//------------------------------// // Before Show - Chapter 4 // Story: Lysithea and Twilight: The Twin Sisters of Magic // by Lusaminia //------------------------------// Despite everything that had happened that day, there had been cause to celebrate. Unknown to Twilight at the time, she had managed to gain her cutie mark, which was a purple star surrounded by smaller white stars. While she didn’t find much cause to celebrate it, she was nonetheless congratulated by those around her. To her, though, it meant a lot of uncertainties, especially about what the cutie mark actually meant. It also came with the great news that, despite one teacher trying to fail her for her behavior towards Celestial, she had passed the exam. All it had taken was a stern word from Celestia that trauma is not a reason to fail a pony for the teacher to change her mind. That did end up being something to celebrate, even if it only ended up being between the two sisters. Time passed, and lots of things happened in that time. eight years after Twilight’s entrance exam, Lysithea officially moved out of her parents' home and into the castle. Twilight, of course, followed near days after her, finding the closest property to the castle so that her sister was never far away from her. The pony barely left her home, only leaving when absolutely necessary. Didn’t matter what it was, if it wasn’t on fire from the dragon that she had been left in charge, then it could wait. Said dragon, who was given the name Spike, had been a rather unexpected addition to Lysithea’s life, especially when she learned Celestia was the one who had decided to give it to Twilight. According to the princess, the decision had been made due to two factors. The first was that Twilight was the one that hatched it and, whether the mare accepted it or not, was by all means Spike’s mom. The second and bigger reason, however, was in order to give Twilight some feeling of responsibility. She didn’t say it directly, but Lysithea knew that there was another reason: to make sure Twilight had somepony else she could come to trust. Lysithea herself spent most of her free time doing all she could to enjoy Equestria. Even if she didn’t leave the city often, Canterlot itself offered more than its fair share of destinations she loved. The library was one of them, of course, as she could always be sure that Twilight might just sneak over there. However, easily her favorite place in the city was the bakeries, where she currently sat enjoying a lovely piece of cake. She wasn’t alone, however, as an alicorn with a coat just as pink as she was currently sitting before her. “Is the cake to your liking, your highness?” Lysithea asked one Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadance as she preferred to be called. “Lysithea, as your former foal sitter I would ask that you please stop calling me ‘your highness’,” Cadance replied. “Though there are a lot of ponies who should call me that, our relationship is far more than just ruler and citizen.” “Oh, sorry,” Lysithea replies. “It’s just strange, you know? That pegasus that had been a foal sitter for me and Twilight when we were only six or seven is now a princess. Kinda weird how the world works sometimes.” “Believe me, I’m well aware of how strange this all is,” Cadance replied. “I mean, apparently you play matchmaker enough and suddenly you not only have a talent in it, but you’re the princess of love,” The alicorn couldn’t stop herself from giggling. “I still remember how the noble houses were when they learned. Especially the Blueblood household.” Lysithea had to roll her eyes as she listened to Cadance, not even bothering to remind the alicorn she had been there when it happened. She held in her laughter as she remembered the look on their faces, and how shocked they had been when Celestia introduced a commoner as her niece. It had been one of the most satisfying things she had ever seen, especially considering how the prince had treated her. That was also the day that said niece somehow managed to wrestle Lysithea’s secret from her aunt’s mouth, which was much less satisfying. “I swear, that entire family has the ego of four Ferdinands combined,” Lysithea replied. “Always talking about how incredible they are, how much better they are, and comparing themselves to the princess. At least Ferdinand seemed to get the message across.” “Ferdinand, that is a name you haven’t mentioned to me before,” Cadance said, pondering what Lysithea had just told her. “Let me guess. You’ve already told me about everypony in your house so… the kingdom then?” “Nope,” Lysithea answered, shaking her head. She took a bit of the cake in front of her before continuing. “Empire actually. Son of the prime minister. I’m… not entirely sure what he’s doing anymore.” “Never stayed in contact with him after graduating?” Cadance asked. Lysithea nodded, choosing not to mention Ferdinand’s death at her hands. She briefly found herself brought back to the battle on the bridge between alliance and empire territory, as she has still not told anyone of the war. She hated admitting that she had been here so long, the name had slipped out of her mind. It didn’t change the fact that she felt guilty for killing someone who had once been a member of her graduating class, but that was war. Nothing else she could do about. “Actually, speaking of this old school of yours, Garreg Mach right?” Cadance once again questioned, getting another nod. “I mean, I had a high school crush, your brother had a high school crush, Twilight… is Twilight, but what about you. Did you have anypony you liked in Fodlan?” “W-well, um, yes,” Lysithea replied. “Though I guess it doesn’t really count as a high school crush, since I didn’t fall in love with her until after graduating from the academy.” “Oh really now?” Cadance gave the unicorn a smile that seemed almost menacing. “So you swing that way, that will be good to know,” Lysithea’s heart skipped a beat as she heard the princess say that. “Now, please Lysithea, tell me about this mare.” “Uh, first of all, the proper term is women but um…” Lysithea did her best to conjure the courage, her face turned fiery red. “Sh-she was very kind and thoughtful. When I told her about my two crests she did her best to comfort me and would bring me sweets sometimes in her off time. She also had the sort of sixth sense that kept me protected at all times, like she knew when danger was going to strike.” “Ah, so she was always there to protect you when it was needed,” Cadance chimed in, taking a sip of some tea before continuing. “It’s always nice to know somepony has your back. Sounds like a wonderful individual. What was her name?” Lysithea waited for Cadance to start taking another sip before continuing. “Byleth. She was my homeroom teacher.” The unicorn merely watched as Cadance nearly spat out the tea she had just sipped, keeling over onto her side. Lysithea did everything in her power to keep herself from watching, having long ago found out just how fun it was to mess with ponies. She could only imagine how shocked Claude would be if he saw her now, and how much he would fear her. “Oh, and she is also basically a demi-god,” Lysithea said again, a gagging sound confirming for the pony that her words had reached the alicorn. “Yeah, apparently the arch-bishop did some things when she was born to keep her alive and implanted a goddess inside of her. I would have asked her out if she and Claude hadn’t started dating and well.” “Lysi, please,” Cadance managed to say, coughing as some of the tea went down the wrong part of her throat. “Don’t do that to me. You almost had me believing you for a second their. I mean, that last part is so ridiculous it couldn’t possibly be true.” “Ah… yeah,” Lysithea replied, realizing that she had actually almost given more information than she had desired. “I wasn’t kidding about the fact she had been my teacher though. Though my crush on her didn’t develop until after graduation. By then it was too late anyways.” “R-right, of course,” Cadance said, shaking her head free of all the nonsense Lysithea had thrown at her and focusing on what she knew was facts. “So she likes mares, specifically those older than her. Someone who was kind and protective, though I don’t know why Lysi would care for protection given her magic. Lastly, she is incredibly cute when flustered,” She giggled. “Not important for finding somepony for her, but adorable nonetheless.” Cadance hadn’t been talking quietly to herself, allowing Lysithea to take in every word she said. In slight panic, the unicorn cast a teleportation spell. A spell that, due to her inhibited magic, only got her as far as the door. Rushing out before Cadance noticed she was gone, she got as far away as possible before confirming that the princess of love had not followed her. She let out a sigh. “Don’t worry Lysi!” Cadance said, having somehow managed to teleport straight to her. All the unicorn could let out was a yelp before being dragged into a hug. “With my help, I shall no doubt find somepony like you describe. With my help, you shall find somepony to spend the rest of your life with. I give you this promise as not just your friend, but the princess of love!” “C-Cadance,” Lysithea replied, trying and failing to pull out of her former foal sitters hug. “Don’t you have more important things to do?” Cadance thought for merely a moment before responding with the simplest of words. “Nah.”