Two roses sat in a vase of water on the princess’ nightstand: one deep red, a symbol of passion and desire, and one pure white, an effigy of true love and reverence. A pair of cards sat on either side of the vase. And in the hooves of Princess Cadence lay a slightly crumpled, well-handled letter.
Cadence had lost track of how many times she’d read the letter. She couldn’t get it off her mind, nor could she ignore what was written on one of the two cards. Two very special ponies had shown her such care and devotion that day. It made her feel like the luckiest filly in Equestria.
She sighed softly and set the letter down on the nightstand. Hearts and Hooves Day always held a special meaning to her. Being the Princess of Love, seeing so much of it in abundance did her soul good. Even she received cards anonymously by the dozen. But seldom did anypony ever have the courage to prove themselves like two unique stallions did today.
It was a Hearts and Hooves Day for the ages.
But now it left Cadence feeling both giddy and troubled. She cared deeply for both stallions, and it was painstakingly clear that they both cared for her. Even still, their styles were starkly different.
With Shining Armor, everything felt friendly, warm, and magical. It felt like being with the Prince Charming from the fairytales. They had so much history together, Cadence could recall dozens of wonderful memories with him at the drop of a hat. He was sweet, and gentle, and loving, and protective. Cadence could easily see herself spending many peaceful hours at a time with him—probably because they had in the past. She always knew where he was when she needed him, and even though she worried about his wellbeing too, he wasn’t being thrown into immediate danger every other day. Shining Armor was stable.
Fleethoof was less so. When it came to that pegasus, everything was powerful, wild, and intense. Nothing was ever subdued or settled. He was fiery, and passionate, and enigmatic. He was a thrill. But she didn’t know half the things about him that she knew about Shining. Granted, they hadn’t grown up together, but still, Fleethoof was always so pensive, so quiet, and kept to himself. His job had him coming and going all the time, sometimes for weeks on end to distant parts of the world. And each time, Cadence never knew what he was doing or if he was coming back at all. He lived his life like he was dying, and she knew he could be gone forever in a single moment…
It was impossible to pick one stallion over the other. Shining Armor and Fleethoof were like two sides of the same coin—like light and darkness. It was impossible. But such weighty decisions did not need to be made on the spot, nor at one in the morning. Lying down in bed, Cadence cast one last loving look to her gifts set down beside her before rolling over and drifting into slumber.
Across Canterlot, three ponies had very good dreams that night.