Hearts Caught in the Storm
Twilight always loved it when her foal-sitter Cadance would come round when either she’s done with her stories or when Cadance is done with her training on princess etiquette. They would tell each other about their day, what Princess Celestia taught them and discuss everything from the land they walk on to the heavens where pegasi fly. With each day, Cadance would come up with something fun when they spend time together.
If the weather was perfect, they would go to the park, buy something to eat together, or just simply sit in the shade and Twilight would read one of the advanced magical theory books she borrowed from the library. Being outside, Cadance would also teach a little bit of magic herself, getting a laugh when Twilight calls her Professor Cadance.
Today, however, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. The pegasi may have slightly outdid themselves when they announced they would schedule a small shower in the early hours of the morning. That soon turned into a strong downpour as the day progressed. The clouds darkened around the capital, ponies running to the nearest building to seek shelter and Celestia’s glorious sun was nowhere to be seen.
Twilight sighed as she sat by the window, staring at the rain. Her parents were out and Shining, now applying to be a royal guard, headed out to the local gym. Twilight got a giggle in her when Shining said that he didn’t look like royal guard material, stating that he was a bit on the lean side and wanted to ‘buff it out.’ With it being a weekend as well, it meant that there were no lessons from Princess Celestia either. She was home alone for the time being until Cadance showed up. She sighed and continued looking up at the sky.
Her prayers were answered when there was a knock on the door. Twilight hopped down from the sofa and ran towards the door, not wanting the pony on the other side to be completely wet through. Opening it quickly, she was greeted by a wet Cadance in a bright yellow raincoat and matching wellingtons. She smiled down at the filly as she trotted in.
“Sorry I was late Twilight,” Cadance sighed as she hung her coat on the rack, “If I had known that the storm was this bad, I would have come here sooner.”
“You should be,” Twilight berated, “I lost twelve minutes with my favourite foal-sitter!”
“Then I guess we’ll have to make do with the time we have left,” Cadance chuckled as she turned her head to look at the grandfather clock in the living room, “And I think we have plenty of time to spend together.”
“But what can we do?” Twilight pouted, “We can’t go outside because of those pegasuses messing up with their weather duty.” She stomped her hoof on the carpet in frustration.
“Now, now, Twilight,” Cadance smiled, “It’s pegasi and you know the saying when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.”
“What?” Twilight tilted her head at that saying. Cadance should have known that young Twilight was book-smart but not common-smart.
“It means when life doesn’t go as planned, you make something else out of it,” Cadance explained as she trotted into the kitchen, Twilight quickly following behind her.
“How about some baking?” Cadance suggested as she used her magic to take the ingredients and crockery out, “We have everything we need for the perfect chocolate brownie and hot chocolate. I think it will be perfect for a dark, damp stormy day like this.”
Twilight’s pout instantly turned into a wide smile as she hopped onto a chair and took out a cookbook.
“Now that sounds like a yummy idea!”
Twilight and Cadance spent the rest of the day baking and mixing hot chocolates. Occasionally, they would chat about how Cadance’s princess lessons were going, or what Princess Celestia had taught Twilight. The young filly was eager to show her foal-sitter her magic skills, lifting eggs off the table whilst trying to break them. Cadance also gave some magical advice to Twilight, mainly about fine-tuning her magic to crack the eggs, applying the right pressure to break them whilst not making a mess or causing the whole egg to explode.
What came out was a perfect tray of warm brownies and two piping-hot mugs of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream and little marshmallow pieces on top. The two of them sat down on the sofa, munching happily on their homebaked treats, sipping their mugs and reading stories from the great Starswirl the Bearded.
The two of them must have been too busy enjoying each other's company that they lost track of time. The grandfather clock struck the early hours of the afternoon, causing them to stir. Cadance looked at the clock, her eyes widening at the time.
“Well, it seems that time does fly when you’re in good company,” Cadance chuckled as she teleported the dirty mugs and plates to the kitchen sink. Twilight got off the sofa and they spent the remaining time together washing their dirty dishes.
Soon it was time for Cadance to make it back to the palace. Taking the coat, now dry, in her magic, she put it on her with grace and put on her wellingtons.
“Did you have fun today, Twilight?” Cadance smiled down at the lavender filly.
“Absolutely! The best time ever!” Twilight beamed.
Cadance smiled and turned towards the door, unaware that the door was unlocking itself with magic on the other side. She turned around at the same time as the door swung open and a white unicorn with a two-toned blue mane trotted out of the rain, an umbrella in his magical grasp and wearing some sort of new gym gear.
“Twiley! I’m-“
He didn’t finish the final word as his muzzle met the pink mare’s. The two of them were now frozen midstep, muzzles pressed against each other. Twilight, meanwhile, had a muzzle over her mouth, trying not to laugh at the awkward position her favourite foal-sitter and B.B.B.F.F. were in.
During their position, Shining and Cadance locked eyes with each other, their eyes scrolling down each other for the faintest of seconds. What Shining saw was a gorgeous pink pony with a well-combed mane and tail which was a nice look to her. A sense of youthful charm and charisma. Her pink coat was also thoroughly combed and caught her beauty well. Her coat was a strong shade of romantic pink and her eyes displayed an air of caring nature.
What Cadance saw in front of her was a decent bodied stallion with a good white coat, though nothing could compare with Auntie Celestia’s. his mane was brushed but gave it an air of teenage-style as well. She scrunched up her muzzle slightly as the smell of sweat reached her muzzle. With what he was wearing, did he just go to the gym?
Neither of them spoke as a blush crept upon their faces and the rain continued to full outside, but eventually, the silence was broken by a nervous Shining Armor.
“H-hi?” Shining smiled sheepishly. His words managed to help Cadance come back down to reality.
“H-hi,” She stuttered back. She took a step back slowly and got a good view of the stallion in front of her. Shining raised an eyebrow at her.
“And you are?” Shining asked, closing the door behind him with his magic so as not to let the rain or cold in.
“Oh,” Cadance blundered, the blush on her face deepening to a darker shade of red, “I’m Cadance. I was here to foal-sit for Twilight.”
The gears inside Shining’s head started turning until a lightbulb switched on inside his head. So this was the foal-sitter Twilight would go on and on about. Since they would spend most of the time in the castle, he rarely got the chance to see who she was. He then noticed how the coat seemed to have bulges on either side, resembling wings. She was an alicorn? What is she doing out of the castle and in their family home?
“What are you doing in our home? Don’t alicorns spend their time in a castle?”
He mentally admitted that the question may have come off as a little blunt and be stereotypically aimed at alicorns in generally, but if Cadance was offended by that she did not show it.
“I’ve done my etiquette training for the day I did promise Twilight to come to her house for the weekend for the first time,” Cadance chuckled with a smile. Shining found that smile particularly beautiful for some reason.
“And you are?” Cadance raised an eyebrow. It occurred to Shining that he didn’t introduce himself to an alicorn.
“Oh, sorry. I’m Shining Armor, Twilight’s big brother,” Shining quickly introduced himself.
This time, it was Cadance’s turn to have the gears turning in her head and a lightbulb lit inside of her. So this was Twilight’s big brother she would mention him as her ‘B.B.B.F.F.’ She expected a completely different stallion than the one in front of her. He was better than she imagined.
“So… er… How was your day with Twiley?” Shining asked.
“Twiley?” Cadance asked.
“It's what I call Twilight,” Shining chuckled sheepishly.
“Oh, It was nice despite the weather outside,” Cadance said calmly.
“We made brownies and hot chocolate together and told stories about Starswirl the Bearded!” Twilight bounced around. Shining smiled down at his little sister. Young and too focused on her books and not on real life social cues, she was unaware of the potential signs of what this encounter meant.
“And where were you?” Cadance asked.
“I was at the gym.“
So he did go to the gym. That would explain the sweat. Cadance's mind was having a one-way conversation.
“Since I applied for the Royal Guard Academy-“
Wait, he wanted to be a royal guard?
“I wanted to have a bit more… er… muscle mass.”
Cadence's eyes wandered down towards the stallion’s hooves and back up again for about ten seconds. It was true that he needed to be a bit more on the muscly side to be in a guard.
Her thoughts were cut off as the grandfather clock struck half-past. Cadance realised that she must head back to the castle.
“Well, Shining, it was nice meeting you, but I must head back to the castle. Auntie Celestia must be wondering where I am right now.”
Shining’s eyes widened at hearing this. Auntie Celestia?! She was her niece?! Shining could only nod dumbly as he stepped aside for Cadance to open the door with her blue magic and trot out into the rain. It was only when the door clicked behind her that he finally came back to reality.
Wow! What a mare...
He looked down at Twilight with a small smile, but Twilight could see it had a hint of desperation. She was a bit clueless when it comes to real-life things.
“Twilight, I want you to tell me everything about this Cadance.”
“But what about the brownies?” Twilight complained with a strong pout, unaware of what Shining had planned.
“Do this for me and we can have brownies for dinner.”
“Brownies for dinner?!” Twilight gasped before her eyes lit up, “I believe we have ourselves a deal, big brother.”
“Now tell me everything about Cadance, from her likes and dislikes, and don’t leave out any details!”
“You got it, B.B.B.F.F! Why do you think I’m Celestia’s protégé?”
The two of them headed to the kitchen so Twilight can tell him everything about the alicorn whilst Shining baked another batch of brownies.