Parades And Cakes
Cadence packed her books together with a smile. She already had plans for the day. She would return to the castle for lunch with Celestia, then she would proceed with her homework and the project her aunt had given her.
And today, come late afternoon, will be the day I take care of little Twilight, she mused. Her smile grew into a huge grin at the prospect. “Well, that was a very interesting class today, wasn’t it? A perfect topic on a perfect day, wouldn’t you agree?” she asked. When she received no answer, she turned towards Shining. She noticed the colt had his head on his forelegs and appeared to be slumbering deeply. The young princess shook her head in disbelief. Suddenly, an idea struck her and her grin turned impish. Sneaking up to him, she lowered her muzzle until it was only inches away from his ear. Remember that you brought this on yourself. With that, she attacked.
“OW!” Shining screamed, recoiling. His haste to get up caused one of his forelegs to slip, making him land flat on the ground. The students that hadn’t already left roared with laughter.
“Oh my, Shining Armor, are you alright?” Cadance asked innocently through the noise of the remaining classmates.
“Ow. What? Who? Cadance?” he stuttered. Blushing, he rose to his hooves. “Did you just… bite me?”
“Bite you? Why in Equestria would I bite you?” the pink alicorn asked with feigned indignation. She huffed and turned around to conceal the growing smirk on her face.
“But… you must have done it! I mean, my ear hurts. I – “ he stormed to a nearby mirror and regarded the side of his head. “There’s a bite mark on my ear! Admit it, you did it!”
“Did what, dearest Shiny?” Cadance asked innocently, turning back around. Shining Armor blushed at the nickname, but tried to keep his dignity.
“Bite me, of course! Who else would? I can’t believe you’d bite me! Why in Equestria would you do something like that?” Shining asked grumpily. Cadance giggled and pushed him with a hoof.
“Lighten up, grumpy pants. I only did it because you asked for it when you slept in class... again,” the young princess answered, sticking her tongue out.
“Biting me in class, in front of everypony, that's totally mean,” the colt pouted. Cadence laughed, giving him a peck on the cheek. Just as she had planned, the colt became as red as a tomato. Seeing the few students around giggle and point their hooves at him, he quickly tried wiping off any traces of the princess’ kiss.
“Oh, Shining, grow up. There’s nothing visible. Is it really so embarrassing for you to get a peck?”
“That’s not it. I just don’t want it to be in public. It’s… uncool for colts,” Shining mumbled, a soft pink hue on his face.
“Well, at least it distracted you from whining about a little nibble,” she teased. Shining’s brow dropped into a frown and he turned his head away in a huff. “Why is it that you fell asleep anyway? I don’t think it’s because of the lesson. I know that Magic Practice is your favorite. What’s going on?”
“Twilight wouldn’t sleep last night. Apparently, she was too hyper after our get-together.”
“Aw, the poor dear. It’s not very healthy if a foal can’t get a good night’s rest.”
“Yeah, healthy for a foal,” Shining mumbled grumpily, giving a huge yawn.
“Oh, grow up. Tonight, you and your parents will have time to relax. I mean, you get to see the military parade and dine with Sir Fancy Pants and Commander Broadside of the Unicorn Special Forces.”
“Yeah, and it’s gonna be awesome! I can’t believe Dad managed to get any tickets for the parade. They were sold out months ago! And they’re even box seats!”
“And while you’re going to be in an absolute fancolt mode, I’m going to watch the sweetest filly in the world,” Cadance remarked.
“I’m NOT a fancolt. I’m just an interested observer.”
“Whatever you say, fancolt,” Cadance teased, flicking her tail over his nose. “Now, let’s go. We have to meet Aunty for lunch.”
“I’m no fancolt,” Shining murmured, following the princess outside.
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“Now, Twily, are you excited? Today you will be foalsat by Princess Cadance herself,” Velvet said, lifting her foal out of the tub. “Doesn’t sound that like a lot of fun? Imagine all the games the two of you can play,” she swooned, drying off her filly. Twilight giggled at the tickling sensation of the towel. “Think about all the filly stuff boring colts would never even think about doing! I’m absolutely positive you two will get along perfectly. You already like her. Don’t you, my little princess? Who is mommy’s’ beautiful little princess? You are,” Velvet cooed, booping her daughter’s nose with her snout. The foal squealed in delight at her mother’s loving gesture.
“Mom, I’m hoUUARGH,” a voice ending in a huge yawn called from downstairs.
“We’re coming,” Velvet answered her son’s call. She gently set the foal on her back. “Alright, Twilight, time for lunch.” She carefully strode out the bathroom and down the stairs. She must be one of the luckiest foals in the world. Receiving a blessing from our beloved sun princess AND getting to be looked after by another princess. That’s not an everyday thing. I wonder what will become of you, she mused, stealing a glance at her daughter. Raising a brow, she noticed that the foal seemed to be ignoring her. The foal was looking around the room, trying to find something to catch her interest. Her eyes tracked a fly for a few seconds, but she lost interest again and decided to further burrow herself into her mother’s back instead. Velvet shook her head, smiling fondly. Well, time shall tell. Stepping into the kitchen, she was greeted by a very tired Shining. The colt was already sitting at the table with his face in his hooves. Obviously, he was in the process of dozing off, as his eyelids were barely open and drool was starting to drop onto the wood.
“Shining?” Velvet asked, gently prodding him. He, in response, mumbled something and turned away. Twilight suddenly fixed her searching eyes upon her brother, and let out a coo of exictement. She took a tuft of his mane and tugged and chewed on it, attempting to pull him into the waking world. The colt grunted and listlessly swatted in the air with his hoof, as if trying to chase off a fly.
“Twilight, stop annoying your brother,” Velvet reprimanded, trying to pull the mane away from Twilight’s hooves.
“AHBAHABA!” Twilight groused, holding the tuft even harder. Whenever her mother would try and take her treasure away from her, she would pull it to her chest and place her head between the mane and Velvet’s hoof.
“Twilight Andromeda Sparkle! You will let go of your brother’s mane this instant!” A quivering lower lip was the only warning Velvet got. Twilight let loose an ear-shattering wail not moments later, causing Shining to jump from his slumber.
“Wha-? Ow, my ears. OW! My head! What’s going on? Hey. Let go,” Shining called, pulling his head away from his sister. Twilight, upon seeing her brother was awake, instantly let go of his mane. She greeted him with a squeal and tried climbing down from her mother’s back.
“Had a rough night, dear?” Velvet asked her son, levitating the high chair next to him. She set Twilight down, who promptly nuzzled against her brother. The colt smiled and started caressing his sister’s cheek, making her coo happily.
“I only got about three hours of sleep last night. Thank Celestia Twilight eventually did run out of power during her tantrum, or I’d probably have slumbered in some hedge or something.”
“Yes, last night was really unfortunate. I think having all the guests around and her still teething made her too hyper to sleep,” Velvet replied lively. “After lunch you should get some sleep or you’ll be too tired for tonight.”
“Will do. How are you so awake, though? I mean, you stayed by Twilight’s side all night.
“Well, what can I say? I was always a ‘Night Pony’, if you will, and with being outside at night and having to go to university in the morning, you adopt new habits.”
“Huh. That makes sense. Does that mean Dad’s as chipper as you are?”
Velvet giggled impishly. “Don’t be so sure,” she said, just as the front door opened.
“Velvet, Twilight, Shining, I’m home,” a tired voice yawned. Night Light stepped into the kitchen, tripping over the threshold. He landed softly on Velvet’s magic and instantly fell asleep with a loud snore.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Shining said, incredulous. Velvet and Twilight just laughed.
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“Good day, your Highness,” a guard saluted as Cadance stepped into the hallway leading towards the dining room. “Princess Celestia is expecting you.”
“Thank you. And please, just call me Cadance.”
“Please forgive me, your Highness, but it is not allowed for a guard to address his empress by her name,” he replied, falling into step with her.
“Well, in that case, I order you to call me Cadance,” the young princess declared with a friendly smile.
“Of course, your High- Cadance.” He stopped in front of the door and knocked three times.
“Enter,” they heard Princess Celestia call from the other side. The guard opened the door and stepped inside.
“Your Highness, Princess Cadance has arrived,” he said, stepping aside and allowing Cadance into the room.
It was one of the smaller rooms, reserved only for the princesses and their most important guests. The room was painted in a brilliant white trimmed with borders of pure gold. Lined around the walls were paintings depicting various gastronomic specialties of Equestria. In the middle sat a table of immaculate mahogany. It was surrounded by eight huge and very plush cushions stitched from the best velvet.
“Ah, Cadenza, welcome,” Celestia said as her niece stepped inside their dining room. “Thank you, Corporal Copperback, that will be all.”
“Of course, your Highness,” the guard said, bowing and leaving the room.
“Please, dear, have a seat,” the Sun Princess motioned for her niece to take a seat next to her.
“Thank you. How have things been today?” Cadance asked, taking the offered seat at the mahogany table.
“Quite quiet, thank you. How was your day? You seem to be in an excellent mood. “
“Yes, today’s school was very interesting, and to top a good day off, I’m going to foalsit Twilight Sparkle later this afternoon,” the young princess finished with a little squeal.
“Sounds like a delightful evening. Will the Sparkles attend the Parade this evening?”
“Yes, that’s the reason why they asked me. Sorry that I won’t be able to attend the Parade, though,” Cadance replied apologetically. Celestia waved a hoof.
“It is fine, dear. Those parades are not meant for young fillies, after all.”
“Yeah, I remember last time I attended one. I fell asleep while“, she suddenly was interrupted by a loud grumbling coming from her stomach, “eating,” she finished with an embarrassed pout.
“Oh dear,” Celestia giggled. “We should better start with lunch. That grumbling could scare off a manticore.” She laughed at the dirty look her niece was giving her. Lifting up a golden bell with her magic, she gently let it ring. Instantly, the doors to the kitchen flew open and half a dozen assistants rolled, carried and floated various dishes into the room. As the assistants reached the princesses, they simultaneously lifted the covers and placed the platters on the wooden table. Lunch consisted of various vegetables of different degrees of completion. There was a clay pot filled with gratinated asparagus, a bowl filled with potatoes with sour cream, a plate laden with grilled and marinated eggplant slices, raw lettuce and some carrots. A big bowl of onion soup stood right next to the desserts, which consisted of small strawberry cupcakes, brownies with liquid core and different slices of cake.
“Ah, Sous Bocuse always knows how to impress me. Everything looks so superb. I have to reprimand him, though. If he keeps cooking like that, I won’t fit into my throne anymore,” Celestia said with a merry laugh. She lifted a piece of Brussels sprout with her fork and curiously nibbled at it.
“Splendid! And to think I never liked Brussels sprouts before.” Turning to the assistants, she continued: “Please, send him my regards. He has outdone himself another time.” The assistants bowed and left the princesses to their lunch.
The Princesses started their lunch in silence. Cadance observed her aunt carefully. The solar princess ate with an unreadable, calm expression across her face. Now and then she would peek at her over her meal or glass of water.
“Tell me,” Celestia began, setting down her spoon. “How are you advancing on your studies on advanced object manipulation?”
“Quite well, I think. I already covered about half of the book you gave me.”
“Seriously?” the sun princess asked in a surprised tone. “That tome embraces five thousand pages and I gave it to you only a week ago.” Cadance smiled sheepishly.
“What can I say? It’s a really interesting book.” Celestia watched her niece with blatant pride.
“Can you show me what you learned so far?”
“Sure, watch this,” Cadance replied, her face taking a concentrated mien. Igniting her horn, she focused her magic on a muffineer, which grew some legs and started tap dancing around the flower vase. Releasing her magical hold on it, it stopped midair and toppled over, spilling its contents. “Phew, that wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped,” the young princess said, wiping her brow.
“Very good, my dear! That was a really impressive feat of magic,” Celestia praised her.
“Thanks, Aunty. I practiced a bit in recess today.”
“Just don’t overdo it. Use your breaks to actually take a break, not for learning.” Giving her niece an devious grin, she continued: ”Maybe you could ask young Shining Armor to give you a nice, relaxing massage.”
“AUNTY! We’re just friends,” Cadance replied furiously, her cheeks taking a deep pink hue.
“Can’t friends do something like that for each other? It’s just a benefit,” Celestia replied with a wink.
“How was your day?” the pink alicorn asked, trying her hardest to change the subject.
“As I told you, quite quiet. Only a minor ruckus between two farmers about stolen land. Turns out, the land they both regarded as their property actually belongs to a family of rock farmers.”
“Rock farmers? As in growing and harvesting rocks?” Cadance asked incredulously.
“I know it sounds weird, but they produce the best building stones you can imagine. And they are very modest. Hence, it was my pleasure to officially announce this field their property.”
“I take it the farmers didn’t like it.”
“Not at all. They started screaming and swearing about how unfair I was and that I exert a rule of tyranny.”
“How dare they –“
“Relax, things like this have happened ever since your mother and I ascended the throne. It was quite humorous. I told them that taking this land as their property was the real act of tyranny. I asked them if they would like it if somepony took their land without permission. That sidelined them for good,” Celestia finished with a small laugh in which Cadance joined. They continued to eat, the sun princess stealing glances at her niece, not sure how to approach the subject lingering in her mind. Deciding not to beat around the bush anymore, she cleared her throat to get the young alicorn’s attention.
“Well, Cadance,” Celestia began as they had finished their entrée and were proceeding to the dessert. “I have given thought to it, and I think I’ve come to a solution regarding your, lacking a better word, ‘discrepancy’ with the Nightmare.” Cadance nearly choked on her salad.
“You – what? Should we really work on it? I thought it best to ignore this problem?”
“No,” Celestia said firmly. “Ignoring such a thing could be dangerous. It could become more powerful if it isn’t strictly observed. Trust me, I know” she said, turning towards the direction Cadance knew the moon to be in.
“I understand. What do you propose we do about it?”
“Well, firstly I would want to have the both of us meditate every night, starting tonight. I will show you how to focus on your innate magic and to allow your mind to drift into the limbo.”
“What’s that?” Cadance asked curiously.
“I will explain later. For now, let us continue eating. I have a meeting with the griffon ambassador I have to attend before preparing everything for the parade.”
“Alright, I understand,” the young princess replied. They continued their meal in near silence, only small sparks of conversation igniting.
“Well,” Celestia started, placing her fork down and lifting a napkin towards her muzzle, “as delightful as our shared lunch was, and as much as I dislike to end our time together, I have to leave.”
“Of course. I think I should leave as well,” the younger alicorn replied, getting up. “Will we meet at your study when I get back?”
“That would be best,” Celestia said with a smile, also raising from her cushion. “Have a nice day and tell me all about your adventures with little Twilight. Goodbye,” and with that, Celestia turned around and walked out the door opposing the one Cadance had entered through.
“Nice day to you, too, Aunty. See you later! I’ll tell you about everything,” Cadance called after her.
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“Alright, Princess Cadance will be here shortly. Did we check everything on the list?” Velvet asked in a frenzy. She was pacing up and down the kitchen while floating a twenty-five-hoof-long parchment next to her. “Did we leave enough diapers? Did we prepare some food for Twilight? DID WE EVEN PREPARE SOME FOOD FOR THE PRINCESS?!” She ran up to the fridge just to be stopped by a yank of her tail.
“Velvet, relax,” Night Light said soothingly as his wife struggled to free herself from his magic. “You triple-checked your checklist. Everything is fine.” Velvet took a deep breath as Night Light slowly sat her down on her haunches.
“You’re right. I’m overreacting. Just let me take a peek –“
“No! You’ve taken two peeks already.”
“Relax, mom,” Shining chimed in. “It’s not like Cadance is a helpless foal. No offense, Twily,” he added, looking down at his sister who just cocked her head.
“What’s more, I’ll leave some bits for her. That way, when she wants to, she can get herself and Twilight a snack or two,” Night Light said.
“Alright, I get it,” Velvet replied with a pout. It didn’t last long, however, as Twilight had toddled up to her mother. The foal now was in the process of nuzzling her head into her mother’s belly fur.
“See? Even Twilight is telling you to calm down,” Night Light said as Velvet caressed her daughter’s head. “Now, we should get ready to leave. I guess Princess Cadance will be here momentarily.”
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Just outside the Sparkle house, the princess’ carriage landed with a soft thud. Cadance got out and walked up to the door, but not before bowing to her guards in gratitude. Raising a hoof, she attempted to knock, but stopped short of the door.
Come on, Cadance, calm down. It’s not as if you haven’t been at the Sparkle’s house before. It’s just foalsitting. Taking a deep breath, she steeled her nerves and knocked.
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“Ah, that must be Princess Cadance.” With that, Night Light walked out of the kitchen and to the door. Velvet set Twilight on her back after a quick nuzzle and followed her husband, Shining in tow.
“Good day, Mr. Sparkle. As agreed upon, I’m here to foalsit your daughter,” Cadance greeted.
“Ah, good day, Cadance. How are you doing?” Night Light friendly asked as he invited the princess in.
“I’m feeling great, thank you. I can’t wait to start,” Cadance replied with a little squee. “Good day, Mrs. Sparkle.”
“And a good day to you,” Velvet greeted. “Good, since you’re so eager to start, let’s not waste any more time.” With that, she produced a scroll and hovered it towards the alicorn. Unfurling it, Cadance began reading with utmost care. “It’s a small checklist I’ve written. It should contain everything necessary when dealing with our little star. Since it should take a while, I’ll go prepare –“
“Done,” Cadance interjected, rolling the scroll together with a smile. Velvet regarded her with a stern gaze.
“Oh, really? Then you should have no problem repeating what’s written under point fifteen.”
“Velvet! I’m sorry, princess, but she – “ Night Light started.
“’When dealing with her diapers, make sure Twilight gets exactly three strokes of powder before fastening the diaper at medium’,” Cadance replied in one breath. Her smile had taken a challenging tone. “If I may be so bold, I think three and a half is better for a filly her age.” Velvet’s muzzle dropped open in surprise, her eyebrows racing towards her mane.
“Uh, Cadance? Maybe you shouldn’t – “
“Brilliant!” Velvet shouted, startling all other ponies in the room. “Oh, I see that our little filly will be in good hooves.” Night Light let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. With a smile, he lifted his daughter off his wife’s back. With utmost care, he placed the foal onto the princess’ back.
“Well, she’s all yours,” he said as he stepped back. Cadance turned around to look straight into the eyes of her charge, who was smiling broadly at her. As she watched, the filly burrowed deeper into her fur, making her skin tingle and her heart flutter.
“I will guard her like gold,” she said as she turned her head back.
“Alright, family, we should get going. Cadance, I left some bits on the kitchen counter should you need them. Now come on. Don’t want to make Mr. Pants wait,” Night Light announced, ushering his family towards the door.
“Maybe I should take a last check on –“ Velvet began to speak, but was silenced by a raised hoof from her husband.
“No more checking. Everything is fine. Now let’s go. Goodbye, Cadance and Twilight.”
“Party hard,” Shining said, winking at the alicorn and his sister. Velvet sighed in defeat and followed her husband and son.
“Be good, Twily. Mommy will be back soon,” she said, nuzzling her daughter a last time. “Take good care of my filly,” she added for the princess.
“Of course, Mrs. Sparkle,” Cadance said, looking over her shoulder towards the foal. “I will guard her like gold.”
“Alright, then. Have fun, you two.” With that, Velvet stepped out and Night Light closed the door behind them.
“Don’t worry,” the alicorn announced with a smile. “We will.”
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“Maybe I should go back and help Cadance find her way around,” Velvet said as soon as the door was closed.
“Now, Velvet, I’m sure Princess Cadance will do just fine. Come now. We need to hurry or we’ll be running late. I’d hate for us to keep Sir Fancy Pants waiting.” With that, he gently poked his wife, urging her to continue. Velvet sighed, then gave a small smile.
“You’re right. I should trust Cadance more. She is a princess, after all.” Night Light beamed at her.
“Now that’s the spirit. As soon as we’re at the parade, you’ll be distracted, anyway. They say this year’s spectacle will be the grandest ever.”
“That sounds very nice, even though it will be more interesting for Shining. Maybe I can distract myself by talking to Fancy Pants’ wife.” Stopping for a second, Velvet stared intently at her husband. “He is married, isn’t he?” she asked with uncertainty.
“Yes, he is,” Night Light replied, suddenly grinning broadly. “You will never guess to whom, though. A little hint: I gave you her newest scarf collection. The one you had been dying to get.”
“You mean to tell me Sir Fancy Pants is married to supermodel Fleur-de-Lis?” Velvet asked incredulously.
“Bingo,” Night Light said.
“How wonderful! I get the chance to personally tell her how much I adore her collections!" Velvet swooned, gently patting the scarf around her neck.
"It's not like it'll be a secret, dear. After all, it's why I got you that present."
“And that’s why I gave you a little, ahem, present that night,” Velvet said, a flirty look on her face. Night Light went beet red.
“Ugh, gross,” Shining called, sticking his tongue out.
“It isn’t very nice to call your sister ‘gross’, Shining,” his mother reprimanded him.
“Wait… you mean… wha… UGH!” Shining shuddered heavily at the thought. “I think I’m gonna need to see a therapist.” Velvet just laughed as they continued on their way.
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“Alright, Twilight, what do you want to do?” Cadance asked her charge back in the Sparkle’s home. She gently set the foal down in the middle of a blanket in the living room, sitting down across from her. She opened the foal’s toy box and carefully spilled its contents in front of the baby unicorn.
“Now, let’s see. We’ve got building blocks, a coloring book plus crayons, Rock-a-stack, the Sorting Cube and a ball.” She watched as the foal leaned in, eyeing every toy critically. Cadance had to suppress a squeal. She looks so adorable! That little frown! Aw, Cadance swooned internally. Finally, the filly picked up the coloring book, proudly presenting her choice to the princess. “So you want to color? The coloring book it is, then.”
Cadance sat next to the foal and gently opened the book to reveal a colorless drawing of her aunt and herself. “I didn’t know they drew me in a foal coloring book,” Cadance mused, flipping through the pages. She found drawings of farming ponies, Star Swirl the Bearded, and beings of the forest or some buildings like a windmill.
“Now, Twilight, what do you want to color?” The princess levitated the box of crayons next to the filly. Twilight began to rustle through the pages, trying to find a picture that satisfied her demands. Stopping at the beginning, she squealed in joy and tapped the black-and-white drawing of Cadance. The alicorn couldn’t help but smile at the choice. “So, you want to color me? Alright then, you will color me and I will color Aunt Celestia. Is that alright?” The filly held up the crayon box in response. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Cadance opened the box and levitated a pink crayon towards the foal, placing it in front of her.
“Have you ever colored something, Twily?” she asked, picking a green crayon out of the box. The filly looked at her quizzically. “I guess that means no. No problem, I’ll show you how it’s done. Since you haven’t learned levitation magic yet, you have to use your hooves. I’d let you use your muzzle, but seeing as you are still a toddler, you could hurt your gums or swallow a piece. Now, you just take your crayon into your fore hooves and gently sweep it over the paper,” she instructed, drawing a short green line into picture-Celestia’s mane. “See? Piece of cake! Now you try,” Cadance said, smiling expectantly at her charge. When she saw the foal hesitating, she stepped behind her. Gently taking the foal’s hooves into her own, she slowly guided the filly towards the book.
“Alright, Twilight, you just take the crayon,“she instructed, levitating the drawing piece into the foal’s hold, “and carefully draw a line onto the sheet. Watch out that you don’t draw over the boundaries.” She cautiously guided the foal over the sheet, drawing a small line on her paper counterpart’s left wing and stopping at the black line.
“That was easy, wasn’t it?” Cadance released the filly’s hooves, stepping back to her part of the book. Twilight happily babbled, launching herself onto the sheet. Without a care in the world, she clumsily drew lines to and fro. Grinning widely, Cadance returned to her own work. They continued coloring in silence, only broken by the rustling of paper and Twilight’s occasional giggle.
Well, that went better than I expected, Cadance mused after half an hour. And despite the fact I colored by hoof. She had managed to color her aunt’s paper counterpart without crossing a single boundary. Better yet, she had left out some spots in the mane while coloring, thus creating a few white spots in an ocean of color in perfect emulation of sparkling effect.
“Do you want to show me what you drew?” she asked, turning towards the filly with a smile. She stepped behind the foal and looked over her shoulder. Her smile turned into a frown as she saw Twilight’s ‘masterpiece’. The foal had seemingly used all the crayons. The Cadance in the coloring book had green legs, a brown body, pink wings, a yellow face and a completely navy blue mane. On more than one occasion, the foal had crossed the line, adding to the effect of a color explosion. What was more, the filly had drawn a horizontal line onto the muzzle, making it appear like Cadance was sporting a moustache not unlike the one Twilight’s and Shining’s grandfather had. Looking at the filly incredulously, she levitated the picture next to her face.
“Do I really look like that to you?” she asked bewildered. Twilight took her time, looking from the picture to her sitter with a neutral expression. Suddenly, her cheeks puffed up, and she started laughing hysterically. She rocked from side to side in her laughing fit, falling onto her back in the process. Cadance looked at her with a stunned expression for a few seconds. Then she, too, broke into laughter, crouching down and tickling the foal’s belly, to reinforce the sounds of delight coming from the filly.
“So you think it’s funny defacing me like that, huh?” She asked renewing her efforts on Twilight’s soft and obviously very ticklish underside. Giggling herself, she threw another look at the picture. “Well, could have been worse. I like the moustache, though. But ‘Princess Cadance’ doesn’t fit anymore, then. Which name to choose? I know! How about ‘Prince Bolero’?” she laughed, picking the foal up and dropping onto her back. Twilight cheered at the whirling sensation, gently settling onto Cadance's chest at its conclusion
“Okay, what do we do now?” the alicorn asked, looking up at the filly in her hooves. In that exact moment, both her’s and Twilight’s stomachs gave a growl. “Seems it’s time for snacks,” she giggled, picking herself up and placing the foal on her back.
I wonder how Shining and his parents are doing at the parade, she mused on the way into the kitchen
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“Now, remember: be nice to Mr. Fancy Pants. He is my boss, after all,” Night Light instructed his family as they neared the entrance to the loges.
“Of course, dear. If he’s as charming as everypony says, we will have a delightful time,” Velvet calmed him. A burly unicorn was watching the three ponies approach suspiciously.
“Can I help you?” he asked in a rasp like a scratch along a wooden surface.
Whoa! I bet he can whet knives with that voice. “Err, yes. My name is Night Light Sparkle, and this is my wife and son. Sir Fancy Pants is awaiting us.” The guard looked at them skeptically. Using his magic, he brought a clipboard holding what appeared to be a list towards himself. Shooting glances at Night Light, who smiled awkwardly in return, he proceeded to read through the document.
“There is no Night Light or Sparkle on the list,” he finally said, looking down at Night Light.
“Excuse me? There has to be a mistake. I assure you, we are guests of Sir Fancy Pants,” Night Light said aghast.
“A bit for every time I heard this. Now, if you could be so kind to leave, you’re blocking the path.”
“Please, from gentlecolt to gentlecolt, could you be so kind as to get Sir Fancy Pants? I’m sure he –“
”“I will most certainly not bother the high chancellor with lies from some nopony! Now leave, or I’ll have to escort you from the premises,” he growled, cracking his wrists. Before Night Light could answer, however, a voice sounded behind the guard.
“Ah! Good afternoon, Night Light, my friend,” Fancy Pants greeted. He stepped down the stairs and made to stay beside the guard. “Perfect timing, I dare say. Please forgive me, but I had to squabble with Prince Blueblood over whether or not you would make it to the party, so you didn't make the list. I hope good Gruff Grump didn’t give you a hard time?”
“Not at all, Sir,” Night Light said, bowing his head.
“Perfect! Now. This is your family, I presume?”
“Yes, Sir. This is my wife, Twilight Velvet,” Night Light said, pointing at his wife.
“Good day, Sir Fancy Pants. It is an honor,” she said, respectfully bowing her head.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Fancy replied, taking one of Velvet’s hooves and hovering his lips above it.
“And this is my son, Shining Armor,” Night Light finished introducing.
“Hello, Sir,” Shining said, dipping his head.
“Hello, young Shining. Now, how about we take this up to my loge? The event is about to start, and I have some other guests waiting. Please, follow me.” With that, he turned around and led the family up the stairs. Night Light noticed his wife sticking her tongue out at the guard as they passed.
“Velvet!” he hissed. “Don’t do that!”
“Why? He asked for it,” she shot back.
“That may be true, but still.”
“Come on, dad. The way he acted, he begged for it.”
“I should have –“
“There we are,” Fancy Pants announced, interrupting their hushed bickering. Looking up, the family noticed two other couples standing at the railing. Night Light recognized one of them as the Heartstrings.
“Now then, I am sure you all know the Heartstrings,” Fancy Pants said, pointing at the two mint green ponies, who smiled at the small family in turn. “Moving on.” He stepped towards the next couple. It consisted of an elderly stallion with earth-colored fur and a grey mane and full beard and a gold-colored mare with a silver mane that appeared to be in her twenties. “This is Earl Grey. He is a business associate and owner of many companies in Baltimare. And this is his beautiful wife, Gold Digger,” Fancy Pants said, consecutively pointing to the stallion and mare. The Sparkles shot each other a quick glance, confirming they all had the same thought.
“Delighted to meet you,” Night Light said with a forced smile.
“Charmed,” Velvet followed, her smile more like a pained grimace. Shining just stared.
“Oh, the pleasure is all ours, dears,” Gold Digger replied with a loud, affected laugh. “Isn’t that right, my love?” she asked, poking her husband. The stallion, who had seemingly fallen asleep, started to look around blearily.
“Wha… who? Is it time for supper already?” he asked in a loud and croaking voice, moving to get up from his chair.
“No, Sir. I just wanted to greet you,” Night Light said respectfully.
“You want to beat me?! How dare you?! Why, you little, I should…” he replied, mumbling to himself at the end. His head slowly sunk back to his chest. A loud snore sounded moments later. Shining turned away out of boredom. Looking back towards where had come from, he was greeted by the sight of another unicorn coming their way.
“Whoa,” was all he could say, his cheeks flushing crimson. ‘Whoa’ proved to be a white unicorn with a tall, slender build, not unlike Princess Celestia. Her pink mane was streaked with a pristinely white stripe. It flowed down her neck, ending in elegant curls at chest height. Her Cutie Mark was a stylized iris: a fleur-de-lis.
“Well, that should cover – oh, Fleur. There you are. Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d like you to meet my wife, Fleur-De-Lis,” Fancy announced, noting his wife behind Shining. Night Light and Velvet turned around as well.
“Overjoyed to meet you,” Fleur said. Her deep, feminine voice helped to accentuate her features. She took a small, respectful bow.
“A pleasure,” Velvet replied, bowing as well.
“Yes, yes, a very huge pleasure,” Night Light said enthusiastically, bowing to the ground. Velvet shot him an annoyed stare.
“Well then. It seems the parade is about to start. I suggest we take our places. If anyone should feel hungry or thirsty, there are meals and drinks in the back,” Fancy announced with a smile. They took their places at the railing. Velvet noticed Shining ogling Fancy Pants and Fleur more often than not.
“If you keep that up, mister, you’ll wear blinders until this is over,” she hissed.
“Yes, ma’am,” Shining sighed, averting his eyes.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Now, Twily, what should we make as a snack?” Cadance asked, stepping into the kitchen with the foal on her back. Suddenly, an idea struck her. “Hey, why don’t we bake a cake? We could show it to your family and tell them you did it,” she said, rubbing her nose against the foal’s. Twilight clapped her hooves in agreement, happily babbling at the princess. “Great! Alright, I know a great recipe I wanted to try. Let’s see if your parents have got everything we need.” She sat the foal in her high chair and proceeded to rummage through the cupboards. Pulling out every ingredient, she floated them towards the table with some bowls and an eggbeater. “Wow, they even have marzipan. That’ll make this cake perfect. I hope your parents are alright with me rummaging through their stuff. Well, it’s gonna be worthwhile, isn’t it?” she asked with an uncertain voice. The foal smiled at her, grabbing a bowl and pounding it onto her table.
“Well, I’ll just take that as a yes. Okay, let’s start,” the alicorn said, picking up the high chair and levitating it next to her. Twilight giggled at being floated next to Cadance from around the room.
“First we need to make the dough, because it has to prove in the fridge.” She levitated one egg, flour, sugar and butter to herself. She filled a bowl and started to mix the ingredients with her magic, slowly kneading a dough. She picked it up and placed it on the high chair’s surface. “Do you want to try? You’ll just have to use your hooves,” she instructed, pushing around the dough with her hooves. “You see? It’s easy.” Twilight poked one hoof into the mass curiously. When she pulled it back, she noticed some of the dough clinging to her hoof. She whimpered in apprehension and shook her hoof to rid herself of the sticky batter.
“Relax, Twily, it’s alright. See?” Cadance rubbed the foal’s hoof, making the dough fall of in tiny worms. Twilight giggled, poking the dough-worms with delight. Leaning over the high chair, she reached for more. “Easy, little one,” Cadance halted her with a smile. “We still need some for the cake, remember? How about we do it together?” She took one half of the dough and proceeded to knead the mixture. Twilight watched her for a moment, then started mimicking her with her own half. “Very good, my little pony! Alright, let’s use some flour so it doesn’t stick to the surface.”
Cadance took a bag of flour and carefully levitated it towards the foal. “Now, I need you to stop for a – Twilight, calm down!” she reprimanded uncertainly , for the foal was in the middle of pounding her hooves on the dough with full force, sending bits around the kitchen. “Twilight, watch out. You – OW!” the eager unicorn filly hit the princess on the horn with a hoof, causing her caretaker to rear up in pain and dissipate her magic.
“Twilight!” Cadance admonished, her stern gaze and tone finally bringing an end to the foal’s antics. “You have to be more careful of your surroundings. You can’t –“the rest of her lecture was cut short, for the flour landed square on her head, coloring her pink fur perfectly white. The filly, who had been watching her with an apologetic look, burst into overjoyed laughter punctuated by energetic hopping. “Well, had that one coming,” Cadance mumbled, levitating a towel to her face. Cleaning her eyes, she was able to open them to Twilight laughing and hopping. She smiled involuntarily. I just can’t stay mad at her. She’s just too cute! “Oh, you think that’s funny? Watch out, here comes ghost Princess Cadance to gobble you up!” the alicorn announced in an ominous voice, dashing towards the unicorn. Giving Twilight no chance to react, Cadance’s muzzle shot down.
“Take that, you little troublemaker,” she called, placing a floury raspberry on the foal’s chest. She renewed Twilight's laughter, and the two of them proceeded to giggle for a few moments“Oh, Twily. Look at that mess!” the princess groaned between breaths. “Your mother’s gonna kill us for this. Alright, here’s the deal: we clean the room as soon as we finish baking. We’ll write ‘Sorry’ on the cake, so if anything’s out of order when your parents return, we have the perfect amends. Sound good?” The foal looked at her for a few moments. Seemingly content, she clapped her hooves. “Very good. Now, let’s continue with our cake. But no more overenthusiasm. Got it?” The foal clapped again. “Awesome. Let’s do this, then,” she announced with a smile, feeling certain that there would be no more disaster.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Disaster!” Cadance exclaimed an hour later. She pulled the finished cake out of the oven, setting it atop the counter. “How can one filly make such a mess? How can your mother even let you into the kitchen?” The foal looked at her with the face of a filly being admonished by her mother. She stuck out her lip and tried to hold back the tears pricking at her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Cadance forced a smile onto her face. “It’s alright. At least the cake is done. And with my magic, I’m sure I can clean this… I don’t even know what to call it.” She sparked her horn to life, concentrating on cleaning the dirty bowls and spoons first. As soon as she was done with that, she filled a bucket with water and, with a flick of her magic, simultaneously used five rags to scrub at the dough crusts and remains of flour. Noticing the look on Twilight’s face, she couldn’t help but smile smugly. Under the foal’s awestruck gaze, she made the kitchen sparkle once more.
“Phew,” the young princess exclaimed, wiping sweat from her brow. After twenty minutes of intense scrubbing she was finally done. “That wasn’t as hard as I had feared. Are you content with my work, Twily?” she asked, looking at the foal. The foal babbled at her happily, clapping her hooves. “Thought so.” Looking the filly over, Cadance decided that she needed serious cleaning. Walking over, she took the foal and placed her on her back. Stepping out of the kitchen, she began to climb the stairs. “Alright, Twilight, the kitchen is done. Now we only have to get you clean. How does a nice, warm bath sound to you?” As soon as the words had left her muzzle, she felt the filly tremble against her back. Before she could do anything, the filly disappeared in a purple flash, only to reappear on the landing. The filly looked at her with a face of pure shock and disappeared into a room adjacent to the bathroom.
“Hey! Come back!” Cadance called, darting up the stairs with the help of her wings and following Twilight into the room. A blush appeared on her face when she noticed it to be the Sparkle's bedroom. I really shouldn’t be here, she thought, deciding to get the filly and leave the room as quick as possible. Looking around, she saw a tiny patch of purple under the bed and recognized it as Twilight’s tail. As soon as she got down on her knees, however, the patch disappeared further under the bed. Peeking under it, she was faced with the sight of a scared-looking Twilight, who looked back at her with fearful eyes. “Come out from under there,” she said, gently taking the filly into her magic and pulling her out. The filly squealed and struggled on the way to the bathroom. She whimpered at the sight of Cadance closing the door. “What‘s wrong? Did I do something to scare you?” Seeing Twilight tremble more strongly when faced with the tub, the alicorn put two and two together.
“You don’t like baths, do you?” she asked the foal, gently setting her down on a hamper. From the look the filly was giving her, she knew the answer. “Oh, Twily, I’m sorry for trying to force you into it. You must think I’m downright betraying you.” Suddenly, an idea struck her, making her smile widely. “Hey, how about we bathe together? That way we’ll be stuck in the same boat, so to say.” The princess filled the tub with steaming water and some soaps, even putting a bath duck into the water. Taking the filly in her magic again, she - much to Twilight’s seeming surprise - climbed into the tub. As soon as she was settled, she levitated the filly right into her fore legs. She noticed with satisfaction that the foal had ceased her trembling. “See? That’s not so bad, is it?” Cadance asked with a laugh, poking her charge’s snout with a foamy hoof. She snickered when she noticed the large glob of foam that stuck to the foal’s face. Twilight whined, rubbing the bubbles with a hoof and looking at Cadance accusingly.
“Oh, don’t be a grumpy pants,” Cadance giggled, ruffling the filly’s mane. Twilight answered by giving her a grade A pout. “Oh, lighten up. After all,” the princess said, grabbing a hoofful of foam and spreading it on her chin, to create a foam beard, “Santa Hooves is watching you!” Twilight continued to sulk, listlessly dragging a hoof through the water. Cadance watched her bemusedly until, to her glee, she noticed the corners of the filly’s muzzle twitching upwards slightly. “Is that a smile I see on your face, Twily?” An idea struck her. Taking another hoof full of foam, she spread the mass on her whole face, mainly on her eyebrows and forehead. She lifted the foal’s face. “Look, Twilight, I am a cavepony! Ugh! Ugh! I, Cadance. You, Twilight. I live in cave; make fire with stone and wood. Ugga!” That brought the desired success. The filly finally broke out of her sulking with a fit of giggles directed at the princess’s antics.
“See? Baths aren’t that bad, are they now?” Cadance chimed in, washing her face clean. She watched the foal rub some foam on her face herself.
“Babah!” the filly exclaimed, showing her frothy face to the princess.
“Not bad,” the alicorn congratulated, clapping her hooves. “Hey, watch this.” She lifted some foam and, with a spark of her magic, made it burst into a dozen bubbles. The filly cheered, grabbing at the bubbles with her hooves. However, as soon as she left the water, she was racked with shivers. “Oh, let me help,” Cadance said, working her magic again. She created a small breeze of wind - just enough to make the bubbles drift towards Twilight. The foal poked the bubbles with a giggle, making them burst. “Alright, let’s get you cleaned up. Your parents and Shining should be home soon.” With that, she gently pulled the filly towards her chest and began lathering her mane and fur. To her utter satisfaction she noticed that the filly wasn’t trembling or struggling.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“That parade was awesome,” Shining cheered, pronking around his parents all the way home. “My favourite part was probably when Soarin’ was making that awesome spinning twirl trick while wearing a blindfold! Or that trick Sergeant Ironlance did! I can’t believe I got an autograph.”
“Alright, fancolt! Relax,” Night Light laughed. “I’m glad you liked it. And I’m especially thankful that Sir Fancy Pants offered us those seats. We couldn’t have found any better.”
“Or better food,” Velvet said dreamily. “That chocolate mousse was the best I ever had. Who would’ve thought that Mr. Pants’ wife, could cook something so delicious?”
“Yeah, I thought about that myself,” Shining chimed in. “Well, considering who was also present, Madame De-Lis’ cookeries weren’t the most surprising thing. I mean, seriously? That Earl Grey! He has to be at least a hundred years old! And he’s crazy! He really thought I was his grandchild!”
“You didn’t complain when he gave you those ten bits for being ‘such a good grandson’, now did you?” Velvet asked with a smug grin.
Shining turned red. “That’s not fair, mom. And, after all, you made me give it back.”
“Of course I did. You can’t just use an old stallion’s dementia to enrich yourself.”
“You mean like his wife?”
Velvet laughed. “Clever colt. You win this one. Now, I wonder what Cadance and Twilight are up to.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“You are one strange little filly, you know that?” a confused Cadance asked Twilight. Having washed herself and the foal, she had struggled with getting them out of the tub. “First you make me feel like I betrayed you by getting you into the water, and now I’m betraying you for getting you out?” Twilight stuck her tongue out and giggled at the bemused face Cadance was giving her. The princess shook her head and smiled at her charge. “Alright, I guess that’s typical for a filly. Good. Now let’s get ourselves dried.” She levitated two towels from a rack and proceeded to ruffle both her and Twilight’s manes and fur with them. Looking at the mirror, she noticed the shock-headed look she had given them both.
“Oh dear. Look at us.” Grinning, she stuck her tongue out at the filly and crossed her eyes. She then whipped her head rapidly from left to right, shaking her mane and sending strands to and fro. Twilight laughed and clapped her hooves at the princess’ antics. Seeing her charge try to copy her made Cadance add to her laughter.
“Cadance! Twilight! We’re hooome!” A female voice sang from downstairs. Twilight immediately became jittery, her muscles aching to run out of the room
“Twily, hold up! I gotta get you groomed first,” Cadance said, quickly grabbing a brush. She proceeded to comb through both of their fur and manes as quickly yet gently as possible. The filly kept trying to avoid the brush and run to her mother. “Twilight, the more you struggle, the longer this will take,” Cadance admonished. Taking the filly in her magic, she redoubled her efforts. “And… done! Alright, let’s go.” Setting the brushes down, she followed the foal. By the time she had reached the bottom, however, the filly had already reached her mother.
“Aw, my little filly. There you are,” Velvet said, picking her daughter up as soon as the foal had landed on the landing. “Mmh, you smell nice. Did Cadance bathe you, my dear?”
“Yes, ma’am, I did,” Cadance said, taking the last step down the stairs. “It was necessary after some… unforeseen trouble while baking.”
“Baking?” Velvet asked, looking into the kitchen. Spotting the cake on the table, a smile spread over her face. “Aw, Twily, did you bake with Cadance? Was it fun?” The filly babbled happily, joyfully pointing at Cadance. “Why did you bake a cake, though?”
“Well, I thought it would be a fun thing to do. Every filly likes to bake, right?” Cadance said with a smile.
“I guess you’re right. And that cake looks delicious,” Night Light chimed in.
“I hope it is. Well, as much as I dislike breaking this up, I think Aunt Celestia is expecting me at the castle.”
“Of course,” Velvet said with a smile. “Night Light, where did you put the bits for the princess?”
“Nonono. I can’t accept any money for this. Foalsitting Twilight was my pleasure,” Cadance said with a smile, rubbing her snout against Twilight’s.
“But Cadance, we can’t just let you go back to the castle without at least paying you something,” Night Light protested, his sack of bits already floating beside him.
“I won’t accept any bits, and that’s final. Per royal decree, I forbid you to pay me bits for foalsitting your daughter,” Cadance replied, looking at them over her muzzle.
“Of course. As you wish, my princess,” Night Light said, he and his family bowing. The ponies stared at each other for a few moments. Suddenly, they burst into uproarious laughter simultaneously.
“Okay, this has been fun,” Velvet said, their laughter diminishing into a few light giggles. “But I think I should get Twilight to bed.”
“Alright, now I really should get going,” Cadance said, bowing her head slightly. “Goodnight, everypony. And thank you for letting me watch after little Twily,” she continued, rubbing her snout against Twilight’s a final time. As she turned, however, she felt a tug on her tail. Looking back, she noticed the foal had grabbed her tail and was holding her on the spot.
“Twily, stop that. Let go of Cadance,” Velvet admonished her daughter, trying to loosen her grip. Twilight shook her head and pulled the tuft of hair closer to herself, whimpering at the princess.
“Oh dear. I guess she wants you to stay,” Night Light sighed, looking at his daughter pityingly. The alicorn looked at the foal for a few moments. An idea struck her moments later.
“May I?” she asked, holding her hooves out towards Twilight. Velvet nodded, carefully hoofing the foal to the princess. Taking her, Cadance placed the foal on her back and started climbing the stairs. She walked towards the foal’s crib, the family following her in bemusement. Gently placing the restless foal inside, she soothed the filly into the crib by stroking her belly. “Now, Twily, it’s time to sleep. The sooner you rest, the sooner we will see each other again.” Turning around, she plucked out one of her primaries and levitated it into the foal’s forelegs. “Now you can pretend I never left,” she giggled, softly kissing the foal on her forehead. “Goodnight, my little pony.” The family watched in awe as the foal turned to her side and fell asleep, clutching the feather to her chest.
“Cadance! That was… awesome,” Shining whispered excitedly. His parents nodded enthusiastically.
“Piece of cake,” Cadance said with a quiet giggle. “Now, I suggest we let Twilight sleep and let me go back to the castle.” They made their way to the door again, Cadance stepping through and standing in the threshold. “Okay, then. Have a good night.”
“You too, Cadance. Thank you, for everything,” Night Light said with a smile.
“Goodnight, Cadance. See you soon,” Velvet bid goodbye.
“Bye, Cadance. See you,” Shining said.
“Goodbye,” Cadance called, spreading her wings. Jumping into the air, she took flight towards Canterlot Castle.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
“Good evening, Princess Cadance,” the young alicorn was greeted mid-landing by a guard stationed in Celestia’s private garden. “Princess Celestia will be expecting you in her private studies.”
“Will be? Isn’t she back yet?” the princess asked confused.
The guard shook his head. “She was… delayed … by one of the nobles on her way.” Cadance nodded, starting for her aunt’s study. She had a premonition about what delayed meant. And, true to her suspicion, five minutes after the pink alicorn had made herself comfortable on one of the plush pillows, Celestia walked into the room. Her mane was disheveled and her head was drooping. She gave a huge yawn, her whole body shivering. Her eyes, normally an ocean of kindness, were bloodshot and baggy. Her muzzle, normally always curled in a benevolent smile, was a crooked line. The whole appearance reinforced the picture of a completely raddled goddess.
“Is one day of silence without bickering nobility too much to ask for?” she muttered tiredly. Finally, her gaze fell on the other occupant of the room. “Cadance! Thank Faust! Finally! At least one pony that is normal.”
“What happened, Aunty?” the young alicorn asked, getting up to embrace her aunt.
“The nobility happened,” Celestia yawned, hugging her niece to her chest. “Why is it that I can’t at least enjoy an annual parade without some foals bickering around and annoying me all the time?”
“Was it that bad?”
“Worse,” the sun princess huffed, getting comfortable on the pillows. “And Blueblood was worst of all. Just because he wasn’t allowed into the honorary ponies stands, he screamed and cried like a foal. Even after I intervened and reprimanded him, he wouldn’t just shut up! I just spent one hour of discussing with him.”
“Well, Blueblood is the biggest jerk around,” Cadance agreed with a nod. “Good thing I have something to ease your troubled mind.”
“I sincerely doubt that,” the monarch mumbled, nuzzling into the pillow.
“Oh, really? How about I tell you about my day with young Twilight for starters?”
Celestia perked up. “Oh, please, do tell. That’s just the thing I need right now.”
Cadance smiled, shifting to give her aunt space next to her. “Alright, then. Where do I start?”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Yay, it lives!
Cute Twilight is best Twilight.
Rock farmers?
Pinkies family maybe.
I thought his name was Night Light?
You totally meant to do that, right? It's not that I have a name that can pop up in stories sometimes. Free shout outs are the best
Yay, an update!
I've been wondering this for a while now: How old are Shining and Cadance here? I'm guessing 9-10, but then we have Cadence foalsitting Twilight, which she wouldn't be doing until she was a teenager.
On another note, this is supposedly a story about Twilight's childhood, so why does everything but that seem to be the story's focus? Not that I dislike the story, but it seems more like it should be called "Cadance's Life", all things considered.
Aside from those, this chapter was great, and I love the story so far.
I've actually been wanting to read something about twilight's younger years recently. I was briefly considering attempting to write one myself, when this story popped into my hooves. Definitely going to give it a try.
4962658
would you call your employer by his first name?
4962687
Yeah, I know it might seem that way. But it's kinda hard to write of a foal's perspective when said foal can't talk
But don't worry, it'll change in the future
4962639 Maybe, maybe not.
The Checklist gene came from Twilight Velvet.
Flour really DOES make babies giggle.
wait a second! your first fic got featured?
Wait.... how the heck did Twilight teleport? She's just a baby and already she can teleport?
So Twilight's middle name is Andromeda. I like it.
I wonder what Shining's is?
Cute and funny chapter. I enjoyed reading this. Good job.
OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!! Eh, I'm just tired of things like this in many fics...
Overally though, a very cool chapter, easy and nice to read.You could've added more details on the parade, but I guess it wouldn't stick with the title of this fic.
i really liked this chapter hope to read more soon
4963171 Remember the episode Baby Cakes? and how the unicorns magic was erratic? I'm pretty sure that's what he's basing it off on.
I... might have to complain about something. Everything else is cute and great. There's just one little problem.
That is not how you make cake.
Ever.
Ever ever ever.
If you've made a dough that you knead, you're probably making bread. A sweet flavoured bread if you've put sugar in, but bread. Not cake.
When you make a cake, you make a batter, not a dough. The batter is put into a greased and/or lined cake-tin, which allows it to keep its shape whilst baking.
Breads, on the other hand, are made from kneaded dough, and yes, are 'proved' in a warm, dry place in order to let the yeast in the mixture to grow and produce air bubbles and stuff. Breads can be baked in tins, or not. Depends on the shape you want your bread to be (classic loaves in oblong tins, bloomers just on a baking tray, etc.).
Well... that turned into a bakery rant... whoops?
But, uh, adorable story!
That was a great chapter. I liked how Velvet got her scarf and then Twilight. Also Shinning get money. Priceless. Great chapter. I can't wait to read the next chapter when it gets released.
Why the change in Cadance's name? You spelled it with two E's in the last couple of chapters. You also have it spelled "Cadence" twice in the first part of this chapter. I personally like Cadance, but I also like consistency; cause I'm neurotic.
Earlier it sounded as if the Sparkles were joining the Princesses for lunch.
Enjoyed the chapter, though I must wonder how old Fleur is.
4963104
yeah
4963171
Rarity: Baby unicorns get strange magic surges that come and go.
4964142
I wanted to take out the focus on passages without Twilight, since several people thought it didn't belong to a story called Twilight's Life
4966778
)
Yes, I know. I wanted to include a recipe for a marzipan cake, but decided against it (this isn't a cooking class, after all
4967952
I changed it because a lot of people sent messages or wrote comments saying she's called CadAnce, and not Cadence (as I used to write)
I still have to edit the older chapters
And Fleur is about 20 years old
4967413 4965332 4964746 4963723
Thanks
4968981 you are welcome
4963040 Pinkie Pie was on to something when she used it in "Baby Cakes".
Not sure if you meant to, but Cadance says that line about guarding Twi like gold twice in short order. Didn't seem to me like she was purposely repeating herself.
4968981
I see; I personally like Cadance, but you can use either since the show and Hasbro can't really make up their minds either.
Why do I have a feeling Blueblood and cornoise like him is the reason Twilight did not have freinds until she came to Ponyville. Either by being mean to her or trying to use her to get to Celestia and she finds out about it quickly since they were not the brightest bulb on the tree.
Well good work but I have to ask the teleport. Why is baby Twilight able to when it was a discovered skill when she was older? I think it was one of the early episodes she discovered she could teleport like episode two or something.
Nobility should be disbanded - either do something productive or lose your title. Whooo.
Anyway, rant about politics over, adorable chapter was adorable. Loved it all
MORE! MORE! MORE!
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I personally would be very surprised if there wasn't someone among the nobility who pulled that on Twilight at some point in her life, even if it wasn't Blueblood or his cronies.
Something tells me that Soarin's significantly older than he looks. Or maybe he has a son who's identical in name and appearance. On a side note, Blueblood's a massive pain in the neck.
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Why can pumpkin levitate herself while other, more mature unicorns can't, or at the very least won't? Magic.
Why isn't this AU Cadence isn't Lunas Daughter haven't you read the Crystal Heart Spell?
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Sadly no
Maybe I should edit the tags
5032427 Yeah still like the story though
Noooo! I must have more chapters!
Seriously though, this story is amazing so far. Can't wait to read some more chapters.
Something to note though, there are a few misused words and phrases in this story, particularly in earlier chapters. The more recent chapters seem to be much more well edited than the older ones. A quick once-over on some of the earlier chapters should fix most/all of your errors, of which there are few. Do watch your use of the word 'mien' though, you used it far too much.
I give the story a 9/10 for a solid story, good character development, lack of grammar and spelling errors, and general narration.
There are some minor inconsistencies when it comes to canon, but, considering that this is fiction, and that a large chunk of it was written prior, that's hardly an issue.
Well, Sir Fancy Pants sounds like a reasonable noble to me, Celestia. But then again, I doubt he annoys her much thus she sees him less often than those annoying nobles who come crying to her about everything possible. Also "Gold Digger". XD
The story as it is now, i like it. No seriously, i do. Keep that in mind while i give some critisism that could sugest otherwise.
I think the story you're trying to write is way to ambicious. The description of the story sugests you want to write about twilights ENTIRE life up to supposedly somewhen near luna's return. Since you're only six chapters and almost two years in, but only a month or so in the story, you have an enormous task at hand. I've seen many stories with potential unfinished, because the writer bit of more than he/she could chew. I am regrettingly starting to suspect the same is happening here. The solution? To be honest, i haven't the slightest qlue. I dont think you would do the story justice if you'd scrap most of the plot. But staying alive in order to write the whole story, at this rate, would LITARLY take a lifetime. 2years IRL to (lets give the bennefit of the doubt) 2 months in story means for the lets say at minimum twi is 15 during luna's return, it would take you 90 years.
But the story as it is, i'd like you to continue! *stjonal out*
i know i commented on this chapter before and i am sorry to bug you i was just wondering if by any chance you know when you might post next chapter
i understand that life can get in the way and i don't want to rash you or anything i just asking if you don't know that is okay and take your time on making a grate chapter
sorry for bugging you again but I was wondering when you might be updating the story???
I noticed a few minor errors, the most frequent being quotation marks oriented the wrong way, you should probably look in on that.
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you're not bugging, but please read this blog post for the reason for the delay
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I noticed that, too, and I'll change the pace a bit
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6269228 oh now I see good to know and good luck on your test
We didn't see much of nobility in MLP. We saw Princesses, prince Blueblood and foreign dignitaries. Nobility is practicaly nonexistent in Equestria.
Happy hoilday I hope that if you had more exames that you did well and hope you have a happy new year as well as that year being grate hope to read a new chapter soon as well.
again happy hoilday and a happy new year
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A truly adorable story, I hope that someday, you come back and write more adventures of the Sparkle Family and young Princess Cadence. I also hope that Twilight Velvet or Princess Celestia somehow find out about the incident in the garden regarding Prince Blueblood (the audacity of threatening to flog an infant) If Twilight was my sister, even if he had run off, I still would have made a formal complaint, bully me fine, be a Grade-A jerkwad no problem, threaten to harm a filly like that nuh-uh, nope, not on my watch. There are a few things that could be better, but they are mostly in the realm of small typos and such, nothing too major. In any case, as I said before I do hope that someday you come back and write more of this enchanting story.
Best Wishes, BirdsBooksBrownies
Why haven’t you finished the story yet?
This was a very nice story. I'm glad to see Blueblood get his butt handed to him