Although not as popular as Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle had friends. Night Light and Velvet Twilight were happy with that. They only wanted the best for their young pony, but if she was content, they were too.
After the Summer Sun Celebration, though, their daughter had become so engrossed with her studies, she barely left the house anymore. Twilight would attend school, but instead of coming home late for dinner, weary from her latest adventures, the filly would be home early, ready to continue her studies as though books were her new friends.
Before Shining Armor began his guard training, while was at home all day, he had taken the time to distract Twilight from her studies. The two had been so cute together, sharing adventures as they always had, but sharing education too. Night Light and Velvet Twilight had been so happy with the love between the two siblings that it hadn't even occurred to them that something could be wrong.
So they watched from afar, both proud of and worried for their little filly, always engrossed in her books. They thought it might be a phase that would die out after a while, but it had been weeks since Shining Armor had been around to keep his little sister from being inside and alone all day, and they had to think of a new plan.
After much worry, and even talking about the problem to their friends, the answer had come from the most surprising of places.
Together, the parents of Twilight Sparkle entered the study to talk with their youngest foal. They found Twilight levitating a quill and a piece of parchment, scribbling in intense concentration as her favourite toy, Smarty Pants, watched from her perch on a shelf.
"Oh, Twilight Sparkle, you've stopped studying. Are you drawing something?" Velvet Twilight asked gently, pleased to see her eyes off a book for once.
The young pony looked up to see her parents standing in the doorway and gave a small smile.
"No Mother, Father. I'm making a checklist. I've read all the books on my last list and I need to decide whether I want to read Advanced Telekinesis for Young Unicorns or An In-Depth History of Magic in Equestria first. Which do you think? Have you read them before?"
Her excitement about their opinions almost made them back out, but Night and Velvet looked to one another, then back to Twilight Sparkle.
"Twilight," her father started, clearing his throat. "Your mother and I are going to start working longer hours again, and with Shining Armor out doing training, we've decided to get a foalsitter."
"You don't have to do that. I'll be quiet and just study for all the time you're gone. You don't have to worry about me." Twilight gave them her most innocent of smiles, glancing sideways at her parchment to continue scribbling a few notes.
"That's the thing, Twilight. Your mother and I do worry about you. You need to go outside and play with other ponies. And your new foalsitter will play with you."
Twilight just stared at her parents, and they stared right back. They knew that the first one to look away was going to back down. If the little filly had more resolve than them, she would be lost to her studies forever.
Twilight's quill and parchment fell to the floor, the young unicorn not yet focused enough to engage in a staring competition and focus on her telekinesis at the same time. She looked away, focusing to bring them back to the table.
Twilight’s parents smiled in triumph. "Cadance will be here tomorrow. Be good for her, Twilight."
Twilight pretended she hadn't heard her mother speak, and picked up her implements to continue writing.
Velvet simply shook her head as she and her husband stepped back out of the doorway, leaving their daughter to make her list in peace. It was a small victory, but they had heard a lot about Princess Cadance and her ability to bridge the gap between a foal and their parents.
Princess Cadance had been warned that the little filly, Twilight Sparkle, would be a handful. She didn't really understand the warning, as she had done plenty of foalsitting before, and there was nothing she, the alicorn with the power of love, couldn't do to calm down a raging, tantrum-filled foal. This Twilight Sparkle couldn't be worse than any of the others.
She made her way to the home of the little filly early in the morning, in time to farewell the parents. She had never met Night Light and Velvet Twilight before, as with most of the population of Canterlot, and she found it strange that she was requested for this most ordinary of families.
The two ponies met her at the door, their eyes filled with that tiny bit of worry that she saw in the face of every parent of a wayward filly or colt she'd cared for. She wondered what could have made the foal of this caring couple go off the rails at such a young age. She never did ask any of the parents unless they volunteered the information of their own accord, but she always wondered how she might care for them better.
Night Light and Velvet Twilight looked relieved when she approached them.
"You felt the need to meet me at the door. That is so sweet of you," she said to the kindly couple as a pre-greeting.
She bowed to them. "I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and it is a pleasure to meet the parents of the foal I will be sitting for."
The mare and stallion, like every pony she introduced herself in this way to, looked distressed at being bowed to, and hastily bowed their own heads in reverence for what they must have thought was a worthy amount of time.
"No, no," the stallion gushed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess–"
"Cadance," she interrupted before he could bleat out her entire name. "Just Cadance is fine. I will be taking care of your little pony, after all."
This prompted another bow from the two. "Cadance. It is truly an honour to have you foalsit for our little Twilight Sparkle."
"Okay, so where is this little filly? I was told she is a bit of a problem foal."
"Problem? Our little Twilight?" Velvet Twilight was surprised at the description, as most mothers were. "I ... suppose you could call it a problem, Cadance. Won't you come inside? We'll tell you a bit about our little filly and we'll see if you can help her."