The Studying Obsession

by Lhmac

Playing Games

Cadance approached the study with confidence. She saw the worry of Twilight Sparkle's parents as a simple overreaction. Their filly didn't sound like a problem at all. In fact, she sounded like a joy to be around, and if her older brother could get the filly's head out of her books for long enough to go outside and experience life, she would have no problem.

The parents stood in the hallway behind her as she went to greet the little filly. Twilight had been warned that this was the first morning her foalsitter would be around, so Cadance didn't foresee any problems with fear.

In the doorway, she stopped in wonder. The study table was piled high with books, and the little lavender unicorn filly had her head stuck between the stacks, clearly engrossed in what she was doing.

Cadance clopped her hooves in the doorway, announcing her presence.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle. I'm your new foalsitter, Cadance."

The filly didn't remove her head from the stacks of books, and her response was muffled. "Hi."

Cadance wasn't put off by the cold reception. Young ponies were usually shy when meeting new ponies.

"Can I come in?"

The young unicorn visibly stiffened. "I suppose," she said, but still didn't move, her purple-striped tail twitching slightly.

Cadance moved gingerly into the room, not wanting to intrude on the filly's personal space, as that would upset her.

"What are you reading?" she asked.

At this question, Twilight finally raised her head and looked at the newcomer. "Advanced Telekinesis for Young Unicorns. Have you read it, Cadance?"

"No, I can't say I have. My unicorn powers are ... fairly specific."

Twilight, who had started to look back to her books when her question was answered negatively, suddenly looked back with actual interest.

"Really? What kind of magic do you do, Cadance?"

Cadance shuffled her hooves nervously. "Your parents would prefer it if I didn't encourage your ... over-interest in magic, Twilight."

The filly's ears lowered in disappointment and she turned to go back to her studies.

Cadance quickly moved closer and lowered her voice. "But I'm sure we can have as many discussions about magic as we like when we're outside playing games."

Twilight Sparkle's ears quickly pricked back up. "You promise?"

"I really do promise, Twilight Sparkle. I'm sure we'll find we have lots of things in common and we'll do many fun things together."

Cadance walked out of the study, her new young pony friend trotting along behind her. Night and Velvet looked overjoyed.
"We're heading off to work now," Night addressed his little filly. "Be good for Cadance, okay?"

Twilight nodded earnestly. Her parents grinned a little wider and they said their goodbyes to Cadance. She and Twilight waved to them at the door, and then Cadance looked to her new charge.

"How about we make a little snack first? Then I can teach you my favourite rhyme."

"When will you tell me about your magic?"

"All good things in time, Twilight Sparkle. My magic is better shown than explained. It's something you won't find in your stuffy old books." She gave a sneaky smile to show that she was making fun of the filly, and Twilight shared the smile.

Cadance spent a lot of time with her new filly friend over the coming weeks. She couldn't help it. Although it seemed she had a problem from how her parents spoke about her studying habits, and from her lack of interactions with friends, Twilight Sparkle was really a joy to be around. She was so cheerful and fun-loving. The young pony took every opportunity granted her with an eagerness Cadance had never seen.

Twilight's love of learning didn't seem to be confined to books and magic, either. She loved to experience the world in her infinite curiosity. Cadance took her to the Canterlot Gardens to meet some of the wildlife there, and she was overjoyed with the idea that there were so many animals she knew nothing about. Cadance taught her games and rhymes and how to make snacks, and Twilight Sparkle took to it just as she would her studies..

The two ponies shared books together, too. Cadance would sneak into the study and surprise Twilight by placing a new storybook over the top of whatever musty tome the filly may have been reading, and Twilight would leap in excitement at the prospect of a new story. This was certainly no ordinary filly, and her very presence filled the princess's heart with happiness.

It was one of those special book days again. Cadance readjusted her wing over the text as she let herself into the house, knowing Night Light and Velvet Twilight would already be out, and Twilight Sparkle was on another holiday from school, so they had the whole day to play.

Making her way stealthily up to the study, Cadance smiled in anticipation of her little pony's wide grin. When she got to the study, though, she found a stack of closed books and no pony.

Upon checking Twilight's room, she called out the filly's name. There was no one in the house.

Confused, Cadance went to the back door. She could hear Twilight Sparkle laughing, and wondered if the filly was playing on her own. She nudged the door open slightly and saw Twilight with an older colt. His coat was brilliant white, his mane three shades of blue, and his cutie mark a blue shield with a purple six-pointed star inside and three shining stars above it. He looked engaged in what the young filly was saying to him, then Twilight crouched down in the grass.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" The adorable filly bounced around, moving her hooves enthusiastically along with the chant.

Cadance grinned at the pony. That rhyme was Twilight's favourite, and they used it as a kind of greeting. She glanced again to the other pony. Why was she sharing it with him? For his part, the colt looked pleased, and crouched down to imitate her. He looked around himself, seemingly self-conscious, and spotted Cadance at the door. He immediately straightened, blushing.

"Cadance! Cadance!" The filly bounded towards her, her enthusiasm creating a blast of good feeling. "Come here! Meet my brother."

Brother? Cadance shouldn't have been surprised, really. Twilight Sparkle was always talking about her B.B.B.F.F, Shining Armor. But their paths had never crossed, and for some reason Cadance had resigned herself to never meeting the famed older brother.

Cadance trotted in their direction. When she had come close enough, Twilight got between them.

"Shining Armor, meet the greatest foalsitter in all the history of foalsitters, Princess Cadance."

Their eyes had met briefly as Twilight was introducing her, but as she got to the end, Shining Armor spluttered and looked down at his sister. He must have realised this was rude, because he immediately looked back to her.

"P-p-princess?" he asked tentatively.

Cadance winked at him. "You can call me Cadance. You are, after all, the brother of my favourite little filly in the world."
In a reaction she had never had from someone she had just met, Shining gave her a huge grin. "To be lucky enough to have a sister like Twilight Sparkle, I must be pretty great, right?"

Cadance didn't let her surprise ruin her comeback. "You'd better live up to all she said about you, B.B.B.F.F."

"And I hope the greatest foalsitter in the world can deal with two ponies today."

"Oh, I could deal with six ponies as easy to wrangle as your family. And you should address me correctly. I'm the greatest foalsitter in the history of foalsitters." Cadance raised her head proudly, a playful glimmer in her eyes.

She caught sight of little Twilight Sparkle looking from one of them to the other, a confused frown creasing her normally happy features, probably wondering if they were making fun of her, or if her two favourite ponies didn't like one another.

She bent down to be on level with the filly and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "Come on, Twilight. I have a new story book. I think you'll love this one even more than the last. It's about sea ponies."

Comments

[thedarkshark24]

At first i was like "huh?" now i'm like "aww"

[Lhmac]

1459746 Filly Twilight Sparkle does that to everypony
If there was something about that 'huh' that could be fixed, constructive criticism is always appreciated

[Obalie]

CALL UPON THE SEAAAAA PONIES, WHEN YOU'RE IN DISTRESS!

[Dat1Brony]

SEA PONIES *derps out*