I woke up early the next morning with the intent of actually getting things done for once, but had the ominous feeling that that wasn’t going to happen for whatever reason. After having a small breakfast by myself and sending a quick letter, I sat outside of my castle doors in the cool autumn air and waited for my guest to show up. When I looked at my imaginary watch and guessed that about half an hour passed, I let out an exaggerated sigh as I looked out towards Canterlot. I could probably fly there in like, fifteen minutes… that’s a lie, but what’s taking so-

“Alex!” an annoying voice interrupted my thoughts. Looking back down the road, I watched a familiar pair of pegasi pull a chariot with none other than the Princess of Love and her miserable looking husband. Standing up from my uncomfortable spot on the paved road, I unconsciously frowned as I watched Shining’s eyes look at everything but me. When the cart stopped, Cadence wasted no time in hopping off and flying right at me.

“Alex, it’s been so long!” she exclaimed as her hooves extended towards me. Taking a quick step to the side, I avoided her hug and made her fly face-first into the door behind me, causing the two guards to cringe from the sound.

“What was that for?!” she yelled after she took a second to recover.

“I just wanna make sure I won’t get attacked again,” I said seriously as I folded my arms and continued to stare at Shining who still didn’t meet my gaze.

“Oh, right. Shining?” Cadence said as she stood next to me, “Don’t you have something to say to Alex?” With a raised brow, I watched the stallion step off the cart and begrudgingly approach me with his head down.

“Well?” Cadence encouraged after Shining stood in front of me silently for a moment. Taking a big deep breath, he raised his head and looked me in the eyes with a determined face.

“Prince Alex, I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions and attempting to kill you,” he said before bowing deeply.

“Hmm,” I hummed skeptically as looked down at him.

“While I may not regret my actions and am willing to do it again if need be-”

“Shining!” Cadence hissed.

“-I do feel bad for hurting you, especially now that I know you are courting Princess Celestia.”

“Heh, I guess that’s as good as that’s going to get,” I chuckled lightly before I too bowed, “and I’m sorry for almost killing you too.”

“I don’t accept your apology,” he said as he stood back up.

“Shining!” Cadence hissed again.

“It’s cool, I don’t really accept his either. I guess not everypony can get along.”

“I guess not,” Shining said as he broke eye contact.

“Well, I need to talk to your wife privately for a while. Is that alright with you?” I asked as the doors started opening.

“That’s fine. I’ll go visit Twilight until you two are done,” he replied as he turned and started back down the road.

“Oh, she’s inside somewhere,” I said, making the prince quickly turn back around and shoot me a deadly look, “relax. She had to spend the night because some experiment she was doing went wrong and Luna just happened to be here to help.” The prince stared at me for a few more seconds before running past me and into the castle without another word. Cadence and I followed after him and managed to catch a glimpse of him turning a corner before he disappeared and neither of us could, or wanted, to do anything about it.

“Well, let’s have that talk,” I said before leading the way to my study.

“Talk?” Cadence repeated as she followed, “I didn’t know you knew how to talk. I thought you were a ‘buck now, talk later’ kind of stallion.” Ugh, to think I actually called her smart not too long ago.

“Me? Buck you? Please.”

“I know, right? I’m way too out of your league. Other stallions dream of what they would do to me if they got a chance. Auntie Luna showed me.”

“But see, that’s the thing: you know you’re hot.”

“So?”

“So, that’s a complete turn off for me. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got a thing for mares with low self-esteem.”

“Well that’s fine. I wouldn’t let you buck me anyway.”

“Good, cause I don’t want to,” I replied as I stuck my tongue out at her.

“Great, cause I don’t want to buck you either,” she said as she also stuck out her tongue.

“Great comeback,” I said as I flicked her nose, making her face scrunch up, “your only redeeming quality is that you’re cute, but plenty of other ponies do that better than you.” When she recovered from my flick, she growled cutely before pouncing at me. Easily catching her, I continued our walk as she aggressively nuzzled my neck.

“I missed you,” she sighed as she relaxed in my arms.

“I guess I missed you too,” I said as I rubbed her back, “you’re literally my only friend.”

“Aw, that’s not true. What about Twilight and her friends?”

“Heh, about Twilight,” I mumbled as I scratched my face.

“What about her?” Cadence asked as she pulled back to look at my sheepish face, “…You slept with her, didn’t you?”

“Eheh, yeah,” I sighed as I walked into my study and sat down on a couch, “that kinda has to do with what I want to talk about.”

“Well I’m not surprised,” the princess sighed as she got comfortable on my lap, “I could tell she had serious feelings for you when I talked with her.”

“Wha-Why didn’t you tell me then?!”

“I thought it was obvious,” she said flatly.

“For you, the Princess of Love, sure!”

“Relax, what’s the problem anyway? Just have her join your herd with Auntie.”

“I think you’re forgetting that I need to feel the same way for her,” I replied through the hand rubbing my face.

“You don’t?”

“Not particularly, no. That and I feel bad enough seeing Luna behind Celestia’s back. That’s a secret by the way.”

“Wha-I thought you were joking when you said you were thinking about courting Auntie Luna!”

“I thought I was too, but when she was over the past few days, things just kind of happened,” I explained lamely, making her sigh.

“You at least care about her, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s not that I don’t care about Twilight and the girls, it’s… something else.”

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure. Twilight brought it up last night, actually: she said that I love everypony. While my track record with stallions isn’t great, I don’t have any reason to hate or even dislike anypony, or anyone for that matter.”

“Even after what Trish did?” the princess asked, making my breath catch in my throat, “You don’t hate her?”

“…H-hate’s a strong word,” I replied weakly as I glanced away.

“It is, but didn’t you hate Shining after what he did?”

“No. Just like with Trish, I understand why he did what he did and why he doesn’t regret it.”

“Hmm,” she hummed as she put a hoof to her chin, “well, it seems to me that you just might not be able to hate.”

“No… I think it’s the opposite.”

“What? That you can’t love?”

“Yeah,” I muttered as I played with her hoof, “it kind of explains why I can’t admit to Celestia or myself that I have strong feelings for her.”

“So dramatic,” Cadence sighed with a shake of her head, “everypony is capable of loving another. You helped prove that to me with both my aunties now.”

“But I’m not a pony.”

“My point still stands and come on; there’s no way you haven’t been in love before.”

“I mean, I guess… it just didn’t go too well.”

“Most first loves don’t, but it’s alright,” she said as she rubbed my arm, “you lived to love another day and it’s pretty obvious that you’re in love now. All you need to do is admit it like you said.”

“…B-but what if it doesn’t work out?” I asked with an amount of concern I haven’t shown in a long time, “I mean, Celestia wants me to be this perfect guy so bad, that I just don’t want to ruin that for her. And Luna, she just wants to be loved so bad that I don’t think I can give her all she wants, especially if I’m with Celestia. I just-I just-”

“You’re just afraid of letting ponies down, right?” Cadence finished for me before letting out a small chuckle, “Well, if you’re going to keep being a prince, you’ll have to get over that real quick. It’s impossible to please everypony-”

“Tell that to all the mares in town,” I mumbled to myself.

“-so you do your best to please who you can, and if that means letting Celestia or Luna go, then that’s what you’ll have to do.”

“Ugh, I hate ultimatums,” I groaned as I rubbed my face again, “…but thanks. Nothing you said helped, but I appreciate you listening.”

“Hmph, I guess you won’t need me to listen to you again then,” she huffed with a sharp turn of her head.

“I guess not,” I replied and I could almost hear the farting noise when she deflated.

“Anyway, do you know what you’re doing tomorrow?”

“Uh, no. Why? What’s tomorrow?”

“Nightmare Night of course,” she answered condescendingly.

“Damn, alright. No need to get sassy,” I said before putting a hand to my chin, “a party is kind of last minute even though I know Pinkie could easily put it together, but I’m partied out for a while.”

“Why not just invite my aunties to go into town?”

“…That was my next idea,” I said as moved over to my desk and started writing, “it’ll also be the perfect night for me to buck Luna’s brains out.”

“Okay, thank you,” Cadence said as she covered her ears.

“Relax, I wasn’t going into detail,” I said, making her remove her hooves, “about me slamming her hot pussy.”

“Damnit, Alex!” she exclaimed with a disgusted face as I laughed my ass off. In the middle of my cackling, there was a knock at the door before Velvet poked her head in.

“Heh, hey Velvet. What’s up?”

“Prince Shining Armor wants to talk with you.”

“Alright, let him in,” I said and Velvet quickly ducked back out of the room before the door was knocked off its hinges, “Jesus!” I watch Shining stomp into the room with his horn charged and teeth grinding.

“You-you-you,” he stuttered angrily.

“Yes, I slept with you sister,” I sighed with a shake of my head, “I may have left that little detail out earlier.”

“You bastard!” he exclaimed as he got into a familiar battle stance.

“Jesus, would you relax? She blatantly told me she wanted it and it’s not like she got hurt. Well, physically at least, and for that I am truly sorry.”

“So taking her virginity wasn’t enough? You had to break her heart too?!” he shouted as he fired a magical blast at me that I easily blocked with my hand.

“Like I said, I’m sorry. I’m sorry she fell for a piece of shit like me,” I said as I moved around my desk and kneeled before the seething soldier, “if it’ll make you feel any better, you can get a free shot on me.” Turning my cheek towards him, I relaxed as much as I could and waited for the hit, but it never came.

“I don’t accept free ass beatings,” he said as his horn lost its glow and he snorted angrily, “I won’t forgive you for this though.”

“That’s fair I guess,” I replied as I stood up, “but I guess you guys can leave now.”

“What?” Cadence spoke up, “We’re done talking already?”

“I said you didn’t help,” I answered, making her cheeks puff up, “and I know how much you hate Chrys, so I won’t make you stay.”

“Chrys?” Shining repeated, making me look down at his blank face, “Y-you don’t mean…”

“…You didn’t tell him Chrysalis is staying here?” I whispered to Cadence as Shining looked like he was having ‘Nam flashbacks.

“Just the thought of her ruins his day,” she whispered back, “she really scarred him. I’m pretty sure that’s why he’s so protective of me.”

“Hmm… I guess you guys better go then. She kinda has free rein of the place so you could run into her any ti-”

“Alex, what’s going on?” an echoic voice called from the hall, “I felt a large surge of anger and- oh, it’s you two.” As Chrysalis stepped into the doorway, I watched Shining’s blank face turn into one of absolute horror before he scrambled away from her and in front of Cadence.

“S-stay back!” he stuttered as his battle stance trembled, “S-stay away from us!”

“What’s the matter, my little prince?” Chrysalis said as she slowly stepped towards the terrified stallion with a sinister grin on her face, “Don’t tell me you’re still afraid of me. I thought a strong stallion like you would have gotten over what I did by now.”

“Chrys, stop,” I commanded, but only managed to make her stop moving.

“What? I’m just teasing him. He knows what I would do if I meant any harm,” she hissed, “but I always mean harm, don’t I Prince?”

“Would you get the fuck out of here?” I said as I pointed to the door, “You’re making it really hard for me to see the benefits of helping you right now.”

“You say that as if you’ve actually done anything,” she countered as she focused her attention on me.

“I offered you a solution. It’s your fault you didn’t take it.”

“Yes, because I want to take something else,” she said as she trotted up and nuzzled my junk while I face-palmed.

“Okay, that was kind of clever, but seriously: leave. Do that, and I might be so inclined as to visit you later.” She stared up at me with squinted eyes for a few moments before sighing and turning away.

“You better come see me,” she muttered as she trotted away.

“Jesus,” I sighed, “she’s a handful-er, hoofful… no, handful.”

“Y-you just,” Shining stuttered, making me look at his shocked face, “you commanded the Changeling queen.”

“Uh, I guess,” I replied with my own confused face, “we’ve just a deal going on and-”

“You,” he growled as he dropped his head, “I won’t lose to you.”

“…What?”

“Just because you have the power to control princesses and queens, doesn’t mean you’re stronger than me!” he exclaimed as he flashed me a threatening look that actually made me flinch, “I-I’ll take care of the queen myself!” Without any warning, Shining charged out of the room, leaving Cadence and me behind and confused.

“Uh, he’s not about to fight her, is he?” I asked as I stared at the doorway.

“I-I think so,” Cadence replied. We only sat for another second before running out of the room and down the hall after the crazed prince.

“Shining, what are you doing?!” Cadence shouted down the hall after him.

“I-I-I’m going to kill her!” he shouted back.

“I wouldn’t recommend that, Prince!” I yelled, “She’s been feeding off of all the emotions of every pony that’s come through here! She’ll be too strong for you!”

“We’ll see!” he said before rounding a corner, “There you are, you bug!”

“Oh fuck, he did it now,” I muttered as I flapped my wings, “he’s as good as dead!” Not wasting another second, I flew as fast as I could down and around the corner where I was just in time to witness Chrysalis standing over Shining with her fangs bared, ready to take a chunk out of his neck. A strong flap of my wings sent me hurdling towards Chrysalis and I was just fast enough to tackle her off of him, making her snap at the air. When we skidded to a stop, I kneeled over her and held her hooves down as she thrashed and bucked.

“Let me go!” she raged, the intense hatred in her eyes almost burning my face off, “I’ll kill that colt!”

“Chill out!” I yelled, “There won’t be any killing in my castle! Today, or any other day!”

“He called me a bug!”

“And I know how you feel about that!”

“Then you know why I have to kill him!”

“Yes, I understand! Really, I do! I know how it feels to be called a name and have nothing but bad memories or terrible things come to mind, but that’s no reason to kill somepony!”

“Then you don’t really understand! You don’t-”

“Yes, I do,” I said seriously as I stared into her emerald eyes, hoping she would get it, “I really do understand, but it’s just a word and you have to realize that it only has meaning if you let it.” I continued to stare at her and watch her anger slowly filter out with each breath as her body relaxed and I eventually let go of her. When I did, she quickly stood up and trotted off, leaving the three of us alone again.

“You almost died there, Prince,” I sighed, “if there is one thing you need to know about her, it’s that you never call her a bug. That, and she-”

“Again…” Shining interrupted, making me look his way and watch him slowly stand with his head kept down, “you’ve beaten me again…”

“I… What?” I asked, utterly confused.

“… We’re leaving, Cadence,” he muttered before stomping down the hall.

“…I’ll see you out then.” The walk back to the front door was silent and awkward, for me at least. With Cadence and I standing on either side of Shining, we both stole glances at his brooding face but wouldn’t say anything. When we got to and opened the door, he just walked out, got on the chariot, and waited on us.

“Looks like somepony’s gonna need some comforting when they get home,” I commented.

“Looks like it,” Cadence sighed before hugging me, “thanks for having us over. It was almost fun until a certain somepony showed up.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, but you should know by now that I only attract bad company.”

“I guess I should.”

“But like I tell everypony else, feel free to come over whenever you want. I’ll take care of Chrys today so you won’t have to worry about her.”

“Hmm,” she hummed as she looked at me suspiciously, “…you don’t have feelings for her, do you?”

“Who, Chrys? HAH!” I laughed as I threw my head back, “That’s the best joke you’ve made.” She continued to stare at me for a while until I became uncomfortable and broke eye contact.

“…Alright, bye,” she said doubtfully before joining Shining on the chariot. I stood and watched the pair disappear over a hill before sighing and heading back inside where Velvet and Twilight were waiting for me.

“Is your business with the princess finished?” Velvet asked.

“Yeah.”

“Are you alright?” Twilight asked as she looked me over, “Shining didn’t hurt you did he?”

“No, but Chrysalis almost did, so I should go take care of her once and for all,” I said as I petted her head.

“Will you alright? Do you want me to come with you?” she asked with an extremely worried face.

“I’ll be fine, I promise,” I said before giving her a kiss, “but, you should probably leave. Just in case.” She stared at me for a little longer before letting out a sigh and rearing up for a hug.

“I want to see you tomorrow night,” she whispered into my ear, “the girls and I are getting together at the library.”

“I’ll be there,” I confirmed before giving her another kiss on the cheek. Looking a little more at ease, she headed down the road back to town and only looked back at me three times. When I couldn’t see her anymore, I rejoined Velvet inside the castle and went to my room to freshen up. Once properly groomed and minimally dressed, we headed over to Chrysalis’s room where her usual guards were nowhere to be found.

“Well, here I go,” I muttered before taking a deep breath and grabbing the doorknob.

“W-what should I do if you do not come out?” Velvet asked.

“If I’m not out by tomorrow night let Celestia know, I guess. Otherwise, just be on standby and make up some excuses for any visitors,” I answered as I opened the door that led to a room of darkness, “I’m not gonna lie… I’m kind of scared for some reason.”

“Y-you will be fine, Sir,” Velvet assured as she patted my leg, “should I do the usual and ignore any strange noises?”

“Yeah,” I sighed nervously before stepping into the darkness, “see ya later.” Velvet didn’t even have time to respond before the door was slammed closed behind me. With my arms stretched out in front of me, I slowly walked forward, doing my best to remember how the room was setup and not run into anything. I wasn’t blind for long though as the sconces around the room were lit with their green flames. While my eyes were adjusting, I was suddenly pulled back and onto a bed where I banged my head on the headboard.

“Goddamnit,” I hissed in pain as I opened my eyes and found Chrysalis standing over me, “do you always have to be so rou-” Like usual, I was cut off by an unexpected and unnecessarily rough kiss, but unlike last time it didn’t taste terrible and she didn’t slide her tongue down my throat.

“I guess you’re alright then,” I said when she pulled away a second later.

“Of course,” she replied as her magic slipped off my tasteful banana-hammock, “why wouldn’t I be?”

“I figured you’d still be pissed about what happened earlier,” I answered as I laid flat on my back and she spun around until she was staring right at my hardening cock.

“Of course not,” she said in between licks, “I have already forgotten about it.”

“Right,” I said, unconvinced.

“…But,” she started after a few moments of silence, “you’re right, about the whole word thing-”

“I know,” I interrupted, making her shoot me the stink eye over her shoulder before she just turned back around and laid on my chest.

“As a queen and soon to be mother, I shouldn’t let simple words make me lose my composure.”

“Aw, look at you. Being all mature and stuff,” I said as I ruffled her wispy mane. She was quick to smack my hand away and quickly spin back around and shove her butt into my face.

“Shut up and brace yourself. I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” she said before her long tongue wrapped itself around my dick, “and I plan on enjoying myself.” I get the feeling this is gonna hurt.