Not By Its Cover
Her parents had an outing with their country club that sunny Saturday morning. Her brother had cadet camp training all day.
For a young filly named Twilight Sparkle, this could only mean one thing.
"Cadence is coming!" she cheered happily as she leapt in great bounds around the kitchen counter, "Cadence is coming, Cadence is coming—!"
"Take it easy, Twilie," Shining Armor laughed into his cereal, "you'll burn yourself out before she even gets here."
"I have to agree with your brother on this one," Nightlight said, catching his little daughter in midair with his light blue magic and levitating her into his forelegs, where he sat reading the morning paper.
"Daddy, did you know—did you know Cadence is a princess?!" Twilight bounced excitedly in his lap. "She just told me last week and I had no idea, and she's been foalsitting me for a long time and—"
"Yes sweetheart, we did know that," Twilight Velvet answered from over by the kitchen sink, where she levitated the rest of the clean dishes into the cabinet. "Now eat your breakfast. You don't want to go out on an empty stomach."
"Go out?" Twilight's bubbling energy subsided for a minute once she heard this new bit of information, and she raised her eyebrow curiously at her mother. "Go out where? I was gonna show Princess Cadence the new books you and Daddy got me, The Beginning Filly's Guide to Magic, Volumes One, Two and Three."
"Twilie..." Shining Armor crouched in front of his sister once he'd finished his breakfast, "Don't you remember? The Summer Sun Celebration is still going on in the city and Cadence is—"
"Princess Cadence, Shiny," Twilight corrected him sternly, her forelegs folded in front of her.
"Sorry, Princess Cadence is taking you there for your first outing together," Shining continued. "Won't that be fun to get out of the house for the afternoon with your favorite foalsitter?"
"But...I really wanted to show her my library." The filly chewed on her lip uncertainly, gazing from her brother to her parents.
"She's already seen your library, hasn't she?" Velvet pointed out, checking her mane in the adjacent hall mirror one last time as Nightlight placed Twilight in the chair beside him before he stood. "She used to read you all those fairy tales at night before you went to sleep."
"But it's different now..." Twilight sipped quietly from her sunflower smoothie, clearly unhappy at this change of plans. "I've got lots of books on magic I really wanna read with her."
"Twilight, you've been reading those magic books almost nonstop for a week now," Nightlight said firmly as he surveyed her for a moment. "I think it's high time you go outside and have some fun for a change. A filly your age shouldn't be cooped up inside for so long."
"There will be plenty of little ponies from Magic Kindergarten there with their families as well," Velvet added, ruffling Twilight's mane a bit and trying to meet her downcast eyes, "That will be fun, won't it?" Twilight stole a quick glance at Shining Armor for a moment, who had to bite back a retort just as—thankfully—the doorbell rang at last.
"She's here!"
"Well, that takes care of that," Nightlight chuckled as the filly's high spirits were renewed, watching her gallop towards the front door with a big beaming smile. Shining Armor opened the door to reveal a lovely young mare with a pale pink coat, a bright multihued mane tied back away from her face and a blue crystal heart for her cutie mark.
"Twilight!" Cadence cried out happily as her charge jumped up and hugged her tightly around the neck. Almost as quickly as they embraced, they broke apart and faced each other in a rehearsed stance:
"Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake!" they recited along with the hoof motions they'd made up together, "Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"
"I'm so glad to see you again, Princess," Twilight sighed happily.
"Twilight," Cadence said warningly, "What did I say about calling me 'Princess' when I come to foalsit you?"
"No!" Twilight ran away from her playfully, crying out in mock terror, "Not the Tickle Monster!"
"Yes, the Tickle Monster!" Cadence shouted, catching up quite easily with the little filly and capturing her in her forelegs. Twilight's infectious giggling filled the front hallway as her parents came into view, dressed in their finest for their day at the country club.
"Thank you for doing this on such short notice, dear," Velvet said as Cadence stood to greet her and her husband. "We had almost forgotten that Shining's cadet training now requires him to attend on Saturdays. He's moving up so quickly now in his class, so I can hardly complain."
"Mom, you're embarrassing me," Shining Armor whined a bit, turning beet red. He never liked to brag about his accomplishments, and especially not with a mare like Cadence present.
"It's no trouble at all," Cadence insisted, nuzzling Twilight affectionately. "If it's for your daughter, I'd drop everything to come see her any day."
"It's good to see that she's become so taken with you," Nightlight said, smiling warmly down at them. "Now, you know where to reach us in case of any emergencies?"
"Of course, the Hoofers Country Club on the upper east side," Cadence nodded, "and Shining Armor will be at the castle courtyard."
"We should be back early this evening," Shining said, hitching his saddlebag around his back as Nightlight and Velvet headed past them through the front door.
"I wish you were coming with us," Twilight said glumly, snuggling up to her big brother's chest.
"Hey, you're gonna be with Cadence—the greatest foalsitter ever," Shining said, looking down into his sister's pleading gaze. "What do you want me hanging around for?"
"'Cause…I think it's nice when you're both together," Twilight responded simply.
That caught both brother and foalsitter terribly off-guard. Cadence looked up at Shining Armor quickly and hoped to Celestia that her face was not as red as his.
"Um, yeah, well...watch out for her, alright?" Shining mumbled, turning away from her.
"A-always," Cadence stammered, covering her face with a hoof, "Good luck today."
"Yeah, thanks," he said hastily before giving Twilight a quick hug goodbye and following his parents out the door.
"Um...what just happened?" Twilight asked, noting her brother and Cadence's strange behavior.
"Nothing sweetie, it was nothing," Cadence laughed nervously, the heat still a bit prominent in her cheeks as she straightened up. "So, shall we head out?"
"Just let me get some books and I'll be all set!" Twilight nodded eagerly, making a dash for the staircase to her bedroom.
"Hold it there, little missy," Cadence interrupted, blocking her path to the stairs, "I am under strict orders from your father and mother to make sure you get some fresh air today and participate in the Summer Sun Faire."
"Aw, but I already saw the best part," Twilight pouted, her lower lip sticking out. But the experienced foalsitter wasn't buying into any of it, instead deciding to come at her from a different angle.
"So you got to stay up all night?" Cadence asked eagerly, stooping down to her level, "And watch Princess Celestia raise the sun?"
"Uh huh!" Twilight answered, bouncing on her hooves again, "It was the first year Mommy and Daddy let me, and it was so amazing! But then I got sleepy right after, so they took me home..."
"That means you haven't been to the Faire yet?" Cadence asked in mock surprise, "Oh Twilight, you have to go!"
"I don't know..."
"There'll be food and games and stage shows and all sorts of attractions," Cadence listed off. "And the best part is we'll be seeing them together!"
"Well...I guess that won't be too bad," Twilight perked up a bit, and Cadence took this as her cue to lead the reluctant filly out into the warm summer air. The little filly took one last longing look at the staircase leading to her bedroom, and her books on magic, before Cadence shut and locked the door behind her.
"It’s just downtown in the shopping district," Cadence announced as she walked a bit ahead of Twilight, "about two blocks east of the restaurant chain and four blocks north of the library. I've got enough bits for admission, lunch, and probably two shows—"
Twilight had stopped walking for a moment, the moment one word and one word only registered in her mind: Library. She quickened her pace until she fell into stride alongside her beloved foalsitter.
"That's the spirit!" Cadence said with her gentle tinkling laugh that Twilight always loved to hear.
"Hey Pr—uh, Cadence, can I—?"
"You know what?" Cadence began in a much softer tone as they stopped at a crosswalk, "If your parents hadn't sent for me, I would have been stuck inside the castle all day with my etiquette lessons. No one but the guards and my attendants and those books—those boring books on how to walk, how to speak publicly, how to present yourself in court—how could I waste a beautiful day like this stuck inside reading?"
"O...oh." Twilight's face fell, her ears drooped against her head. Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe Cadence wouldn't have wanted to look at her magic library after all.
"I probably wouldn't have gotten to the Summer Sun Faire at all," Cadence went on. "So I'm really glad that this worked out. And that I get to spend this time with you, my favorite little filly."
"Yeah...me too." Twilight forced a smile back at Cadence, all the while keeping one eye on the golden points of the ivory towers just a few blocks over—the towers of the Canterlot Library.
~
“And how are you enjoying the Faire, Your Highness?” the rather frazzled earth pony running the cotton candy booth asked as he spun the paper base around several times, layering it up with a mountain of soft sugary goodness.
“It’s so lively and exciting,” Cadence replied, glancing around at all of the smiling, laughing ponies partaking in the festivities. Overhead, the joyful screams of foals could be heard on the fast paced rides, nearby the sounds of music echoing out of the covered tents where the stage shows were being performed, and more food than any pony could possibly eat in one day set up in stands along the street curbs. Twilight remained close by her the entire time, and was now eyeing the bowl of cotton candy hungrily. “The devotion the ponies of Equestria have to Princess Celestia in order to recreate this Faire year after year is—um, that’s enough sir.”
“Oh—oh dear, my apologies Princess!” the vendor gasped once he realized the amount of candy he’d spun together was now larger than his own head. Twilight giggled eagerly, her eyes sparkling at the giant treat that awaited her.
“Please sir, I’m just a foalsitter today,” Cadence claimed, holding up a hoof in pardon as she levitated the cotton candy down to Twilight, who grabbed at it with her forelegs and plunged her mouth into the pink puff.
“Well, she certainly seems to be grateful for that.” The vendor smiled as Twilight rubbed against Cadence’s leg in thanks.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Cadence introduced the filly, whose mouth was too full to do it herself. “I don’t mean to be biased, but she’s probably my favorite filly to sit for.”
“Hmm, Twilight Sparkle…now that name sounds familiar.” The vendor tapped his chin for a moment in thought, looking down at the lavender filly. “You wouldn’t by chance happen to be in Miss Chamomile’s Magic Kindergarten class at the elementary school, would you?”
“Yes I am,” Twilight responded after a great swallow, “I love Miss Chamomile!”
“Well, she’s my sister!” the vendor exclaimed as the realization dawned on him. “I remember her mentioning you specifically—you must be quite a talented young unicorn.”
“I read the textbook all the way through five times!” Twilight announced proudly as Cadence and the vendor laughed.
“Well it was very nice to meet you, Miss Sparkle,” the vendor said, “And Princess, always a pleasure.”
“The pleasure is mine!” Cadence called over her shoulder as they walked down the street towards some of the larger tents. “Oh…I do wish they wouldn’t do that,” Cadence’s smile faded a bit as she saw two mares and a stallion a few feet away become suddenly startled and sink into a low bow upon seeing her.
“Do what?” Twilight asked, looking over at the group who were now murmuring excitedly to themselves.
“Treat me so reverently,” Cadence sighed, plucking a bit of Twilight’s cotton candy from her and popping it into her mouth. “I may have been born into royalty, but I’m nowhere near the majestic ruler my distant Aunt Celestia is. It not only makes me uncomfortable, but puts me under an awful lot of pressure.”
She shook her thoughts clear and glanced down at Twilight, chuckling at her candy-coated mouth. “Well,” Cadence said as she levitated a napkin to the filly’s face, wiping it clean, “at least I can count on you treating me like a normal pony, right?”
“If that’s what the greatest foalsitter ever wants, then that’s what she gets,” Twilight said cheerfully.
“Hey Twilight,” came a sudden filly’s voice behind them, and Twilight spun around to see three young unicorns smiling a little too widely in her direction.
“Oh, hi Moon Dancer…” Twilight trailed off.
“Are these fillies from your class?” Cadence asked. She gave them a friendly grin, not noticing the sudden tension in Twilight’s smile, the slight drop of her ears.
“Yeah, Twilight’s in our class,” the teal unicorn named Moon Dancer replied, her gaze traveling from Cadence to Twilight. “And we had no idea Twilight was friends with a princess.”
“She’s my foalsitter,” Twilight responded rather softly, moving closer to Cadence.
“Well, we wouldn’t have expected anything less from Twilight,” the magenta unicorn added, whose smile never reached her eyes.
“Well, I guess we’ll see you around the Faire then.” Moon Dancer kept her smile intact until the three of them turned to walk back up the road, where they promptly began whispering.
“Twilight, why don’t you go walk around with them?” Cadence asked, “They seem pretty nice.”
“Um…I’d rather not,” Twilight said hastily, casting around for a change of subject. “Hey, I never showed you my Magic Kindergarten textbook, did I? The one I read five times? We should go back to my house so we can—!”
“Go back? Twilight, we just got here an hour ago,” Cadence said, thoroughly perplexed. “Come on, there’s plenty of other things we can do to keep us occupied for the afternoon.”
“But I—!” Twilight found herself talking to empty air as Cadence walked ahead of her to the show tents, causing her to slump onto her haunches in defeat. Turning her head to the left, she brightened as she was able to make out a building she knew all too well.
Their trek through the Faire had brought them even closer to the Canterlot Library. It was a mere two blocks away—so close.
“Twilight!”
And yet so very far. “Coming, Cadence!”
“Look at this: The Great and Powerful Tristan Spellbinds with His Amazing Feats of Magic—Featuring His Daughter, Trixie,” Cadence read aloud from a sandwich board perched outside a blue and purple tent. “There’s another show starting in three minutes.”
“A magic show?” Twilight raised her eyebrow at the sign. “Isn’t that just tricks and stuff, not like the real magic I read about in my books?”
“I think it could be a lot of fun!” Cadence exclaimed, ushering Twilight into the tent. “Sometimes a unicorn’s special talent is entertaining other ponies with tricks. It’s nothing to scoff at.”
Twilight frowned as the lights dimmed, Cadence finding them a spot right in the center of the crowd of ponies that gathered. Out the corner of her eye, the filly could just make out the sunlight trickling in from a sliver in the tent flap. She thought of the library, she thought of the dark tent where every pony was distracted by the fireworks show on the stage—including Cadence. And she thought of the gap in the tent flap that was just her size…
The wheels began turning in her young mind as she slowly backed away from her diverted foalsitter. The show was probably pretty long, and the library so close by. If she could sneak away now, then she could get some exploring at the library in and be back before Cadence noticed she was gone. Twilight couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face. Maybe today wouldn’t be a total loss after all.
As the blue unicorn Tristan began his flashy spectacle, Twilight managed to wiggle her way out of the tent without drawing attention to herself and into the afternoon sun. Clapping her hooves together happily, she took off at a gallop towards the golden and ivory library towers.
~
She had only been here a couple of times with her mother before. On the way home from running errands, Twilight would beg her mother to let her go to the library for just a little while. But of course, a “little while” in a vast hollow of books is never enough time for any pony, let alone Twilight Sparkle. Luckily, she managed to get there without a hitch, giving the librarian a beaming smile as she entered the glass front doors.
“Are you here all by yourself, dear?” the peach-colored mare asked, peering down at her through blue half-moon glasses.
“My foalsitter is at the Faire,” Twilight replied, “She said I could come over here for a little while. Where’s the Spells Wing?”
“Up the stairs and on the left,” the librarian drawled, waving her hoof halfheartedly in that direction. “Be careful up there,” she added as Twilight rushed eagerly up the winding flight of stairs to the second floor.
What she had told the librarian was only half true, and of course she felt thoroughly guilty for leaving without telling Cadence. But how was she ever going to learn about magic—anything and everything there was to learn—by wasting time at the Faire? Her own parents didn’t understand, and it seemed like Cadence didn’t either. The only one she could really talk to about this was Shining Armor. He always listened to her, no matter what, which was why she called him her Big Brother Best Friend Forever. But he wasn’t here now, which left Twilight to fend for herself.
The spells section was enormous, shelves upon shelves reaching as high as the ceiling, taking up almost the entire floor. Most of the contents were books, some were rolled scrolls of parchment yellowed and browned with age, all neatly organized alphabetically and categorically. As the young filly’s eyes sparkled happily, she knew in her heart of hearts that this was where she belonged. Not at the Faire, not with those fillies from her class, but here with all of the knowledge of Equestria and beyond at her hooves. Taking a book off the lowest shelf, Twilight silently vowed to learn at least one new spell before she had to head back to the Faire—then she could have fun with Cadence without this thirst for magical knowledge eating away at her.
As she made to open the book, something to the right caught her eye, and it was the oddity of it that made her turn her head. All of the shelves in this section were lit brightly with candles attached to the wall, as well as the sun streaming in from the ceiling-high windows. But the shelf at the very end of the Spells Wing was dim and dark, the curtains on the window beside it pulled shut with a velvet rope blocking the section off.
Twilight dropped the book she was holding and trotted slowly over to this curious sight. It was in this Wing, so it was obviously a section having to do with unicorn magic. Why was it roped off, and so dark? She tapped her chin thoughtfully, Maybe they thought these books were so old, no pony would want to read them anymore. At that, Twilight laughed out loud—there could never be a book too old for her. Glancing around, she looked to see if any pony was watching her. Then she remembered she was the only one here, every pony else was at the Faire. Shrugging, she slipped as quietly as she could underneath the rope and headed into the dimly lit section of the Spells Wing.
She began to relax a bit upon looking up at the shelves: There was nothing odd or unsettling about them, they looked like ordinary books. And the section looked the same as the others, just without any light. Yeah, this is definitely just a place where they keep the really old books, Twilight thought. Then her face lit up, Maybe I can learn a really rare spell that hardly any pony knows about! That would really make my teacher proud, and Mommy and Daddy too—and even Cadence! Bounding down the aisle, she searched carefully for the perfect book that contained the most perfect spell…
A murky green tome leapt out at her about halfway down the row on the second shelf from the bottom, and she reached up with her hooves to pull it down. Coughing a bit at the dust that flew in her face, Twilight blew the remaining grime off of the cover, her eyes widening at the curved silver letters that embellished it:
Shadow Magic
~
Cadence ran as fast as she could, retracing every single step, looking around every single corner. How could this happen—how could she have let this happen? She couldn’t have looked away from Twilight for more than five minutes during The Great and Powerful Tristan’s opening fireworks display. At first she thought perhaps the filly had to use the bathroom, so she did not think much of it. When she realized twenty minutes had gone by and Twilight had not returned, she promptly left the show tent and rushed to where the outhouses were, only to find them all empty. Thinking Twilight might be on her way back to the show, she hurried back in that direction. But she hadn’t been there—and so far, she hadn’t been anywhere.
“They’re going to kill me,” Cadence whispered to herself, keeping an eye out for a flash of lavender wandering around. “If I don’t find her, her parents will—no, stop thinking like that. She couldn’t have gotten far, you’ll come across her eventually…”
“Your Highness!” came a familiar voice, and Cadence recognized she was in front of the cotton candy booth from earlier that day, the vendor waving her over. “I sense something is troubling you.”
“You wouldn’t by chance have happened to see Twilight, the little filly that was with me this morning?” Cadence exhaled out in one breath, the exhaustion plainly etched in her face as she collapsed against the booth.
“Not since you brought her by earlier.” The vendor shook his head and Cadence let out a grunt of frustration as she continued to frantically glance around.
“I don’t understand this…one minute she was right beside me, the next she was gone.” Cadence put a hoof to her face worriedly, trying her hardest to keep her voice from trembling. “It was so dark in there, what if she was abducted? No, I can’t just assume the worst like that—she probably went off somewhere. But that doesn’t make sense either, why would she go off without telling me? I doubt she would leave the Faire without my permission. If she got lost—oh poor Twilight, she must be so scared! I have to keep looking!”
“Begging your pardon, but have you indeed searched everywhere?” the vendor asked.
“Yes,” Cadence sighed, “I’ve searched every inch of this Faire: the rides, the attractions, every booth, every tent, and she’s nowhere to be found.”
“And how long have you known Twilight?”
Cadence’s head snapped up at that strange question, “How long have—what?”
“How long have you known Miss Sparkle, Princess?”
“Um—well, about six months now I suppose,” Cadence managed to remember amidst a sea of panic. “I began foalsitting her last Hearth’s Warming Eve. But why—?”
“The longer you’ve known some pony, the better chance you have of being able to put yourself in their horseshoes,” the vendor said, helping her to her feet sympathetically. “If you were Twilight Sparkle, where would you go?”
“I…this was our very first outing together, so I—I don’t…” Her mind was so riddled with apprehension and uncertainty that Cadence found herself completely flustered at this question, and the vendor patted her hoof.
“If you cannot answer, your best bet would be to find some pony who can.”
The realization dawned on Cadence as a heavy weight settled in the pit of her stomach. She knew what she had to do, and it wasn’t going to be easy—but it would bring her several steps closer to finding Twilight. “Thank you sir, you’ve been very kind,” Cadence smiled warmly, offering her hoof to the vendor.
“Good luck, dear Princess.” The vendor kissed her hoof, just before Cadence spread her violet wings wide and took off into the cloudless sky. It seemed like no time at all that Canterlot Castle came into view, the courtyard located before the front drawbridge. Cadence took a deep breath and let it out slowly—there was no getting around this. If she was ever going to find where Twilight could be…
…She was going to have to tell Shining Armor that she had lost his little sister.
~
It was a really long book, far too long for Twilight to read all the way through and still make it back to Cadence in time. She was just going to have to pick a spell and nail it right on the first try. Grunting slightly, Twilight fired up her tiny horn until the page glowed in a magenta aura and she was able to turn it—luckily, simple spells like this were becoming a lot easier the more she practiced them. As she sifted through the book, she saw there were a lot of big words she did not understand. Whatever “Shadow Magic” was, it had to be really complicated, which only drove the filly to want to learn about it more. She could perform a shadow spell in front of her whole class and make every pony proud of her and the work she had done.
“Shadow Magic,” Twilight read aloud, “is beyond any skill or technique a unicorn may have acq—acqui—acquired,” she sounded out the word giving her trouble. “It is nothing short of willpower and a desire for such control that will unlock said unicorn’s ability to create the magic of darkness.” Well, she certainly met the willpower condition as she clapped her hooves together excitedly.
This is it…I’m going to perform Shadow Magic…
Turning to the middle of the book, Twilight focused all of her concentration on the ancient words in front of her, scrawled across the page in old-fashioned penmanship. It was several long minutes before her horn began to glow a very subtle deep pink—slowly at first, then gradually building to a consistent aura. By now the young filly was sweating profusely, her throat hoarse from grunting, her muscles aching from straining, but she refused to stop.
“I’m doing…it…” The magical glow was changing now, unbeknownst to its conjurer. Darker and darker it became, pink fading to purple, purple deepening to midnight blue—and finally, black. “I’m…doing…it…”
Twilight jumped backward and gasped as the book began to vibrate on the floor, glowing with that same black aura. As the thick cloud of smoke rose from the marred pages towards the high ceiling, bearing down on the child, she found it impossible to suppress the shrill scream that tore from her throat.
~
“I need to speak to Shining Armor,” Cadence announced short of breath to the captain of the guard once she had landed in the courtyard, overseeing the young cadets’ training in the hot afternoon sun.
“Their break ended fifteen minutes ago,” the captain replied curtly down at her, “It will be difficult to properly grade his stamina if he—”
“Please Captain, it’s an emergency,” Cadence pleaded, her voice starting to break, “A family emergency.” The captain looked down at her thoughtfully, then gave her a slight bow.
“Armor!” he roared across the field, and the lone pure white colt stopped galloping dead in his tracks.
“Sir!” he called back just as loudly.
“Get over here! Family emergency!”
Cadence winced—she wished he hadn’t said it so bluntly. Shining Armor dashed as fast as he could over to him, and it was then that he noticed Cadence. The captain grunted as he moved away to leave the two of them alone, his cadet finally halting in front of the princess. A look of fright washed over his features and Cadence felt her heart drop into her stomach. This was going to be much harder than she thought…
“What is it?” Shining Armor asked in a low, quivering tone of absolute dread. “Is it Twilie? What happened?”
“Shining Armor, I…” The words caught in her throat, and Cadence pressed a hoof to her mouth as she felt the tears begin to surface. “Shining, I didn’t mean for this to happen—”
“Where is she?” His harsh inquiry made her cringe as Shining Armor bared his teeth, the distress never leaving his eyes. “Where’s my sister?!”
Standing her ground, Cadence opened her mouth to admit to everything when Shining Armor gasped suddenly at something over Cadence’s shoulder. Whirling around, the princess could now see the huge dark cloud that had shot up into the sky, slowly beginning to creep towards them. Squinting slightly, Cadence tried to make out the source, which had to be coming from somewhere in town…
“That can’t be—” In the distance, one sound made their blood run cold. A very small, high pitched scream they both immediately recognized.
“Twilight!” Shining Armor shouted, glancing anxiously at Cadence.
“The library,” Cadence breathed as the pieces fell into place upon locating the shadow’s cause. “Come on!”
Taking off in flight once more, Cadence could see Shining Armor galloping alongside her out the corner of her eye as they raced back into town.
~
“What in Equestria is that?!” the librarian shrieked up at the black cloud that had consumed the building, “Where did it come from?!” The ancient shadow that had been conjured by none other than a small filly’s premature magic had grown at a rapid pace, oozing outside through the open doors and windows, where it shot straight up into the sky like a grave omen.
“I didn’t mean to!” came Twilight’s voice as she galloped down the stairs to the main floor. “I was just reading the book and trying to perform the spell—!”
“Where did you get this book?” the librarian asked fearfully, whirling around to gape down at her.
“In that one part of the spells section…” Twilight admitted, shuffling the floor nervously, “The one that’s all dark with the rope blocking it.”
“That section is restricted to authorized personnel only!” the peach mare shouted, making Twilight recoil in shame. “And a young filly like you went in there without permission?!”
“I just wanted to learn more about magic!” Twilight wailed, curling up on the ground with her hooves over her ears. As the shadow whooshed over her head, she squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that this was all just a bad dream, that she would wake up in her own bed at any moment now…
The front door to the library banged open at once, shocking the librarian even more so when she realized who had arrived. “Princess!”
“Get out of here now!” Cadence called to the mare, who immediately obeyed and dashed out the door into the street. Shining Armor rushed over to his sister and gathered the terrified filly into his forelegs. Twilight’s eyes shot open when she recognized her big brother’s embrace and clung to him as the shadow bore down upon them.
“Twilie, you’re okay,” Shining Armor whispered to reassure both her and himself, “It’s gonna be okay…”
“Shining Armor!” Cadence cried out as the shadow swooped down to consume the two siblings. Firing up her horn, she shot a blast of blue magic which temporarily made the shadow disperse away from them. “Both of you get behind me!”
“But Cadence—!” Shining Armor stared into her determined face, fearing for her safety as well.
“Trust me, just do it!” she called even louder, the hard set look in her blazing violet eyes enough to convince Shining that there was no other choice. Heaving Twilight onto his back, he galloped towards the doorway, turning back to see Cadence staring down the shadow that was eyeing her as its next target. The young mare grit her teeth as she worked to will enough magic to come to her aid, the blue glow around her horn becoming more and more intense the longer she stared up at the leering shadow.
“Cadence!” Shining Armor shouted as the cloud began to plunge towards her, Twilight hiding her face in his mane. There was a scream of release as an enormous bubble of blue light burst forth from Cadence’s horn, just inches before the shadow claimed her. With a loud whoosh of air similar to a shout of defeat, the shadow began to recede from the sky as it was drawn back through the library windows, seeping further and further back into the murky green book on the floor. Panting heavily, Cadence used all her strength to keep the shield up that simultaneously drove back the shadow and protected the two ponies behind her until it had completely evaporated, leaving the Shadow Magic tome a little worse for wear but no longer a threat.
As she lowered her shield, Shining Armor could finally make out Cadence’s form, poised in a stance of elegance and regality. Her eyes were closed as if in a trance and her now loose mane glittered as it flowed behind her, as if an invisible breeze were wafting through it. Once she had opened her eyes, Cadence glanced back at Shining Armor’s awed expression and gave him a very weak smile.
~
Cadence paced the living room of Twilight’s house as Nightlight, Twilight Velvet and Shining Armor spoke in intense whispers behind the closed door of the study later that evening. She could very faintly hear them speaking, but could not make out any words that were being said. Amidst their relief that their daughter was safe, Nightlight and Velvet had sternly scolded Twilight for running off and for her carelessness nearly endangering the entire city. After sending the filly to her room for the remainder of the night, Nightlight called for a family meeting to discuss the consequences of today’s events, asking Cadence to wait in the family room while this went on. Cadence could only nod in agreement, reading the cold disappointment in Nightlight’s eyes as he left to join the others in the study.
That had been nearly half an hour ago, and here she still was, feeling as if she were on trial awaiting her sentence. If this did not work out in her favor, Cadence was sure she would be dismissed as Twilight’s sitter. Not that she didn’t deserve it—she had lost track of her charge, she had failed to keep her out of harm’s way, thus she had failed as a proper foalsitter. She hung her head as she sat on her haunches in the middle of the floor dejectedly. Worst of all, she could only imagine what would happen if word got back to Princess Celestia about this incident and how she couldn’t even keep track of one little filly. This could not only damage her reputation as a foalsitter, but as a pony of the royal lineage as well.
Cadence raised her head to glance out the window at the bright moon that had risen into the sky as she lost herself to her anxieties. A tear rolled down her cheek and she brushed it away, only to be followed by two more that dripped to the floor. Not being able to sit for Twilight again and not being able to have that special time together with such a special unicorn was almost too much for Cadence to bear. But whatever her punishment would be, she would have to accept it with dignity and grace, despite how terribly her heart ached on the inside.
The door clicked open behind her and she turned to see Shining Armor emerging from the doorway. His expression was entirely unreadable as he drew nearer to her, which only made Cadence’s heart pound harder.
“Well, you’re not fired,” Shining Armor said, and she gave an enormous sigh of relief. “But I wouldn’t expect my parents to ask you to take her on outings again anytime soon.”
Cadence nodded in understanding. “And Twilight?”
“Grounded for two weeks,” Shining answered, “Which considering she almost put all of Canterlot in jeopardy is more than fair.” He chuckled grimly as Cadence could only manage a smile.
“It’s not entirely her fault, you know,” she said softly. “If I had just listened to her and not tried to push her into enjoying the Faire, she wouldn’t have run off in the first place.”
“You were just following my parents’ orders,” Shining Armor said with a shrug.
“But I should have known something was wrong—because there is something wrong, isn’t there?” Cadence shot at him suddenly.
“What makes you think that?” he asked, biting his lip nervously.
“Twilight was able to conjure that shadow,” Cadence whispered, her eyes clouded with concern. “Shadow Magic can only be conjured by one thing: Fear. Fear, which leads to hatred, which leads to a desire for power and control—but its ultimate root is fear itself, even in its most basic form. And a filly so young was able to cast a spell from that book.” She looked up into Shining Armor’s eyes, moving a bit closer to him. “Shining Armor…what is Twilight afraid of?”
Shining closed his eyes for a moment as if debating with himself, then opened them once more to gaze back at her. “Come outside with me for a minute,” he finally said, leading her through the front door and out into the crisp, cool summer evening where they could talk privately. “Now I haven’t told anyone about this. My parents don’t even really know what’s going on, but…there are a few things you don’t know about Twilight that I figure you’ve got a right to know.”
“Know what?” Cadence asked.
“Twilie’s…been having a lot of trouble,” Shining Armor began hesitantly, “At school.”
“What?” Cadence asked, thoroughly confused. “But I heard she’s been doing fine, getting perfect marks and everything.”
“Yeah, she is,” Shining Armor said, “She's been doing really well—so well in fact that her teacher wants to move her up a couple of grades. She said she’s never seen a unicorn this young with so much raw potential. It’s incredibly rare.”
“But that’s wonderful!” Cadence said, still failing to catch on, “How can Twilight be having trouble if she’s so smart?”
“That’s just it,” Shining replied, the grimness returning to his tone. “Twilie’s teacher, Miss Chamomile, keeps singling her out. She always calls on her to demonstrate every new spell to the class and she tells the class they should aspire to be more like Twilie. And her classmates…haven’t been taking that well.”
“Oh no…” Cadence covered her mouth with a hoof—she could already see where this was going.
“The girls in her class have been especially brutal,” Shining went on, “I’ve seen some of it go on—they steal her books and play ‘keep away,’ they spill ink all over the inside of her desk and ruin her papers, and sometimes just plain tease her. One time Twilight was late for school because she was getting over a fever, and they called her ‘Tardy Sparkle’ for a whole week. One day I went to pick Twilight up and this one filly, Moon Dancer, almost had her in tears.” He glanced back at the midnight blue shield with the pink starburst on his flank. “The day I stepped in and told her to cut it out was the day I got my cutie mark—protecting my little sister.”
“We ran into Moon Dancer and a couple of others at the Faire today.” Cadence felt the sudden awareness wash over her like a tidal wave as she mentally kicked herself. “How did I not see how uncomfortable Twilight was?”
“Everything came to a head a couple of weeks ago, when she messed up a spell right there in the classroom,” Shining Armor shook his head. “Basic transfiguration—turning water into ink, and she could barely get the liquid to change color. In the end, she pushed herself too hard and made the glass explode, spraying every pony with water.” Shining Armor paused, swallowing hard, and Cadence could see this was truly paining him to recount. “That day, Twilie really did come home crying. She did every day that week. Those kids just wouldn’t let her live it down once they saw that Miss Chamomile’s ‘perfect student’ couldn’t get every spell right the first time—they’re probably still taunting her about it. I wanted to tell our parents but Twilie made me promise not to worry them. But…you have no idea how much it hurt me to see my sister so torn up.”
By now Cadence was crying openly, and she turned away to hide her tears from him. “I don’t understand it…I don’t understand it at all,” she sobbed. “How could any pony want to hurt such a sweet little filly like that? Why did it have to be Twilight?” Shining Armor went up behind her and instinctively laid a hoof on her back, stroking the feathers of her violet wings as Cadence wept.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said quietly after a few moments.
“No, don’t be.” Cadence turned to look at him, tears still dewed in her long lashes. “I’m glad you chose to confide in me about this. I won’t repeat this to anyone, you have my word.”
“Thank you.” Shining Armor smiled at her, reaching up tentatively to brush a tear off of her cheek. “The good news is that this may work out for the better.”
“How so?”
“Ever since Twilie saw Princess Celestia raise the sun at the Celebration, she’s been kind of…obsessed with her.” Shining had to chuckle a bit at his choice of words. “That’s why Twilie’s been so crazy about learning magic lately—not relating to her special talent exactly, but just unicorn magic in general. My parents caught on to it pretty fast and…they’re seriously considering enrolling her in the Princess’ school.”
“The School for Gifted Unicorns?!” Cadence asked, her jaw dropping open. “But she’s so young!”
“And she knows more spells than most of the applicants do,” Shining added. “If she gets in, she’ll be with other unicorns on the same level as she is.”
“And she won’t have to worry about being picked on anymore,” Cadence finished, a slow smile gracing her face, “Oh Shining Armor, it’s perfect for her.”
“I really hope it all works out,” Shining sighed. Then his smile slipped a little, “But you know, Celestia’s school is a boarding school. If Twilight gets in, she’ll be living away from home. Which means—”
“Which means she won’t need a foalsitter anymore,” Cadence finished for him. Amidst the sadness that came over her at this news, she couldn’t help smiling. “She will be accepted. And she’ll be much happier, you’ll see.”
“You really care about her, don’t you?” Shining said warmly.
“I do,” Cadence replied in earnest, “More than ever after tonight.” She glanced up to the second floor of the house at the window where she knew Twilight’s bedroom was, dark with the curtains drawn. “Twilight’s raw abilities certainly had a hoof in conjuring that magic today. But those fears that she has now of being ridiculed and rejected will only make her stronger in time. I will do anything and everything I can to make her happy. And if it means stepping aside and giving up being her foalsitter, then so be it.”
“Cadence, you’re so…I mean, uh…” Shining blushed again as he had that morning that seemed like an eternity ago, struggling to meet her eyes. “You’re amazing. I mean, that shield spell you did that saved us both. How did you know what to do?”
“Well,” Cadence giggled, leaning into Shining Armor’s ear and whispering, “Perhaps there are a few things you don’t know about me as well, Shining Armor.”
“You royals and your secrets.” Shining shook his head with a laugh, still slightly flustered at being in such close proximity with her. “You’re going to make a great princess someday.”
“Thank you—that means a lot coming from you,” Cadence said genuinely, placing a hoof over her heart. She glanced up and saw that the moon had risen even higher into the sky. “I should probably be heading back, but…can I say goodbye to Twilight first?”
“I’m sure Mom and Dad wouldn’t mind,” Shining said as they headed back inside. Cadence nodded towards Nightlight and Velvet in the family room, who both regarded her with reassurance as she and Shining Armor made their way up the stairs. Very slowly, Cadence pushed the door open to Twilight’s bedroom, which was completely dark except for a candle lamp on the nightstand. The filly was completely hidden beneath the blankets in her bed, and as Cadence drew nearer, could hear her crying softly. Using her magic, she gently pulled the blanket off of Twilight to reveal her shuddering into her pillow. The foalsitter reached out a hoof and stroked her mane to calm her, causing Twilight to look up at her with streaming red eyes.
“I’m sorry!” she whimpered, her breath hitched with sobs.
“Shh…” Cadence murmured, “It’s alright.”
“Aren’t you mad at me?”
“Of course not.” Cadence opened her forelegs and Twilight curled up against her, sniffling into her mane as Cadence rocked her gently. “We all make mistakes. You and I both made pretty big ones today. But we learned from them, didn’t we?”
Twilight nodded into her neck. “I’m never going to do magic again.”
“Twilight, don’t say that,” Cadence scolded her, pulling back to gaze into her face. “Your magic is a very special part of who you are. Just because you performed a spell you shouldn’t have doesn’t mean you should give up completely. There’s so much more out there that you still have to learn—one of those things being that there are both good spells and bad spells. Maybe next time you can show me some of the new good spells you’ve learned.”
“You mean you’re still gonna be my foalsitter?” Twilight’s eyes lit up.
“For as long as you’ll have me,” Cadence replied, brushing a few tears from Twilight’s cheeks. “And Twilight…I want you to know that if you want to talk about anything—and I mean anything at all—I will always be here to listen.” She leaned forward and kissed her right on her horn. “You understand me?”
“Mm-hmm,” Twilight nodded before reaching up to hug her foalsitter once more. “I love you, Cadence.”
“I love you too, Twilight,” Cadence choked out, her heart full to bursting as she nuzzled her close. Eventually they broke apart and Cadence helped Twilight settle back under the covers, blowing out the candlelight on her nightstand as the filly drifted off to sleep.
“You did great in there,” Shining Armor whispered to Cadence as they both watched Twilight sleep for a few moments before closing the door to her room. “Better than I could have.”
At that, Cadence shook her head. “You’re her big brother, the one who knows her better than any pony. I can never ever replace that.” Before she could reconsider it, she leaned forward and pecked him quickly on the cheek. “Goodnight, Shining Armor.”
“G-Goodnight, Cadence,” Shining Armor stammered as he watched Cadence descend the stairs, his cheek still warm from her touch.
~
“Your Highness,” the stallion guard announced from the doorway of the royal bed chambers, where Princess Celestia sat looking out her window at the moon she had risen—as she did every evening.
“Yes?” Celestia asked, reluctantly tearing her gaze from the silhouette of Nightmare Moon engraved against the moon’s surface.
“The Crystal Princess requests an audience with you.”
“Send her in,” Celestia said with a slight nod, and the guard bowed and closed the door. She straightened herself up into a standing position as the door opened a moment later and a light pink alicorn mare entered her chambers. The princess of the sun smiled down at her:
“Mi Amore Cadenza…”
“I apologize for this late hour.” Cadence lowered herself into a bow, to which Celestia kindly placed a hoof under her chin and raised her to her eye level.
“There is never a late hour for me,” Celestia said truthfully, her weariness evident in her voice, yet her smile never faltered. “What can I do for you, child?”
Cadence took a deep breath: “I would like to talk to you about something…”
“…or rather, some pony.”
THE END
