"So, Twily, how's everything in Ponyville? Anything exciting happening?" Shining continued walking on for a moment, expecting her answer. "Twily?"
"Shining, we passed a book store just now. Or I guess I should say we passed it." Cadence said with a sigh.
Shining Armor looked around, spotting the tail of his sister as she zipped into the store. "Ah, right. We did say shopping, it's only fair."
"This is why I wanted to invite her to have tea." Cadence told him. Shining smiled awkwardly, and she rolled her eyes and gave him a little nudge before turning tail and entering the book store. Shining followed shortly after. He grinned lightly, remembering all the times that this exact thing would happen when he and Twilight were younger. Even though they'd grown, there were some ways in which she had stayed exactly the same.
"Oooo, the new reference guides are in!" Twilight bubbled, darting off to the new releases shelf. "I've been waiting months for the new edition of the Master Mare's Manual to Monsters Magnificent and Malevolent!" The excited librarian bounced as she browsed the new releases. Shining, meanwhile, rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"I swear, it's like she's still a little filly," he said to his wife.
"Well, we probably shouldn't let the little filly take up too much of our time," Cadence replied with a smile. "We do still have our one important stop to make."
"Right," Shining said, giving her a wink. He made his way over to his sister and gave her a poke on the shoulder. "C'mon Twily, pick one you want and let's go."
"Very funny, BBBFF," Twilight said, giving him a smirk. "You know I'm not a little filly anymore, right?"
"Sometimes I forget, when you act like that," Shining retorted, causing Twilight to pout.
"I'm not acting strange!" Twilight said.
"I don't know..." Cadence said, a playful smile crossing her face. "Maybe you need a foalsitter again?"
"I do not!" Twilight responded. "I just like books a lot!" She frowned, pulling a number of books off of the shelf and stacking them into a neat pile. Cadence blinked.
"Maybe we do need to look for a foalsitter..." Cadence mused. Shining raised a brow, then a look of understanding crossed his face, and he nodded in agreement.
Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing. Were they seriously treating her like a filly and considering a foalsitter for her? She was an adult! She ran a library! She was a princess, for Celestia's sake! Just because Shining was her big brother didn't make her a filly, nor did her excitement over books. Twilight hmphed lightly as she went to pay for her selections. She was a big pony, and there was no way she'd let them treat her differently.
Twilight approached the two again after having purchased her newest additions to her book collection. They seemed to not notice her return, now engrossed in conversation.
"We'll definitely need a crib..." Shining said, tapping a hoof to his chin.
"Well yes, of course," Cadence responded. "We'll keep it in our room for a bit, so we can keep an eye out."
Twilight's face fell. This was starting to get out of hoof. All of this because she was acting a bit giddy over new books? That wasn't fair at all! She was a very mature pony! She was about to say something, when Shining and Cadence turned in her direction. They stopped their conversation and gave her a smile.
"You all set, Twily?" Shining asked. "That's a lot of books you've got there." Twilight frowned at the way she was being talked down to.
"It's fine," Twilight said. "I can probably finish all of them in a day or two." She cleared her throat; this next bit was going to be hard for her to say, but it had to be done if she was to change this sudden opinion about her. "And please call me Twilight."
"But...I've called you Twily ever since you were little," Shining said, his ears falling a little. "I thought you liked it."
"I do!" Twilight responded. Then she cleared her throat. "Ahem...I did. But I'm a big pony now." Shining and Cadence exchanged looks, Shining's a bit more down than his wife's.
"Well...alright, Twilight," Shining finally said. Twilight smiled triumphantly. Certainly this would stop this whole bout of nonsense that had been going on.
"Are we ready for our next stop?" Cadence asked. "I think you'll really like this next store, Twilight." She gave Shining a grin, and Shining grinned right back.
"Ready!" Twilight answered with a smile. Then she thought about how foalish that sounded. She cleared her throat. "I mean...yes, that would be excellent." She smiled to herself as her brother and her sister-in-law raised a brow, then led her outside. She was so proud of herself for her mature behavior that she wasn't even paying attention to where they were going.
"Here we are!" Cadence said after a few moments. Twilight looked up, and her face fell once more. In front of her was a giant sign for a foal store. Both Cadence and Shining beamed to Twilight, waiting for a reaction.
This was not happening. There was no way that Twilight would allow it. She hadn't spent all these years growing up to be treated like a little filly again. Something had to be said.
"Shining Armor!" Twilight shouted. "I may be your little sister, but I am not a foal! This joke has gone on far enough! Just because I get excited at the idea of more books doesn't mean I'm a child, okay?"
Shining and Cadence stared at Twilight, dumbfounded. She stared right back, confident in her...well...confidence. There were a few moments of silence, before Shining started to laugh. Twilight's ears folded back as her brother's mocking laughter entered them.
"We're not treating you like a foal, Twilight!" Shining said between laughs. "Whatever gave you that idea?" Twilight tilted her head.
"Well..." she began. "You were talking to me like...and then the comments about...a-and we're here at a foal store, and Cadence said I'd really like it!" Cadence joined in with a few chuckles, then smiled warmly to Twilight.
"Of course I thought you'd really like it," she said. "But we're not trying to treat you like a filly or anything. Can't you possibly think of another reason that the two of us might be going to a foal store?"
Twilight opened her mouth to retort, but stopped, as realization began to take over. She looked between the two, her mouth hanging open. The two didn't say anything back; they just smiled and nodded. Twilight couldn't find the right words for what was thinking. All that came out was a squee as she galloped forward and hugged her brother and her sister-in-law.
"I'm glad you're as happy as we are, Aunt Twilight," Shining said, chuckling.
"Um...you can call me Aunt Twily," Twilight responded with a giggle.
