"And so, with a death-defying leap from Spike the Brave and Glorious, and an accurate alicorn javelin throw from my beloved husband, the Crystal Heart narrowly evaded the clutches of King Sombra, and the Crystal Empire was restored after a millennium of being lost to the Frozen North."

Princess Cadance's modern history lecture complete, the students gathered in the School of Friendship's lecture hall applauded by lightly tapping their hooves, claws, and talons on the floor and desks. Headmare Twilight Sparkle got up from her seat on the left side of the room and joined Cadance on stage.

"I'd like to once again thank Princess Cadance for coming down for Modern Crystal Empire History 101. If anypony has any questions, she'd be happy to answer them. Otherwise, class dismissed! Enjoy your weekend!" Twilight announced.

With that, the chatter in the lecture hall quickly rose as the few dozen students began to either file out of the exits towards the cafeteria, the student dorms, or headed into Ponyville, with some staying behind to talk to Cadance and Twilight. The Princess of Love indulged all the questions the students had about how she and the Elements of Harmony rescued Equestria's northernmost city from King Sombra. Once they had all been sated with the knowledge and answers they sought, the two alicorns also made their way out of the lecture hall towards Twilight's office.

"Thanks again for coming down here to speak, especially when Hearts and Hooves Day is this weekend. I've been wanting to cover the Crystal Empire in Modern Equestrian History for weeks." Twilight told her sister-in-law as she sat down at her desk to finish up some last minute tasks and make sure Monday's lesson plans were all set to go.

"I was happy to do it. I'm just glad you and Shining were able to fill me in on a lot of the details, because, well you know, I was rather out of it for a lot of it, especially towards the end." Cadance replied, chuckling.

"So what are your plans for the weekend? Got anything in mind with Shining Armor and Flurry?"

"Absolutely. I wouldn't have come down here without them. Shining and I were able to reserve a table for two at the Cafe Hay, I'm told their Hearts and Hooves menu is exquisite. Thanks for offering to babysit Flurry Heart for us."

"Quite a small price to pay to get you guys down here for the lecture today, as well as give you two a night off. What can I say? Best aunt ever!"

Sandbar had kept a safe distance as he trailed Headmare Twilight and Princess Cadance back to the main office. Their conversation became more distinct as he took a deep breath, and began trotting towards the open office door.

Their conversation was interrupted as he announced his presence with a soft knock on the door, and their attention turned to see him in the doorway.

"H-Hey there. Sorry to interrupt, Headmare Twilight, but I had a question for Princess Cadance." The apple-green earth pony stated.

"No problem at all, come on in, Sandbar." Twilight replied, ushering him in, as Cadance turned to her student.

"Well..." Sandbar began, taking a couple steps into the office. He couldn't hide the nervousness in his voice, much less maintain eye contact with Cadance. "As the Princess of Love, I was wondering if you had any advice on... Relationships..." He trailed off, shifting his weight between his legs.

"That I would, Sandbar, but that's a very broad subject by itself. Could you be a little more specific?" Cadance asked, not wanting to seem too pressing, it was already quite obvious that the student was embarrassed to be bringing this subject up.

"W-Well, at the beginning of your lecture, you said how love can mean a lot of things, of how the strongest, longest lasting relationships start with meaningful friendships."

"Yes?" Cadance said, lightly urging him to continue.

"I-I-I'm wondering... how can you tell? I mean... When and how can you tell that your friendship with somepony could go... deeper?" Sandbar asked.

In a matter of moments, the pin dropped for Cadance. The way he was stuttering, shifting on his hooves, and nearly sweating was all it took for her to read him like a book.

"Sandbar... do you have a crush?" Cadance asked sweetly.

Blood and heat rushed rushed to the surface, and Sandbar's face turned the most delightful shade of red. Cadance let out a short, innocent giggle.

"I understand the embarrassment, but it's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of," Cadance reassured him with a gentle touch on the shoulder, not wanting him to turn tail and run in humiliation. "Everypony gets crushes, and there are so many ways of acting on them, especially around this time of year."

Sandbar managed to stop shivering, take a breath, and give Princess Cadance an honest smile.

"But when it comes to matters of the heart, there aren't too many textbook answers, I'm afraid. Everypony is different." Cadance told him.

"You've been a student here for several months now, Sandbar. Advice might be a little easier to give if we... Oh I don't know... knew who you've got a crush on?" Headmare Twilight asked.

There was that beet red face again.

"W-Well... It's complicated, i-in more ways than one." Sandbar stammered.

"I'm sure Headmare Twilight is teasing you, Sandbar." Cadance said, once again giving him a bit of reassurance. "You certainly don't need to tell us if you're not comfortable with letting us know." She told him with a gentle smile.

"But... She's got a point, Princess Cadance. If she knew who it was, some advice would probably be easier to give. They've been a student here too, for just as long as I have, so she's probably gotten to know them as well as she's gotten to know me over this past school year." Sandbar said, getting his breathing to calm down as best as he could, although the heat in his cheeks wasn't having as easy a time getting under control.

"I'm all ears if you're willing to tell me, Sandbar. As the Princess of Friendship, I give you my word that I won't judge." Twilight told him confidently.

Sandbar took another deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to look directly at Princess Twilight, fighting back the last urge to turn and run.

"It's... Gallus."

Author's Note

Well, this is probably the most times I've changed the cover of a new story before pushing it live. I wanted to go with a cropped version of a NSFW image, but according to the rules, that's forbidden and well, honestly, I've seen quite a few stories that break that rule.

Regardless, I certainly hope you like this little opening.

As always, I welcome feedback and theories about where you'd like or think this is going to go.

Thanks for reading!