Cadance gets to watch young Twilight Sparkle overnight for the first time. Things do not go well.
With Twilight's parents attending a Canterlot Ball, Cadance is called on to foal-sit at night for the first time. It's a bigger job than she expected though, and when she drops her guard Twiley ends up in a perilous situation.
Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction; all characters & settings remain property of the copyright owners. This story involves disciplinary spanking in a non-sexual context. If this is objectionable to you please take responsibility and stop reading now.
Part 1
"I wish I could go." "It's not that kind of party, Twily" explained Night Light for what felt like the hundredth time "it's just going to be boring grown ups standing around and talking about our jobs at the University." "If they're so boring why don't grown ups play games and dance at their parties?" asked Twilight Sparkle. He chuckled and reached over to tussle his daughter's mane. "I don't know, sweetie, sometimes I wish it was like that. So how do I look?" Night Light took a step back from the bathroom mirror to let her see him in his formal black tie dinner jacket. "Resplendent!" she answered with perfect pronunciation. Her father raised his eyebrows and replied "That's a very grown up word...maybe you should go to the party." "Can I?" the young filly exclaimed, hopping up on a stool.
"Don't tease her dear" Twilight Velvet lightly scolded as she walked up and planted a kiss on her husband's cheek. The sight of her mother in a fancy evening gown took little Twily's breath away. "Mommy you look splendiforous!" "Now that is not a real word" laughed Night Light. Turning her nose up in an exaggerated pout, Twilight Sparkle argued "Well it should be. Don't you think mommy looks wonderful in her gown?" "I sure do" he answered, "in fact I wonder what such a beautiful mare is doing with a mule like me." The couple rubbed noses, eliciting a squeal of dismay from their daughter. "Ewwwwww...are you two gonna start kissing?" "And what if we do?" asked Velvet. Sparkle sighed and plopped her rump down on the stool. "I guess it's okay." "I'm glad you approve" chuckled her father before locking his wife in a long romantic kiss. Twilight Sparkle didn't really think it was gross...in fact seeing her parents turned out in their finest for a fancy party at the Royal Ballroom seemed like a fairy tale. Princess Celestia was even going to make an appearance! Hopping down off her stool the filly complained "I still wish I could go." "It's not a party for foals" her mother replied firmly, "and I think I remember hearing your father tell you that at least a dozen times. Besides, wouldn't you rather spend the night with Cadance?" "Cadance is coming?" exclaimed Twily, whipping around in excitement, "But you always have Mrs. Tea Rose watch me when I need a night time foal-sitter." "Yes, this is the first time we've trusted Cadance to look after you at night...but Mrs. Rose will be right next door in case there are any problems" explained Velvet. "I expect you to be on your best behavior and not give Cadance any grief, understood?" "Yes yes yes yes!" cheered the purple filly, hopping around both of her parents.
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Cadance showed up exactly ten minutes early, and as soon as Twily could be pried off her Velvet reviewed the rules; "She's had her dinner already, and there's an evening snack for both of you in the ice-box. If there are any problems our neighbor Tea Rose is just a few paces away next door. She knows the situation, she knows we'll be out past midnight at the Canterlot University Gala, she knows this is your first time foal-sitting at night and she's happy to help. Go to her if you have any issues...or even if you feel sleepy before Twily has been put to bed. Got it?" "Yes ma'am" answered the teenager, "will Shining Armor be here tonight?" "He's out with some of his school friends tonight" Night Light informed her, "he won't be getting back until pretty late I should think." "Oh," said Cadance, blushing a little, worried that her question could be interpreted the wrong way "but I'm sure we'll be fine & have absolutely no problems." "Of course" Velvet replied with a nod "you're always very reliable, Cadance. I'm sure you can handle the job." She bent down to kiss Twilight Sparkle on the cheek. "Be good...be in bed by nine." "Moooooom!" whined the young filly, "It's not even a school night!" Her more easy going Dad came to the rescue, conceding and extra half hour. "I guess nine-thirty is alright." His wife gave a disapproving snort but did not object. Cadance leaned down to whisper in Twily's ear "That means ten" and the two shared a conspiratorial giggle.
Once her parents were gone for the evening Twilight watched them from the window, getting into the cab and going off to their fancy party with Princess Celestia. "Didn't they look wonderful?" "That's a beautiful gown your mother is wearing" agreed Cadance, "and your father is very handsome in his dinner jacket." "Wish we could go to the party" Twilight sighed, "I hear Princess Celestia herself is going to be there." "The Princess might make a short appearance at the reception" Cadance corrected, deflating some of Twily's fairy tale fantasies. "But mostly it's going to be a bunch of adults standing around listening to a string quartet, drinking wine and talking about the University and their dusty old books." "But I LOVE books!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. Cadance laughed out loud in spite of herself. "Now that's the understatement of the year! But trust me...you'd be bored stiff in less than an hour. My parents have dragged me along to a bunch of these stuffy formal parties and it's really not much fun." "At least you get to go see for yourself" Twilight sighed, "it must be so exciting being a Princess." Cadance rolled her eyes. She'd had this conversation with her young charge dozens of times. Twilight had her head full of storybook ideas about what royalty, fancy balls and grand galas were all about. "Come on Twily, we've talked about this so many times already. My family might hold a royal title but that doesn't make us any different from other ponies. Our family lands were absorbed into Princess Celestia's realm centuries ago...all that's left is the archaic title." "But you get to do special stuff because you're a princess!" Twily objected. "You get to go to fancy balls and attend the best school in Canterlot!" The older filly struck down Twilight's grandiose illusions one by one; "Those balls are totally boring, and Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns is really demanding. On top of all that my parents are super strict with me. As a princess I have to be on my best behavior all the time...I get in trouble for using the incorrect fork for salad or telling the wrong joke at a party. I'd much rather hang out with you than be at some stodgy University party."
"Betcha if we went together it would be fun" muttered Twilight, still depressed over her inability to be a grown up and sophisticated unicorn right now.
With a big grin, Cadance realized what would get her little friend out of her funk. "Hey Twily...I think I know one song they won't be hearing at the Canterlot University Gala." Twilight Sparkle perked up and showed her first smile of the night. In perfect unison the two began their favorite rhyme; "Sunshine, sunshine, lady bugs awake! Clap your hooves and..."
Over the next few hours Cadance & Twilight had lots of fun together, playing games, working on a jigsaw puzzle, eating their dessert and doing Twilight's favorite thing in the whole world, reading books. It was already past nine o'clock but the purple filly showed no signs of tiring out. The same could not be said of Cadance, who'd had a demanding day at school before she even came over to foal-sit. She loved Twilight Sparkle dearly, but sometimes she wished the little filly had an off-switch. "Look what this book says! Lightning can come from two sources...magic and static electricity. I wonder if electricity is actually some sort of magic that we ponies could harness someday!" "We have, Twily" yawned Cadance, "that's what powers light-bulbs, remember." "But that comes from big hydro...hydro...electro..." Twilight struggled with the daunting word. "Hydroelectric" said Cadance, "hydroelectric dams. Equestria has a lot of them, but we still don't have electricity run to every town in the realm." "Well maybe if we learned to control static lightning we could use it to give electricity to ponies in distant towns!" "Sounds pretty dangerous" opined the teenaged filly, "but maybe if you figured out a way to make it safe you'd get your cutie mark for electrical engineering." She yawned again and suggested "You know, it's getting pretty late. Maybe it's time to hit the hay and hope brilliant ideas come to you in your dreams." That plan did not meet with the little filly's approval at all. "But Cadance! You said I could stay up until ten o'clock!" Then she noticed how tired her foal-sitter was getting and offered her own suggestion. "Cadance, if you want to take a quick nap you can. I'll just keep studying and wake you up at ten. Then I'll go straight to bed with no arguments, I promise!"
Every instinct told Cadance that was a bad idea. Even the sweetest, most polite, intelligent foal could get out of hand in the blink of an eye if you weren't careful...every good foal-sitter knew that. But this was Twilight Sparkle; the most trouble she could possibly get into was forgetting to return a library book on time. And besides, Cadance was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. I really should go knock on Mrs. Tea Rose's door...but I hate to bother her at this hour. Cadance thought, and she would probably make Twily go straight to bed, which wouldn't be fair since I promised she could stay up until ten. How much trouble can she get into just reading? She looked at Twilight, grinning hopefully with her electricity book open on the coffee table in front of her. "Okay Twily...but I'm not going to sleep, I'm just going to rest my eyes." "I'll be as quiet as a mouse!" promised the purple filly.
It did not take long before Cadance was in a deep sleep on the living room sofa. Twilight Sparkle kept her promise, even turning the pages quietly. What concerned her more was the building rain & thunder outside...she did not want it to disturb Cadance's nap. The filly went to the window and watched as bright bolts of lightning streaked across the sky. Static electricity...every bolt reaches temperatures of over three thousand degrees Kelvin...lightning seeks the highest conductor. She lightly galloped back to the coffee table to check her book again. There was an experiment in there that fascinated her. A pony could fly a kite into a lightning cloud, tie a metal key to the string and actually feel the static charge run down the wet string! That sounded so amazing that Twilight wanted to try it that very instant. The perfect thunderclouds were outside...and her big brother had just recently taught her how to fly a kite!
Leaving Cadance sleeping on the sofa downstairs, Twilight Sparkle galloped up to her bedroom to find her kite. "It's got to be in here somewhere!" the excited filly exclaimed as she ransacked her toy-box & closet. Twilight knew her mother would get upset and yell at her for messing up her room again, but there would be plenty of time to clean up after the experiment. At last she located the kite...now to find a metal key. "Oh! Daddy has one of those in his desk!" She was normally not allowed in her father's study but in her blind excitement Twilight rationalized this. "This is important...this is for science! I'm sure he won't mind." She located exactly what she was looking for in the top drawer of his desk; a heavy skeleton key. It was hidden under a bunch of magazines with mares doing weird stuff. Twily was curious, but she'd have to investigate these magazines later...there was an experiment to do now! Back to the book; Twilight Sparkle checked again the correct arrangement of her parts. It was critical to get this right. Her kite would soar up into the thunderclouds...the string would get wet...and static electricity would be conducted down to Daddy's key, hanging down by the bottom of her string. If all went well she would be able to feel the tingle of static electricity coming from the key.
The top floor of Twilight's house provided the perfect spot to conduct the experiment. There were many balconies, her own room even had one, even though the door was locked and she wasn't allowed to go out there unless Mommy, Daddy or Shiny was with her. But it was the top-most balcony that obsessed the purple filly's mind. Mom called it a "widow's watch" but Twilight really didn't understand why. What do widows watch for, way up there, practically on the roof? None of that mattered right now. The purple filly dashed up the stairs, clutching her kite & father's key in her mouth. It was awkward...Twily wished she was better at levitation so she would not have to carry everything. The high balcony was at the end of a hallway, one that Twilight did not come up to often. Luckily, its door was not locked. She reached up and opened the latch, only to be pushed back by a fierce gust of rain & wind. It knocked the kite out of her mouth, but a quick inspection showed no tears. Outside, the storm was more violent than Twilight Sparkle had expected...a little scary even. But she was a pony committed to learning, and the book said that big storms generated big static charges, which is exactly what Twily wanted. Since it was blowing so hard outside the filly tied her key to the kite string before stepping out onto the balcony. With everything in place she took a deep breath and stepped outside into the swirling maelstrom.
Twilight had been out in rainstorms before, but up so high the clouds and wind seemed even scarier. A sharp crack of thunder almost scared her out of her purple fur, but now was not the time to chicken out. You've come this far, Twilight, now get this kite up in the air the way Shining Armor showed you. It was even easier than that. Twily raised the kite, expecting to take a short running start to launch it, but the wind practically ripped it out of her hoof. She watched in awe as it raced off into the thunderclouds...remembering at the last second to grab her string before she lost the whole experiment.
How hard the kite-line pulled astonished Twily...but then the wind was much stronger than on that afternoon she and Shiny had flown it at Canterlot Park. Worried that it would slip out of her teeth Twilight wrapped the string around her hoof a few times and stood on it for good measure. That worked well...the key danced just a few inches in from of her face. Okay...now do something quick! I don't wanna be out here longer than I have to! She got her wish. Amazing blue sparks danced up and down the wet kite string, and when she held out her free hoof they tickled her. "Wow!" the filly gasped. It was just like it said in the book. Another crack of thunder went off behind her, closer this time. That was enough. The experiment had been a success so there was no reason to stay outside in this cold, scary storm. Twily would reel the kite in, get dried off and go tell Cadance all about what she'd learned. But it was harder to recover the kite than she'd expected. So fierce were the storm that it took all her meager strength to pull a few inches back. She had to wait until the wind went slack to gather in a few inches, then hold on for dear life when a gust came up.
Then all her efforts turned into disaster. To Twilight's dismay the wind direction changed, blowing her kite string straight into her home's weather vane, tangling it hopelessly. "Aw shoot!" she cursed, stomping her little hoof. She tugged on it fruitlessly, there was no way to get it down. But that kite had been a special gift from her big brother...he'd made it himself especially for her. Twily was heartbroken at the thought of leaving it up there. What if the string breaks? I might never see it again! She knew there was only one way to untangle that string, but the thought of climbing that slippery roof terrified her.
Three young stallions dashed from doorway to awning, trying their best to avoid the storm. "This is not a night to be out on the town!' laughed Wind Twister, a Pegasus. He intentionally jumped into a puddle, splashing his two friends. "Well, I have an idea" ventured Bouncer Bell, an Earth pony and the prankster of the group, "we're really close to Shining's house...and his folks are out at that fancy University gala all night. What do ya say we invite over some fillies and..." "Trash my parents house?" growled Shining Armor, "No thanks." "Aww come on," teased Bouncer, "I had a party when my parents were out of town. You didn't see me crying in my cider when the house got a little wrecked."
Shining Armor rolled his eyes. "Well that party was your idea, and you did most of the wrecking."
"Totally worth it" sighed the Earth pony, "I got to second base with Buttercup Blossom that night."
"Well then why don't you go trash her house?" Shining Armor suggested. With a laugh, Bouncer replied "Because her dad already wants to eviscerate me with his horn." "Besides" Shining Armor put any ideas of a party to rest, "I don't want you numbskulls waking up my little sister." "That's our Shining" chuckled Wind Twister, "such a good brother." "Wait a minute..." Bouncer Bell interrupted, "...your sister is too young to be home alone by herself. Does that mean fine-ass Cadance is over there foal-sitting right now?" "I guess it does" grumbled Shining Armor. "Dude!" exclaimed Twister, hopping up and hovering in front of his Unicorn friend, "Why in Tartarus are you hanging out with us tonight? Get your rump over there! You know that filly is totally into you!" "We're just good friends..." Shining tried to convince them, if only to stop the ribbing, "...hey, shut up you two. Do you hear something?" Both of the other young stallions did, but they could not make it out. Ignoring the rain Wind Twister leapt up into the air, hoping to hear where the noise was coming from. "It sounds like a foal. It's yelling for help...Shining, it's coming from over by your house!" "Cut it out, that's nothing to joke about!" Shining Armor snapped, but he was already running toward home with Bouncer Bell close behind. Battling unpredictable gusts, Wind Twister pushed himself higher to get a view over the roof tops. What he saw confirmed his worst fears. "Shining, it's your sister! Your sister is on on your roof!" "She's where!?" "Stay right there kid! I'm coming!" Twister pushed off a roof and tried to reach Twilight, but the storm was too strong. Before he could get to her one powerful blast of wind sent him straight into the side of Shining Armor's house and tumbling to the street below. Gritting his teeth, Wind Twister gave it another try, but this attempt failed even more dramatically. The wind flipped him upside down and for a second time the young pegasus was smashed into hard cobblestones below. "Hang on kid!" he yelled, struggling to his hooves for a third attempt, but his two friends stopped him. "No! The storm is too strong, you'll just get hurt and we'll have two problems instead of one!" admonished Shining Armor, "I'll go up there and get her...can you still run?" "I've just got the wind knocked outta me" panted Twister, "yeah I can run." "Then get to Weather Control Headquarters and get the weather ponies to shut down this storm! Tell them it's an emergency!" "What do you need me to do?" asked Bouncer Bell. Shining pointed down the avenue leading to Canterlot Castle. "Get to the Royal Ballroom! Find my parents and tell them what's going on!" Each of his friends gave a nod to confirm they wouldn't let him down before galloping off to their tasks. Shining Armor opened his front door with magic and bolted for the staircase...running straight past the dozing Cadance, who was awakened by a rush of cold, rainy air into the living room. "What? What's going on?" The colt did not pause; he sprinted straight up the stairs to the top floor and found the glass door leading to the widow's-walk balcony unlocked. He tossed it open, only to be knocked back by unexpectedly fierce wind & rain. His friend Wind Twister had been a courageous fool to try to fly in such a maelstrom...it would take an experienced member of the Wonderbolts to navigate this safely. But his little sister was out there so Shining Armor had no choice. Lashed by stinging rain he stepped outside and yelled for her. "Twily! Where are you?" "Shiny, help!" replied a weak & terrified voice. He looked down to see her clinging to the roof shingles. Her kite was tangled in the weather-vane. "Shiny I'm scared! I don't want to fall!" He called down to her; "Hang on tight and press yourself low against the roof! I'm coming to get you!" The white unicorn squeezed in-between the guard-rail bars and lowered himself as far as he could, rump first. "Twily, can you reach my tail?" "I don't know! I can't let go!" she cried. "You have to try!" he told her "let go with just one hoof and reach! Use your magic if you can!" But she could not. Twilight was too terrified to concentrate, and even if she had been focused enough Shining doubted his little sister was powerful enough to levitate herself yet. She did force herself to let go of the slippery shingles with one hoof and reach for his tail, but she was nowhere near close enough. Shining Armor let go of his safe hold on the guard rail and lowered himself a few more inches, but to no avail; it was not possible to reach her physically and time was running out. The terrified filly could not hold on much longer. "Twily...I have to leave you for just a minute...don't be scared!" "NOOOO!" she wailed, "Please don't leave me here!" "I've got to get a rope" he told her "I can't reach you without one. Hang on, I'll be right back!" The colt pulled himself back up onto the widow's walk and called back to his sister one last time; "Twilight I'll be right back, I promise...stay low and hold on as tight as you can. I'll be back before you can count to sixty, just like hide-and-seek, okay?" "Hurry...please!"
Shining Armor dashed inside again and looked around. There might be some rope in the basement but he had no time to go all the way down there. Instead he grabbed the expensive velvet drapes in his mouth and tore them right off their curtain-rod. He was in a state of near panic, but Shining managed to concentrate enough to twist it into a crude rope...not perfect but it would have to do. Outside, Twilight Sparkle did anything she could to keep her mind off the stinging rain, howling wind and terrifying thunder claps that were now booming all around her. "49...50...51...52..." she whimpered, wishing with all her might that when she reached sixty she could just open her eyes and the horrifying ordeal would all be over. But before she reached that number her big brother returned. "Twily, I'm here...hang on just a little longer, I'm coming!" He secured his drapery rope to the guard-rail and slid down the roof, hanging on for both of their lives. This time he managed to reach her, and in an instant had his little sister tucked up against his chest, holding her tight with both his left arm and his magic. His arrival came not an instant too soon. Twilight's kite, still flying high with its string fouled on the weather vane, was a massive, towering lightning rod and at last it attracted the inevitable bolt. Both of them felt their manes tingle with static charge but only Shining realized what it was. "GET DOWN!" he yelled, shielding Twilight's face just as a huge blast of electricity struck the metal weather vane, blowing it into a thousand red hot pieces. The colt was struck by a few, but he'd kept both he & his sister's faces protected. "Hold onto me, we're almost there!" Shining called out as he pulled himself up the improvised rope, but his sister was beyond understanding...she just bawled in unmitigated terror. Soaking wet and shivering, he dragged himself and Twilight onto the balcony and wasted no time getting inside. Shining set his sister down, which made her scream and scramble to hang onto him, but the big glass doors had to be closed. With surreal suddenness, the cacophony of wind, rain & thunder was muffled...at last they were safe. It took Twilight a few seconds to realize this. She was traumatized by fear, and held onto her brother like her life was still depending on it...crying uncontrollably and unable to speak. Panting, shivering, and still coming to grips himself with what had just happened, Shining Armor hugged her close and stroked his sister's wet mane. "It's alright, kiddo...we made it."
Up the stairs Cadance rushed, and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she saw Shining Armor holding Twilight...both safe & sound. She ran to them, "Oh thank Celest..." but the white colt's reaction stopped the words in her throat and her hoofs dead in their tracks. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" he shouted, baring his teeth and stomping a hoof on the carpet. Shocked, Cadance took a few steps back, which was absolutely the right thing to do...filled with adrenaline & rage as he was Shining Armor might have killed her on the spot had she come a step closer. "Shiny...I...I..." stammered the pink filly. "Don't you call me that, you have no right! You were supposed to be watching her!" he snarled, "You were supposed to be protecting her! What in Tartarus was she doing outside on the roof in a damned thunderstorm?" Horrified by her beloved brother's reaction, Twilight cried "Shiny, please don't blame Cadance...it was all my fault!" "Twily, you don't understand" he snapped, "she was supposed to be responsible for you and you were almost...I don't even want to say it!" Guilty tears streamed from Cadance's eyes. "You're right...I'm so sorry..." "I don't want to hear it! Get out of my sight!" She had no words to reply. There was no excuse she could provide...he was absolutely right to hate her. Cadance turned around and fled down the stairs without another word.
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By this time a small crowd had gathered in front of the house. Pegasus ponies from the Department of Weather Control got a quick handle on the storm and dissipated it safely. Just as they drifted down to the street a royal carriage, escorted by a detail of the Canterlot Royal Guard came racing down the wet cobblestones...carrying Night Light & Twilight Velvet. The terrified parents rushed inside and found to their immense relief both of their offspring alive and uninjured.
Once everypony had calmed down the pieces of the story fell into place. Cadance tearfully admitted failing in her capacity as foal-sitter by falling asleep on the job...Shining Armor told what he had found upon arriving at the house (giving great credit to his two friends who had run for help), and Twilight's sobbing confession filled in the blanks. Satisfied that their work was done the weather ponies departed, soon followed by the Royal Guard ponies, who had to return the carriage graciously loaned by Princess Celestia when she heard what was going on. Just before they left the Watch Officer of the Guard spoke privately with the colt who had apparently saved the day. "That was impressive work, lad. What's your name?" "Shining Armor, Lieutenant, sir." "Hmm...you know your military ranks as well" muttered the impressed officer, "your name sounds familiar." "I've made an application to the Corp of Cadets, Sir" Shining replied "I'd like to attend the Equestria Military Academy next semester." "Oh that's right," the Lieutenant said with a nod, "I saw your name on a list of applicants. The Academy usually selects the sons & daughters of established military officers first but our Captain has friends on the admissions committee and might be able to pull some strings for a worthy prospect. Come visit me at Royal Guard Headquarters after you're done with school on Monday and we'll talk." "I will, Sir...thank you Sir" answered Shining Armor, struck nearly speechless by his good luck. With no military pedigree in his family aside from one uncle, Shining had known his dream of attending the Academy was a long shot, but the twists & turns of this crazy night had somehow delivered a golden opportunity right into his hooves. But he would have to find time to revel in his good fortune later; things were still a bit too hectic at the moment.
It was a good thing that Shining Armor was temporarily occupied speaking to the Lieutenant, as it afforded his parents a few minutes to speak with Cadance, free of their son's angry input. "Professor Velvet, Professor Night Light...I can't even begin to tell you how ashamed I am." "As well you should be" growled Twilight Velvet, "I understand that you were tired...so why didn't you get Mrs. Tea Rose as we discussed?" "I...I...didn't want to bother her" muttered the humiliated teenager, "and I'd promised Twily that she could stay up and read a little later." Night Light scolded her next; "Tea Rose was your contingency...your backup. It was absolutely foolish of you not to call on her for help. She knew the situation." Overcome by tears, Cadance could no longer make excuses. "I'm so sorry. I failed miserably, but please know I would never put Twilight Sparkle in danger intentionally." The older mare shook her head. "Be that as it may; Twilight Sparkle was still placed in terrible danger tonight...intentionally or not the result was the same." "Mommy, Daddy" whined Twilight, "please don't blame Cadance. It was my fault...I promised to stay inside and read while she rested her eyes, and I broke my promise." Both parents turned a chilling gaze on their daughter which made her cringe. "You just be quiet, young filly" growled her mother, "it will be your turn soon enough." "Please, ma'am," implored Cadance "I know I have no right to ask after the way I let you down, but please don't be hard on Twily. I couldn't bear it if she was punished for my failure. I really do love her like a sister."
"You have no idea what it means to have a sister" hissed Shining Armor, joining the conversation. He was still furious with her, and Cadance's legs trembled as he stared her down. "Some nerve you've got claiming you love her. She could have been killed tonight while you slept on the sofa..." "Shining...son...please..." interrupted Night Light, "let us handle this." But the young stallion continued his verbal barrage on the other teenager; "If I had my way I'd put you out there and lock the door...let you know how she felt out there!" "Shiny! Please don't be so mean!" wailed his little sister, but even that didn't stop him. "...and you wouldn't get a bit of help from me either..." "SHINING ARMOR, ENOUGH!" boomed his father's voice. "You are not helping this situation! Now go to your room...or go back out with your friends...go anywhere but here because you're just making things more difficult!" It was rare that Night Light ever rose his voice to his son. Chastened by the rebuke Shining finally shut up. He turned around without a word and walked to the stairs with as much dignity & composure as he could muster under the circumstances. Night Light immediately felt guilty for yelling at him. Turning to his wife he said "Dear, I hate to leave this in your hooves alone, but..." "It's okay," Twilight Velvet assured him she had the two errant fillies well in hoof, "you go talk to him." "Thank you. Son...wait!"
Father & son adjourned to Night Light's study. "I'm sorry to have yelled at you" he confessed, "you didn't deserve it. What you did tonight was spectacularly heroic. It hasn't even fully sunk in yet...but if you hadn't been there I am certain we'd have lost your sister tonight." "I didn't do anything special, Dad" muttered Shining in a more subdued tone, "I was just so terrified of losing her that...I...I really don't think I can talk about it right now." "I understand, Son." Night Light was rummaging through his desk drawer, unable to find what he was looking for. "Where is that key?" he wondered out loud, but at last gave up. "Oh well, magic works too." He used his horn to open a locked cabinet, from which he levitated a bottle of aged whisky from Shetland, along with two cut crystal glasses. "Here, a bit of this will steady your nerves."
Shining Armor was surprised. He knew his father did not object to him having a glass of wine at dinner parties, and normally pretended not to notice the smell of cider on his breath when he came home from a night with his friends...but he'd never been offered hard liquor before. "Dad, I'm only sixteen." Night Light poured and levitated the glass to him anyway. "True I suppose, but considering the way you performed tonight there isn't a stallion in all of Equestria that I'd rather share a drink with." Shining took a novice gulp, and unaccustomed as he was to whisky he coughed a bit. With an indulgent grin his father instructed "It's best if you sip it slowly...hold it in your mouth a moment and just let it drift down the back of your tongue." The younger stallion took his sire's advice to heart and enjoyed his next sip much more. Night Light continued in a sage tone; "I'm sorry if I embarrass you, son, but I dare say there isn't a father in Canterlot with as much reason to be proud as I have. You know what a gossip-mill this city is...and by tomorrow word of this will have spread. I confess I'm going to enjoy being the envy of every father in Canterlot. But please indulge me and let me impart a bit of advice, Shining." "Dad, I'll always want your advice" replied the colt, "even when I'm old & gray." Night Light chuckled at that. "Well, I'll be old and gray long before you...I can only hope my advice ages better than I do." He returned to his serious tone. "You are already brave, smart & resourceful, and could lead a good life on those virtues alone. But one of the hardest lessons for a young stallion to learn is to be forgiving. You know what I'm referring to." There was a long pause before Shining Armor responded. "I know Dad. I know that's what I should do but it's just so hard right now." He took another long sip from his glass, and Night Light determined that he needed a refill. Shining continued "When I snatched up Twily from that roof she was so scared it was like she wasn't even my sister anymore. It was like she was reduced to animal instincts...screaming & completely helpless. But even when I had her...she wasn't safe. I had her in my arms, I was holding her with my magic...but when that lightning bolt hit the weather vane I couldn't guarantee that she'd be okay. I did my best, but if that bolt had hit just a few feet closer that wouldn't have mattered one bit. I was only able to protect her by dumb luck." He was shaking now, and a single tear ran down his cheek. The post-traumatic stress was beginning to take hold. "You got scared, son" said Night Light softly, "and there's nothing wrong with that. I'd be more worried for you if you hadn't been scared. It's a horrible feeling, I know because I felt it tonight too, at the moment when your friend Bouncer Bell barged into the University Gala and told us what was happening." He laughed again and admitted "I shoved my department head...my boss...out of the way and spilled wine all over his dinner jacket trying to get to that coach, and to be honest I don't give a buck. I was so scared that I was going to lose both Twily and you that I'd have shoved Princess Celestia out of the way. "But I am humbled by the undeniable fact that I didn't face a tenth of the fear you did tonight. I'll never know how you felt on that rooftop, shielding your sister with your own body and not knowing if it would be enough to protect her. I can only imagine how horrible it felt. But this is the important part; son, you can not make that horrible feeling go away by staying angry at Cadance. Yes...she made a terrible mistake tonight and I'm furious with her too, but we have to move on from that point. You and Cadance are friends...and friendship is the most powerful magic holding this land together. If you don't believe me as your father believe me as a professor who has spent his life studying and teaching this! Tonight you were hurt by fear and I can see it's still hurting you. Please recognize that the thing which caused that fear was an accident...just a stupid mistake. Are you going to let that ruin your friendship...ruin the most powerful force we have going for us here in Equestria?" Still trembling all over, Shining Armor looked up at his father and said "I can understand what you're saying but how do you do it? Is it some kind of magic I haven't learned yet? How do you get rid of the fear and the anger it's causing me?" "No magic, son" sighed Night Light. "Only strength can see you through this. Anger...fear...hatred...they're all powerful forces, almost as powerful as friendship, love & harmony. In the past wicked unicorns have used those forces to enslave and control ponies. You've been shot in the heart with a poison arrow, Shining, and you can't expect such an injury to go away by wishing." "Does it get easier with time Dad?" "No." answered Night Light firmly, "You get better at it." Shining lifted his head and faced his father with a new resolve. "Then I have to work through it. Take it one day at a time and learn to force out the poison that's hurting me. And I will do it." "I have no doubt, son" Night Light replied, "and when it gets difficult remember the first thing your mother & I ever taught you and Twily about magic." Remembering that was a comfort to the young stallion. "There is no magic in Equestria or the world which can not be made stronger by sharing yourself and accepting the help of others." "That means your mother & I will always be here to help you" promised the father, "always."
This chapter involves disciplinary spanking in a non-sexual context. If this is objectionable to you please take responsibility and stop reading now.
Part 3
Downstairs there were no heart-to-heart talks and no bottles of fine aged whisky...just an angry mare, a younger mare miserable with guilt and a filly growing more & more nervous as the time for her to face the consequences of her own actions in this night's misadventure drew closer. "Well Cadance, I suppose we've said all that needs to be said tonight" said Twilight Velvet coldly, "it's late, I think it's past time you went home for the night." "Yes ma'am" answered Cadance weakly. She'd apologized so many times she felt utterly empty inside. The pink filly could not remember feeling worse at any other time in her life. All this time Velvet had been writing a letter, one she finally finished. After blowing on it a few times to dry the ink she folded it with her magic and levitated it to Cadance. "This letter is for your parents, Cadance, it tells exactly what transpired tonight. I do not think you are the sort of girl who would hide this letter, but just to be sure I will bring it up the next time I see your mother around town, am I understood?" Once again, the best answer Cadance could give was "Yes ma'am." Accepting the sealed letter she added one last time "Professor Velvet, I can't say it enough...I'm so sorry I let you down. I..." "Yes, I understand" Velvet cut her off, "but what you do to make up for it is entirely up to you. Tonight is not the time to discuss it, I still have my daughter to attend to." That last part made Twilight Sparkle cringe and whimper. Whatever that meant it did not sound good for her. "Good night, Cadance." And with head hung low the teenager left to meet her own fate.
Twilight Velvet was silent for a few moments before turning her gaze on Twily. The little purple filly opened her mouth in an attempt to say something, but her mother's steely expression stopped the words in her throat. "Twilight Sparkle" she ordered in a flat tone, "bring me the book you were reading. The one that gave you the idea for this experiment." "Yes Mommy" she squeaked, and hurried to find the volume. She worried what her mother would do; it seemed so unfair that Cadance got blamed for what happened...was Mom going to blame the book too? Twilight's mother was a University Professor, a teacher, she'd never destroy a book...would she? It seemed awful, but Twilight Sparkle did not have the nerve to disobey her and hide the offending tome. "Here it is." Velvet levitated it to the coffee table and set it down in front of her daughter. "Open it to the appropriate page" she commanded in the same humorless monotone. Not wanting to anger her mother further the purple filly complied, locating the chapter on the kite experiment and pointing to the passage. "Now read it...aloud." That made Twily frown. She loved reading, but her eyes and mind worked much faster than her mouth. Reading out loud, especially with other ponies listening, made her nervous & embarrassed, she felt dumb for stumbling over complicated words and occasionally mispronouncing. Her mother frequently had to correct her and make her re-read sentences as Twilight struggled through the chapter. Making things worse and adding to the filly's stress was Mom's promise to "attend to" her. It was difficult to concentrate on the book in front of her when Twilight's main worry was what would soon happen to the rump behind her. Mercifully, she reached the end of the page and stopped. "Turn the page" her mother ordered. With a groan, Twily did as she was told. Is she gonna make me read this whole book out loud? The filly continued "In 1753 a st-stallion named G.W. Richmane...a Germane fizz-a-cist...living in St. Poniesburg...attempted this ex-ex-experiment and was e-lec-tro-cu..." "Electrocuted, Twilight" growled her mother. "He was killed. Now why would you try such a stupid and dangerous thing after reading that?" Twily blushed and felt like a complete idiot. "Because I didn't get that far in the book, Mommy." "I thought so." Twilight Velvet reached over her daughter's shoulder and closed the book. "You got excited and rushed into something before stopping to think about it...without even finishing the chapter...didn't you? Twily we've had to talk about this before, haven't we?" This was a perilous thing to admit for Twilight Sparkle. She was trapped between the proverbial rock and a hard place. By agreeing that she'd been "talked to" about this before she acknowledged that her warnings were all used up and punishment was a certainty this time. But by arguing her innocence she ran the risk of making her angry mother even angrier. There was little time to think up a clever or daring defense so Twily threw herself on the mercy of the court. "I'm sorry Mommy!" she cried "I promise I won't ever fly a kite off the roof in a lightning storm again! I promise I'll actually finish reading about stuff before I actually go try to do them and..." "All that is well & good, Twilight, but that's not the real reason you're in trouble, is it?" The filly said nothing, allowing her mother to continue scolding seemed the best way to delay doom. "You are in trouble because you got excited, rushed ahead and did something without considering whether it was dangerous. Do you understand?" Twily kept silent, but nodded her head. "Do you understand?" her mother insisted in a slightly more ominous tone. "Yes I do" squeaked the youngster, painfully aware of where this was leading. "Good" Twilight Velvet said, "now come on. We will discuss this more tomorrow, but it's late and there's one more thing we need to do tonight." Her daughter gulped nervously...she was pretty sure that one thing was not going to be pleasant. Velvet led her reluctant daughter up the stairs. When they reached Twilight Sparkle's room the filly tried to scurry inside to a place of relative safety, but with a sharp magical tug on the ear her mother steered her back on course. This spelled doom for the purple foal...there could only be one reason mom was leading her to the parents' bedroom. "Mommy...please! I swear I'll never do anything stupid or dumb or reckless like this again!" Twily pleaded as they walked into her parents bed chamber. Tears had already begun dripping out of her eyes but they had no effect. Twilight Velvet sat down on her bed and drew her squirming daughter near. The filly made every reasonable effort to escape but mother held total control, lifting her up and draping Twily over her lap...the worst position young Twilight Sparkle could possibly imagine.
Just when things looked as if they could not get any worse, they got worse. Without a word Twilight's mother levitated her wooden hairbrush over to her, sending the filly into a new fit of terrified struggling. "Mommy, please no...not that!" She'd felt the hairbrush on her rump before; on two occasions her mother had finished a simple hoof-spanking with a blistering flurry of smacks from the hairbrush...followed by a warning that if Twily misbehaved in the same way again her next spanking would be administered with the hairbrush, beginning to end. To the filly's horror it appeared that she had reached that dreaded day. "Please, please not the hairbrush! You can just spank me with your hoof...it'll hurt enough!" "Young filly you can stop the theatrics" snapped her mother, "after what happened tonight you should consider yourself lucky a sore fanny is the worst pain you're experiencing. You could have been killed so you should thank the stars that you're still alive to feel this paddling!" It was hard for Twilight Sparkle to feel lucky, laying across her mother's lap, waiting for the first awful whack...but there would be plenty of time to think about all that as she slept on her belly tonight. Her mom was done lecturing, and before she had time to cringe and tighten every muscle the first spank fell on her unprepared rump. Twily bawled and kicked her legs as smack after smack followed, setting her tiny purple bottom ablaze with pain. It was worse than any hoof-spanking she had ever gotten, and this was only the beginning! "I'M SOOOORRRYYYY!" Twilight squealed but her tearful apologies had no effect on the determined mare wielding the hairbrush. Over and over again it smacked poor Twilight's rump. If the heat she was feeling in her rear-end was any reliable indicator the wailing filly was amazed that the wooden hairbrush had not burst into flames yet. Every spank her mother delivered elevated the awful agony to a new & undreamed of level...only to be surpassed then the next blow fell seconds later. By this time poor Twilight Sparkle could not even form words to beg for mercy, she could only bawl as tears poured from her eyes. She felt like she could not bear another terrible whack from the hairbrush, yet her spanking seemed like it would never end.
At last it did end. Twilight Velvet finished up with ten final spanks, harder than all the rest, and finally set down the awful implement. She gave the little filly a minute to catch her breath; Twily's crying had not yet abated. Her hindquarters had turned a rosy shade of pink...nothing that would not fade by tomorrow, although Velvet hoped she'd made enough of an impression that the memories would stay fresh for a lot longer. Once her daughter's bawling had died down to sniffling and choking sobs she guided the filly off her lap and gathered her up in her arms. Mother wiped her daughter's tears and a sticky trail of snot from her nose with tenderness that belied the awful paddling she had just doled out. In spite of everything that felt wonderful to Twilight Sparkle. Mom hugged her close, rocked her back and forth like a little foal and did not lecture at all. "I-I-I'm s-sorr-y-y" sobbed Twily, burying her head into momma's chest, "I'm s-sorry I was so st-stupid tonight and sorry I m-made so much t-t-trouble..." "Shhhh" Twilight Velvet calmed her weeping daughter, stroking her mane, "you're not stupid, Twily, and you can make all the trouble worthwhile if you learn from it. Are you going to learn from this, Twilight?" The filly never took her head out of its comfortable nook in momma's chest, but she nodded her head emphatically. "Good. Now it's very late. We'll talk about this more tomorrow, but it's well past time you got to bed."
For the first time in years Twilight Sparkle did not feel too big and mature to have her mother carry her to bed, where Twilight Velvet tucked her in and sent her off to happier dreams with a kiss on the cheek. In just minutes the purple filly was fast asleep (on her stomach) with her Smarty Pants doll cradled in her arms.
It took the weather ponies about a half hour to re-start the storm, so Cadance had a lucky respite from the rain in which to walk home. It was about all she had to feel lucky about tonight. She'd screwed up miserably; she had disappointed the family which had trusted her, Shining Armor hated her, and worst, she had put the life of a filly she loved in mortal danger. It was already the worst night of her life and she hadn't even explained the incident to her parents yet. Although her saddlebags were laden with school books it was Professor Velvet's letter that weighed the most. Cadance trudged along, worrying about how much it told but too afraid to open it up and look for herself. Whatever it said, her parents would not be pleased...but the teenaged pony felt as if she merited every bit of disapproval they could dish out. Surely there would be punishment to go along with their disapproval, and even though Cadance felt she deserved it she could not help but worry as she imagined what it might entail.
After the longest short walk of her life Cadance arrived home. She did not wait for the butler or housekeeper to open the door for her; she had her own magic key. No pony noticed her enter the foyer, so she toyed with the idea of running straight up to her bedroom and not telling her parents until tomorrow...but that would mean a sleepless night of worry. Better to get it over with right away Cadance resolved, although the very thought sent ten pound butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
Cadance's mother was in the sitting room reading. Marking her daughter's arrival she lifted her head from the book and said "Oh, Cadanzia darling, I did not hear the butler let you in." "I let myself in" sighed the teenager. Her mother's nose wrinkled a bit in disapproval...that was not the proper way for a young princess to comport herself. That slight disapproval did not worry Cadance, the news she carried would soon overshadow it. "I thought you'd be staying later at Professor Velvet & Professor Night-Light's home" continued her mother, "everything went well I hope?" Cadance's posture slumped, she held her head low in a manner that no princess should ever stoop to...at least in her mother's opinion. "It...it didn't go well, mother. I made a tremendous mistake and...well, it's all in this letter." Her mother set down the book and accepted the letter which was levitated to her. At first she showed no emotion at all but as her eyes reached the bottom of the page the eyebrows above them formed into a harsh V shape. Cadance cringed when her mother finally set it down next to the book. "I don't need to tell you, this is very disappointing." "Yes ma'am" answered the pink filly. She'd been saying that a lot tonight. "You were entrusted with foal-sitting Twilight Sparkle, yet you defied her parents instructions with regard to bed time. Then you dozed off at your task, even though they had left clear directions on what to do if you became tired." "I'm sorry...I feel just horrible about it" whimpered Cadance. Her mother took a long time to answer, but finally said "Yes, as well you should. Cadance you are normally such a clever & responsible filly. I don't understand what you were thinking!" "I don't either" sighed Cadance. The answer she got was sharp and unyielding; "You know that is not an acceptable answer. Tonight a tragedy was avoided by sheer luck. The chain of events that led to this incident should have been cut by you, but you failed at the worst time possible." Even though her mother's voice remained level & calm the scolding seared Cadance's heart like a hot iron. Every word was absolutely true. "I'm so sorry...I just don't know how things went wrong so badly." "Because you thought you knew better than the parents of your charge" her mother continued "you made up your own rules rather than following the instructions you were trusted to follow." With no defense Cadance simply sobbed "Yes ma'am." "Well you'll have plenty of time to think about it" her mother finally declared "you'll spend the next month grounded. School and straight home, no exceptions." That confirmed Cadance's worst fears; she'd expected a heavy sentence. The filly hoped that would be the end of it, and she'd now be allowed to go upstairs to her room where she was looking forward to a good long cry. But with one command Cadance's mother turned things from bad to even worse; "Now you'd better not keep your father waiting. He'll need to see this too." She picked up the dreaded letter and handed it back to her daughter. Although Cadance freely accepted her complete and total guilt in the matter she was still petrified at the thought of confessing that guilt to her stern father. Her composure broke, and she begged her mother "Please...we don't have to tell Father about this...do we?" Her mother scoffed. "Cadanzia do not be ridiculous! Do you think this is the sort of thing that can be concealed from your father?" "But...you've already punished me!" "And doubtless your father will have his own punishment to add" answered the older mare without pity. "Are you implying that you do not deserve everything you are to receive?" "No ma'am" whimpered Cadance, but her knees were already knocking. "Then do not keep him waiting. He is in his study."
Princess Cadance loved her father dearly, but in the same breath feared him. In her eyes he was the definition of royal. Their family lands may have disappeared long ago but Crown Prince Mi Amore still wore his ancient title with dignified authority. The fun loving informality of Princess Celestia was not part of his personality, yet he was not cruel or demanding. Ponies respected and deferred to him because of the natural air of authority that surrounded the Prince. On any other day Cadance loved being anywhere near her regal father...tonight she just felt gut wrenching anguish at the thought of how disappointed he'd be with her. The filly gave a feeble knock on his door, almost too soft to be heard, but Prince Mi Amore responded in his deep voice "Come in." He could make it sound like an invitation and a command at the same time. Cadance timidly opened the door just wide enough to slip in, and approached his desk. "My dear, what a pleasant surprise" he greeted her from behind his desk, "I did not expect to see you tonight. Where you not foal-sitting for Professor Night Light and his wife?" "I was, sir" she replied, head hung low. "But things did not go well. I'm to show you this letter from Professor Twilight Velvet." With a grave expression her father accepted the letter, but he did not unfold it. "I think it would be better if you told me what was inside first...before I read this." Cadance gulped nervously. Her father was like a chess player in his every move and had trapped her in a tight corner. She could give a mild version of the night's events, which did not make things sound so bad, but if the letter contradicted her story she'd be in worse trouble for lying. On the other hoof she could confess to every terrible thing...but in doing so she might admit more than was actually in the letter. Determining that she was in enough trouble already, Cadance chose the latter strategy, and tearfully explained what had happened, accepting the blame entirely. Before she was even done the Prince had opened the letter and begun to read. They both finished at the same time. For a long & uncomfortable minute he looked upon his trembling daughter, but at last he spoke; "I am disappointed, my dear. There is no other way to say it. The parents of the foal you were to care for left specific instructions and provided recourse for you if things did not go to plan. Tonight's incident happened entirely because you willfully disregarded their plan and substituted your own. In fact you let yourself be negatively influenced by the very foal you were supposed to be caring for!" "I know, father...I'm so sorry."
"Cadance, is that the conduct of a Princess?" he asked "Since birth you have been trained to be a leader...and now, when placed in a position of small but important authority you allow a little filly who does not yet even have her mark to talk you into something so foolish?" "I didn't think anything bad could happen" sniffled Cadance. With a snort from his nostrils her father replied sharply "Yet as you now see...you were wrong. Only by fortunate fate was a tragedy avoided tonight, my daughter. Tell me, how would you feel right now if things had gone differently? Imagine what you would be doing at this very minute if little Twilight Sparkle had fallen off that roof, or had been hit by lightning." That was a dark & terrifying place in her mind that Cadance did not want to look. It made her seriously consider a worst case, nightmare scenario that she had done nothing to prevent. "I'm...I'm..." the young mare tried but could not force out a coherent sentence. Her father the Crown Prince had stepped out from behind his desk and brushed muzzles with her. "Dearest, I am sorry to put you through this, but it is important that you appreciate the gravity of what has almost transpired. This could have been a tragic burden that you carried with you all of your life. Anypony can make a simple mistake, Cadance, but no pony can bring back a life that has been lost because of that simple mistake." He wiped away a few of her tears with his own muzzle, but he knew there had to be a few more tears before the admonishment was over. "Daughter, I do not wish to prolong your anguish further...I am sure you are tired and would like this night to be well over, but there is one more thing that must be done." She looked up at him with genuine fear in her eyes; a look that nearly broke his heart but did not break his resolve. "Cadance, take your position." "B-but father...mother already grounded me for a month!" pleaded the frightened teenager. "Then you may take comfort in the fact that this portion of your punishment will be over much quicker" Prince Mi Amore answered. Cadance knew what to do, although she'd been desperately hoping she would not have to do it. Those hopes were dashed now, and the pink filly knew better than to argue or try to beg her way out of it. Eyes awash with tears, she laid down over a cushioned ottoman and awaited her dreadful punishment. The Crown Prince opened a cleverly hidden cabinet in his study wall and withdrew the object his daughter feared. It had been a long time since he'd been forced to use this cane but tonight Cadance's regrettable behavior had called it into service again. "Do you have anything else to say for yourself?" "No sir" she whimpered, but then added "I mean...I'm very, very sorry." Prince Mi Amore had sympathy for his daughter, and knew her apology was genuine, but that did not dissuade him from what he knew must be done. Cadance had made a foolish & childish error this night, and she had to be disciplined in a way that would make a memorable impression on her...as a foolish child would be. "Right then. Cadenza, how old are you?" At that Cadance lost her nerve and turned around in fear. "Daddy, please no!" "Young filly, answer the question." Cadance knew her father had not forgotten how old she was, but this was part of the ritual. One lash of the cane for every year. The most she had ever taken before was 13 lashes, so with palpable fear in her voice she squeaked out "Sixteen years old, sir." "Very well" he sighed, pulling his daughter's multicolored tail out of the way...the adorable blue bow that she always wore at its base was a detail which nearly broke his heart. "You do not need to count. Chin up my girl...this will be over soon." With no reason to delay his unpleasant duty any longer Crown Prince Mi Amore drew back the cane, paused for an moment and brought it down on her rump with measured but substantial force. The shock of that first lash was followed by searing pain, as if somepony had pressed a hot iron against Cadance's backside. Dignity was left behind immediately; the pink filly cried without hesitation. Her father did not make her wait for the next few blows, delivering four of them in quick succession before allowing Cadance a brief respite. She tried her best to stay still and accept the punishment but when the pain took hold her body did what came naturally, twisting and kicking to escape the cane's awful bite. Father was ready though, and placed his spare hoof on the small of her back to prevent escape. Between cries and gasping for air Cadance tried to apologize for moving but the words just would not come out. She hoped desperately that it would not earn her extra strokes. Once he was sure his unfortunate daughter had caught her breath Prince Mi Amore raised the cane up again and continued. There would be no more rests; he swung the rod at a steady pace now, one spank every three seconds or so, exercising great care to be very accurate with its painful tip. A cruel or thoughtless stallion could inflict terrible damage with a cane such as he used, but that was not the Prince's intention. He felt bad enough listening to his little Princess cry at the top of her lungs...the thought of causing her genuine injury was more than he could bear. For poor Cadance there was nothing to do but scream, sob and pray that it would be over soon. She had lost count of the strokes almost as soon as the whipping had begun, now all that existed was the building agony in her rump as each lash fell, and the despairing hope that each one would be the last. In her agony the whipping seemed to last for an eternity and get worse with every stroke. But her father had only intended to administer 16 lashes and when he reached that count he stopped. Cadance lay across the ottoman, bawling her eyes out; her rump crisscrossed with marks from the cane. They would fade in a matter of hours but the Prince hoped he had made enough of an impression that it would not fade from his daughter's memory for a very long time. She lay there sobbing for a whole minute, catching her breath and regaining her senses. It was over. Slowly, she rose to her hooves. Desperate to regain some semblance of dignity in the eyes of her father she forced her head up high. Cadance had never considered herself a prideful pony, but now that it was utterly shattered she felt a terrible emptiness in her heart. Never before had she really considered how important it was to her that grown ponies like Twilight Sparkle's parents trusted & respected her; or that her own parents saw her as a capable, responsible young mare. All that was gone now...tossed away because of one stupid mistake. She only had herself to blame. Cadance was unable to keep her eyes open through the tears, but to her surprise she felt a gentle arm around her withers. Her father, usually so regal & formal, hugged her close, tucking Cadance's head under his chin. She buried her face in the soft fur of his neck and sobbed. "There, there, my girl. It's been an awful night, I know, but it's not the end of the world. You are the dearest & most important thing in the hearts of your mother and I, and a even thousand foolish mistakes will never change that." "Daddy...I'm s-so sorry" Cadance wept, but it felt good to be rocked in his embrace and let all her sorrow pour out. The weight in her chest was fading away with each heavy sob, unburdening her heart. "I'm sorry I disappointed you & mother. I'm sorry I screwed up..." "And I have every confidence that you shall rise above this to be an even better young mare" Prince Mi Amore assured her. "You will regain the respect & responsibility you deserve in no time...but as for our love, you have all of it right now and that will never go away. I...I don't tell you that enough, my dearest." She sniffled and dug her head in tighter. Such a display of affection from her father was rare and she wanted to relish every moment of it. "Thank you, Daddy."
The next morning was clear and a little bit chilly, though not unpleasantly so. The cobblestones of Canterlot were still wet from the previous night's rain storm. Ponies were busy sweeping & readying their store fronts for business. Many of them waved to Cadance but all she had time to do was wave back. She'd have loved to stop and chat but the teenager had a destination, a mission and a strict timetable in which to accomplish it.
She took a deep breath and rang the bell at Twilight Velvet & Night Light's front door. As she waited the butterflies returned to Cadance's stomach...she gulped nervously & second guessed her willingness to face the adults she had failed so miserably the night before. But the pink filly stood her ground and the door opened. "Good morning, Cadance" said Twilight Velvet, but no smile or cheer accompanied the greeting. "Good morning, Professor Velvet" the teen answered. She decided not to waste time on forced pleasantries or small talk, getting right to the point; "I've...I've come to apologize about last night. You trusted me & I really let you down. I just want you and Professor Night Light to know how deeply sorry I am." Still wearing a dour expression the older mare replied "My husband is at the University, he had a morning class to teach. I'll certainly tell him you came by and convey your message." "Thank you Ma'am" Cadance reached under her wing and pulled out an envelope. "I gave your letter to my parents last night as you instructed...this is from my mother. She would have sent it by post but I asked to deliver it myself and she gave permission...provided I'm back home in a half-hour." Twilight Velvet accepted the envelope with her magic but did not open it. "I see. Were your parents upset?" "Well," confessed the blushing filly, "they certainly weren't happy with me." It was then that Cadance noticed a small purple form hiding behind her mother's legs. "I'd also like to apologize to Twilight Sparkle...with your permission, ma'am." The mother nodded and took a half step to the side, allowing her filly to come forward to the door. "Hi Cadance" she said meekly. "Twily, I'm so sorry about last night. I allowed you to fall into terrible danger because I wasn't doing my job properly. I..." The purple unicorn filly cut her off "But Cadance, it wasn't your fault! I did something dangerous & stupid & didn't think and it's all my fault! I feel awful that you got in trouble!" "You shouldn't feel bad for me, Twilight" the foal sitter assured her "all the trouble I got into I deserve." Twilight Sparkle was about to object but her mother cut in to put a stop to the two fillies' debate about fault. "You both made mistakes last night...you both share part of the blame...and we're just thankful nothing worse happened. I trust both of you will take the opportunity to learn from this." "Yes ma'am" both younger ponies answered in unison. Twilight Sparkle piped up "We're just finishing breakfast...can you stay and have some tea? Can Cadance stay, Mom?" But Cadance quickly cut her off; "No, I'm sorry, Twily. I have to go. I'm grounded for a very long time...I had to ask my mother for special permission to come deliver her letter and I'm sure she's watching the clock. I'll get in even more trouble if I dilly-dally." "Awww" muttered Twilight, but then she leaned forward and admitted to Cadance in a not-so-quiet whisper "Mommy gave me a spanking with the hairbrush last night." "I'm sorry to hear that" Cadance replied sympathetically, and added "I got my bottom whipped last night too." The little filly's eyes grew wide with surprise, and she flopped backward onto her rump. "But...but...you're a teenager! You're practically a grown up mare!" "Well, I was beginning to think so too" answered Cadance, her cheeks turning crimson "but my daddy proved me wrong last night." That caused both fillies to giggle. "After you're done being grounded, you're gonna be my foalsitter again, aren't you?" Cadance recoiled a bit, and sucked in air through her clenched teeth. "Umm, I really don't know about that, Twily. I made a really big mistake last night and if your parents decide they would rather trust somepony else I don't blame them a bit...and we both have to accept their decision even if it doesn't make us happy, understand?"
Before her foal could answer Twilight Velvet replied "That is something my husband & I will discuss, but I see no reason why you can't regain our trust, Cadance. Perhaps asking you to foal-sit at night was too big a step, but when the time comes we will consider calling on you to watch Twilight during the daytime. As I said, we must discuss it as a family." Twilight Sparkle clapped her two front hooves together in excitement, but then switched to an expression of alarm. "Don't ask Shining Armor what he thinks...he's being a big meanie and blaming Cadance for everything!" Looking down at her daughter with a stern visage Twilight Velvet said "Your brother loves you very much and we will absolutely consider his feelings, but he does not get a vote. Your father & I will ultimately make the decision." The purple filly looked a bit crestfallen, but her mother ameliorated her dismay by adding "We will take your feelings into account as well, Twilight." "Is Shining Armor home right now, ma'am?" asked Cadance, nervously. "I really feel I should apologize to him too." "My son is visiting his uncle today. He has a meeting with a Lieutenant of the Royal Guard on Monday and his uncle...an ex-soldier himself...is coaching him a bit in advance of his interview." "Oh that's wonderful!" Cadance exclaimed, "I know how much he wants to go to the Military Academy, I hope this all works out for him!" Twilight Velvet softened her voice and advised the younger mare "Shining is still rather upset about last night. It's best if you give him some time & space. Young stallions can be hot blooded and he's no exception. Save your apology for when he's ready to hear it...you two are good friends and I'm sure you will be again." "Yes ma'am. Thank you" Cadance replied. Just then a nearby bell tower rang to announce the 9 o'clock hour. "I really have to get back home. Again, Professor Velvet, I'm so sorry about what..." Twilight Velvet put her hoof up to stop the younger mare. "Yes, thank you. I appreciate your sentiment but there's only so many times I can hear 'I'm sorry'. Now it's up to you to decide how you handle responsibility in the future." She turned to her daughter and added "Both of you."
Cadance gave Twilight Sparkle a hug before leaving, and the little filly told her "I'll miss you...come back and see me as soon as you're allowed!" Cadance promised to do so. After saying goodbye the pink alicorn trotted back home by the most direct path. Though she faced a month of confinement...straight to school, straight home after that, no socializing with her friends on weekends...Cadance felt happy and light on her hooves. The previous night's incident had been awful, perhaps the worst night of her life, but she resolved that she would learn from it. She would regain the respect of her parents, she would regain the trust of Twilight's family and she would regain Shining Armor's friendship. Of these things she was certain and the feeling of optimism put a spring in her step that she hadn't felt for a long time. The morning air was crisp and clear and perfumed with the aroma of newly cut flowers. To Princess Cadance it all combined to make up the feeling of a fresh start.