AMORE OBBLIGATO

Chapter 9: Sospirando

Cadance was totally taken off-guard as Twilight tackled her in a hug, knocking them both off the bed. She eagerly returned the embrace, one hand gently petting the filly's mane as they lay on the floor. “Oh, my poor, poor filly. I knew I shouldn't have gone to a college so far from Canterlot. I never would have left you had I known that you would need me this badly. Forgive me?”

“I'm just so... confused, Cady. What's going on with me?” she sobbed into the alicorn's neck.

“It's called growing up, Twily,” she replied with a touch of melancholy. “Believe me, it happens to the best of us, too.” Sitting up, she set Twilight on the floor in front of her, and they sat cross-legged, facing each other. “Come on; tell me what's bothering my Ladybug.”

Twilight smiled a little at the nickname as she rubbed at the tear tracks on her cheeks. Sniffling, she said, “You remember about the music tutor I wrote you about?” Cadance nodded, and she explained the situation. The story was long and drawn out, with very little detail left out; those left unspoken being what Twilight daydreamed about Octavia, and what she did in the privacy of her room and shower. She told of how the earth pony impressed her with her skill at playing and teaching, how she got into trouble and exactly the reason for the final confrontation, Honeyed Words' punishment, her own punishment, the concert, meeting Vinyl Scratch, and finally, her discovery of their relationship. When she finished, Twilight was so emotionally exhausted, her shoulders slumped as if carrying the weight of the world.

Through it all, Cadance held her hands, tightening her grip when she felt them try to slip out so she might strike herself again, but Celestia had warned her about her new disturbing habit. “Sounds like you've had a rough couple of weeks. How are you feeling now?”

Taking a deep breath and releasing it as a sigh, she answered, “Confused. Angry. Hurt. Mostly just numb, though.” She looked into her old foalsitter's eyes, her face a mask of pain. “I just... I just want all the hurt to go away. Every time I think about her, I feel like crawling under a rock, or... doing something bad. I don't even know what I want anymore... other than to not be hurt anymore. What do I do, Cady? How do I stop feeling this way about her?”

Cadance scooted over until the two of them side-by-side, their bodies touching, and draped an arm over the distraught filly. “Your situation isn't all that unusual, Twily. I knew a filly who felt much like you do over a colt. Oh, she was so enamored with that colt; would do anything for him if he but crooked a finger.” She crooked a finger on her free hand as a demonstration in a “come here” gesture. She would spend all her allowance buying him little presents, spent all her time thinking about him, even gave him all the treats in her lunch should he ask for them. She was truly wrapped around his little finger, the poor thing.

“Then one day, she found him giving another colt a kiss. You would think the world was ending, the way she talked. She asked him why, and you know what he said?” Twilight shook her head and Cadance continued, “He said, 'I didn't know you liked me. I'm sorry, but I like colts more.' Needless to say, the filly was heartbroken, knowing that there was now no chance of becoming his fillyfriend. She felt like he had rejected her because she didn't deserve his love. From there, it was a downward spiral into misery and depression. For weeks afterward, she moped around the house, not speaking, barely eating, even skipped school.” The alicorn giggled at Twilight's gasp of horror. “One day, she woke up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked down at herself and saw what she had become.”

“Pathetic?” Twilight ventured after a moment of silence.

“Exactly,” Cadance agreed with a nod. “She realized that even without that colt, she was someone special, and being his fillyfriend would have only been one small aspect of that. She had much more to offer the world than just being a fillyfriend. Yes, it still hurt that he had chosen another over her, but there would be other colts, other chances at happiness. She need not- indeed, she would be doing herself and the world a disservice- were she to define herself by whom she loved; rather than how much she loved, starting with her own life, and spreading out from there.” Cadance hugged her tight again, eliciting a squeak from her. “That was also one of the happiest days of her life as that's when she got her cutie mark.”

Twilight looked up at her sadly. “She did?”

Letting go of the filly, she leaned away from her and lifted her skirt, displaying the cutie mark on her hip. “I sure did, Ladybug.”

“I thought you got your cutie mark for bringing ponies together,” Twilight asked.

Chuckling, Cadance pulled her into another sideways hug. “And how could I do that if I thought that I didn't deserve to be loved?”

Twilight looked down in thought for a moment before asking, “So, how does that relate to my... ooohhh...” There was another moment of silence before she instead asked, “What do I do, Cady? I... I still lo- love her.” Her voice caught in her throat as she stumbled over the word, and she felt a stab of pain in her heart at the thought of facing Octavia once more, though she knew it had to happen eventually.

Cadance pulled her in until she laid her head on the alicorn's chest. “Now comes the hard part; deciding what you're going to do. You can confront her with your feelings and see what she says, or you can hide your feelings and live with those unrequited feelings until the day you forget about them. As the closest thing you'll ever find to an expert on the subject, I can tell you right now that the latter has about as much chance of happening as gold spontaneously popping out of thin air; at least, not without a lot of time and separation; possibly having another take her place would help, but at this time, that seems extremely unlikely.”

“That's it? Confess, or bury my feelings? I was hoping for something a little more...”

“Helpful?” Cadance finished for her. She shook her head sadly. “Unfortunately, the heart is a very complex thing, and it's different for everypony. What works for one, would be anathema to another, or would only be partially helpful for a third. You, Twilight, are a pony of extremes. Everything is either black or white to you, with very little middle ground. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that any advice you're given has to be couched into either/or, or it will send you into a flurry of thoughts as you try to suss out just what it all boils down to. Rather than have you try to work it out on your own and possibly come to an erroneous conclusion, I thought I'd give you a little nudge in the right direction. You don't have to decide right this minute, but sometime before you see her again would be ideal.”

Twilight sighed in annoyance. “Great. That leaves just eighteen hours, forty-three minutes and twenty-two seconds to decide.”

Rolling her eyes, Cadance smiled at the filly's ability to nail it down to the second. “Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about the time. We're playing hooky tomorrow so we can get this all straightened out in time.”

Twilight recoiled in horror at the very concept presented to her so casually. “You- we can't! What will The Princess say? What if there's a pop quiz? What if there's an important announcement by the principal? What if they serve pizza for lunch?”

Cadance couldn't hold back a chuckle at the mention of Twilight's weakness for junk food. Having gone to the same school, she knew that the pizzas they served were more akin to sheets of cardboard slathered with melted cheese and tomato sauce, but they never failed to disappear faster then anything else at the cafeteria, especially when Twilight was there. “I already took the liberty of securing Auntie's permission for this... sabbatical, missing a pop quiz never flunked anyone, any announcement important enough for the principal to make to the school at large would include a flier to take home, which would be sent should you not be present to accept it, and you know as well as I do that any pizza you can find outside of the school is likely to be ten times as good as you'll find in it. Any other questions?”

“Only about a quintillion of them!” the filly rejoined.

“Those will just have to wait. For now, I think you owe a certain baby dragon an apology for this morning,” the alicorn said sternly.

Hanging her head dejectedly, Twilight nodded. “I know.” She called out, “Spike! Could you come here a moment?”

Not even a second passed until the dragon in question appeared at the door nervously. “You wanted something, Twi?”

She knew that his prompt appearance had more to do with his eavesdropping than her voice reaching wherever he was supposedly, but deigned to not mention it. “I- I wanted to apologize for this morning, and again when I came home. I was angry, but that was no excuse. I should never have taken it out on you. I'm sorry Spike. Forgive me?”

Spike ran up to her and threw his arms around her neck in a desperate hug. “I hope this means you're feeling better, now. And of course I forgive you, Twi. I don't understand what's going on, but I know it's pretty tough on you, if it turns your ordinary crabbiness into super-irradiated-mega-ultra-hyper crabbiness.”

Twilight returned the hug with a smile. “Dork,” she said.

“Nerd,” Spike replied.

“I think we can all agree that you're both geeks,” Cadance said, causing both of them to tackle her to the ground and start a tickle war.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

Cadance awoke first, smiling down at the sight before her. Twilight had spooned up to her sometime during the night, holding Spike close to her own belly like some sort of stuffed animal; all three of them still dressed in their day clothes, now rumpled beyond all hope. Moving carefully so as to not disturb the softly snoring pair, she slipped out of the bed and with all the stealth of a church mouse, left on her pre-dawn errand.

As she walked through the halls with a sense of determination that a tax collector on the first of the month would envy, she thought back to the letter that had reached her by exhausted pegasus courier. Auntie, you have some 'splainin' to do.

Arriving at the door to Celestia's bedroom, she nodded at the guards posted there and said, “Cadance to see Pri-”

The stark-white stallion opened the door and stood aside. “The Princess has been expecting you, Milady.”

Arching an eyebrow at him, she slowly walked past him until she was inside the chamber and the door closed behind her with a soft CLICK. “Doing your 'mysterious precognition trick' won't save you this time, Auntie. There's an understandably very confused and scared filly under your care that may not have been so bad off had she not been punished for defending herself.”

A quiet sniffle drew the mare deeper into the room where she found Celestia sitting on the edge of her bed, a pile of used tissue at her hooves. The monarch wiped a handful of more tissue across her nose, drawing attention to the tear tracks on her face. Cadance had to resist the urge to go hug the crying mare who had been like a second mother to her, reminding herself of the sorry state in which she had found Twilight. Stopping in front of her, she stood there with her arms crossed over her chest and glared, despite wanting nothing more than to comfort her. “Alright, Auntie, what happened? How did things get this far out of your control? Was her bodyguard not doing her job or something? Whose butt do I have to kick this time?”

Drawing in a shuddering breath, Celestia shook her head, unable to voice her defense.

“We tried our best to protect her, even assembling the best bodyguard team we could train ourselves, but it just wasn't enough. Honeyed Words was just too circumspect, and too well-connected for The Princess to do more than give her a mild form of banishment.”

Cadance turned towards the balcony at the words, surprised to find Plain Sight leaning against the door frame, a grim look on her face, and wondered how long she had been there. The earth pony slammed a fist into the other side of the open door frame, splintering the wood and sending cracks racing through the glass. “ROADAPPLES! We were so close to getting something solid on her, too; I'm sure of it!” Seeing the look of bewilderment on the smaller alicorn's face, she walked forward, extending a hand. “Plain Sight, head buck-up and bodyguard to Twilight Sparkle.

Cadance gingerly took the offered hand and winced when a sharp, stabbing pain on one fingertip made her pull the hand back quickly. Looking down, she saw a splinter jutting from her digit and pulled it out.

Plain Sight smiled bitterly at her. “Sorry. Guess I shouldn't take it out on The Princess' things, but well...”

“Don't worry about it,” Cadance replied with a shake of her head. “Can you tell me about the situation and just why it blew up like it did?” Another sniffle from Celestia finally softened her heart and she sat down next to the much larger mare and took hold of her hand. Celestia gratefully squeezed it back, but offered no reply. The earth pony gave her a basic rundown of the events, and when she was finished, she asked, “So why the leniency on the bullies? Honeyed Words and Tight Rein especially needed something much harsher than mere expulsion and allowing their parents to send them to their hometown where they'll no doubt start up all over again.”

“Believe me, we know that, but unfortunately, the worst we could get her on was a single instance of bullying. The others she was using clammed up whenever we asked about her, even under threat of worse punishments.” Plain Sight sighed and pushed away from the door frame, walking over to a tea service with three cups and poured for each of them. “I'll say this much for her; she may be a bucking witch, but she does two things good: covering her tail, and intimidating others to do the same for her.”

Cadance frowned at this, a dangerous glare in her eyes. “And what about Twilight? Why was she punished, too?”

Plain Sight sighed sadly and passed them both a cup of tea. “That's the saddest part of this whole situation. Because of the damage Twilight caused when her magic spiked like it did, not to mention the glitterdust, the noble families almost to a mare are saying that she intentionally did it to harm her tormentors.”

“That's absurd! Who ever heard of using glitterdust to harm somepony?” Cadance shouted.

With a nod, Plain Sight agreed. “I know, but many of them are pretty ignorant of the workings of magic, and none them have ever forgotten what had happened when Twilight took her test to enter Celestia's school. Combine those two factors with a sycophantic loyalty to Honey's house, or a fear of them, or whatever blackmail they're holding over them, and you get almost a referendum to censure the victim. The only ones to speak out against it were Houses Twilight and Blueblood, along with a handful of allied minor nobles.” She took a sip of her tea, the warm drink bringing a sense of inner calm. “They're claiming the glitterdust was just a component to some devious spell she was getting ready to cast when she was caught by the teachers, who, upon seeing it was her, covered it up as best they could.”

Cadance looked like she had just tasted something foul. “Of all the... Ugh!” Her look of disgust softened a bit, but morphed into a mask of anger which she aimed at the bodyguard. “And what about you? What have you been doing to prevent a situation like from arising in the first place?”

Plain Sight's face tightened into a textbook example of rage before she schooled it into mere disdain. “What I have been doing was my job. Since I took on this charge, I have stopped no less than three hundred and twelve instances of bullying, deterred eighty-three attempted fights involving her, rooted out an even fifty noble plants intent on harming her in some way, and stopped seven assassination attempts. This is of course, aside from the three hundred eighteen accidents that seem to crop up around her, whether through her fault or not, including a hundred and sixty-two of which involving paparazzi, six international incidents,and a single instance of an invasion by rats of unusual size from the sewers. Where have you been for the past three years?” She yelled the last question, crushing the fine porcelain cup in her hand, sending shards and tea to the fine rug below.

“I was at college in Manehattan, thinking that she would be safe enough in her bodyguard's hands, but obviously, I-”

Celestia stopped the younger alicorn with a hand on her shoulder. “Enough,” she said, though her voice, raw with recent crying, hitched slightly as if she still hadn't quite regained full control of herself yet. “Enough. Cadance, we were doing everything in our power to stop her, but none of us could have predicted that Twilight would take the matter in her own hands, not that any of us blame her. I'm sure that she felt backed into a corner by Honeyed Words, and hemmed in by a system that works against anypony that doesn't have the political clout to back up their words. In that situation, anyone would have done what they could to retaliate.”

With a sigh, Celestia slumped onto her bed, defeated. “There are times when I truly regret giving up so much of the powers My Little Ponies have bestowed upon me to rule over them. Perhaps, if the environment were a little different, I would never have to be put in the position of punishing the innocent, but I haven't had the power of High Justice for centuries.”

“I don't understand. If you no longer have the power to mete out justice personally, then why were you the one to punish her?” Cadance asked in confusion.

The monarch blew her nose and said, “They gave me an ultimatum Either I punish her as in loco parentis, or they would. Although they had absolutely no proof against her for wrongdoing, having her take the stand to defend herself, would be heartbreaking. Worse, whether they prove her innocence or guilt, her name would have been dragged through the mud and forever tarnished. This incident would have followed her for the rest of her life. This way, her record of all wrongdoing short of a capital crime would be expunged when she came of age, being that she is currently a minor.”

Cadance chewed on her thumbnail, her brow furrowed in angry thought. “Roadapples. They've really covered all their bases, haven't they?”

“Almost all of them,” Plain Sight replied with a vicious smile. Holding up a finger, she said, “Two places where they slipped up. First: Princess Celestia managed to talk them into letting her decide her punishment. If they were going to enforce that in loco parentis schtick on her, she insisted that she choose the punishment. It was only this harsh because they needed to see that Twilight was suffering, even if it wasn't the way they wanted it.” She held up another finger and said, “Secondly, they've exposed their allegiances to us.”

Quirking an eyebrow, Cadance asked, “I thought we already knew which were working against Auntie and Twilight?”

Plain Sight rolled her eyes. “Come now, as a poli-sci/psyche double major you should know that sides are constantly in flux. In fact, it's really the only constant on this field of battle.”

“And identifying the enemy is the first step in countering them,” Cadance replied with a nod.

“Precisely, my Niece,” Celestia said, leaning into the smaller mare.

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

“I really don't feel right about this,” Twilight groused as she kept trying to adjust her school tie, which was safely stowed back at her apartment, along with the rest of her school uniform. Instead, she was dressed in her best casual street clothes. Not for the first time was she glad she had sent Spike off with a fistful of bits to the toy store and a guard. He would have been bored out of his skull by all the clothing stores they had visited long ago.

Cadance walked next to her, dressed similarly, a shopping bag in her hand as they walked through the nearly empty mall. “Well, get used to it, kiddo. It's happening, and there's no stopping it now. Ooo! Now that's a nice skirt!” The alicorn walked over to the Heated Matter, admiring a sleek, black miniskirt on a ponyquin.

Twilight gaped at the little bit of nothing that not only sat very low on the hips, but also only just stopped at the point where the thigh meets the rump. “Youcan't be serious! That's not a skirt, it's a very wide belt!”

“And I'm getting one!” Cadance said with a feral grin and a saucy wiggle of her eyebrows as she walked into the goth store.

With a groan, Twilight followed her into the goth store a minute later, her face turning red. Cadance was already at the counter talking to a disinterested white unicorn mare with a black mane, far too much makeup on, and far too many piercings for her liking who was doing her best to look like she was too cool for the room. “So, do you have that skirt in the window in a size four?” she asked sweetly.

Sighing as if the weight of the world was just placed squarely on her shoulders, the mare put down her tattoo magazine and walked them over to a rack, pulling out a skirt. “Here. The dressing room is over there,” she said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder.

“Thank yyyooouuu!” Cadance sang as she bounced towards the darkest corner of the shop where the dressing room lurked.

The salesclerk gave the filly the once over and snapped her gum before returning to the register, while Twilight nervously browsed the more kitschy knick-knacks that seemed to collect in stores like these. She was examining the pleather collars, shaking her head at the many different styles of spikes and studs on them when Cadance stepped out of the dressing room again, sporting the tightest, tiniest skirt, she had ever seen a pony wear.

Twirling around, the alicorn asked, “What do you think? The tailhole is a bit tight, but I really like the way it lays.” Indeed, the skirt didn't so much as “lay” as it rippled across her rear with her movements in a manner more consistent with paint than the satin fabric from which it was composed. Every time she took a step, it seemed to threaten to slide up, revealing her panties to the world, and the waistband sat so low, that the top of those undergarments were plainly visible.

The mare behind the counter glanced over the top of her magazine, then slowly laid it on the counter and sashayed over to the pink alicorn and appeared to give her a critical eye. “It's good, but it needs the right top to go with it, not to mention the right panties. For the former, I would go with a white lace bustier and a black jacket...” She looked over at another rack and pulled out a black bolero jacket made of the same shiny material as the skirt and held it in front of her. “Yes, something like this works nicely. As for the panties, I would go with black lace if you don't mind the top showing, a G-string or commando if not. Also, stockings with a garter belt are a must.”

Cadance slipped on the jacket, twisting this way and that to test out the fit. “Ooo... I likey very much. I'll take 'em.” As the mare rung up the clothes, she leaned over the counter in a position the forced her boobs out into everyone's face, and coquettishly asked, “So, do you recommend any places here for the rest of your suggestions?”

Twilight's eyes went wide at the question as well as the fact that Cadance seemed to be flirting with the salesclerk, but her mouth dropped when the mare seemed to be reciprocating the gesture and leaned close to the alicorn, their noses almost touching. “I thought you and my brother were seeing each other,” the unicorn said with a dangerous tone to her voice.

The salesclerk put a finger to her chin. “A coltfriend?” she asked thoughtfully. After a moment, she inquired with a raised, curious eyebrow, “Is he cute?”

Cadance returned to her hooves, her fists on her cocked hips and threw her a wink. “A Royal Guard. Do you think anything less could have even a chance at all this?”

“You have way too high an opinion of yourself, Cadance,” the salesclerk replied, at which, the alicorn rolled her eyes.

Twilight looked between them, understanding dawning on her face. “Wait, you two know each other?”

With a sigh, Cadance said, “Twilight, meet Careless Whisper; a friend of mine from high school, and local blabbermouth.”

Looking at the mare again with a critical eye, Twilight squinted and focused on her eyes before gasping. “Wait, I remember you. You used to come over when Cady was foalsitting me after she put me to bed.”

“Told you she'd remember me, Cady,” Careless Whisper said, holding her hand out, palm up.

Cadance put a handful of coins in it and sighed. “Yeah, yeah, rub it in. Not like it's easy to forget a pony who voluntarily wears enough makeup for an entire circus' worth of clowns,” she said with a smirk.”

“I'll have you know that it's down to a mere carnival's worth of clowns, now,” she replied as she pocketed the money, sticking out her tongue and causing both mares to break out in a case of loud giggling.

Twilight rolled her eyes at their banter. “And you always wondered how I kept waking up with you two carrying on like this on the floor below my bedroom?”

(\ /)
( . .)
*(“)(“)

With a nervous gulp, Twilight approached the heavy, wooden doors leading to Celestia's private parlor. The guards standing at attention on either side of it politely kept their gazes locked on a spot hovering in front of their faces somewhere on just this side of infinity, allowing the filly to collect herself.

Having been called here to discuss her punishment, she was understandably nervous, but not overly concerned that additional punishments would follow. It had long been The Princess' way to have a discussion after a punishment was completed to “clear the board” as it were so that they might start anew with a fresh understanding and perspective. Twilight had even taken to call these meetings “after-punishment reports” or even debriefings. Normally, they would have had this talk directly after the punishment was concluded, but given how she had acted towards her mentor last, Twilight was silently dreading seeing her again.

She paced in front of the doors, partly to wait for the exact moment at which she was appointed, but also to gather her thoughts and just what she would say. Come on, Sparkle! This is The Princess we're talking about. She'd forgive you anything short of treason or calling her fat. But what is if she doesn't forgive me? Or worse, what if she gives me that “I'm very disappointed in you” look? Oh, Light, I don't think I could take that look again! I actually think my heart stopped, last time! An internal alarm told her that her appointed time had arrived, and she stopped her pacing. Get a grip, Sparkle! It's do or die time. No more time for contemplation.

With a nod towards the guard on the right, she stood before the door, allowing him to open it for her. She walked in and spotted Celestia sitting on their favorite couch, a steaming pot of tea on the low table before her. “You wished to see me, Princess?”

As the guard pulled the door closed, he could hear the alicorn reply, “Yes, Twilight. It seems that there are some misconceptions I must clear between the two of us...”

Author's Note

Okay. So, after some further contemplation and some rather pointed arguments from some of my readers, I've decided to heed their advice in regards to Twilight's punishment, and not only expand on why she was punished in story, but give it a little tweak so as to not make it seem like Celestia is some colossal bitch. It's easy to forget that not all the readers will come to the same conclusions why a character will act a certain way, and that they are not privy to all the information I, the writer have, so misconceptions are sure to crop up now and then. So, for those of you who argued for this, this one's for you.

Also, that scene with Celestia, Cadance, and Plain Sight was paraphrased from a scene idea from runewalker, so if you don't like it, blame him/her.
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