Twilight Sparkle dutifully crossed off the next day on the calendar that hung over her desk, the dark ink slashing through the carefully circled date. Three years to the day that Shiny had been sent away, and she’d only seen him a sparse hoof-full of times since then. Mostly on big holidays, like the Summer Sun celebration or Hearths Warming. He’d told her about the tough training he was undergoing, and the fact that being in the Guard meant as much as he wanted to come home…

Twilight knew it wasn’t sensible to get upset about that, but it didn’t make it any easier not to. She knew Shiny was following his dreams in the same way she was following hers as Princess Celestia’s student. She was twelve now, and though magic might be her special talent, that didn’t mean it wasn’t a lot of work keeping up with Celestia’s lesson plans. Nor the many other classes the Princess insisted she take, some of which baffled her.

Her most recent course, for example, had been on the subject of etiquette and social graces. The study of which seemed to have less to do with logic and reason and more to do with overly emotional and psychologically unstable ponies demanding one treat them specially. Fortunately for her, she was not lacking in the perfect tutor for this sort of thing, and that tutor was nothing less than her very best friend in the world these days.

“Hey Twilight!” Princess Cadence poked her head through the door to Twilight’s room, her smile as sunny and warm as it had ever been. Just the sight of her sent a bright happiness into Twilight’s heart, and she hopped off her little stool with great enthusiasm. Cadence’s smile turned into a grin, and just as they always did when they got together… “Sun-shine! Sun-shine!” Cadence chanted, and Twilight joined in with her as they did their special hoof-shake. “Lady-bugs-awake!”

Twilight giggled as she spoke, “Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” WIth the ritual complete, she leapt up into the waiting forelegs of Cadence and gave her a big hug. “Morning, Cadey!” she piped up, as Cadence hated being called ‘Princess’ all the time. It was a familiar term for both of them, and for some reason it always made Cadence smile. “So, what are we going to do today?” Twilight was eager, and she wasn’t about to hide it. Cadence had assured her that social stuff wasn’t nearly as hard as she thought, it was just a different kind of science than she was used to.

Cadence’s cheeks colored prettily, and her eyes sparkled. “We’re going to spend the day with two of my friends, Fleur De Lis and Fancy Pants.” Twilight couldn’t help the little gasp of amazement that came out of her mouth. Even if she wasn’t exactly the kind of filly who followed fashion, there were few ponies in Canterlot who didn’t know those names. Fancy Pants was a clothing designer, and Fleur was a model, and together they had taken Canterlot society by storm. During the rare occasions she’d been in court, Twilight had heard some of the nobles talking about their latest designs.

More importantly, though, they were well known experts on the social scene, and their names had come up several times in her initial research. It was always exciting when she got a chance to study with scholars of high esteem, and it was no less so despite the subject matter. In fact, if Twilight was being honest with herself, it was even more impressive that they had mastered such an obviously arcane and unusual art. It was quite an opportunity!

Snapped out of her initial shock, she quickly scrambled about her rooms. “Ohmigosh! I’m going to need plenty of ink and quills, and lots of paper…” She hardly noticed Cadence’s sly smile, even as she carefully dislodged a pile of books to extract 101 ways to show your class and tuck it into her saddlebags. Two extra thick rolls of paper for notes, six ink bottles tightly stoppered, and one… no, better make it two cases of quills. This one could get intense! “Okay! Ready!” She proclaimed, wheeling in place to face Cadence with her head properly raised up high and her heart positively thumping with energy.

Cadence, on the other hoof, was slowly shaking her head. “Dear me, we have a lot of work to do. First off…” She tugged the book out of Twilight’s bag and wiggled it. “We won’t be needing this today. First, We need to have you fitted for a new dress and make a quick stop at Hoity Toity’s place for a few things. Then we’ll be getting a proper start on the day.” She winked at Twilight, her own eyes bright and eager. “You ready?”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow and grinned. “You kidding? This is what I live for!”

“Cadence, my dear!” The white-coated, mustachioed stallion was perhaps one of the most magnetic figures Twilight had ever encountered. He exuded a kind of charisma that instantly dragged her into his enthusiasm and caused her mouth to spread into a wide smile. He wore an impeccably tailored blue vest and bowtie, and drew Cadence into a very familiar looking hug. “So good to see you, as always. And this must be the famous Twilight Sparkle!”

He turned to her, and gently took her young hoof and brushed his lips against the tip faintly. “Enchante, ma petite belle. It is an honor to have Celestia’s personal student in my humble shop.” He gestured grandly, a coy smile flitting across his face. “Welcome to The Brass Button.” Then his hoof came to his chin and he slowly began to circle around her. “Now, what shall we do with you. Such a striking shade of purple in your coat, it begs to be adorned!”

Twilight felt her cheeks heat up slightly, and turned her head shyly away. Cadence chuckled richly, and gave her an encouraging nudge. “Don’t lay it on too thick, Fancy,” She said in a soft voice as Twilight turned her head back to look at Cadence. She was smiling softly at Twilight, and something… distant was in her eyes. Something Twilight couldn’t put her hoof on. “Even if she is quite a pretty little filly.” Cadence finished, and Twilight felt her cheeks flush again.

This was no time to be getting embarrassed because of compliments! “Mister Fancy, can I ask you some questions?” She quickly interjected, hoping to keep the conversation from turning into a teasing festival about her. Fancy Pants nodded as he began to compare bolts of various colors of fabric to her coat, looking thoughtful. “What would you say is the most important rule of social conduct?” That had been her first question when she made her list of important points from the book, but she wanted to hear it straight from the pony’s mouth.

Fancy rubbed a his chin for another moment, before speaking in a faintly absent tone of voice. “Confidence, I would say. More than anything else you must have confidence, in yourself and in your actions.” He extracted several clean pieces of paper from a stack of them, and began running what looked like a sketching pencil over the sheets. “You must stride forward into every situation with an attitude that you will be likable, and that you will not fail to make a good impression. Without fear or doubt.”

Cadence nodded firmly, and Twilight subtly extracted one of her paper rolls and began to quietly take notes as Fancy sketched. Cadence smiled in tolerant amusement, but Twilight knew she’d have to make these fast to keep from being impolite. “What advice would you give somepony who is new to social interaction like that?” She hoped the question wasn’t too awkward, but there was no avoiding the fact that Twilight couldn’t help but feel painfully shy around ponies sometimes.

That got a sharp look from Fancy Pants, and Twilight felt her confidence shrink a little at it. “I… ah,” He hesitated, then nodded faintly as if to himself. “I would say that it is far more important to be confident in who you are than try to be somepony else.” He passed over several of the sketches to Cadence, who began to leaf through the pages while he pulled several rather expensive looking bolts of fabric down from shelves.

He held up his hoof and gestured for her to step onto a raised platform, which Twilight dutifully did. “Twilight, I shall be perfectly honest with you.” Fancy Pants’ voice was warm and amused as he spoke, wrapping a soft and deep red fabric about her for a moment and tilting his head to one side. “Even amongst my peers, I am not universally beloved. There are many who find my habits and personality to be offensive. But I impress them none-the-less because I do not fear who or what I am.”

He waved a hoof airily as more fabrics pressed against her, then were wafted by magic to two different piles, one noticeably larger than the other. “Some would call that my great secret, in that I never fear to be myself, no matter who it might offend. But I think it has more to do with loving the pony I am, and that attitude is a contagious one.” He winked at her, his smile broad. “Love who you are, little filly, and never let anypony try to tell you different.”

“Hear hear!” Cadence cried out, and returned one of the papers to Fancy. “This will be absolutely adorable on her, I think. And Fancy is absolutely right.” She smacked her hoof into the wooden floor, her smile bright. “Never let somepony else make you feel inadequate, Twilight. You are a brilliant unicorn, and genuinely quite pretty.” Cadence grinned at her, and for once Twilight couldn’t feel very shy about it. There was something about how Cadence said that…

“Quite. And now, we shall improve that beauty,” Fancy Pants mused, wielding a pair of long looking shears and hovering several large bolts of red fabric over his head. “Now, hold still, and allow me to work my art upon you!” Fancy’s smile was warm, gentle… but his tone was quite firm. Twilight felt a little squeak escape her throat, and did as she was told.

What followed was a truly surreal experience, once Twilight looked back on it. Arcane terms of fashion and clothing soared over her head, as she subtly scribbled away at her paper to keep track of them all. Cadence was an everpresent balm to Twilight’s concerns, and although she couldn’t help but be a little intimidated by the raw presence of Fancy Pants once the questions stopped flying, he was obviously doing his best to be approachable.

In fact, she even started to relax after a little while and fire off a few excellent jokes she’d recently researched. Both of the older ponies had chuckled appreciatively, and she could feel the warm glow of satisfaction at making progress. Perhaps not a lot of progress, but it was still progress! Even so, she wondered about this dress.

It was kind of fascinating to watch Fancy Pants work in his own unique way, making measurements and pressing oddly cut bits of fabric against her, muttering something about stitches and seams. It was obvious how dedicated he was to the finer points of his work, as more than once did he discard an otherwise fine looking piece of fabric as being ‘ill cut’. Once in a while, he would adjust his monocle and examine her closely, as though he could see right through her, then would engage in a flurry of other activities that made simply no sense to her.

After about an hour of that madness, he finally sighed and rubbed furiously at his monocle with a swatch of silk. “C’est la mode. I should have it ready for this evening, Cadence.” He winked at her. “Just for you, of course. Taking her to Hoity’s place next?” It wasn’t really a question so much as an absent minded sort of verbal tic. He was already nose deep in the fabric, laying it out neatly on tables and pulling carefully labeled boxes from under them.

Cadence nodded, tugging Twilight off the little raised platform with a smile. “Yes, Fleur’s going to meet us there, and then we’re going to get lunch and talk about tonight.” She squeezed Twilight close to her, and Twilight nuzzled into Cadence’s soft coat with enthusiasm. “And don’t worry, Fancy. I’ll keep Hoity from getting out of hoof.” What had been enthusiasm had turned to a hard determination, and Twilight nearly recoiled from surprise at that. What was Cadence so worried about?

But Fancy nodded, and waved his hoof airily. “Yes, yes. I know you will. See you later this evening, Miss Sparkle! It was a pleasure fitting you.” He turned his gaze to her, his eyes burning with a surprising passion. “It is always wonderful to have a brand new challenge.” Twilight wasn’t certain what he meant by that, but Cadence was herding her out of the shop and she had no time to think about it… at least for now.

Cadence took a deep breath as they exited Fancy’s shop and began the short walk to Hoity Toity’s store. She never bothered to remember what he had named it this month, as everypony in Canterlot knew it as Hoity’s place. The stallion was utterly insufferable in some ways, but no one could doubt his makeup and beauty products were anything but the top of the line. Still… Twilight’s seen what the best of Society can offer. Now it’s time to show her the worst.

It wasn’t a lesson she liked having to give, but Celestia had insisted Twilight understand there were both good and bad ponies in Canterlot, and in the social circles she herself would one day walk in. She needed to know, so she could be prepared. Intellectually, Cadence agreed with that, but… Oh, stop it, Cadence! Hard lessons are important sometimes, no matter who has to be taught them. No matter how much she might wish to spare Twilight this one…

The shop itself stood out, as gaudy and ostentatious as ever with it’s wide front windows carefully frosted with Hoity’s initials. There was no store sign, and there never had been. Hoity changed the name of the place practically every month for reasons no one quite understood. “Now be careful, Twilight,” Cadence felt herself temporizing, hoping she could at least avoid a confrontation… “Hoity Toity is a bit… um,” She paused, tripping over the words, then forced them out since there really was no other explanation. “A bit of a jerk, you see.”

Twilight, who had been looking puzzled, immediately brightened. “Oh, that’s not a problem! Princess Celestia’s taught me all about dealing with ponies who are impolite.” She put a little spring into her step, and Cadence’s worry instantly doubled. There was no doubt that while Celestia had likely exposed her to a few rude ponies, none of them were on the level of Hoity Toity. And she had likely been an intimidating enough presence that it hadn’t been a possibility in the first place.

But Twilight was already charging forward, carefully pulling open the frosted glass doors and it was all Cadence could do to keep up with her. The inside of the shop reeked of the alchemical substances Hoity used to formulate his makeup line, and the artificial magic lights caused the not inconsiderable amount of glass in the shop to glow with any number of colors, each supposedly designed to perfectly frame the various crystal bottles and brass containers that adorned his shelves.

Unfortunately, Fleur De Lis was nowhere to be seen as of yet. Apparently, they’d gotten here early, and that was all kinds of bad. Fleur was one of the few who could keep Hoity in line when she was around, though nopony was quite certain as to why. Even Cadence, with her titles, wealth, and royal connections, could only get warm professionalism out of him. Respect was more or less off the table.

Hoity himself was as much-coiffed and impeccably dressed as ever. He stood silent sentinel behind one of the counters, minutely examining what looked like some new form of lip gloss. Hoity didn’t actually do much here beyond consult, as mere register work was far beneath him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t at his shop constantly. He cocked a thick eyebrow at little Twilight, who had scampered over to his counter and was happily seated before him with a short bit of paper and an inked quill poised to write. “Good morning, Mister Hoity. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I was wondering if you could help me understand a bit more about your excellent wares?” Twilight was already popping all the standard bubbles. Flattery, politeness, attentiveness, and trying to appeal to someone’s professional pride. It was a masterful little opening, but Cadence already knew….

“Excellent? That’s rubish,” Hoity answered her in an elevated offense. “These are top-tier, designer products. Don’t just waltz around calling them ‘excellent’ or any other such nonsense. Now, where are your parents? I need to educate them on letting foals run all over expensive carpet with little care for its survival.”

Cadence wanted to facehoof, but there was nothing for it now. She knew what was coming next, simply by virtue of the ponies involved. In fact, were one of those ponies not a filly under her care, she would have gotten some popcorn to watch the ensuing storm. “I beg your pardon, Sir,” Twilight immediately replied back, keeping a remarkable amount of good cheer for the abuse he’d just delivered. “But while I do apologize for my lack of precise language, my parent’s aren’t with me today. I’m with my foalsitter and tutor, and I’m to learn about proper social etiquette.” Twilight sounded… utterly enthusiastic about the subject. Unsurprising given the source, but it was completely the wrong tack to take.

“A filly your age. Learn etiquette? Hah! The nerve. Snobby little children don’t even know the meaning of the word, let alone any of what it entails,” Hoity sneered from over the counter. “And whoever this tutor is must be absolutely dreadful. I haven’t seen such horrible… attempts by commoners at high class in ages.”

Twilight went stiff, and Cadence blinked a little at that one. Twilight had never cared much about classism, even when her peers had tried to pull it on her, except. “Cadence is the best possible tutor I could have!” She snapped back, coming to her tiny hooves and every inch of her little body tense with anger. “Nopony in all of Canterlot is as graceful as she is, and nopony can match her knowledge and skills at etiquette. So you take that back, Mister.”

Hoity Toity had gone from casual affront (which wasn’t all that unusual for him) to outright offense. “Nopony!? Nopony? As if!” he huffed. “I myself know far more about the proper way one ought to behave in public, and if I had to, I could name a distinct many other names far more learned in the ways of decent society than that snivelling brat the princess is so fond of! And it looks to me like she’s passed on all of her ugly attitudes onto you!”

Cadence felt her patience snap instantly. Whatever else this lesson might be about, she was not about to have him undermining her status as a teacher. She felt her power snap into place, and began to stalk across the shop. Then… “Fils de pute!” Cadence didn’t know where Fleur had came from, but she did know that Fleur’s right hook was the stuff of legend. The foreleg came around and clobbered the utterly unprepared Hoity Toity right across his right cheek. The poor stallion never even stood a chance as the blow sent him reeling and a left straight took him clean on the chin with such speed that Cadence had to wonder if Fleur had been practicing for just this very moment.

The blow sent Hoity down to the floor with a crash and the flapping of limp limbs, having instantly sent him into la-la land. “Merde Embulante.” She spat down on him, turning gracefully on the spot and tossing her mane to one side. “Mon dieu, that is the last time I trust him with new customers. Hmph!” Fleur circled the counter, her eyes still flashing with anger. “Ma petite chou, are you quite alright? I hope he did not overly offend.”

Cadence took that moment to glance at Twilight… who was staring with open awe at Fleur, her bright eyes shining a little. “Where’d you learn to do that?” She exclaimed, mimicking the one-two combination that Fleur had busted out only a few moments ago, except far more adorably. “That was amazing! I didn’t know unicorn’s could do that..” She plunked down her plot, and a broad smile crossed her face. “Oh… um… He didn’t really hurt my feelings, I was worried more about Cadence.”

And from this distance, Cadence felt something that startled her and nearly set her to jumping out of her skin. It was a familiar feeling, a gentle glow of power that soared through the air, as unmistakable as a thunderbolt. But why in the world would it be coming from Twilight when she mentioned… “Ah, ma belle!” Fleur’s voice threw her entire mental train completely off the track, and then her enthusiastic hug and very, very enthusiastic kiss completely shattered any hope she might have had of taking up the subject again. “So good to see you, I am so very sorry I did not wait for your arrival, but I had to use the little fillies room.” A bright red blush colored Fleur’s cheeks, and Cadence couldn’t help but giggle a little at her boldness.

Fleur shook her head firmly, and turned back with a smile towards Twilight. “Now, Cadenza tells me you are in need of some makeup?” She tapped her hoof on one of the counters, and the cashier (Who oddly, had not reacted in the least at seeing his boss be cold-cocked), zipped over with a preternatural speed and tilted his head at attention to Fleur. “Throw Hoity in his office, and then assemble a beginners kit for the little one. Rapide!” Fleur’s words were sharp, and the Cashier obeyed her word immediately… much to Cadence’s shock.

Fleur smiled coyly at her, keeping her mouth shut oh-so-mysteriously, then turning to Twilight. Her voice was still thick with her Prench accent, but she was taking great pains only to speak in Equestrian. “Now, little one. We shall instruct you on the use of only the basics today.” She wagged her hoof cutely, pre-empting twilight’s sad face by almost a full second. “Ah ah ah! We shall have plenty of time to teach you the complexities later, when you are older and come more fully into your body.” She winked saucily at Twilight, who colored cutely once again, but did not turn away from Fleur for a moment. Then Fleur grinned broadly. “On the other hoof, I shall immediately begin teaching you the proper way to deliver a punch! It is an invaluable skill for a Lady of class.”

Cadence grinned, Twilight giggled, and Fleur gave off a throaty little laugh. “Sheesh, Fleur. You are incorrigible,” Cadence admonished her, then gave Twilight’s shoulder a little squeeze. The filly was overcome with smiles, and Cadence couldn’t deny how much it made her want to smile right back. “Now lets hurry up. We don’t want to be late for one of Fancy’s parties and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover before we’ll be ready.”

For one of the very few times in her life, Twilight was uncertain on how to proceed.

All around her glamorous ponies in dresses much fancier but somehow less pretty than hers wafted about on the winds of social interaction. From her post by the drinks table, it was possible, if she looked really close, to see the subtle patterns beneath all of the actions and reactions. It was a lot like watching Shiny do fighting practice, though the combatants were wielding words and gesture rather than weapons.

But when she tried to wade into the fray - and she’d tried three times now - all of those patterns vanished. They were replaced by entirely different ones, and never before had the old adage of ‘easier said, than done’ been more true. Now she hesitated on the edge of the party, watching and waiting, hoping another opening would make itself apparent. It was incredibly clear she needed a lot more studying before she was ready for this sort of thing, but it wasn’t all bad news.

Watching Cadence soar through the crowd like a pegasus on the wing was a pleasure. She really was so graceful and brilliant, deftly turning even those who looked at her meanly into admirers before whisking off to enjoy a moment with somepony else. It was fascinating, even if she didn’t entirely understand the mechanics going on here. She could still appreciate watching an obvious master at work, even if she herself didn’t understand the subtleties.

That being said, Cadence never failed to spend time with her on a frequent basis, something Twilight enjoyed with a soaring heart. Cadence was… well, she wasn’t really her foalsitter anymore. She was like a big sister, but that wasn’t quite right either. Twilight didn’t really know what to call her, other than awesome and a lot of fun to hang out with and stuff. “You okay over here, Twilight?” Cadence’s voice cut through her thoughts, and put a bright smile on Twilight’s face instantly. “You look nervous.” Cadence’s voice was sly. She always managed to see right through Twilight, unlike everypony else except Celestia…

Twilight shook her head a little. “Just can’t seem to get my hooves wet without things being awkward.” It reminded her a lot of when she was a filly learning how to swim. Cadence had always called it ‘getting her hooves wet’, and Twilight liked it as a short-hoof for something tough but learnable. She glared at the crowd. “I swear to Celestia, nopony here seems to follow any kind of rationality!”

Cadence laughed in a very cute way, and her smile was quite tolerant. “Twilight, emotions aren’t always rational.” She shook her head, and something about her mood was odd, but… Twilight brought herself to full attentiveness as Cadence spoke again. “Sometimes, they’re too complex to be rational. Here. Walk with me, and I’ll talk you through some of it.” She wrapped a foreleg around Twilight’s shoulder and pulled her out into the mix.

Finally. Maybe with Cadence’s help, I can get my hooves on this stuff! Twilight thought fiercely, and put on her very best thinking cap. She was going to get this stuff right, darnit! Or her name wasn’t Twilight Sparkle!