It'll Be Okay

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1: Shield and Stars
Chapter 2: The Joys of Learning
Chapter 3: A Rather Personal Matter
Chapter 4: Enter Cadence

Prologue

The day flew by in a flash for Shining Armor. It started out like any other, waking up, groggily eating his soggy Boop-O-Roops in peace, when his mom started screaming while his dad ran around the house and swiftly grabbing all kinds of stuff in his magic. The next thing he knew, they were sitting in a carriage speeding off to the hospital where his mom and dad were taken down a hall to a room while he had to wait with some older ponies watched him.

He tried to sneak off to see what was happening, but the guard ponies watching him just kept blocking his way. On his fifth try, the stoic face of the left guardspony finally cracked with an amused smirk as he once again moved to obstruct the entryway. "C'mon little colt, I can't let you go in there. Military personnel and patients only." Giving a patient yet bemused smile, he tilts his head. "What's your name?"

“I'm Shining Armor. What's your name?”

Relaxing a bit the pegasus guard answered. “Name's Kicker, Thunder Kicker, but you can just call me Thunder. Don't want to confuse me with somepony else from my clan after all.”

“Clan?” Shining asked, cocking his head and wiggling his ears in curiosity.

“Yeah, it's like a really big family. We have a long and proud history as one of the original pegasus clans who were loyal to Princess Celestia during the lunar rebellion. Thanks to our loyalty we weren't forced to disband," said Thunder, pride welling up in his voice. "Now-a-days if you see a pegasus guard, they're most likely a Kicker. Hay we even have a few non pegasi in our clan.” Thunder Kicker puffed out his chest a bit as he finished his explanation.

“Oi, Thunder! Don't bore the kid any more, can you not go five minutes without gushing about your extended relatives?” The unicorn guard asked in an annoyed tone, before softening his gaze on to the young colt. “By the way kid, as long as we're doing introductions, you can call me Flash Break. No famous clan name, just a humble guard. So you're Night Light's kid, right?” He asked, not wanting to hear any more of his partner's ramblings.

“Yeah, but I dunno why we had to come here but a few weeks ago why my mom started walking funny and her tummy got really big,” Shining said with a twinge of concern in his voice. His ears drooped back on his head as he looked up to the guards. “Is my mom gonna be okay?”

Thunder kicker perked up and gave his best reassuring smile. “Hey there colt, it'll be okay. Your mom is gonna be just fine, and soon, you're gonna have a little brother or sister,” he said with an excited grin.

Shining Armor's ears flipped back up at attention. “Oh yeah, I think mom said something about that last month. I think she said I was getting a little sister...” He trailed off, a look of contemplation on his face.

Flash Break showed some visible interest at that. “Really? I have a little sister too! Let me offer you a bit of advice,” he said looking directly into Shining's eyes. “Now listen up because this is important,” Flash continued. “Your gonna be her big brother, which means you have to be there for her no matter what. You will also be her shield against anything that would dare hurt her. It's a big responsibility, but it's your job now. Failure is not an option. You hear me soldier?!” The unicorn reverted to his usual commanding guard voice.

“Sir yes sir!” Shining blurted out in his squeaky coltish tone. Suddenly he stood at rigid attention and gave an enthusiastic salute, with the wrong hoof.

Thunder Kicker rolled his eyes. “Really? You get on my case about my clan but you go on a monologue like that over your sister?” He asked before returning his attention to the colt. “Kid, it's great you're so excited to be a big brother, but you don't have to go overboard. Be there for your sister, but don't be overbearing or anything. I've seen how that goes,” Thunder said with a sigh. “Just make sure she knows you're her best friend, and it'll be fine...” He paused a moment in thought before speaking again. “Although, if you ever want to go the extra mile and learn how to protect her and other ponies better, you can always join the guard.” Thunder offered a gentle smile to the colt.

“Really? That sounds great! I wanna protect ponies! Especially my sister!” Shining was practically bouncing in excitement thinking of all the great memories he would make with his new little sibling.

The next few hours went by much faster as the two stallions regaled the young colt with tales about the guard and answering his occasional questions about being a good big brother. Eventually though, Shining Armor's father came trotting down the hall slightly limping and looking frazzled, yet happier than Shining had ever seen him.

“Shining, come with me, there's somepony I want you to meet.” Night Light looked at the guards before speaking again. “Thanks for watching him Thunder, Flash. I hope he didn't bother you too much.” Shining trotted up to his father happy to finally see him.

“Ah, he wasn't any trouble. You've got a great kid there lieutenant Light,” Flash said, a gentle smile on his face.

“Do I get to see her now? My little sister? I wanna see her so bad!” Shining's voice was squeaking on every other word.

“Of course, follow me and try to stay calm and quiet. There's lots of others here and we don't want to disturb them, okay?” Night light turned around and started limping back down the hall of the military hospital. After a minute of slowly walking they made it to their room. Night Light opened the door with his magic as gently as he could to make as little noise as possible. As he did so, he wrapped his son in his telekinesis, lifting him up to sit on the bed where Twilight Velvet was laying down. Her purple and silver mane was disheveled and plastered to her neck and face with drying sweat, but she had that same look in her eyes as Shining's father.

As the little colt got situated on the bed he noticed his mom was holding a small bundle of blankets. His heart skipped a beat and he froze in place as if afraid any movement would disturb the scene in front of him. With a gentle nudging from his father and his mother giving him a serene smile, Shining slowly made his way closer to the other end of the bed. His eyes never left the small bundle of blankets, locked on like it could just disappear at any moment.

Night Light walked around to one side of the bed to face his wife and two children. “Shining Armor, meet your new little sister, Twilight Sparkle.” At that Twilight Velvet gingerly lifted her daughter up to face Shining.

Shining for his part, was utterly speechless. Seeing his baby sister for the first time, this scene would be forever ingrained in his memory. She was the cutest thing he's ever seen with her lavender coat of fur to her messy dark indigo mane with magenta and purple stripes in it.

Just when he was getting used to seeing his new sister, she opened her big violet eyes and stared right back at him before smiling and cooing at her big brother. Suddenly, everything he talked about with those hospital guards clicked in the deepest depths of his soul. It was one thing to talk about being there for your sister, but Shining suddenly felt brand new instincts kicking in he never knew about. He was utterly determined to make sure no harm ever came to his baby sister.

“Can... can I hold her?” Shining whispered as gently as he could, afraid of raising his voice and disturbing his sister.

“Of course, just be very gentle,” Velvet said a little louder than her son's whisper. She then slowly held Twilight out to Shining while Night Light looked on, pride in his eyes. Shining held out his hooves expectantly. He tried to reach out to his sister with his magic and managed to wrap her in his dark pink magic field. Velvet gently deposited Twilight to Shining's grasp. Even after she was safely in his hooves Shining kept his magic flowing, not willing to take the slightest chance of letting her go.

For what felt like forever, he just sat there dumbfounded, eyes and ears locked on his sister. He couldn't tell how long he held her there. A minute, an hour, five seconds, it felt like time lost all meaning until Twilight scrunched up her face, and started crying. Snapping out of his daze he instantly panicked, then calmed down as his mother took Twilight back and his father put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. “D-did I do something wrong?” Shining asked as his ears fell back against his head.

“Not at all. She's just hungry and tired, so is your mother,” Night Light said before letting out a barely stifled yawn. “Let's leave them be for now. You look pretty tired yourself son. How about we get some rest back in the waiting room,” Night Light finished, as he prompted Shining to follow.

“Okay dad,” Shining replied. Glancing over his shoulder he caught one last look at his baby sister being held by their mother. Noticing his son was wavering on his hooves, Night Light picked up the young colt in his magic to drape him over his back. Despite his insistence on staying up longer, Shining Armor's biological clock won out and he fell asleep on his father.

The next thing he remembered was waking up in his bed at home, to the sound of a foal crying. Any annoyance at the disturbance was overridden by the joy Shining felt in his soul. “I have a sister!” he said to himself, squealing in excitement. In that moment, he knew that from now on, he'd never be alone. He'd always have Twilight and Twilight would always have him.

Author's Note

Most authors appreciate brutally honest feedback.

Chapter 1: Shield and Stars

"Hey Twilie, did I ever tell you how I got my cutie mark?" Shining asked his sister as they walked their usual path through their favorite park. She had to practically canter to keep up with his slow trot but keep up she did.

"Uh, nuh uh. How did ya get it Shiny?" Twilight asked, tilting her head up and to the side. Not looking where she was going, Twilight tripped over some rocks in the path, but before her face could hit the ground, she felt her body being wrapped in a familiar magenta magic field. Not wanting to give the ground another chance to hurt his little sister, Shining Armor carried Twilight on his back to a nearby park bench before letting her down and taking a seat next to her.

"Well, it's a pretty great story, especially since you're the whole reason I got my cutie mark in the first place." Looking down at his sister, he saw her eyes widen in wonder at his words.

"Wow! Really? But then, why don't I remember you getting your cutie mark?" Twilight's look of wonder was replaced with one of confusion.

"Well, because you were barely a month old at the time," he explained. "But you were there, and it's because of you that I realized who I'm supposed to be. So, you wanna hear the story or what?" A knowing smirk plastered on Shining's face.

"Yeah! Tell me tell me tell me!" Twilight squeaked out as her excitement overwhelmed her earlier confusion. She was bouncing back and forth on her hooves before Shining put one of his forehooves up to get her to calm down.

"Alright Twilie, gimme a sec. Gotta get into my storyteller mode," Shining grinned down as his sister sat patiently, but still visibly excited. "It all started on a day like today. Nothing special, or at least that's what I first thought..."

Shining was awoken to the sound of his baby sister crying. Looking over to his alarm clock he groaned at seeing it was still an hour before he usually got up. Outside his room he could hear his parents mumbling and dragging their hooves a bit as they tended to their daughter's needs. It had only been a few weeks, but it seemed his new sister was only getting more annoying. After a few more minutes of contemplation, he came to the conclusion he likely wouldn't get any more sleep, so he opted to just get up for the day.

After groggily brushing his teeth and mane, he headed downstairs to see an empty kitchen. Knowing they would likely take a while between their own morning routines and taking care of Twilight, Shining decided to just make some toast and cereal. As he sat down with a bowl of Wheaties and his buttered toast, he couldn't help but notice how the Wonderbolt's mascot looked more interesting than usual. Did their uniforms always look that sleek and form fitting? he wondered to himself before his mother made her way downstairs, baby Twilight floating in her purple magic aura.

"Shining, can you feed her while I make breakfast for your father?" Velvet asked absent minded as she placed Twilight in her highchair. Shining rolled his eyes, but complied as he started making a bottle of formula, being sure to heat it up under warm water, not cooking it in a kettle or anything faster. He learned that the hard way after getting chewed out by his parents. It's not like he was trying to hurt her, he would never dream of it... even if he wished she didn't stink up the house so much.

"Here ya go Twilie, drink up," he mumbled before levitating the bottle up to her mouth. Satisfied with doing his job, Shining went back to his cereal and toast... just for his sister to spit out her bottle and bang her little hooves on her chair. With an annoyed grunt, Shining picked up the quarter empty bottle before putting the nipple back in his sister's mouth. With another warning glance over to an innocent looking foal enjoying her breakfast, he finally went back to his own.

However, he barely finished his first piece of toast before hearing the familiar *clank* of bottle on floor. With an exasperated sigh, Shining levitated the bottle once again to his sister, but this time he kept his magic grasp on it while she suckled. When she tried throwing it again a few moments later, he managed to shove it right back to her with a triumphant grin. Meanwhile, she just looked annoyed, but regardless kept suckling as she seemed to have learned her lesson... for today.

As soon as she was finished, Shining floated the bottle over to the sink before returning his attention to... his now soggy cereal. Shrugging with resignation, he just grabbed the bowl in his hooves and drank the rest directly from the bowl before inhaling his other piece of toast.

"Shiny! You're just talking about breakfast! When are you gonna get to the part about your cutie mark?" Twilight whined at her older brother.

"Hey, I'm just setting the scene. Gotta emphasize how normal the day was before I get to the exciting part." A smug smirk was plastered on Shining's face. "Just be patient, okay? I'm getting there, now where was I?"

After his parents finished breakfast, his father left for work in his guard uniform. Night Light once told Shining what rank he was, but he couldn't remember, he just knew it was kinda long and started with an 'L'. Now having finished breakfast, Shining started to make his way back to his room before his mother called to him.

"Shining, I was thinking we could visit the park today, it would be good to let little Twilight get some of her energy out," said Velvet as she picked up Twilight in her magic. "Besides, it would be a waste to spend such a beautiful day stuck in your room."

Shining stopped as his front hooves made contact with the stairs before he bobbed his head in contemplation. It had been a while since he got to play in the park, plus he hadn't been to the park with Twilight before. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. "Okay mom, that sounds great! I can show Twilie all my favorite spots and teach her how to climb trees, and-" Shining was cut off by his mother's hoof on his shoulder.

"That all sounds good Shining, but just remember Twilight is still a foal, so she can't always keep up with a big colt like you," Velvet reminded him. Shining wasn't deterred though. He still sported a toothy smile as he imagined all the fun he could have at the park.

By the time they arrived, Celestia's sun was well on its way to its zenith. As soon as Velvet got set up on one of the park benches with a book, she took Twilight out of her foal carrier and gave her son the go ahead to play within her line of sight. Shining immediately grabbed his sister in his magic and bolted for the nearest pine tree. Although she could walk on her own, she was way slower than Shining and he was impatient to show her around.

"Here it is Twilie," he said as he reached the tree, "this is where I first learned how to climb a tree." He then pointed to a nearby dirt path, "over there is my favorite trail to race. I've only ever raced dad and I’ve always lost, but I'm getting faster all the time, and sometimes I just like running." At that, he set Twilight down and started clumsily climbing the tree with his hooves.

Not wanting to be left alone, Twilight walked up to the base of the tree and scraped her forehooves against the bark of the tree trunk. Seeing his sister's enthusiasm, Shining decided to help her out, levitating her up to the branch he was currently sitting on. "Pretty cool huh? My record is climbing about halfway up the tree. That branch there," Shining said, pointing to a branch just higher than halfway up the tree. "After that, I kinda get scared and climb down... but one of these days, I'm gonna climb all the way to the top!" Shining declared, puffing out his chest.

Twilight was clearly entertained, even if she couldn't understand what her brother was saying. Shining noticed her hooves were slipping from the branch, so he decided to bring her back to the ground before climbing down himself. "C'mon! Let's go race now!" he exclaimed before taking off slightly faster than he figured she could gallop. Sure enough, she started bounding after him as fast as her little legs could carry her, but she looked absolutely ecstatic just to be at the park with him.

A bit past noon, everypony's stomachs were starting to growl, so at Velvet's insistence, they headed back home. Once they walked through the door, Shining and Twilight seemed a bit more sedated. "Shining, why don't you take Twilight up for a nap while I make lunch?" Velvet suggested while she made her way into the kitchen. Nodding in compliance, Shining took a nearly unconscious Twilight up to his room where he snuggled up with her.

About a half hour later, Velvet called up announcing lunch was ready. Meanwhile, Shining Armor was greeted to the smell of urine. "Ugh! Twilie! Gross!" he recoiled off his bed as she began to cry from the surprise and discomfort of her wet diaper. "Mom! Twilie needs changing!" he called down as he held Twilight at hoof's length in his magic.

"One moment dear, I'll be right up!" his mother responded as she made her way up the stairs. Shining was halfway to his parents' room where the changing table was when his mother took over with her own magic hold on Twilight. "Why don't you help out sweetie? It would be useful to know how to do, this don't you think?" Velvet asked her son while he reluctantly nodded, following her. He tried to keep his distance at first, but he soon realized it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He mostly just helped by holding Twilight down or lifting up her flanks to help his mom get the new diaper on.

"Just remember, even if you think this is gross, I had to change your diapers when you were her age, and yours were way worse! At least little Twilight here doesn't pee on me while I change her," Velvet said as she smirked down at her wildly blushing son.

"S-sorry mom..." he mumbled out before finding something super interesting in the carpet beneath his hooves.

"Shiny! That's so embarrassing and gross! What does this have to do with you getting your cutie mark?!?" Twilight puffed out her blushing cheeks indignantly.

"Oh, this has nothing to do with that. I just wanted to tease ya," Shining admitted as he gave his sister a noogie. "But anyway, my story is almost done, for real this time. And trust me, it's worth the wait little sis."

"It better be," Twilight grumbled.

After she got on a fresh diaper, Twilight was much less fussy, and they all settled down for lunch. Shining and his mother were having quesadillas while Velvet patiently fed Twilight another bottle of formula. By the time they were done eating, Shining and Twilight seemed to find their second wind. Noticing their antsy behavior, Velvet suggested that Shining play in the back yard with Twilight. Being more than happy to comply, Shining made his way outside with Twilight close on his heels.

Opening the sliding glass door, Shining was greeted with the familiar sight of his back yard. About an eighth of an acre, half of it taken up by his mother's flower garden and shaded by a single chestnut tree, all of which was surrounded by an unpainted picket fence. There was also some miscellaneous lumber and tools for one of his dad's home improvement projects. It wasn't a particularly large backyard, but it was enough for entertaining two little ponies.

Shining decided to start with a game of tag. Twilight already followed him around like a lost puppy, so he figured she'd be 'it' first. Shining booped her on the snoot before announcing "Tag, you're it!"

Twilight just giggled and squealed in delight before chasing after her big brother. Shining didn't have to run very fast to keep ahead of her, but he found it highly entertaining to see her tiny legs go so fast just to barely keep up with his casual pace. She chased him around the yard until he got a bit bored, so he let her catch up and glomp onto one of his hooves. "Okay, I'm it now! Time to run away Twilie! I'm gonna get ya!" Shining growled a faux warning.

Twilight once again squealed, but she seemed to get the message as she slowly waddled away, giggling the whole time. What neither of them noticed though, was how close they were to their dad's tools. After making it a few feet looking back at her pursuer, Twilight stumbled into a precariously stacked pile of lumber.

Shining Armor's eyes went wide as he witnessed the crushing mass of lumber begin to fall on his baby sister. His mind went blank and his limbs moved on their own accord. His next conscious thought was that he wouldn't be able to stop the lumber with his magic. Even so, he refused to let any harm befall Twilight. He might be crushed, or at the very least injured, but he would make sure little Twilie got out safe.

As he bolted faster than he ever had in his life, the world around him slowed to a crawl. The vision before him was seared into his mind. Twilight's face contorting in fear at the falling debris, his father's Celestia-damned 'home improvement' projects about to snap Twilight's tiny frame like a twig. As he processed all this, his mind had only one thought, a single imperative blaring in his head; PROTECT.

His body had no choice but to obey as he crouched down around Twilight, his back arched up and his head next to hers. Gently cradling his sister as a makeshift shelter, he froze in place preparing to take on as much weight as he physically could. For a split second, his eyes shown pure white before they closed tight and he waited for the inevitable.

After what felt like an eternity, Shining cautiously opened one eye a sliver before both shot open in stunned amazement and confusion. The world around him was tinged in a magenta hue, the same color as his magic aura. Shining temporarily went cross-eyed looking up at his brilliantly blazing horn as it shot out the occasional spark. Now that he was aware of it, he began to feel his magic coursing through his horn. It didn't feel tiring like when he tried to lift something heavy. It felt as easy and natural as breathing.

As the shock of this new discovery wore off he was reminded of the filly underneath him as he felt her trembling. Looking down he saw his baby sister clutching his right fore-hoof like her life depended on it. Her muzzle was scrunched up and her eyes were sealed as shut as her facial muscles could make them. Glancing around once more to ensure their immediate safety, he leaned his head down next to her to nuzzle and reassure her.

"Shhh, shush, it's okay Twilie, you're safe," he cooed in her ear to try to calm her down. After about a minute of gently nuzzling and coaxing her to open her eyes, she did so. She slowly relaxed her grip on his leg, and slowly relaxed to stop her trembling. After a moment she gave him a tentative smile. Having taken care of his most immediate concern, Shining decided to take stock of his situation.

Looking at the ground, he noticed it wasn't pink like the rest of the world. On top of that there were various wooden planks and tools scattered around him in a circular pattern, some of them singed and one of them still slightly smoking. A moment later his mother bolted out of the house towards him, also tinged the same color as his magic.

When she tried getting close, she stopped at a barrier marked by the wooden planks, and she cautiously raised a hoof to what shining now realized was a magic bubble... his magic bubble. Velvet flinched away as if she was shocked by the air before speaking, "Shining! what happened? I heard a crash and came out as soon as I could! Where's Twilight? Is she okay?"

Just hearing his mother's voice caused him to let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. As he began to relax, Shining returned his full focus to his magic, ruminating on exactly how it felt. Oddly, it felt natural, despite never knowing how to conjure a magic shield before. With his newly acquired innate knowledge, he knew exactly how to dispel it, which he promptly did.

"Twilie's okay mom. A bit shaken up, but I made sure to keep her safe. I don't know how I did it, but I just knew I couldn't let her get hurt..." Shining trailed off as he sat on his haunches, thinking about what just happened, however seeing Twilight snapped him out of his contemplation. She was pressed up to Shining as much as she could get, hiding her face in his chest fur. He was both amazed and heartbroken to see his sister so terrified, yet seemingly so secure in his ability to keep her safe.

Shining just scooped Twilight up in his hooves for a gentle hug. At the same time, Velvet visibly relaxed seeing both her children safe. Not wanting to disturb her already distressed daughter, she levitated both of them in her magic to the living room couch. Once settled down, Shining and Twilight cuddled together, Shining protectively wrapped around his sister before he looked up to see his mother beaming with pride.

"Shining, what you just did was incredible. Not only did you summon a powerful magic shield for the first time, but you also protected your sister. I'll have to have a talk with your father about leaving his projects out like that," her smile faltered for a moment before returning full force, "but what's important right now is that you're both safe."

"Thanks mom, but I just did what I needed to do. I couldn't let Twilie get hurt... I don't know how I did the shield thing, but now I think I can do it whenever I want." At that, shining made a small bubble surrounding a mug on the nearby coffee table before dispelling it.

"Well, that makes sense, considering..." Velvet trailed off with a knowing smirk.

"What? What are you talking about?" Shining asked, more confused than ever.

"Why don't you take a look at your flank and see for yourself." Velvet's grin only widened when her son's eyes did their best imitation of dinner plates at seeing his no longer blank flank. Right there, plain as day was a dark blue shield with a large star the same color as his magic, along with three light blue stars above. "What do you think it means sweetie?"

It took a moment for the shock to wear off, but he soon responded, "I don't know for sure... but I think it means I'm supposed to protect ponies, just like dad!" he exclaimed.

"Well, that sounds like a wonderful idea sweetie. Tell you what, how about when dad gets home, we all go out to dinner to celebrate?"

"Celebrate what?" Night Light asked as he came through the front door.

"Dad! Come look! I got my cutie mark!" Shining shouted from the couch, waking Twilight from her short nap. She seemed upset and confused, until she saw the alabaster coat of her big brother, at which point she babbled happily and snuggled up to him with greater fervor.

That evening, they paid a visit to Shining's favorite restaurant Kentucky Fried Griffon, wherein Shining regaled his father with his story of how he got his cutie mark. Following this, Night Light got a gentle hoof upside the head from his wife and a mild chewing out about leaving the back yard the way he did.

"So that's how I got my cutie mark, what did ya think? Pretty awesome right?" Shining beamed at his little sister expectantly.

"Wow... wait, when you told dad about it, did you include all that stuff about breakfast and the park?" Twilight asked bemused.

"Nah, I wasn't as good at telling stories back then as I am today."

"Why couldn't you just give me the short version too? I mean, maybe next time just say, 'I was playing with my little sister in the back yard and saved her from getting smooshed by my dad's dumb yard project', it would have saved so much time!" Twilight explained her critique to an ever more nonplussed Shining Armor.

"Gee Twilie, I don't know. Maybe because of a little something called storytelling, build up, intrigue, suspense?" Shining deadpanned.

"Well, I guess it was a nice story," Twilight admitted with a contemplative look and a hoof on her chin. "Thinking back on it, I guess it was nice hearing about how you used to play with me even when I was a foal... sorry I peed in your bed..." Twilight blushed, examining a pebble on the ground.

"Hey, no biggie. It wasn't the last time, and I got better at changing you. Although I am glad you're potty trained now." He chuckled as Twilight's blush intensified. Sensing the awkward silence, Shining came up with an idea. "Hey, wanna race? You might be able to beat me this time," he challenged his sister which made her blush disappear.

"Okay! One-two-three go!" Twilight shouted before bolting off down the trail.

"Hey! That's cheating," Shining yelled after her before following her example. Being much larger and faster, Shining easily caught up with her and just barely beat her to the bend in the path that marked their usual finish line. "You're getting faster Twilie, maybe one of these days."

"Yeah right," Twilight panted, "have you even beat dad in a race yet?" she asked between pants.

"Not yet, but I get closer every year," Shining said, puffing out his chest. "Maybe once your magic comes in, you'll figure something out," he offered.

"That can't happen soon enough. I'm already older than you were when you got your magic! All I can do is make useless sparks," she said before scrunching up her face in concentration, just for a few tiny specks of magic to fall out of her horn.

"Don't worry sis, I was an early bloomer. You've still got plenty of time to figure it out." Twilight slumped in defeat at Shining's words. "Uh, but hey! If you're really worried about it, you can always talk to dad. He's pretty good at magic. You'd have to be to make it to captain of the royal guard! Why don't you talk to him tonight when he gets home?" Twilight perked up in excitement.

"Oh! That's a great idea! Thanks, Shiny!" Twilight jumped up to hug her brother, who caught her in his hooves before being knocked back to his haunches.

"I'm just glad I could help Twilie. C'mon, let's head home before it gets dark." With that, they began their walk home, happy to have spent another day together.

Author's Note

Thanks to Daelyx Len Auphydas and Silent User for help editing and proof reading! I appreciate any and all feedback.

Chapter 2: The Joys of Learning

Twilight and Shining Armor got home in record time, Twilight's enthusiasm fueling her near constant gallop. However, much to her disappointment, her father wasn't home from work yet. Seeing her daughter looking crestfallen, Twilight Velvet made her way from the living room to check on her children. "What's wrong sweetie? Did something happen at the park?" she asked, worry clear on her features.

"No," Twilight sighed, "I just wanted to ask dad if he can teach me magic. Shiny told me he had books, but I can't read!" Twilight perks up as she got an idea. "Hey mom, can you teach me magic?" Twilight gave her best puppy dog eyes, that almost always worked... almost.

"Sorry sweetie, but learning magic isn't really something I can teach you, or your father for that matter. Plus, you're still a bit too young. Most unicorns can teach each other specific spells, but most ponies learn their first cantrip from magic kindergarten," Velvet said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. She really hated not being able to help her little filly.

This gave Twilight pause, yet she quickly scrunched up her face in thought before asking a question. "Well, if I can't learn magic yet, can you at least teach me how to read?"

"Oh, of course dear! Let's start right away, I still have some of Shining's old foal books when he was learning to read." With that, she trotted off to the basement library, little Twilight in tow. To the surprise of her whole family, Twilight was a lightning fast learner, taking to reading like a fish to water. By the end of the day, she had finished all of the reading primers and foal stories at her mother's disposal.

"What's next mommy! What's next?" Twilight's excitement over reading had overshadowed her desire to learn unicorn magic. Instead, she discovered the magic of books, and the endless worlds within.

Realizing her daughter breezed through what should have been at least a month's worth of lessons in an afternoon, Velvet took a moment to pick her jaw up off the floor. "What's next? Nothing, you've read through all the materials faster than I expected! There isn't anything else I can really teach you honey," Velvet stammered out, awestruck at her daughter's prodigious reading skills.

Taking a moment to collect herself she focused on more immediate concerns. "For now it's time for me to make dinner, but tomorrow you can read your first chapter book," Velvet announced, beaming with pride. She figured her filly would take at least a few days to get the basics, but she had run out of teaching materials for foals. She was surprised Twilight didn't get a book for a cutie mark, I guess she's just a prodigious reader.

"Chapter books? Does Shiny read those?" Twilight asked with a tilt of her head. She followed her mother back to the ground floor of their home where Velvet promptly got to work on dinner.

"Yes Twilight, your brother started reading chapter books last year," Velvet said absentmindedly. Just as she finished speaking, she heard a loud gasp from her purple filly.

"That means I'm a better reader than Shiny!" Twilight announced to the whole house.

"Somepony call my name?" Shining called down from his bedroom.

"Yeah! Mom said I can start reading chapter books tomorrow! That means I'm better at reading than you because you only got to chapter books last year!" Twilight bragged shamelessly as Shining made his way down stairs.

"Pft! That's only because chapter books are boring! Comic books are way better. Still, I bet I'm a faster reader than you! I've been reading way longer than you and I'm older," Shining stated, determined not to be beaten by his little sister.

"Hmm, would you two care to put that to the test?" Velvet asked, stirring a pot of sauce with her magic.

"What do ya mean mom?" Shining asked, curious to know what he could do to prove he was the best at something.

"Let's keep track of each book you read. Whoever reads more books in a month is proven to be the better reader," Velvet explained to her two children as they nodded in understanding. "Oh, and comic books don't count Shining, they have to be chapter books." Shining slumped a bit at that news, but quickly recovered.

"Sounds good to me. You ready to loose Twilie?"

"In your dreams Shiny!" At that, they both spit on their hooves and bumped them in their usual act of commencing a challenge.

"Oh I wish you two would stop that! Now your hooves are dirty," Velvet complained. "Now go wash up before dinner. Your father should be home soon and I'm sure he'll want to know about this, as well as our little Twilight learning to read." Her previous annoyance once again faded, she couldn't help but gush over her daughter's accomplishment.

That night, the rules of engagement were set over dinner. "Okay so if you two really want to do this, we gotta have some rules," Night Light announced after being briefed on the situation. "Rule one, comic books don't count."

"But dad," Shining protested, "comic books are real books!" He tried his best effort at a puppy dog stare, but it wasn't very effective.

"Rule two," Night Light continued as if without interruption, "since every book you'll be reading is one myself or your mother have read, we'll require a summary of the book you read in the form of an oral or written report."

"But dad, I can't write yet," Twilight pouted. While this was much more effective than her brother's attempt, it was in vain.

"That's why he said 'oral' Twilie, you can just say what happened in your book," Shining Armor explained, earning him a thankful nod from his father.

"Rule three, since we don't have copies of all our available books, you'll have to take turns. But whoever reads the most books by the end of the month out of your shared reading list wins. So if one of you is reading a book, you'll have to pick a different one. Any questions?" Night Light gave a warm smile to his children, ready to clarify anything they had questions on.

As expected, little Twilight's hoof shot strait up before she blurted out her question. "Dad, what happens if we both finish the list by the end of the month?"

That gave Night Light some pause, forcing him to consider a question he honestly wasn't expecting. "Well, to be honest Twilight, I don't expect either of you to finish the list in the time limit. It's quite extensive, but if one or both of you finishes the list before the end of the month, I suppose we could go to the Canterlot library to pick out some extra material." Night Light had heard of his daughter's prodigious reading skills from his wife, but even so, he doubted he could get through the list in a month, and he'd already read all of them.

Next came Shining Armor's question. "Dad, what do we get if we win?"

This was a question Night Light was prepared for. "Well, you win the title of 'Best Reader' as well as a trophy for a month. However every month one of you has the chance to win it back, so don't rest on your 'Laurens' or you'll regret it"

The next morning, Twilight hit the books running. She got up at the crack of dawn to get first pick of the book list. She purposefully chose the longest option in the list, 'A Tail of Two Fillies'. By the time Shining Armor woke up and got breakfast she was already a quarter of the way done. "Uh, Twilie, you sure you can handle that book? It's pretty big isn't it?" Shining asked after getting a look at the cover.

Without even looking up, Twilight answered. "Yup, it was a bit hard at first but after I got past the first chapter, it got way easier to read."

"Well, ya know you don't get extra points for reading longer books right?" Shining was starting to sweat.

"I know," Twilight answered nonchalantly, "I just wanna get the longest book done so when you read it, I wont have to wait around for my turn."

Shining was dumbfounded. Wait, did she just call me a slow reader? She only learned to read yesterday! "Well, I'm still gonna read more books than you!" Shining declared before making his way to the library. He ended up picking the smallest book he could find. Just over two hundred pages, perfect! Shining thought to himself, smirking at his self assured victory.

And with that, the reading rivalry was off to a riveting start. By the end of the day, Twilight was three quarters done with her book while Shining Armor had finished his. Although it was his intention to just get an easy start to the competition, he soon realized the story he picked up had more in those hundred or so pages than he thought could fit in a book a dozen times longer. It took time gathering his thoughts, but after writing down a basic outline, he insisted he give an oral presentation to his parents.

So after Twilight was put to bed, Night Light and Velvet relaxed on the couch while Shining sat on his haunches, looking resolute as a royal guard. What followed was a detailed report of a story about an earth pony family struggling to survive a decade of persecution and abuse by their village. By the end of it, Shining was on his haunches holding back tears.

"Well done Shining, I'm proud of you," Night light said before picking his son up in his magic. He was gently floated over to his parents who embraced him in a gentle hug. Once his father thought he was emotionally stable, Night Light spoke up. "I'll be honest Shining, I forgot half of what was in that book. I'm sorry we didn't give you more of a warning."

"Don't be sorry dad, I'm a better pony for reading it. I only picked it first because it was the smallest on the list, but I'm also glad I read it before Twilie..." Shining trailed off, suddenly realizing something. "You can't let Twilie read that book! I don't care if it doesn't count for the competition, please don't let her read it!" Shining pleaded, wide eyed.

"Whoa there son, don't worry, we'll take it off the list," Night Light reassured his son. At those words, Shining did indeed relax. "However, we'll still count this toward your score. We'll just get a new book to compensate for the list, and if Twilight asks us about it, we'll tell her she isn't old enough to read it yet. I'm sure she'll understand."

"Thanks dad, I'm going to bed now, I'm exhausted." Shining left his report outline with his parents before making his way up to his bedroom.

"Do we have any other books on the list that might be an issue?" Night Light asked his wife, a hint of concern in his question.

"Hmm, there's A Tail of Two Fillies, but Twilight is almost done with that one. If there was anything in there that was worrisome, surely Twilight would have mentioned something," Velvet insisted confidently.

"That makes sense. But I remember that book having a lot of advanced wording. How is Twilight reading through it so fast?"

"Oh I gave her a dictionary after the third time she asked what a word was in her book," Velvet said, waving a hoof in the air dismissively. The pair kept talking about their mostly mundane lives for a while longer before turning in for bed themselves.

The next morning, it was Twilight's turn to give her report. "A Tail of Two Fillies is about some worker ponies fighting back against the noble ponies, and there's also these two mares and a stallion who only loves one mare but both love him and the mare he doesn't love sacrifices herself to save the mare the stallion does love." Twilight recited, smiling up at her mother.

"Huh, I'd say that's a pretty good summary. Good job sweetie!" Velvet nuzzled her daughter before making her way to the star chart they made to keep track of their progress. "Looks like you're tied with Shining now," Velvet announced as she added a gold star next to Twilight's name.

"Really? He already made a report? How was it? Did he write it down?" Twilight asked, eager to hear how her big brother did.

"It was a wonderful report Twilight, but the book he read... well it has some things in it we don't think you're ready for. It upset Shining so much he offered to not have the report count. Despite that, your father and I decided he did such a good job we'll count it and replace the book with a new option to keep it fair," Velvet explained as gently as she could.

"What? That's not fair! I wanna read it too!" Twilight pouted and stomped up to her mother to look as intimidating as possible. It just ended up making her more adorable.

"Now Twilight, you can read it when you're older, but we just don't want you to be sad if you read it now," Velvet soothed as she gently hugged her little filly. "Trust me, there's plenty of other books to choose from. In fact," Velvet paused as she got a brilliant idea. "How would you like to read a book written by a friend of mine?"

"What? You know somepony who wrote a book?" Twilight asked, amazed.

"Oh yes, A.K. Yearling and I are long time friends. I even edit most of her books," Velvet bragged, knowing it would only amaze her daughter more. "It's a whole series of books about a pegasus named Daring Do." As she explained, Velvet made her way to the library, Twilight by her side. "Daring Do goes on all sorts of dangerous adventures, hunting for artifacts, and fighting monsters and bad ponies!"

Stopping at a specific book shelf, Velvet grabbed the first Daring Do book with her magic before levitating it down to Twilight's eye level. "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone... wow! She looks so cool!" Twilight instantly jumped up reaching for the levitating book wanting to tear into the pages. Seeing her daughter's anticipation, Velvet set the book down and opened it to page one. Twilight immediately glued her muzzle to the pages while Velvet giggled at the filly's antics.

"I'll leave you to it then," Velvet said, regardless of the fact Twilight had already checked out, being transported to a torturous trek through a jungle with her new friend, Daring Do. By the end of the day, Shining had finished another book, while Twilight had read the first six books in her new favorite series.

After the first month had passed by, Twilight had read the entire reading list, while Shining had only read about ten books, having gotten stuck on the first book Twilight read. Despite loosing the competition, he wasn't upset with his little sister. In fact, reading all those books gave him a new and deeper appreciation for his closest family member.

After the first book Shining read, he generally gravitated toward stories that had some sort of theme around siblings dealing with various traumas and hardships. One was a fantasy story about two brothers who tried resurrecting their mother with dark magic, but after it backfired, the older brother preformed a blood sacrifice to bind his brother's soul to a suit of royal guard armor. Then there was that other book about the older brother who went on a quest to cure his sister of a curse that turned her into a vampire pony.

It seemed that Shining had gotten more emotional growth out of them than Twilight did. At the end of the day, she was still a filly, and Shining was happy her innocence was still intact.

"Alright kids, it's time to announce the winner!" Night Light proclaimed, hyping up his children. "This month's best reader is... Twilight!" he announced as he popped a tiny confetti cannon. Shining looked a bit disappointed, but his frown dissolved the moment he saw his sister jumping around like a rubber ball.

"yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!" Twilight squealed repeatedly as she practically bounced off the walls.

"Aaaaand, on top of bragging rights, we made a crown to signify your position as the best reader!" Twilight Velvet added as she gently grabbed her daughter in her magic.

"A crown? Like Celestia?" Twilight asked, stars in her eyes. But before she could start up another rampage of adorableness, her mother brought out an aluminum foil crown made in the likeness of Celestia's high profile ceremonial crown as opposed to her usual tiara. Putting it on her head caused Twilight to freeze as if afraid any movement would destroy her new treasure.

"Looks good on you Twilie," Shining congratulated her with only a little snark in his tone. "Just know, I'm coming for your title next month."

That took Twilight aback for a moment. "Wait, how will you catch up to me? I finished the whole list, and you only read like, ten books, including that one mom and dad took off the list." Twilight grumbled that last bit. She understood that her parents didn't want her reading some books, like the advanced magic books, but she was still salty about the whole affair.

"Well," Night Light started, "we realized your reading skills have surpassed any of our expectations. If we kept this up, you'd win every month, and likely read every book in the Canterlot library," he explained.

"So, we decided to make this a more fair competition," Velvet continued.

"Wait, are you gonna count comic books?" Twilight blanched, feeling a bit insulted that her competition would suffer such debasement.

"Oh no," Velvet contradicted, much to Shining's dismay. "But reading books wont be the only way to earn stars. We'll keep track of your good behavior, acts of selflessness, good grades in school, and doing chores around the house."

"But wait, I'm not in school yet, and Shiny is on summer break," Twilight pointed out.

"Yes, but you will be starting school soon, and Shining will be going back to school in the fall," Night Light replied. "We just want to make sure you're able to keep this up for more than a few months. Also, you won't be able to get away with reading the whole time Twilight. You'll still get stars for reading, but only one book per month will count. You can still read on your own, but it won't help you win."

"Heh, this is great! Now I actually have a chance Twilie," Shining boasted. "Just you wait! I'm gonna be the best big brother ever!"

Twilight was a bit confused until she caught on. "Nuh-uh! I'm gonna be the best little sister ever!" With that, their cut-throat competition of who could be the best sibling was underway.

The days bled into weeks with both siblings spending increasingly more time together, thinking up various ways to get gold stars. Shining taught Twilight how to fly kites while Twilight managed to play half a campaign of Ogres and Oubliettes with Shining. Shining shared his comics with Twilight, and she showed him some tricks for reading faster.

While Twilight still preferred regular books, and Shining only got marginally faster at reading, they still enjoyed just spending time together. Half the time they didn't even think about getting gold stars, they just naturally came to enjoy making each other happy. They even helped each other with their chores.

By the time the end of the month rolled around, they had all but forgotten about the competition. So at the reminder from their parents, their surprise made way for anticipation. Would Twilight keep her title? Would Shining edge her out? both of them had lost track of their scores and the star chart was already refreshed for next month.

"Before we announce the winner, your mother and I just want to say how proud we are of you two," Night Light said, beaming down at his children.

"To be honest, we were afraid this competition might drive a wedge between you two, but we are so happy to be proven wrong!" Velvet mirrored her husband's expression.

"So, without further ado, the winner of this month's sibling competition is..." Night Light paused for dramatic effect. "Shining Armor!" He proclaimed, popping another mini confetti cannon as Velvet placed the home made crown on his head.

After the shock worn off, Shining lit up. While he didn't bounce off the walls like his sister, he did rear up and whinny in excitement. "I am the sibling supreme!" he proclaimed at the top of his lungs.

While Twilight was initially upset at loosing her title, but seeing her brother so happy melted her negative feelings away, similar to Shining the previous month. Thinking back on the last month, she realized he really did deserve it. "Congratulations Shiny!" Twilight said, honestly happy for her brother to feel the way she felt.

"Thanks Twilie, you're still the best little sister a brother could ever have," Shining said, nothing but love for his sister in his heart.

"Well, you're my big brother best friend forever!" Twilight claimed before glomping onto his front legs.

Hearing her words caused his eyes to go wide as dinner plates as his mind flashed back to the day Twilight was born. Just make sure she knows you're her best friend and big brother, and it'll be fine... The words of that guard stallion echoed in his head, clear as they day they were spoken. He looked down at his hooves... where he saw baby Twilight. So small, so precious, his little sister, his best friend forever.

As his eye's gathered moisture, he scooped up his sister in a gentle, yet firm bear hug while sitting back on his haunches. "I love you Twilie, you know that right? You really are the best little sister ever, and I promise you, I will never abandon you, ever."

"Yeah Shiny, I know, and I love you too..." Twilight replied before noticing the drops of moisture trailing down his muzzle. "Shiny? Are you okay? You're crying."

Sniffing, Shining cleared his throat before answering, "Of course not, it's just liquid pride," he insisted. All the while, their parents just basked in the light of their children sharing such a wholesome moment of pure love.

Though the display eventually ended, and Shining brushed off his emotional outburst with a joke, everypony knew he meant every word he said. That night, Twilight made her way into her brother's room. "Hey Twilie, what's up, have a bad dream or something?" Shining mumbled, squinting at the silhouette of his sister holding her smarty pants doll in one hoof.

"Not really," Twilight replied, "I just couldn't get to sleep, and I was wondering if I could sleep with you tonight."

Shining was a bit confused, but quickly got over it, tapping his hoof on his bed inviting her to lay next to him. "Come on in Twilie. Nightmare or not, you're always welcome," Shining whispered, not wanting to wake his parents. She did so, clambering up on the bed as shining covered her in the sheets. They both snuggled up together, Shining curling around his sister in a protective crescent shape as Twilight nuzzled into his neck and mane, letting out a sigh of contentment.

"Good night Shiny, I love you..." Twilight mumbled finally feeling tired enough to sleep, his embrace offering a familiar sense of comfort.

"Good night Twilie, I love you too," Shining whispered back before yawning. He wasn't having as much trouble falling asleep as his sister before, but now it was taking an active effort to not pass out. Though he wasn't opposed to sleep, he also wanted to savor this moment.

It seemed like just yesterday he was holding her for the first time. His life had changed so much since that day, yet he couldn't imagine a life without his little sister. Before long, his will power lost out and he too fell victim to the sand mare.

Author's Note

As always, feed back and criticism are welcome.

Chapter 3: A Rather Personal Matter

As Celestia rose her sun over the horizon, beams of golden light began to streak across the land, peaking through any uncovered windows, waking anypony unfortunate enough to be facing any said windows. Shining Armor just so happened to be one of those ponies, groaning as the morning lights invaded his room. He began to turn over when a weight on one of his forehooves stopped him.

Looking down, he saw the deep indigo with purple and pink streaks that was his little sister's mane. After a moment of shocked confusion, he wracked his mind over why he woke up with Twilight in his bed. A moment later, he remembered the events of the previous night, and with a sigh of contentment, he simply draped his non trapped fore hoof around his sister, deciding to just enjoy this moment of quiet intimacy.

Unbeknownst to him, Twilight was already awake, and grateful for the contact. It had been a while since they were just able to cuddle like this. Why don't we sleep together more often, she mused to herself. I come to sleep with him when I have a nightmare, but that wasn't the case last night. I just... didn't want to sleep alone. I like having my own room, but... it also feels empty sometimes. I wonder if Shiny feels the same, Twilight thought as she craned her neck a bit to see her brother's half awake form holding her.

Not wanting to disturb her big brother, she followed his lead and just relaxed in his embrace. While the two young ponies enjoyed the late start to their morning, just below them sat their mother at the kitchen table reading over a letter from an old friend. As soon as she finished reading, she noticed her husband making some oat cereal for breakfast. Seeing him brought a smile to her face and an idea to her head.

"Nighty, can we talk for a bit? I've got something on my mind," Velvet said, a hint of nerves in her eyes.

"Sure Vel, what's eating at you?" Night Light responded, levitating a spoon full of oats to his mouth.

"Well... I got a letter from Da-I mean, A.K. Yearling, and well... it sounds like she needs my help with something big," Velvet explains, choosing her words carefully in case her children were to overhear anything. "Apparently, she needs my... expertise in writing her next story. Specifically she, or rather, her character intends to go after an artifact that requires unicorn magic to reach, and she... needs a unicorn's unique perspective on the story to make sure it's... accurate to reality."

Night Light's mind digests this information as his stomach digests his oats. "Does Yearling know how long she'll need you for?" he asks, keeping up the charade as he reads between the lines.

"She says it will likely be a few months of... intensive research. She's also on a... strict deadline, so I would need to leave as soon as possible to help her," Velvet answered, conflict evident on her features. "Night, what do I do? I can't just leave you to take care of Twilight and Shining, but Yearling wouldn't be asking me for help like this unless it was absolutely necessary. I'd hate to think what might happen if she... can't finish her story in time," she finished, slumping onto the dining room table.

"I'll see what I can do Vel, I know how important Yearling's work is," Night assured her as he levitated his now empty bowl to the sink. "If nothing else, Shining could help watch Twilight when he gets home from school."

"Do you really think Shining is old enough to watch Twilight on his own? Even just for a few hours a day, not to mention how Twilight would handle herself home alone," Velvet said, conjuring up various scenarios in her mind, each one worse than the last. She was on the verge of a panic attack when Night Light pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay Vel, I'll handle this. You just focus on helping out Yearling," Night soothed his anxious wife. He wasn't entirely sure how he would handle it, but he had to stay strong for her. "Get packed, but don't tell Shining or Twilight until I get home tonight. I'll have a solution by then, and you can catch the first train to Southern Equestria in the morning." With a quick kiss from his wife, Night Light teleported out of the house before beginning his canter to the palace.

Sooner than he expected, Night Light had completed his paperwork for the day, just before lunch. Not wanting to waste an opportunity, he headed down to the throne room to give his daily activity report to Celestia, and maybe if she was in a good mood, he could ask a favor. After being let in by the two posted guards on either side, Night Light entered the throne room. On muscle memory alone, he stopped at the customary invisible line every guard must memorize before lowering himself to a respectful bow.

"Rise captain," Celestia said in her universally calming motherly tone. "What do you have to report today Night Light?" she asked as if she didn't already know. While one might think Celestia grew bored of the apparent tedium, she used this opportunity to gain a fleeting glimpse of the lives of the ponies who serve her. While some see mind numbing paperwork, she saw the lives behind each personnel form.

"Long patrol has once again reported no losses of personnel, however a few units have requested extra weaponry to better handle the various threats from Equestria's primal zones," Night Light stated in his practiced officer's tone. "Sargent Nimbus Gust has been recommended for a promotion after fending off a pack of timber wolves, saving her entire squad," he continued, his face as stoic as Celestia's.

"Lastly, we have a slew of leave requests from the royal guard, long patrol, and equestrian secret service." As he spoke, he levitated his completed paper work to Celestia who took it in her own magical aura. Once his report was done, it took all his will power not to bite his lip from nerves. Nevertheless, Celestia's expertly honed perception picked up on his unease.

"Thank you for the report Night light, was there anything else I could help you with?" Celestia gently prodded, wishing to help out her little ponies any way she can.

"Permission to speak freely your majesty?" Night Light asked, already relaxing a bit at his monarch's voice.

"Permission granted," Celestia responded, a gentle smile on her face.

Taking a deep breath to fully relax his nerves, Night Light spoke his peace. "Your majesty, I seek your council for a personal matter," he said cautiously, not wanting to breach any boundaries. When Celestia stayed silent, he took that as his cue to continue. "You see, my wife Twilight Velvet is leaving for an... important work related excursion. She'll be gone for months, leaving me to care for our colt and filly.

"Although Velvet offered to postpone her trip, I reminded her that it was too important to put off." Night Light began to shuffle on his hooves anxiously. "I suppose I was wondering if I could either request leave for the duration of my wife's absence to care for our children, or ask if you knew of any alternatives I might not have considered." For a moment, they were both silent, the princess and her captain both forcing themselves to maintain their stoic appearance.

Celestia blinked first, allowing herself a broad smile. "Captain, I think I have a solution that will benefit all parties involved."

"Really? What did you have in mind?" Night questioned, unable to keep the surprise from his tone or the shock from his face.

"I have recently adopted a pegasus filly as my niece after she saved a remote village from dark magic," Celestia explained. "While she has accepted her role as a princess of Equestria, she's still a bit... overwhelmed by everything happening so fast. So, what would you say to accepting her as a full time foal sitter?" Celestia wore a confident smile as Night Light digested her words.

"Uh, I-um... may I meet her beforehand?" He stammered out, "N-not that your recommendation means any less than glowing praise, but if I'm going to trust the health and well being of my children to somepony, I'd like to judge them for myself," Night Light replied, regaining his stoic features.

"Of course, please follow me to the gardens, you can get to know her over lunch," Celestia insisted as she elegantly made her way across the throne room. Night Light instinctively bowed as she passed before rising and following approximately forty five degrees behind and to her left.

The Canterlot palace gardens are always a grand sight to behold, at least when it isn't being overrun by snooty nobles brown nosing each other. While Night Light was technically of nobility himself via his marriage with Velvet, he never once wanted to claim that title for himself, preferring to rise the social ranks with his own work ethic. Celestia lead him to their destination, a dainty wicker table painted white, set with various sandwiches and a tea set. A pony, who Night Light assumed must be Celestia's adopted niece, was sitting at the table, facing away from the two of them.

Celestia walked closer to nuzzle the unfamiliar pony, a pink filly with a yellow pink and purple mane and tail who appeared to be barely older than his son. After filing that little mental note away, Night Light took notice of a feature he wasn't expecting. "Wings and a horn," he breathed out as his eyes bulged. As his higher functions stalled, muscle memory kicked in and he dropped to a respectful bow.

The sudden deference shown to her made the alicorn filly frown in concern as she fidgeted in her seat. "Uh, please don't bow sir, uh-I mean, um..." she stalled, not remembering the proper jargon to stop guard ponies from bowing. Thankfully the senior alicorn came to her rescue.

"At ease captain Night Light," Celestia said in a gentle, yet firm tone. "Come meet my niece, princess Mi Amore Cadenza." Upon hearing her full royal title, the princess bristled in annoyance, earning a sidelong glance from the elder alicorn.

Standing back up to full height, the captain strode over to the two mares before sitting on his haunches a respectable distance away from the royal pair. "It is an honor to meet you Princess Mi-"

"Please, just call me Cadence," said the pink alicorn in a tone that broached no arguments.

"As you wish, princess Cadence," Night Light offered, quickly glancing at Celestia to double check he didn't just earn himself a court martial. His sovereign gave no indication of offense, if anything she seemed to be giving off an ever so subtle grin of amusement, all but invisible to anypony not looking for it.

"I was just talking to our captain here about a rather personal matter I think you might be able to help with," Celestia explained to Cadence.

"Oh! Oh, is that right? I, uh, guess I'll help if you think I can," Cadence managed to sputter out, a slight blush forming on her cheeks.

"Oh yes, I'm quite sure this is something you are specifically qualified for, and will be an excellent test of your new found abilities," Celestia continued with a knowing smile. As Cadence's blush intensified, she looked down to her hooves sheepishly. All the while, Night Light was totally dumbfounded at the exchange, only maintaining his stoic features from years of training and over a decade of active service.

What is Celestia talking about? Why is her niece blushing? Why isn't she a pegasus like Celestia said she was? Should I have just kept my mouth shut? These thoughts and many others flew through his mind while the only evidence of his nerves on the outside was a single bead of sweat falling from his chin. While Cadence was too busy studying her hooves and willing herself to not turn into a tomato, Celestia took notice.

"Bwa-hahaha!" Celestia guffawed at the expense of her two companions before regaining her composure. "My apologies you two, I just couldn't waste this opportunity," she apologized, much to the bemusement of her niece and utter confusion of her guard.

In a rare instance of mental malfunction, Night Light's brain short circuited and he forgot his guard training. "Wait, so you didn't bring me here to vet your niece as a foal sitter?"

Realizing her own mistake of assumptions, Cadence looked up to her adopted aunt in mild shock. "Wait, so this isn't a lonely stallion in need of finding love?" Cadence blurted out wanting definite confirmation from her aunt. Hearing both of them spill their beans only made Celestia double over in laughter once again as Cadence locked eyes with Night Light and they both froze like a sheep caught in the head light of the friendship express. Celestia just kept cackling like a mad mare.

By the time Celestia finally got control of herself, her two companions had managed to properly introduce themselves and Night Light explained the real reason he was there. While he was ever grateful to his commander for all she had done for him and Equestria as a whole, Night Light couldn't help but feel annoyed with the princess of the sun for the first time in his life. On the other hoof, the prank had successfully broken the ice between the two. If it allowed Celestia a brief moment of laughter, all the better for it.

"I can't tell you how much this means to me Cadence. My wife and I were so worried, and here you come swooping in to save the day," Night Light thanked the young alicorn as they made their way back to the castle.

"Speaking of," Celestia interjected, "why don't you have my niece over for dinner tonight so Cadence can meet my former student. From what you said, she'd be leaving first thing in the morning, and I'd assume she'd want to meet the pony who will be tasked with caring for her children."

"I would be honored your highness. Though, I may need some time to break the news to Velvet... and inevitably wait for her to calm down from her inevitable manic freak out. Two hours after sunset should be suitable," Night Light confirmed, mostly to himself as he did mental math involving his wife's eccentricities.

"Very well, in that case you are dismissed for the day, captain. See to your family and I shall send Cadence your way later this evening," Celestia said. "Oh, and be sure to bring your daughter to the castle tomorrow. If Cadence is to be young Twilight's foal sitter, she should be acclimated to the castle grounds in a low stress manner."

"Ooh! I can show her around the palace if you drop her off in my room! I can't wait to meet her," Cadence squeed in excitement, lightly prancing in place. With a final respectful bow to the princesses, Night Light made his way back to his office to hang his armor and head home.

The sun was still up by the time he walked in the front door, which surprised his wife who was making her way down stairs. "Velvet, I've got some good news," Night Light announced with a smug grin. "I got us a foal sitter for Twilight!"

"Oh, that's incredible! Who is she? Is she nice? What are her qualifications? How-" Velvet was cut off with a quick kiss from her husband. "Nighty, I love you, but can you please answer my questions?" Velvet asked, bemused at his default tactic for stopping her tirades.

"Well in order, her name is Cadence, she's very nice and looking forward to meeting Twilight, and her qualifications are princess Celestia's personal recommendation, and... the fact she's a princess." Night Light gave a sheepish grin, hoping to reduce the magnitude of his wife's neurotic freak out.

"A-a... p-p-p-princess?! A princess is going to be Twilight's foal sitter?!" Velvet squeaked out.

"Sweetie, Vel, please calm down... there's more," Night Light grimaced, knowing what was coming next. "Princess Cadence is... coming over for dinner tonight."

"I'm sorry Nighty, I think I had something crazy in my ear, could you say that again?" Velvet's eyes went wide at what she thought she heard.

"Princess Cadence is coming over for dinner, tonight." Night Light flinched away on instinct and backed away slowly, treating his wife like a wild animal ready to pounce at the slightest provocation.

"Oh..." was all Twilight Velvet said as she froze up, eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Hey mom? What are you yelling abo-" Twilight was cut off by her mother's impersonation of the royal Canterlot voice.

"COMPANY IS COMING!" Everypony in the house was startled by the proclamation. They were then worried for their own health and safety as Twilight Velvet went on a cleaning rampage. Proclamations about fluffing the couch pillows, magically transforming every door knob in the house to a sea shell, and hanging bird feeders on every window rang out through the halls.

Deciding to see what all the commotion was about, Shining poked his head out from his room just to see his sister anxiously watching their mother from atop the stairs. "Pst, Twilie! Get in here," he whispered over to the nervous filly. She didn't need a second invitation.

As soon as Twilight ducked into her brother's room, the door closed behind her tail. Turning around, Shining Armor laid eyes on a sight that both broke and warmed his heart. Twilight was curled up on his bed, covered horn to hoof in his bed sheets trembling. Making his way to his bed, Shining's brotherly instincts kicked in as he curled protectively around his baby sister.

"Hey Twilie, it's alright, mom's just having one of her freak outs. Dad once told me about it before you were born. She's not gonna hurt anypony, she just needs to get it out of her system," Shining reassured his little sister as he gently nuzzled her.

"O-okay Shiny," Twilight stammered out. "C-can I sleep in here again tonight?"

"Of course Twilie, you can always come to me for anything, you know that right? Even if its something small, I'll always make time for my little sister," Shining soothed as he got more comfortable in his position.

"Okay Shiny, thanks. I think I'm feeling a little better, but can I still stay? I don't really have a problem anymore, but..." Twilight trailed off.

"Hey, as far as I'm concerned, a lack of big brother cuddles is totally a legitimate problem," he reassured.

Twilight visibly relaxed as she let out a sigh of contentment. "Thank you BBBFF, you're the best," she replied, getting herself a bit more comfy in Shining's embrace. "Hey Shiny?"

"Yeah Twilie?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Soon thereafter, the pair fell asleep, finally able to ignore their mother's manic freak out, a bit after sun set.

As Princess Cadence stepped out of her chariot, flanked by her two guards she was pleasantly surprised to see the modest dwelling of the captain of the royal guard. It definitely wasn't small by any means, but it's a far cry from the opulent mansions of various Canterlot nobles.

As she made her way to the front door, her guards secured the perimeter while she rolled her eyes at their over protectiveness. If there's one place other than the palace I'd be safe, it would be the home of your captain, she thought before reminding herself why she was there in the first place.

"Alright Cadence, you got this! Just like back in the village, just be your regular relaxed fun self, and they'll love you." As Cadence finished her little pep talk, she took a deep breath in, holding her hoof to her chest before letting it out and pushing her hoof away. Having calmed her nerves, she rose her hoof to knock on the door... only to have it swing open to the sight of Night Light and Twilight Velvet. The former offering a gentle smile of recognition, while the latter wore a more... unsettling grin ear to ear.

"He-" before Cadence could get a single word in, Velvet lowered to a deep bow, nearly touching her muzzle to the ground.

"It is out great honor to host your majesty this evening!" Velvet belted out upon lowering herself.

"Sweetie, didn't I tell you not to bow? Honorifics make her uncomfortable," Night Light mumbled to his wife, prodding her in the ribs.

"Oh, I'm so sorry dear! Please, do come in! From what Nighty told me, we have lots to discuss!" Velvet said as she lifted her head and gestured with her hoof for the princess to enter.

"Thank you lady Velvet of house Sparkle, I shall grace you with my presence this evening," Cadence replied as she walked inside, her nose in their air much to the shock of her hosts. She held that snooty pose for about ten seconds before a smirk crossed her features. "Gotcha."

The three burst out laughing for a whole minute before Night Light was able to get control of his lungs again. "I see Celestia has rubbed off on you quite a bit Cadence."

"Just a little trick she taught me to break the ice when meeting new ponies," Cadence mentioned as her laughter degraded into minor giggles. With the tension in the household thoroughly defused, the three ponies made their way further inside. "So, when do I get to meet Twilight?"

"Oh, we should let them know dinner is ready! I must have forgotten in my frenzy to clean the place," Velvet admitted with a sheepish grin.

"Well your home does look immaculate," Cadence insisted, bringing a rosy tint to Velvet's cheeks.

"Oh why thank you dear! I do try to keep a tidy home, but when royalty comes to visit, one must make that extra effort," Velvet boasted. "Anyway, Twilight and Shining should be in their rooms up stairs," Velvet said as she began her ascent to the second floor.

"Shining?" Cadence asked as her left eye brow took an unplanned trip north.

"Oh, he's Twilight's older brother. I'm surprised Night didn't mention him," Velvet explained.

"I guess he was too busy gushing about Twilight," Cadence replied as she failed to stifle a giggle.

"Well he's starting school soon so he won't be home to watch Twilight, hence the need for a foal sitter."

"Well, I'm sure I'll get along with him just fine," Cadence said, imagining a colt not much older than his sister.

"Here, I'll introduce you, he should be just in here," Velvet said as she gently opened up her son's room. "Shin-" Velvet cut herself off as she laid eyes on the sight before her. Through the light in the hallway seeping into the room, she could see her son cuddled around his sister, both looking to be in deep slumber. Signaling Cadence to be silent, Velvet then waved her over to see what caught her attention.

After quietly making her way over to Velvet, Cadence peaked in the room to a sight that melted her heart. By Star-swirl's beard! That's possibly the cutest thing I've seen in my life, Cadence thought before stepping back so Velvet could close the door.

Once the two mares were back downstairs they felt safe talking at a normal volume so as not to risk disturbing the precious display upstairs. "Thank you for showing me that Velvet, but I have to wonder, do they share a room?"

"Oh no, Twilight has her own room, but she often sleeps in Shining's bed when she has nightmares," Velvet said before stopping in her tracks, looking contemplative. "Huh..."

"What is it?" Cadence asked, a bit of concern in her voice.

"Twilight has never come to Night or I for nightmares or the like. She's only ever gone to Shining, though I suppose it makes sense. He saved her life as a foal when he was just a little colt."

Cadence's eyes went wide at that. "What in Equestria happened?"

"Oh they were playing around some lumber piles Night Light left out and Shining summoned his first shield spell when Twilight knocked it over, and he blew away all the lumber in the process. Some even caught on fire from the sheer magical outburst," Velvet explained. "That's the day he got his cutie mark and his bond with Twilight grew all the stronger."

"What was all that lumber doing where your foals could easily bump into it?" Cadence asked, incredulous.

"Care to take that one Nighty?" Velvet called to her husband as they finally made their way to the dining room.

"Am I ever going to live that down?" Night Light groaned as he served up five servings of dinner.

"No, but I still love you anyway Nighty," Velvet shot back before sauntering up and kissing his cheek. "Also, Shining and Twilight won't be joining us for dinner tonight. They're already fast asleep, but go ahead and just refrigerate their servings."

"Can do," Night replied as he levitated the two dishes into the fridge before he took his place at the table. The other mares already seated, Night Light took the cushion next to his wife and across the table from the adolescent alicorn.

That night, Cadence got to know the heads of the Sparkle household, and grilled the parents on as many details about their children as possible. Allergies, favorite foods, any major boundaries the parents wanted to establish. All in all by the time Cadence left that night with her royal escort, she was practically vibrating with anticipation for the next day. Although, it may have just been shivers from the cold night air. She couldn't wait to officially meet Twilight, as well as her cute big brother Shining.

Author's Note

Most authors appreciate feedback.

Chapter 4: Enter Cadence

Twilight Sparkle once again awoke to the sensation of being cuddled by a soft, warm, and firm body behind her. Letting out a soft neigh of contentment, she gently snuggled deeper into her brother's embrace. However, before she could fall back asleep, she noticed her mother staring at her through the open door of Shining Armor's room.

Seeing her daughter awake, Velvet furrowed her brow in concern. "Oh, I'm sorry dear, did I wake you?"

"I don't think so mommy. Is something wrong?" Twilight mirrored her mother's expression.

"Oh, no sweetie, everything's fine. I just wanted to say goodbye before I go on my trip," Velvet assured, gently smiling at her child as she slowly approached the bed. Sitting on her haunches, she leaned in to nuzzle the purple filly's muzzle. "I'll be gone for a while, but your father and I found a great foal sitter to take care of you while your father is at work." Pulling away from the nuzzle, Velvet noticed her daughter frowning back at her. "What's the matter Twilight?"

"But I already have Shiny, why do I need another pony?" Twilight protested, confusion evident on her face.

"Well, Shining is going back to school soon, and I'll likely be gone for the better part of a year. Not to mention he's still just a colt himself."

"Hey, I'm not a little colt anymore mom, I'm a young stallion! I'm almost as tall as dad," Shining interjected, much to the surprise of his mother and sister. "Besides, I can still make meals for Twilie before I go to school, and she's smart enough to take care of herself for a few hours."

Velvet sighed in exasperation. "Honey, Twilight doesn't have her cutie mark, and she can't use magic. If anything went wrong, if she got hurt she'd be helpless until you or your father came home."

"Then I just won't go to school!" Shining proclaimed fiercely, as his grip around his sister subtly tightened.

"Out of the question! You need a good education if you want to go anywhere in life." Seeing the hurt look her son gave her, Velvet took a deep breath to calm down before continuing. "Look, I need to leave soon. Your father will be taking Twilight to the palace to meet her foal sitter. Then tomorrow, she'll come here to get to know you too. I met her last night, and I can tell you she's the sweetest young mare I've ever met."

"Wait, the palace? Is my foal sitter a guard pony? Is she daddy's friend?" Twilight would have kept spouting off questions if Velvet hadn't held up a hoof to stop her.

"You can ask Cadance all the questions you want when you meet her. Now, I really must be going." Standing up, Velvet leaned over to kiss the foreheads of her two children. "I love you both so much, and I'll be sure to write as often as I can."

Right after Twilight squirmed out of bed, she glomped her mother before Shining got up to join in. "We're gonna miss you," Shining said, burying his muzzle in his mothers mane as Velvet returned the gesture.

"I'll miss you too, so much." Velvet gave them both a final nuzzle before getting up to leave. “Since you’re already up Twilight, you should get ready to leave. Your father was going to come get you in a few minutes anyway.”

“Okay mom.” Twilight gave out a small yawn before Shining released his grasp, letting her hop off the bed. Following her mother out the bedroom door, she took a moment to look back at her brother.

“I’m right behind ya Twilie.” Shining hopped off his bed before arching his back in a stretch. After joining his sister waiting at the door, the pair made their way downstairs

At the foot of the stairs Night Light was saying his farewells to Twilight Velvet when he looked up to see his children. "Ready to head out so soon?" Night Light asked Twilight as she trotted up to his side. When she nodded, he turned his attention to his son. "I'm counting on you to hold down the fort today Shining, your sister and I will be back for dinner."

"Yes sir," Shining barked out with a face of grim determination as he saluted. He managed to hold that pose for about ten seconds before he cracked a smile while he and his father shared a light chuckle.

"Love you son, see you tonight." Night Light mussed up Shining’s mane before opening the door. Velvet trotted out with her saddlebags before she was followed by her daughter and husband. Finally, Shining stood in the doorway waving to his family as a pang of melancholy hit his gut.

With his parents cantering off in opposite directions, all he could do was watch as everypony he loved left him alone. While this wasn't his first time staying home alone, he couldn't suppress a nagging feeling of apprehension. Then, his stomach grumbled, and he was broken from his introspective trance. As he headed back inside, Shining closed the door with his magic before making his way to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. No matter what happens, one thing that will never change is my love for Twilie. As long as we have each other, everything will be okay.

Twilight couldn't help but gawk at the grand halls of Canterlot Castle. If she hadn't been riding atop her father's back, she would have easily gotten hopelessly lost in this labyrinthian marvel. Before she knew it, they had made their way to one unassuming door among countless others. The main difference was the two guards posted on either side of the door.

With a simple nod of his head, the guards stepped aside and opened the door for Twilight's father. The interior was revealed to be a rather spacious bedroom, featuring an opulent four poster bed with a canopy overhead and a stuffed animal resting on a pillow. There was a sizable trunk at the foot of the bed that Twilight guessed contained most of the personal items of whoever lived here. The walls were mostly made up of floor to ceiling windows, interrupted by solid granite walls decorated with banners abstractly depicting some historical event or another.

Twilight gawked at the spacious room before her. "Wow daddy, this is a fancy room for a guard pony."

Night Light chuckled before he sat Twilight down in the middle of the black and white checkered floor addressing her. "Didn't your mother tell you that your foalsitter is a princess?"

"Wait, what? Cadance is a princess?! Why would a princess want to foalsit a filly like me?" Twilight’s eyes bulged out of her head as her breathing rapidly sped up to the verge of hyperventilating.

"Hey hey hey, no need to fret little bookworm! Cadence is really excited to meet you. I would have introduced you last night, but you and your brother were already asleep." Night light slowly stroked his daughter's mane to calm her down.

Twilight looked slightly mollified, but her ears were still splayed back in anxiety. "Okay daddy, but... what if the princess doesn't like me?"

Night Light stifled a chuckle as he knelt down to be on his daughter's eye level. "Trust me Twilight, you two have more in common than you might think. But, if it doesn't work out, I'll take care of it. Just try to have fun today, and leave the worrying to the grown-ups. Can you do that for me Twilight?"

Twilight scrunched up her face in deep thought before responding. "Okay daddy, I can try." The look of determination she gave her father almost had him clutching his heart from cuteness overload.

"That's my girl! I'll see you tonight." After rising to all four hooves, he gave Twilight a gentle peck on her forehead before taking his leave. Meanwhile, Twilight deflated the moment the bedroom doors closed behind her father.

Taking a look around, she found herself growing curious over the contents of the large chest at the foot of the bed. Trotting over to it, she decided to take a look inside. Rearing up, she used her forehooves to open the lid, and what she saw inside blew her mind. Sitting atop various books, some dresses, and a blanket was a smarty pants doll. Before Twilight knew what was happening, a sky blue aura lit up the container as the lid opened up completely.

Turning around, Twilight found herself staring up at a pastel pink unicorn with her tricolor mane tied up in a ponytail. "Hi there little filly, find something you like?"

Twilight's ears drooped as she curled up, trying to make herself as small as possible. "Um... are you, p-princess Cadance?"

"Hmm... lemme check real quick." Cadance made a show of spreading out her wings and checking them thoroughly before looking her hooves over, showing off her cutie mark and tapping her horn. "Yup, I'm me alright," she beamed at the bemused, anxious filly. "But if you ever need to double check, I can teach you a special code."

Giving a coy grin, Cadance positioned herself as if she was about to pounce on Twilight before doing something that left the filly utterly dumbfounded. "Sunshine, sunshine!" Keeping her muzzle close to the ground, she pranced in place before hiding her face with her forehooves. "Ladybugs awake!" Poking her head out from her hooves, she sat up on her haunches and started bopping at the air in front of her. "Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Cadance finished off by making an about turn and shaking her flanks.

"Huh?"

"That's the ladybug dance silly filly! An old friend of mine taught it to me when I was around your age," Cadance trailed off a bit, as a hint of melancholy crossed her features. However, before Twilight could ask any sort of follow up, Cadance gave a broad, only slightly forced smile. "Anyway, how about you try it?" Her smile relaxed a bit as she added, "Ya know, in case I ever need to check you're still you."

Not seeing any holes in that logic, the purple filly complied, mimicking the actions and words of her foalsitter to the best of her ability. To her credit, it only took Twilight three tries before she was able to match Cadance's movement. "Oh! I just remembered something," Twilight blurted out before stuffing her hoof in her mouth. Looking up at Cadance apologetically she continued, "Um, I was wondering... is that your smarty pants doll in the trunk?"

Cadance just blinked in befuddlement before realizing what she was just asked. "Yeah, it's one of my keepsakes from my old village. Did you want to play with her?" Levitating the doll over with her magic, Cadance set her smarty pants in front of Twilight who glanced back and forth between the mare and doll.

"Well, I was just surprised a princess had a doll like mine. I like to read to her and take notes on what I read." Twilight beamed at Cadance as she began gushing about her interests. "Ya see, I really like to read, I can even read better than my big brother Shiny! But, that also means I can't talk to anypony else about all the books I read. So I tell Smarty about my books like when me and Shiny used to do reports to our parents before I read all the books we had and they had to come up with other ways we can earn gold stars for the sibling supreme competition!"

Cadance giggled a bit at Twilight's little rant. "Oh my, your parents said you were smart, but I never thought I would have found a filly who loved reading as much as I do."

Twilight's eyes went wide at that revelation. "You like reading too?"

"Of course, and since coming to live here, I've been given full access to the entire Canterlot library! I spent my first week here just reading all the books I could get my hooves on... until Celestia had to personally drag me away to start my magic lessons." Cadance gave a sheepish grin as she rubbed the back of her mane with her hoof.

"Wow!" Twilight was astonished by the prospect of getting unfettered access to so many books, until she latched onto the last bit Cadance said. "Wait, Princess Celestia taught you magic? Could she teach me?" She looked up at Cadance with wide hopeful eyes.

Meanwhile Cadance was dumbfounded by the filly's questions before she adopted a more apologetic tone. "Sorry Twilight, but I still barely know the basics myself. Plus, alicorn magic is... different from unicorn magic. Even if I told you what I know, I don't think it would really help."

"Oh, okay..." Twilight slumped down, upset at finding another dead end.

Not wanting to see her charge so dejected, Cadance gently nuzzled Twilight. "Hey there, it's alright. Doesn't Canterlot have a magic kindergarten to teach the basics of magic?" Laying on the floor, she brought herself to be on eye level with Twilight.

Twilight pouted as she averted her gaze. "Yeah, but I'm still too young to enroll. It's so unfair! Why do I have to wait a whole year before I can learn magic?" She threw her hooves in the air in frustration.

Cadence thought about it for a moment, tapping her hoof to her chin. "Well I don't know for sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say it would be to give young ponies like yourself more time to be foals and play."

"But I only play with Shiny and he's already going to school."

Cadance gave the filly a hopeful smile. "Well, you can play with me if you want. I was an only child, and even though I got along with other foals, I was never really that close with them, at least... not as close as you are with your brother." Her voice took on a more wistful tone near the end.

Twilight noticed this, and decided to scooch closer as she offered a warm smile. "Well you seem like a nice pony, and my dad said you were nice, so I guess we can play if you want."

Cadance visibly brightened at that, letting out a high pitched neigh of delight. "Really? That would be great! What should we do first?"

One of Twilight's ears flopped to the side as she thought it over. "Hmm, Shiny and I have a game we made up together... but we usually play in the park or in the backyard."

"Oh, we can play in the Canterlot gardens! It's nice and open, plenty of room to gallop around." Cadance stood up and made her way for the door, only to look back to a confused purple filly. "Aren't you coming Twilight?"

Twilight pawed her front hoof at the tiled floor. "Uh, are we allowed to? I thought I had to stay inside until dad comes to get me."

Cadance stifled a chuckle before responding. "It's fine Twilight, I might not have as much power as Celestia, but I am still a princess." To emphasize her point she flared out her wings as she levitated Smarty Pants off the floor and onto her bed. "I have free access to the whole palace grounds."

Tentatively, Twilight stood up and began to follow. Passing the guards stationed outside, she gave them a nervous smile before she saw their stern countenances soften as they waved to the departing duo. Making their way through the halls, Twilight couldn't help but notice how much bigger everything felt around her.

Not wanting to stray from the highest authority around, Twilight made sure to stick close to Cadance until she found herself trotting on soft grass. Looking up and around, she marveled at all the intricately carved marble statues and vast hedge maze in front of her. “Wow.”

Cadence giggled at her charge’s reaction. “I know right? Celestia generally lets the landscapers go wild with their artistic visions. The only real restrictions they get are from prince Highblood and his son Vladímir Blueblood, but as long as the hedge maze is maintained, they don’t make a fuss.”

Twilight’s ears drooped slightly as her eyes widened. “Does that mean we can’t play in the maze?”

Cadance had to clutch her chest, sit back on her haunches, and wince before she could answer. “A-actually, we can explore the maze freely as long as… gah. As long as we don’t disturb anything.”

Twilight scurried up to clutch at Cadance’s free hoof, worry evident on her face. “Oh no! Princess! Are you okay?”

Cadance had to stifle a laugh at the filly’s concern. “I’ll be okay Twilight, you were just so adorable, I had to take a minute to process. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you figured out how to weaponize cuteness.” Getting back to her hooves, she motioned with a wing for twilight to follow as she headed for the hedge maze.

Twilight cocked her head in thought before following her foalsitter. “Is it even possible to do that? Is there a spell to condense cuteness into a tangible form?” She froze as she gasped. “Did I cast a spell without even knowing it?”

This time, Cadance failed to stifle her laughter as she gently shook her head. “If anypony could figure out how to do that, it would be you, Twilight.” By the time the pair made their way to the center of the maze, Twilight had all but forgotten about the game she suggested as Cadance regaled the filly with an impromptu history lecture about the royal family.

“Wow, so Prince Highblood isn’t actually related to Princess Celestia, but does that mean you’re also not related?”

Cadance smiled as she patiently answered every question the filly came up with. “Not by blood, but Celestia did officially adopt me into the royal family. Kinda comes with the territory of being an alicorn I guess. That, or having a blood line connecting you to the rulers of the old world.” Cadance snorted as she rolled her eyes, before remembering her company.

Twilight didn’t seem to mind smack talking the Blood household though. “Daddy told me Highblood is nice, but his son is a brat. Is that true?”

Cadance had to choke back a laugh at Twilight’s blunt assessment before she could respond. “Well, just between us fillies?” With a quick nod from Twilight, Cadance leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Your father is absolutely right. Every time I have to deal with that pompous colt, I get a migraine from all the horseapples he spouts.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she gasped and giggled. “You said a bad word!” While her explanation came out as a stage whisper, Cadance still glanced around as if somepony would hear them.

“Please don’t tell anypony I said that Twilight. I don’t want your dad and Celestia to think I’m a bad foalsitter!” Hearing Cadance plead with her, Twilight turned to face the concerned alicorn who looked like she just got caught with her hoof in the cookie jar.

“It’s okay Cadance, I won’t tell anypony. This is just between us fillies right? Plus, you’re really nice! I haven’t met another pony as nice as you before.” Twilight beamed at Cadance.

“How many ponies have you met?” Cadance had a hunch she already knew the answer.

“Oh, well I only know my mom, my dad, Shiny, and you.” That confirmed it, at least until she spoke again. “Sometimes when me and Shiny go to the park though, other foals bug me when I just want to read. Sometimes Shiny gets them to leave me alone, other times he goes to play if they ask him, but nopony ever asked to read with me.” Twilight’s ears dropped slightly.

Cadance got up from her seat and made her way over to Twilight before wrapping a wing around her. “Hey, I’d love to read with you some time. In fact, why don’t I show you the Castle library?”

“Really?” Twilight’s ears perked up as her tail started swishing around her haunches and through the grass.

“Yup. Now, do you want to walk out of the maze, or fly?” Cadance flared her wing not holding Twilight.

“But wait, I can’t fly.” Twilight frowned in puzzlement before Cadance flipped the filly onto her back.

“Silly filly, you don’t need to fly to get a pony back ride!” Cadance giggled as Twilight got comfortable on her back. “So, what’ll it be?” She turned her head to look twilight in the eye who seemed to be considering the matter rather deeply.

“Hmm, let’s fly!” As soon as Twilight gave the order, she latched onto Cadance’s withers before the alicorn took off at a gentle pace as to not dislodge her passenger. “Woohoo!” Twilight screeched as they rose in elevation before cresting over a low hanging cloud. “This is awesome!”

While Cadance could have just flown straight for the nearest palace door, she decided to show off a bit for the filly clinging to her back. Plus, it wasn’t every day the princess got to go out and stretch her wings. That being said, she couldn’t stay airborne all day. Once she felt Twilight had enough excitement, Cadence gracefully landed on a balcony closest to the palace library.

Leaning to one side, Cadance extended a wing for Twilight to slide off. Once she was no longer encumbered, the balcony doors lit with a sky blue hue before swinging open. While she was still catching her breath from the excitement of her first flight, Twilight lost it the moment she laid eyes on the towering labyrinth of book shelves.

Each shelf was accompanied by a brass ladder attached by sliding rails. Even Cadance’s frame was dwarfed by the towers of tomes kept in these cavernous halls. “There’s so many,” Twilight breathed out in reverence.

“Well, they won’t read themselves. Where would you like to start? Fantasy, history, joke books, text books, oh, what about romance novels?” Cadance’s eyes lit up until she looked back to the filly to see her blanch. “Twilight, is something wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, I don’t like romance books. Colts are gross and dumb.” Twilight nodded in satisfaction as if nopony would challenge her assertion.

Cadance cocked an ear back and furrowed her brow in worry. “What about your big brother? He’s a colt.”

“Shiny doesn’t count. He’s my BBBFF, and I make sure he washes behind his ears like mom told me.”

Cadance was taken aback by that. “You two still bathe together?”

Twilight blinked up at her foal sitter, oblivious to her concern. “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”

Cadance just stared ahead for a moment, racing to think of something to say. “Uhh, well I… guess there’s nothing wrong with it. I guess I just thought that, after siblings got old enough they would bathe by themselves.”

Twilight cocked her head to the side. “Why? It’s faster to bathe together, and you can have somepony wash your mane. Plus mom and dad take baths together.”

Not wanting to say anything that might upset the filly’s parents, Cadance decided to end this line of questioning altogether. “I guess it was just something I picked up from my old village. I was told not to bathe with colts, but I also never had a brother.” Twilight didn’t look satisfied with that answer. But before she could ask any more questions, Cadance pulled out a half dozen books from various shelves to peruse.

Distracted by the floating books in front of her, Twilight remembered why they came to the library in the first place. “Oh hey, what’s that book?” She pointed a hoof to a rather thick burgundy tome.

“Oh, lemme take a look.” Flipping open the book, she looked for a title. “Ooh! This is a historical record of Starswirl The Bearded!”

Twilight blinked. “Who?”

“Star Swirl the Bearded! He was the greatest arch mage in all of history! No single pony has advanced the study of magic more than him, not even Celestia!” Cadance was prancing in place as she looked over the table of contents. Meanwhile, her excitement had infected Twilight who was bouncing around Cadance.

“Let’s read it! Let’s read it! Let’s read it!” On her fourth bounce, she was halted in mid air by Cadance’s magic aura. Before she knew it, she was sitting on a comfy reading couch with Cadance curled up around her and the book in question laying in front of the two of them on a cushion.

“Just let me know when you need me to turn the page.” Without further questions, the two fillies set to reading. More than once, Cadance had to pick up her reading pace to keep up with Twilight. Eventually she just decided to let Twilight read by herself, still turning the pages on request. It got to the point Cadance could predict when she needed the page turned without prompting.

Sometimes when she was getting ready to turn the page, Cadance would notice some magenta sparks emitting from Twilight’s horn. It was like she was trying to reach out with magic to turn the page herself. Of course, it only ever produced harmless sparks, but Cadance could have sworn she saw the faintest hint of a pale aura surrounding Twilight’s horn.

As Twilight was in the middle of the seventh tome of the day, the library doors opened to the sound of clinking armor and steady hoof beats. Cadance looked up to see the golden eyes of Night Light framed by his captain’s helm. Twilight only looked up from her book when Cadance had failed to turn the page and her horn sparks failed to do the job for her.

Night Light gave a loving smile to his daughter as he nuzzled the tip of her muzzle. “Did ya have fun today my little filly?”

Blinking slowly, Twilight steadily sat up and rubbed her eyes as she smiled back. “Yeah, Cadance is the best! She has her own smarty pants, she likes reading, and she’s really good at magic!”

Cadance smiled sheepishly as her cheeks turned crimson. “Hehe, well I wouldn’t say I’m that good at magic, I can only really do two spells.”

“But you can float all those books around like it’s nothing! I can’t even turn a page.” Twilight’s ears drooped at her own self deprecation.

Night Light’s armor clinked as he sat on his haunches. “Hey now, don’t sweat it silly filly. By this time next year, you’ll be levitating books like a pro!”

“If you say so daddy…” Twilight trailed off with a squeaky yawn and stared up at her father, barely able to keep her eyes open now that her body and mind were catching up to each other. “Is it time to go home now?”

“Indeed it is, little one.” Looking up he addressed Cadance. “Can you carry her to the front gates? I’ll be right behind you after I hang up my armor for the day.”

Cadance nodded as she stifled her own yawn. “Sure thing captain Night Light.”

Chuckling, Night Light gave the princess a sardonic grin. “Cadance, what happened to no titles? If I can’t call you princess, I insist you don’t use my rank.”

Cadance’s face burned red as she stammered. “I-I’m so sorry ca-I mean Night Light, I just.” Taking a deep breath in, she raised a hoof to her chest. Exhaling, she pushed her hoof away. “Sorry, I guess I just… sorry, I’ll meet you at the front gates with Twilight.” Forcing her face into a relaxed smile, she levitated Twilight onto her back and the filly curled up between her wings.

“Ya know, you didn’t need to carry her all the way back to my house. I’m not that tired after wearing that armor.” Night Light gave Cadance a crooked grin.

“I know I didn’t have to, I just couldn’t bring myself to disturb little Twilie.” On her back, shielded from the last rays of the setting sun by purple tipped pink feathers half extended, was a sleeping unicorn filly.

“She must really like you. She usually only sleeps so soundly around her brother.”

Cadance’s eyes reflected her surprise. Turning her neck to see over her shoulder, her heart melted much like the first time she saw Twilight sleeping. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Night Light. You don’t know how much this means to me. To just be able to bond with your daughter, today was one of the best I’ve had since I got my horn.”

“Don’t thank me just yet. I’m gonna need you back here thirty minutes before sunrise. You haven’t really met Shining either. He’s pretty independent already, but just be sure to keep an eye on him all the same. I’ll also have a list of chores for them to get done.” As Night Light halted on the walkway to his house, he gently levitated Twilight onto his back before turning to face Cadance. “Thank you again for all your help, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Of course, have a good night.” With a parting smile, Cadance turned and cantered back home. A moment later, her ears swiveled back to hear a door opening and the voice of an adolescent colt.

“Dad, Twilie, your home!” Whipping her head around, Cadance caught a fleeting glimpse of two toned blue on white before a door once again swung shut.

Author's Note

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