surprised to see you here. We've seen each other a few times before and...well...you never showed much interest before now."

The stallion nodded at that.

"It's true. For while I always considered you an impressive mare, I did not wish to overstep my boundaries with you. You are, after all, a princess. And I am merely a guard."

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"My brother's a guard, and he married a princess."

Flash nodded.

"Indeed...but many of the rest of us often feel that we are simply...not of the calibre that a princess would expect for themselves. But, when we heard that many other stallions were vying for your hoof, I thought that, perhaps, you no longer shared that opinion."

Twilight turned from him for a moment and spoke under her breath.

"Thank you very much for that, Celestia!"

Thankfully, neither Flash nor her friends had heard that sarcasm in her voice, and so simply watched as she turned to the young guard once more.

"Tell me...why would you wish to wed me? We've hardly ever spoken."

Flash nodded before answering.

"Perhaps not, but I like to think of myself as a good judge of character. And when I look at you, I don't see anything other than a good person. Besides, there's also the fact that you're an alicorn and a princess. One does not simply achieve such things unless they are truly exceptional and pure-hearted individuals. That alone is enough to...if you'll pardon my words...catch a stallion's eye."

As one might expect, this caused a slight blush to appear on the young mare's face, which she promptly hid by turning away from him. Although clearly flattered by his words, she had to maintain her composure in all this, and not seem too interested, as evidenced when she spoke in a more stern tone.

"Yes...well...that's all well and good, but why should I be interested in you, if you don't mind my asking?"

But Flash didn't seem to mind at all, instead giving another bow to her before answering.

"The royal guard have always strove for duty and loyalty to their princesses, and that is something I hold true of myself also. I may not be the most worthy stallion in Equestria, but I can promise you that, should you deign to choose me above any other, I will be devoted to you. My life will be yours, to do with as you see fit. And, above all else, I will stand beside you in all things."

The words were heartfelt and genuine, that much was certain. The seriousness in his tone and the way he carried himself was clear for all to see, and even Pinkie seemed impressed with this display. And yet, there was something eating away at Twilight as she kept her eyes on him. He maintained his bow, looking down at the ground beneath him, and in this silence, she thought long and hard about what she could say next. Eventually, and with a slight look of embarrassment on her face, she spoke

"...Do you play the guitar?"

Slowly, Flash rose up, his face bearing a look of slight confusion.

"Um...pardon?"

Twilight coughed nervously before repeating herself.

"A guitar? The instrument? Do you play it?"

The stallion looked left-to-right with that same confused expression before, at last, speaking up again.

"I...I can't say I do, your highness."

Twilight kept a neutral look on her face as she continued.

"Are you in any kind of band?"

"Er...no?" Flash replied.

"Do you own or wear a black leather jacket at any time during your off-hours?"

"A leather...er...no, I'm afraid I don't, princess," he answered.

Then Twilight looked at him with uncertainty, thinking of something to ask of him, but not sure of how to say it. In the end, she simply decided to come out and say it like it was.

"Could you...well...stand on your hind legs for a moment?"

Needless to say, Flash was greatly taken aback by all this, and even looked past Twilight to her friends. Pinkie, for once, seemed just as confused about all this as he was, and as for Spike, he seemed to be holding back a chuckle of some sort, as if he knew something nopony else did. Soon afterwards, Flash, after seeing the honest look in Twilight's face, that look that made it clear that she'd meant what she'd said, he gave a bow of his head to her. Although he struggled for a moment, he eventually reared up onto his hind legs, using his wings to help steady him in this position, through it remained a difficult balancing act for him. Twilight looked him over, seeing him stand on just two legs, and after a few moments, she turned away from him and let out a sigh.

"It's...just not the same."

Flash, having not heard her, raised an eyebrow.

"Princess?"

Twilight turned back to him and gestured with her hoof, giving him silent permission to come back down, which he did. After a few moments, Twilight spoke to him with a soft tone.

"I thank you for your kind words, Sir Flash. I appreciate what you've said here today. I'll be sure to keep in touch."

The stallion, though still uncertain about what had just happened here, nevertheless gave another bow to the young princess, before heading off and out of the palace, closing the doors behind him. Twilight turned, seeing the confused look on Pinkie's face, and gave her a look that made it clear that, whatever explanation she gave, it wasn't going to make any more sense. As for Flash, no sooner had he taken a few steps beyond the doors of the palace, when he began to hear a rustling in a nearby bush. He turned, and saw, soon afterwards, a mare emerging from it. But this was no ordinary mare, but rather the princess of love herself, Cadence. As she approached the young stallion, she looked to him with utter giddiness and excitement, practically skipping in place.

"Well? What did she say? Will I be hearing wedding bells for my dear little sister-in-law soon?"

Flash opened his mouth to reply, only to close it again as he thought over everything that had just occurred. Slowly, he looked back to the castle of friendship, that same confused look as before still plastered all over him.

"I'm...afraid not, your highness."

Her ears drooping, Cadence looked utterly crestfallen at that, taking a step towards him.

"What?! But...why?"

Looking back to her, Flash gave the only answer he could.

"To be honest…I think the answer would just confuse me more."