The High Priestess
The Priestess Arcana is a symbol of hidden knowledge or other untapped power, wisdom, female mystery and patience - Persona Wiki.
The next day in the afternoon, Cadence enjoyed tea and biscuits with her visiting friend, Fleur-de-lis. The two of them were laughing their hearts out at a story Fleur was telling about some blue-haired unicorn colt who'd been trying to talk to her and embarrassed himself in the process. The events involved coffee, a parrot, and a giraffe.
“- hahahaha! Ha ha ha … ha.” Fleur-de-lis sighed. “But yeah, I think he likes me.”
“If he's working that hard to get you to notice him?” Cadence swirled her spoon around in the teacup. “I would say so.”
Fleur-de-lis set her cup down on the table. “So, what have you been up to?”
“Oh, you know, the usual.” Cadence sipped her tea. “More foalsitting, followed by more foalsitting, followed by more foalsitting, followed by eating a chocolate mint somepony left on my pillow. Same old, same old.”
“What?” Fleur-de-lis whined. “No new foalsitting stories? No shenanigans you've gotten yourself into?”
“Nope.” Cadence said. She levitated up a biscuit to her mouth and took a bite out of it before noticing Fleur-de-lis staring at her. “What?”
“There's something you're not telling me.” Fleur-de-lis rested her head on her hoof. “I can tell.”
“There's nothing to tell.”
“Aw, come on! Nothing? Really?” Fleur-de-lis insisted. “We're friends, Princess Cadence. You can trust me!”
Cadence gave a bashful glance towards the floor. “Okay … there is this one foal who I've been sitting for ...”
“Go on ...” Fleur-de-lis rested her front her hooves on the table, wagging her tail back and forth as she expected some good gossip.
“And I've been enjoying sitting for her.” Cadence said.
“ … That's it?”
“That's it.” Cadence let a small amount of satisfaction slip through in her voice. If Fleur-de-lis was seeking an exhilarating tale of hardship, she would have to find it elsewhere. As far as Cadence was concerned, Twilight Sparkle was a normal filly with a few quirks, and she wasn't going to let Fleur-de-lis poke fun at Twilight for said quirks.
“Oh, all right, fine. Whatever.” Fleur-de-lis crossed her legs. “You don't have to tell me about the part where you and this filly went out some sort of secret adventure into a faraway land through a magical cabinet door that only opens every one-hundred years. It's fine.”
“You have quite the imagination.”
“So anyways, are you still trying to get that silly “Sunshine, sunshine” dance thing going?”
Cadence slammed her hoof on the table. “It's not silly! Just you wait. When we're adults, EVERYPONY will be doing the sunshine-sunshine dance!”
“Uh-huh. Sure.” Fleur-de-lis looked down into her cup before looking up and seeing Princess Celestia walking by in the adjacent hallway. The Princess stopped and looked into the door with a surprised expression, causing Fleur-de-lis to fret and worry she had done something wrong for hanging out with the Princess's niece.
“Fleur-de-lis?” Cadence asked, noticing her usually outspoken friend turn silent and fearful.
“There you are!” Celestia walked into the room. “I've been looking all over the castle for you, Cadence.”
“You have? Whatever for?” Cadence moved to drink her tea.
“I was talking to Twilight Velvet earlier. She tells me she and Night Light are going to take some time off today so they can take Shining Armor to visit the academy and discuss his schedule. She also tells me that, if you were to come by later this afternoon, you could foalsit for Twilight Sparkle again.”
Cadence did a spit-take. “Foalsit for Twilight again? So soon?” Cadence picked up a napkin and wiped off the tea dripping down her muzzle. Her face cleaned up and presentable, Cadence hopped her chair and saluted. “You can tell Twilight Velvet I'll do it.”
“That's my girl.” Celestia looked at the table. “Oh, and, uh, take one of those napkins and clean up the table before you leave.” Celestia raised an eyebrow at Fleur-de-lis. “Who's your friend?”
Cadence sighed and rolled her eyes. “This is Fleur-de-lis. She visits me every other week, Auntie Celestia. You can just never seem to remember her, for some reason ...”
“Well, I'll leave you two to it.” Celestia walked out of the room.
Fleur-de-lis sipped her tea. “I've never seen your face light up like that for foalsitting before. I mean, I've seen you excited to foalsit, sure, but never … like that.”
“What can I say?” Cadence said. “Twilight Sparkle is … well-behaved. Which is more than I say for some foals I've had to deal with … oh, speaking of which, I'd better go get ready!” Cadence ran out of the room. “Almost forgot!” She returned to the room, used her magic to wipe circles around the tea, and left once more.
Celestia stood in the doorway, watching Cadence zip back and forth.
Fleur-de-lis regarded her tea before looking up at Princess Celestia. “Princess Celestia?”
“Hmm?” Celestia turned towards Fleur-de-lis, the corner of her eye watching as Cadence left.
“You don't actually forget me, do you?” Fleur-de-lis said. “No, you just pretend you do to mess with Cadence.”
“I have no idea what you're talking about, strange, pink-haired unicorn whom I have never seen before!” Celestia said in a painfully obvious, bluffing tone. She left the doorway.
“Uh-huh.” Fleur-de-lis raised her eyebrow.
Celestia peeked her head back over the doorframe. “Don't tell her. You'll spoil my fun. It's one of the few ways I can mess with her without her guilt-tripping me back.”
Fleur-de-lis wiped a hoof across her muzzle. “My lips are sealed.”
At the house, Shining Armor fidgeted under his mother's tender touch as Twilight Velvet adjusted the black tie around his neck.
“Come on, mom!” Shining Armor complained. “I don't want to wear a tie.”
“It's a bow-tie, dear.” Twilight Velvet continued to adjust it until it was even. “First impressions are important. You want to look good your first time meeting the instructor, don't you?”
Shining Armor sighed. “I guess …”
There was a knock on the door.
“Oh!” Twilight Velvet exclaimed. “That must be Cadence.” She got up and went to the door.
“Oh yes. Sweet freedom.” Shining Armor said under his breath, relieved at the brief, fleeting moment of freedom he had from his mother's hooves.
Twilight Velvet opened the door. “Hello, Princess Cadence!”
“Hello, Miss Velvet. May I come in?”
“Oh, why, of course!” Twilight Velvet moved aside. “You don't have to ask, dear. Why, you're practically part of the family already.”
“And this has nothing to do with the fact you're a Princess!” Night Light blurted out, earning him a scolding glare from Twilight Velvet and a awkward glare from Cadence. Night Light cleared his throat. “Erm, sorry. Just wanted to clear that up.”
“Is … Twilight Sparkle here?” Cadence asked with a hopeful note as she walked in.
“Oh yes, she's right here.” Night Light looked around. “Twilight Sparkle? Come on out! Cadence is here!”
Twilight Sparkle did as she was bidden, walking out from behind a table.
“There you are.” Cadence walked over to Twilight. “How's my favorite little filly?”
“I'll bet you say that to every filly.” Twilight said.
“No! Hey, can I teach you a secret? Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Cadence hopped in place, clapped her hooves, and turned around.
Shining Armor, Twilight Velvet, and Night Light Light all gave her awkward stares, put off by her eccentric dance.
Twilight looked up at Cadence with some curiosity. She looked down at her hooves and kicked them out, one at a time. “Sunshine, sunshine … ladybugs awake … clap your hooves … and do a little shake!” Twilight clapped her hooves and fumbled as she tried to turn around, losing her balance and falling onto her stomach. “Oof!”
The rest of Twilight's family giggled. Cadence was touched and put a hoof over her chest.
“Oh, wow ...” Cadence murmured. “Miss Velvet, I've been trying to teach that dance to every foal I sit for as a secret hoofshake. Twilight Sparkle is the first one who did it back. You don't know how much that means to me.”
“She must like you.” Night Light said.
Cadence stared at Twilight with quivering eyes. She noticed Shining Armor and decided to tease him again. “Well, don't you look handsome in that bow tie!”
“Ugh.” Shining Armor didn't much care for Cadence's teasing. He attempted to tear off the bow tie, only prevented by the intervention of Twilight Velvet.
“Yes.” Twilight Velvet nuzzled Shining Armor, coming off as passive-aggressive as she forced the bow tie back into place. “We want him looking his best for his first visit to the Royal Guard academy to discuss classes.”
At the mention of the Royal Guard academy, Twilight winced, scrunching her eyes shut and grimacing.
Cadence noticed Twilight's wincing and it made her think. Hmmmmmmmm.
“Classes?” Shining Armor said. “Nopony told me there would be classes. I thought I was just gonna learn how to fight bad guys!”
“That's nice, but it's still an academy, Shining Armor. Which means it's still a school, which means it still has classes. Where they teach you how to fight bad guys!” Night Light said.
Twilight Velvet rolled her eyes. She turned back to Cadence. “We can count on you, right?”
Cadence saluted. “Yes, ma'am, you can.”
Twilight Velvet nodded. “There's food in the fridge. If you need any help, don't hesitate to come find us. After we finish with Shining Armor's schedule, and hopefully get him a tour of the building, we'll be going back to the castle to resume our day jobs. Shining Armor will head back home.”
“By himself?”
“Well, sure!” Night Light said. He ruffled his son's mane. “We trust him. He's old enough.”
“We'll be leaving now. Come on, Shining Armor.” Twilight Velvet, Night Light, and Shining Armor went out the door. They and Cadence waved goodbye to each other as they walked out.
“Okay, Twilight Sparkle, what do you want to do today?” Cadence asked, turning around to face little Twilight.
Twilight Sparkle glared at Cadence. Unlike yesterday, where Twilight's eyes regarded her with detachment and disinterest, Cadence was unsettled to see them glaring at her with an expression Cadence could only describe as “contemptuous.”
“Twilight?” Cadence asked. Twilight fled into the other room. “Twilight!” Cadence chased after her into the next room over, where Twilight was nowhere to be seen.
“Twilight?” Cadence asked, her voice a squeak. How could Twilight Sparkle avoid her with such ease? And why did she want to, after the good times they had together yesterday?
“BLAAAH!”
Cadence whipped around to see Twilight Sparkle jumping out from behind a drawer, arching her body into a predatory pouncing position while making a face. She landed on her hind hooves, breathing heavily in and out, her chest rising up and down to sell the idea she was a horrible monster. She let her tongue droop from her open mouth.
Cadence paused and stared. “AH HA HA HA HA HA!” She fell onto her back laughing.
Twilight looked shocked her plan had failed. She lowered herself until she was sitting on all four hooves, her face one of utter confusion.
“Ah ha … ha … ha.” Cadence sighed and got herself back on her hooves. “Nice try, Twilight Sparkle, but you're gonna have to do better than that if you want to scare me.”
“Rawr!” Twilight growled and waved her hooves.
“Aww. Aren't you just the cutest little monster in all of Equestria?” Cadence cooed, her sly expression letting Twilight know this wasn't going to work.
“Hmph.” Twilight sat down. She looked at the floor, tapping her chin in thought. “I'm hungry.”
“Okay.” Cadence walked towards the kitchen. “Your mom said there was food in the fridge ...” Twilight ran ahead of Cadence and sat in front of the microwave, her tail wagging back and forth.
Cadence used her magic to open the fridge door. “This must be it ...” She reached in and pulled out some leftovers in a bowl. She heard an odd sound, as if something was being yanked, but didn't think much of it. She closed the fridge door and went over to the microwave, where Twilight had moved and was looking up expectantly and nervously.
“Be patient.” Cadence told her. “I still have to warm it up.” Cadence placed the bowl inside the microwave and pushed the buttons with her hoof. Nothing happened. Confused, she pushed them again to be sure. She scratched her head.
Twilight looked around the room with a worried grimace. She ran over to the silverware drawer, opened it, and rummaged through until she pulled out a spoon. Twilight closed the drawer and set the spoon on the floor. Twilight adjusted herself and looked over her shoulder, sticking her tongue as she attempted to calculate the precise angle she would need to hit the spoon for it to hit her target.
“That's odd ...” Cadence pulled the microwave out and looked behind it. “Somepony's unplugged the microwave.”
Twilight gasped. “Maybe it was a ghost?”
Cadence picked the plug up. “What makes you think it was a ghost?”
“Hasn't anypony told you?” Twilight asked. “Ghosts hate electronics.” Twilight grunted as she bucked the spoon. The spoon flew through the air and hit the light switch, turning the lights off. The kitchen went dark. “See? The lights went out! It must be a ghost! We should leave.”
“Calm down.” Cadence produced a light from her horn and plugged the microwave back in. “While yes, the microwave being unplugged and the light going out is strange, that doesn't mean there's an electronic-hating ghost out to get us.”
Cadence walked over to the light switch and flicked it back on. Cadence turned to Twilight.
“Now, Twilight Sparkle, if there was a ghost, wouldn't it try to turn the light switch back off?” Cadence suggested, crossing her hooves and smirking.
“Probably.” Twilight admitted.
“You know what? I'll make a deal with you. If this light switch goes out without you or me affecting it in any way – and that means no magic - then I'll believe you that there's a ghost. Fair enough?"
Twilight seemed displeased, but she nodded.
Cadence rested on the wall. “What?” She saw the spoon on the floor “Why is this spoon here?” Cadence bent down to pick the spoon up and put it away. She heard a clatter throughout the kitchen. When she turned around to see what was going on, Twilight Sparkle had disappeared again. “What?”
“Oh ...” Cadence thought back to everything she had heard about Twilight Sparkle before coming to sit for her. She dropped the spoon into the sink. “Oh, I see. It was you unplugged the microwave, and you used the spoon to hit the light switch while my back was turned – which I admit, was pretty clever. You're trying to frighten me and scare me away, like you did to all those other foalsitters.”
Cadence walked around the kitchen, trying to find where Twilight Sparkle was hiding this time.
“That I understand.” Cadence lifted up the lid of a jar to see if there was perhaps trace evidence of a tiny filly hoof having been inside. “What I don't understand is why you're suddenly doing this to me when I thought we were getting along after yesterday.” Cadence continued to roam around the room.
“Wait ...” Cadence walked further, putting one hoof in front the other with an arrogant stride as she fit all the pieces together. “Twilight, I saw you wince earlier when your parents mentioned the Royal Guard academy. I've been thinking about that for a long while. Since I came in. And I know you love your brother, don't you? Yes. All those foalsitters think you're just a terrifying filly, but I know what's really going on.”
Cadence moved some more miscellaneous clutter around on the counter. “You scared all those foalsitters away on purpose. You've never really been alone at the house before, have you? But now Shining Armor is going away, which means you'll need a foalsitter. But you've never been apart from Shining Armor. Not like this. You don't want to see him leave for the academy.”
Cadence heard a noise. Tracking the noise to its source, Cadence pulled open a cabinet door, where she found Twilight Sparkle hiding with a pot on her head like a battle helmet.
“And you thought, if you just scared all the foalsitters away, that Shining Armor would have to stay and you wouldn't have to say goodbye.”
Cadence lowered herself to Twilight's level.
“Isn't that right, Twilight?” Cadence reached in and brushed the pot off Twilight's head, putting it back into place in the cabinet.
Twilight stared at Cadence with big, emotionless eyes. But slowly, water began to form in them. Twilight sniffed and blinked. Her lips quivered.
Twilight burst into tears and yelled, screaming as she jumped out of the cabinet and embraced Cadence in an incredibly tight hug.
“I-I DON'T WANT HIM TO GOOOOO!” Twilight screamed, burying her face into Cadence's chest as she bawled.
“Shh.” Cadence whispered. Cadence ran her hoof through Twilight's hair, stroking her mane. “It's okay. It's okay. Cry as long as you need to. It's all right. Let it all out.”
Twilight continued crying and sniffling. But she couldn't cry forever, and her tears dried out.
“There. There.” Cadence spoke in an encouraging, motherly voice. “Feel better?”
Twilight took her head out from Cadence's soaked chest. She wiped a tear away from her eye. “Uh-huh.”
“Did you get it all out?”
“I think so ...”
“Twilight Sparkle ...” Cadence met eyes with the filly. “You do know, even if he doesn't go to the academy, you'll have to say goodbye to him eventually, right?”
“No!” Twilight stomped her hoof. “He has to stay! I'll make him stay!”
“Uh-huh.” Cadence's smile never faltered once. “But what about you? Even if you can find a way to make him stay, one day you'll grow up, too, and you'll have dreams. You'll want to explore, and you'll want to do it without Shining Armor protecting you from every little thing. What will you do then?”
Twilight looked at up at Cadence. Her eyes quivered. “I don't know.”
Twilight buried her head in Cadence's chest again.
“Oh, there.” Cadence patted Twilight on the back, craning her neck down and putting her chin on Twilight's neck to comfort her. “It'll be okay. Everything will be fine. You'll see.” Cadence moved her head and whispered into Twilight's ears.
“But you have to let him go.”
Twilight removed herself from Cadence's chest and shook her head.
Cadence did nothing besides to continue smiling to comfort her. Cadence separated herself from Twilight, moving slowly and deliberately so Twilight could reach out and grab her if she needed to.
“Hey … I heard you scared off an ex-convict.” Cadence raised her eyebrow in a suggestive manner. “Care to show me how you did that?”
Twilight brightened up at the chance to show off her brilliant planning skills. “Okay. First, I turned the lights off ...”
“Done.” Cadence used her magic to flick the switch.
“And then I ...” Twilight ran out of the room. Cadence could tell from the sound of fading hooves.
“Twilight? Where are you going?” Cadence asked. Her first instinct was to look around the room before remembering she had turned the lights off. Cadence wondered if perhaps she made a mistake in obliging Twilight.
A purple glow emanated from under the table. A powerful glow, enough to cast the room in an eerie light. From behind the table, a ragged doll appeared, levitating as if on strings. It was beaten and used, but well-loved, Cadence could tell. She saw Twilight poke her head through the door, her horn glowing.
“Bwaaa!” Twilight yelled, making the doll move left and right, manipulating its limbs to appear threatening. “Bwwwa! Leave this place or suffer my wraaath!”
Cadence giggled.
Twilight smiled. “That's how I scared him!”
“And he fell for it, didn't he?” Cadence watched as Twilight kept moving the doll around, making the light in the room shift around. Cadence's eyes widened when she had a brilliant idea. “Oh, wait right here!”
“Where are you going?” Twilight asked.
“To get Shining Armor's teddy bear.” Cadence headed towards the stairs.
“How do you know Shining Armor has a teddy bear?” Twilight asked. She put her hooves to her mouth as if she had said something naughty. “Um, not that I'm saying he does, but ...”
“Oh, Twilight Sparkle … I know how boys work.” Cadence winked at her. “The more masculine and tough they try to come across as is directly proportional to the likelihood of them having a teddy bear. The way Shining Armor acts, he's got to have one.”
“Ooh! Math!” Twilight exclaimed. “I love it!”
Cadence nodded before running up the stairs. She returned, levitating Shining Armor's teddy bear with blue magic.
“Now that you have the teddy bear, what are you going to do with it?” Twilight asked.
“I'm going to ...” Cadence smiled, taking the teddy bear and flying it into the doll.
“Hey!” Twilight protested, before narrowing her eyes at Cadence and accepting her challenge.
Twilight and Cadence levitated the teddy bear and the doll, making them run into each other, tackle the other, or go into a head-first charge. It was a battle to the death by proxy.
Cute, plushy, stuffed proxies.
Twilight and Cadence laughed, having a good time as they made their dolls fight each other on their behalf. Until Cadence pulled the teddy bear and launched it forward in a forceful, brutal charge, hitting Twilight's doll with so much force one of its button-eyes popped off and a seam came loose in its stitching.
Uh-oh. Cadence thought.
“SMARTY PANTS!” Twilight screamed, her emotions clouding her ability to focus on her magic, causing her to drop the doll to the floor. Twilight ran towards the doll while Cadence turned the lights back on.
“I'm sorry, Twilight.” Cadence said. “I guess we – I played with it a bit too rough.”
Twilight picked the doll up in her hooves, holding it up in mourning for its senseless injury. “Smarty Pants ...” Twilight sniffled and began crying. Not as bad she had been before, but pretty bad nonetheless.
“Oh, please don't cry, Twilight.” Cadence begged. She walked over and examined the doll. “I can fix it. See? I can fix that, no problem. Just a few stitches and she'll be fine.”
Twilight looked at Cadence with an empty, saddened expression, as if she was unfulfilled in some way. She regarded Smarty Pants, letting a few more tears escape.
“I don't feel like playing anymore ...” Twilight slung Smarty Pants over her shoulder and left the room, climbing up the stairs.
Cadence watched her go with a slack-jawed expression. The way Twilight spoke, her tone, her voice ... her expression ... such an empty, empty expression, stung Cadence worse than any of Twilight's tears ever could.
“I take it back.” Cadence said. “Crying is fine.”
Cadence tiptoed up the stairs towards Twilight Sparkle's room. She raised up a hoof and hesitated before turning the knob and cracking the door open, creating just enough space for her to peek inside without being noticed.
Twilight Sparkle was lying on her bed, crying and sniffling as she held up her dear doll. What was its name, again? Smarty Pants? Cadence could see how much the doll meant to her.
Cadence admired the filly's resolve. After the crying she did over Shining Armor in the kitchen, and getting her doll ripped up, Cadence would've expected her to be crying even worse than before.
Twilight sniffed and cried some more, wiping a tear from her eye. She lifted the doll up and regarded it with quivering lips. “Unh!” Letting out a frustrated groan, Twilight tossed the doll onto a table and rolled onto her side so she was facing away from it, staring at the window as she cried more, despite her clear efforts not to.
Now's my chance … Cadence thought. She used her magic to grab the doll and lifted it up, trying not to draw Twilight's attention. After what happened in the kitchen, Cadence knew Twilight would object to her going anywhere near the doll if she noticed what Cadence was doing.
Cadence levitated the doll to the door. Seeing the doll squish between the wall and the door as she tried to pull it through the crack, Cadence grimaced. She widened the crack in the door and managed to pull the doll through without further trouble.
“Got'cha.” Cadence levitated the doll to her face to celebrate her victory. She put a hoof on the doorknob and pulled the door shut.
“I hope Night keeps some sewing materials around the house ...” Cadence's first course of action was to go wandering through the house until she found the master bedroom. Letting herself into the room, she searched the drawers. She was in luck, as she found what she was looking for – some sewing needles, fabric, pins, and scissors. Everything she needed for the job.
A door creaked open from the other room.
“Twiley!” Shining Armor called throughout the house. “Cadence! I'm home. Mom and Dad went back to the castle on the way home, so it's just me.”
Cadence gritted her teeth, worried Shining Armor would find out what happened and prove unappreciative of her efforts to fix it. Cadence knew she wouldn't be happy to learn if a foalsitter she hired had damaged her sister's doll. If she had a sister.
“Twiley?” Shining Armor called out, walking around the house.
Cadence set Smarty Pants and the sewing materials down on the bed. Her ears perked up as the door creaked.
“Princess Cadence?” Shining Armor came into the room. “Where's Twiley? And what are you doing in our parents' room?”
“Uh, nothing.” Cadence picked up the corner of the blanket and tried to use it cover up her operations.
It wasn't enough, as Shining Armor squinted at the bed. He went up to the bed and bit the the blanket, flipping it back out to find Smarty Pants surrounding by sewing needles.
Cadence broke into a sweat.
Shining Armor looked at Smarty Pants, and looked at her. “What did you do?”
“Nothing!” Cadence said. “Okay, well, I played with Twilight with her doll, and I may have gotten a little too rough and caused it to tear.”
“Smarty Pants is her favorite doll.” Shining Armor glanced at Smarty Pants. “I'm going to get mom and dad and tell them about this.” Shining Armor headed for the door.
“What? No! You can't!” Cadence yelled. “I can fix this!”
Shining Armor scoffed and glared at Cadence over his shoulder. “Why can't I?”
“Shining Armor, please.” Cadence put her hooves together. “I can fix this. Haven't you ever broken something and tried to fix it without letting your parents find out about it?”
Shining Armor's eyebrows shot up. “Uh … no!” Shining Armor took his hoof the doorknob. “But, uh, because I'm a nice guy, and for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with what you just said, I've decided I'm going to stay and help you out.”
Cadence smiled. “Thank you so much.”
Shining Armor came over to the bed. “So, what do we do now?”
Cadence put on a grim, determined expression, holding her hoof out. “Scissors.”
“Scissors.” Shining Armor handed the scissors to Cadence.
Cadence reached down and began cutting at the loose threads of Smarty Pants' wound. She held her hoof out again. “Needle.”
“Needle.” Shining Armor put the needle in her hoof.
Cadence picked up a piece of fabric and threaded it through the needle. She inserted into the open gap on the side of Smarty Pants and pulled it back out. She repeated the process, though Smarty Pants' stuffing moved around from the treatment. Cadence winced and stopped trying to sew up the hole, instead moving to the eye. She put the needle through the empty socket, only for another thread to pop loose.
“Darn it, we're losing her!” Cadence grabbed Smarty Pants and shook her hard. “Stay with me, kid! STAY WITH MEEEE!” Cadence rocked the doll back and forth on the bed.
"Uh, Cadence? I get that you're treating this like a surgery, but maybe trying to fix the doll would go better if you wouldn't VIOLENTLY SHAKE THE DOLL."
Cadence paused. “You're right.” She looked to Shining Armor. “You're right.” Cadence took in a deep breath and began her efforts anew. Without any over-dramatic roleplaying, sewing Smarty Pants up became much easier. Smarty Pants looked as good as she did when Twilight pulled her out. In fact, Cadence would go so far as to say she looked even better.
“Whew!” Cadence wiped the sweat off her forehead. “You were right, Shining Armor. That was much easier than I thought would be.” She picked Smarty Pants up. “Now, to present this to Twilight ...”
“I'll come with you.” Shining Armor said.
“No.” Cadence said. “I was the one who broke it. I have to do this myself.”
Shining Armor nodded, understanding what she meant.
In her room, Twilight Sparkle was pouring over a book on the floor. She was in the middle of turning her attention from one paragraph to the next when the door popped open. She looked up at Princess Cadence with her usual disinterested expression, with perhaps a hint of bitterness underneath, which one could find if they were to look into her eyes and stare for a long awhile.
“Twilight ...” Cadence said in a teasing voice. “I have a surprise for you.”
Twilight did not appear enthused … until Cadence pulled out Smarty Pants.
Twilight smiled and gasped, delighted. “Smarty Pants!” Twilight jumped up from the floor and took Smarty Pants from Cadence with her magic. Twilight's joy proved infectious to Cadence, and the two of them bounced around the room, celebrating Smarty Pants' return to good health.
“You put her back together!”
“Twilight, I'm so sorry I ripped Smarty Pants like that.” Cadence said. “Can you ever forgive me?”
Twilight examined Smarty Pants. Cadence hoped Twilight wouldn't mind her repairing some of Smarty Pants' stitches and tears in addition to the one she caused. “And you made her … newer!”
Twilight ran up to Cadence, giving Cadence a hug as she buried her face into Cadence's chest. “Okay. I forgive you.”
“Thank you, Twilight. That means a lot to me.” Cadence stroked Twilight's head. “Shining Armor helped me put her back together.”
Twilight gasped again. “Shining Armor's here!?”
“Mm-hmm. You want to go see him?”
Twilight shook her head up and down in what had to be the most enthusiastic nod Cadence had ever seen.
Cadence walked Twilight into the hallway, where Shining Armor was waiting outside.
“Hey, Twiley!” Shining Armor greeted his sister with enthusiasm and love. “How's my favorite little sister?”
Twilight smiled and her eyes widened. She reared up, about to pounce on Shining Armor, before stopping.
“Twiley?” Shining Armor asked. “What's wrong?”
“Um ...” Twilight fiddled her hooves together, looking at Cadence. “Is it all right if I ...”
Cadence nodded. “It's all right. He's here for you now.”
Twilight's smile returned, and she ran into her brother's chest, hugging him and holding him tight.
“I have no idea what's going on.” Shining Armor said, before taking another look at Twilight and deciding it didn't matter. His sister was happy and hugging him, and that was all that mattered. He returned the hug.
Not too long after, Twilight's parent returned and were once again impressed by Cadence's resilience as they met in the foyer. Twilight Sparkle amused herself, playing with her repaired Smarty Pants doll while the adults and teens talked.
“Didn't she try to scare you?” Night Light asked.
“Oh, she tried.” Cadence brushed a hoof against her chest. “But if there's one thing you need to know about me, it's that I don't scare easy."
Night Light turned to Twilight Velvet. “Well … honey, I think we've found our foalsitter.”
“I think we have.” Twilight Velvet admitted. She took her husband's hoof into her hoof. “Excuse us, would you, kids? It's been a very long day at the castle, and we'd like to rest up before dinner.”
“Of course.” Cadence and Shining Armor moved to let Night Light and Twilight Velvet pass.
“Soo ...” Cadence drawled once they were alone.
“Don't worry.” Shining Armor held his hoof out, already knowing what Cadence was going to ask. “Your secret is safe with me. Mom and dad won't learn a thing about what happened with Twilight's doll.”
Cadence let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much. I love sitting for your sister, and I would hate if something happened that made me your parents decide not to keep hiring me.”
Shining Armor scratched his head. “You know they don't have much of a choice, right? You're only the sitter so far who Twiley seems to like. And hey, maybe one day, you can come over and foalsit for my kids.”
“Oh no. You're more in need of foalsitting first.” Cadence stuck her tongue out at him playfully.
Shining Armor chuckled. “Well, good night.” Shining Armor went over to his sister. “Come on, Twiley, let's go find something to eat ...”
“Good night.” Cadence left the house and closed the door.
Cadence went on to go back home. But along the way, she was bumped into by a mare who caused them both to fall over.
“Oh, I'm so sorry, ma'am. I wasn't looking where I was going and – ” The mare helped Cadence up. “Princess Cadence?”
“Uh, yes, that's me. Why?” Cadence squinted at the mare. “Don't I know you? You're … Uppercrust's mother, right?”
Uppercrust's mother nodded. “Yes! I'm so glad I ran into you! See, I need to do some errands tomorrow and get a little shopping done. My husband's going to be busy at work, and my daughter is going to go stir-crazy in the store. So I was wondering if, perhaps, I could hire you to sit for her again?”
Cadence tried not to let Uppercrust's mom see the shudder going through her body as she recalled what a demanding and high-energy filly Uppercrust was to foalsit. Twilight Sparkle had spoiled her, it seems.
“Yes.” Cadence said. “Yes, you can.”
Uppercrust's mother shook Cadence's hooves. “Oh, thank you, thank you so much! I'll make it worth your while. I'll see you tomorrow. For right now, I really need to get home.” Uppercrust's mother took off running down the street. It appeared high-energy ran in the family.
Cadence rested her chin on her hoof as she flashed back to Uppercrust's incessant demands for a piggy-back ride and other forms of intensive play.
It'll be worth it. Cadence told herself. This is what you set out to do – make friends with all the foals and keep them from being lonely.
With this in mind, Cadence headed home.
Stats
Page generated in 0.02 seconds
Total duration
993 users online
1,625,662 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
One mild point I feel must be made, Shining Armor by choosing to go to the military academy would undoubtedly known it was going to have class work, if he "just wanted to fight bad guys" he would have chosen the route of enlistment...
6326487 Remember, Equestria barely has a royal guard and no military, so enlistment wouldn't have been possible.
While I don'tt mean to be too nitpicky here, you misspelled the title. This would be a bit less glaring if the chapter image and quote didn't both contain the correct spelling. Aside from that one thing, I'm loving this so far.
I did that until I figured out that lying and trying to hide things always got me a more severe punishment when my parents DID find out. Sweet chapter.
Lol i just got what u ment in your notes and yuo jt would seem like tat
I for one think their relationship was potrayed greatly on this chapter
6328236
We don't know if they have or don't have military.