Dean Cadance walked through the empty halls of Crystal Prep, looking for someone. Today was Friday, and all the students had already left the school with plans of how to spend the weekend. Well, there was still one student that hasn't left the building yet, and that was the one person Cadance was looking for.
She reached the janitor's closet, the one that doubles as a research lab, located in the west wing, first floor. She opened the door without even bothering to knock. She had learned that no matter how many times she did it, the person inside would be too busy to hear it.
“Twilight?” Cadance called as she poked her head inside
“Cadance!” Twilight answered happily from the corner. She put away a box she was rummaging through before turning to look at Cadance. “What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see you,” she said, entering the room, leaving the door open behind her. She took a look around the room, noticing that a few of the electronics in the room were missing. “This room looks so weird without all the research instruments.”
Twilight rubbed her arm. “Yeah, I… It’s my last day here in Crystal Prep, so I wanted to leave this place in order. I returned the computers the school lent me to the labs and packed the few things that belong to me in those boxes.”
Cadance moved to sit on a table, right next to one of Twilight’s boxes. “So… How are you feeling? Excited to go to CHS?”
“I… yeah, I am,” Twilight answered quietly.
“Twilight, is something wrong?”
“Nothing… I just, I’m really excited to go, but… You are my best friend, Cadance. You have been since that first day you went to my home to look after me.” Her eyes looked at Cadance for less than a second before lowering to the floor. “I just realized that I’ll really miss you.”
Cadance smiled warmly at Twilight, grabbing the girl’s hand and pulling her into a hug. “I’ll miss you too, but we’ll keep seeing each other. I’ll visit you and the two of us will hang out.”
Twilight remained quiet against Cadance’s chest, her arms around the woman.
“You know,” Cadance continued, “for my part, I’m really happy that you’re doing this.” She stroked Twilight’s head. “These past five years, I have been watching a smart and beautiful girl distance herself from others, slowly becoming lonelier and lonelier. It made me really sad to see a girl I care so much for become like that.”
“I was extremely happy when that girl told me she wanted to transfer to Canterlot. She took that decision not because she was pursuing knowledge like always, but because she was pursuing happiness.”
Cadance could feel Twilight tightening her arms around her. “Those six girls from CHS, I’m sure you all will become really good friends.”
“I’m still going to miss you a lot.”
“And I’ll miss you, but it isn’t like you will lose me, you are gaining six friends while keeping this one.” A mischievous grin popped on her lips. “Who knows, you might even gain a boyfriend. I noticed how that kid with spiky blue hair looked–”
“I don’t want a boyfriend.”
“Come on,Twilight. He looks like a sweet kid, and quite handso–”
“I’m not interested in boys,” she said, burying her face on Cadance chest.
“Oh…” Cadance said, a little surprised. “You mean not interested in boys at this moment in life or that you are interested in…”
Twilight remained silent.
“Twily, if you like girls, then that is perfectly fine, it doesn’t change my opinion of you.”
Twilight took a deep breath. “I… there’s someone I like,” Twilight said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Hearing this filled Cadance with joy. Her little Twilight was interested in someone! “That is fantastic! Did one of those girls from CHS caught your interest?”
Twilight shook her head in negation.
“No? Not even that girl with the fiery hair?” Twilight negated again. “Hmm, who could be… Oh, Is it someone from here?”
It took a moment before Twilight nodded.
“One of the girls that participated in the games?” Twilight shook her head. Cadance sighed. “Could you tell me please who is it?”
Twilight remained still for a long time until Cadance let out another sigh.
“Have you at least told this girl how you feel?”
Twilight shook her head.
Cadance took a deep breath, rubbing Twilight’s back. “You should tell her, make her know how you feel.”
“But… What if she doesn’t feel the same.”
“That is a risk that everyone has to take at some point.”
Twilight was quiet, thinking for almost a minute, before nodding. “Alright, I’ll do it.” The girl slightly pulled away. She looked up, meeting Cadance eyes. There was something in that look that caused Cadance heart to skip a beat, and before she could do or say anything, Twilight had moved forward, capturing Cadance lips with her own.
Caught by surprise, Cadance reacted without thinking, placing her hands on Twilight’s shoulders and pushing her away with a little more force than intended, breaking the kiss.
Cadance looked wide eyed at Twilight whom lay on the floor, looking right back at her. Twilight broke the eye contact, looking down as a tear rolled down her cheek. She stood up, running out and down the corridor before Cadance could even react.
“W-wait, Twilight! Wait!” Cadance tried to chase after the teenager, but the girl quickly got away. It would be impossible to catch up with her. ‘Why did I have to wear heels today?’
“Oh god,” Cadance said, leaning against a wall and lifting a hand to her head. “Did that really happen? Did Twilight…” She trailed off, her hand lowering to touch her lips and her face turning red at the fresh memory, but the memory was quickly replaced by the image of a crying Twilight running away.
“Shit.” Cadance was a proper woman that avoided using those kinds of word, but there were moments when it was unavoidable to use them. “Shit, what am I supposed to do?” Cadance groaned, burying her face on her hands. “I could have reacted way better.”
Twilight Velvet was enjoying a quiet afternoon, passing the time reading while lying on the couch of the living room. She let out a hum of contentment each time she remembered that she had finished every chore of the day. Now, she had the whole afternoon to advance on this novel that she had wanted to read for so long, but hadn’t found the time to do so.
Sadly, she wouldn’t be able to get far in her reading.
“Let’s go out!” a voice screamed as Velvet felt a little something landing on her stomach.
Velvet moved the book away, looking with annoyance at the little puppy that was standing on her stomach. “Spike, I took you out for a walk just half an hour ago,” she said, taking the little puppy by the scruff of his neck, lifting him from her stomach and gently placing him on the floor.
“Yeah, but I’m bored,” he said as he lowered his body on the floor. “When is Twilight coming back home?”
“Soon… I hope,” she answered, before returning her attention to the book.
Velvet pondered for a moment at this interaction with Spike. A week ago she had completely freaked out when Spike had asked her for some meat. It had taken the whole day for her daughter to convince her that Spike hadn’t been possessed by a demon or something similar. Today, it felt like Spike had been able to talk his whole life.
Velvet jumped in surprise, startled by the sound of the front door opening and slamming closed a second later. Turning her head towards the hall, she caught her daughter rushing up the stairs.
“Twilight!” Her call came unanswered. She sighed, as this was something that usually happened when her daughter had her mind occupied with something sciency. “She could at least say hi.” Velvet shook her head, thinking on going back to her novel.
“Uhm, I think you should go talk to her,” Spike said, looking at Velvet with a sad face. “I… I think I heard her crying.”
Velvet looked at Spike, then towards the hall. Her maternal instinct kicked in. She stood up, placing the book on the table, walking out of the living room and hurrying up the stairs towards Twilight’s room.
She knocked twice. “Twilight,” she called out, remaining quiet for a second, trying to listen for any kind of sound. It was muffled, but she could hear them clearly. Sobs. Her daughter was crying.
She turned the knob, thankful to find that it wasn’t locked. “Twily, baby,” Velvet said, walking over to Twilight’s bed, where her daughter lay with her face buried on the pillow. She examined her daughter’s body, searching for any kind of injury or sign of violence. There was none. She sat next to her, placing a hand on her back. They remained like that for a while, Twilight crying on the pillow while Velvet rubbed her back, waiting.
Twilight’s sobs ceased, prompting Velvet to talk. “Baby, what’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing,” Twilight whispered.
“Baby, It’s clear that it isn’t nothing. Did something happen in school?”
“I… I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Come on, honey. Keeping it to yourself won’t help. I might be able, but not if you don’t tell me.”
Velvet wouldn’t pressure her daughter to tell her. She would wait. She waited for a sound or sign from her while still rubbing her back.
“Mom?”
“Yes, baby?”
Twilight hesitated for a moment before saying: “I like girls.”
The statement caused Velvet to cease her actions. Her breath caught in her throat and her hand frozen in place. Of all the things she had imagined her daughter to say, this was certainly not in the list. It came as a shock to her. When she had imagined her kids finding someone they liked, she had always imagined Shining with a girl and Twilight with a boy.
Velvet looked down at Twilight’s back, thinking how this new information made her feel. She was okay with homosexuals, but her girl being one…
She leaned down and planted a kiss on top of Twilight’s head.
She had to admit, she was sad knowing this, but was she disappointed? Not in the slightest. The only thing that she wanted about was for Twilight to be happy, and that wasn’t how her daughter was feeling right now.
“That’s fine, baby,” she said, resuming the movement of her hand over Twilight’s back. Twilight lifted her face from the pillow, flashing a smile to her mother. Velvet continued. “Honey, come here, sit please.” She patted the place on the bed right next to her. Twilight complied quickly and Velvet placed her arm around her daughter. “If you like girls, then I’m okay with it, but I’m guessing that’s not the reason why you’re crying.”
“It isn’t,” she answered while looking down at her hands.
“But it has something to do with it.”
Twilight nodded.
“Twilight...” Velvet paused worriedly, a frown showing on her face. “Did someone bully you in school for liking girls?”
Twilight shook her head. “No, no. I… No one bullied me.”
“Then what's got you like this?”
“Mom, I…” Twilight held back a sob. “I ruined it, mom. I completely fucked up,” she cried, turning her head to the side and resting it on her mother’s shoulder, wrapping her arms around the older woman, her fists clenching on the back of Velvet’s blouse.
Velvet hugged her daughter, one arm on her back and the other behind her head. Any other day she would have scolded her daughter for her language, but she could make an exception today. “There, there baby. Tell me what happened.”
Twilight managed to calm herself a little to speak. “I was with– Ugh, t-there’s someone I like, and I… We w-were talking in the research lab and I j-just… God, I’m so stu-stupid, I didn’t even ask her if she likes girls.” A wave of sobs didn’t let her continue.
“Honey, calm down. I’m sure that whatever you did wasn’t that bad ”
Twilight shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. We were alone and I wanted to tell her. I was going to but I… I kissed her instead.” Twilight tightened her grip on Velvet. “She pushed me, mom. I was scared of what could happen, so I ran away.”
“Oh, baby. Everything will be fine.”
“No, it won’t! I ruined everything! Mom, I really like her. I’m scared, What if she hates me for this?”
“Baby, I don’t think that this girl will hate you just for a kiss. You should go and talk to her tomorrow. Things might be awkward between you two for a while, but if you talk things out, you might be able to fix this. She might not like girls, but you didn’t stay long enough to find out.”
“No… she must hate me. It was so dumb to kiss her without warning. She hated–”
“You caught her by surprise, that’s why she did it. I’m actually surprised she didn’t slap you.” Velvet let out a giggle. “I think you might have inherited that from your father.”
“What?” She asked, pulling away slightly and looking up.
“Hmmm, twenty five years ago... Your father and I had know each other for a few months. We were hanging around with a couple of friends, and without even a warning, your father grabbed me by the shoulder and kissed me. I slapped him really hard, all our friends were laughing at him.” Velvet smiled dreamily at the memory. “The next day, we went out in our first official date.”
Twilight sighed dejectedly. “I don’t think that will be my case.”
“All I can say is that you have to meet with her, offer an apology and hope for the best. Who knows, life might smile at you,” Velvet said with a smile of her own.
Twilight didn’t say anything.
“You should let this matter rest for today. After all that happened, you must be tired. Try to sleep.” Velvet stood up, looking back and leaning forward to place a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “Tomorrow will be another day.”
“I’ll try,” Twilight mumbled, lying back.
“I’ll call you later for dinner,” Velvet heard an approving noise as she left the room.
As she went down the stairs, she saw the smallest member of the family looking up at her.
“So… Was she really crying?” Spike asked worriedly.
“Yes, she was. Thank you for telling me to go talk to her,” Velvet said, walking back to the living room a sitting on the couch.
Spike jumped on Velvet’s lap. “And? Why was she crying?”
“Love problems,” Velvet answered as she scratched Spike behind his ear. “Things didn’t go as she would had liked.”
“Is there something I can do? Maybe I could lend her my squeaky ball,” Spike asked hopefully.
Velvet chuckled. “Sure, go up there. Twilight could use some distraction.”
Spike nodded, running away in search of his toy.
Cadance turned off the engine of her compact car. She looked at the house she had parked in front of, then at the box on the passenger seat of her car.
The box was filled to the top with books. Most of them were about math and physics, and the remaining few were about history, chemistry and psychology. The it wasn’t just filled with books, there were a few notebooks were Twilight tooks notes about her experiments, but not only that. After a quick look through them, Cadance flushed as she found out that it also contained a great amount of hearts with her name within.
Cadance sighed, wondering for how long had Twilight felt like this towards her? God, she was probably the girl's first love. Cadance could only groan as she remember how she had reacted to the kiss, and Twilight running away with tears rolling down her cheeks after that.
She took the box and left the car, moving directly to the entrance and ringing the bell. She could hear the voice of Velvet yelling, “One moment.” Ten seconds later, the door opened.
“Cadance,” Velvet greeted her with a kiss to the cheek. “How have you been?”
“Fine, thank you, Mrs. Velvet.” Cadance said, looking carefully at the other woman. Twilight had certainly told her mother about what had happened, but how much was the question. Velvet had greeted her like usual and there didn’t seem to be any indication of her knowing much, so she decided to leave it at that. “May I come in?”
“Of course, of course.” Velvet stood to the side, allowing Cadance to step in. “Tell me, what brings you here?”
Cadance motioned down at the box she was holding. “This is filled with Twilight’s books. She left it in her research lab.”
“Oh, thanks for bringing it, you saved the whole family a lot of grief.” Velvet said with a laugh that Cadance vaguely mirrored, both of them knowing how Twilight was whenever she lost a book. “Here, let me.” Velvet grabbed the box and headed to the living room, placing the box on the table. “There, now,” She said, turning to look at Cadance, “may I ask if you have time for a cup of tea? I would love to catch up with you. It’s been a long time since you last visited.”
Cadance chuckled. “Sorry, Velvet, maybe another day. I actually need to talk with Twilight.”
Velvet frowned. “Is it urgent? Twily had a bad day. I don’t know if she’s in the mood to talk–”
“It’s… it’s important. I… I know what happened today and I just want to talk with Twilight about it.”
Velvet hesitated briefly before nodding. “Alright. She’s up in her room with Spike.”
“Thank you,” Cadance said with a smile, walking to the stairs.
Velvet sighed, hoping that this talk with Cadance would help her daughter.
Cadance stood still, listening at the sound of a ball bouncing against the door every few seconds, accompanied by the barks of a little dog. She breathed before knocking on the door. “Twilight?”
The bouncing stopped. It was quiet inside the room, so Cadance decided to speak again. “May I come in?”
It didn’t took long for the door to open. A little dog ran out, wagging his tail excitedly. “Cadance!”
Cadance chuckled. “Hello, Spike,” she greeted as she crouched to scratch Spike’s ear.
“You came to play with me?”
“Sorry, but no. I came to…” She trailed off, looking up at Twilight who was standing right next to the door, looking back at her. The student quickly adverted her gaze and moved to her bed.
Cadance stood up. “Spike, I need to talk with Twilight. Could you give us some privacy?”
“Umm, sure. I’ll go down stairs.”
“Thanks.” Cadance smiled at the dog before entering the room and closing the door behind her.
Inside, Twilight was sitting on her bed, looking down at her feet while Cadance stood against the door, scratching her arm and a single question filling her whole mind. How long had it been since she had felt this awkward when trying to talk with someone? She wasn’t sure how to start, but she had to start somewhere. She had to clear what had happened. Speak with the girl and reassure her that things weren’t as bad as she was most likely thinking they were.
“Twilight…” She moved forward, sitting at the edge of the bed. “I… What happened today–”
“I’m sorry.” Twilight interrupted. “I… I don’t know why I did it. I just… You told me that I should make her -uhhh- you know how I feel and I-I… God, what was I thinking? I should have used words, and I was about to, but out of nowhere I remembered that actions are better than words and I have wanted to kiss you for a long time, so I just did that… I really liked it, but it must have been horrible for you. You probably don’t like girls, and I made it even worse because that was my first kiss, so I don’t really know if there’s a specific way to do it. I’m sorry I just… I’m so dumb, but I promise this won’t happen again, just…” Twilight stopped her rambling. Her body was shaking as the words “Please don’t hate me” left her mouth.
Cadance moved in a second, wrapping her arms around the teenager. “Imposible. I would never be able to hate you.” She said, feeling the girl’s body shake against her own, and a wetness forming on her shoulder where Twilight rest her head.
“Twilight, I… I’m not mad at you or anything like that. I’m mad, but mad at myself for reacting how I did,” she said as she stroked the girl’s back. “I’m sorry for pushing you. It wasn’t because I disliked it or anything, it was because you caught me off guard.”
Cadance smiled as she felt how Twilight had slowly stopped shaking.
“Twilight, I’m speaking the truth when I said that I didn’t dislike the kiss… but you could use some practice.” Cadance awkwardly laughed at her attempt to lighten things up, but stopped when Twilight remained quiet. “Sorry. I… I’m going to be a little open with you here, but I want you to listen quietly before saying anything, okay?” Cadance waited for a second before feeling Twilight’s nod.
“I… I have had my good share of experiences in the field of love, and with that I mean that I have experimented a bit of this and a bit of that. After those experiences, I have to say that I don’t see a problem of me falling in love with a woman.”
“Twilight, you are a lovely girl, you are smart, passionate and fun to be with. You are a great girl… but I can’t.” Cadance breathed deeply. “Twilight, I want you to be happy, but I can’t be the one to make you happy when it comes to this.”
“W-why not?” Twilight asked, barely managing to suppress a sob.
Cadance hummed. “While I don’t have a problem with being romantically involved with a woman, I do have a problem with… with dating someone underage.” Cadance grabbed Twilight by the shoulders and gently pulled apart. She looked straight at the girl in the eyes. “I believe that as long as two persons are above age and don’t harm anyone, then they can love each other as much as they want, no matter what.”
Twilight looked down, sighing. “N-not to mention the problems this would bring to you in your work. I mean, the dean of a prestigious academy dating a student. It would be a big scandal.”
Cadance nodded. “Yes, that’s another reason.” She extended her arm to hold Twilight in a half hug. “I’m curious,” she said, looking at Twilight with a playful smile, “how long have you been feeling like this towards me?”
Twilight’s face gained a pink shade. “I, well, I… I think that they… Uhm, I have been having feelings for you for a long time, but I fully understood what they were about… five months ago.”
Cadance smiled warmly. “Really? That long?” Her smile turned slightly mischievous. “I just have to ask, what attracted you the most about me? Was it perhaps... ” She got close to Twilight’s ear and whispered, “my body?”
Twilight turned red. “I... You… Uhm…” Twilight mumbled, occasionally looking towards Cadance before looking somewhere else.
Cadance laughed heartedly. ”Relax, Twilight, I’m just teasing you. You don’t have to ans–”
“Your smile.” Twilight blurted out. “I… the first year in Crystal Prep was hard, but at the end of each day, you always came to the lab with a smile on your face, and I just felt like, like…” She trailed of as she felt Cadance leaning to place a kiss on top of her head.
“You are a great girl, and I’m sure you will find someone that can return your feelings,” Cadance said, removing her arm from the semi hug. She stood up, ready to leave, but a hand latched on her wrist and pulled her back on the bed. “Twilight?” She asked with a curious gaze.
The girl didn’t look at her. She remained with her eyes downcast as the words left her mouth. “I don’t want anyone else.”
Cadance looked sadly at the girl. “Twilight… You know that we can’t be like–”
“I know… I… I just… I…” Twilight took a moment to clear her thoughts. “Would you wait for me?”
“What?” Cadance asked confused.
“It’s just… The only reason that you have told me why you won’t date me is because I’m only sixteen years old. Not a single time have you said anything like I’m not your type or anything like that, so I … Cadance, I… I want to know… in two years, if I were to ask you out again… would you say yes?”
“Twilight, I…”
“I’m not asking you to wait for me… or to completely freeze your love life...” She sighed. “What I’m asking for... What I want is… a maybe. A maybe would make me extremely happy right now.”
Cadance remained silent, thinking about what Twilight had said, about what she felt about this and about what she thought of this.
She stood up again, Twilight’s hand releasing its grip on Cadance’s. She looked down at the girl who looked up with a hopeful expression. With her left hand, she ruffled the girl’s hair. “Ask me again in two years and we’ll see what comes out of it, BUT… Twilight, I can’t promise you that I’ll be single.”
A small smile formed on Twilight’s lips. “Thank you,” she said, leaping forward and holding Cadance in a tight hug. “That’s all I wanted.”
“One condition though.” Cadance said as she freed herself from the girl’s embrace. “I won’t shy away from any potential relationship that might pop up in this two years. So I want you to promise me that if someone asks you out in a date, you’ll accept and really, really, give that person a chance.”
“A-alright, but I don’t think that will happen. Who would be interested in… me,” she said as she looked down at herself.
“Twilight,” Cadance started, her voice acquiring a scolding tone. “You are beautiful, and that’s the absolute truth. I’m sure that other people in your new school will share my opinion. So don’t ever dare to say something like that again.”
“I…” Twilight played with her hands, a goofy smile on her face. “You think I’m beautiful?”
“Of course I…” Cadance stopped, realizing what she had just said to the girl that had a crush on her. She cleared her throat. “You are.”
“I… I think that you are beautiful.”
Cadance cheeks gained a pink tint. “Thank you. Now…” Cadance extended her hand towards Twilight, who quickly took it and allowed herself to be pulled of the bed. “Do we have a deal?”
Twilight nodded. “ We’ll continue with our normal lives, take whatever chance comes our way, and in two years, you will take me out in a wonderful date,” she said with glee.
“Twilight…”
The girl sighed. “We’ll see what happens in two years.”
“That’s better,” Cadance said, shaking Twilight’s hand, sealing the deal. “I’m glad we talked, but I better get going, It’s getting late.” She said as she opened the door walked out of the room, Twilight behind her.
“Yes, of course. I... “ Twilight seemed hesitant for a second before standing on the tip of her toes and placing a kiss on Cadance’s left cheek. The girl quickly turned around and locked herself in the room, leaving a surprised Cadance behind.
Cadance let out a chuckle as she shook her head. The woman moved back to the first floor, moving to the door but stopping shortly as someone spoke behind her.
“Already leaving?” Velvet asked.
Cadance turned to face the older woman. “Yes, sorry that I can’t stay longer.”
“It’s not a problem, but promise that you’ll come back soon to share a cup of tea with me.”
“Sure.” Cadance said, turning again to leave. As she opened the door, she met face to face with Shining Armor.
A wide smile popped on Shining’s face. “Cadance! What are you doing here?” He asked while leaning forward to place a kiss on Cadance’s right cheek.
“Hey, Shining. I was talking with Twilight.”
“Oh, what about? Something related to her transfer to this other school?”
“Not really. We just… we had a bit of a girls talk, so I can’t give you the details.”
Shining nodded. “Alright, alright, I won’t ask for them. So… do you have time for a cup of coffee? Or do you have to leave already?”
“Sorry, but no coffee today. We’ll hang out some other day.” Cadance said, hugging Shining before walking to her car. As she reached the door, she heard footsteps getting closer to her. She turned around to see Shining fidgeting in place, scratching his head.
“Hey, Cadance, I… There’s this new restaurant that just opened a few blocks down the street… Would you like to go tomorrow… with me?”
What a moment for Shining to finally ask her out. Cadance had known for some time now that the man was interested in her, and had been patiently waiting for him to make a move. But for that move to come this exact day.
The day when she had found out that the girl she cared for the most in this world was in love with her, and said girl happened to be the little sister of the man who had just asked her out in a date.
“I can’t, Shining, sorry,” she apologized, opening the car’s door.
“What about next week?” he insisted.
Cadance shook her head. “Sorry.”
“Ohh… Alright then. Uhm, goodbye then,” Shining said, crestfallen.
“Bye.” Cadance turned on the engine and drove away.
She could have said yes. After all, she had been waiting for that moment for a long time now. There wasn’t a single reason to turn down this chance. Shining was a smart and handsome man. She had also made it clear to Twilight that she would keep on dating.
Her left hand rose up and touched her lips.
“I didn’t dislike it at all.”
Author's Note
It's been a long time since i last read a Twidance fic, and I certainly have never read a Twidance that takes place in EQG universe, so I decided to write one.
Special thanks to Krickis for all his help with this fic.
