//------------------------------// // The Fool // Story: To Sit For The Most // by Darkryt Orbinautz //------------------------------// The Fool represents innocence, divine inspiration, madness, freedom, spontaneity, inexperience, chaos, and creativity. - Persona Wiki. A stream of sunlight poured into the room. The shining light and a complete lack of clouds or any hint of unpleasant weather suggested it would be a bright and sunny day for all. The young princess Cadence disagreed with the sun's silent assurances. She pulled her bedsheets over herself for protection from the wretched sunlight. The solar rays were making the room too bright to be comfortable and it strained her eyes to adjust. “Cadence?” A door squeaked open. “Are you ready to get up?” “No.” Cadence answered from beneath her sheets. Princess Celestia chuckled. “Well, too bad. You need to have big breakfast. You have a busy day ahead of you. Or did you forget that you agreed to foalsit today? For … Jet Set and later Uppercrust, I believe it was.” Squinting her eyes to block the light, Cadence pulled the sheets down. She rose up from her and rubbed at her eyelids. “No, I haven't forgotten … gee, Auntie Celestia, do you think you could, like, dim the sun down or something?” Celestia laughed again. “I'm sorry, but my duties as Princess of the Sun prevent me from giving you special treatment.” “Aww. Please?” Cadence took her hooves off her eyes, only to wince at the sun and cover them up. “Just for a few minutes?” “No.” Celestia walked into the room. “I will not do that. What I will do … is pull up your window curtains.” Her horn tingling with magic, Celestia grabbed hold of the pink curtains and gave them a tug, bringing them over the glass and reducing the amount of burning sunlight in the room by a drastic measurement. Cadence made a surprised little 'o' with her mouth, trying to hide her embarrassment at not thinking of such a simple solution. “Oh … yeah.” Cadence shrugged and tried to pull off a cool pose. “I was gonna do that. Eventually.” Celestia rolled her eyes. “I believe you, Cadence. Now come. It's time for breakfast.” Celestia supervised as Cadence got down from her bed and left the room with her. “Oh!” Cadence tried to turn around. “I forgot to make my bed!” Celestia stopped Cadence from bolting back in with a hoof. “Those sheets will be still waiting for you to make them up when you get back … provided Night Light doesn't get to them first.” Cadence chuckled. “Oh, Night Light! I love it when he makes my bed. He always leaves a little chocolate mint on my pillow.” Celestia smiled. “As do I. Do you know what he leaves on mine?” “What?” “A little piece of caramel.” “Aw, no way!” Cadence huffed and sulked. “That's not fair. Why do you get the caramel?” “Because while you may be a Princess, I am the Princess.” Celestia said. She reached her neck and shoved Cadence into the kitchen with her snout. “But that's enough talk about nighttime candy for now. You need your breakfast.” After ensuring Cadence ate all of her breakfast (all of it; Celestia wouldn't even let her skimp on the orange juice) Celestia took Cadence and walked her to the house where Cadence would be foal-sitting for the morning. “Hello?” Cadence knocked on the door. “Is anypony home? It's me, Princess Cadence. I'm here to foal-sit.” The door swung open, showing a couple of beige unicorns wearing fancy hats. “Ah!” The man of the pairing exclaimed. “Perfect, perfect, you're just in time, just in time. We were just about to leave.” He shook Cadence's hoof and dragged her inside. Celestia waved as her niece was dragged into the house. The stallion shut the door. “Princess Cadence, you said it was?” “Yes.” Cadence nodded. “That's me.” “We're so glad to have you here.” The mare said. “We have plans to go meet our rivals – I mean friends today we can learn about their business – I mean, about them, and we need somepony here to watch over our darling little Jet Set.” “That's why I'm here.” Cadence looked around the room. “Umm … speaking of Jet Set, where is he?” Jet Set's parents looked at each other. “Oh, excuse us.” Jet Set's father said. “He didn't seem too pleased with the idea of a foal-sitter, so he's most likely in his room.” “Jet Set!” His mother yelled. “Come out here! Cadence wants to meet you!” There was no answer. “Jet Set! Now!” “Fine, I'm coming. I'm coming.” Jet Set said came down from the stairs, going slow to delay meeting Cadence as long he could. “You recall the foal-sitter we discussed.” Jet Set's mother said. “This is Princess Cadence. She'll be watching over you for a few hours while we're gone.” “Hmph.” Jet Set turned his head away. “Now, now, don't be rude.” His father said. “We expect you to behave for Cadence. She is a Princess, after all.” Cadence nodded. “That's right. And I'm sure your parents must feel very honored to have a Princess acting as a foalsitter, Jet Set.” “Oh, not at all!” Jet Set's father said, not thinking through his choice of words. “Only the very best for our son.” His wife caught onto his verbal blunder and attempted to hurry the proceedings before Cadence decided to change her mind about sitting for them. “Well, we must be off by now.” Jet Set's mother said, pushing her husband to the door. “You two have fun!” “And keep him out of trouble!” Jet Set's father said. “Trouble?” Cadence said as they left. “Oh, I'm sure he won't be any trouble at all.” She turned around to Jet Set and lowered her front half. “Isn't that right, Jet Set? Nah. You're not gonna cause any trouble for me, are ya?” “Hmph.” Jet Set turned his head away from her again. He took a sip out from his juice box Cadence only now noticed. “Mmm!” Cadence licked her lips. “That juice box sure looks good. Would you mind sharing it with me?” In truth, Cadence had no desire to drink from the juice box, the breakfast Celestia had (force)fed her notwithstanding. It was a tactic. A tactic to get him to open up to her and bond by giving the opportunity to share. Jet Set gave Cadence a hard glare. “No.” He pulled the box away. “Okay.” Cadence said with a smile. There was nothing wrong with him not wanting to share. Cadence had used this tactic on her fair share of foals, and a some of them didn't want to share their boxes for a a variety of legitimate reasons. “May I ask why?” Cadence asked. Sometimes, the foals would fail to answer or realize their reason was silly and decided to share after all. This was something Cadence liked; it helped the foals learn and grow to be kind. “Because my mommy taught me not to 'waste resources' on 'being charitable' when you're 'trying to compete.'” Jet Said answered. This was not the kind of answer Cadence expected. “Did she really? Did she really teach you that?” “Well … no.” Jet Set said. “But that's what I heard her say, and that's what I'm going to do.” “You know, just because your mommy said it, that doesn't mean it's a good thing.” Jet Set responded by sipping his juice while giving her another glare. Cadence shook her head. “Just forget it. So, what do you like to do for fun, Jet Set?” “What do you like to do for fun?” “What do I like to do?” Cadence asked. “Well … there's always … sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Cadence did a little jaunty jig, clapped her hooves and turned around relative to Jet Set. “Okay.” Jet Said with a smile. “Then I want to do anything but that.” Cadence muttered under her breath through gritted teeth. “You're not gonna make this easy for me, are you, kid?” “What was that?” Jet Set said. “You better not have been insulting me, or I'll run and go get my parents.” “It was nothing!” Cadence said with a laugh, waving her hoof. “Learn to lighten up, Jet Set … Jet Set?” While she was distracted laughing, Jet Set had found the time to give her the slip. “Jet Set?” Cadence began walking through the house, searching for him. “Where did he go?” She heard a rattling noise in the kitchen and ran towards. Jet Set was in the kitchen floor, with a cookie jar nestled in his lap. He reached in with a hoof and took out a cookie. He munched on it happily until Cadence's shadow fell over him. Cadence, unimpressed, raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing? Jet Set chewed and swallowed. “I'm having a cookie!” “I see. And did your parents give you permission to have a cookie while I'm here?” Jet Set looked away. “Nnnooo .. but I wanted one, so I took one.” “That's it.” Cadence lifted the cookie jar up with her magic. “Put your cookie back in the jar and then put the jar away.” “No!” Jet Set grabbed the cookie jar with his hooves and tried to tug it away from Cadence. The jar rocked back and forth, but Cadence's magic overcame his tiny hooves. She lifted the jar up higher. Jet Set gave her a determined look. His horn lit up as he tried using his magic to yank the jar away from Cadence. Once again, the jar rocked back and forth in the air. It edged towards Jet Set. It edged towards Cadence. It tipped over, running the risk of dropping all of the cookies. But Cadence righted the jar and broke it free of Jet Set's magic, placing it on the cabinet. “Your parents are trusting me to keep you out of trouble.” Cadence said. “Whatever it takes, I'm going to see to it their trust is well-placed, understand?” Cadence turned around to see Jet Set had gone again, making off with his ill-gotten baked good. Cadence growled, though this time he would be easy to find by the trail of crumbs on the floor. I can't wait until this morning is over and I don't have to deal with this brat anymore … Cadence thought. After spending the entire morning dealing with Jet Set's misbehavior, Cadence was glad when the afternoon came, as it meant an end to her torment. She was relieved when Jet Set's parents returned, though she tried not to let it show. “Hello, Princess.” Jet Set's mother greeted her, bowing her head. “Where's Jet Set?” “Oh, he got a little rowdy with me, so I sent him to his room.” Cadence answered. “Jet Set! Your parents are home!” Jet Set came scrambling down the stairs, much more eager to see his parents than he was to meet Cadence earlier. “My word.” Jet Set's father said. “I don't believe it. Our Jet Set? Rowdy?” “Uh-huh.” Cadence nodded. “I caught him trying to sneak cookies from your cookie jar.” Not to mention a number of other things ... “Jet Set, is this true?” Jet Set's mother asked. “Do you sneak into the cookie jar?” “No, I didn't!” Jet Set said. “She's lying!” Cadence loved foals, but it took every ounce of willpower she had not to smack the twerp. Her eye twitched. “Well, as wonderful as this day has been for me, I really need to get to my next appointment!” Not willing to stand here and listen to Jet Set weave a tall tale about how she mistreated him, Cadence brushed her way past Jet Set's parents and headed out the door. She galloped to the house on another side of town where she was scheduled to babysit for the afternoon. She knocked on the door to the house and was answered by a white unicorn mare. “Hello! I'm -” “Princess Cadence? The Princess who loves foals?” The mare asked. Cadence nodded. “Oh good, you're here on time. I was afraid you weren't going to make it. If you need me, I'll be at my husband's office. I'm planning on giving him a surprise at while he's at work. Upper Crust is playing in her bedroom, just up the stairs. I really have to get going, so … bye!” The mare spoke fast and moved fast. She dashed into the house and came back out carrying a picnic basket in her mouth and sprinted down the street. She was already out of sight by the time Cadence had processed but half the things she said. What? Cadence shook her head, attempting to sift through the blur of words and pick out the information she needed. What did she say? … Upper Crust is in her bedroom up the stairs. Okay. Got it. Cadence went inside the house and climbed up the marble spiral staircase, finding a little filly playing in a bluish-white bedroom. The filly stopped what she was doing to gawk at Cadence. She lost her balance and fell on the floor, but she didn't seem to mind. “Are you my foalsitter?” Cadence smiled and nodded. “Yes, I am. My name's Cadence, and I'm told you're Uppercrust?” Uppercrust didn't bother to answer her question. “Let's play together!” She dashed towards Cadence, barreling headfirst into Cadence's chest. Cadence's soft, unprepared chest. Cadence lurched and grimaced, but attempted to fix a smile back on. “I want a piggy-back ride!” Uppercrust said. Cadence wasn't in love with the idea. “Oh, I'm not sure we should-” “Piggy-back ride!” Uppercrust insisted, crawling onto Cadence's back, her hooves snagging and yanking on the hairs in Cadence's mane. “Ow ow ow okay piggy-back ride!” Cadence reached her front hooves over her shoulders so she could secure Uppercrust to her back. Cadence stood on her hind legs and ran in circles around the room for as long as she could manage to stay on her hind legs. “Whee!” Uppercrust threw her hooves in the air. “After this, I want cake!” “Cake?” Cadence asked. “Are you sure you wouldn't want, you know, some peanut butter sandwiches or something?” “No!” Uppercrust said. “Ooh, you know we should do? We should MAKE a cake! I know my mommy is bringing a cake to my daddy. We should make a cake for my mommy!” Cadence chuckled. It was sweeter than anything Jet Set had come up with, at least. “Well, if it's for your mommy, then I guess I wouldn't mind baking a cake with you.” Later in the day, as the sun was going down, Cadence was so, so happy her work day was over. Uppercrust proved to be quite a hyper little filly, filled with boundless energy. She still wasn't tapped out even when they had finished the cake, despite all the work the baking entailed. After Uppercrust's mother returned, bringing along with her father off from work, Cadence shook hooves with both of them and headed straight for the castle. She wanted to do nothing more than crawl into her bed and call it a day. Once she was inside the castle, she made a beeline for bed and threw the blankets over her. Her hopes of peaceful rest were dashed by the sound of her door creaking and hooves clopping on the polished floor. “So, how was your day?” Celestia asked. “Ugh!” Cadence sat upright, throwing the sheets off. “It was terrible! All these foals are so – so rotten and spoiled. They expect to have everything handed to them on a silver platter.” Celestia nodded. “Yes. But you were the one who said you wanted to befriend every foal in Canterlot. This was what you agreed to. I warned you, not every foal would appreciate your efforts.” “I know.” Cadence hung her head. “It's just so … disheartening. I wanted to make friends with every foal so they wouldn't feel lost. So they wouldn't feel … alone. Like I was alone … when you found me.” Cadence looked away from Celestia, who on the same note, took a sudden interest in the window curtains. “There's so much in their lives that they take for granted … they don't understand how precious some things are. Like a house. Like a home. Like knowing who your parents are ...” Cadence looked back to Celestia. She chuckled awkwardly. “Uh, no offense! It's not that you're not an amazing parent, Auntie Celestia!” Cadence said. “You're awesome! You're amazing, and I wouldn't trade you for anypony else!” Cadence looked at her bedsheets. “But still … it might have been … nice to know who my real parents were.” Celestia looked at the tile, scuffing a hoof. “Rest up, Cadence. The dinner bell will ring soon.” Celestia began to close the door. Cadence pulled the sheets up and laid down. “I just wanted to spread the love, that's all … to keep them from being lonely.” She closed her eyes, the light from the other room shining onto her bed before Celestia shut the door. Celestia stood there, silent and unmoving. She looked at Cadence's door and at the empty tile before dragging herself to the nearest window. She poked her head out, her horn glowing as she pushed the sun down and pulled the moon up, switching Equestria over from day to night. “An amazing parent.” Celestia repeated to herself. She gazed at her reflection in the window, the moon placed in a perfect position so when Celestia looked stared into the frame, her face overlapped with the image of the moon bleeding through. Celestia's brow furled up as she regarded the curious formation in the moon, almost in the shape of a pony. “I wish you could the say the same thing. I doubt you would agree.” Celestia said to the Mare in the Moon. “If I only had been there for you, like I should have been.” Celestia sighed and walked away from the window, the Mare in the Moon still looking down on the castle. Her routine mourning and moping done, Celestia made her usual nighttime rounds around the area of the castle, going around and checking in with all of her servants and guards. Walking through one of the castle's many halls, she overheard a conversation in a room. “What are we gonna do?” Night Light said. “She's scared off everypony else ...” “I know.” Twilight Velvet, one of Celestia's accountants for the Royal Treasury (and Celestia's personal favorite; Velvet was much less snobby and more humble than the others) “But we need to find her a foalsitter who will work for her.” Celestia's ears perked up. Now who did she know who was skilled in the art of foalsitting? Who did she know who loved spending time and bonding with foals? Whoever could it be? “Sweetie … I think we may just need to accept the fact we're not getting that vacation. We may have to spend the time with Twilight Sparkle.” “What's this I hear about a vacation?” Celestia asked, stepping into the room. Twilight Velvet and Night Light staggered, surprised to see her here. “Oh, um, hello, Princess Celestia!” Night Light bowed his head. “We weren't … expecting you to be in here. I was just about to go through the castle. You know, leave a little caramel on your pillow, the way you like.” “Hmm.” Celestia put a wing to her chin. “Tonight, would you put some caramel on Cadence's pillow as well? She's had a rough day.” Night Light was confused by this, but far be it him to disobey a request from the Princess. “Um … all right.” “We come here to see each other during the night as things are winding down for the day.” Twilight Velvet explained. “We don't normally get company in here.” “Well, forgive me for intruding.” Celestia said. “But if my hearing doesn't fail me, I heard you say something about needing a foalsitter?” Twilight Velvet and Night Light turned to each other. “Should we tell her?” Night Light asked. Velvet hissed at him. “She's the Princess! How can we not?” Twilight Velvet turned to the Princess, tapping her hooves together. “Er, yes. My husband and I were talking recently and we realized we hadn't had a proper vacation for a long while.” “And we were thinking about calling in some of that unused vacation time.” Night Light explained. “But there's a slight problem.” “Oh?” “Yes. Our son, Shining Armor, got submitted an application the Royal Guard academy and ... he got accepted.” Night Light said with a smile. “Did he? Congratulations! You two must be very proud of him.” Celestia beamed a smile at them. “Oh, we are.” Twilight Velvet, reaching a hoof across her husband's shoulder. “He starts his training in a few weeks.” “Couldn't be prouder, in fact.” Celestia shifted her eyes from side to side. “So, um … how is this a problem, exactly?” “Well … without Shining Armor around, there's nopony to watch over our daughter, Twilight Sparkle.” Night Light said. “So the last few days, we've been hiring foalsitters to come over and watch Twilight Sparkle. That way, When Shining Armor goes away to the academy, and we go on vacation, Twilight Sparkle will have somepony for company and guidance while we're gone. She's very shy, you see, so it's best if she gets to know her foalsitter now.” Twilight Velvet explained. “It … hasn't been working out.” Night Light said. “Every sitter we try, she ends up scaring away somehow. We just got the message from Shining Armor today that she even drove our most recent one to quit ... and he was a reformed convict! Or so he claimed. I never was too happy we went through with hiring him.” “Perhaps I can be of assistance.” Celestia said. “My niece, Cadence, is quite enamored with young children. She offers a service as a foalsitter. Perhaps she can foalsit for you.” “What?” Night Light and Twilight Velvet were shocked and surprised by the prospect. “Oh, Princess, we really couldn't.” Twilight Velvet said. “Not your niece! Surely as a Princess herself, Cadence has more important things to do than attend to some silly old couple's foalsitting needs ...” “Nonsense!” Celestia said. “It will be fine.” “Fine?” Night Light said. “I don't mean to question your hearing, Princess, but you, uh, you heard the part where she scared off a reformed criminal? A reformed, hardened criminal with scars and tattoos on his face and chest-” “Night Light.” Twilight Velvet smacked him. “Quit trying to scare the Princess off.” She turned to Celestia. “He was a blue-collar thief.” “I see.” Celestia said. “Nevertheless, I have faith that Cadence will be an excellent foalsitter for you. Cadence is more than capable of rising up to the occasion. She's handled quite a few rambunctious fillies, and quite well, if I do say so myself. Then again ...” Celestia chuckled. “I might be biased.” “Oh, no. We couldn't. Really.” Twilight Velvet said. “Thank you for offering, but -” “No, no. I insist.” Night Light cleared his throat. “Well, you know … I don't want to offend you, Princess, but we won't let just anypony come in and foalsit our daughter. We have a very extensive screening process.” “Oh?” “No. What, did you think we would have hired an ex-con to watch over our daughter without vetting him first?” “I suppose not.” “Now ...” Twilight Velvet pulled out a notebook and a pencil. “We'll need to schedule a time for Cadence to come over. In order for her to pass, she has to be approved by everypony else in the family; Night Light, myself and Shining Armor.” Celestia noticed one important name not on Velvet's list. “What about Twilight Sparkle herself? Does she not get a say? Wouldn't it be best if she herself approved of the foalsitter?” Night Light chuckled. “Ah, you'd think that, but Twilight Sparkle is … really set against the idea of a foalsitter at all. We figured if we made it a requirement Twilight Sparkle had to approve, no pony would ever pass.” “Now, as I was saying ...” Twilight Velvet said, scribbling onto her notepad. “We'll need to schedule a time for Cadence to come over -” “How about now?” For the second time in this conversation, Night Light and Twilight Velvet were shocked and surprised. “N-Now?” “Uh, Princess, the vetting process can be very … time-consuming.” Night Light said. “I am sure – no. I am certain Cadence will win you over.” “Perhaps.” Night Light said. “But there's still the issue of dinner coming soon …” “The chefs won't put out dinner for a while yet.” Celestia said. “I'm sure there's plenty of time for me to bring Cadence up over to your house. Why … we could even have dinner at your house!” “T-t-t-two Princesses … dining … in our house?” Twilight Velvet put her hooves on her face. “We're – we're not ready for such an honor! Oh, our house will look like a pigsty next to the castle! N-N-Night Light! W-what d-do we d-do? We can't have t-the Princess d-dine in our house, but – but we can't tell the Princess no, either!” “Uh huh.” Celestia nodded. “While you two are over here stuttering, I will fetch my niece and see you at your house. Bye!” Celestia zipped out of the room while Night Light and Twilight Velvet continued to stutter and stammer. “Wait a minute.” Night Light thought about what Celestia said. “I just realized … I still haven't made the beds yet.” “There are other servants in the castle!” Celestia shouted from down the hall. “Who are plenty capable of doing your job!” Though I'll need to make sure I tell them to put caramel on Cadence's pillow … Celestia thought. I'll just tell every one I come across as I pass by ... surely at least one of them will remember it. “Auntie Celestia, why did you volunteer me to foalsit for Twilight Sparkle?” Cadence asked while Celestia walked her to Twilight Velvet's house. “Twilight Velvet and Night Light are two dear servants of mine.” Celestia said. “When I heard of their plight, I couldn't bear the thought of their vacation being denied. I know you will be able to handle Twilight Sparkle.” “Huh.” Cadence paused and thought about this. “You're hoping that this will all work out all right and somehow I'll learn some kind of valuable lesson, aren't you?” Celestia looked at Cadence. “You see right through me, don't you?” “Like a crystal.” “Well, we're here.” Celestia said as they reached the house. She knocked on the door. “Princess!” Twilight Velvet exclaimed. “Princesses! Please, come in.” She bowed and moved to let them inside. The door wasn't sized for her, so Celestia had to squeeze in. “Hello, Princess Cadence.” Twilight Velvet bowed again. “Let me introduce to the family. I'm Twilight Velvet. That's my husband, Night Light. And that strapping young stallion over there is our son, Shining Armor.” “Aw, mom.” The unicorn colt turned his head. “You're embarrassing me.” “Last but by no means least, the filly you'll be sitting for, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight Velvet looked around. “Twilight Sparkle?” Shining Armor looked over his shoulder. “Come on, Twiley. Quit hiding behind me and say hi to Cadence.” From behind Shining Armor emerged a tiny little unicorn filly whom Cadence found adorable. She wanted to scoop her up and squeezed like a stuff animal, but she resisted the childish impulse. “So,” Cadence brought her head down to meet Twilight at head level, “Twiley, huh?” Twilight Sparkle blinked at her, expressionless. “Hey.” Shining Armor pressed a hoof into Cadence's chest. “Let's you and me get one thing straight right now; only I can call her Twiley.” Cadence nodded. “I'll make a note of that ... Shiny.” Shining Armor glared at her. “And don't call me Shiny.” “That's enough, you two.” Celestia said. “Twilight Velvet, how's dinner coming along?” Twilight Velvet's eyes shrunk to the size of pinpricks. “O-oh. You were – you were serious about that. Uh, we thought you were joking, so we only made enough for us. I'll just start a pot burning and whip some more, haha. I'll let you and Cadence take the first bowls.” “Oh, there's no need for that.” Celestia shook her head. “I'm sure Cadence and I can wait. Isn't that right, Cadence?” Cadence nodded. “In fact, if Twilight Velvet will allow it, would you go into the kitchen with her?” Celestia asked. “See if you can help out? Cadence can be quite good at helping. Perhaps she make the process go faster.” “Of course.” Cadence said. “Well … if she has your vote, Princess, she has mine.” Twilight Velvet led Cadence into the kitchen with her. “So, Shining Armor.” Celestia turned to him. “I hear you signed up for the Royal Guard.” In practice for the oh-so-vital skill he would need to succeed, Shining Armor saluted. “That's correct, Your Majesty.” Celestia tilted her head. "Why do you want to be a Royal Guard?" “Because I want to protect Equestria.” Shining Armor said. “I want to protect Twiley.” “Hmm. A noble goal.” Celestia said. “Okay!” Before Celestia's conversation with Shining Could go any further, Twilight Velvet came back with a smiling Cadence. “Dinner's ready!” Everypony took a seat at the table, though Celestia had to be careful to avoid banging her head against the ceiling. Cadence took the time to endear herself to the family, telling stories about some of the other foals she had foalsat for in the past. “And you know what? He didn't believe me when I said that was would happen, but when he did ...” Cadence snickered. “He blew lemonade out from his nose!” This prompted a burst of laughter from the other ponies. “Oh, he made such a mess. It was everywhere. We had to clean it all up before his mom got home.” “I must say, Cadence, you are a delight.” Night Light said. “You did an excellent job setting up the table.” Twilight Velvet said. “And thanks to your help, I was able to finish making more for dinner before any of it got cold.” “Oh, it's nothing.” Cadence took a spoonful of dinner into her mouth. “Mmm. You know, this is good, Miss Velvet, but you know what would make it better? Some spicy herbs.” “Spicy herbs, huh?” Twilight Velvet rubbed her chin. “Hmm, I'll have to try that.” “Okay.” Night Light threw his silverware down and pushed out his chair. “Cadence, you've been a big help with dinner this evening, you're funny and delightful, and judging from the stories you've told us, you clearly know what you're doing when it comes to foals. I like her! Show of hooves, everypony! All in favor?” “Aye!” Twilight Velvlet raised a hoof. “Aye!” As did Shining Armor. All this left was Twilight Sparkle. The little filly remained silent, staring at Cadence with unmoving eyes. “C-come on, Twiley.” Shining Armor said. “Say something.” Twilight's expression changed into one of anger. She crossed her legs and narrowed her eyes. “Hmph.” She pushed out her chair, got off, and left the room. “Well … I guess that counts as saying something.” Shining Armor said. “I'm sorry ...” Cadence said. “Your daughter doesn't seem to be warming up to me ...” “It's fine.” Twilight Velvet assured her. “It's not your fault. But the rest of us all like you. Hopefully she'll come around after spending a little more time with you.” Twilight Velvet sounded as though she was trying to convince herself more so than Cadence. “Tomorrow.” Night Light said. “We'll send Shining Armor to hang out with friends so you can come over for your 'test run' while we perform our jobs at your aunt's palace.” “Sounds great.” Cadence said. The family and the Princesses finished dinner. Cadence didn't understand why Celestia insisted she skip on dessert, though she figured it had something to do with making sure she ate healty. They bid each other farewell, though Twilight Sparkle had to be coaxed into waving goodbye to Cadence. After the two Princesses returned to their castle, they went to their bedrooms. When she stepped into her room, Cadence was confused as to why there was a pile of caramel-chocolate pieces on her pillow. The next day, Cadence waved and flashed a knowing wink at Twilight Velvet as she packed up and left the castle. Cadence arrived at the household to find a lone Twilight Sparkle waiting for her in the foyer. Cadence would give her this; Twilight Sparkle seemed well-behaved. Twilight continued to stare at with those big, emotionless eyes. It was almost as if she saw Cadence as a curious animal; interesting to look at, but not worth trying to communicate with. “Hello, Twilight Sparkle!” Cadence said. Ignoring Twilight's indifference to her, Cadence intended to go through doing what she always did. Attempting to get a response, Cadence put her hooves up in the air and made silly noises. “Blah! I'm a tickle monster, and I'm gonna get ya!” Whenever Cadence pretended to be a tickle monster for other foals, she always got one of two responses. The foal either turned tail and fled, engaging Cadence in her game and letting her chase them, or they approached her and let them tickle her because they liked it when they were tickled. Twilight Sparkle did neither. Instead, she raised a curious eyebrow at Cadence before getting up and walking off. Strange. Cadence thought. That usually always gets a reaction. It's never failed me before. Cadence looked to see Twilight was lying on the floor, pouring over a book. A book. What kind of filly her age cares about books? With a book to ignore Cadence was with, there was no guarantee Cadence would be able to break through to Twilight and get her to bond with her and come out of her shell. This … may be an even harder challenge than I thought.