//------------------------------// // 10 Cadence // Story: Child of Two Worlds // by Silent Wing //------------------------------// Since the day I met Sunset for the first time, we have spent more and more time with each other. Mostly, she was helping me with my magic lessons whether she likes it or not. Today I may have taken it a bit too far, but at least I can now cast the color changing spell with ease. And I learned  that she doesn’t likes having a pink coat. The same goes for blue, white, green, black or whatever other color I tested on her. Never was I more glad to be able to fly, which allowed me to hide on a cloud, until she had hopefully calmed down. While I spent most of the afternoon up there, unsure if it was a wise idea to go back down, I will have to go down there pretty soon, since dinner time is approaching fast and I don’t want to miss the surprise mom promised me. While I was annoyed that she flew off this morning on such short notice, cancelling our plans for the day, I know that whatever she has in store for me, will make up for the missed opportunity to see Spitsy’s mom in action. I’m a bit reluctant when I fly down from my cloud and walk back to my room, only to freeze in shock at the sight of the very colorful pony standing right in front of the door, looking pissed as Tartarus. “Took you long enough to come down coward,” she greets me while lighting her horn in preparation for a spell. Without a second thought I turn around and run as fast as my hooves can carry me, zigzagging as much as I can. Three spells are being fired at me before I can duck around a corner, where I stop for a short moment, just long enough to take a quick glance at where her last spell hit before I dart off again. It may only have been a quick glance at the results of her spell, but it was long enough for me to learn that Sunset wants to return the favor. In quick succession we ran through the castle until we made it all the way back out into the garden, leaving marks of misfired spells everywhere. I am quick to realize that here is far too much open space, so I immediately begin to make my way to the hedge maze, hoping that I would be able to lose her in it. However, this never happens when all of a sudden a certain alicorn lands in front of me. “There you are Passion, dinner is getting cold.” She greets me, and I can avoid a crash with her by merely an inch or two before I come to a stop. Still, I don’t stay there for long, fully aware that a certain unicorn is out for revenge. After a short moment of consideration I turn around and make it seem like I want to charge Sunset head on, only to jump to the side directly after she sent another spell into my direction. It misses me barely as I turn once more and continue my escape attempt, heading for the hedge maze once more, trying to get some distance between the two of us again. But this proves to be my undoing, with my back turned to her I don’t see her casting a paralyzing spell. It’s only a few feet before the maze that I come to a stop and Sunset teleports right in front of me and lights her horn with a very big grin on her face. When I see the results of her spell, I scream in horror at the sight of my now hot pink coat. “Can you teach me that paralyzing spell,” I ask Sunset once I had sufficiently calmed down and am finally able to move again, ignoring the laughter coming from behind me.  “I would be more interested to know why a good part of the castle blazes in so many new colors,” an icy cold voice asks from behind, belonging to the same pony that had been laughing at my doom only moments before. I turn around and against my better judgement I fall to the ground laughing at the sight of not only one, but two pink alicorns. Wait! Two pink alicorns? I ask myself confused, taking a good look at the ponies in front of me, once I am able to do so again. “Sorry mom, we had just been practicing the spell you taught me yesterday,” I replied honestly, withholding the information how it escalated like that.  “Do I guess correctly, that at some point you got bored and decided to use Sunset for target practice again?” She questions me with a slightly raised eyebrow, turning her gaze to Sunset, obviously not satisfied with maybe as my answer. While Sunset recounts today's events for mom in surprising detail, I focus more on the second alicorn, which looks surprisingly similar to me. I almost would think of her as a twin, at least with my current coat color, wouldn’t it be for the fact that she looks twice, maybe even thrice as old as I am. “Hi, I am Passion, who are you?” I introduced myself to her, curious where this new alicorn is coming from and why mom brought her here. “Oh, hi, I am Cadence.” She replies slightly surprised, still watching the exchange between mom and Sunset, for which I can’t really blame her. “Is it always that interesting around here?” “Only when mom isn’t home.” I reply with a smug grin, trying to hide how uncomfortable I am with the current situation. “Sorry for hitting you with one of the spells by the way,” I apologize, assuming that pink isn’t her regular coat color. She looks confused for a moment before she reassures me that this isn’t the case and that her natural coat color is indeed light pink. And much to my annoyance, says that I look much better with a hot pot pink coat then with a white one.  Upon that is said, both of us are silent for several moments until I can’t keep my curiosity anymore. “How come you are an alicorn, I thought mom and I were the only ones around.” "We used to be, but that changed recently." Mom answers from behind me before she scoops me up with her hooves and takes me in a brief hug. “You know, would today not be such a great day, there would be much more severe punishment for you, but I don’t think that won’t be necessary.” “What punishment? I don't remember being punished at all," I reply confused, already regretting my words directly after I spoke them. "Is that so? Then we better correct that oversight, don't we?" She pauses for a short moment, making it look like she has to think carefully about it, but from the look on her face, I can tell that she is merely enjoying the moment. "I refuse to turn your coat color back to normal until you have learned to behave yourself. This means you mustn't cause any trouble for three months." "And what if I fail," I ask worriedly, already having a bad feeling about this. "Should you fail, the three months start anew." I gulp in shock upon her words, already having feared something like that would be coming. While it doesn’t sound that hard, I have the feeling that I will have a pink coat for a much longer time then three months. “Sunset, you have to get a better control of your temper if you ever want to succeed,” she addresses my tutor, sounding as pleased with her as she is with me. While Sunset and I may have not gotten off on the best hoof at our first encounter, I actually started to take a liking to the unicorn. True, her attitude towards other ponies is still a bit stuck-up, but it got far better since our first encounter two and a half years ago, and now, I feel really sorry that I got this good looking unicorn into trouble again. Wait. Good looking unicorn? When did that happen? “Passion, are you there,” mom asks surprisingly, ripping me out of my thoughts and my face turns bright red when I realize just where my eyes had been resting on. I am quick to turn around and focus on my mother, trying to force the blush back but the giggling coming from Cadence, who is staying right next to her, makes me believe that it isn’t working. “Sorry mom, what did I miss?”  “I asked you if you could give Cadence a tour of the castle tomorrow while I prepare everything for a public announcement.” “Sure, but where will she stay?” I ask in return, taking a good look at the new alicorn.  “I had thought to renovate some of the unused rooms in the east wing for her, but until that is done, I honestly don’t know.”  “She can sleep in my room for now,” I reply without a second thought, knowing very well what is coming next and how I can take advantage of this situation.. “That’s very kind of you Passion, but this would leave you without a bed.” “I could move back in with you, mom. That is if you are okay with it,” I reply, glad that this conversation is progressing the way I want it.  “I really miss being snuggled under your wing,” I add in afterthought. While I didn’t expect anypony to hear this, I am surprised to be picked up for yet another hug. “Oh Passion, you don’t need an excuse like that to sleep with mommy, my door is always open for you,” she whispers into my ear before putting me down again. “Now, with that out of the way, why don’t we go back into the castle and my new daughter tells us over dinner, how she managed to become an alicorn?” “NEW DAUGHTER?????" Cadence, Sunset, and I yell in unison, taken completely off guarded by this realization. True, there must be an explanation why mom brought Cadence with her back home, but I expected it more to be based on her being on her status as an alicorn, and not because she adopted her. “How, why,” are the two most understandable questions out of everything that is voiced by Sunset, Cadence, and me. “When Cadence became an alicorn, I planned to take her back home so I can better teach her about her new magic, and all the consequences of ascension. Surprisingly, the orphanage she used to live in didn't budge when I tried to pull rank on them and they said that I have to adopt her, if I want to take her with me to Canterlot.” While her explanation is reasonable, it is the breaking point for me. Too shocked from everything that happened in the last hour I finally black out.