Being The Princess of Love for a Day

by Foal Star

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Celestia, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Comedy, Romance
Length: 9233

Princess Celestia finds a strange bow and a quiver full of arrows then uses them to make ponies fall in Love on Hearts and Hooves Day

This story takes place around season two.

One Hearts and Hooves Day, Princess Celestia finds a bow and a quiver full of arrows in Princess Cadance's room. She then discovers the objects can be used to make ponies fall in love with each other and decides to play matchmaker this Hearts and Hooves Day. However, Princess Cadance recognizes the danger of using this artifact, searches for her aunt, and tries to stop her shipping spree.

Cover Artst: Pridark

Published 2023-02-12 19:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-07-25 02:37:48 UTC

Chapter Two: Hot on the Trail

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait; life kept getting in the way as I planned to have this story done before February ended, but I rather have it be good than rushed. This story is relatively short and has three chapters left, but they will be out by this week or next week. Thanks for reading.

Chapter Two: Hot on the Trail

As Princess Cadance started her hunt for her aunt Princess Celestia was fluttering through a secret passageway within the inner walls of her castle. The alicorn princess decided to travel this way so that ponies wouldn't catch her, as she wanted to remain anonymous. She then hit a lever, opened the wall, peeked out from her hiding place, and spotted her second target, Prince Blueblood, down the hall. Celestia couldn't believe her luck but stayed silent as she didn't want to make her presence known. Her nephew was cornering a maid and trying to woo a poor mare to go out on a date with him.

"Come on, sweetheart; it's Hearts and Hooves day!"

The maid looked annoyed as she rolled her eyes and grumbled, "Please, Prince Blueblood, I just want to get back to my duties."

"Come now; you're a commoner; you should be grateful I'm even talking to you."

She rolled her eyes and then said, "seriously!? You think I'll go out with you just because you're a prince!"

Blueblood started to swear and asked somewhat hesitantly, "yes?"

The maid scoffed, then strutted off with a "huff," shaking her flank. Blueblood lowered his gaze, seeming to be somewhat embarrassed by being dismissed in such a manner.

She saw how desperate he was and felt bad for him. He was raised almost isolated by his parents, causing him to have terrible interpersonal skills. She remembered how he was with Rarity at the Galloping Gala, and he came off as rude and misogynistic, but the truth was he was raised to be this way and didn't know how to interact with ponies in any other way.

The mare saw him eye a handsome royal guard, a white-coated pegasus with gold eyes and a wispy blue mane. The guard strutted on as he was going about his rounds and turned away, suddenly shaking his head and looking somewhat embarrassed. That was when it came to Celestia, her nephew was bisexual!

She watched as he eventually got the courage to talk to the guard.

"Good sir, would you come here for a second?"

The guard seemed somewhat surprised as he asked, "yes, prince Blueblood you asked for me?"

The prince then trotted over and said, "I...I…um, just wanted to ask, are you doing anything for Hearts and Hooves day?"

The guard shook his head and said, "Well, not exactly. I was; however, I am going to get off shift soon."

Blueblood perked up and asked, "I see; what's your name?"

"Feather Cannon, but my friends just call me Feathers."

"Oh, a lovely name..Wo-" He paused mid-sentence and hesitated about what he wanted to say.

Princess Celestia groaned, seeing that Blueblood was starting to chicken out. Spearheart turned his head and asked if he wanted to go on a date; worried he might say no, Celestia quickly pulled out her bow and aimed a shot at her nephew first. She then stood up on her hind legs with her toga flowing around her body as she notched two arrows. The princess placed the bow up to her muzzle, drew the bow, and, with a deep breath, let the bowstring go and sent her arrows flying. One landed right into the flank of the guard, and the other arrow hit her nephew's butt right in the center of his cutie mark. The two both had blank stares. She gave a little leap in celebration, being able to hit her nephew and his lover with her enchanted arrows, then continued to stay hidden and continued to watch.

Feather Cannon looked into the eyes of Prince Blueblood as he whispered, "p…prince Blueblood…."

"Yes?"

The pegasus' face turned a bright red as he stammered, "Prince Blueblood?"

Blueblood looked up with a confused look and squeaked, "yes, Feathers?"

"We…were you trying to ask me out?"

Celestia couldn't help but place her hooves over her mouth, anticipating what would come next.

Prince Blueblood was somewhat surprised, then began to stammer, "I…I want to ask, do you want to go out? I wouldn't mind getting a drink at a bar nearby?"

"Oh sure…but you know, being a prince and all, wouldn't that cause a bunch of gossip, not including the press, would be on us like hawks?"

Prince Blueblood nodded, then said, "yeah, your right…wana just come to my manor? We can have a private meal for ourselves?"

Feather Cannon slowly trotted over, nuzzled him with his face, and whispered, "that sounds lovely. Let's go."

The two then came closer, and it wasn't long until they started to make out! Celestia placed her hooves over her mouth, stifling her squeals, and watched the two break their embrace and trot down the hall with their heads nuzzling into each other.

Once she lost sight of the two, Princess Celestia skipped back into the passageways feeling proud of herself as she successfully found the perfect match for her nephew! She continued to fly through the dark shadowy corridors pondering who was next. Her niece Princess Cadance already had Shining Armor, so there's no point in using her enchanted arrows on her…then Twilight! That will be her next and last target. Still, this one will be the most difficult, seeing she's in Ponyville and must continue remaining unseen. The alicorn princess came out from a tunnel in the courtyard, peeking out from a hole when she saw the coast was clear. Celestia then slowly exited the tunnel, shook herself, and adjusted the toga around her. She was starting to enjoy the fabric around her body. She then flew up into the sky, squealing as the toga flew up around her, making the mare laugh as she soared through the skies and headed towards Ponyville to help find Twilight a coltfriend or a marefriend.

As Princess Celestia was flying towards Ponyville, Princess Cadance was busy searching all over the castle. Still, she couldn't find her aunt anywhere! She talked to many guards and other castle staff, and not a single pony had seen her since she raised the sun this morning. Many assumed she went to her room for a nap. But she had already checked there, and no pony was there. After checking her aunt Celestia's room and seeing she wasn't there, Cadance paused and thought things over. She knows her aunt was usually regal, but she can make rash and irrational decisions when she gets overly excited. Knowing she would be after ponies, she "thinks" she needs lovers such as her aunt Luna, Prince Blueblood, and maybe even Twilight Sparkle. So she would go check Princess Luna's room first!

The princess of love soared through the halls and burst into Luna's room, and looking over the night blue room and moon-shaped bed, she was nowhere to be seen! Princess Cadance slammed a hoof on the ground and shouted, "buck!"

A tired-looking batpony guard then trotted over and asked, "um…Princess Cadance?"

The pink-coated alicorn turned to face the guard and asked, "you haven't seen Princess Luna recently, have you?"

The batpony took a hoof to his chin and said, "when I went to end my shift, I saw her talking to my partner Moonbow. I thought it was odd."

"Odd? Odd, how?"

"Well…it went from a casual conversation than almost rather suddenly the two were flirting."

"I see," Princess Cadance sighed, seeing that her aunt Celestia used her enchanted arrows on Luna and this guard. She now had at least something to go on. Sir, can you show me where this happened?"

The soldier gave a nod and escorted Cadance to the spot. There she noticed the evidence of her aunts with Luna's dark blue feathers littering the floor. Further down the hall, there were white feathers near a wall. So the realization came to her; it seemed that Celestia shot her sister and this guard with arrows without them knowing, as this other guard didn't mention seeing Celestia. That would mean her aunt was using the secret passageways. Princess Cadance rose, pulled down an empty torch, and stood back as the stone wall started to move, revealing a secret passageway.

"Woah!? What is that!" the batpony guard shouted, being somewhat surprised.

Princess Cadance smirked, "trust me, this proves my hunch is right."

"What hunch!? You just stood there for several minutes!"

"Oh, right? Um…it just means I know why Princess Luna and that guard were acting strange," Princess Cadance quickly responded. She didn't want to let anypony know Princess Celestia was running around shooting arrows into ponies to make them fall in love. Princess Cadance continued to stand there pondering this new information. Seeing that Princess Celestia used the secret passageways proved to her that she was right, which means she probably has left the castle. But she would need to track the enchanted arrows back to the bow itself, and the only way to do that was to find Luna.

Princess Cadance turned towards the soldier and asked, "do you know where Princess Luna and her fellow guard went after their encounter?"

The soldier sighed as he pondered momentarily, then said, "I believe that they went to a nearby cafe; I think I know the one they were talking about."

"Would you mind if you could escort me?"

"Of course!" The soldier gave a wave with a hoof, and Cadance followed this batpony soldier down the halls as she was finally on the trail of princess Celestia. Hopefully, she can stop her before she can get to anypony else.

Princess Cadance and her escort bat pony soldier came with her to a quaint little cafe near the castle. She spotted her aunt Luna and the bat pony soldier named Moonbow gazing longingly into each other's eyes as they drank coffee and chomped on cute little heart-shaped cupcakes. It was cute, and Princess Cadance felt a little guilty as it seemed her aunt was deeply in love with this handsome batpony. But they were in love under an enchantment, which didn't sit right with her.

"Um…Princess Cadance? Since Princess Luna was found safe and sound, can I be excused?"

The princess of love turned towards the guard, and seeing how tired he looked, she felt somewhat guilty keeping the poor soldier up so late and said, "yes, go get some rest, please. Don't worry about me."

The batpony gave a loud yawn and said, "alright, if she needs me, just let her know I'm in the batpony barracks." He then trotted off with his eyes drooping. Princess Cadance then turned towards her aunt and her love, trotted over with a smile, and shouted, "Auntie Luna, there you are!"

The princess smiled and said, "oh, Princess Cadance, how are you? I thought you would be having a date with Shining Armor?"

"I would, but…well, I have to find Princess Celestia. It's rather important."

Luna laughed as she nuzzled her love, then said, "oh, come now, you should be out drinking and making love, not running around looking for my sister!"

Moonbow nuzzled back, and soon the two were making out. Princess Cadance gave an embarrassed look and trotted back. She soon lit her horn to see if her hunch was right, and surely enough, the enchanted arrows were embedded into the flanks of both her aunt and Moonbow. She levitated the arrows from their flanks and hid them behind one of her wings. Meanwhile, Moonbow and Princess Luna slowly came to their senses as they both gave each other embarrassed looks before removing their lips from each other's mouths. Luna looked around, a bit confused, and asked, "w…what came over me? What were we doing?"

"Ye…yeah, I feel the same way," Moonbow admitted, his cheeks flushing red from sheer embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Princess Cadance slowly stepped back and, with her horn, saw a trail of bright yellow magical residue leading off into the distance.

Luna turned towards her niece and asked in a rather desperate tone. "Cadance, do you know what did this to us? This was some enchantment, right?"

"I do…but I can't tell you right now, especially in public; I suggest going to your room and getting some rest," Cadance explained, and before Luna or Moonbow could ask more questions, she had soared into the air and was heading through the skies following the trail. When she saw where it lead, the princess of love gave a loud groan seeing them that the trail of magic was leading straight to Prince Blueblood's manor.

Chapter Three: The Catalyst

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Chapter Four: A Rain of Arrows

Princess Celestia flew towards Ponyville, and there her mouth dropped, and she was utterly exhausted; she came to the village and noticed something was off, already seeing the citizens of Ponyville kissing and chasing each other around. It was utter chaos. Celestia then looked down as some ponies not affected were imploring her to help them. She quickly landed in the middle of the town and shouted in the royal Canterlot voice, "Citizens of Ponyville! A rain of enchanted arrows has fallen upon you, Rainbow Dash, and I will ensure you will be free from their curse! If you can assist in this endeavor would be much appreciated!"

She then snatched, breaking the arrows on the ground and off ponies and placing them into her quiver. Celestia was pleased to see others helping her. Despite the effort to remove the enchanted arrows going much more smoothly than she had anticipated, the princess was so embarrassed and disgraceful for allowing these enchanted arrows to hit so many of her subjects. The princess got over her disgrace, flew over them, and started to remove arrows from her citizens, squeaking out a "sorry" as she levitated the projectiles and placed them into her quiver. Looking up and seeing the many ponies lusting over each other, the princess of the sun couldn't help but think about how when Twilight placed a "want it, need it" spell on a doll and caused the citizens of Ponyville to go nuts. She remembered how furious she was learning how Twilight almost unraveled everything she built over missing a friendship lesson. She also saw that her desire to see her fall in love wasn't much different, if not worse. If anything, this was way worse because she may have caused irreversible damage to their lives.

She then spotted Rainbow Dash across the town square, who was doing the same to the pink earth pony Cheerilee and Big Mac, to who she quickly apologized for snapping the arrows. Upon seeing Rainbow Dash, her worries and doubts about herself started to fall off her shoulders, seeing her fly around quickly and agile. Celestia sat and watched Rainbow, and she couldn't keep her eyes off of her and was enticed by how cute she looked, especially how the daredevil reminded her of a younger version of herself. Princess Celestia stood there and continued to watch the daredevil finish collecting the last of the arrows. She then turned to face her with a bashful look on her face as she placed them in the princess' quiver and looked right into her eyes with a blush spreading across her face as she asked, "So um…why do you keep looking at me like that?"

Rainbow placed her hooves over her face and squeaked, "I'm not sure!? I can't seem to stop admiring how cute you look."

Celestia threw her wings over her face and cried, "Please stop saying stuff like that!"

Rainbow Dash continued her advancements, brushed the wing from Celestia's eyes, and continued, "Come on, those eyes, your wings, that mane. You're the most beautiful princess I've ever laid eyes on!"

"You think so? I haven't had time to bathe."

"Seriously!?" The pegasus looked downward, her cheeks flushing pink, and said, "Well, maybe you can come and bathe at my house."

The alicorn princess raised her hooves over her face and asked, "Would that be ok?"

"Of course! You're the Princess of Equestria, crying out loud!" The daredevil tugged on the princess' hoof and led her into the clouds. As they continued their ascent into the air, the princess couldn't help but admire Rainbow flying and how good she was at maneuvering through the air. She knew these intrusive thoughts were from the enchanted arrows that hit them, but she seemed unable to take her eyes off her. They eventually made it to Rainbow's home, where Celestia was amazed at how big the place was and exclaimed, "Wow, you live here!?"

Rainbow Dash nodded and said, "Yeah, believe it or not, this place was the home of Ponyville's former lead cloudbuster. But when I moved to Ponyville, she retired and gave me a good deal on the place. Trust me; it's way too big for me."

"Well, that explains a lot, but it is a nice house," Celestia whispered as she was then led into the mansion made of clouds and couldn't help but admire her hooves on the soft material. It was so bouncy and soft beneath her hooves, much more comfortable than the hard marble that made up her castle or even the soft carpet in her bedroom. She couldn't help but skip to her step as she pranced inside Rainbow Dash's home and headed to Rainbow's bathroom. The princess then slowly stripped off her toga, took a long shower, and started to let the water rush over her.

Meanwhile, Princess Cadance was slowly trotting through the streets of Ponyville. She was surprised to see that the tendrils of magic were slowly fading, and it seemed that her search for her aunt was finally ending. But two trails remained, and she slowly flew to Golden Oaks Library. Upon reaching the massive oak tree, she worried Twilight Sparkle was caught up in this mess. She gave a sigh knocking on the door. Twilight opened it and was surprised to see Cadance standing there and asked, "woah, Princess Cadance!? Is that you!?"

The princess of love gave the mare a heartwarming smile and said, "Yes, it's me. It's been so long."

Twilight skipped over and started to do their chant and dance from when she was a filly and, upon finishing, laughed and chirped, "So what brings you to Ponyville?"

The alicorn gulped and was a bit unsure of what to say, seeing she didn't want to worry her soon-to-be sister-in-law about Princess Celestia going said, "Well, it's complicated. I have to ask if you haven't seen Princess Celestia around?"

"Oh no!? Has she gone missing!? Has she been foalnapped!?"

Cadance threw her hooves in the air and quickly replied, "Oh no, no! Nothing like that."

She quickly held up a hoof and said. "She uh…well, she may be out on a stroll by herself, and I'm just trying to make sure she's ok."

Twilight eyed her, seeming not fully to trust her, then said, "Alright…well, I haven't seen her."

"Have you noticed anything else?"

Twilight paused, tapped a hoof to her chin, and said, "I noticed that arrows fell from the sky. I thought that was odd."

"Well, that is strange."

"You think so?"

"Yes, but this wouldn't have anything to do with Princess Celestia, right?"

Cadance paused; at this time, she would have to assume that her aunt had stopped the spread of the enchanted arrows; maybe some spilled out of her bag or were dropped. Regardless, she would assume most ponies don't know what's happening, and for now, it would be best to keep the details hidden from most. But from what she's learned, Twilight seems reliable and whispered, "Um…well…you see, if I tell you this has to be kept a secret."

"Ok, what is it?"

"Well, my aunt Celestia has gone a little cuckoo and has taken an enchanted bow and quiver full of arrows. Whenever they pierce a creature, the moment another arrow hits another being, they fall madly in love with each other."

"Oh, so that's what was going on? I saw some ponies making out earlier and thought they were acting weird because it was Hearts and Hooves Day." Twilight blinked as if something had crossed her mind. She flew back into her library, came back out levitating two arrows with her magic, and said, "Well, I did find these earlier."

Upon taking the arrows, Princess Cadance flew over. She hugged the violet unicorn and squealed, "Thank you so much!"
She broke the embrace and said, "Please keep this between us, ok? I'll have my aunt come to explain what happened to the citizens later."

Twilight bowed and said, "Of course, and um…would you come back? There's so much I would like to talk to you about."

"Yeah, of course, I would love that," Princess Cadance chimed; she threw out her wings and flew off into the sky, wondering if she should tell her that she and her brother would marry soon. But for now, she'll focus on following the magic trail emanating from the arrows. This meant that the last two enchanted ponies might be none other than her aunt and some other unlucky pegasus.

After Celestia came out of the shower, she wore her toga again. She then slowly trotted over to see Rainbow Dash, who seemed unable to take her eyes. "Yo…you feel refreshed?"

"Yes, I do thank you for allowing me to use your shower."

"It's no problem at all! You can use it whenever you want!"

Celestia looked downward, her heart racing again, and said, "I hope you're not just saying that because I'm a princess."

"Of course not! You're well…" Rainbow's voice trailed off as she looked away, seeming embarrassed to finish her sentence.

Growing a bit impatient, Celestia asked, "Well, what?"

"Maybe this is the enchanted arrows talking, but you're so amazing, and how well you keep Equestria safe, how you mentor Twilight, how without you, we may have never met. I mean, you don't snobbish or come off thinking you're better than anypony, and you've never abused your power."

Princess Celestia was starting to feel uncomfortable with this flattery and said, "Well I…Im not perfect."

"Of course not, and what makes you special is you don't try to hide being perfect."

Without realizing it, Celestia and Rainbow Dash slowly approached each other, and now they were face to face. Without warning, the two started to kiss. Then they heard a knock, and they all squeaked out loud as somepony shouted, "Celestia, are you there!?"

The princess quickly pulled away from Rainbow Dash, who whispered, "Who's that?"

"It's my niece Princess Cadance. She probably came here looking for me."

"What should we do?"

Celestia gulped; she wanted to run, hide, and pretend she wasn't there. But that would be like a child trying to hide after they broke something. So instead, she will face the consequences of her actions and say, "We don't have a choice."

The alicorn princess then trotted towards the foot and slowly opened it, revealing an angry pink alicorn. "So, Auntie, what are you doing here?"

"Well, um, you see…I um…"

Cadance smirked, then asked, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything between you and Rainbow Dash."

The daredevil stammered, "No…nothing at all."

Cadance then came into the house then showed them the two arrows. "I assume these belong to you two?"

Celestia squealed, "Yes…thank you…we were looking for those!" as the white alicorn reached for them, her niece lifted the arrows and said, "Well, before I break these and break the enchantment on you two. I want to know everything."

Rainbow Dash led her and Celestia across her home to her kitchen. They then sat together at Rainbow's dinner table then sheepishly told her everything from stealing the bow and arrows with the toga to making Luna and Blueblood fall in love to trying to find somepony to hook up with Twilight. But she ended up getting arrows stuck in herself. After finishing her tale, Cadance sighed and said, "Well, the good news is that we have picked up every enchanted arrow. And I hope you learned a valuable lesson in not messing with my stuff."

Princess Celestia bowed before her niece and apologized, "Of course, it was foolish of me, and it will never happen again."

"Well, you don't have to be that formal," Cadance then held the arrows out in front of her and snapped them, and they dissipated, and Rainbow and Celestia gave sighs of relief. The love princess rose and said, "Well, you look exhausted. I would suggest taking a nap before heading back to the castle. Also, before I leave."

She held a hoof, and Celestia blushed as she wanted the toga back. But she started liking it and asked, "C…can I keep it? Just for the Day?"

Cadance rolled her eyes, "Fine; you're also going to need to tell everypony what happened. So be ready for that."

"Of course, I will make sure that happens before returning to Canterlot," the princess of the sun whispered, feeling like a foal being scolded. Princess Cadance then rose and shook Rainbow's hoof, "Well, it was nice meeting you as well, Rainbow Dash."

"You as well, princess," Rainbow Dash squeaked out, seeming to be abit overwhelmed with all of these alicorns visiting her.

Princess Cadance then took he leave and flew back down to Ponyville, and as soon after her niece left, the princess fell back into her chair and gave an exasperated sigh, "I screwed up big time. I don't know how I can tell everypony about what happened."

Rainbow Dash flew over and helped her up. "Yeah, from the sounds, your curiosity just got the best of you. That's all."

"True, but I should've had more self-control."

"Well, I did learn a few things, like you look great in a toga, and you're a good shot with the bow and arrow."

"You think so?"

"Yeah! You are!"

"Thank you," Celestia patted her mouth and was escorted to Rainbow Dash's bedroom. As they came in, Celestia was astounded by the Wonderbolt posters plastered on the walls and smiled as she said, "Well, I see you're a big fan of the Wonderbolts."

"Yeah, they're only the best flyers in Equestria."

"Well, that means you'll be one in no time."

Rainbow Dash got bashful again and snapped, "Are the arrows talking? Is one stuck in your butt?"

The alicorn princess laughed, thinking about the daredevil's performance at the Young Flyers competition. She said, "I mean it. Do you know how long it's been since somepony performed a Sonic Rainboom?"

Rainbow smirked at Celestia and said, "Alright, that was pretty impressive."

The daredevil helped the princess remove her toga, slowly slipping the white fabric from her body. Despite the two no longer being compelled by the enchantments of the arrows, Celestia noticed Rainbow Dash being bashful, despite knowing full well the pegasus had seen her fully naked before her plenty of times and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"What, no, of course not!" Rainbow squeaked; she quickly stowed the toga aside and helped lay the solar princess in her bed. The pegasus then tucked the princess under her Wonderbolt-designed comforter.

As Rainbow Dash left, Celestia whispered, "I apologize for all of this; if you require anything from me, I'll make it so."

The daredevil turned back and said, "Letting you sleep in my bed is a reward in itself! Have a good rest, ok princess?"

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I won't forget your kindness," Celestia yawned, then laid back on the pillow and closed her eyes, feeling much better now that they averted a disaster. But the princess was still worried about what she will have to do in confessing to the citizens of Ponyville what caused them to go love crazy.

Chapter Five: The End of the Princess of Love

Later that afternoon, Princess Celestia slowly rose from her nap and gave her mouth a few taps, and stretched her limbs; the princess then groggily trotted to the bathroom where she went to work combing her long strands of light rainbow-colored mane, redid her makeup, then went back to Rainbow's bedroom. The alicorn then stood on her hind legs and dressed herself in the toga, having the soft fabric fall over her body. She clipped the bronze oak leaf cluster, fastening it onto her right shoulder, and watched the material drift around her body. The princess looked up at her reflection and couldn't help but admire herself for a minute. Seeing how sexy she looked in a toga and how it showed off her flank and shoulders. The princess couldn't help but wonder if she should ask her seamstress if she could make her a toga or two for her. The alicorn then turned to face Rainbow Dash, who was looking squeamish, "You don't have to do this. I'm sure you can just tell everypony what happened through the press or something."

Celestia considered holding a more formal press conference. But seeing how much chaos her enchanted arrows caused to the citizens of Ponyville, and said, "No, Rainbow Dash, I need to confess to what I've done."

"But come on!? You have to admit it was also funny; I mean seriously there's no reason to punish yourself."

"It's not punishment; it's taking responsibility for my actions; rumors will spread if I try to hide behind a press conference. Ponies could blame Princess Cadance, and I won't allow her to take the blame for my foolishness."

"Alright I guess," Rainbow Dash sighed and stood aside as Celestia flew off from Rainbow's house and was escorted to Ponyville. In the middle of the town, the place was crowded, and everypony seemed to be still recovering, with many having rushed apologies and some spouses having to explain why they were kissing other ponies. Celestia was feeling more squeamish as she came to the middle of the crowd and stood atop a podium. She was looking upon the crowd all gazing up towards her. Many started to shout and ask for answers to the "love curse." The cacophony of voices got rather loud. Seeing no other choice the princess has to use her Royal Canterlot voice, "PLEASE, CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE, PLEASE CALM YOURSELVES!"

Soon everypony in the town stopped talking amongst themselves and turned their attention toward the princess. Celestia then cleared her throat and proclaimed, "Fillies and gentlecolts! I am here to explain what happened today! Earlier this morning, I discovered an old artifact: a bow and quiver of arrows that cause ponies to fall madly in love with each other."

The alicorn grimaced as she was going to explain what happened, feeling like a foal explaining why they broke their mother's priceless vase, and said, "In a rather foolish notion to play matchmaker and having ponies fall in love with other ponies. I came to Ponyville to find somepony to match with my student Twilight. However, I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings and crashed into Rainbow Dash, which caused a bunch of arrows to fall out of my quiver. They then rained down on you, which caused the love curse. Luckily, alongside Rainbow Dash I was able to retrieve most of the arrows, and Princess Cadance collected the rest, and she has locked away the artifacts to keep them from being miss used."

The princess knelt before the crowd in an act of humility and said, "For my actions, I humbly accept whatever punishment you deem fit."

The princess bowed her head, and then this caused a rise of laughs from the crowd and then a round of applause as Mayor Mare came forward, "Princess Celestia, please, it's quite alright; Twilight has done her fair share of magical mishaps, let alone we just recently went through Discord's chaotic magic spree. I think I'm speaking for most that we are all just relieved that the love curse was caused just you being goofy and not some monster or evil unicorn.

Most of the ponies within the crowd nodded in agreement, and some even were still laughing. The princess had to admit that these Ponyville ponies were quite flexible regarding the shenanigans magic can cause. "I appreciate your candor and forgiveness."

"There's no need! You're the princess and have saved Equestria Faust knows how many times; just please take this as a lesson to stick to being the princess of the sun and not the princess of love."

This got another round of laughter from the crowd, and the princess couldn't help but laugh with them. Meanwhile, Twilight ran over with her eyes wide with disbelief as she said, "Princess Celestia, you um...uh you look good in that toga…"

The princess's cheeks flushed pink as she said, "Thank you, I've taken a liking to it."

"Um…would you want to come over to Golden Oaks? I wouldn't mind hearing about what happened over a cup of tea?"

Princess Celestia nodded, seeing it would be nice to talk things over with her student after such a nerve racking speech. "Of course, I would love to relax and talk with you!" As Celestia followed Twilight to Golden Oaks, she couldn't help but feel a weight was now off of her shoulders.

For the rest of the evening, Princess Celestia chatted with Twilight in her library, sitting in some comfy chairs and sipping steaming cups of tea as they talked about the enchanted bow and arrows. Twilight was fascinated by the history and how the pegasi created them using some unknown magic; they also got a good laugh over Prince Blueblood and Luna falling in love with some royal guards.

While sipping her cup of tea, Twilight asked, "So you came to Ponyville to have me fall in love with somepony?"

Princess Celestia still feels guilty and embarrassed for her actions, but seeing she already confessed what happened to everypony in Ponyville, telling the truth to her most faithful student wouldn't be as bad and said, "Yes, I did. I wouldn't have chosen somepony you didn't like…I was just trying to see if there was somepony that you were interested in and just give you a push."

"Well, It's nice to see your intentions were good, but please don't worry about my love life. I'm still trying to focus on learning about friendship. I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

"I understand, and it was not my place to do so, even if the magic from the bow and arrows influenced my decision-making. It was still wrong of me."

"I understand; I've heard how depressed you are during Hearts and Hooves Day…I mean, have you tried looking for a new special somepony?"

The princess looked longingly upward, thinking about her love Prince Sombra from an alternate Equestria. It still hurts knowing they may never see each other despite being away from him for over a thousand years. She then let out a depressed sigh and said, "I apologize, but my heart only belongs to one pony. Maybe we can be together one day, but that won't be for some time."

"This pony must've been somepony you really loved…could you tell me about him or her?"

Princess Celestia chuckled, seeing her student was trying to be polite, and it was nice to see same-sex couples in Equestria were so common that ponies weren't phased by the idea that she could be gay. Though she had some same-sex crushes, with Rainbow Dash being one just recently, she was still in love with a stallion. The alicorn looked over towards her student and said, "It's a him, and that's a difficult conversation. Maybe one day we can talk about it…but it's too painful to bring it up even now."

"Ok, we can change the subject," Twilight quickly added, sipping her cup rather nervously. Celestia couldn't help but feel guilty putting her student in such an awkward position. Twilight finished her cup and then said, "This whole story reminded me of when I put that "want it, need it" spell on my old doll."

Still embarrassed, Princess Celestia agreed, "Yes, even I have spouts of bad ideas. Maybe we both should go back to Magic Kindergarten."

Twilight groaned, slammed a hoof to her face, and said, "Please, don't remind me about that. I feel so dumb thinking you would do that to me."

The alicorn couldn't help but chuckle, "Trust me, the idea of turning you into a kindergartener crossed my mind. I couldn't help thinking how cute you were on your first day of school."

Twilight threw her hooves over her face from sheer embarrassment and cried out, "Please stop! You're sounding like my mom!"

Celestia burst out laughing as tea squirted out of her nose then they both heard a knock at the door. Twilight got up and exclaimed, "I'll get it!"

The violet unicorn trotted over to her door, and it wasn't long until Celestia overheard Rainbow Dash's voice, "Hey, is Princess Celestia still here?"

"Yes? Did you want to talk to her?"

"Well yeah..sort of…"

The alicorn's face was a bright red as she rose from her chair and said, "Twilight let her in; we should talk before I leave."

Twilight was confused but let her friend walk in, looking somewhat embarrassed with her cheeks flushed with a shade of pink; she casually waved a hoof, then said, "Hey princess, I was scared you went back to Canterlot already."

"I was, but Twilight offered some tea and cake, and she was rather curious about what happened and about the magic bow and arrows."

She paused, seeing that Rainbow Dash wanted to talk about their kiss. Seeing how personal the subject was, she turned towards Twilight and asked, "I apologize. Could you give us a moment?"

"Sure... I'll go make some more tea!" Twilight chirped, eyeing Rainbow Dash as she trotted off the kitchen.

Celestia set up a barrier around herself to ensure Twilight didn't overhear; she then turned to Rainbow Dash. "So, how are you doing?"

"Me, oh, I'm fine! Uh..yeah, um, we should maybe talk considering we uh…"

Celestia was starting to get flustered remembering when she was making out with Rainbow Dash and whispered, "Kissed?"

“Yeah…look even before um the arrows…I..I actually have a uh…”

"A crush?"

"Yeah, a crush, I don't think you're into me, but I just thought you should know."

She was somewhat surprised and held a hoof over her chest and said, "Well, Rainbow Dash, I have to say I am touched you love me in that way…and maybe in some other universe we can be together…but I still am in love with somepony else."

"Right, I get that; I guess I can go back to saving Equestria and you ruling it."

Celestia bowed her head slightly to Rainbow Dash and said, "Of course, thank you."

The princess lifted the barrier, and Twilight came over with a fresh teapot. They then all settled around the coffee table as Twilight asked, "Soooo, what were you talking about?"

"Uh, nothing, just um…making sure we got all the arrows."

Twilight eyed her friend seeing her suspicions were growing. They then all sat down together and started to sip their tea together. Still, the tension over Celestia and Rainbow Dash's secret discussion said, "We were talking about how two arrows struck us and made us fall in love."

Rainbow Dash threw her wings over her eyes and cried, "Seriously!"

Twilight's eyes widened, and she spat out her tea, then shouted, "What!?"

"It was merely us being in love from magic Princess Cadance found the arrows and undid the magic, so it's over."

"Ok, but did you two…"

"Kiss?" Celestia finished with a squeak.

Rainbow groaned as she threw her wings over her face and cried, "Please don't!"

The princess bowed her head a little, feeling somewhat uncertain about telling her student the whole truth. But at this point, she was this far. "Well, yes, but only for a brief moment."

Twilight snickered, "Too bad I wasn't there. If one of my friends fell in love with my teacher, I think it would be great! And out of all ponies, Rainbow Dash? For some reason, I always thought you would be more Rarity's type."

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle and said, "I could see you assuming that, but I think I was always captivated by Rainbow Dash's free spirit and cocky nature."

Rainbow flew over, lifting the toga and shouting, "Are you still enchanted!? You have another arrow stuck in your butt!"

Celestia lit her horn, levitated the toga down, and said, "They're just compliments, Rainbow, don't read too much into them."

"Fine! Let's just move on to another topic please!"

The alicorn princess rose up and said, "I would love to, but I was absent for most of the day, and I should make sure that my Castle is in order." She turned to Twilight and bowed, "Thank you for the tea and the company."

"It was my pleasure; please come again!"

"Of course," she then turned to the somewhat flustered and embarrassed Rainbow Dash and said, "It was also nice to see you before heading off…I apologize for everything, and you can ask anything of me."

Rainbow Dash looked up at her and sighed, "It's fine, princess…just don't mention us to the press or anypony else for that matter."

"Of course, everything that happened between us today will remain our little secret."

She then spread her wings and flew off into the air towards Canterlot. During the flight, she watched as Luna rose to the moon with the sky now filled with glittering stars. The princess still felt that if she did retire; which could happen seeing Twilight's progression woth her studies on friendship, she should pursue love. However, if she learns once and for all confirms there's no way ever to see her Prince Sombra again, maybe she and Rainbow Dash could work something out…but that would be for another time.

Chapter One: A Bow and a Quiver full of Arrows

It was Hearts and Hooves Day, and Princess Celestia was trotting back from raising the sun; she was somewhat satisfied with her duties and seeing everypony the holiday; she, of course, had the day off, but unlike many other ponies, her love was far away in another dimension. She just sat by her window and watched two ponies kissing down from her window at two of her pegasi royal guards. The princess couldn't help but look down with a solemn smile and a heavy heart. She wanted to think of anything else at the moment. Still, there wasn't much else to think of the matter as she made her choice long ago, seeing that if she had continued to pursue that lost love, she would've ended her world and her love's; there was nothing she could do now. Then it struck her rather suddenly, seeing she was alone with nothing to do. Most of the time, during this holiday she would sulk in her room and cry, wishing to be with Sombra, her love from a different dimension. But she should try something different this year instead to keep her mind off things. Then an idea struck her like a bolt of lightning. Princess Cadance was out on a date with her husband. What if she snuck into her room and saw what it was like? She pondered the notion and decided it would be fun to sneak a peek.

Princess Celestia quickly left her room and snuck into her niece's room. As she went inside, the princess of the sun looked around and saw that overall, it seemed relatively normal with a beautiful bed with a fluffy pink blanket; around the room were pictures of herself and Shining Armor together, and some with her and a younger Twilight Sparkle. There wasn't anything interesting; she seemed much more grounded than her nephew Prince Blueblood. She then looked inside her niece's closet, and then she noticed something weird. There was a quiver full of arrows along with a bow. The question she would ask herself what were these doing in Princess Cadance's room?

She looked at the tips of the arrows and noticed they were in the shapes of hearts. She chuckled to herself, finding the weapon amusing; maybe it was a sex toy she used on Shining Armor? The alicorn couldn't help but chuckle to herself at the thought Princess Cadance was the princess of love after all.

Princess Celestia, however curious, decided to put the quiver around her back and then took the bow; she then felt a strange warmth from the weapon as it glowed with power. She then saw an odd piece of clothing and slid it over her body. It was a soft white fabric, and it looked like a blanket. The alicorn then levitated the cloth and trailed it over her body, seeing a gold oak leaf clip going over her right shoulder. She peered around her body and how the fabric followed her like a dress, but it didn't feel uncomfortable or stiff; the cloth felt rather loose around her. The alicorn princess then trotted over toward a mirror. She stood on her hind legs to see the fabric fall around her tall body. Still, it seemed to adjust itself to accommodate her body. Seeing how the dress-like outfit was on her, that was when she recognized it as a toga. She's seen ponies wear this clothing for hundreds of years by the pegasi, but it went out of fashion long ago. The mare then pondered for a second why her niece would have these artifacts.

She paused, then something came into her mind. A long time ago, there was a story from the pegasi that the title "princess of love" used to be passed down through a bow and a quiver of arrows. If she can recall, the bow and arrow were used to quell disputes by making ponies fall in love with each other. But she always thought this was only legends!? She didn't think these artifacts actually existed! And her niece had them the entire time.

Princess Celestia then decided to try it out, but not on ponies…she snuck out of Princess Cadance's room and headed back to her own. There she found her pet phoenix Philomena on her perch staring outside at a rather handsome-looking hawk. With a smirk, Celestia stood up, nocked an arrow, and aimed the bow at her pet. It's been a few centuries since she shot a bow. Still, despite being out of practice, her muscle memory seemed to kick in as she hoisted the bow up to her face with her hooves and pulled the string back. Then with careful aim, she shot the arrow at her phoenix. The magical arrow flew across the room, and it didn't pierce her body; it seemed to fuse into Philomena's body. Celestia then aimed her bow at the hawk outside. When the arrow pierced its body, the hawk immediately turned its attention to her pet phoenix. The two locked eyes; the hawk swooped into her room and nuzzled beside Philomena. The princess was somewhat surprised at how fast they went for each other and was more surprised that the magic was real! She always thought the legend of the pegasi of love was just that, a legend! The alicorn was starting to feel giddy as the wave of power came over her, and she wanted to see what else she could do with it.

Princess Celestia flew off through the castle's hidden passageways to avoid being spotted by guards or castle staff as she looked for her sister Luna. The princess always figured she had a crush on a batpony soldier that guards her, but she never dared to ask him out.

But as Celestia rounded a corner, she was lucky to find her sister talking to the stoic batpony royal guard she had a crush on. Seeing the two in the same place was a relief; she watched and waited as they continued their conversation.

"So, Princess Luna, you're not doing anything for Hearts and Hooves Day?"

The princess of the night gave a long-winded sigh and shook her head, "no, I don't really plan on doing anything today. It's just not something I do considering me being Nightmare Moon. I doubt anypony would want me to be their special somepony."

The batpony soldier shook his head "no," then responded, "princess, I must disagree; your sister and almost everypony has forgiven you. Come now, you surely can enjoy yourself?"

"Oh, I would…but at the moment, i'm not feeling good. Last night I had to deal with many anxious ponies who have either forgotten about the holiday or are planning to confess their love to their special someponies."

The night guard bowed his head and said, "I guess it seems that didn't help you with your anxieties."

Princess Luna shook her head and said, "Of course not; it just made them worse. All I can think about is how hard it is to be rejected by somepony you think loves you."

The nightguards looked downward with a worried look on his face and replied, "yes, I can understand that feeling."

Celestia let out a groan seeing that, at this point, the two were going to be nervous to say anything; if she didn't act fast, Luna would go to her room and eat ice cream until she collapsed in her bed and her poor night guard will just stand outside hating himself for not asking her to go out with him! That was when she decided to use her enchanted bow and arrows to have Luna and her royal guard fall in love with each other!

The princess of the sun then snuck out of the passage as quietly as possible with only the swishing of her toga. She then stood up on her hind legs and took out her bow, knocked one of the arrows, and aimed it at her sister's flank first (mostly because she likes teasing her about her fat flank); once she had her bow aimed, then took a shot and struck her sister in the butt right into the middle of the crescent moon.

Luna then started to look rather sleepy, as if she was in a trance. Celestia then aimed her bow and quickly shot it at the royal bat pony guard aiming right at his heart.

Once the arrow struck the stallion, he looked at her with a romantic smile and asked, "well, um, Princess Luna?"

"Yes, Moonbow, what is it?" the princess asked, seeming to flash him a smile.

The stallion gulped and said, "Princess Luna would…would you like me to take you out?"

The princess was somewhat taken aback by the proposal and asked, "are you certain?"

The batpony threw his wings out and then chirped, "Of course! Since you returned from your exile, I couldn't stop thinking about asking you out!"

Princess Luna placed a hoof on her chest and replied, "I'm touched. Where should we go? I know of a lovely bakery that bakes the most excellent fruit tarts."

The soldier took the princess of the night by the hoof and responded, "that sounds wonderful."

The two started to make out, then trotted off onto a date as the white-coated alicorn almost squealed in delight, seeing she successfully helped her sister fall in love! It was so easy too!

Celestia pondered what if she did this to other ponies. She knew who needed a push personally; she felt that Prince Blueblood needed inspiration in the right direction, and her favorite student, Twilight, was making progress in making friends. Still, the poor filly had no love life; maybe she could use a push to find a cute coltfriend! Then, Princess Celestia decided she'll play matchmaker for the day! And her next target was her nephew, Prince Blueblood!

Meanwhile, Princess Celestia set off to play the princess of love for a day. Princess Cadance and her fiancé Shining Armor were returning from a Hearts and Hooves Day brunch. The stallion nuzzled his fiancé and asked, "So you want to lie down for a bit? I think I drank way too much mimosa."

"Oh, you would like that wouldn't you," Cadance purred as she nuzzled into her fiancé's mane as she felt the same way. The two continued to trot into her room, and the princess of love already felt something was off. Somepony had come in here and saw white fur and feathers on the ground. The coat she would've assumed was her fiancé's, but her future husband didn't have wings, so that didn't explain the feathers. She continued to search the room seeing strands of light rainbow-colored mane that led to her closet. The pink-coated alicorn opened it and started looking around, crying out, "oh no! Somepony took my quiver and arrows!"

"You're what!?" Shining Armor asked, needing some clarification.

Princess Cadance groaned as she started to explain, "ok, so long story short, when I officially became the princess of love, and before we met, I was taken to Cloudsdale. There I was told about some legend that pegasi would award one of theirs with the bow and arrows of love. They can basically make any two ponies fall in love with each other. This relic was used to resolve conflicts and help pegasi mate when they were reluctant to do so," Princess Cadance shivered at the thought, "I found the entire concept a bit creepy and decided to hide them. Most ponies don't know about this relic, and I forgot about them too. But somepony came into my room and stole my stuff, and I think I know who."

Shining Armor pondered for a few moments tapping a hoof to his chin Princess Cadance rolled her eyes and replied, "do you know of any other pony with a light rainbow mane and white feathers?!"

Shining Armor took a moment to scratch his mane and then responded with a sheepish grin, "Oh right, Princess Celestia," The stallion then collapsed onto his fiancé's bed and whined, "come on, she's just bored and probably having some fun she'll put it back after she gets bored."

Princess Cadance was getting frustrated with her husband as she pulled at her mane and shouted, "that's not the point! My aunt probably thinks she's having fun or helping ponies find their true love. But she's messing with ponies' hearts, and I can't let her do something she'll regret! I must find my aunt and stop her before things get out of hoof!"

"Can you find her later?" Shining whined with a smile. "I think you might be overreacting."

The princess of love put a hoof to his mouth and whispered, "wait, ok? You're obviously drunk; rest up and wait for me, ok?"

"Fine," Shining groaned rather drunkenly as he pulled the covers over himself. Princess Cadance gave a snicker at her drunk husband. She then flew out the door and into the halls as she searched for Princess Celestia before she caused too much chaos with her bow and arrows.