The chiming of the breakfast bell rang throughout the caste halls, calling Princess Cadence and her grumbling stomach to the royal dinner table. Even before opening the massive golden doors leading up to the fancy dining room, the young alicorn could already smell the freshly cooked breakfast items enticing her raging stomach to insufferable degrees.

She barged through the doors to be met with a normal but pleasing sight. Plates and bowls of food covered the table, hiding the violet and gold-rimmed tablecloth and raspberry table runner underneath. There was almost no end to the mouthwatering morsels: brown cinnamon pancake towers topped with melted butter and blueberry syrup and fields of powdered sugar, pink strawberry pancakes drizzled with strawberry jam, french toast, french bagels, french fries made to look and taste like french toast strips, fruit-filled crepes, cheese and egg-stuffed croissants, and the table just went on and on.

The combination of sights and smells shattered what little modesty and control Cadence had left, forcing her to leap into her seat and dive straight into a tower of cinnamon rolls flattened out to look like pancakes. Forks and knives laid to the side abandoned and neglected as the young princess decimated her plate, leaving only frosting and tiny crumbs in the aftermath. She leaned back in her seat and released a satisfied belch as she patted her nearly full belly.

"Excuse you, Cadenza."

An angelic voice caught the princess by surprise from her post-pancake satisfaction. She sat up in her seat and looked around for the source of the voice. The sound of clacking hooves turned her head to the left to see her foster aunt walking along the side of the table. Cadence shamefully wiped away the crumbs and sticky frosting from her muzzle and coat before leaping off of her seat and bowing before the majestic monarch.

"Good morning, Princess Celestia," she said with reverence.

She awaited her superior to command her to rise from her stance, but she didn’t say a word. Cadence opened her eyes and looked up while still retaining her respectful form to see Princess Celestia looking down at her with a playful smile, as if taking pleasure in watching her niece struggle to keep her position. The young alicorn's limbs began to tremble and lose balance, further edging her to fall.

"You can get up now," Celestia giggled.

Cadence does as she is told, but suddenly lost stability and collapsed onto the velvet carpet floor with a loud thud. She glared up at her aunt who struggled to hide her amusement at her prank.

"I'm sorry, my dear," she said while stifling a chuckle. "I just couldn't help it. Also, you don't need to address me so formally. You are my niece after all."

Celestia stretched out her hoof, which Cadence gratefully accepted as she wiped away her annoyed expression, and pulled her niece back up into a loving hug.

"Enjoying the food I prepared?" Celestia asked as she hugged her niece into her fluffy chest.

"I enjoyed every bit of it, as always," Cadence replied with content. "Although, I wish I could have had some more pancakes before you interrupted me, Aunty."

Celestia walked the young princess back over to her chair and gestures with a wing to sit down. "Who says you can't?"

She levitated one of the neglected forks and took a piece out of one of the strawberry pancakes. The rush of sweet, natural flavors flooded her palate and taste buds until her mouth tingled with a sharp, sugary sensation.

"Oh my! I never fail to impress, do I?" Celestia askd with pride.

Cadence chuckled as she took a bite out of the pancake, diving into the same sea of flavor as Celestia did. She took another bite, and then another, and another, until nothing was left on her plate for her or Celestia. Cadence chuckled awkwardly as her aunt gawked in surprise at her niece's swift consumption.

"Uh, if you don't mind, Aunty, I'm just gonna go see if Twilight's family needs some foalsitting done later today." The young alicorn turned around to leave, but Celestia's voice dragged her back.

"About that, may I have a word with you, dear?" Her voice was gentle as always but it had a deep, serious tone to it this time.

Immediately, Cadance stops in her tracks and glances back over to the monarch, wondering what could cause her to sound so down. "Is everything all right, Aunty?"

Celestia takes a deep breath and exhales sharply before she responds to the anxious alicorn. "Cadenza—"

"I'd like to just be called Cadence, please."

The monarch nods in compliance. "Cadence, you're of age now and as a mature mare you have certain responsibilities, milestones if you will, that you need to accomplish in life." Cadence doesn't know where she's going with this. "It's time you went out and found yourself a job."

Ears drooped and eyes wide with shock, Cadence can't believe what she's hearing. "A j-job?" she stammers. Celestia gives her a reaffirming nod with a blank face to show her she's being serious. "B-but I already have one foalsitting with Twilight Sparkle. Why do I need to get another job?"

Resting a hoof on the young princess's shoulder, Celestia peers into her bright purple eyes which are darkened by worry. "I know you love spending time with that little unicorn, but...it doesn't pay enough to provide for your future, sweetie."

"Provide for my future? I live in your castle, how can my future not be supported with nearly all of the wealth in Equestria?"

Celestia sighs in distress. 'This one is going to be difficult to reel in'. "Because what if I'm not around to provide for you? And besides, that money is to provide for our citizens in times of need, not to be spent frivolously on makeup and glamour items."

"But I don't spend money on that stuff, Aunty." She zips her muzzle when she notices her aunt's all too familiar stern glare.

"The point being," the monarch continues, "you have to learn how to live on your own and take care of yourself like any other pony. Luna and I once had to do some actual work to provide for ourselves, despite living with Starswirled the Bearded when we were your age."

The cloud of sadness and anxiety hanging over Cadence's head disappears, now replaced with intrigue and curiosity as she takes in her aunt's words. "Really?"

Celestia gives a nod as she smiles. 'Gotcha.’ "Of course. Starswirled was insistent that we find a way to provide for ourselves. He explained that it builds character, modesty, and integrity when you're in a working environment and being independent. Wouldn't you like to feel something like that, Cadenz—ahem—Cadence?"

So many thoughts are currently running loose in Cadence's mind, most of them having to focus on leaving Twilight, one of the few fillies she's grown to love. However, Celestia is right, she has to grow up and do something that'll help her in her future.

'Foalsitting is fun and I enjoy spending quality time with Twilight, but I need to do something a grown mare would do.' "I'll do it!" she exclaims with newfound confidence.

"I knew you'd make the right choice. If you'd like, I can give you some suggestions for jobs or you can search on your own."

Cadence thinks long and hard about this gap in the road. 'Either ask for help and not know what I'm doing or put in some effort and be independent for once.' Having made up her mind, she smiles up at her loving aunt. "I'll be independent and work on finding my own job. Thank you, Aunty!" She gives the monarch a warm embrace, which she returns by enveloping her in her snow-white wings.

"So, what job did you have in mind?" Celestia asks.

Opening her eyes, Cadence realized one thing she completely neglected. "Uh..."

"You have no idea do you?" Celestia releases the young princess from her hold and looks down at her embarrassed face. Small pools of red form hidden within the sea of pink on her cheeks. "Well, think about it, what are you most experienced in?"

"Foal sitting?"

"Exactly. I'm sure you can earn more by working for a daycare instead of in a household."

"Yeah, I guess so. Thank you again, Aunty!"

With her goals finally set in stone, Cadence rushes out of the dining room and through the front doors of the palace in a rush. She'd better find a job before all the good ones are taken.

Celestia looks back at her excessive meal and frowns. "Great, made all of this for nothing, apparently." She uses her magic to collect all of the uneaten food into a large ball, condensing it until it shrinks and disappears into nothingness.

As she walks back to her chambers, one of the Royal Guards was watching from behind a corner and saw what the princess had done to the massive buffet just sitting on the table. She and her niece weren't going to finish it anyway, why not leave something out for the guards? Celestia stops to glance back at the guard peeking at her. She smiles and gives him a wink as she shakes her rump from side to side, enticing the stallion to come closer.

The guard steps out from his hiding place and stands at attention in respect for the princess. He tries to avert his gaze from her majesty's voluptuous globes, but he can see her swaying her hips out of his peripheral vision, making it harder to refrain from getting a boner.

"Looks like you're not the only one standing at attention," the princess chortles. The guard follows her gaze and notices the bulb of his shaft peeking out from beneath him. "You know..." The princess makes her way over to the virtuous guard, strutting down the velvet carpet, one hoof in front of the other. "...now with Cadence out, I can finally have some alone time with my special Royal Guards."

The stallion's face is boiling red at this point; dewdrops of sweat run down his face as he tries to keep his composure, but his twitching member and Celestia's harmonious, erotic voice only makes things worse. 'Would it be wrong of me to just...fuck her here and now?'

"Call the rest of your squad and tell them to meet me in my chambers in fifteen minutes."

The guard gives a firm nod and runs over to the barracks to alert the rest of his squad just as the princess had commanded.

"And hopefully Cadence's new job will keep her busy for most of the day as well. A princess needs to have fun without a filly running around all the time."

“Excuse me, ma’am!” Cadence calls out to a mare in a daycare. “You wouldn’t be hiring right now, would you?”

“Oh, sorry dear, we just received our last hire. You’re going to have to find another daycare. Sorry!”

As the door slams in her face, Cadence leaves in a disheartened huff. “Damnit, that was the fourth daycare that rejected me so far. I guess that huge estrus wave a few months ago really affected the economy for better...and for worse.”

Every establishment she's come across either doesn't need employees or currently has enough and simply forgot to take their "Help Wanted" signs down.

'How can I go back to the castle and tell Aunty Celestia I haven't found a single job?' she thinks in shame.

She continues to scour the city of Canterlot for any place that could hire somepony with her expertise, but no matter where she turns, there's nothing in store for her. The sun is already going down for the day, and the fear in Cadence's heart began to rise.

'Maybe I should have just stuck to letting her show me what to do first. I can't do things on my own!'

A flashing pink light catches her attention, turning her head to the source: a large, one-story building with a flickering pink sign with the words TIPSY MAGIC appearing and disappearing, leaving Cadence in darkness and back in the light. A bright green unicorn horn sparking magical essence accompanies the glowing text to complete the eye-grabbing image of the establishment. The building itself is pretty pink with blue rims around the roof and borders. More neon lights are etched into the grooves between the roof and the building body. What intrigues Cadence the most, however, is the eye-catching "HELP WANTED" sign on the front door.

She smiles with glee as she can just imagine herself in a real job—one that can satisfy her and make her aunt proud. Well, only make her satisfied. A bar isn’t the best option for her, but what other options are randomly popping up for her to take?

The princesses have never tasted a drop of sinful nectar nor have they ever gone near it. The only alcohol allowed in the castle—at least for the princesses, as the guards can drink whatever they want—is some bubbling chardonnay and some fruity crimson wine. But being a bartender or server doesn't mean she has to drink from their selection. In fact, she probably wouldn't be allowed to, so that's a good thing in her and Celestia's books.

"Hey, some job is better than no job," she claims.

She opens the door to the establishment to be met with a breathtaking scene. Nopony else is here, which means she can gawk at the decorations and splendor as much as she wants without getting in anypony's way. Alternating blue and red lights from chandeliers shower the room as if it itself were a beautiful display. Black cushy chairs are seated around round black tables and near a stage in the back of the establishment. A bar sits off to the side filled with shimmering alcohol that can satisfy anypony with a saddened heart or just wants to drink for fun. In the very center of the building is a small silver podium with more black chairs surrounding it than any other table. It has a large golden pole in the middle, which seems odd to Cadence.

'I wonder what a random poll is used for in a bar like this?'

"Excuse me, miss?" A gruff Bronconian voice startles the young princess from her spectating, causing her to turn her head to see a burly unicorn stallion with a black waistcoat, yellow and black striped tie, and white fedora. His coat is hard to identify with the shifting of the lights, but Cadence can sort of make out a murky green color similar to the baby food Twilight vomits up. His mane and tail are jet black with gray highlights. Stubble lines the outline of his muzzle, giving him a stubborn, aggressive look, but peering into his eyes, Cadence can see a kind soul. “Can I help ya?”

Cadence snaps out of her trance to address the citizen. “Good evening, my name is Princess Cadence, and—“

“A PRINCESS!?” the owner screams. He looks over the mare, taking notice of her horn and wings. Cadence is taken aback by his sudden explosion but becomes uncomfortable as he bows before her. "S-so sorry your majesdee. Whateva can I do fah you?"

Cadence looks around the establishment, not knowing what to do. She's received this approach before, but she always has a hard time responding to it. "It's fine, sir. You can rise."

The stallion stands at attention in respect for her majesty, however, Cadence cringes at the sharp presentation of formality. "So, may I ask what her majesty is doing in a place like this?" he asks with confusion.

Looking around the establishment, Cadence doesn't see why anypony wouldn't want to venture to a place like this. "I saw your help wanted sign out front and I thought I'd sign up for a job." She says all of that with a proud smile, but the stallion stares at her, bewildered.

"Uh, Princess—"

"Call me Cadence."

"A-are you sure?"

She gives a simple nod. " When I'm out and about like this, I prefer to be treated informally."

"Alright then, Cadence, you do realize this is a strip bah, right?"

Her happy attitude crumbles away and is replaced with disgust and distress. "What? But, but I thought this was just a bar. The sign out front didn't say anything about it being a strip joint."

"Really?" The stallion walks past the confounded princess and out the front doors. He looks up at the flashing sign and stomps his hoof on the pavement. "Damn. Thank you fah pointing that auut." He presses a button to the left of the front doors and a loud click can be heard from outside. The lights outside flash once more until they burn out, leaving the street in darkness. "Sorry about that. A big ol' 'XXX' was supposed to be shinin' out thahe but I forgot to toon that one on. The lights aren't even supposed to be aun during closing time anyway, what in Tartarus was I doing? " The stallion looks at the princess's distraught expression and gives her a gentle tap on the foreleg to bring her back to reality. "Er, if I may ask, why are you trying to look fah a job? You didn’t get kicked auut auf the castle, did you?”

“Heheh, no. Her majesty just told me I need to learn to take care of myself since I’m of age. And um…” She looks around at the establishment, feeling uncomfortable in the lewd atmosphere. “I was trying to find a daycare job, but you know, the estrus wave. So I just happened to stumble upon this place.”

The stallion takes a seat in one of the black chairs and gestures for the princess to take one herself, which she respectfully does. “Are you certain you want to join the family? I mean, you don’t have to be just a stripper ya know.” At those words, he uses his magic to pull out a cardboard box from behind the bar counter. Cadence blushes at the lewd contents within. Bunny outfits complete with floppy ears, fishnet stockings, and latex suits in an assortment of colors, each complete with a fluffy white tail. “These are auur business's waitress uniforms. You can get aune if you plan aun working here.”

"I dunno. The whole scenario seems kinda...out of my comfort zone."

“Yup. Of course with you princesses not usually being all that into stuff like this, it’s understandable.” He looks her over and smiles warmly. “Howeva, a princess wouldn’t waltz into a bah looking fah a job neitha. I mean, I’ve neva seen Princess Celestia trot in and aurda a Slim Gin from any auf the local pubs and bars. Do you think she’d like a Slim Gin? It has an earthy flavah to it but the aftertaste is heavenly.”

“T-true, a princess usually wouldn’t enter an establishment such as this, but…”

“Ya really need the job.”

Cadence nods with shame, averting her eyes from the owner’s gaze. ‘A princess working in a strip bar is crazy, but my dream of working in a daycare center is flushed down the crapper, so...where else do I turn?’ Every instinct tells Cadence she should leave, but she has to get a job. She NEEDS to get a job.

“Look, I’ll give ya time to think about it. You don’t have to do any stripping, no sexual stuff, just serve drinks and meals.”

“In the bunny—”

“In the bunny costume, yaww. I’m not persuading aur trying to encourage you to wok fah me if you really don’t want to, given your status but, you know, to prove to your folks that you can support yourself, you can join.”

Cadence looks outside to notice the sun is almost below the horizon and the moon will make its way up soon. Her aunt could be looking all over Equestria for her. The last thing Cadence needs is for Celestia to find her niece hanging out in a strip bar.

“I should probably get going,” she claims as she rises from her seat. “Princess Celestia will be searching for me if I don’t come home soon.” She turns to the stallion, who nods in understanding. “Uh, I’ll sleep on it, okay?”

The stallion nods his head in agreement. “You can come by tomorrow morning when we’re aupen so I can show you the ropes. That is if you're still interested. Seven in the morning works best fah incoming newbies.”

As Cadence heads toward the front door, she stops just as she remembers something important. “Can I get your name, please?”

“Slam Bam, ma’am.” He tips his fedora to the princess as she leaves for the night with a smile. As the doors shut behind the alicorn, Slam Bam can't help but watch her derrière swinging back and forth with every step she takes. "Damn. Fah a young princess, she has a similah candy ass to Celestia. I really hope she says yaww."

“Cadence!” Celestia gallops over to her niece and embraces her in a loving hug with her wings. “Where in Equestria have you been? The moon’s almost up and I haven’t seen you since this morning. What took you so long?”

The young princess hangs her head in shame but becomes elated once again as she remembers her events of the day. “Sorry, Aunty. I was having some trouble with the job hunt.”

“You didn’t get the daycare job?” A slight shake of the head is all Celestia had to see to understand. “I see. I’m sorry you didn’t get what you wanted.”

“Yeah, about that. I kinda got another offer...”

“You have!?” the princess shrieks with joy. “Where? When? I mean today of course, but where?”

‘Crap!’ She had said too much. ‘I can’t tell Aunty Celestia about the strip joint. Tartarus, I didn't even get a job yet!’ “Uh, at a local bar!”

Immediately, Celestia’s joyous expression fades into a serious frown. “What?”

“I know it’s not what you were expecting me to get, and it's not something a princess or even royalty would think of—"

A hoof is placed on her muzzle to shut her up as Celestia looks over her with sympathy. She brushes her hoof through her bright mane for reassurance.

“I'm not mad, just...surprised is all.” Cadence could have sworn she sounded upset but decides not to press it any further. “Indeed, it's not something I'd expect from you, considering our roles, but it would probably help you learn how the world works, especially in a difficult environment."

"It may be difficult, but I'll handle it in a sinch, Aunty."

Celestia chuckles at her niece's determination and embraces her in a warm hug.

"Oh yeah, I have to be there by seven tomorrow to learn the gist around there," Cadence adds.

"Seven? That seems pretty early, don't you think?"

"Yes, but the owner doesn't want me bugging other customers on my training day, you know."

Celestia smiles at her niece with joy as she rests a wing on her back. "Well then, I think somepony had better get some sleep before their big day." The two hug once more before departing for their chambers for the night.

Finished with her nightly routines, Cadence crawls into the safety of her warm sheets and snuggles in the soft shield that defends her from the spears of cold air. Although feeling warm and comfy, a freezing icicle forms in her heart, bearing down on her and filling her with doubt.

'What if I'm forced to do something obscene over there? I hope I just have to worry about the bunny costume and nothing else...and Aunty finding out about my secret.'

Author's Note

Re-edited to have a better excuse as to why Cadence needed to get a job.