Enter Cadance (Revised 3/5)

Twilight hadn’t been able to make any more friends lately, but her regular visits to Octavia and Vinyl at the park were keeping her spirits high. She saw Trixie at lunch often and sometimes they even worked on illusions after school together. It wasn’t much to some ponies, but to Twilight it meant the world.

With Sunset’s help, Twilight was way ahead of her studies and had plenty of time to learn new things about whatever caught her fancy. In contrast, Celestia’s schedule was tight and their lessons had been getting cut short more often lately.

Sunset told her this was something she would need to get used to during the holidays, as it was around this time the nobles started acting up with more and more expectations thanks to the holiday season.

Today Twilight was pacing back and forth in the library, surrounded by books in her own little nook. Cadence was coming today, fresh from her latest outing as Equestria’s highest ranking ambassador. As the only Princess with the political freedom to move about as she pleased, she was in high demand, having even less time for Twilight than Celestia. Despite that, Cadence had managed to clear a whole day to spend with her favourite little filly.

Twilight consulted her hoof written checklist one more time, struggling to hold both the heavy object and a quill in her magic. Her friends knew she would be busy, she was caught up with homework, and she had a pouch of bits ready. So far everything checked out, but maybe she should check it one more time…

A chuckle sounded in the near empty library. “Hey Twilight, wearing a furrow in the floor I see.” Cadence’s eyes were sparkling.

Twilight blushed, looking at the floor just in case. After making sure that she hadn’t damaged her precious library, she looked back to Cadence, a grin on her face. “Cadence!”

She quickly ran up to the pink alicorn, jumping up to latch onto her leg. Cadence’s smile only widened as Twilight quickly hopped off and got into position.

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake!” said the both of them at the same time. “Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” They shook their flanks at each other before collapsing into a fit of giggles.

As the laughter slowly died down, Cadence reached over and pulled Twilight into a hug. She gave the little filly a quick nuzzle as Twilight snuggled into the embrace.

Cadence pulled away a few moments later. “Got everything ready?”

“Everything is double triple checked!” exclaimed Twilight, holding up the checklist in her magic.

“Alright then, I doubt we’ll have any trouble with such an organized filly on the case.” Cadence reached out and ruffled Twilight’s mane, getting a pout out of the little filly. “Onwards to adventure!”

Cadence placed Twilight onto her back with magic. After making sure she was safe and secure, she made her way out of the library. She shared a quick nod with the librarian as she left, he was giving the excited looking Twilight a small smile.

They wandered through the main streets of Canterlot. The sky was overcast, and the road was filled with ponies of all kinds, even a few carriages were making their way through the thoroughfare. They occasionally wandered down a few side paths, but mostly kept to window shopping on the main road as they headed towards Cadence’s mysterious destination.

Twilight listened intently as Cadence recounted some of the more interesting stories from her time abroad. “Then he flipped the table over and declared war on the restaurant. This normally wouldn’t have been a problem, but it turns out the chef was the kings long lost brother!” Cadence broke out into giggles.

“Well, I say lost, but apparently he just moved away. Seems like they didn’t exchange mail addresses,” said Cadence. “The look on his face when he realized the whole situation had turned into a fight for the throne was priceless!”

Twilight shook her head in wonder. “And all that was just because of some cold soup?”

Cadence smirked. “That was one of the tamer reactions honestly. They take everything way too seriously over there.”

They walked in silence as Twilight tried to process that. Cadence hummed merrily under her breath as she lead Twilight into a little toy store. The place was filled with plush toys, wooden puzzles, rubix cubes, playing cards and all sorts of small things that would keep an average foal entertained.

“Well, I don’t have any cool stories like that,” said Twilight. “But I did make some friends the other day. I’ve been hanging out with Octavia and Vinyl after school at a local park. They’re really nice.” Twilight’s gaze unfocused slightly as she gave a small smile.

“I heard about that from Shining actually,” said Cadence. “There was also a pretty big playground scuffle if I remember right, one that you handled singlehoofedly? Shiny was gushing about it the last time I saw him.”

Twilight looked away in embarrassment. “They ran away on their own, it really wasn’t a big deal.” She busied herself examining a life size pony plush. “They probably would have been fine without me. Octavia’s super strong.”

She had actually lifted Twilight up a few times when she was asked about it. She hadn’t even looked like she was straining, though Octavia did admit that her special talent did enhance her earth pony strength somewhat.

“You still stood up for them though,” said Cadence with a proud smile. “It takes a brave pony to stand up for what’s right. Especially when you’re putting yourself on the line for ponies you don’t even know.”

She ruffled Twilight’s mane. “You’re a good filly Twilight, don’t let anypony tell you otherwise.”

Twilight looked away, blushing heavily under all the unexpected praise.

Cadence’s gaze swept across the store. Looking at a collection of smaller plush pony toys, she spotted one that had an uncanny resemblance to Twilight. She picked it up quickly, before anypony else could make off with it.

“I think somepony deserves a reward for their bravery,” said Cadence. “You haven’t decided you’re too old for stuffed toys or anything have you?”

Twilight looked at the doll in confusion. “Wouldn’t having a doll that looks just like me be kind of weird?”

“Nah, that just makes for a good conversation starter.”

Cadence led them to the counter, hoofing over the bits to a forest green mare with a curly mane.

“Here you go,” said Cadence, placing the toy on Twilight’s head with a quick sticking spell. “One purple pony plush for my favourite filly.”

Twilight almost fell over trying to look up at the doll. She looked at Cadence with an adorable pout before straightening up. Cadence only chuckled and darted out of the store.

Twilight hurried to catch up, blushing with embarrassment as a few ponies snickered, and a small cream mare cooed over her.

Cadence lifted her onto her back with magic as she made her way out the door, quickly trotting through the street. She didn’t make any more stops and a few minutes later they had arrived in one of the classier neighborhoods in Canterlot.

Twilight examined the wrought iron gates protecting the manor with awe. The structure was built with pillars of white marble and polished gold. Gilded arches framed a set of oaken doors. She wondered how they kept things so clean, the manor was sparkling.

Cadence knocked on the door in a complicated pattern. Twilight could probably memorize it, but she would need to hear it a few more times in quick succession.

One of the doors swung inward with an eerie creaking sound. A beautiful mare with a pristine white coat sticking her head out of the door frame a moment later, her expectant smile framed by a pink mane.

“Cadence!” She cried out, spotting the mare. “You made it!”

She enveloped the alicorn in a warm hug before leaning to the side and getting a good look at Twilight. “You even brought the little one I see.” She said with a dopey smile, struggling not to coo over the little filly.

“Come in, come in.” She beckoned them into a sitting room every bit as lavish as the exterior would suggest. The furniture was obviously antique, and very expensive looking to Twilight’s admittedly inexperienced eyes.

She only had a moment to take it all in before she was led up a set of stairs and through a number of identical corridors. The interior becoming a blur of nondescript doors and expensive tapestries.

Twilight fought to keep herself from feeling woozy as they took twist after twist and turn after turn. Eventually arriving at a door exactly like all the others they had passed.

Inside was a large and spacious room, filled to the brim with clothing racks and screens to change behind. A large stage was placed at one end, and sitting at a nearby table was a distinguished looking stallion wearing a finely tailored suit. He looked up from scanning a newspaper as they walked in.

He gave a bemused smile as he adjusted his monocle. “Welcome back Fleur, I see you’ve brought us some guests.”

“Of course, I couldn’t leave Cadence or little Twilight out in the cold, Fancy.” Fleur said in mock exasperation.

“Perish the thought,” said Fancy with a smirk.

Cadence and Fleur headed out to search through the clothing racks. A few of the outfits they gathered were in Twilight’s size, but the vast majority were made up of fancy dresses and the kinds of accessories you would wear to a high class ball.

“Hello my dear,” said Fancy, holding out a hoof to Twilight. “How do you do?”

Twilight hesitated for a second before taking the hoof and shaking it lightly. “I’m doing quite well sir, and you?”

“Oh my, a polite one aren’t we,” said Fancy. “I’m finding the day rather delightful so far. Have either of these two explained why you’re here today? They do tend to get carried away at times.”

Twilight shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. “Cadence just said we were going to see a couple friends of hers.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” said Fancy with a chuckle. “Cadence thought we might be able to assist you in your friend making ventures. At least enough to help you wade through the high society mess you’ve likely found yourself in.”

“Cadence told you about that?” Twilight asked in concern.

“None of the details I assure you,” said Fancy. “We’ve just heard enough to know you need a little help to smooth things over. Trust me when I say we’ve had our fair share of similar problems and we wouldn’t want you learning things the hard way.”

“You have?” Twilight asked, her eyebrows raised.

Fancy chuckled. “We’ve been at this for a long time. Long enough that most of our detractors have conveniently forgotten about our humble origins. But we do still remember what it was like, and would like to help if we can.”

Twilight cocked her head curiously. She didn’t think she wanted to be friends with most of the colts and fillies at school anymore. Not after seeing them for who they really were. But maybe she could get them to cut down on the teasing and the cold looks?

What followed was a crash course on high society. What to wear, who to talk to, how to talk to them, and what to talk about. Everything and anything was up for discussion.

Twilight spent most of her time frantically scribbling down notes. Luckily, Cadence came prepared with more than enough ink and paper for a research binge of this magnitude.

“So he’s only acting?” asked Twilight. “Wouldn’t that completely ruin his reputation?”

“Normally,” said Fancy. “But he’s been at it for a long time, and all the big players know the stallion behind the fool. It’s mostly just camouflage to keep the gold diggers at bay.”

“Gold diggers?”

“Ponies more interested in money than making real friends,” said Fancy with a wry smile.

“That’s terrible.” said Twilight, her muzzle scrunching up in distaste.

“But all too common I’m afraid,” said Fancy with a sigh.

Twilight looked at him curiously, but he didn’t elaborate.

“And that’s more or less all you need to know about the art of reading body language,” said Fancy. “Keep referring to your notes and practice when you can, it’s one of the most important skills you’ll ever learn in life. Especially considering your future position.”

Twilight nodded seriously, checking her notes to make sure she had everything written down and organized properly. She wasn’t going to miss out on a chance to apply her skills to something that would actually help her socially.

Eventually they ran out of lessons to share and the chatter turned lighter. There was gossiping and discussion of foreign policies, along with a few shared stories. Some of it went over Twilight's head, but she tried her best to follow along.

They finally headed out after noticing the late hour, settling on a nearby diner that Twilight had never been to before. It was clean and well maintained, but certainly not exactly what she would have expected of Fancy and Fleur. Especially considering the kinds of ponies they associated with.

“Fleur and I first met in this diner,” said Fancy with a knowing smile. “It holds a lot of good memories for the both of us.”

Twilight blushed, nodding in embarrassment before looking away. She followed them to the table and ordered a daisy sandwich with hay fries. Sitting down to quietly contemplate what she had learned that day.

She would have tried to follow along with their conversation, but she had checked out a while ago by accident and they hadn’t called her out on it. This lead to her slowly making her way through her sandwich while blankly staring out the nearby window. He eyes lazily tracked an earth pony mare as she made her way across the street and ducked into a dark alley.

A sudden flash of green light startled her into dropping her sandwich. She looked more intently at the entrance of the alley, a confused frown coming to her face.

After a moment, a completely different pony came out of the alleyway with an eerily blank expression. As she watched, their face instantly shifted to a genuine looking smile. A chill ran down Twilight’s spine and she quickly looked away, focusing back on her meal.

The crisp cool air of the night made Twilight shiver, as she huddled closer to Cadence for warmth. The streets were lit up with bright lights and she could dimly hear chatter issuing from inside the diner. The gravel pathway felt solid beneath her hooves.

“Goodbye for now, mon amie.” said Fleur, nuzzling Cadence. “Hopefully we won’t have to wait so long to see you again next time.”

“I hope not, but you know how it is, sometimes duty calls.” Cadence smiled wryly, returning the nuzzle and giving Fleur a quick hug.

“We’ll see you again soon Twilight,” said Fancy with a warm smile. “Remember. You can send a letter anytime you feel the need. Even if you just need advice on something simple.”

Twilight smiled shyly, nodding her head.

She watched as her new friends returned home, tracking them with her eyes as they slowly faded into the distance. As she turned to follow Cadence back to the castle, she nearly ran into the pony she’d seen in the alleyway. That same smile plastered on their face.

It looked decidedly more sinister up close.

She quickly averted her eyes, watching them as they passed with a frown.

“Thinking some deep thoughts?” asked Cadence, drawing Twilight’s attention to her.

Twilight shook her head, the plushie from earlier bouncing violently. “Nothing much, just thinking about what books I wanna read tomorrow.” An old and very effective fallback when she didn’t want to answer a question.

She looked back for a moment, catching a glimpse of the mare from earlier staring at her from a distance. Twilight looked away quickly, posture stiffening.

“Race you to the castle!” She called out to Cadance as she picked up the pace and ran ahead.

No way was she dealing with whatever was going on with that pony right now.

Cadence laughed and ran alongside her at a pace Twilight could keep up with. They passed through the streets without issue, and by the time they reached the castle, Twilight had pushed the strange pony from her mind entirely.