A princess’ work is never done. As I had increasingly come to learn, there is more work than a princess could ever hope to do with only twenty-four hours in a day. And no, Princess Celestia had specifically told me not to break the laws of reality through time travel, create clones of myself, use parallel pocket dimensions, or use any other magical methods in order to get more time to read over reports. There were only so many hours in the day, and that was that. I just had to make the best use of them that I could. I also wasn’t supposed to neglect little things like eating, sleeping, and doing a little something to relax now and again. Thus I often had to use the time honored fallback of any good ruler: delegation.

Delegating tasks still didn’t come naturally to me, even if I had been growing used to depending on a slowly growing staff at the castle. At least it didn’t feel quite so big, empty, and cold now that multiple ponies were walking around during all parts of the day, either as guards, administrative assistants, or visitors here on business. Still, it was a long way from the days as a student expected to do everything for myself. But then those had been the days when I had been given tasks that could technically still be done in the time given.

Thus it wasn’t a surprise as I busily wrote a checklist on a scroll when I heard a knock on the door to my office and somepony stepped inside. I looked up from my desk to see who had come inside. “Hey, Cloud. Nice to see you.”

Cloud Kicker shot me her usual confident grin as she approached. “Not as nice as it is to see you, PurpleSmart.”

I snorted as I finished writing the last few pointers on the scroll. “Not buttering me up for a raise, are you?”

She shook her head. “Nah, I already make plenty. Just being nice to the boss-mare.”

I had recently hired Cloud as my public relations officer after she helped disarm a minor crisis involving some recent changes I was making around Ponyville. Fluttershy protesting my plans to trim back the Everfree Forest to enable further settlement was not something I had expected, not the least of which because that was way outside of her comfort zone. It seemed that all those self-assertion lessons had finally taken hold, for better or for worse.

In any event, Cloud had quit her job as a weatherpony to help me to deal with any public relations issues that might come up. And admittedly, they were coming up with increasingly regularity. It seemed like more and more ponies wanted to see me, especially as I was given more authority to judge how to deal with various problems. No matter what I did, somepony ended up unhappy with my decisions, even if they were for the greater good. Somepony always seemed to lose. For every road that needed to be built, there was a farm that had been in the family for centuries and a farmer would come to beg me not to take away their great-some-odd-grandparents’ farm. Being a princess was really rough sometimes.

Thus why I was happy to have Cloud back from maternity leave. While I didn’t feel great about dumping anything on anypony else, it was hard to deny that it was useful to have someone that could filter through the various people that wanted to see me. Especially if they could deal with the issue on their own. As I said before, I only have so many hours in the day to deal with everything, and good help could go a long way towards helping me get everything done. “So what brings you by?” I asked. “You got some paperwork for me?”

Cloud shook her head. “Nah, just checking up on you. Storm gets antsy when she doesn't see you for a few hours.”

“So now you're her spy and co-conspirator?” I could perhaps get a little involved in whatever project I was working on. It wasn’t my fault I sometimes forgot to eat. Or sleep. Or what day it was...

Cloud waved away the suggestion there was a grand conspiracy to regulate my behavior. “Nah, we just both know you can go into a study coma.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is that what it's called now?”

Cloud shrugged. “Seems as good a term as any for when you go into full-bore study mode and lose touch with the outside world.” She leaned against my desk and gave me an easygoing grin. “So, what're you up to now? Looks like you're busy writing something.”

“I was writing out a bunch of checklists and instructions for Starlight.” I stood up and stretched. I’d been writing for—I checked the clock and saw six hours had passed since I last looked at it. Okay, maybe I had been going at it a bit long. “Cadance asked if I'd be willing to come up to the Crystal Empire to help her organize the festivities there, though I already said I was helping out in Ponyville that day. But then I got an idea for how to cover both.”

Cloud frowned slightly. “By having Starlight handle things over here?”

I smiled and nodded. “Exactly! This seemed like a good opportunity for her to prove herself by giving her a little bit of authority to show how she’s reformed and can help out. It’s perfect, since letting her handle the festivities here in Ponyville will let me help Cadey.”

Cloud rubbed her chin as she continued frowning. “Makes sense. What's Cadance need help with?”

“A lot of everything, according to her letter. She's turning Hearts and Hooves Day into a major production this year. Big surprise, the holiday focused on love is a big deal to her.”

Cloud nodded. “What with her being the Princess of Love and everything.”

I added the scroll I was working on to the pile sitting on my desk. “And having a backup princess around would help a lot with that.”

“Not to mention a well-known love expert.” Cloud grinned as she buffed her hoof on her chest.

“Well if you want to volunteer I wouldn’t mind the help from my public relations advisor. At least as long as the well-known love expert is okay being away from her partners on the most romantic day of the year.”

“Hmm, point.” Cloud crossed her legs over her chest as she thought it over. “But I don't want to leave you hanging, either.”

That was one of the issues with working for royalty—or being royalty, for that matter. Ponies expected their princesses to show up for public events during the holidays. That meant anypony who worked for me might be on call during one of those holidays, as much as I would like to give everyone the day off. Storm had been rather firm about the idea of always having guards nearby in case something happened.

“Maybe Fluttershy and Blossomforth can come to the Crystal Empire?” I suggested. “How would they feel about that? Granted, you would still be working that day.”

Cloud hummed to herself. “I'll have to run it by them.” She smirked that way she always did when a sultry idea came to her. “And maybe give them some special Cloud Time.”

“Is that the currency you pay with in your relationship?” I teased.

“One of them, yeah.” Cloud poked my side. “That, and cheesy but effective romantic gestures.”

I rolled my eyes as Cloud was being Cloud. “Whatever works for you.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “Are you doubting my skills in the realm of romance?”

“Oh, hardly that,” I reassured her. “I have good word that they work really well. Eeeven if they're extremely cheesy. Quesadilla-levels of cheesy.” I shivered at the idea of that much cheese.

Cloud scoffed and tossed her mane. “I think I must prove myself upon you, O Doubtful One.”

“You just want to show off.” I nudged her chest. “You’re as utterly shameless as ever.”

“Well, that too. Wouldn't be me if I wasn't.” Cloud grinned and sauntered over to me and unleashed her best flirtatious grin on me—and admittedly, it did make my heart skip a beat. Stupid sexy Cloud Kicker. “Are you a library book? 'Cause I'd just love to check you out.”

I covered my mouth as I snickered. “Okay, that one is pretty good.”

My reaction only made her grin the wider. “Of course it is, I said it. So ... if you're a book, I'd love to be your bookmark. Bet I could slip right between your pages.”

I chuckled despite how corny the line was. “Oh stop you.” I slapped her chest with a wing.

Cloud’s grin was utterly shameless. “Never.”

“You're enjoying this way too much.”

“Yup.” She nodded. “But so're you.”

“Maaaybe just a little bit.” I giggled.

“You're not smiling like it's just a little bit.” Cloud gave me a teasing poke to the shoulder.

“Because you're way too good at this.” I felt my cheeks blush. It had been far too long since someone had flirted with me. “You're terrible. You know that?”

“And you love it,” Cloud said, knowing all too well that it was true.

I sighed. “Yeah, I really do.”

Cloud gave me one final grin before snapping her hoof up in a cheeky salute. “Well, I'll go make sure Eepy and Bendy-Flex don't mind me being away for work. If there’s nothing else...”

I flicked my hoof for her to go. “You go ahead and do that. I'll be here working on these scrolls.”

“Best of luck with the notes.” Cloud stopped at the door and looked to make sure nopony was around in an exaggerated manner. “And by the way, are you an exothermic reaction? Because you're really hot.”

She slipped out the door before I could reply. Good thing too, because it would have been extremely embarrassing for her to see my wings go stiffly erect.

A few days later I and my retinue headed to the Crystal Empire. Thankfully, Cloud had gotten permission to come along with my usual retinue. I still wasn’t wild about having ponies have to wait on me during a holiday, but there wasn’t a whole lot to be done about it. It would probably only cause more of a scandal and problems if I didn’t have ponies around to help me.

In any event, it looked like I was going to need the help when we reached the Crystal Empire. The whole city was abuzz with activity as ponies swarmed the city in preparation of Hearts and Hooves Day. It would have been easy to mistake it for being the Hearth’s Warming season if it weren’t for the fact that everything was pink and hearts lined the buildings instead of pine trees and candy canes. It took us a bit of time maneuvering through the crowds just to reach the Crystal Palace.

The Crystal Palace turned out to be even busier than the city itself. The building was packed with ponies going in and out, creating lines that led from one section of the palace to the other. It made me wonder what exactly Cadance had planned for Hearts and Hooves Day, and how crazy things would get when the holiday actually arrived. It was going to take us time just to get through the main lobby of the palace, much less find Cadance in all this mess.

“And here I thought the street was busy,” I remarked to the ponies in my retinue as we worked our way through the crowd.

Cloud grunted as she helped shoulder a passage for me. “It's a madhouse here.”

I craned my neck to try and see over the crowd to see if we were making any progress. “I knew Cadance wanted this to be big, but not this big.”

“She is the Princess of Love,” Storm said, standing opposite of Cloud and a little ahead of me. “One would expect her to do something grand for a romantic holiday.”

“That’s true,” I said. “I guess it's the difference between knowing it in concept, and actually seeing it in action.”

“Does look pretty amazing, yeah.” Cloud stopped as we hit a solid wall of ponies that there was no way through. “Where are we starting?”

“We just need to find Cadance.” I looked around as I tried to figure out where to go. “Assuming we can find her. She’s probably so neck-deep in ponies asking her what to do by now that she could be anywhere in the city by now.”

The captain of my guard frowned as she studied the crowd and worked to keep anypony from bumping into me. “Most likely she is busy putting out half a dozen fires, yes.”

“But she's probably got someone keeping an eye out for us too,” Cloud pointed out. “She knew you were coming.”

That did sound logical. It only makes sense she had made contingencies for my arrival. We expected somepony to greet us at the train station, but nopony did. It was possible we just missed whoever was intended to meet us. The train station had been every bit the madhouse the palace was, after all. But somepony at the palace should know where Cadance wanted me to go, or at the very least point me to somepony who would know. It was just a matter of getting to the right ponies.

It might not have been the most graceful or princessly thing to do, but I teleported into the air to get a better look. There were only a hooffull of pegasi around, and there was plenty of space for somepony with wings to get around if you were careful. I spotted the front desk through the crowd by the time Cloud and Storm rejoined me.

“Let’s head over there.” I pointed to the desk and the pony sitting behind it. “They might have some useful information.”

“Sounds good to me,” Cloud said.

We flew over to the desk and eventually managed to make enough space for ourselves—even if it took a few of my more stern-faced guards telling some ponies that I needed space to land to make it happen. I flashed an apologetic smile to the ponies we cut ahead. I hated using the fact I was a princess to do things like this, but it was just about expected of me. Especially when my time was so valuable. Shame everypony behind us just gave us unhappy glowers in return, so I decided it was best to turn to the secretary at the desk and just get my business done.

“Hello, I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle. You might have heard of me?” I gave her a friendly smile.

It took a few seconds for the crystal pony behind the desk to turn from the stacks of papers she was desperately shifting through before she looked up at me with a chubby face. Her eyes widened when she saw me. “Oh Princess! Of course! Her Highness said you were coming! Um, she left instructions...”

She started going through what I noticed were disorganized stacks of forms, paperwork, and other odds and ends a secretary would have to deal with. Her frantic attempts to find Cadey’s notes only made the mess all the worse. I needed to do something.

“Maybe I could help you there?” I leaned over the lip of the desk and started levitating the paperwork to see what I was dealing with. “I’m sure a little bit of organizing would go a long way here.”

The secretary's smile became strained for some reason. “You really don’t have to do that, Your Highness.”

“No, it’s okay,” I assured her as I started to lay out fresh stacks of organized papers.

Cloud whispered something to Storm I couldn’t make out over all the noise of the crowd behind us. Storm nodded to her cousin and spoke to me with a gentle tone. “I am sure she can find it on her own, Highness.”

The secretary nodded vigorously. “You really don't need to do that! I promise. Heavens me, if somepony saw a princess having to help me...”

I frowned as I was interrupted. “I’m just trying to—“

“Here it is!” The secretary gasped and grabbed a piece of paper. “I knew it was here somewhere. Now then, what did she write... Her Royal Highness, Princess Cadance said to wait for her in her private quarters. She set up an alarm ward to tell her when you got to the palace, and she'll come see you as soon as she can pull herself away from her current appointment.”

“See? All is well, Highness.” Storm nudged me to move along.

“I just want to organize things a little bit,” I assured her as I was forced a couple steps along. “First I want all the stacks of paper organized, and then we can move onto her desk so that we can make her work more efficient and ergonomic, and then maybe we can look at her daily schedule to—”

“Oh nonono!” The secretary frantically waved her hooves. “Absolutely not! Her Highness left very specific instructions not to let you get bogged down here. See?” She showed me the note, and at the bottom it had those very instructions. Verbatim, even—it was hard to miss considering it was triple underlined and had three exclamation marks.

“I see,” I said. “That’s pretty clear then.”

“Focus, Twi,” Cloud said as she joined in moving me away from the desk. “Remember the big picture.”

I started walking in the direction of the royal quarters, even if that took some work to get through the crowd. “I just wanted to help a little bit. Some organization can go a long way.”

“Yeah, I know.” Cloud half-guided me to a restricted stairway that led to the royal quarters. “You're a sweet mare who wants to help ponies organize things. But doing the big picture stuff is more efficient organization.”

Storm nodded in agreement. “You can help hundreds of ponies at once instead of one at a time.”

“Fine, fine,” I grumbled. “I'll do what Cadance wants.” I just wanted to help a little bit. It might have helped clear out the backlog that had developed in the foyer. But that might have kept me there for a while, and was against whatever Cadance intended. It really was a hassle that I couldn’t do everything.

“Ah ah ah,” Cloud chided, smirking as she did so. “No grumpy princess.”

I snorted, grinning despite myself. “Yes, because princesses are never allowed to be grumpy, right?”

Cloud grinned back at me. “Nope. You must always be perfect and beautiful.” She considered me for a second before adding, “Admittedly, you can be kinda cute when you're being all organization-happy, but...”

I rolled my eyes at Cloud being Cloud. “I'll wait until we meet Cadance before I go organization-happy, but I can't promise anything after that.”

Cloud shrugged with exaggerated indifference. “I'll take what I can get. As long as you don't start making charts and graphs to lay out exactly how cute my butt...” She trailed off when Storm gave her cousin a faintly disapproving glower. It seems Cloud had pushed a bit too hard into impropriety for Storm’s sensibilities, as often happened when the two of them were together.

I groaned as we reached the floor of the royal quarters. “I did that one time. One. Time! And that was years ago.” I rated Cloud’s butt that one time as part of some idle musings back when we were dating. Go figure she never forgot about it.

“So long as it doesn't become standard procedure for all of your employees, Highness,” Storm answered dryly. “That could be ... awkward.”

“That's very specifically not in the standard procedures for new employees,” I assured her. “‘Awkward’ would be the word for it, to say the least.”

Cloud smirked, clearly enjoying this line of conversation. “Besides, we all know I would eternally be on top of the pile, and that's just disheartening for the new hires.”

Storm’s eyes were half-lidded as she shot her cousin a stare. “Yes. That is why she does not do it.”

Cloud opened the door into Cadance’s living room, still smirking the whole time as she backed the door open. “Well she did say I was in the upper 99th percentile according to her evaluation criteria.”

I poked her in the chest as I passed by her. “Something you like to brag about to everypony.”

“There a reason I shouldn't be proud of it?” Cloud closed the door and then flexed for us. “Looking this good isn't easy. All the exercise to burn off that baby fat...”

My eyes trailed over her, and she did look good, especially considering she had been pregnant until just recently. At least by my judgment, she really was a beautiful mare. And also a completely shameless flirt and teaser. Also very much attached to other ponies, I reminded myself. Still, it was fun to talk with her considering it was all harmless fun.

“Admittedly, you do look like you're in top form again.” I grinned, the opportunity to tease her being too tempting. “Even if maybe not all that baby fat is going away.”

Cloud glowered at me, but there wasn’t any heat to the look. “Don't even tease about that. It's unprincess-ly. Besides, Cadance just had a kid too. We'll team up on you if we have to.”

I let out a mock gasp. “Oh no! Whatever will I do if you and my sister-in-law team up against me?!”

Cadance decided to make her entrance right before I said that, because of course she would. “Teaming up against you?” She raised an eyebrow as she looked over all the ponies gathered in her living room. “What type of conversation did I just walk into?”

I smiled, feeling a bit shy over her having caught me messing around with Cloud. “Cadey! It's great to see you!”

“Princess Cadance.” Storm gave Cadance a proper bow. Cloud bowed as well, though I couldn’t help but notice a familiar teasing grin as she did so.

“You too!” Cadance nuzzled me, and I returned the motion. It was then that I noticed that she had some bags under her eyes and her mane was a bit frazzled. The last couple of days must have been harder on her than I thought they would be. Good thing I was here then. “Though that still doesn't answer my question.”

Cloud cleared her throat to get everypony’s attention and her eyes had a mischievous twinkle in them. “Twilight was joking about my baby fat, and saying I could never get rid of it.”

Cadey grinned in an equally evil, mischievous, and conspiratorial manner that made me realize I may have made a tactical error in teasing Cloud. “Twilight! How could you say something like that?!”

“It was just a little teasing!” I said, trying to put up some sort of defense. “She likes it when I do that!”

Cloud grinned back at Cadance to seal their compact. “So, you'll back me up on how she shouldn't tease me, right?”

“Definitely.” Cadance smirked at me. “Especially when she might have to lose a little baby fat someday too.”

“Yup. She just needs to find the right pony,” Cloud said as she teasingly poked my belly.

Cadance grinned as she poked the other side of my belly. “Oh yes. And I'm just saying, the most romantic day of the year is almost here. Might be a good time to look over some prospects.”

I sputtered, failing to form a coherent sentence for several seconds before I managed to blurt out, “C-Cloud! C-Cadance!” I looked to Storm for some aid, but she seemed to be content to stand to the side and let me sink for committing the great sin of teasing a mare about her baby fat.

“Just saying, you could use a nice partner in your life,” Cadance said, no doubt having played this conversation out hundreds of times over the course of her life. “I don't know what I'd do without Shining around, and it can be nice to have a companion around to talk to and spend time with.”

I groaned and covered my blushing face with my wings, eliciting a chuckle from Cloud. This was so embarrassing to talk about. Though really, I only had myself to blame; I should have known this would come up when I came to the Crystal Empire to help Cadey during Hearts and Hooves Day. In fact, I wouldn’t put it past her to have planned for this from the start. She was the Princess of Love, after all, and she loved to hook ponies up with each other.

In any event, Cadance finally eased up by turning her attention to Storm and Cloud. “Cloud, Storm, nice to see you again.”

Storm inclined her head in acknowledgement. “Likewise, Princess.”

Cloud smiled back at her. “Congrats on Flurry, by the way.”

Cadance smiled. “Thank you. She's brought a lot of joy into our lives, even if she can be a hooffull sometimes. And congratulations on Aurora—Twilight says she's a little cutie.”

Cloud smiled back. “She really is. And yeah, a newborn foal is a lot of work. I’m lucky I have Fluttershy and Blossom to help out. Rainbow too, for that matter. Though I think half the time she’s just trying to sneak in hugs from my kid.”

Cadance chuckled. “I remembered her wanting to sneak in a few hugs with Flurry when last she was up in the Crystal Empire.”

“That does sound like her.” I snickered. “You should see her hugging Dinky all the time. Even if she’s a little put out that Dinky’s getting a bit big for her to easily pick up and hug anymore.”

“Speaking of foals...” Cadance returned to giving me a mischievous smirk. “Now that I’ve given you a little niece, I feel obligated to ask you when you’ll return the favor.”

“I-I don’t know!” I squeaked. “I'm not even dating anypony!”

“That's something the Princess of Love can help you with.” Cadey gave me a hip-bump.

Cloud nodded. “I can offer a few pointers too.”

I sighed. “I have a feeling it's just going to make it worse if I say no.”

Cadance frowned and wrapped a wing around me. “Don't get me wrong. We just want to help, not badger you into anything you don't want to do. If you’re not interested, you’re not interested, and I can respect that.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just ... I guess I've been putting all of that off ever since I became a princess and alicorn.” I frowned as I thought over my love life over the last couple of years, or lack thereof. “It might be nice to get some help, admittedly. Though are we going to have time for that in between everything else that needs to get done?”

Cadance smiles as she squeezed me with her wing. “For you, I’ll make time. That’s what you usually have to do as a princess: make time for what you consider important. And I’m sure things will go much more smoothly now that you’re here to help.” She looked up at my companions. “All of you. It’s nice that you could all come to help. There’s a lot of work to be done, and every set of hooves makes a difference.”

“It is our pleasure to be of service, Princess Cadance,” Storm said with a bow of her head.

“Just happy to help,” I told her. Even if talking about my dating life wasn’t going to be the easiest conversation I’ve ever had. Still, first things first. I summoned a scroll and a quill. “So what needs to get done? Maybe some organizing will help.”

“Thanks Twilight.” Cadance grinned as she led me to the door so we could start talking the holiday preparations. “At the very least, if this is going to be a mess, it's going to be a very organized mess.”

“Oh I doubt it’ll be that bad.”

I let out a relieved groan as I collapsed onto the couch in the royal quarters. “Now that was a long day.” I looked to the balcony and the nighttime sky beyond. “And early night, for that matter.”

Cadance flopped onto the couch opposite and groaned. “I am so glad to be done.”

She definitely hadn’t been joking about there being a lot of work to do. There were trainloads of supplies coming in by the hour at the train station, volunteers to organize, city officials to touch base with to make sure things ran smoothly, and a thousand and one other things both large and small to deal with. It felt like I’d finish meeting with one group of ponies only just to turn around to find three more with their own pressing questions and issues. It felt like organizing everything for Hearth's Warming Day, only more love-themed.

“Think it's all going to be worth it?” I asked as I settled in my place on the couch.

Cadance flashed me a tired smile. “Of course. This should be the best holiday of the year.”

I shrugged, being content with that. “As long as you're happy.”

“Ask me that after the entire festival goes off without a hitch.” Cadance laid her head down on the couch pillow with a sigh. “Thank you again for all your help. I hope you know how much I appreciate it.”

“Don’t worry about it. You know I like to help.” I held a hoof over my mouth and stifled a yawn. “Even if it is a bit tiring.”

“Glad you feel that way,” Cadance said. “I will have to find some way to thank you for everything.”

“There’s always books,” I suggested with a grin. “I always like books.”

Cadance chuckled and shifted herself so that she faced me more directly. “That's one possibility. Though I had something else in mind...”

“What were you thinking about?” I asked, quickly adding. “Not that you really needed to repay me.”

A wide smirk grew on Cadey’s features. “Well, we did talk about helping you find a special somepony...”

I grinned back at her, even if I did feel a bit embarrassed about the topic. “That is true, and I have a feeling you would be more than happy to help with that.”

“You're not wrong.”

I shifted to lie on my back and stare at the ceiling. “I have to admit, it would be nice to have a special somepony. Not that I’m lonely by any means, I have plenty of friends to spend time with, but it would be nice to have that type of thing in my life. Have somepony to share those type of things with now and again, and have a family with.”

“That’s all reasonable,” Cadance agreed. “Some things are best shared with a partner.”

“Right, not that I’ve had much luck on the dating scene as of late.” Cadance’s ears perked in interest, so I plowed forward. “Dating became ... tricky, after I became an alicorn. Most ponies see me more as a princess than a pony. Not that I was all that great at dating to start with.”

It was hard to get around the fact that Cloud was pretty much the beginning and end of my dating experience. I had only gotten the friendship thing down by the time the two of us hooked up for a little bit, and then becoming an alicorn had derailed everything in my life. Between taking on an increasing number of royal duties, monster attacks, the destruction of the library, moving into the castle, starting my royal guard, and spending time with my friends, romance had fallen to the side.

“Ah. Right.” Cadance chuckled to herself. “Now being seen as a princess first and foremost I can understand. The things I had to go through to get Shining's attention...”

I chuckled as well. “Shining can be a bit dense.”

Cadance let out a resigned sigh as she rubbed her forehead. “What kind of stallion answers ‘Would you like to come in for coffee?’ with ‘I dunno, it's so late I'll be up all night.’”

I pressed my hoof to my face. “Shining, you big doofus... What more did you need to do? Scream in his face you wanted a date?”

“I was just about to the point of doing that,” Cadance admitted, chuckling a bit.

Despite being head over hooves in love with her, my big brother had taken years to bring himself to actually ask Cadance out on a date. Successfully, anyways. There was one instance where he somehow managed to convince Cadey he was gay when he tried to ask her out. That was a level of failure that made me feel a little better, though a part of me couldn’t help but wonder if our co-dating issues was genetic.

“Thankfully, we got it worked out.” She flashed a smile my way. “I think your own prospects are at least a bit quicker on the uptake.”

I raised an eyebrow. “My prospects?”

Cadance nodded. “Yes. You know, the ponies you might be hooking up with. I can think of a few right off the top of my head.”

I propped myself on the couch so that I could better face Cadance. “Who did you have in mind?”

Cadance grinned widely. “Well, you brought two decent prospects with you.”

It took a second for me to register that before it clicked and my eyes widened. “Wait, you mean Cloud and Storm?! B-but Cloud's already involved with Fluttershy and Blossomforth! They've even had a foal! And Storm’s my bodyguard, and from there it gets even more complicated!”

“Love takes many forms.” Cadance shrugged. “Just because it's a bit unconventional doesn't mean you aren't interested. And as I recall, you and Cloud were close in the past.”

I took a couple of seconds to calm down and think this through. “That is true. Though we kinda fell out. She became busy settling things with Fluttershy and Blossomforth while I was busy becoming a princess. We just kind of drifted apart with time and doing our own things.”

“So, rekindling that is an option?”

“Maybe, assuming she's interested in that.” Part of me had considered doing just that, though various factors kept me from doing so. The fact Cloud had been pregnant with a kid had been a pretty compelling reason for me to just let things lie as they were. Not to mention I didn’t want to make things awkward with Fluttershy. It was complicated, to say the least.

“You can only find out if she’s interested if you ask,” Cadance told me. “You won’t know unless you bring it up with her. If she isn’t then you’ll know to drop it and move on, and if she is interested in rekindling what you had...”

I took a deep breath and nodded. “That much is true.” Maybe part of why I didn’t want to press it was because I was afraid that a door was going to close on me for good if I tried to nudge it open. If Cloud said she didn’t want to pursue things because she was already involved, which would be reasonable given her circumstances, well, that would be that. Door closed. Time to move on and find something else. Assuming I could find something else.

“Then there’s Storm. I do recall your last few letters mentioning how close you were getting with her.” Cadance shot me a wry grin. “Obviously I have to say that bodyguard romances are welcome.”

I felt a grin coming on when she said that. “You don't say, Mrs. I’m Married to the Captain of My Guard.”

“Just saying, it can work out.” Cadance stood up from the couch and stretched. “So how would you define your relationship with Storm. Are you just friends, or…?”

“Just friends so far.” I shook my head. “I'd be afraid of putting her in an awkward position as the head of my guard. And she can be ... very formal.”

“So you've said,” Cadance said. “But there are ways to work with that. I think if you wanted to explore the possibility, then you could do it. Admittedly, dating your bodyguard would be very different from most relationships.”

“That's putting it lightly.” I let out a long sigh. “This is why trying to do anything romantic has been so hard as of late. Every potential relationship I look at comes with its own complications and problems. That just makes it that much harder to reach a decision. There are just so many pros and cons to everything. Even making lists outlining everything doesn’t help enough.”

Cadance walked over to a cabinet and opened it to reveal several bottled drinks. “No easy ways to make it happen and just fall into your lap without requiring any effort?”

“Pretty much,” I agreed glumly. “But I guess that's the way of things.”

Cadance frowned and spoke in a chiding tone. “Twilight, relationships don't just appear out of the blue. They take work. I have to set aside time for Shining to keep our marriage going, and I have to do that for Flurry too so that she’ll grow up knowing her mom. And I do all of that despite the fact that I’m a princess. No, it’s not easy, which is why I have to put effort into it. It won’t happen all on its own.”

I groaned, feeling way too much like a teenager being told what to do. “I know, I know. It's just like friendship. You have to put in effort to make it work. Only ... trickier.”

“But not too difficult for you to manage, I'm sure.” Cadance pulled out a couple bottles of ginger ale and placed one next to me on the coffee table. “You’ve done everything you’ve put your mind to thus far, and a lot of ponies would be very lucky to have you.”

I picked up the bottle and swirled it around as I thought. “I hope so. There’s so many things that could go wrong. What if I mess up an opportunity, or make a wrong decision, or settle for something less than I could have?”

“If it's any consolation, everypony is nervous when starting a relationship,” Cadance assured me as she sat down opposite me. “And while things can go wrong, that’s just something you have to accept isn’t going to be the end of the world and keep moving forward. Plenty of ponies have to bounce around a while before they find the right pony, and that’s perfectly fine.”

I opened the bottle and took a swig as I thought that over. She made some good points. I wouldn’t have made as many wonderful friends as I had if I hadn’t taken some chances. Sure, I hadn’t succeeded in making friends with everypony I’d met, but weighed against all the friends I had made it’d been worth it. It was essentially the same here, right?

That addressed, I decided to turn to more practical issues than my fears and worries. “Then it seems I need to figure out how to proceed.”

“That is the big question. So do you want to pursue a relationship with either of them? Or alternatively...” Cadance popped the cap to her bottle, her lips pressed together in thought as she took a moment to think. "Well, you are a princess. I'm sure if you made it known you were willing to entertain a suitor, you would have no shortage of offers.”

“That's... true.” I rubbed my chin. “I haven't fully considered that last option yet.”

Having been born a noble, I’d known there was a very good chance I’d end up marrying for politics someday, but that idea had only been brewing in the back of my mind for the last year or so. A serious suitor had never shown up, or at least one that had gotten past Mom’s scrutiny. Still, as a princess there were probably plenty of people who would be interested in me due to my status alone.

“It's worth considering if you don't have an obvious romantic prospect you're seriously interested in,” Cadance said. “I know political matches might not seem the most romantic way of finding a partner, but love can bloom in many ways. I’ve helped arrange several marriages, and most of them turned out just fine. It’s not as though you’ll be forced to marry anypony you’re not interested in, and there will be the courtship period where you’ll get a chance to know your potential partner.”

I nodded slowly. “Right, I know that and I'm not opposed to the idea. Honestly, I figured that's how I'd always end up hooking up with someone back before—I ascended anyway.”

Cadance smiled and nodded. “Obviously your prospects have expanded considerably now.”

I frowned, looking at the issue from the glass half empty side of the equation. “Or shrunk, depending on how you look at it. Some would argue that a princess should marry near her station, or only for the good of Equestria. My brother was set to become a duke before he married you.”

“Point.” Cadance looked thoughtful as she pondered the matter. “Hmm. Either of your Kicker companions wouldn't be the worst choice in that regard. House Sparkle and the Kicker Clan have married each other multiple times over the centuries, and they were both born in the patrician branch of the family. So no problem there. And of course, there are other nobles like Duke Blueblood.” A wry grin spread over her face when she mentioned that last name.

My own smile was not nearly as mirthful. “How about not Duke Blueblood?”

Cadance snickered. “Oh, he’s not so bad once you get to know him, and he’s been getting better over the last couple of years. And I’d be surprised if he wasn’t at least a little bit interested in you.”

“How about we put him on the reserve list?” I suggested. Way, way down that list. “I'm sure he's nice, in his own way, but ... he might conflict with my best friends. Past history being what it is.”

Cadey swiftly moved onto another proposal, thankfully. There were some advantages to her being a serial matchmaker. “Outside them ... well, I suppose you could always look outside Equestria. I don't believe the new sultan of Zebrica is married.” A wry smile spread across her face. “At least, he made an offer to me a couple years back, before I married Shining.”

My eyes widened. “Really? I didn't know that.”

She shrugged. “I did play a role in helping him secure his throne.”

“I do remember you telling me that story,” I said. “It sounded like a wild situation to be in with the civil war, changelings, and everything else going on.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Cadance took a deep drink of her ale. “So I’m on good terms with the sultan, but it wouldn’t hurt to make Equestria and the Zebrican Empire closer. We’ve never really been that close with them, and Zebrican and Equestrian royalty have never married before. This might be an opportunity to make a positive change, if you’re interested.”

“You have a point.” I pressed my lips together. “Though the Zebrican Empire is a pretty long ways away. That would require a pretty big move, to say the least.”

I wasn’t wild about the idea of moving away from Ponyville. Even if I might be able to bounce back and forth between here and there, being away from my friends would be a big issue for me. Granted, some of them weren’t always in Ponyville anymore either; Rarity was opening shops all over Equestria and had even been hinting about doing the same overseas, Rainbow was often away from Ponyville thanks to her Wonderbolt duties. Either she was training, doing shows, or engaging in public events, and even Fluttershy was a bit more outgoing now that she was going to animal-related events elsewhere. Pinkie’s schedule could change at any moment to accommodate a new party or to do something for Sugarcube Corner. Out of all of my friends, only Applejack had her hooves firmly planted in Ponyville. Life had a way of moving forward like that.

Could I be set to move on as well? My royal duties were already taking me out of Ponyville more and more, and that wasn't even getting into the map missions that came up now and again. I had even given responsibility of running Hearts and Hooves Day in Ponyville to my student Starlight. It wasn’t that crazy of an idea that I might marry for the betterment of Equestria, especially if it turned out I actually liked whoever my proposed spouse would be.

“Distance is one issue with that idea.” Cadance frowned as she leaned back against the couch. “That would be a sacrifice on your part. Same if we found someone in Westmarch or Gryphonia. Though I’d be surprised if we found anyone in Westmarch suitable for a match with you given they don’t have a real nobility anymore. Gryphonia’s current High Queen isn’t very friendly to us right now.”

“She has been pushing harder for Gryphonia’s claim on Westmarch than the previous high king,” I agreed. Little surprise, Gryphonia had wanted to reclaim its former provinces in Westmarch ever since they lost it during the Morning Wars. But that wasn’t likely to happen when Westmarch had been its own nation for centuries, was significantly more prosperous than Gryphonia on a per capita basis thanks to open trade with Equestria, and at this point had much closer ties to Equestria than Gryphonia. Not without a war, anyways, and both Equestria and Westmarch would have something to say about it if Gryphonia tried to take back Westmarch by force of arms.

So a marriage alliance with Gryphonia was highly unlikely unless a sudden diplomatic breakthrough occurred. Relations with Westmarch were already really good. It was possible Equestria might want to shore up its alliance with them, though that depended on them presenting a good match for me. It was possible, especially if we said I was interested in finding a spouse. My partner might even be interested in moving to Equestria, depending on who they were. Certainly much more so than the sultan of Zebrica, who had an entire empire to rule.

I stroked my chin as I came to a conclusion. “Perhaps we can put out feelers to Zebrica and Westmarch and see how they respond. There isn’t any harm in keeping my options open until a decision has been made.”

“Indeed.” Cadance’s eyes narrowed as a slight frown grew on her features. “Speaking of which, I suppose the Archon of Freeport is unwed.”

“The new leader of Freeport?” I crossed my legs over my chest as I recalled everything I knew about her. “You did get to know her back during that crisis in Zebrica, in addition to the other stuff.”

“Yes. She is...” Cadance sought the right words. “A unique mare, I suppose.”

Cadance and the Archon had a complicated history, to say the least. The Archon was a former student of Celestia’s, and a spat between Cadey and her had resulted in her ultimately ending up in the City of Exiles in the first place. I had even gotten to meet with her during an official visit a few months ago. Things had gotten a bit crazier than I had expected for the visit, but the two of us had gotten along. Possibly even become friends.

It wouldn’t hurt to improve relations with Freeport; it had always had something of a disreputable reputation as a den of pirates, smugglers, and exiles, and what’s more, the island nation had always been triangulating between its neighbors to maintain its independence and its own way of doing things. It had never particularly gotten along with anyone for any significant length of time, though under its new Archon Freeport had been slowly changing into something more respectable. Bringing it closer into Equestria’s orbit would be a diplomatic coup, and a marriage could really help that. Though there were a couple matters to consider for such a match, some of them of a personal nature.

“Would the Archon be a problem for you?” I grimaced when I looked at a patch of fur on Cadance’s coat where there had been some scarring from a fire. “I can understand if making some kind of proposal to her isn’t something you would want.”

Cadance shook her head. “Not a problem as such, no. We’ve patched things up, more or less. She's ... well, I suppose it would be nice if I could be friends with her someday.”

I smiled when the issues of friendship came up. Now there was familiar ground for me. “I am good at helping ponies become friends. That’s something I could help with, however things go.”

Cadance smiled. “Thank you for the offer, Twilight. We have at least ... well, things are better than they once were.” She took a sip of her drink. “In any case, it's another of many options, and one I would be remiss not to mention.”

“Thanks for that.” I drank some of my ale as I thought everything over. “I do have some pretty good options to pursue now that you bring them up. But like you said, I’m going to have to put effort into this if I want to make it work.”

“And I'm sure you're more than capable of doing it,” Cadance said. “You just need to decide what you want, and go get it.”

“But deciding what I want is the hard part right now.” I scratched the back of my neck. I wasn’t 100% sure what I wanted, so I decided on a course of action that might help me make a decision. “How about this? I’ll ask Cloud and Storm how they would feel about a relationship with me over the next couple of days, and we start to put out feelers to Zebrica, Westmarch, and Freeport? Say that I may be interested in finding a match to them? It might not hurt to look into Equestria’s nobility either. Keep my options open until I can properly explore them.”

“That sounds like a good idea to me.” Cadance beamed. “It seems like what you need isn't my help so much as just to reach your own decision.”

I chuckled and hunched my shoulders a bit. “That's what it's feeling like. I’m not sure how things will turn out with Cloud and Storm right now, and the rest is almost a throw of the dice at the moment. But making inquiries into each option and seeing what happens strikes me as the best course for now.”

“Agreed.” She grinned at me. “And good luck.”

I ran a hoof through my mane. “Thanks. I'm going to need it.” I was still really nervous but now ... it felt like a manageable nervousness, instead of the heightened nerves of uncertainty. I had a plan and I was moving forward with it. That was a big improvement from where I had been.

Cadance chuckled and poked my side. “And once you find your special somepony, you can get to work on making me Aunt Cadance.”

I groaned and rolled my eyes. “I swear, the biggest reason you’re trying to hook me up is so you can become an aunt.”

Cadance snickered and she nudged me again. “Don’t pretend you’re completely innocent. I remember when a certain somepony kept asking me when I was going to make her an aunt.”

I chuckled in reply. “Maybe I was a little eager for that.”

“And now that I’ve had Flurry it’s your turn to return the favor,” Cadance teased. “Besides, I know you’ll make a great mom someday.”

I let out a long breath, but still smiled. “One step at a time. Let's find me a match first, and then we can start talking about foals.”

The day before Hearts and Hooves Day proved to be every bit as busy as yesterday. The good news was that with some proper organizing the whole thing started to move on its own momentum. Like a series of cogs moving each other along, volunteers went to organizers to get instructions, the organizers had lists on what to do, and any of them could come to me or Cadance for any clarifications they might need. This whole experience made me wish that I’d been asked to help organize this from the start instead of joining as a latecomer. At least I could give Cadance plenty of suggestions for next year to help improve things. Experience was the best teacher, after all.

Still, most of the heavy lifting for the preparations were done, and most of the volunteers had returned home for the night. There was the little matter of running everything for the festivities the next day, but all of that had been sorted out. At least if everypony stuck to the schedules I had made...

I was just about done with my own preparations for the night. I wanted to make sure that all the supplies were where they were supposed to be for the party at the palace. The supply room was stacked full of crates with food, drinks, and party supplies. I was in the middle of counting each crate and comparing the tally to the expected number of guests when Storm arrived carrying a scroll under her wing. “Highness,” Storm greeted me in her usual dutiful tone.

I stifled a yawn as I gave Storm a smile. “Hey Storm, got the list confirming everything is set for the central square?”

Storm nodded and offered me the scroll. “Yes, Princess. Everything is in order.”

“Good to hear.” I took the scroll and looked it over to double check. “That's one less thing I have to worry about. One thing out of a list of many.” Confirming that everything was fine, I rolled up the scroll and popped it into my interdimensional storage pocket. I yawned and blinked my eyes.

“Tired, Highness?”

I shook my head. “Only a little. It’s just been a long couple of days. I’m more hungry than anything else.” My stomach rumbled in agreement.

“I believe there is still something left on the concessions table,” Storm said. “Perhaps I could retrieve a plate for you, or ask the cooks for something?”

“I don’t want to disturb the cooks,” I told her. “Not when it’s going to be a long day tomorrow. How about we check out the concession table?”

“Very well, Highness.”

The two of us headed towards the break room where the concessions table had been set up. Given how crazy things were, we decided it would be best to set something up where everyone could just grab something to eat as opportunities presented themselves. Though right at the moment the palace was pretty quiet and we barely saw anypony other than the odd guard patrolling the hallways.

It was as we walked alone down one of those hallways that I decided to ask Storm something that had been on my mind since my talk with Cadance. “Hey, Storm? Mind if I ask you a few things?”

“Of course not, Highness,” Storm said.

I bit my lip as I thought of how best to broach what I wanted to talk about. “First off, I wanted to thank you for coming to the Crystal Empire with me to help. I know it's been fairly crazy, and I’ve been asking a lot of you.”

Storm kept up her stoic demeanor, though I noticed the slightest smile at the corner of her mouth. “It is my honor to be of service to you, Highness.”

I swallowed, finding that the icebreaker hadn’t done a whole lot to relieve my stress. “And, um, out of curiosity, because it’s the holiday for it, um ... you haven't been seeing anypony, have you?”

Storm took several seconds to answer, her face difficult to read behind her helmet. “No, I have not.”

“Guess we have that in common.” I started chuckling despite myself as we entered the break room. Thankfully the room was empty besides us. “Something I discussed with Cadance about. You know, about me being single. Which, um, I've been wanting to work on.”

Storm was slow to reply. “Oh?”

I cleared my throat and tried to clarify. “I was thinking it was about time I put in a serious effort to find a special somepony. Now feels like the right time to do it, since everything seems to be running more or less smoothly now.”

“Ah, I see.” Storm’s eyes glanced about the room. “Well ... how can I assist you in doing so, Highness?”

My cheeks flushed. It seemed that I was going to need to make the first big step here. “Um, about that. I was curious, if you want to answer, that is. If, uh, you were looking for a special somepony too? What with it being the holiday for it. And all.” The smile I gave Storm felt as brittle as glass.

Storm stared at me for a long unbearable moment. “I suppose I had put some thought into the matter, yes.”

I swallowed as I took the plunge. “And one of the ponies I was considering asking out for tomorrow was ... yourself.” Storm blinked and took a step back from me. We stared at each other as the seconds ticked by, and I blurt out the first thing that came to mind. “Surprised?”

“That is ... certainly a surprise, yes,” Storm eventually agreed.

I rubbed the back of my neck. This didn’t seem like the best start to things. “Just, well, we get along really well. I like to think we're good friends. And have things in common...”

“Yes, I would be honored to call you my friend, Princess.” A second later she added, “Twilight.”

“And whatever happens, I would like for us to continue being friends,” I added as an afterthought. This was already terribly awkward, and I really didn’t want Storm to feel like I was forcing her into anything. Especially given our current relationship. Still, I pressed forward with how I felt about her. “You're somepony I've really come to depend on.”

Storm nodded slowly, her face carefully neutral. “I would always like to be there for you, Princess Twilight.”

I took a deep breath to collect myself. “Right, so... So I wanted to know if we want to be just friends, as princess and royal guard, or potentially pursue something more?”

Once again, Storm was slow in answering. “What is your wish, Highness?”

“I ... think I would like to try things out,” I told her. “See how they work out. You don't know unless you try.”

Storm frowned slightly. “With me? That would be extremely complicated.”

I grimaced and shifted uncomfortably. “That is one of the reasons why I was reluctant to ask. I know it would place you in a somewhat awkward situation.”

Storm turned to face the concessions table. “If you wish to explore it, I would be willing to ... at least consider our options in that regard. If nothing else, there is no harm in at least looking into the practical problems of the matter.”

It seemed like she was at least considering the idea. That was good. To be fair to her, I had hit her with this just about out of nowhere. As I had worried, a lot of ponies saw me more as a princess and alicorn than a pony. Even a lot of ponies that were near me.

“We would want to consider those, yes,” I agreed, also turning to the concessions. There wasn’t much left on the table after a long day of preparations, but there was still enough to make a snack.

Storm picked over several things, not looking particularly hungry. “I admit, I am worried about ... propriety. I would not want to make our subordinates uncomfortable. And some would see our relationship as the reason if I get any further promotions within the Guard.”

I grimaced. “That is an issue. Whatever the truth is, if something good happens to your career some ponies are always going to say it was only because you’re with me.” Lots of ponies had been quick to say that the only reason my brother became Captain of the Royal Guard was because he’d hooked up with Cadance, and considering Storm also wanted to become the Captain too someday...

“There is another issue.” Storm’s frown deepened. “Normally I do not have a particular interest in other mares.”

“Thaaat would be an issue. Compatibility would be best for a long-term romantic relationship.” I remembered Storm mentioning that she had had a coltfriend once, but I hadn’t been sure if that meant she was only interested in stallions or not. That was the type of thing you could only find out by asking.

Storm turned her head to face me. “I am certainly fond of you, but romance ... is not something I had seriously considered with you.”

It felt like something was slowly clenching my heart when she said that. “Okay, that's fair enough. That sounds like we would just be close friends not ... involved, as it were. Even if I've heard of plenty of matches where the spouses were just friends, strictly speaking.”

Storm shook her head. “I think you want more than that, Highness.”

My ears flattened. She was ... right. I wasn’t looking for a marriage for the sake of it, or tomarry somepony that was just a friend. I wanted something more. I wanted somepony to love, who loved me back.

I sighed. “I think so too. I've got friends, and I'm happy with them. What I want here is something else.”

“Yes.” Storm cleared her throat. “I think ... you might be happier if you sought out another possible partner.”

“You’re probably right about that.” I found myself only picking at the plate I had gathered from the table. Suddenly I wasn’t so hungry anymore. “You don't think of me that way, and I respect that. I don’t want to force you into anything uncomfortable for you. This was just something I needed to explore and talk about.”

“Of course, Highness.” Storm paused and looked me over. “Do you ... um…?” With a stiff hoof, she motioned between us.

“Have feelings towards you?” I bit my lip as I considered how best to answer. “I do find you physically attractive, and you're a really good friend to me. You're somepony I depend upon, and if I’m honest, it's odd thinking about my life without you now.”

Storm turned from me, her cheeks flushed. “I am honored, Highness.”

For some reason, a chuckled burbled up from my throat. “Though I understand if you want to friendzone me.”

“That ... um ... I did not want to reject you ... that is to say...” Storm shuffled on her hooves as she didn’t look at me.

I placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I think I understand, Storm. I'm, well, still figuring this type of stuff out myself.”

Storm smiled slightly and nodded. “Very good then, Highness.”

I rubbed my brow as I suddenly felt like such a very silly pony. “Sorry for putting you on the spot.”

Storm shook her head. “You have no need to apologize, princess.”

“How about we put this behind us then?” That sounded like the best way to deal with this painfully awkward situation. Even if it wasn’t exactly how I wanted this to end. But what could I do? She didn’t feel that way about me. Sun and stars, she didn’t even feel that way towards mares in general.

“Very well then.” Storm visibly hesitated before offering a hoof. “Friends?”

I smiled and took her hoof. “Friends.”

All things considered, it could have gone worse.

The next day was Hearts and Hooves Day, and unsurprisingly, it had me hopping. Sure, I might not have had a special somepony, but there was still plenty for an enterprising princess to do on a holiday. Especially when Cadance had turned it into a major production. The Crystal Empire was packed. Ponies from all over Equestria had come for the holiday to experience the various events Cadance had arranged, and I had my part to play.

Thus I was in front of the palace, surrounded by dozens of kids as they worked on Hearts and Hooves Day crafts. We decided it would be nice to have something for the kids for the holiday, not to mention have a safe place where parents could drop off their kids for a couple of hours. Plenty of tables covered with crafting materials had been set up, and guards circled the area to make sure no kids snuck off or anyone unauthorized snuck in.

It was a fun time helping to teach kids what Hearts and Hooves Day decorations they could create. Naturally there had been a couple of books on the topics, and I’d been more than happy to pass on what I had read. I had finished up with one table of kids when I turned around to find a trio of children.

A teal filly with her mane tied up in pigtails looked up with me with a big smile. “Princess Twilight, can we give our cards to Princess Cadance?” She held up a card that was nearly more glitter and macaroni than paper.

I smiled and nodded. “Of course.” I pointed to a nearby table where a couple of signs had been set up with my and Cadance’s names. “Just put your cards in the right piles over there and they’ll get to her. I promise.”

“Thank you!” The filly ran off towards the table to deposit her card.

“I wanna give Princess Cadance a card too!” said the colt. “I want to thank her for killing our dark overlord and making me, and my parents, and brother, and my sister happy. Here see.”

He showed me his large card. Somewhat crude crayon drawings depicted Cadance blasting Sombra with a glitter-filled magic ray. Sombra had crosses for eyes, and the smiling faces of the colt’s family were lined up at the bottom.

“That’s ... nice.” It wasn’t technically in the spirit of the holiday, but I’m sure he meant for the best. Not that I blamed him for the content of the card; King Sombra had canceled every holiday in the Crystal Empire during his reign, in addition to enslaving the entire population. The only holiday allowed was Sombra Day, declared spontaneously whenever Sombra wanted to celebrate something. From what I’d heard it hadn’t exactly been the happiest celebration, since all it meant was that they might not have to work every waking hour, and if Sombra was feeling generous, be rationed out slightly more than the bare minimum necessary amount of gruel needed to keep them alive for another day.

Hearts and Hooves Day might not have been a traditional holiday in the Crystal Empire, but it was a much happier celebration than anything they got under Sombra. As a result, the crystal ponies had adopted their new ruler and liberator’s favorite holiday with gusto. Even if the unintended side effect was some ponies conflated Cadance and her holiday with their liberation from Sombra.

“I’m sure Cadance will really appreciate that,” I told the colt. “How about you add that to the pile? That way she’ll get it later.”

The colt grinned widely and ran to to do just that.

A filly with an orange coat stepped forward, blushing as she presented me with a lavender card. She had grafted a little book onto the cover, with little lettering reading ‘Book Princess.’ “Can I, um, give you a, uh, Hearts and Hooves Day card too? You’re, um, my f-favorite princess. Because you like books, and um, I-I like books too.”

D’aw, wasn’t she adorable? If I had to guess, she even had a fillyish crush on me. “Definitely. Just put it in the box next to my name, and I’ll be happy to read it. I was thinking to organize all of them together somehow. Maybe make some sort of project out of it. I really appreciate everything I get.”

“‘Kay!” She giggled and ran off to place her card on the pile.

My pile was easily dwarfed by Cadance’s pile by a magnitude, big surprise, but it was respectable in its own right. At least I could be secure in the knowledge that I wouldn’t go without any Hearts and Hooves Day cards this year, even if they were mostly from a bunch of kids. Oh well; their hearts were in the right places, and I was genuinely really happy to help them.

That taken care of, I turned to head to the next table of fillies and colts to see how they were progressing, but found myself face to face with a smiling Cadance. “Oh! Hey there, Cadance. I didn't see you coming.”

“I was trying not to bother you while you were busy.” Cadance looked around at the surrounding tables and the children hard at work. “You seem to have everything well in hoof.”

I smiled. “Thanks. These kids really are adorable, and they’ve been putting their hearts into making decorations. Some of them even made us cards. Even if a bunch of them are just to thank you for destroying Sombra.”

Cadance chuckled, used to how many of her subjects in the Crystal Empire saw her. “At least the sentiment is there.”

“I'm sure they mean well. Still, it's been a lot of fun.” I grinned at the nearby table where Flurry was making her own piece of art. “Even if somepony was so enthusiastic about making her parents a card she made a big old mess of herself.”

Under the watchful eye of royal guards, Flurry was slapping down paint, glitter, noodles, and pieces of heart-shaped paper onto a larger sheet of paper, though in her enthusiasm she had gotten half of the material she used onto herself.

Cadance snickered and picked up her daughter, unconcerned she was a mess, as well as the paper she was working on. “What are you doing, sweetie?”

Flurry gurgled happily as we examined her work. It was ... well, calling it interpretationist art might be the best way to go about it. Everything had been slapped on seemingly at random, with layers of paint, paper, and glitter sticking together. At the very least, great enthusiasm had gone into it.

“Aww, thank you!” Cadance nuzzled Flurry, getting glitter on her cheek as she did so.

I chuckled at the adorable sight of mother and daughter together. “Good luck getting that off of you any time soon.”

“Small price to pay.” Cadance bounced Flurry in place. “It’s far from the worst mess I’ve had to deal with.”

“She has been a little sweetie, though,” I said. “And been having a ball. We’ve had a great time.” Flurry yawned and curled up against her mom, and I chuckled. “Even if it looks like she's tuckered herself out.”

“In that case I owe you. Any night where she sleeps peacefully is a blessing.” Cadance kissed her daughter's head and then passed her to a guard. “Get her back to her room so that she can sleep. We’ll get her a bath once she’s rested.”

The guard saluted. “Yes, Your Highness. Right away.” The guardpony headed off with Flurry alongside a few other guards.

That taken care of, Cadance turned her full attention to me. “Well ... it looks like you had fun.”

I nodded. “I have been. It's nice to be able to help these kids. Especially when they’re all so enthusiastic.” I grinned at her. “Probably doesn't hurt that we're giving them free candy and other sugary treats, either.”

Cadance snickers. “They do have simple enough priorities. A day off from school and some candy is all it takes to convince them to enjoy themselves.” Cadance glanced around before wrapping a wing around me. “And how did everything else go?”

“Pretty smoothly I'd say, minus a couple minor things,” I said as she guided me away from everypony else. “Overall, I'd say the festivities have been a success.”

Cadance turned her head slightly and in a more serious tone repeated, “And everything else?”

I blinked as I realized what she was getting at. “Oh! Um, that's...” I couldn’t help but grimace as I admitted the truth. “Storm said no. Not a huge surprise, all things considered.”

Cadance’s eats wilted. “Oh. I'm sorry, Twilight.”

My shoulders slumped. “It's alright. In a way it's a relief. At least now I know where we stand. Even if it wasn't fun to go through. We knew there was a good chance this would happen. Storm ... takes her duties very seriously.”

Cadance drew me into a hug and cast a privacy spell. “What did she say?”

“That she was worried how it wouldn't be proper,” I admitted. “Also that she prefers stallions, and she doesn't feel that way towards me. You know, all the perfectly good reasons why we shouldn’t hook up that sound perfectly logical.” I sighed and my ears wilted. Reliving what I’d gone through wasn’t exactly enjoyable.

Cadance gave me a squeeze. “And the career issues?”

I rubbed my leg. “I think we'll be okay, at least she seemed okay for a mare who just had her boss come onto her. We agreed to just be friends, which I can be fine with at the end of the day.”

“Glad to hear it,” Cadance said. “I would have hated to hear that she wanted to transfer because of all of this. So ... any news about your other mare?”

I let out a nervous chuckle. “Um, I haven't actually had an opportunity to ask her yet.” I waved at the kids gathered around us. “I've been so busy that I haven't been able to pull myself away to talk with her in private.”

Cadance’s ears perked. “Need some help?”

“That would be nice,” I said. “Assuming it's not too inconvenient. I can always wait until after the holiday to ask her.”

Cadance shook her head. “It would be my pleasure, Twilight.” She leaned in and grinned with a hint of mischievousness. “Don't worry. I'm sure a princess of love can help solve your romantic woes.”

I grinned back at her. “Why I'm asking you for help, isn’t it?”

“Leave it to me, Twilight.” Cadance patted my back.”All you need to do is have that chat with Cloud.”

“Sounds good to me.”

A few hours later the sun was starting to set. The crowd that surrounded the palace dissipated as ponies slowly filtered out of the area. We had already closed up the arts and crafts event for the kids, and we were in the process of finishing cleaning up the area. Thanks to my planning ahead of time, the cleaning supplies were close on hoof, and the job wasn’t taking too long despite the mess made by dozens of kids playing in the area throughout the day.

I looked up at a clock and wiped my brow. “Whew, time sure flies when you're busy, doesn't it?”

Cloud looked up from her broom and nodded. “Yeah, really does. No time to do anything but work.”

“You're telling me.” I stretched my wings to get a crick out of them. Now that I had stopped for a moment to rest I was starting to feel how tired I was from the long day. Long days,for that matter. “I've been running from one thing to another all day.”

Cloud looked around as yet more ponies walked away from the palace. “At least things are winding down a bit.”

“Thank goodness.” I grinned at her. “Guess some ponies plan on enjoying the rest of the holiday at home.”

“Seem like the big public side of the holiday is winding down, and now it's all private couples time,” Cloud agreed. “A chance to kick back and relax for a bit after all the crazy of today sounds nice.”

“Sounds good to me. A nice meal, someplace to relax, and I'd be happy.” I searched around, trying to see if anything else needed to be taken care of, but it looked like we were just about done. Not that Storm would approve of seeing me sweep or doing any of the other basic tasks anyway. Though that hadn’t been much of an issue considering how many ponies had been asking me for instructions the entire evening.

Before Cloud and I could continue our conversation, Cadance came trotting over with a cryptic smile. “Well, I might be able to help with that if you wanted to relax for a bit.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“One of our contest winners didn't show up to claim their prize.” Cadance pulled out a ticket to wave in front of us. “We have a nice carriage ride and dinner for two with nopony to enjoy them. It’d be a real big shame if they went to waste. Shining and I already have plans, and you’ve been such a big help all throughout this that I wanted to thank you at least a little bit for everything.”

“I didn’t have any plans either.” I gave Cadance an amused grin. It wasn’t hard to tell where she was going with this given our previous discussion, even if I had to wonder how spontaneous this really was. But as Rarity would say, when life gives you an opportunity, seize it.

If that wasn’t private enough for a talk, I didn’t know what was. No doubt Cadance’s intention. I didn’t have anything else specifically planned for the rest of the day anyways considering I didn’t know how I’d be feeling by this point. After big events like this, sometimes I just wanted to collapse into bed and close my eyes forever.

“So Cloud, would you be interested in taking a relaxing carriage ride?” I asked.

Cloud shrugged. “Sure, sounds fun.”

Cadance’s smile widened. “Great, because the carriage is right here.” She waved as the carriage came rolling up with a timing that could not have been coincidence. Yet another reminder of how seriously Cadance took love and romance.

No sense disappointing her. “Let's get going then.”

“Sounds good.” Cloud grinned and took position next to the carriage, offering me a hoof to help me up. “After you, Your Royal Purpleness.”

I snorted and took her hoof to get into the carriage. When I sat I let out a content sigh. “Whew, I didn't realize how beat I was.”

Cloud sat opposite of me after closing the door and leaned back her head against the cushioning. It was a high-end travel carriage, full of all the luxury accomodations anypony could want. “I know that feeling. Busy day...”

“Thanks for helping out, by the way,” I said as the carriage started moving.

“No problem,” Cloud said. “I’m supposed to be helping out my boss.”

“Any regrets taking this job?” I asked, making conversation as I thought over how to bring up the topic I wanted to address.

She shook her head. “Nah, I've liked working for you so far. I mean, the work is fun, and you're ... look, I love Rainbow to bits, but I think you might be a bit better at the nuts and bolts side of boss-ing. She's more a big picture inspirer than the type to cross her t's and dot her i's.”

I chuckled. I’d worked with Rainbow on plenty of occasions, before and after I became a princess, and I knew all about how she tended to run things, for good and ill. “I get what you mean. Rainbow's ... more of a leader than somepony who manages the day to day logistics of everything.”

“Yeah, pretty much that.” Cloud shifted to make herself more comfortable. “You maybe don't have quite as much awesome, cool, and radical, but there's a lot to be said for taking care of the little stuff.”

“I do try, even if being a princess isn't easy.”

“If it was, we'd be drowning under all the alicorn princesses,” she pointed out.

I chuckled. “True. Still, I think I've gotten a handle on it all now.”

Cloud nodded. “Yeah, I'd say you're doing a good job.”

I found my segway into the conversation and took the turn. “Though the fact I do have a handle on everything has given me more time to think about the future.”

Cloud’s ears perked in interest. “Oh really?”

I shifted in place as I tried to think of the best way to state my thoughts. “Or at least some aspects of the future. Like, um... Relationships. With ponies. Romantically speaking. You know dating and everything that comes after that.”

“Yeah, this is the day to think about relationships and where you might want to go with them,” Cloud said. “Even if you don’t normally, there’s a good chance it’ll come up on Hearts and Hoove Day.”

“Exactly. It helps when my sister-in-law is the princess of love.” I cleared my throat. “I'm ... thinking it would be nice to have a special somepony in my life. Somepony to start a family with someday. I don’t want to wake up one day and realize I’d been so busy with day to day stuff that I’d lost the opportunity to do that. Hay, I’ve been doing it for the last couple of years, if I’m going to be honest.”

“I can understand that.” Cloud rubbed the back of her mane. “I mean, I did that whole finding a couple partners and family thing, even if most of it just kind of happened by accident. Still pretty happy with the outcome, though.”

“That's good to hear.” I bit my lip, feeling reluctance grow as I pressed forward. “Mind if I talk about some of my options with you? I’ve found it helps a lot to talk with a friend about something I’m struggling with.”

Cloud grinned. “Sure thing. I am something of an expert in the realm of love and relationships. Or at least somepony with lots of experience.”

“And that is something I could use,” I said. At the very least I could get some good advice out of this, even if things with Cloud fell through. Yay for optimism... “The way I'm thinking right now, I have two options: pick somepony I know, or announce that I'm looking for a spouse among a few different groups out there.”

“So basically, either hook up with a known pony, or do the whole public courtship thing.” Cloud pressed her lips together as she looked me over. “Pretty sure there'd be plenty of ponies who'd like to hook up with the most eligible princess in Equestria.”

“That does seem logical,” I agreed. “That's what Cadance thinks. As weird as it feels to think of myself as some kind of super eligible princess.”

“So, which way are you leaning?” Cloud asked, her ears perked.

I let out a long sigh. “I'm not 100% sure. Or to be more accurate, that depends on the reaction to some ponies I know. Or pony now, I guess.”

Cloud smiled slyly. “Well, that's nice and vaguely intriguing. So who did you have in mind?”

My smile felt brittle as I looked at the pony across from me. This was it. Either I talked with her about it now, or I gave up having anything romantic with Cloud. So I answered Cloud’s question with a single word. “You.”

“Oh.” Cloud leaned back in her seat as she gave me a self-satisfied smile. “Well ... that's something.”

I swallow, but my smile relaxed a bit. This was just Cloud, I reminded myself. We had know each other for years. No reason to worry about her biting off my head or running away in a panic. “We do get along, and seem to have compatible personalities. And um, you know, history.”

“That's true.” Cloud rubbed her chin with a grin. “I mean, I certainly enjoyed our little ... thing. Even if we did kind of drift apart because of ... why did that happen again?”

I sighed and rubbed my face. “Because I became busy with becoming a princess, and you wanted to settle things with Blossomforth and Fluttershy.” I shot her a flat stare. “Oh, and you had a kid. Just saying, hitting on you while you’re carrying another pony’s foal is a bit outside social norms.”

Cloud frowned for a few seconds as she digested those facts. “Sounds about right, yeah. So did you want to look into picking things up where we left off?”

“I was considering it,” I confirmed. “Assuming you’re interested, of course. Though we're going to have to figure out those ... complications. Like the fact you're already involved with Blossomforth and Fluttershy. I’m not going to pick this up again if they say no, period, end of story.” I wanted to find a special somepony, not become a homewrecker. Besides, everypony involved in this was a friend of mine. I didn’t want to hurt any of them with my actions. But I did have feelings towards Cloud, and at this juncture I wanted them finally resolved one way or another.

“Yeah, that is a big thing to consider,” Cloud rubbed the back of her neck. “I mean, they're okay with me doing a little casual stuff with old pals, but it doesn't sound like you want casual.”

I shook my head. “No, I'm looking for something more serious. That’s how I’m feeling at the moment, anyways. Especially when I'd like to be a mom someday, and not really in the 'it'll happen someday in the indefinite future', either.”

Cloud crossed her legs over her chest as her lips pressed together. “Right. That's definitely something I'd need to run by Eepy and Blossom first.”

“I figured as much.” I ran a hoof through my mane. “Assuming they're fine with it, we could always try things out, see how it works. If things are looking serious we can decide what we want to do then.”

Cloud nodded. “Assuming everyone's okay with it, I wouldn't mind trying it. I mean ... we enjoyed our little thing a couple years back. No harm in at least looking into it.”

I smiled, happy that at least this conversation was going in a positive direction. Sure, there were a lot of details to work out, but it was positive momentum. As Cadance said, a relationship takes work. Though there was something else I wanted to check with her. “I'd like that. And if you're okay with it, I was thinking to keep looking into those other options. This might not work out in the end, or your partners might say no.”

“That does make sense.” Cloud smirked and nudged me. “So you wanna play the field a bit? I’m in no position to criticize anyone for that.”

I felt my cheeks start to burn but I still grinned. “No, no you aren’t. Even if that does make me worry you’re rubbing off on me.” And that I might be becoming a bit too much like my parents. There was a scary idea and possibly a sign I was getting older. Yay.

Thankfully, Cloud didn’t know what was going through my head. “You could do worse than picking up my charms or learning to find ponies you like being involved with.”

“True.” I shot her a wry grin. “Also I need to advance the interests of Equestria, as is my duty as a princess. Gotta consider how who me settling down with will affect things.”

Cloud snorted. “Gotta do your royal duty. At least it has a sexy component to it.”

I shrugged. “It doesn't have to be all bad. It’s not like I’m going to be made to marry somepony I won’t like because of politics.”

“None of us want that to happen to you.” Cloud shifted to my side of the carriage to sit next to me. “I think you deserve somepony who makes you happy. After how much joy you brought to so many others...”

My cheeks blushed all the more. “Stop, you're embarrassing me.”

“It's just the truth.” Cloud grinned and poked my ribs.

I snorted. “You’re such a flirt.”

“Guilty as charged.”

“And utterly shameless.”

Cloud chuckled. “Am I on trial here, or are you just laying out all my sexy, bangable qualities qualities for the sake of it?”

I rolled my eyes and decided to bring the conversation back on course. “Anyways, sounds like we've got a plan. That’s a relief. At least compared to having no idea to how anything was going, or being afraid of being alone forever.”

Cloud patted my shoulder. “Yeah, no danger of that at all.”

I nudged her side. “As long as my experienced advisor says so then I have nothing to worry about.”

“And I do,” Cloud said. “We'll be alright, whatever happens.”

“I think so.” I looked out the carriage window as we slowed down. “Looks like we’re almost there. Ready for a nice relaxing semi-romantic dinner between maybe special someponies?”

Instead of immediately answering me, Cloud opened the carriage door and stepped out. She gave me an elaborate bow and offered me a hoof. “It would be my honor, Princess PurpleSmart.”

I snickered and took her hoof.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to my editors Chengar Qordath and Comma-Kazie for all their help, and to my pre-readers Brony Writer, wolfstorm56, Trinary, 621Chopsuey, Rodinga, PoisonClaw, and Swiftest for their hard work editing.