//------------------------------// // Chapter 49: Confusion and Concern // Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// "Cadence, it's me, Twilight," Twilight spoke up cheerfully "Don't you remember?" "Twilight?" Princess Cadence responded, as if this was the first time she'd ever heard of such a name. "Yeah, as in Twilight Sparkle," Twilight explained "You used to be my foalsitter when I was a filly. You always said I was anything but a regular unicorn." "Did I now?" Princess Cadence replied, sounding very confused. Twilight found a frown working its way onto her face, how could her old foalsitter just forget about her? But rather than give up, Twilight got an idea. "Maybe this will refresh your memory," she said to Princess Cadence, and began to chant while performing a series of movements "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves, and do a little shake!" For a moment, Cadence didn't reply. She just stared at Twilight, wondering why the young mare had stuck her rump out at her like that. At last, she carefully made her way past Twilight while saying "That's..... 'interesting', I guess." "You don't remember me at all?" Twilight asked sadly. "Not really, but it has been a long time since we've seen each other," Cadence apologized "I think the memories are coming back to me now though." "You'll have to excuse Cadence, Twily," Shining Armor said, as he put a hoof around his bride to be "The preparations for the wedding have been really stressful for her as well. I'm sure she'll remember in time. Right, my dear?" "Huh? Oh yes, yes, of course!" Cadence replied hastily. "She is glad to see you, I can tell you that much," Shining Armor told his sister "Now, why don't you run along and make sure everything is going according to plan?" "Okay, B.B.B.F.F, guess I'll see you later." Twilight replied, and reluctantly set off. In her mind, she was growing wary of Princess Cadence. "Something about her just doesn't feel right," she thought to herself "There's no way Cadence could forget me so easily, something must be up. But what?" After Twilight left, Shining Armor turned to Cadence "I'd better get started on my patrols," he said to her "You can take care of yourself while I'm gone, right?" "Of course, see you later." Cadence called, as Shining Armor set off on his patrols. If he'd looked back, he might have caught the faint trace of a smirk on Cadence's face. The patrols passed uneventfully for Shining Armor, though he couldn't shake the feeling that Cadence was hiding something from him. Even pre wedding nerves didn't seem to explain why she would forget about the filly that she claimed she loved to foalsit for the most. Shining Armor shook his head "I'm thinking too much," he thought to himself "I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for all of this. Besides, I learned my lesson about assuming things without proof." But when Shining Armor arrived to be fited for his suit, he was shocked at what he witnessed. Princess Cadence and her bridesmaids were with Rarity, and Princess Cadence was talking rudely to the fashionista about the wedding dress. "Your majesty, I assure you that this dress is of the finest quality," Rarity said to Princess Cadence "I'm sure you'll love it as soon you try it on. And I know your bridesmaids will love their dresses as well." "I love them already!" Minuette exclaimed happily, she was one of the three ponies picked to be a bridesmaid, alongside her good friends Lyra Heartstrings, and Twinkleshine. "Me too!" Lyra added. "And me three!" Twinkleshine chimed in "They're perfect the way they are." But Princess Cadence was not impressed, in fact she seemed to look at the three bridesmaids with scorn, as if she despised the fact that they had a different opinion than her. Princess Cadence then turned to Rarity and said angrily "Make them a different color! That's an order!" "Now see here, your highness!" Fleur said, barely containing the anger in her voice "You cannot just boss my husband's business partner, and one of my closest friends! This may be your wedding, but that does not give you an excuse to be rude!" "It's fine, Fleur, it's her wedding," Rarity replied "She should demand the very best, the customer is always right." "Exactly!" Princess Cadence said with a fiendish smile "So make them a different color, now!" Then, she turned to the bridesmaids "As for you three, meet me in my private chambers, and we will discuss your 'punishment'." And with that, Princess Cadence turned, and walked out of the room with a snobbish look on her face. "Well, I never," Fleur remarked "That Princess Cadence has some nerve!" "I know, I saw the whole thing, and I could hardly believe my eyes and ears!" Fancy Pants commented "In all my years, I have never met a pony that has acted this cruely to others! Not even that royal pain Prince Blueblood, and that's saying something!" "I'm sure it was just the stress of the wedding getting to her," Shining Armor innocently insisted "I've heard stories that this sort of thing happens quite often among bride to bes." "Wedding nerves doesn't excuse Cadence's behavior," Fancy Pants snorted "Our friends have noticed Cadence's rude behavior as well. Big Macintosh told me that after Princess Cadence told Applejack how much she and I quote: 'Love, love, LOVED' her apple fritters, she threw them in the trash!" "She probably did that to save Applejack's feelings." Shining Armor defended. "She didn't have to lie to do so, she could've easily said she didn't like them," Fancy Pants said angrily "And that's not all! Thunderlane says she snapped at one of the birds in the song choir, just for singing a little off key." "Cadence probably didn't mean to be so harsh, and I'll see to it that she apologizes," Shining Armor said seriously "But when I first met Thunderlane, he looked like he was going to yell at the song birds himself." "Well, it gets worse," Fancy Pants said with a shake of his head "Braeburn mentioned that Cadence was overly harsh on the party planning. She said it was an insult to parties, and demanded everything be thrown out!" "What about Soarin, has he noticed anything?" Shining Armor reluctantly asked. "He's been very busy working with the other Wonderbolts, and Rainbow Dash, so he hasn't spent a lot of time with Princess Cadence," Fancy Pants replied "But he did mention that Cadence snapped at Rainbow Dash every time she crashed." "She's that bad, huh?" Shining Armor said glumly "I just don't understand why she would do all of this, even when we met in this city all those months ago, she was still gentle, kind, and compassionate. Could the stress of the wedding, coupled with the unknown threat, be responsible?" "I said it once, and I'll say it again, wedding nerves don't excuse Cadence's behavior at all," Fancy Pants replied "I know this, because I can speak from experience. My darling Fleur was quite the monster during the days leading up to our wedding, but she never took it out on innocent ponies who were only trying to help. She always apologized, and only lost her temper once or twice. I know some brides are less controlled than that, but even then I don't think they would act as mean as Cadence has been acting. Your sister seems to think the same way." "Twily's been observing all this?" Shining Armor asked, as he was finally fitted for his suit. "Indeed, and she said she wanted to speak to you as soon as possible," Rarity nodded "As somepony who knows your sister quite well, I think it's best for all of us if you treat her concerns seriously. If not, there's no telling what she might do." "I guess I have no choice," Shining Armor realized "Whatever's gotten into Cadence, I can't allow it to continue. Even if that means I have to call off the wedding."