//------------------------------// // Life's Bean a Little Hard on Me // Story: The Sphinx's Paw // by Lingo //------------------------------// That evening, Twilight made it her goal to get to the bottom of this "bean" conundrum. So, stealing her nerves, she approached one of the few who would be the wisest to the mind and mannerisms of the princess Rarity. Her mother. The current Queen of the pony lands. Heir to her family's legacy and name, just as Rarity will be some day when she takes the throne.  Queen Platinum. It was not always her name, but every heir of the platinum line takes the name once they ascend to the throne. And so she found herself outside of the banquet hall, padding after the departing queen.  "Your majesty? May I have a moment of your time?" Even a seasoned veteran of remaining poised and collected in high stress situations can be caught off guard. And that's exactly what happened to the elder mare.  Could you blame her? She had previously spoken only a scant few words to her daughter's partner, even after the several months she had been there. And Twilight NEVER instigated the conversations. Her gait was interrupted, a bit of carpet wasn't completely flat to the ground. Only Twilight's magic snapping into action stopped the royal face from meeting the royal hallway.  "Are you alright!" Twilight panicked. "I'm fine, dear, thanks to you." The queen said calmly, affixing a pleasant smile to her face. This was by  no means an unwelcome surprise, despite the near-mishap. Twilight still looked uncomfortable despite her reassurance. Such a shy thing. "You wanted to speak with me?" She prompted. It was enough to loosen the sphinx's tongue a bit. "Pri-..Rarity said something earlier that I do not understand, and she neglected to explain it to me. Lady Fluttershy was equally unhel-.." she cleared her throat, rethinking her words, "was also too busy to fill me in. May I ask you about it?" "You can ask me anything, Twilight. If you are to be my daughter-in-law, I aim to treat you as such." Twilight smiled a little bit, and oh it was an adorable smile. "What are these?" She asked, presenting the underside of her paw to the queen. The elder laughed despite herself. "Why Twilight, dear, those are your toes!" "That's what I said!" Twilight exclaimed. "But they both said I was wrong and insisted that they were called 'beans'." Queen Platinum scrunched her nose."Beans? That's ridiculous. I'm fairly certain my daughter was playing some little joke on you, my dear. Beans? Why the very…." Her speech faded, her eyes grew distant. It was as if she was suddenly bewitched just then.  Twilight was confident that was the case once the queen started to laugh. But not the manic laughter of one who had lost their marbles. It was the bell-like tittering and giggling that mares make when they hear something particularly amusing.  "BEANS!"  She sounded just like her daughter, it was almost scary. Twilight's wings hung limply at her sides. She had lost the queen now too to this affliction. "Ohoho that little filly! Oh goodness, that is my gem to a tee."  Once the queen got herself down to only the occasional giggle, she spoke again. "Twilight, I'm afraid that this is between you and my little gemstone. If this is the game she chooses to play, then I have no right to interfere. Your best option is to ask her about it later. I wish I could be more help.." The fur on Twilight's neck sprang up as the queens smile turned vulpine, predatory, mischievous. "..but where would be the fun in that?" Since this was such a rare occurrence, the queen took full advantage of it. As they walked through the halls they made small talk and spoke of pointless things. It was nice for both of them. As they were preparing to depart from each other's company, the Platinum wrapped Twilight in a warm hug.  "Thank you for taking time to talk with me Twilight. I had a delightful time. We should do this again sometime, don't you think?" "Of course, your majesty." "Twilight, I would like for you to call me by my name. We are friends, are we not?" "Of course, your majes.. Mrs. Platinum." She stuttered. The queen made a face. "No that still doesn't sound right. If we are to be family someday, then we should treat each other as such." She smiled. "My name is..." A door down the corridor shuts very loudly, obscuring her name. "...but my family calls me Cookie." Twilight only nodded, not trusting her tongue to ask the queen to repeat herself. Cookie it is then. They bid each other goodbye and went their separate ways. Though her question remained unanswered, Twilight was not ready to give up yet. Rarity had two parents, after all. "And Twilight?" She halted mid-step at the elder royal's call. "I wouldn't go and ask my husband about this, if I were you. A wise king he may be, but the affairs of mares have always been foreign to him." "Yes.. Mrs. Cookie." The queen disappeared around a bend in the hall, leaving the sphinx alone with fewer answers than questions. Finding no success from either the King or Queen, Twilight has little other options. Adults had failed her. BOOKS HAD FAILED HER,  the very thought made her shiver at its reality. Books never let her down before. Her only allies now were time and thought. So she found a nice balcony and sat herself upon it, staring out across the world while her mind worked. So lost to her musings, she did not notice someone approach until they were also looking out over the vista beside her.  Not wanting to seem like she was startled, Twilight did not turn her head to acknowledge them. At the edge of her vision she could see a bright white coat. Come to pester her about her feet again, no doubt.  Well no more. Until this craze was explained to her, IN DETAIL, there would be no.. "Hehe, that cloud looks kinda like a duck." The figure squeaked.  Twilight snapped her head around, surprised to see the younger sister instead of the elder. Her eyes were cast skyward and her tongue stuck out adorably from her mouth as she glared at the clouds, daring another to resemble something recognizable. "Does that one look like an inkwell to you?" She asked after a minute, pointing at a seemingly random cloud. "No.. it looks like a cloud. I'm sorry…" "Oh don't worry about it, it was a stretch anyways. So what's on your mind?" Cute distraction, struck while her guard was down. Clever. She'll make a good diplomat one day. "I'm just.. thinking." Sweetie leans on the railing, turning her head a full ninety degrees. "Bout what?" A devilish grin. "About my sister?" Normally she would have fallen for the poke, but right now she's more distracted.  "Something like that." "Something must really be bugging you then." The young princess's demeanor shifts, losing a bit of its playfulness as she straightens up. "Yes. Well, no. Well…" Sweetie silently waits for her to collect her thoughts. "It's nothing, really. Just some silly thing with Rarity, and then Lady Fluttershy, and then both of your parents. I'm no closer to figuring it out even after several hours. It's like no riddle I've ever heard of…" "So… it's a riddle?" Sweetie tilts her head. "No, it's not an actual riddle. Just… can I ask you something?" "Well sure you can. If you're gonna be marrying my sister, I want you to see me like family. Lay it on me." "Lay… what on you?" "No it's not.. just ask me the thing." "Ok.. promise me you won't be all weird about it?" "Twilight, do I look like I couldn't be not-weird if I wanted to?" Twilight chose to hold her tongue on that question. Instead she offered her paw to the young princess, hesitating before turning it palm up.  "What do I have here?" Sweetie looked between the empty paw and her face several times. "Uh… some invisible thing?" "What? No..." "Are you offering me your paw in friendship?" "No. Well I mean sure I guess but that's not what I'm doing right at this moment…" "Are we about to play a game of charades?" "I hadn't planned to?" She blows raspberries at the sky. "Then I have no idea." "Ok let me clarify. What are these?" She used her other paw to prod the soft pads. "Your toes?" "That's what I said! But everyone keeps calling them BEANS for some reason!" "Keep calling them…" Sweetie's confusion melts away into comprehension, understanding dawning across her features.  With the utmost poise and grace, she smacks her forehead just below her horn with her hoof.  "Princess?" "Twilight, I know what they are. Gosh darnit, Rarity, you're such a weirdo." "Umm…" "I guess it falls on me to explain this. Twilight, those are beans." Twilight recoils in horror. Not Sweetie too!  Sweetie giggles. "But they're also your toes. It's… a weird thing. You know how you're a lot like a cat?" Memories of teasing and playful little jeans at her sun-ray naps and occasional purring fly to the forefront of her mind. She grumbles in confirmation. "Well your paws are a lot like a cat's. And cats tend to not like it when people touch under their paws. So it has become like a funny little joke thing. They are the "forbidden fruit", or whatever. Called toe-beans. Even some of my friends have went kinda gaga about seeing them on cats." Twilight listens in fascination, trying to absorb every detail. "They're super cute, Twilight, adorable even. That's the thing. Mares freak out about adorable toe beans. You are a big cat. Rarity sees you have cat-like paws. Rarity freaks out. It all makes sense." "But.. she and Flu-Lady Fluttershy nuzzled and pet them for over an hour! How could something so silly hold their attention for so long?" "Mares are weird, Twilight. And Rarity is one of the weirdest. Learn that now." She smiles and then gets up to leave. As she's trotting away, she calls back in idle musing.  "If I were you, I'd use those to my advantage." "Use them?" "Of course. Like a bribe. Tell Rarity that if she does stuff for you, you'll allow her to have bean time. Or something. Be creative." "Bean time…" The entire notion is ridiculous. This whole beans thing is ridiculous. But.. if she can't fight it or stop it, it's only logical that she use it.  By the time she thought of another question, the young princess had departed. Again she was left alone with her thoughts. Her thoughts, and her beans.