If Twilight Was a Pegasus

by Cxcd

03 - The Nest

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Six Months Later...

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Quietly, the sound of a rabid adventurer softly hitting the ground echoed off the glass panes of the glass dome. This had become somewhat of a habit for the Pegasus, and it had gotten to the point as to where Mother would reinforce the area around her crib with extra pillows, to prevent any injuries from her late night escapades.

It was almost always once a week, and if she was feeling dangerous, twice a week. Maybe, just maybe if she was quieter this time, the guardian of the crib wouldn’t come and claim her once more. The moment her hooves hit the ground, she vanished, like a scattering animal. She slid the last small distance to her hidey hole, dashing beneath a dresser pushed against one of the few non-glass walls in the circular room.

There, she rested for a moment.

And then, like always, she heard the Guardian rise from her bed. The creaking sounds of old floorboards being pressed under the weight of a pony, tiredly lumbering from her bed and beginning the weekly search.

Twilight pushed away from the edge of the dresser to avoid being detected, and like always, dashed out in a flash, hiding behind the little space created behind the wall of a book shelf. There used to be cobwebs beginning to form back here, but once Twilight learned to use her legs properly, the spiders were immediately evicted from a bull-headed foal.

“Twii-light!” A voice called out from the night, freezing the filly’s heart in it’s place. “Where are you? It’s bed time!” If Twilight could understand any languages, the pleading tone in her voice might’ve swayed her to come out. But, instead, and for now, Twilight dashed around the edge of the bookshelf, scrambling up and using the shelves like rungs of a ladder, her wings flapping to try and boost her any amount at all.

From her now raised position, she could see the Guardian. She was in the middle of the room, looking under the crib for Twilight. Don’t let it’s fluffy wings and pink exterior fool any pony daring enough to take the force head on. She was a terrifying menace that made little foals sleep when they didn’t want to.

“Come on, Twilight!” She sighed, looking away from the crib and trotting towards the dresser Twilight had hid under not ten seconds ago. “This is the sixth time! Aren’t you tired?” She asked the, to her, apparently empty room.

Twilight was far from tired. At two in the morning, she felt the most awake she would ever feel in her life. If she didn’t know who her two parents already were, she might’ve assumed she had Bat-pony blood mixed into her DNA.

Twilight reached the top of the bookcase, standing proudly on her achievement. From this angle, she watched as the Guardian was now looking at the space behind the bookcase, not aware of the filly barely a few feet above her. Twilight backed away from the ledge a small amount, flaring her wings, and with a running start, she leapt.

Silently, she glided across the air, the Guardian none the wiser to what was happening. She was aiming for the door. What would she do once she got out of the room? She didn’t know, and she didn’t even really care. She just needed to get out.

Unfortunately, she was a little short of her target. Her underdeveloped wings had failed her mid-way across the room, and she began to plummet at a much quicker pace than she previously would’ve liked. The last little glide, however, landed her within spitting distance of the night stand. Before she hit the floor, she reached her hooves out, and barley managed to clip the side of the small table next to the door. The blue lamp on said table wobbled precariously for a moment, before finally settling down.

The Guardian was now confused, looking around the room for Twilight. Fortunately, she was looking at the other wall, clear on the other side of the room. Twilight clambered the rest of her body onto the stand, avoiding the wobbly lamp, and staring the door knob in the face.

Freedom was within her grasp. She put one hoof on the wall for stability, reaching out as far as her body would stretch. She felt the frog of her hoof make contact with the bronze lever leading out to who knows what.

But, unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be for the brave adventurer.

The door opened unexpectedly. Twilight pulled away, her flank plopping down on the night stand as another pony entered the room. He sighed upon laying his eyes on Twilight.

“Found her, Cadence.” Shining echoed through the glass dome. Cadence turned around in surprise.

“Wha-? How did she get over there so fast?” She asked, trotting next to the crib once more.

“I’unno.” Shining reached out, hooking a hoof under Twilight and holding her close in the nook of his arm. “Why’d she get out of her crib this time?” He asked. When Cadence shrugged her shoulders, he sniffed the air. “She doesn’t need a change. Did she escape because she’s… hungry?”

“I think she’s just bored.” Cadence said. Shining approached the crib, and Cadence reached a hoof out, smoothening out Twilight’s wild mane. Twilight revolted back, like she had been shocked, and swiped the much bigger hoof away. “She’s a fighter, that’s for sure.” Shining frowned at Twilight, sitting down on one of the many pillowed Velvet had put down to prevent Twilight from hurting herself.

“Geez… and you say all Pegasi are like this?” He asked, a small amount of disbelief clearly present in his voice. Cadence, before answering, turned back to her corner of the room. A bed was pushed against the wall, provided by Velvet and Night Light. A wooden closet already had a few of her belongings in it, and a dresser had a mirror sitting on it, with some of her schoolwork.

“Only when they’re young.” She finally said, laying down on the bed. “I’m a Pegasus, and I don’t act like that. It’s just a phase, really. Back at the Orphanage, because I was usually the one keeping the foals in check, Miss Nifty would always tell me, ‘Keep an eye on the Pegasi.’ Followed by a ‘Little trouble-makers’ as she walked away.”

“Isn’t that a little mean?” Shining asked. “Towards Pegasi? I mean- you’re a Pegasus, too. Don’t you feel angry?” He said, all while Twilight kept squirming, trying to break free of the giant’s grasp.

“If you mean offended… maybe a little bit.” She played with a blanket, separating the two layers of cloth and feeling them roll beneath her hooves. “But it’s usually true. When they’re young, they’re all fighters. The one’s that don’t fight are usually the quiet ones when they get older. Or- at least, that’s what Nifty told me.”

“So Twilight’s going to be mean?” He asked, his face deepening with sadness as he looked at Twilight. “I don’t want her to be mean…”

“That’s not what I said!” Cadence quickly retorted, waving her hooves frantically at Shining. “I mean- the really shy ones are quiet. I didn’t say the not-quiet ones would grow up to be mean!” She sighed. “Do you think I’m mean?”

“No.” Shining cautiously responded.

“Because I’ve been told I was a big trouble-maker.” Cadence’s eyes lingered on Twilight for half a second. “If I came out like this, then Twilight will be fine.”

Twilight seemed to be fruitfully unaware of the conversation unfolding around her. She kept up the squirming, garnering the attention of the two older ponies in the room. Shining watched, somewhat sadly, as Twilight fought tooth and nail to separate herself from him. Cadence, however, watched with curiosity.

“What do you think she’s thinking?” Cadence asked.

“Huh?”

“What makes her want to leave so badly? What’s so terrible about sleeping that makes her want to leave?” Cadence elaborated. Shining also adorned a curious face. “Sometimes I wish I knew.” The trio descended into silence.

Then, Shining put Twilight on the floor. This caused Cadence to raise her eyebrow as Shining took two steps back and sitting down.

“What are you doing?” Cadence asked, genuinely curious. It seemed Twilight was also looking a little confused with her newfound freedom, looking at the two ponies with curious eyes.

“Let’s see what she does.” Shining shrugged. Twilight flickered her eyes between the two ponies one last time, and quicker than a shadow, she was gone. She dashed away at max speed, her wings propelling her as quickly as they could possibly move.

And then she stopped at the door.

It seemed almost like she wasn’t expecting to get this far. She turned around, looking across the room and at the two ponies once more. Even for a foal less than a year old, confusion was evident on her face, almost asking them ‘why aren’t you chasing me?’

“What does she want from us?” Cadence asked.

“Maybe she thinks sleep time is more play time?” Shining pondered, but made no effort to grab the loose filly.

Twilight, for the second time, made a dash for the other side of the room. Her hooves thumped across the floorboards, making a large racket, and expertly sliding under the same dresser she had started the night out under while hiding from Cadence, the Guardian.

There was a moment of stillness. A beat of no movement.

And then Twilight poked her head out from the dresser. If confusion wasn’t already plastered across her face, it was more clear now than it ever was. Still, not one of the ponies made a move to grab her. So, for one last trick, she locket eyes with the rocky lamp next to the door.

She, once again, galloped across the floor and back towards the door. She leapt, her wings beating fiercely to give herself as much height as possible, squeezing the last few inches from the sky.

Her body slammed into the side of the lamp on the table. It launched the fragile porcelain electronic off of the stand and onto the ground, to where the bulb violently dismounted from it’s lamp shade and shattered on the floor.

“Twilight!” Shining stood up quickly, trotting to where Twilight stood, uninjured and unharmed, if not a little bit disoriented from the crash. “Broken glass. Not good! Really, Twilight? Like an animal?”

Twilight, if she felt remorse, simply showed zero signs of it. Instead, she stuck her lip out, turning her head away from Shining in foalish anger. Shining let out a groan at her anger, picking her up from the stand. “I can’t wait until she grows out of this phase… I gotta clean this up now…”

“I can do it!” Cadence said quickly, already standing up from her bed.

“No-no, it’s okay. You’re a guest, Cadence.”

“I’ve been here for the last six months. That’s good enough to clean up a little mess, right?”

“A mess of broken glass.” Shining deposited Twilight into her crib, fully extending the bars so she couldn’t easily jump out again. “No offense, but I have a horn.”

“Please, let me help.” Cadence persisted, trotting towards the lamp. She picked it up, observing the surface. “Looks like only the bulb was broken. It looks fine.”

“That’s good.” Shining’s horn barely sputtered to life, and the tiny shards were sweeped towards a center pile that slowly began to grow into a dangerously sharp mess. Cadence helped by picking up the lamp shade, fixing it back onto the lamp. Besides no longer lighting up the room, it looked as if it hadn’t been body-slammed by a filly at all.

The pile of glass levitated upwards, barely sputtering under the stress of a colt’s not yet developed magic. It was deposited onto the table, next to the lamp, for later cleaning.

Shining turned back to Twilight, only to realize she was gone… once again.

“Ugh- Twilight got out again-” He stopped mid sentence as he spotted Cadence, sitting down on the floor and facing one of the walls that had glass panels fully extending to the floor. “Where’s Twilight, Cadence?”

“Right here.” She said, turning to the side slightly and revealing a little filly in her lap. “Come, sit.” She asked. Shining thought the request strange, but obliged anyways, sitting down next to the two Pegasi.

Strangely enough, Twilight didn’t seem to be struggling anymore. At least, not like she was before. Instead, her eyes were locked firmly up, glittering with the reflection of the night sky as her jaw was left slightly open. Cadence lightly moved Twilight’s hoof upwards, pointing at a particularly bright star in the night sky.

“Do you see that?” She asked Twilight. Twilight didn’t say anything. “That’s Sirius. A very bright star, and it’s been burning for almost a thousand years.” She followed Twilight’s eyes up, looking straight up as well. “Almost a thousand years ago, the painter of the night sky mysteriously vanished. Princess Celestia hasn’t changed the night sky for a thousand years in his memory, and for the chance that one day, he may return.”

Shining couldn’t help but notice how… pretty she looked under the starlight. Instead of focusing on the night sky, like Twilight and Cadence, instead he was observing the filly next to him. His heart began to slowly increase in rate as he shook his head, looking away quickly.

“I- um- I-”

“I wanted to say thanks.” Cadence interrupted, not even realizing she was interrupting a stuttering Shining at all. She looked away from the night sky, but wasn’t exactly staring at Shining, either. Instead, staring off into the space between them. “You didn’t need to- uh, I mean, I appreciate your family’s hospitality.”

“I-I don’t even know what that word means.”

“I appreciate your family helping me out.” She quickly corrected. “I never… really had a problem with the orphanage, but… I’m getting too old for anypony to want to… take me in. Especially as leaving the nest becomes more and more likely the older I get.”

“Leaving the nest?” He asked. “What’s that?” Cadence looked back up once more.

“Do you ever get the urge to run away, Shining?” Cadence asked. Shining shook his head. “I have. Plenty of times. To just… go.Into freedom. Running away from my problems.” She sighed. “Pegasi have leftover instinct from a long, long time ago. That’s why most Pegasus foals are such stinkers all the time, because they have to fight for their place in the nest.”

“That… makes sense.” Shining nodded, slowly taking in what Cadence was saying.

“When a Pegasus gets old enough, they have this sudden… urge to leave. And not just thoughts about running away, but… they have to leave. I’ve seen it happen at the orphanage, plenty of times. They’ll be fine one day, and suddenly in the middle of the night, they’re packing to leave, and to never come back.”

“Never come back?” Shining gawked.

“Not… usually.” She sighed. “Not to the orphanage, at least. I’m sure with a loving family, once their episode is done, they’ll come right back.” Cadence adjusted Twilight in her lap, who had moved her eyes away from the night sky and instead moved her focus to the way her breath fogged up the glass.

“Are… you going to leave?” He slowly asked.

“I don’t know… probably.” She said solemnly.

“Cant you fight it?” He asked, quicker.

“I’ve seen my friends that I’ve known for years turn into… into somepony completely different. It’s like… they’re not themselves. They can’t think straight. They just have to leave. I don’t think it’s something we can control.” She adjusted Twilight again.

Shining looked down at the tiny Pegasus in her lap, suddenly making a startling connection.

“Is… is Twilight going to leave?” He asked loudly. Cadence merely sighed, and nodded her head.

“We can’t control it.” She said, finally meeting the eyes of Shining. “If you wake up one day, and I’m… gone. I-I didn’t mean it. I really, really didn’t mean it. I’ll try and leave a note, or something. Maybe, but-” She sighed, falling into silence.

Shining felt a little heart broken, his lip sticking out further than he probably wanted it to. Yet, although his heart didn’t feel like it was in one whole piece, he slowly extended his hoof, wrapping Cadence in a hug.

“I’ll forgive you, I guess?” He weakly offered. Cadence smiled, extending her wing like a blanket, and leaning into Shining.

All three of them watched as the moon slowly inched across the sky, the mare plastered on the front of it watching them all back.

“Thanks. For- being the brother I never had.” Cadence said quietly. Shining sucked air between his teeth.

“Geez- that’s a little awkward.” He cringed.

“Why?”

“Because… I think… you’re kind of… cute?”

“Oh.”

…

“Yeah, that would be awkward.” Cadence said. “At least I wasn’t the one to say it.” She let a smile spread across her muzzle. “But you’re too young for me.”

“What? I’m eight!”

“And I’m ten!” She picked up Twilight from her lap, giving her to Shining. “I know my boundaries.” Shining adjusted Twilight. She didn’t fight, and for once. She actually looked sleepy, her blinks becoming slower and slower as she fought back a yawn.

“I think it’s time for Twilight to go to bed.” Shining, upon watching Twilight, suddenly realized his own sleep was bleeding into the edges of his vision. “And maybe me, too. It’s late.”

“I was just gonna fall asleep here.” Cadence said, laying down. Due to her wing still being over Shining’s back, he complied, laying down next to her. The little filly seemed to take the message, and the moment she hit the ground, she closed her eyes. Shining and Cadence made awkward eye contact.

“So…” Shining said. “You’re saying there’s a chance?”

“Maybe… if I don’t loose my mind and run away, maybe.” She said bluntly.

“Good enough for me.” Shining, somewhat awkwardly, closed his eyes, too. “Goodnight, Cadence.” He snuggled Twilight closer to his chest. “You too, Twilight.”

“Goodnight.” Cadence smiled back.

The floor wasn’t particularly comfortable for any of them, but it in a manner of moments, all three of them drifted off to sleep.

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Comments

[Comickook]

Aww, that was a really good chapter. Definitely liked the dialogue, characterizations and future chapter set-up. Yeah, Twi gets the daredevil stuff from her mother, though the Pegasus thing seems to crank it up at least slightly. But I did really love Cadance helping Shining, Velvet and Night Light catch Twilight and explain certain things about Pegasus nature.

Not much more I can say that hasn't already been said in other reviews (both mine and those of others), but still looking forward to more of this.

[Dragoknight92]

11672065
Spike earned his wings on S8.

[GreatDragonLord]

a very sweet and at the same time sad chapter.

[Wishesshecouldwritegood]

I find it interesting that in this story, Cadence is a Pegasus. I’m only used to her being talked about as an alicorn. It makes for an interesting difference. I actually think it gives her personality.

[Killjoy1221]

11677180
A lot of people forget that Cadence wasn't born an alicorn. Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell goes into her backstory. She was a pegasus orphan who defeated a witch who stole love using the power of love. That's how she got her cutie mark and became an alicorn at the same time.

[PrincePegacornV]

11677136
Thanks for the that. I haven't seen the later seasons in a long time, Netflix only shows the first four seasons.
The most jarring thing about this fic is how young everypony is. I hope that there will be some time skip soon so I can get into the older characters again. Still, all in all, a good read with the twist being pegasus Twilight.

[Wishesshecouldwritegood]

11677472
Ah. I did not know this! Thank you for telling me!
I knew she was a pegasus, I think I just learned that from somewhere on the internet. But I didn’t know how/why she became an alicorn. It was never really explained in the show.

[Killjoy1221]

11677478
You're right, and that's what makes this dubiously canon. But nothing contradicts it, so...

[Wishesshecouldwritegood]

11677482
Still, it’s better than having no explanation at all. I can now rest easy knowing there is some form of an explanation.

[Dragoknight92]

11677476
Well I like her better as a unicorn before she became an Alicorn.

[Cxcd]

11677476

It'll be a while before the adult mane six show up. There is going to be timeskips, and there might even be one directly after this chapter, but I have a few good ideas about where the story is going to go, and I've already ran the whole thing through my head multiple times. The adult mane six are going to be a while, but RD and Fluttershy are more than likely going to show up earlier than that.

11677472

I'll show YOU 'dubiously cannon' you... KILLJOY!

[Octoskan]

"Almost a thousand years ago, the painter of the night sky mysteriously vanished. Princess Celestia hasn’t changed the night sky for a thousand years in his memory, and for the chance that one day, he may return."

He, you say? I'm intrigued.

[Neonz]

I've been slowly reading through this one. It's very well written - I particularly enjoyed the description at the start of this chapter with Twilight on a dramatic mission to escape the clutches of her older brother. May be a while before I get all the way through it so just wanted to drop a quick appreciation here. I think twists to canon are super fun and it's interesting to imagine how Twilight - whose entire talent and backstory revolves around magic - would have faired as a different subspecies. I suppose if her eventuality is to become an alicorn, her cutie mark could still be the same, though I'm not sure how she'd attain it as a foal. (Guess I need to keep reading!)

Am not sure if anyone has pointed this out to you, apologies if so, but you aren't capitalizing the dialogue tags correctly. Take this bit:

“I don’t know… probably.” She said solemnly.

“Cant you fight it?” He asked, quicker.

Should be:

“I don’t know… probably,” she said solemnly.

“Can't you fight it?” he asked, quicker.

Basically, if the tag doesn't form a complete sentence, you use a comma instead of a period, and a lowercase letter on the start of the dialogue tag regardless of punctuation (unless it's followed by a proper noun).

[Dorath]

Huh, so some knowledge of Luna remains, its just not particularly accurate

This "leaving" instinct might by why Twilight, Rainbow and Fluttershy all wind up in Ponyville.

[Caladis]

There's a lot of unpack in this chapter. Cadance was in an orphanage at the time so it was easy for the Sparkles to take her in as a in-live foalsitter since a Pegasus would understand another Pegasus, Really redefines how Cadance met the family. The description of Cadance being the Guardian of the Crib made my chuckle.

There also seems to be an age difference here. Shining was supposed to be 6 years old when Twilight was born. This chapter is only 6 months later, but now he's 8 and Cadance is 10? Two years apart but in the same history class?

The descriptions of why Pegasi act the way they do really explains Rainbow Dash in the show. It's like she never stopped being a foal.

And them all lying down and napping together at the end was really cute, like they were their own little family.