Having never been there before, she had little choice but to go there the hard way. Either a train or her wings, and she had selected her wings. Blossom flew high over Equestria, watching it pastorally scroll past her. It was a magic sight, being able to see so far and from such a different vantage. "Really makes ya feel small." There was nocreature about to hear her thoughts, but she still said them for herself.

The further she flew, the chillier it got. It was a subtle and slow thing, but she could feel it, the cold creeping in on her. Maybe she should have taken the train? She was going over the mountains that separated the main portion of Equestria from the north. Snow was covering everything in higher and higher piles. She was entering the true winter lands.

"Hello," called a happy if a little dopey voice. There was Muffins, flying aside her. "Are you going to the Crystal Empire too?"

When had they come in? "Ayup." Blossom looked over Muffin curiously. They were flying steadily, ignoring the chill, and with a postal cap on her head. "Makin' a delivery?"

"Several!" Muffins flipped upside down a moment before righting herself. "Even to the north, the mail must flow." She made swooshy motions with her hooves. "Are you delivering something?"

Blossom considered that. "If ya look at it right, yup!" She pointed to herself. "Ah'm the delivery."

"Ooo." Muffins did a slow circle up and around Blossom. "Delivering that would cost extra bits. Somepony must have wanted it sent real bad." She flew in close to Blossom's belly, then around to her back. "You don't have any stamps or stampmarks."

Blossom was quiet a moment. "Huh... ain't wrong. That's why ah ain't being delivered by no mailpony."

"That makes sense." Muffin tapped at her chin thoughtfully. "But the mail is safer! Usually... We try our best, promise!" She swooped in close to Blossom. "Yer a princess, right?"

"Ayup?"

Muffin clip-clopped cheerfully. "I don't get to make deliveries with princesses! That makes this a royal delivery." She burst into giggles, clearly self-amused at her pun. "I was at your coronation! You looked nice in that dress."

Blossom colored gently as the wind blew through her fur. "Ayup..." She could remember that dress, quite ornate and showy, as was proper for a new noble pony being shown off. "Ah... bet you'd look real nice in a proper dress too."

Muffin gasped dramatically. "You think?! Wow! That would be so fun." Her eyes shined with the thought of being all fancy dressed. "What color do you think they'd go with?" She rolled her eyes. "Would they make it muffin themed?"

"If ya want? Sounds like you don't want that." Blossom considered her flying partner.

"No way." Muffin crossed her arms with a pouty snort. "Just 'cause it's my name and just 'cause muffins are delicious, doesn't mean everything about me is muffins! What about a postal dress?" She smiled brightly at that, eyes not focused on the same place as if dreaming of two things at once. "I'll be the princess of mail delivery!"

"That sounds right nice." Orchard flew in a little closer. "Ah'll be at your fancy party when it happens."

"Yay! You're really nice for a princess." She colored suddenly. "Sorry! Most princesses are kinda nice. I meant you're extra nice! Oh, look." Their talking had distracted them, with Muffin pointing the way to the city below, glittering with the crystals that made them up. "Let's make our deliveries!" She banked sharply, descending towards the city.

Blossom made her own circling descent for a different target. The great big palace was right there, and, oops. She was suddenly in front of it, right at the steps. A guard squawked in surprise, lowering a spear, though he raised it a moment later. "Sorry, ma'am. You startled me."

Orchard Blossom nodded at the guard. "Ain't nothin'. Sorry fer poppin' in like that. Is Cadance around?"

The guard curled a hoof to his chin. "Head inside. I'll put out the word that you're here and seeking her audience."

Blossom trotted up the stairs to find a new pony, a mare, smiling at her. She wore a maid's outfit. "Ayup?"

"Hello," greeted the maid. "I'm here to see to your service, ma'am."

Not the first maid Blossom had interacted with. "Right neighborly." Part of her wanted to gently brush the maid off, but that'd probably hurt her feelings. She was hired to be helpful. "Can ah get a little snack?" All that flying had worked up some apptetite.

"Certainly, this way." She led the way out of the main foyer to smaller hallways, and in them, a sitting room big enough for maybe four ponies comfortably. "Please have a seat. I'll be right back with refreshments for you, ma'am."

Blossom sank to her haunches as the maid dashed off to see that done. "The Crystal Empire..." She could add that to her growing Quick Travel menu. Being able to teleport was kinda great! She just had to get better at not teleporting at times.

She saw a clock hanging there and blinked. "Whew..." She had flown much of the night. No wonder her wings were feeling sore. And she was cold, and... Being reminded of the time spent, all the aches that she had built up from the travel crashed on her.

"You look beat." Coming in from across the way came Cadance with a gentle smile. "Which is curious. I was told you teleported in, with magic. Was it a difficult spell?"

Blossom sat up as proper as she could in a hurry. "Cadance! Right nice to see ya."

"A pleasure to see and be seen." She sank across from Blosom. "It looks like we both had a full day, or night as the case may be." She yawned into a hoof dramatically. "They woke me up with wild news of a princess suddenly appearing. Why didn't you warn me?"

"Uh..." Blossom tucked a hoof behind her head. "Ah didn't think of it? Sorry..."

"It's alright." Cadance inclined her head. "Third member of the new princess club, second of the self-made, hm." She offered a hoof. "Here's to finding our own way."

Blossom met the hoof with her own in a firm clop. "Oh right! You weren't planned for neither."

"No Celestia tutor for me," agreed Cadance with a gentle smile. "Like you, I had to figure things for myself. She was there when I took that last step, but not for the first." She curled a hoof at herself. "Princess of love and family." She turned the hoof on Blossom. "Do you have a specialty just yet? It's alright if you don't. These things take time."

"Ah, hm. Well..." Blossom's horn glowed as she pulled out the police officer's cap, glowing softly, and popped it on her head. "Ah'm a watcher of the night. Unlike Luna, in the, uh, physical, you know? Keep ponies safe, and their stuff if ah can. Night watcher, that's me."

"How delightful, and fast... It took Twilight quite some time to... She's still working on that." Cadance winked. "Don't rub it in her face that you're so confident just yet. Now..." She paused, watching the maid from before come in. The maid quietly set out snacks and drinks between them and scooted out without a word. "Did you ask for that?"

Blossom reached for a tidbit, her magic reaching the rest of the distance to claim it. "Ah did. Right nice mare."

"Quite dutiful indeed. Now, you didn't come here just to talk, at least not aimlessly, I imagine." She steepled her hooves under her chin. "So what is it? Share your question and I may have the answer, maybe."

"Right..." Blossom crossed her arms, still chewing at the sweet tidbit. "Let's start at the start. Ah'm a stallion half the time."

Cadance blinked at that, looking Blossom over intently. "You appear... to be a large mare. Heavyset and strong, certaintly, but still a mare."

"Ah'm Big Mac during the day," Blossom tried more pointedly. "An' he's a stallion. Ah'm Orchard Blossom at night. Switch back an' forth."

"Ah... Ah. Hm." Cadance's eyes seemed to unfocus as she peeked in a new direction. "What a tangled web you have... Alright, I will accept this. You, Princess Orchard Blossom, are also Big Macintosh, a friend of Twilight. An apple farmer, if I recall?"

"Ayup," agreed Blossom with a proud smile. "Awful good at that too, but that ain't what ah'm here for! Ya see... a right handsome stallion made some moves on me... and ah kinda liked it."

Cadance colored just faintly. "Were you... a mare or a stallion at the time?"

"Um..." Blossom frowned with new thought. "If ah was Big Mac at the time, woulda been real confused and kinda upset likely... Ah was this." She pointed at herself, the princess. "But ah'm still him! I could remember what ah felt like, when I was back in that body... It was all... An' ah got a ladyfriend already!"

Cadance's smile deepened, eyes half lidding. "Do you now? Does she know about all this?" She waved gently at Blossom.

"Y-yeah... Does that help?"

"It does... brave mare." Cadance crossed her arms. "Brave, and open. Does she like you, even right now?"

"Huh?" At first, Blossom didn't get it, but it clicked. "Oh! Yeah, she likes me as Big Mac an' Orchard Blossom. And ah like her both ways. She's a right fine mare!"

"I'm not arguing that, I promise. In fact, that she's rolling with this is a credit towards her. Now... I can't say if you started this way... or if it was the influence of your girlfriend, but it's not that unusual."

"What ain't?" Blossom took a sip of a colorful fruit drink. "Mmm, berries, but kinda sour."

"Crystal berries," helpfully offered Cadance. "And I was saying, it's not that unusual for bisexual ponies to gather together. It's not common for one of them to be physically bisexual, but here we are."

Blossom colored at the implications. "She's all mare!"

"But you are not." Cadance smiled at her visitor, looking far more amused than anything else. "I love it. Now, let me guess a little. You woke up as Big Mac, remembering those warm happy thoughts you had as Orchard Blossom, and now, even though you couldn't before, you're thinking of all the nice parts this stallion had, as a stallion, and that's making you really nervous."

"Yes!" Blossom burst out far louder than she had planned. "Ah'm stuck thinkin' 'bout him, and it ain't right. It ain't loyal... Sugar Belle deserves to have a partner that's only thinkin' of her... Please help."

"I see.... You have picked the right princess." Her eyes half-lidded. "This is exactly my ball of wax, as they say... Now, me, I'm pretty standard. I am a mare, and I loved a stallion enough to put a ring on it. The end, happy times forever." She sighed with a happy and distant look. "But that's just one way ponies can get together, not the end, not by far. Now... I want to hear about Sugar Belle. Have you told her about this, or are you keeping it a secret?"

"She's the first ah told," snapped Blossom a bit defensively.

"Good." Cadance leaned back, a floating cup allowing her to sip from some tea. "Open communication is the most important thing, in any relationship, simple or complicated. Speaking honestly and listening thoroughly can get ponies through a lot of trouble, or even let them break things up when they have to. I'm thrilled to hear you're already doing that. Now, what did she say?"

"W-well..." Blossom took a fresh bite of a bit of cake, as if the soft sugar would calm her, which it seemed to do. "She's upset she can't be enough pony to be wit' me all day an' night, but that ain't fair! Ah don't 'spect her to do that! What pony could, um, other than me? Ah made her feel bad... an' that makes me feel bad... Some partner ah am..."

Author's Note

Time to chat with a romantic princess. Cadance may be just the right pony... right?

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