High up in the castle at the middle of the Crystal Empire, a mare and a stallion overlooked all that they ruled. It was night, and most of their subjects were sound asleep. As it had been since their coronation, things were peaceful. The bubble that protected the Empire from the cold and snow outside, powered by ambient love and happiness focused through the crystal heart, also kept things relatively comfortable inside.
The ponies, Cadence and Shining Armor, were content with the state of things and went inside to go to sleep as well. As they lay in their very large and very comfortable bed in their large and spacious royal chamber, Cadence voiced some thoughts. "This is a bit much, isn't it?"
"What is?" Shining asked.
"Living in the castle with ponies taking care of everything we need. It's nice, but. . . Honestly, it makes me feel like I'm a paper doll on a stick in a puppeteering show."
"Just going from place to place to say things and make appearances?"
"Exactly. I also feel a bit. . . Distant from our subjects up here. I want to get closer to them and know more about what life is like on their level. Do you remember when I first started foalsitting Twilight?"
"You looked so lost and confused. You were wondering why the kitchen and living room were so close to each other."
"Things being that close felt a bit claustrophobic, but I got used to it and it felt nice."
"Your old place was huge."
"One million square feet per floor. I don't think I ever learned where everything was."
Shining chuckled a bit. "And you were willing to throw all of that away to go help some troubled ponies you were told not to help."
"And then I became an alicorn. I still don't really understand how that happened."
"Celestia sent you to foalsit after that."
"And here we are." She shared in her husband's chuckles. "You know, maybe we should move out of here. Find a house out in the empire, maybe have some foals."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's possible?"
"Well, there's nothing saying an alicorn can't get-"
"No, I meant finding a house. A lot of ponies have been moving here recently, so there might not be many options."
"Oh." She gave her idea some extra thought. "We could buy a nice plot of land and have a house built in a nice area close by."
He mulled the idea over a bit. "Hmm. . . That could work."
"Then I'll do a flyover and see what's available tomorrow."
"That sounds good. Good night."
"Good night."
The next day after court, Cadence did her flyover. As she was looking, she thought about the financing for the project. She could easily write off the land purchase as a Crown expense, and possibly even the whole construction cost. Since the Empire had a surplus of bits, it wouldn't be much of an issue either.
The idea of the convenient approach, while appealing, clashed with her goal of being more down to earth and living more like her subjects did. None of them had the power of a government budget behind them, and if she dipped into that, it would sow the seeds of distrust. No matter how much her subjects loved her, and even if that was the one and only time, there would be a bad taste in her mouth every time she came home.
She steeled her resolve to use only her own bits, same as her subjects would have to. A bit of doubt crept into her mind, though. How would she know that the realtor wouldn't crank the price up or down because of her royal status? She would need somepony else to price it out ahead of her.
Finally, she saw it. A clearing surrounded by crystalline trees. Large enough for a good size house, plenty of room for a front and back yard, and the trees would give a degree of privacy. It was perfect.
After casting a spell to remember it, she turned back to the castle to tend to the rest of the day's work, and maybe send some of the castle staff to price out the lot.
The realtor had turned out to be an honest one. She didn't change the price for Cadence or Shining because of their royal status, and after they had paid with their own bits, the royal couple was given some information on the local construction companies.
After news got out about the purchase, there was a shift in the daily routine. Cadence was holding court at the edge of the lot, and the contractors with their bids and offers easily made up a quarter of the hoof traffic. She sent them to Shining, sitting about 25 feet behind her. Another quarter was the normal petitioner, and the remaining half was media from around the world. She kept her answers short, sweet, and honest, something Applejack had once taught her. It was easier to tell the truth, plain and simple, instead of maintaining a web of lies, concealment, denials, and half-truths that would hurt forever when peeled away.
After two weeks of the outdoor court, Cadence and Shining had made their choice. The layout was set and the builders were ready. As much as the royal couple would have liked to help, they didn't actually know much about construction, and left it to the professionals.
Three months later, the house was done and paid for. In that time, Cadence and Shining had made a joint declaration: while they were not performing royal duties, they were to be treated like normal ponies. No special pricing, no preferential treatment, and especially no bowing.
The declaration also held an announcement: Cadence had been looking a bit rounder recently because she was pregnant with twins, and they were due sometime in April or May.
There was much rejoicing, and the bubble around the empire expanded six feet after the announcement.