Cadance stuck her head into Luna’s sitting room. “You wanted to see me, Princess Luna?”

She’d had a busy few years since Luna’s return, and they’d never really had a chance to connect; this was her first visit here. The room was dim despite opening to a large balcony. The afternoon sun streamed in, but the heavy, dark, old fashioned furniture and the large tapestries of the night sky made it feel like Luna may have to perform her duties at any moment.

“Yes. Come in.” Luna stood from a pillow in the middle of the floor and nodded. “I fear I have a dangerous problem. I require your assistance.”

Cadance stepped in, glancing back at the door. “Maybe Aunt Celestia and Twilight should be here, too?”

Luna shook her head. “Only you. I request that you break the spell of love that my own nature has cast upon me.”

“You’re… in love?” Cadance raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Luna sighed and looked down.

“And that’s a bad thing?”

Luna’s frown deepened and she and she turned away to gaze across the balcony. “I have loved this pony my entire life. It was love for this pony which caused me to open my heart to Nightmare Moon, though she would not be born for a thousand years.”

“With all due respect, I think you might be getting a little melodramatic.” Cadance relaxed with a small smile. This was a kind of problem she knew well. “Well, who is it?”

“It does not matter. She can never love me.” Luna placed a hoof over her heart and shook her head. “She has no use for my night. My title and powers are meaningless to her… worth far less than dirt. I admit, sometimes I wonder if… if that’s why I love her. So many years ago, all I wanted was the adoration of ponies like her…” She looked over at Cadance with large, sad eyes. “Princess Cadance, I fear this path.”

Cadance walked over and laid a hoof on her shoulder. “Everypony does.”

Luna glared. “Everypony has not attempted to destroy Equestria.”

“That’s true,” Cadance admitted. “Tell me about this mare.”

“Very well.” Luna sighed. Then her face softened, and her eyes lit up. “She is beautiful as the daylight, bright as the sun. When we were formally introduced, even on my night she wore one of Celestia’s flowers. And she was... fun.

“Since that night, she has only grown in my esteem. She tends to the needs of ponies and plants. She admires history and tradition. Even her dreams are grounded in days gone by and days that are within her reach.” Luna sighed. “She would not sit pining for the admiration of a pony who has no use for her.”

“It sounds like she’s not looking for a Princess of the Night.” Cadance smiled. “That’s good. Who would want a pony who loved us because we’re princesses? That would be like falling in love with a baker because he made good muffins. What does she think of you?”

Luna cocked her head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“If you weren’t a princess, do you think she might like you?”

“I— I have no idea.” Luna blinked and considered it. “Perhaps? But I would never be so foolish as to abandon my position...”

“Of course not. What I’m saying is, that’s the pony you really are. And perhaps she could love that pony.” Cadance nuzzled Luna. “And I don’t think that pony is in any danger of becoming Nightmare Moon.”

Luna looked at her with a hopeful expression.

“Do you still want me to remove the love you feel?” Cadance asked softly.

“No.” Luna swallowed. “I am still afraid, but not of the darkness. Suppose she… doesn't love me?”

“Like I said, everypony is afraid of that.” Cadance smiled. “Just get to know her, and let her get to know you.”

“Very well.” Luna nodded, then she smiled. “Thank you, Princess Cadance. You are a good friend.”

Cadance nearly laughed as Luna’s expression grew more enthusiastic by the second. “Let me know how it goes!”

“I shall!” Luna grinned and hurried to her writing desk, a quill already floating in her magic. “Let me begin my courtship of fair Applejack at once!”

Cadance’s eyebrows shot up, and she clapped her hoof to her mouth. “Well… then… good luck!”

She hurried out of Luna’s chambers, both to hide her fit of giggles and to get a warning to Twilight right away.