When violet eyes get brighter
"I'm sooo lucky to have you as my foal sitter!" declared the little filly as Cadence pushed her on the swing, bringing a smile to the young mare's face.
Without missing a beat, Cadence countered with "I'm the one who's lucky, Twilight."
"Heh, you're a princess!" Unseen by Twilight, Cadence rolled her eyes in response. The foal frowned as she continued. "I'm just a regular old unicorn..."
At this, Cadence stopped the swing and pulled Twilight into a hug, bringing a smile back to the foal's face. "You're anything but a 'regular old unicorn,'" Cadence giggled as she removed the filly from the swing. Giving Twilight a playful grin, the two began to sing:
"Sunshine! Sunshine! Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"
Falling to the ground, the pair began to laugh together. It had been a marvelous spring day at the park and one that Cadence was sure to remember for a long time. She had been a foal-sitter for a number of families in Canterlot, but Twilight was certainly special. She was so bright and happy.
Resting on a blanket in the grass, Twilight and Cadence looked up at the sun as it moved across the sky. Here, Twilight posed a question. "Cadence?"
"What is it Twilight?" The young mare asked, rolling to look over at the little filly.
"If Princess Celestia raises the sun and the moon, what do you do?"
Cadence gave a small laugh. "Well, to be honest, I haven't really figured that out."
Taken aback, Twilight pointed at Cadence's flank, "But you have your cutie mark. And you're a princess! How come you don't know your destiny?"
"Just because a pony has her cutie mark doesn't mean she has her whole life planned," said Cadence. "And being a princess doesn't make me any wiser than anypony else. I still have plenty of things to learn."
"But I thought a princess ruled over a kingdom, and that she had important responsibilities," Twilight explained.
It took Cadence a moment to come up with a response. This was not the first time that Twilight had posed difficult questions to her. Truth be told, Twilight asked her more questions than any of the other little ponies she foal-sat for put together. However, this was the first time that the questions were this personal.
"A princess does have responsibilities, that's true," Cadence admitted. "But I'm still new to being a princess. I wasn't born this way; I became an alicorn. And even if I was born one, I'm still not sure that I'd have everything figured out by now. Do you think Celestia knew how to raise the sun her whole life? Or that she was perfect at it the first time she did?"
"Well, probably not, but..." Suddenly, Twilight sat upright. "The Summer Sun Celebration!" she shouted. "It's tomorrow morning!" Standing up, Twilight began to pace back and forth, her breathing escalating rapidly. "Oh, how did I forget? I've been planning this day for months! I needed to get to bed extra early so that I could wake up for it."
Laughing, Cadence stood up and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, stopping the filly in her tracks. "It'll be alright," she said. "We still have plenty of time for you to get some sleep before tomorrow morning."
"Are you sure?" asked Twilight. "Because according to my schedule I'll need an extra thirty minutes to fall asleep because of the anticipation. I don't want to fall asleep too late and then miss Celestia raising the sun!"
Cadence shook her head. "I'm sure you won't miss it." Seeing that the filly was still concerned, Cadence thought for a moment and, when inspiration struck her, said, "Twilight, what if I promise to come get you tomorrow morning? That way, if you oversleep, I can be there to wake you up."
Twilight cocked her head to the side. "You'd do that for me?"
Nodding, Cadence lightly rubbed Twilight's mane with her hoof. "Anything for my favorite little filly."
"Okay," said Twilight. "We need to leave by 4:36. Celestia raises the sun at 5:07 on the longest day of the year, and we can't afford to let bad hoof traffic keep us from making it on time!"
"Of course. I won't be late," said Cadence, who needed to suppress a laugh. Twilight was the most intelligent and well scheduled filly she had ever met. Most of the other foals she sat for couldn't even tell the time on a traditional clock, but Twilight was certainly special. The alicorn looked up at the sun and, seeing that it was getting fairly late, Cadence motioned for the two to depart. They stepped off of the blanket and Cadence folded it with her magic.
To be honest, Cadence wasn't planning on going to the Celebration this year. The Canterlot ones are always so overcrowded; the last time I went it wasn't really that enjoyable. Maybe I should ask her parents to... She set the blanket on her back and glanced at her side to see only grass. Worried that she had lost Twilight, Cadence looked around only to see that the filly was fifty feet away in the direction of her house.
"Come on! Hurry!" shouted Twilight. "I only have 18 minutes to get home!"
Cadence laughed. Then again, she thought. I think Twilight could make this one pretty enjoyable for me.
★ ★ ★
While it was still dark, at 4:35 sharp, Cadence walked up to the steps of Twilight's home. She prepared to knock three times on the door, but the instant her hoof struck for the first time, the door flung open and Twilight was standing in the doorway, ready to go.
Rolling her eyes, Cadence mused, "Well, I guess I didn't need to wake you up after all."
"Oh, don't worry. You were still quite helpful," said Twilight as she stepped out the door. "Because I knew that you would be here, I woke myself up a little early so I could be prepared when you got here. I'd never want to keep somepony waiting." Turning back and leaning her head into the doorway, Twilight shouted "Mom! Dad! Cadence is here! We're going to go to the Celebration."
"Have fun you two!" was the somewhat weary reply of Twilight's mother. Mrs. Sparkle had been very grateful that Cadence was taking her daughter to the Celebration. After Twilight had gone to bed the night before, the mare admitted to Cadence that she and her husband were less than enthused about waking up at four in the morning to take their daughter across Canterlot. Cadence understood completely. Her parents had also slept in today. Summer Sun Celebrations were a big deal in other parts of Equestria, but they happened in Canterlot every few years. The younger ponies and travelers from across the land made the Canterlot Celebrations by far the most well attended, but eventually going to a crowded, early event full of screaming children became less enjoyable.
The pair walked through the streets of Canterlot toward the fairgrounds where the sun was due to be raised. Ponies passed by them on either side; Twilight's little legs couldn't quite keep up with the full grown mares and stallions heading to the Celebration. They were of little concern to Cadence. She didn't care how long it took for Twilight to walk there as long as the pair arrived on time, which, thanks to Twilight's scheduling, was all but guaranteed.
After traveling for a few blocks, Cadence heard a familiar voice call out to her from across the street. "Princess!" said a white, monocled unicorn as he began to walk through the crowd toward the two, who both stopped to greet the stallion.
"Fancy Pants," said Cadence with a smile. "So good to see you again."
"The pleasure is all mine, Mi Amore Cadenza." Fancy Pants bowed in greeting.
Giggling, Cadence said, "Just Cadence is fine."
"Of course," Fancy Pants then noticed the purple foal standing at Cadence's side. "And who is this young filly?"
"My name is Twilight Sparkle," stated Twilight with a nod.
"Wonderful to meet you, Miss Sparkle." Turning back to Cadence, Fancy Pants asked, "I'm surprised to see you on your way to the Celebration this morning. Didn't you say at Prince Blueblood's last dinner party that you weren't planning to attend."
"Oh, I wasn't planning on it," Cadence admitted. "But Twilight here wanted to go and I thought it would be fun to take her."
Fancy Pants smiled and looked down at Twilight, "Such a young filly being personally escorted by a princess? Clearly you are somepony very important."
Twilight gave a soft "heh" in reply and looked away.
Cadence nodded. "Yes, Twilight is a very special little filly."
"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to hold you two up." Fancy Pants then asked, "You will be attending the new art gallery opening next Tuesday?"
"Of course," Cadence gave a small bow.
Fancy Pants followed suit with a bow of his own. "I look forward to seeing you there." Then, looking to Twilight, he smiled, "And it was a pleasure meeting you, my dear." Turning, Fancy Pants set off toward the fairgrounds.
Looking down at Twilight, Cadence said, "I'm sorry about that. If you're worried we might be late I can carry you the rest of the way."
Twilight shook her head. "That's alright. I planned for distractions like that in my scheduling. We'll still make it on time." Normally the filly was happy when discussing her planning and forethought, but she spoke of this in a dull tone. Cadence simply nodded and the pair continued on their way.
At this point, Cadence had almost forgotten Twilight's concerns from yesterday about destiny and her cutie mark. But the comment about Twilight being a very important pony had brought the memory back. Apparently, it had done that same for Twilight. Following their brief talk with Fancy Pants, Twilight's steps were not the springy bounces that Cadence had come to expect from the little filly when she was excited.
★ ★ ★
The two traveled the rest of the way to the fairgrounds in silence and, upon reaching them, Cadence tapped Twilight on the shoulder and motioned for the filly to come sit with her near a tree. When they'd sat down, Cadence asked, "Is everything okay, Twilight? You seem like you're upset about something."
The filly sighed. "It's just what you said to that stallion."
Cadence was unsure how this could have upset Twilight, but the young mare apologized anyway. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. What did I say?"
"You said you only came to the Summer Sun Celebration because of me."
"Why does that make you upset?" asked Cadence. "I thought you wanted to go?"
"I did," said Twilight. "But you're somepony really important, and I'm taking you away from dinner parties and gallery openings to bring a plain, old filly someplace you didn't even want to go."
Cadence shook her head. "Twilight, you shouldn't think like that. I'm here today because I want to be. And you are way more important than any party I could ever go to. You know I think you're special."
Twilight sighed. Cadence didn't miss this detail, but she also wasn't sure what to say. Not to mention Celestia's about to raise the sun... Looking forward toward a figurative sea of ponies, Cadence was certain Twilight wouldn't get a clear view of the raising of the sun from this distance. We've got the longest day of the year ahead of us to talk, but only a few minutes for Twilight to see the sun rise.
"Why don't you go up to the front?" asked Cadence, gesturing at the stage. "It can't be easy for you to see from here."
"Won't you come up there with me?" asked Twilight. But Cadence shook her head.
"I've already seen Celestia raise the sun before, and I'm too tall. I'd get in the other ponies' way. The little fillies and colts are supposed to go up front. Now come on, you don't want to miss this."
Twilight nodded and began to move forward, but then stopped and sat on the ground.
Frowning, Cadence went to Twilight and leaned down next to her. "You said you've been looking forward to this for months. What's wrong?"
"I don't see how a princess proving she's more special than anypony is gonna make me feel better about being just plain old Twilight..."
Cadence placed a hoof on Twilight's back, and the filly looked up to her. "Do you know how Celestia raises the sun?"
"Because she's the Princess," said Twilight matter-of-factly. "Everypony knows that."
"Being a Princess is why raising the sun is her responsibility," explained Cadence. "But that's not how she does it. She uses magic, just like a unicorn."
Twilight shook her head. "Unicorns can't raise the sun. We can just levitate things and open doors."
Cadence chuckled. "Oh really? A long time ago, it wasn't the Princess who raised the sun. Do you know who it was?"
Of course, Twilight knew the answer. She clearly remembered the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant from the previous winter. "Well, it was regular uni..." Twilight's eyes grew wide.
A series of horns began to blow and the crowed held its breath as they waited for their Bringer of the Sun and the Moon to come forth. Realizing it was now or never, Twilight exclaimed "I have to see this!" and began moving forward through the crowd. She needed to rush, but she didn't want to be rude. So Twilight gently pushed past mares and stallions to find her way toward the front, a nervous smile on her face. Yet none of them questioned a small filly like herself coming forward.
When Twilight came close enough to see, the Princess arrived. Regal as always, Princess Celestia stepped forward and bowed before the crowd. Twilight had never seen the Princess in person, at least not this close up, and she was taken aback by the flowing nature of her pastel mane. Then, the alicorn's wings burst open and her horn lit up with golden magic. Celestia rose into the sky and, behind her, the sun reveled itself over the horizon.
"Ohs" and "ahs" rose from the crowd in wonder at the sight and Twilight's eyes grew to the size of saucers as she gaped at the power of Celestia's magic. Something within Twilight stirred. A sense of desire and purpose that she had never felt in her young life. I can barely open a book, she thought. Celestia can raise the whole sun by herself. But it's not because she's a princess. It's because she can do magic. And I'm a unicorn... Twilight smiled.
As the crowd cheered, Twilight stood in awe of the spectacle. This was what magic could do. If she could just put her mind to it, Twilight herself could some day have a job as wonderful and important as Celestia's. The filly quickly began bounding back toward Cadence. She took little care of bumping into others; she was just too excited. When Twilight reached the young alicorn, both were beaming. "That was fantastic!" she shouted.
Cadence nodded warmly. "I'm so glad you thought so. I was really amazed the first time I saw Celestia raise the sun."
"And it was all with unicorn magic!" Twilight declared. Then, she asked, "Do you think if I work really hard that maybe someday Celestia will let me try to raise the sun like she does?"
Taken aback, Cadence took a moment to process the query. A little filly like Twilight being given the responsibility of raising the whole sun? It seemed improbable at best. And Cadence didn't like the idea of giving the foals she sat for unrealistic expectations about their future. But there aren't many fillies as bright and determined as Twilight...
"Well," said Cadence, "a pony like that would need to be really special. It used to take teams of ponies to raise the sun. Somepony who can raise the whole sun by herself?! She couldn't just be a regular old unicorn." At that, Twilight's ears and face began to fall, but Cadence picked up the filly in her hoofs. "But you, Twilight," she said. "You're anything but a 'regular old unicorn.'"
Twilight laughed and smiled as Cadence spun her around. And when Cadence stopped, the pair again danced together and sang their song.
"Sunshine! Sunshine! Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"
Author's Note
I really do think that Twilight seeing Celestia raise the sun made her want to do that exact thing with magic.
And this head-canon makes Twilight raising the sun at the end of Season 4 much more entertaining.
