Importance Is Subjective
"Now announcing Mistress Everton!"
All told, the day had been fairly dull for Cadance. First, she had to listen to farmers bicker of property lines for a couple of hours, and now she had to attend a 'royal event' so uneventful that she was strongly considering having the official title for such functions changed to 'royal bore'. The only bright spot was that Twilight had sent word that she would be attending; Cadance wasn't sure what had brought about this unexpected visit, but she was glad of it.
"Now announcing Sir Sturdy Greaves, brave defender of foals!"
Or she would be, if Twilight had shown up yet. A full hour into the function, and there was no sign of her sister-in-law yet. One after the other, the herald announced the arrival of the 'fashionably late', but no 'Princess Twilight Sparkle' yet. Cadance took a sip of crystal-berry wine, and watched Shining Armor chat with the latest arrival.
Come to think of it, why would Twilight even show up here? She was just saying the other day how everyone seems to avoid her at these things. It seemed like it was really bothering her...
"Now announcing Sapphire Shores, the pony of pop!"
Maybe she reconsidered. I honestly didn't expect it to bother her so much – even Luna seemed concerned with how hard Twilight was taking it.
"Now announcing... uh..."
Cadance glanced at the herald pony, who looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"Now announcing... Ponyville librarian, Miss Sparkle," he finished lamely, flinching slightly. Before he had even finished announcing her, Twilight entered the room, and quickly cut a turn so as not to be easily spotted. Cadance immediately noted she was wearing a particularly plain dress that covered her wings entirely, had her hair up in a bun, and was wearing a pair of square-framed glasses.
What in Equestria...?
Cadance started to slowly make her way over to Twilight, who seemed determined to blend into the crowd.
"Now announcing the great and honorable Spike the brave and glorious!"
Blending into the crowd turned out to be pretty easy for Twilight, as all heads in the room turned to focus on the new arrival: a sharply-dressed baby dragon sporting a tuxedo and tophat. Cadance spared him a glance and a smirk, certain he would be enjoying the attention, only to see he looked mildly uncomfortable.
I'll need to look into that later. First, I should see what's going on with Twilight.
Cadance resumed her search, only to find her quarry had eluded her. By the time she tracked Twilight down, she was in some kind of animated chat with a pair of party guests. Cadance smirked.
So that's your game, is it? Look low-key and use the chance to mingle? Well, if you think that's best...
Cadance decided to do some mingling of her own until she saw a better opportunity to approach. After a couple of dull conversations in which her partners seemed determined to impress her in some way, though, she made her way over to Twilight. The stallion chatting with her saw Cadance's approach and quickly excused himself, much to Twilight's dismay.
"Aww... he was just about to tell me how honey and vinegar can treat a cold."
"Twilight, couldn't you at least say 'hello'?"
Twilight looked over, a little guilty. "I wanted to, but... well, I guess you can tell what I'm doing, here."
Cadance smiled with concern, and nudged Twilight with her hoof. "Yeah, no kidding. Was it really bothering you so much that ponies were avoiding you? I mean... it's not like they do it all the time, right?"
Twilight shuffled uncomfortably. "No, but... I'm supposed to be the Princess of Friendship. It's not like raising the sun, or the moon, or spreading love... how can I call myself that if ponies won't even approach me? Or if my title is constantly on their mind, the whole time we're speaking?"
Cadance frowned.
"I really hadn't considered that, but... well, doesn't it also seem wrong to make friends based on misrepresenting who you are?"
"But I'm not misrepresenting myself!"
Cadance titled her head a little in confusion, and nudged Twilight's dress.
"I was a unicorn by birth. I'm still not a confident flier. If anything, flaunting the wings as though they're – you know. As much a part of me as my horn. That's more inaccurate."
Cadance's frown deepened. "If you say so, but... it sounds to me like you're rationalizing. And what was with that introduction?"
Twilight squared her stance a bit, looking at Cadance with a slightly defiant expression. "What was wrong with my introduction?"
"Well... Ponyville Librarian? Doesn't that seem kind of..."
"Unimportant?"
It was Cadance's turn to shuffle uncomfortably. "I guess. Compared to—"
"To being a princess, right? But what makes something important is whether or not people care about it. And sure, more people care about me being a princess, I guess – but maybe some people care more about other things. Like that stallion I was talking with – he's a librarian here in the Crystal Empire, did you know that? That was what was important to him."
Cadance paused a moment to think about that, and then started to nod slowly. "I can see where you're going with that, but it still seems sort of like rationalizing. You wanted to be more approachable, so you picked an aspect of yourself that's more approachable. I don't know if you can really call it more important, though..."
Twilight's expression turned triumphant.
Uh oh. That's the face she makes when she's about to win an argument.
"I can prove to you that importance – even the importance of royalty – is subjective with someone in this room!"
Twilight forked a hoof over at Shining Armor, who was still chatting with Greaves. Realizing he was being pointed at, he waved with a smile, oblivious to his role in Twilight's scheme.
"What's more important to you about him? The fact that he's a prince... or that he's your prince?"
Cadance looked between Shining Armor and Twilight, hoof still outstretched and face still a giddy mix of triumph and anticipation, and sighed, smiling.
"Point taken, Twilight."
Twilight smiled, setting her hoof down and making a 'hm-hm' sound of satisfaction.
"And see, while being a princess is important – it certainly ranks at the top of my responsibilities – I wouldn't say that I consider it the most important aspect of who I am. I mean, it's definitely not why my friends hang around me – they were around before any of that!"
Cadance smirked, and then suddenly gave Twilight's hair a good ruffling, undoing the bun, and causing Twilight to splutter a little in amused surprise. "Wha?! Hey, stoppit!"
"You should be announced as 'Stubborn Twilight Sparkle, debater of everything' next time. I know that's one thing I like about you."
Cadance chuckled a bit at that, but stopped when she caught the thoughtful look in Twilight's eye.
"That's not a bad idea..."
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Oh twilight, please no!
Well, this is entertaining thus far. Not sure where you're going with it, but it doesn't seem like it's headed anywhere sane. This should be fun.
6787208 I make no promises of sanity or any other altered mental states.
Wait, what?
Ohh boy
It'd be hilarious if she came up with a different title absolutely every time she needed to be announced somewhere
6803539 Wishes DO come true!
It's so weird reading a story of yours that's in third person... eh, I can get used to it.
7332744 Oh-ho! someone picked up on my undying hatred of third-person, eh?
Well, this isn't the first time you've read prose from me in third person. After all, I used it in The Queen and I.
It's true. Go check. MUAHAHAHAHA
Yeah, you could announce yourself as a master-bater!
...
...
Oh, right...