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// 7 days earlier... 
// Story: Double Trixie Trouble 
// by PrincessColumbia 
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7 Days Earlier…
Twilight Sparkle, best young mind that Crystal Prep had ever produced, struggled to make her way down the hallway to Dean Cadance’s office. It was not as though there was a mass of bodies as one might expect in such a struggle, as all the other students were in class and Twilight was alone in her journey. What caused the struggle instead was the emotional tide that seemed to push her away from her favorite educator’s office.
Twilight was not one to be easily taken by depression. After all, being the school’s “loner of loners” did not allow one the luxury of indulging darker emotions, especially when one is as driven as the daughter of Night Light and Twilight Velvet. Besides, the aforementioned parents and her BBBFF were usually all she needed to keep her spirits high. They were some of the most supportive parents she knew of, though admittedly she didn’t know many other student’s parents; her conclusion that she had extremely supportive parents came from the observations she had made of her own parents in contrast to the parents of the kids at the few school activities she attended. (Usually because her older brother was participating in some event or other)
Depression was really the only word for what she was feeling right now, however. Never once in her life had all her hopes and dreams been so soundly dashed all at once, nor had they been destroyed so completely.
Finding herself at an obstruction in her path, she looked up and realized she was at the oak-paneled door with frosted window that lead to Dean Cadance’s office. Never before had the young student feared opening this particular door since Cadance started working here just four years prior, which coincided with the last time her brother had a major sports event before graduating. Which was the last Friendship Games. The thought of the event brought her thoughts crashing low again, completely spoiling any headway of getting out of her depression she had made.
She raised her hand and knocked lightly on the glass pane. Depression made way for minor confusion as she heard a muffled thump and a low male voice. Then, another familiar female voice came muffled through the closed door, “Yes? Who is it?”
“Dean Cadance? It’s me, Twilight Sparkle.”
More muffled thumping and Twilight would’ve bet her ohm-meter that she was hearing a man’s voice whispering, but it was just inaudible enough to maybe, possibly be some shuffling of…whatever was making all the noise in the dean’s office. “I…I can come back later, if you need me to.”
“No! No, that’s OK, Twilee.” The Dean slipped into using her old nickname from when Twilight was a preteen and Cadance was babysitting to help pay for school, “Just…give me a moment…” More shuffling of something, followed by a thump and…was that a metal latch clicking? Then, “OK, come on in, Twilight!”
While confusion and curiosity roiled in Twilight’s mind, it was clear the rest of her was still sunk in depression from Cadance’s reaction to her when she opened the door. “Oh, Twilee, what’s wrong?” The young educator stood and circled her desk. Wasting not a moment, she closed the door behind her student and guided her to a seat on a sofa the dean kept for just this kind of meeting.
The analytical part of Twilight’s mind was busy noticing the desk was a total mess, there were some files poking out from behind a filing cabinet, and there was an extra suit coat that looked too large for Cadance’s frame, and a lack of any other person who would have made the masculine sounding vocalizations she thought she heard earlier.
The rest of her told the analytical part to shove off and collapsed into her old babysitter’s embrace and started bawling her eyes out. She was grateful for this, as it had been years since her old babysitter had held her close, rocking her gently, and cooed gentle and loving admonitions. Never before had the heartbreak been this bad, though.
Once the flow of tears slowed enough that she could speak without heaving sobs interrupting, she started explaining what had happened.
Principal Cinch, an educator that Twilight had previously held in very high regard but hadn’t had many dealings with, had called the genius girl into her office to discuss the upcoming Friendship Games. Twilight’s voice quavered, “…and she made it clear that...if I didn’t participate,” a sob heaved from her body again, “I would never even see Everton Academy’s doors, let alone get my application for the independent study program approved.”
As Twilight collapsed into sobs again, practically curling up into Cadance’s lap, the Dean’s brow furrowed. “Oh, Twilee…” she muttered.
Another minute or two of silent commiseration allowed the younger girl to collect herself again. “I…I didn’t even want to compete anyway. It just…didn’t feel right, being pressured like that. I just couldn’t say yes, what if she asked me to do something worse, like sabotage the games or spy on the other teams or something? I’ve read enough books to know how this kind of thing goes, you say ‘yes’ now to something simple and easy, and they just keep turning up the pressure until you’re doing terrible and horrible things! I was just going to attend the games because it would allow me to study those energy readings from Canterlot High up close.” Dean Cadance was careful not to let her amused eye-roll be seen by Twilight. The girl had been going on for months about a strange new form of energy that she’d eventually triangulated to the area of the opposing school’s campus. The math went over the educator’s head, were she completely honest, and she couldn’t see any real-world applications for it outside of gaining Twilight even more credibility as a young genius in the world of science, but the girl was excited about it, so Cadance let her run with it.
Actually, now that she thought about it…
“Twilight, would you say that your studies have…hit a dead end here at Crystal Prep?” asked Cadance.
“Huh?” the student looked up, wondering where this apparent non-sequiter would lead.
Putting on her best sympathetic smile, Dean Cadance pressed forward, “It’s just that I’ve had you in my office complaining about how little the teachers here have left to teach you, how you feel you need better outlets for your scientific pursuits and studies…I think you’ve just about run Mr. Boards ragged trying to keep up with your expertise in electrical engineering.” The two shared a companionable giggle remembering the perennially stressed out Circuit Boards who was always convinced that Twilight was about to blow the city’s power grid with her experiments.
“Plus,” Cadance paused, then pressed on, “Don’t take this the wrong way Twilight, but I’ve been concerned with your…” she paused again, collecting her thoughts, “Lack of interest in the ‘soft sciences.’” At Twilight’s slightly offended look, her old babysitter simply smiled. “Twilight, do you remember what my minor was in college?”
“Of course, it was Psychology!”
“And what did I do to come to the attention of a school like Crystal Prep and become the youngest dean in the school’s history?”
Of course, Twilight figured out where this was going already, but she played along, “…you wrote a paper that caught the attention of some of the President’s advisory staff, who asked you to help him deal with the U.N. in the wake of the rise of the terrorist cult leader Sombra.”
Cadance had that smile that drove Twilight up the wall, but only because she knew she’d be acknowledging that, once again, the older woman was right by the time they were done talking. “And what have I told you every time you asked me how I managed to get the better of Sombra? A man who, in your own words, ‘made the rest of the world leaders quake in their pants’?”
Now Twilight giggled again, “I don’t recall saying ‘quake’ when I asked you that the first time.”
Cadance giggled as well, “True, but you’re stalling. What do I tell you?”
Twilight sighed, “You used your knowledge of Psychology to profile him and figure out what would get under his skin.” She harrumphed, “But don’t forget it was my brother that knocked him out allowing the SWAT team to capture him!”
The educator smiled as she remembered the particular hostage crisis that the ‘quick, two-day, high profile advisory job’ wound up becoming. “True, but Shining never would have been out of handcuffs in the first place if I hadn’t talked Sombra into letting him go.”
The purple-skinned student grumbled good-naturedly, folding her arms and sticking out her tongue at Cadance. “Fine! So the ‘soft sciences’ can have useful application and somehow, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, can produce consistent enough results to be considered true science.”
The Dean smiled at her student fondly, “All I’m saying, Twilee, is that you need to broaden your studies to include areas you are weak in right now while you’re pursuing your true passions in the ‘hard’ sciences.”
Having been reminded of her purpose for coming into Dean Cadance’s office to begin with, Twilight sagged back into her friend’s arms. “But…how am I going to do that when Principal Cinch is going to make sure I don’t get into Everton Academy?”
Cadance playfully tapped a finger on Twilight’s nose, “Remember what I said about having too narrow a focus? I wasn’t talking about Everton. I was talking about a place that would allow you to pursue your studies of this new form of energy you’re so excited about up-close and is run by some close friends of mine who I know excel in the soft sciences and will support you in both endevors.” The look of befuddlement on Twilight’s face was so…cute that Cadance once again marveled that some boy hadn’t tried to ask Twilight out on a date. Then again, the girl was fairly intimidating to the teachers, so the dean supposed that she couldn’t hold it against the students to be too afraid to approach the school’s resident genius. “I’m talking about Canterlot High, Twilight.”
A look of not-quite condescension flashed across Twilight’s face, “But…their reputation isn’t very good…”
Cadance bit back an exasperated sigh, Darn Cinch and her obsession with ‘reputation…’ “And isn’t really deserved.” the educator interrupted, “Not only have they always been an excellent school, Tia and Lu…er, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna have really been working hard over the last few months to make it even better. Sure, they are a public school, so they don’t have the same access to private funding that we do at Crystal Prep, but they do magnificently with what they have and, since Celestia has been principal, never gone over budget.” Even with the entire front of the school collapsing in a mysterious event that nobody will tell me the truth about, Cadance thought to herself, Gas line explosion my eye!
Twilight bit her lip, a nervous habit the teen had from her grade school days, “Well, I suppose,” she allowed herself a smile, “And it would allow me to study the mystery energy up close!”
“That’s the spirit!” exclaimed Cadance, “Tell you what, I’ll let your teachers know you’re taking the rest of the day off from your classes. You take some time to pack up your notes and experiments in your lab, including the dog you think I don’t know about.”  The pink skinned educator added this last with a wink.
Twilight blushed, giggled, and stood. “I don’t know how I’m going to explain this to my parents…”
Cadance guided the student to the door, “You let me worry about Nighty and Velvet,” this time the use of the familiar nicknames was intentional, to remind Twilight that there was a relationship that went back much further and was more intimate than Educator and Parents-of-a-Student. “You just focus on getting you ready for this transition.”
By now Twilight was feeling much better. She had a ray of hope, a new project, a way to continue her old project, and, most importantly, reaffirmed that she had a friend she could count on. “Thanks, Cadance.”
“Anytime, Twilight. And next time I see you I expect you to be feeling good enough to greet me like you used to.”
Twilight blushed, “But…but that’s so…”
“Come on…you know you want to…” the Dean teased, by now in the hallway with Twilight just outside her office door.
“We did that when I was ten, isn’t it a little…?”
“Sunshine, sunshine…” the educator chanted, ear-to-ear grin on her face.
Twilight was now beet red, “Cadance, c’mon, not at school!”
The aforementioned woman leaned in closer, “Ladybugs awake…” she drawled out the ‘a’ sounds in a sing-song voice.
Twilight groaned, “Fine!”
Together, they intoned a chant and dance that they’d known and practiced for years when Cadance was a mere babysitter and before Twilight was old enough to get teenage-itis.
“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hands and do a little shake!” The schoolyard hand-clapping style dance was finished with the two women turning and wiggling their posteriors at each other, and the absurdity finally broke down the last of Twilights reserve. The pair giggled like schoolgirls and hugged.
“Thanks again, Cadance!” said Twilight.
“Again…anytime, Ladybug.” replied the dean as her student, soon to be ex-student, left with a spring in her step that certainly wasn’t there when the teenager had entered her office earlier.
Cadance re-entered the office and closed the door. She leaned against the door, careful of the glass panel, and heaved a relieved sigh. “You can come out now.” she announced to the seemingly empty office.
The door to a small storage closet, meant for a couple of filing cabinets and not much else, popped open and a young man came tumbling out, nearly falling to the floor in his eagerness to get out of the cramped confines. His somewhat disheveled appearance was offset by his clearly well-sculpted physique and square jaw. He straightened himself up, ran his fingers through his blue hair, and adjusted his tie. “What in the world was Cinch thinking?” he exclaimed, “I thought you and I were supposed to help her convince Twilight to participate…and what was the blackmail about?!”
Cadance sighed and crossed the room, taking over the adjusting of his tie, “I don’t know, but it unfortunately fits a pattern I’ve been seeing the last couple of years.” she finished with his tie and collar, then smoothed his shirt with an intimate…very intimate gesture over his pectorals, “Shiny, I’m going to have to do some ‘school administrator’ stuff for the next little bit while I look into this deeper. We’re going to have to keep these visits to off-campus for the time being.” She slid her hands around his torso until she was hugging him close. “This would be a lot easier if you’d just tell your family about us.”
Shining Armor sighed. “You know I want to, Cadance, but I only just graduated two years ago. You’ve been dean here for two years before that. I’m thinking mostly of how it’ll look for you.” He held her close, “I’m just worried for you. I don’t want you to lose your job. Sure, my mom will be over the moon, you know she loves you. Dad will be OK with it once we explain that we weren’t...a couple until Sombra’s escape last summer…”
“…which we can’t, because that Sombra’s even still alive is a top secret thing…” she nuzzled his chest.
“…and that’s not even taking Twilee into account.” he stated with finality. One thing that Cadance knew about her boyfriend after knowing him since they were both teenagers and she was babysitter to his little sister, Shining Armor didn’t allow anything to mess with his little sister.
With a sigh, she reached her lips up to meet his. They shared a brief moment of intimacy, then broke off. Cadance returned to her desk while Shining put his coat back on.
“Are you going to be at Canterlot High for the games?” Cadance said, more to fill the silence than anything.
Shining tossed her a cocky grin that made her question her decision to put a halt to their at-work rendezvous, “What with Twilee going to be there? Wild horses couldn’t keep me away!” he replied with a chuckle as he slid his brand new State Department badge back into his coat pocket.