> Dear Princess Cadence > by Featherpen Lullaby > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Fond Filly > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Princess Cadence, Help! I’m in love with a good friend of mine but I have so many problems. I don’t think he thinks of me as anything more than a friend and I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried dropping hints but he’s so adorably oblivious that he doesn’t notice them or he just thinks I’m acting weird. I really want to tell him but I don’t know how. Also he’s not even from Equestria or anywhere in this world for that matter, I know it sounds crazy but you have to believe me. He always looks so sad and I think it’s because he’s seen so many ponies (or whatever they have in his world) he loved die, because he’s immortal, and I don’t want to hurt him more. I know that he’ll have to watch me grow old and eventually die and I don’t want to do that to him, it’ll be worse if we’re in a relationship, I just don’t want to hurt him. On top of everything I’m not sure how my daughters will feel about it; I have two fillies from a previous relationship. What if they don’t want me to get married? I know the older of the two is particularly mistrustful of other stallions. I know it’s a lot but I really need your help. -Fond Filly P.S Here’s a muffin for your troubles, sorry if it’s stale. Dear Fond Filly, You’re right that is a lot but love will find a way, don’t worry. Stallions are oblivious, to them a blinking neon sign is a hint, it took me ages to get through to my husband (though I sometimes wonder about his intelligence, he’s lucky he’s cute). Ask him if he wants to have dinner, nice and simple and see how it goes from there. If he treats it like a friend thing than you may need to try to get him to see you as more than a friend, but don’t go to over the top or you’ll scare him away, try dressing up a little or doing being extra nice. If he treats it like a date then you’re good to go, after that you should cultivate your romance with care, get him to confess or if you feel up to it, confess you self. As for him being and immortal being from another world, I believe you, I’ve seen stranger. First thing’s First, that is such a beautiful thing to say, putting him before yourself is something so kind and loving that you have earned the right to be happy with him. The mare who would suffer through heart break for the stallion she loves deserves to be loved by all and more. If he’s sad then he’s looking at things the wrong way round, he should cherish what he had and be happy when he remembers what’s gone. All thing die and we all lose things but instead of being sad that it’s gone you should be happy you had it in the first place, it’s up to you to help him see that. When you look at it that way, your (possible) relationship will be another happy memory for him to look back on when he’s sad. Finally your daughters, all I can say is, if you love him and think he is the one than they will too. I trust you’re judgment and I know that you are truly in love, if he is The One than they will love him too. It may take time but I have a feeling that even if they don’t love him then they will tolerate him for your sake. Good luck, Princess Cadence. P.S Thank you for the muffin, it was delicious! > Lovestruck > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Princess Cadence, Me and my best friend have been close since we were little but I think I’m starting to feel something more. I’ve always loved my friend but I’ve never felt this way about before, I just want to be with her all the time. My heart beats faster when she’s around and when someone comes into the room and it isn’t her I feel disappointed. I’ve also started noticing little things that didn’t matter before now, like how she smells like candy of how pretty her mane looks when she tosses it. Am I in love? I think I’m in love with her! What do I do? Do I tell her? What if it ruins our friendship? What if she doesn’t even swing that way? If I say something and she doesn’t feel the same I know she won’t make a big fuss but our friendship will never be the same. I recently found out that she’s been keeping a massive secret from me, what if she’s hiding something else? Like a secret special somepony? What if she’s married? Or maybe she’s hiding something good, like romantic feelings for me? Please help me! I can’t just sit here and do nothing; I haven’t felt so strongly about anything since humans! -Lovestruck Dear Lovestruck, that’s a lot of questions but I’ll do my best to answer them all in a satisfactory manner. Just to confirm your suspicions, yes, you are in love. You should tell her, but do in a way that suits her. For example, you mentioned her smelling like candy so I assume she likes it; try involving candy in your confession, like a box of chocolate hearts and a note telling her how you feel. As for her gender preference, I suggest figuring that out first and acting accordingly. If she prefers stallions then you don’t really have a chance, I’m sorry but I’m obligated to tell the truth. If she likes mares, then full steam ahead! Having feelings for a friend is almost always tricky, it’s a balancing act, you have to be careful not to ruin what you have while trying to develop it into more than a friendship. All I can say is, be careful, try to get as much information as possible, if it’s likely that she feels the same then you’re good to go. If not than you have to wait, possibly forever, because from the sound of it your friendship is important to you and losing it would be very painful. Sometimes it’s better to weather the storm and keep things the same than ruin what you have, if the signs point to her not liking you than don’t do anything. If she’s hiding something that could jeopardize a romantic relationship between the two of you than there’s nothing you can do. You could eliminate the threat but that would end up hurting two ponies even if you did get the girl in the end. If it’s just a special somepony than it may blow over and leave her single again but if it’s a spouse than all you can do is continue being friends with her and live with the pain. You’re future is one that may be filled with pain and heartbreak but it could also end with a happily ever after and it is that hope that keeps us going. Don’t give up! With love, Princess Cadence. > Potion Problems > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Princess Cadence, I have a crush on a stallion but we have a nasty history together. This stallion and I had an unfortunate experience with a love potion about a year ago; it was a harmless little thing three of my students made but we ended up completely infatuated with each other under its influence. Now I realize that I am really truly in love with him. He’s everything a mare could want in a stallion; he’s kind and caring but also strong and steady. He doesn’t talk a lot but he expresses himself through singing instead, he’s part of an a cappella quintet and he has such a wonderful singing voice! He’d make a perfect night in shining armor, gallantly rescuing me from the clutches of evil... No that I think about that a lot. I’m not the shy type, under any other circumstances I would happily march right up and tell him how I feel but there are certain circumstances surrounding us that are a problem. I’m afraid that after the love potion disaster no pony will be able to take our relationship seriously. When they see us together all they’ll think of is how we acted under it’s influence and it’ll just be a town joke. Sometimes I wonder if my feelings are real or if they’re leftover from when we were cured, what if I don’t actually feel this way? I can’t even trust myself anymore. Sincerely, Potion Problems Dear Potion Problems, You poor thing! Love potions are nasty, I spend a lot if my time trying to clear up the messes they make. To start he sounds absolutely dreamy, you’re lucky I’m married or I might’ve tried my hoof with him. If he’s all that then you need to act fast before some other mare snaps him up, winning a stallion is always easier if you don’t have competition. I think that you should have more faith in yourself and how you feel, if you think you’re in love than the chances of that being the case are pretty good. With the exception of extremely powerful and complicated ones, love potions don’t leave lasting effects once they’ve been treated, a fact for which I am infinitely glad. If every pony thinks the two of you being in a relationship is a joke then they should really know better. In a town like Ponyville the love potion fiasco has probably faded from memory by now, obscured by all the other events that have occurred since. If you two really are in love then what others think shouldn’t bother you, if it does you may want to rethink your relationship. Hold your head up high and go and get him! Love, Princess Cadence P.S, If the towns ponies are being really mean and it’s bothering you then let me know and I’ll come an tell them off. Dear Princess Cadence, Thank You! I just wanted to write back to express my gratitude for the advise you gave me, I walked right over to the farm and told him how I felt. He’s picking me up at six for our date! Sincerely, Cured Customer (Previously known as Potion Problems) > Cherry Juliet > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Princess Cadence, I have no idea what to do, please help me. I’ve been a bit lonely recently but none of the stallions where I live are right, it’s a very small town you see. Now if it were just that then I’m sure I could just go speed dating or hire a matchmaker but it’s not. The problem is I have found him, the perfect stallion that is, but we can’t be together. I saw him at a rodeo Appleloosa while I was looking for new worker for the farm and it was love at first sight, I swear I heard the violins playing. I talked to him after the rodeo on the pretense of thinking of hiring him, well it wasn’t really a pretense, he’s a fine strong pony and a great addition to the farm. He’s a really nice guy, polite as anything and such a gentlecolt; I simply adore stallions who let a lady go first, hold doors and pull out your chair for you, and he said the sweetest things. Oh dear, I was rambling wasn’t I; I suppose one does that when one is in love. The problem is our families, were both fruit farmers and fruit farmers are very traditional in our ways, never harvest before sunrise, little things like that. The thing we’re strictest about is marriage; you should never marry a fruit farmer who farms a different type than you. It’s silly really but we stick close to these things, I’m sure you’ve guessed the problem by now, he farms apples and I farm cherries. Now, if it was say a grape farmer then it would be frowned upon but allowed but the Apple family and the Cherry family are old rivals. I worked with his cousin not to long ago and that ended rather badly so I’m hesitant to try and break tradition again in case of another disaster. Hopefully yours – Cherry Juliet Dear Cherry Juliet, I love your pseudonym, I simply adore Shakespony! Don’t let an old musty tradition hold you back from love, you go out and you get your stallion! Rivalries all end, maybe it’s time for this one be put down and an age of peace between the families replace it, think of the delightful collaborations you could create. Some rules are made broken, particularly concerning love, there should be no limits put on something so profound and powerful. I suggest you find him and get to know him better, become friends before anything else. If he knows and likes you already then moving up to romance will be easier, if he’s already complimented you as you implied then you’re off to a good start. He may not be so open to change and should that be the case then don’t give up hope, show him how it could benefit him and his family and if that doesn’t work, pull out the charm, stallions tend to be a great deal more open to suggestions when you being charming and showing off your looks. Best of Luck, Princess Cadence. > Clueless > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Princess Cadence, Lately I’ve been feeling that something is missing from my life. I used to keep myself locked in my house or in the library studying but recently an old friend taught me a lesson about friendship, after stalking me and generally being kind of creepy, I might add. After that I made some friends and fixed things up with my family and generally mended my damaged social life, with help from my friends of course. Now I’m doing well, studying and books aren’t the only things on my mind anymore, I go out a lot more, I’m more social, my house isn’t a dump, it’s great! Like I said though something is missing, I feel like there’s a hole in me that can’t be filled with just friendship. I think that I need romance in my life. The thing is I don’t know the first thing about stallions, dating or relationships, how do I meet a stallion? How will I know he’s The One? How do I get him to like me? How do I know if he likes me? I’m freaking out just thinking about it, I be a total mess trying to talk to a stallion in real life. I’ve read some books on the subject but none of them were very helpful for the few times I tried to get a stallion’s attention. I’m so lost; the whole concept of love and romance is so foreign to me. Please help me. Sincerely, Clueless. Dear Clueless, you sound a lot like someone I know, do you happen to know someone called Twilight Sparkle? Now, it’s normal for a mare to need a little love in her life, I of all ponies appreciate that. What’s not so normal is being as completely unprepared and oblivious as you seem to be, most ponies know something about romance. Well, I can’t help you in real life, I do have a kingdom to run but I can give you a brief crash course on romance and dating. I’ll start by answering your questions. How do you meet stallions? Easy, there are stallions everywhere, ask you friends to introduce you to some or go to a social gathering and socialize a bit. How do you know he’s The One? As cheesy as this sounds, follow your heart. You’ll just know, it may take a while or it might be love at first sight; it’s different for everyone. How do you get him to like you? You want a stallion who loves you for who you are, so just be yourself. It does help to pay some attention to your appearance, because, lets face it, stallions like pretty mares, though beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a mare one stallion thinks is gorgeous might be repulsive to another. What I’m trying to say is, try to look nice but keep it simple, maybe wear colors that suit you or do something with you mane. The idea is to stay true to yourself, if you have to change yourself for a stallion then he probably isn’t the one because he’ll never truly love the real you. Now that I’ve answered those I have a one point to go over, talking to stallions. You mentioned being concerned about talking to stallions, don’t worry; most ponies get tongue-tied around individuals they find attractive. The most important thing is to stay calm, if you panic you’ll most likely say something dumb and make the wrong impression, it may help you to prepare a list of generic questions to ask in such situations. Get to know him better, ask about his hobbies, his favorite food, things like that, while your making idle conversation you can get a feel for his personality too. Remember you can always ask for help from your friends and family, just be careful about asking your parents for advice though, sometimes they have weird old fashioned ideas about romance. I asked my aunts for advice once; it was probably the worst decision of my life. If you need any more advice feel free to write, I’m always happy to help. Love, Princess Cadence.