Before the Friendship Games: Twilight Sparkle

The trip to Dean Cadance's office felt long and awkward for Twilight as they traversed the halls. What was going to happen to her?! She thought she knew the Dean until recently, and she didn't know what to expect from her anymore. Were there any other secrets she was hiding from the school? Her thoughts were interrupted as Cadance stopped in front of her office. She opened the door and walked in, leaving Twilight in the doorway.

Cadance stopped just short of her desk and turned to see Twilight pulling on her hair. She gave her a reassuring smile, then walked over to her. "Twilight," she said softly. "Come on in. I promise I won't hurt you."

Twilight slowly inched away from the door, then shut it. "H-How do I know whether or not you're t-telling the t-truth," she stuttered. Cadance drew closer, then slowly embraced her. Twilight tensed up momentarily, then exhaled. "I-I'm so sorry," she said as she reluctantly returned the hug. "I suppose my parents told you everything."

Dean Cadance broke the hug. "Yes. They did." She walked over to her desk, then gestured to a seat. Twilight sat down and looked her straight in the eyes. "I understand why you did what you did, Twilight, but you should have known better than that."

Twilight looked away in shame. "I know," she said quietly, then turned her head back to meet Cadance's gaze. "But you still haven't answered my question," she said, trying to keep her voice level.

"Twilight," Cadance said in surprise. "Why would you ask me that, even after all this time?"

"Oh, I don't know," Twilight said in a sarcastic tone, letting out some anger she'd been holding back since she found about S.M.I.L.E.. "Maybe it's the secret organization you never told me about", she said. "Or maybe it's because you had my parents and my brother lie to me!" She took a deep breath, then exhaled. "What did Principal Cinch ever do to you, anyway," she asked, folding her arms.

Cadance remained silent for a moment. "'What did she do to me?'..." Her normally calm demeanor slowly gave way to a scowl. "What did she do to me," she repeated angrily, then slammed her hands on her desk, causing Twilight to yelp and shrink in her chair. The Dean's eyes widened, then she put her hand to her head and gave a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes. "I...I'm sorry you had to see that, Twilight," she said calmly.

Twilight remained frozen in her chair, eyes wide with shock and mouth open. Dean Cadance sighed again, then opened a hidden compartment in her large desk. She produced a large and heavy book with three stripes. One gold, one rose and one violet. "Twilight," Cadance said, snapping the student back to reality. "To prove that you can trust me, I'm willing to show you the contents of this book."

Twilight quirked an eyebrow.

"Nobody but myself and my closest friends know what's contained in here. Very few S.M.I.L.E. agents even know about this book, let alone what's inside." Cadance got up from her seat, then walked over to Twilight with the book in hand. "I only have one condition."

"And that is?" Twilight shifted uneasily in her chair.

Cadance leaned into Twilight and whispered in her ear. "That what you read in here stays between you and me."

Twilight shivered, then took the book. She looked at Cadance with uncertainty.

"You'll understand when you look."

Hesitantly, Twilight opened the large book and noticed a newspaper article. She read it, then looked up at Cadance. "I don't get it," she said. "What does this have to do with-"

"Turn the page," Cadance said as she slowly walked back to her desk.

Twilight did as she was told, then audibly gasped. She put her hand to her mouth as she experienced a chill down her spine. "Y-You're..."

"Yes, Twilight. I am," Cadance said as a tear rolled down her eye.

"Oh my god," Twilight whispered. "It makes a lot of sense, but I still don't understand."

"Keep on looking."

Twilight turned the page again, and read everything. She finished, then stared up in horror at Cadance. "I... how..."

"I don't want to talk about that," Cadance said, looking away. "It enrages me every time I read it."

"A-And she just..."

"Do you understand now, Twilight," Cadance asked.

"I do...but I don't condone how you're going about it."

Cadance barked a mirthless laugh. "You wouldn't be the first to say so."

"How could you keep something like this from your agents," Twilight said, gesturing to the book. "If they find out about why you're really doing this, they might quit altogether!"

"I plan on telling them after the Friendship Games," Cadance said. "For better or for worse."

"Good," Twilight said, surprising herself.

"So I assume you're not interested in joining S.M.I.L.E.?"

Twilight shook her head. "That's correct."

"That's a shame, really," Cadance said. "We could have used someone with your intellect."

Twilight got up off of her chair and gave the book back to Cadance. "I'm flattered, but I'm just not cut out for the cloak and dagger lifestyle."

Cadance nodded. "Understood."

"But don't worry," Twilight said as she put a hand on Cadance's shoulder. "Your secrets will be safe with me." Cadance got up and hugged her.

"Twilight," Cadance said. "You don't have to hide your pain." Twilight's eyes widened. "I can tell you've been under a lot of stress lately," she whispered. "I can tell when someone's holding back tears... Because I've been there more times than I'd care to admit." She heard Twilight sniffle. "So just let it all out here. It'll just be between the two of us."

Twilight slowly tightened the hug, then broke. Everything from her hacking into the school's database, up to now, was being poured out of her. She'd feel terrible for a few minutes, but the release was more than needed. The warning bell for first period went off, but Twilight remained where she was for several minutes even after she stopped crying.

"You should probably go, Twilight. Wouldn't want you to be late to the first class of the day." Cadance smiled.

"Yeah. I should," Twilight said, then left.