How to Get a Marefriend (In a Roundabout Way)

Twilight hugs were nice. She had this stiffness about her, this kind of perfunctory politeness that no amount of practical social experience could seem to shake, and that made her hugs distinct. A blend of a bear hug and a hover hoof, but delivered by a small pony who had the magical power to throw a mountain, Twilight hugs were a treat.

Cadance was happy she was here. She loved Twilight, but more importantly Shining loved her too. It was a pipe dream, hoping Twilight would swoop in and fix all of the her problems, but in her defense that was something Twilight was very good at.

“We have the good guest bedroom already made up for you, Twi,” Cadance began, soaking in the nice warm emotion of the moment, “ you can stay as long as you like.” The main courtyard bustled around them.

It was another few seconds before Twilight stiffly pulled herself away, sitting back down and awkwardly fidgeting her wings. Twilight had never realized that putting her wings over another pony’s during a hug was an easy way to make sure her feathers didn’t get ruffled. Finally, feathers in order, she spoke, “That’s very sweet of you Cadance. I may stay into Monday but I don’t know.”

“You’re already here a day early for the party; don’t feel pressured to stay late! Shining’s going to be so happy when he sees you!” Cadance did a little dance, shuffling her hooves.

Twilight smirked, no doubt thinking of the little dance her and Cadance used to do when she was a filly. She sighed. “You said you wanted to talk to me about Shining?”

***

“I can’t believe he never told me…”

Cadance could feel the sinking pit in Twilight’s stomach from across the lounge. She hadn’t even thought of this reaction, but it made sense.

“Twilight…” Cadance had barely said her name before she had started to cry.

She sat there, letting tears softly roll down her cheeks, listening to Cadance stride calmly over to her from across the room. The acoustics of the lounge, furnished with plush chairs and places to recline and thick books that covered the walls, seemed to suck the sound out of the area. Cadance felt like she could hear Twilight’s heartbeat as she laid a gentle hoof on her side. The pain Twilight felt was especially bitter.

“Twilight, this is only something he really started to think about more recently. I’m sure he trusts you enough to talk about it, but you just weren’t here.” Cadance spoke so softly it seemed like magic that her words could even reach Twilight, and it probably was. The gentle cracking of the fire dominated the room.

“Why didn’t he send a letter?” Twilight finally spoke, the brunt of her sadness dissipating under the gentle patting and calming presence of Cadance.

“This is all so fresh Twilight. I’m sure he was waiting to talk to you until after his birthday.” That did it. Cadance breathed out slowly and gently, feeling some of her own tension release as Twilight seemed to undo the emotional knot in her stomach.

“So he’s just having trouble coming to terms with himself?”

***

“With Sunburst!?”

“Twilight, don’t be rude.” Cadance raised an eyebrow.

“Nonononono, I’m not trying to be mean to Sunburst…but—“

The look on Cadance’s face was one of complete smug, “Twiiiii—“

“I just mean that Sunburst for Shining is a bit of a surprise.”

“I think it fits.” Cadance sipped her tea.

“Shiny is one of the most eligible stallions in Equestria if you ask me. Very smart at magic and organization and extremely fit. Tall.”

Cadance merely smiled.

“Ew.” Twilight read the look. “Why do you think it fits?”

“Well mechanically speaking, Shining is tall and fit and Sunburst is a little shorter and…slighter.” Cadance waved her hoof around.

“What do you mean?” Twilight took a sip of her own drink.

“Well it’s clear who would be the top.”

Magic thankfully made cleaning up Twilight’s spit take fairly trivial. After she recovered and refilled her drink Cadance went on, “He spend his whole life around strong big stallions. Just not his type. He sees a cuter boy and it gets him thinking.”

“I guess. There are plenty of cute stallions he’s been around before…do you remember—“

“Twilight, I would love to talk about cute stallions with you, I really would, but I do need to know if you have any advice first.” Cadance took another drink. Twilight did the same.

“I would start by hitting him with a rolled up newspaper for worrying everypony. Then hit him again and tell him to shave. Then again for not telling me.”

“Twilight, you’re going to get me arrested.”

“Okay okay okay. Hmm. Did I ever tell you about the crush Shining had before you?”

Cadance shifted in her seat, “no?”

“It was right as you became my foalsitter. I think you were the one to ‘awaken’ Shining when it comes to mares and suddenly he realized that just about everything had mares in it. At the time I was too young to understand what was going on; I just thought he must’ve had a stomach flu with how often he was going to the bathroom.”

Their tea only got colder as the two of them laughed.

Twilight went on, “But there was a pony that got tangled in his heartstrings at just about the same time as you did.”

Cadance let the pause hang in the air. She knew Twilight wanted her to ask who it was, but some stubborn part of her wanted to make Twilight say it. Cadance won.

“It was Ms. Hayfarthing, the earth pony who ran the general store we would go to in the middle of town.”

Cadance was a bit more unflappable; her spit take was dainty in comparison to Twilight.

“Why Ms. Hayfarthing?” She finally asked, a chuckling laugh breaking out between her words.

Twilight thought for a second, spinning her drink slowly in the air, watching the steam drift lazily up off of it. “I think she was different. She was a pony he would never have.”

Cadance nodded.

“You were a mare around his age—pretty, smart, peppy, single—and he was confident that he could get you. I assume he was, I guess; Shining has always been pretty confident. Ms. Hayfarthing was spindly and reclusive, much older, a widow who didn’t want to remarry…Shining didn’t have a chance, especially as a teenager.” Twilight took a sip.

“So you think he just liked to chase things he can’t have?” Cadance was shocked that she hadn’t ever thought of the predicament from this angle. This meant it really could all be a…

“I think it’s a mid-life crisis,” Twilight said, deflating Cadance a bit by stealing her revelation.

It was so obvious! Cadance couldn’t believe it! When Shining had his first crush he panicked and distracted himself by falling for a pony he knew he could never end up with, and now he was doing the same thing about getting old. It was like this great mystery had been solved, some great monster had been slain, it was all so simple.

Twilight wasn’t an empath, but Cadance was very easy to read sometimes. Impossible at other times, her face going blank as she forgot to emote properly, but sometimes it was like a book. Twilight almost mad a joke in her own head about herself and reading books, but it would’ve been too easy.

“This doesn’t really help you, you know that right?” Another sip.

Cadance froze.

“I mean, its good to know why he feels like that, but he still feels that way. You can feel how he feels, Cadance, you know it isn’t a front.”

Cadance slumped back again. She took a sip of her drink. Twilight was right. Again. She cleared her throat, “So what do I do then?”

Twilight looked at her. Cadance couldn’t get a read off of her emotions; her own were getting in the way.

She spoke again, quietly, “I just don’t want Shining to hurt…”

Twilight leaned forward. The fire crackled.

“…and I don’t want him to leave me…” Her words were barely a whisper.

It was a taboo worry, and it was one that she wished she didn’t have. She wanted to trust her husband. She wanted to understand. He was scared and so mad at himself; she could feel his heart torn to pieces from all this. She could feel it, feel it deep in him…his love for her was so strong. He wouldn’t do this to her. His heart was torn, but he was strong, but without him she didn’t know what she would do.

If he left today she would be mad. Perhaps it’s better to say she would be bitter. She could forgive, sure, but she was still a pony. It wasn’t what she wanted. She loved Shining.

Twilight had been comforting her through this entire breakdown. She wasn’t sobbing, but gentle tears rolled down her cheeks. Her breath was ragged as her shoulders rose and fell into Twilight’s side.

“Let’s talk about cute stallions, Cadance.”

Cadance smiled lightly and leaned into her sister in law.

Twilight hugs were nice.