Disguises and Discussions Pt.2
Shining Armor ducked his head slightly in embarrassment as he walked down one of Canterlot’s many busy streets, trying in vain to hide from the stares he could practically feel assaulting his body. As he internally bemoaned his bad fortune, he became distracted by a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head slightly, his shoulders slumped a little further as he realized what it was.
His coat.
It was blue.
Apparently, according to Lu-Sunbeam’s guide to becoming a master of disguise, he was a major risk to their whole operation. He was such a risk that wearing a simple cloak to cover his cutie mark wasn’t nearly drastic enough. No, it clearly stated in chapter four, subsection white, that the only way he wouldn’t blow their cover is if his shiny white coat was dyed a different color.
Thus came the most painful ten minutes of his life since that one time Twily had thrown a bowl of beets at him as a foal. And in the end, most of his coat was covered by his cloak anyways, making the dye job completely unnecessary. His opinion, however, was apparently insignificant compared to that of a pink party pony.
He still wasn’t sure how to feel about being mentioned by name in a book written by Pinkie Pie, but he figured his current feelings of embarrassed exasperation were close enough to the mark. According to Luna, the book was a work-in-progress, and she had been lucky enough to acquire an advanced copy. Shining swore in his mind that if he ever managed to turn his coat back to its normal color, he’d do everything in his power to make sure that book never hit the shelves.
He was the Captain of the Royal Guard, after all, and technically a prince through marriage. Stonewalling the mass production of a single pony’s book, even if that pony was the Element of Laughter, was surely within his power. He’d just have to do it carefully and without any of the princesses knowing about it, because if they knew then Luna - and perhaps his sister as well - would work against him.
For now, however, he had to follow Luna and Luna was following Pinkie’s book of crazy instructions. And so, despite his protests, for the remainder of the day he was Dusk; a blue coated stallion accompanying his ‘little sister’ Sunbeam shopping.
Raising his head once more so he could better watch his charge, his eyes widened frantically as he couldn’t immediately see her. So much for trying to balance being close enough to protect her with being far enough not to be immediately associated with her. Pushing his way unapologetically past a few disgruntled ponies, he followed the whispers and stares to the front of a bakery. There, with her muzzle pressed up against the glass, was the wayward princess.
“Sunbeam!” Shining Armor scolded as he sidestepped a produce cart and came to stop beside the smaller pony now looking up at him with a tilted head and a quizzical look on her face. “Don’t do that!”
Luna froze, expression downright guilty, before she stubbornly tried to cover it up with feigned innocence. “I’m quite sure that I have no idea what you’re going on about.”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Shining Armor looked down at the apparent unicorn, slipping easily into his brotherly role. It had been some time since he had really been able to flex his big brother muscles, but he found, to his surprised delight, that they weren’t rusty at all. Well, at least he was able to fill his role as big brother as long as he didn’t dwell on who exactly he was scolding.
“I... I…” Luna wavered under the dually expectant and disapproving stare for a few long moments before she gave in with a slight scowl. “Oh, alright. Fine. But I wasn’t actually going to do it.”
“Wait,” Shining blinked, confused. “What?”
“I may have entertained the idea of having a life-sized replica of Twilight made out of cake be delivered to Celly during breakfast, but it was an idle fantasy. Nothing more.” Luna harrumphed slightly, throwing one last covertly longing look at the sweets inside the store before turning her attention to the stallion in front of her.
“What?” Shining Armor unconsciously did an admirable attempt at mimicking a fish. He wasn’t sure where he’d gotten lost in the conversation; though he was pretty sure whatever the current topic of their conversation was, it had absolutely nothing to do with not sticking together. “I mean, that’s good?”
“Yes, well,” Luna sniffed slightly, switching her gaze from her companion to the shops situated behind him. “If I was going to go through that much trouble I’d at least make it worth my time and effort; I’d make the replica out of salt or drench the cake in something extremely alcoholic, for example.” The fact that she said this offhoofedly with a perfectly angelic look on her face slightly concerned Shining Armor, raising well-honed alarm bells in his mind. “With any luck I’d get my fun and my sister wouldn’t remember enough of the incident to desire revenge.”
Shining Armor stared blankly at the smaller pony. He wasn’t sure exactly what he was supposed to do with information like that, and so he picked the safest route available to him; ignore everything he just heard and fervently hope it wasn’t some kind of foreshadowing of things to come.
“Oh! There it is!” Luna exclaimed happily, before rushing across the street, all the while muttering to herself under her breath. “I knew it was around here somewhere…”
Shining Armor sighed in defeat, before turning around and following the princess. He wasn’t sure which he preferred; the strange staring of a few minutes ago, or the sympathetic glances he was currently receiving. Oh, the things he did for family.
Stopping in front of the store, he looked around nervously. The windows were tinted a dark blue, almost black, and despite his squinting and close proximity, Shining was unable to make out anything but vague shapes inside. Taking a step back, he searched above the door for any signs or symbols that could lend a clue as to what the store catered to, but his short search proved futile.
Acutely aware that he was being remiss in his duties, having left one of the princesses alone in a strange shop for longer than was appropriate, Shining Armor gulped. Steeling himself, he mentally told his imagination to take a hike and bit the bullet. Holding his breath, he pushed open the door and walked inside.
-0-0-
Cadence stifled a yawn as she shifted on the plush bed, subtly ruffling her wings and slowly stretching them out. Though she was genuinely interested in the younger pony’s life, she couldn’t help but give herself a mental pinch for leaving her inquiry so open ended. At first Twilight had filled her in on a little bit of gossip surrounding each of her friends, like how Rarity had been after her for a while to stop in for a new outfit and how Applejack chewed Rainbow Dash out for knocking half of the apples out of their trees with a sonic rainboom. At first the narrative was interesting and Cadence, enjoying gossip as much as the next pony, was riveted.
Then, seemingly out of the blue, Twilight changed topics.
Now, nopony could say that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza didn’t love her little sister-in-law. Who wouldn’t love the littlest alicorn? She was adorable, kind, adorable, and beyond entertaining to fluster. No, nopony could say the Princess of Love didn’t love the purple alicorn; however, nopony could fault her either for her dwindling attention as Twilight switched from talking about her friends to talking about her books.
In fact, only a handful of ponies the world over would be able to keep up with her when she started talking passionately about the new books she had purchased or the musty old tomes she had managed to get her hooves on. Though Cadence wasn’t able to match Twilight’s zeal for books, she had to admit that she greatly admired the passion she held for the topic. Plus, seeing Twilight happy was enough to make her smile, even if she didn’t particularly care enough about so-and-so’s scientific revelation to pay full attention to the spontaneous dissertation Twilight was subjecting her to.
Mind suddenly snapping to attention as the purple pony paused to breathe, Cadence grabbed onto the lull in conversation with two hooves like it was a glass of water and she a pony dying of thirst. “So! How’s your relationship with Celestia going?”
“Ah,” Twilight blinked, startled at the random topic change. Mentally bookmarking where she was in the impromptu lecture to continue later, she nevertheless answered, figuring Cadence needed some time to digest the mind-blowing scientific information she had already regaled her with. “It’s going good?”
“Was that a question or a statement?” Cadence’s brow rose in question.
“A statement,” Twilight clarified sheepishly. “Sorry. The question just caught me off guard; it seemed to come out of nowhere.”
“Oh, well, yes. I suppose it did,” Cadence fibbed lightly, a sweet smile on her face as she waved a hoof absentmindedly in the air. “It just suddenly popped into my mind and I just had to ask.”
“Don’t worry,” Twilight reassured the pink pony sagely. “I get that way sometimes too. Curiosity can be hard to beat back and can strike at the oddest of times.”
“Too true,” Cadence agreed solemnly, before the beginnings of a mischievous grin formed on her face. “So… only good?”
“Well…” Twilight flushed slightly and averted her eyes, staring instead at the blanket beneath her as she mumbled. “More like really, really, good.”
“Oooh,” Cadence’s eyes twinkled. “Really really good? Don’t leave me hanging here, elaborate.”
“She’s just, just amazing!” Twilight’s hooves flew into the air in emphasis as she tried to put her thoughts and feelings into intelligible words. “She’s kind, caring, and attentive. She’s really playful and never makes me feel unwanted or like I’m bothering her. She always takes time to be with me and is always there when I need her, even when she has to leave important meetings to do so. She… She really loves me.”
“Of course she does, Twilight,” Cadence became slightly concerned at the younger pony’s slight tone of disbelief towards the end of her explanation. Shifting a bit to make eye contact, she discarded all signs of mischief what she expected to be a serious conversation. “Why ever would you think otherwise?”
“I just… I don’t understand…” Brows furrowing, she shrugged helplessly. “I mean, I know I’ve admired her for as long as I can remember, and I fell in love with her far before I knew how to categorise the emotion I was feeling. I just don’t understand how someone as amazing as her would pick me. I’m nopony special; I’m just plain old Twilight Sparkle, egghead extraordinaire.”
“You little goof,” Cadence sighed in exasperation as she bopped the younger alicorn on the head, causing her raise her purple head in confusion. “For someone so smart, you can be pretty thick, but I suppose that’s part of your charm.”
“What-”
“Let me spell it out for you Twilight, okay?” Cadence stared at the purple pony, her expression gentle yet deadly serious. “You’ve done so many great things, big and small, for Equestria as a whole and for ponies in particular. You saved Luna, stopped Discord, and saved us all from the changelings – no, don’t argue,” Cadence lifted a hoof to stop Twilight from interrupting. “Let me finish. Shining and I may have struck the final blow, but it’s because of you that we were able to. You’re always willing to lend a helping hoof to a friend in need, or even a complete stranger. Using the power you have to help others for no other reason than it’s the right thing to do makes you a kind, selfless, and great pony, but these things don’t make you special.”
Pausing for a breath, she shifted closer and once more brought the smaller pony beneath her wing, hugging Twilight to her side. Bending her neck, she gazed into confused violet eyes. “You’re curious, studious, caring, kind, charitable, and full of joy. You love practicing magic and learning new things, and once you’ve lost yourself in a book it’s a challenge to pull you back out. You can be obsessive and get worked up over the simplest things, and you think life would be easier if everything was laid out plainly on a checklist. You are an egghead extraordinaire, but what you don’t understand is that we love you because of these qualities, not in spite of them. What makes you special, Twilight Sparkle, is exactly that; you are Twilight Sparkle, nothing less and nothing more, and that is why we love you.”
A few moments passed in silence as Twilight averted her eyes. Clearing out the frog that seemingly took up residence in her throat after the touching speech, she hesitantly spoke up. “Do you really mean it?”
“Listen to me, Twilight,” Cadence insisted gently, brushing away a drop of moisture from the violet eyes. “Love is kind of my thing, you know? So believe me when I say that anypony would be lucky to be loved so completely by a mare like you. Celestia knows this, and the love you have for her is equally matched by the love she has for you.”
“You’re positive?” Twilight whispered, her voice wavering slightly. The words were nice to hear, but after a lifetime of thinking otherwise, they were hard to take at face value.
“Honey, I feel giddy when the two of you are simply in the same room together. When you’re actually in contact… well, let’s just say the buzz alcohol gives doesn’t even come close to the vibes you two give off.” Cadence stated bluntly, startling a slight laugh from the choked up pony. “Trust me, okay?”
Twilight was silent for a few minutes, mulling over everything that had been said. She still didn’t completely believe everything, and she still thought Celestia could have chosen somepony better to be her special somepony, but…
“Okay,” Twilight mumbled as she buried her head in the soft pink fur. “I’ll trust you.”
“Good,” Cadence nuzzled her little sister. She still wanted to pump the purple pony for information, but that could wait for a bit. For the moment she’d let Twilight mull over what she said and just enjoy the loving embrace while it lasted.
“Hey Cadence?” Twilight spoke up a few moments later, head still buried in the crook of the older pony’s neck.
“Hmm?” Cadence hummed in question.
“Was this what you used your I-O, your free cuddle for?” It was kind of random, but Twilight felt she had to focus on something else if she ever wanted to get her emotions under control.
“Oh, heavens no,” Cadence practically scoffed in mock haughtiness. “I’m saving that for a special occasion; this was a freebie I so generously granted you in your time of need.”
Shaking her head lightly with an indulgent smile on her face, Twilight leaned her head back slightly. “Hey Cadence?” Not waiting for the other pony to respond this time, she darted forward quickly and placed a small peck on her pink cheek. “Thanks.”
-0-0-
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I would have been tempted just to leave it in for the comments , also I absolutely loved that conversation between Twilight and Cadance.
Yaaaay!
2991758
Glad you love it!
Just slow at the moment.
Ooops?
2993078
And that has brightened up my day. I enjoy the fact that people enjoy this story.
3043175
I'd try to help you settle the little argument you've got going on with yourself, but I think I may be a little biased
3044716
... perhaps
3046286
Awesomeness; also, you're welcome
3096958
... I'm assuming you mean what the scootangel stands for, and not that Twi+Tia produces Scootaloo
3160070
Not dead!
3220509
I debated with myself, but decided to compromise and stick it in the AN. That convo wasn't planned; it just... happened. All of a sudden Twi was insecure and Cadence, being the awesome big sister that she was, had to nip those silly notions in the bud.
3220569 3220572
..That correction in the notes..
It's Alive!! It's Alive!! It's Alive!! ALIVE!!!!!
I absolutely love those kind of typos. They're ones you just have to mention in the Author's Notes.
3220642>>3220697
Yeah. I may have giggled insanely when I finally spotted it. I felt like it was something worth mentioning
3220688
IT IS!
3220728
Thank you
Great chapter, Twilight and Cadence's heart to heart was great, fantastic ending!
3220609 I was trying to convince myself!
Bwahahaahaahaa! IT LIIIVES!
No really though the fact that this is still a going thing has made my week.
3220609
On the bright side, it wasn't that late. Besides, I started up my own story that kept me occupied and I ran late with some chapters. I know how it can be. BUT PLEASE GET THE NEXT CHAPTER OUT SOON!!! Please!
You! In these times of sad Twilestia, you alone stand against the darkness, defending the believers, the blazing sword of cuddliness in hand!
Keep going, oh hero, and deliver us from gloominess!
HNNNNNNG!
Just too adorable with Twilight and Cadence at the end there.
Also, I think Pinkie's book is infected with her insanity. Seriously, burn it now!
3220724 Hey Klam. We're running a Twilestia Collab right now. Interested?
pardon the caps here but. OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS STORYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!
i dont even like twilestia but this is pure weaponized daaaawwww.
no one should ever bitch about anything in this.
if i. a 36 year old heavily scarred over muscled and tattooed biker finds no fault the no one can.
yer awesome klam
3220883
I'm glad you like it, and I thank you for your review, caps and all. I must say, I enjoy seeing Twilight interact with the other three princesses in a positive, lighthearted way; whether it's romance, as friends, or family fluff, I just can't get enough of it, which is why I decided to toss my own little story into the pool.
...did it work?
3221241
Yup! It's still going... just slower than when I started it.
3221525
Yeah; I've learned I'm more likely to update sooner if I don't give myself a deadline. Since I'm a procrastinator, giving myself a deadline is useless and kind of counterproductive. As for the next chapter, I'm working on it already, though I can't say for certain exactly when It'll be finished... Not too long, at least.
3221941
Never fear, for I have no intention of sheathing my blazing sword of cuddliness, for it is in fact my weapon of choice!
3221965
I figured we were overdue for fluffiness, and Twilight and Cadence hadn't had a moment yet... And believe me when I say Shiny has no intention of letting any copies of that book survive.
3235337
Why thank you, I do have my moments
3241178 Nope, I neeeeeed it!
Re: A/N
Poop. Tee hee.
"then"
3241178
Procrastinator? I don't think that you could be a worse procrastinator than me. I can come up with the most clever reasons why I don't have the thing done. And I am a mathematician, and thus I am lazy by definition.
I really have enjoyed this story thus far, seeing as I had the dopiest grin ever on my face through like 80% of the story. You've really done a great job with this story, not that you need me to tell you that
.
When Cadence wanted to talk to Twilight about her love life, I was almost certain awkward Twilunestial questions were in store!
3241178 yo, Hermit Klam, y'alright?
You've been deader than a Kyubey within ten feet of Homura for the past few weeks.
Lol at Shining and Luna and dawwww at Cadance and Twilight lol Cadance is getting high on love lol!
u dun fucked up twilight