Twilight Sparkle tossed and turned, her head full of vague and clouded dreams. She couldn’t seem to put her hoof on them, couldn’t seem to find her way through the murk and miasma and… And why did she suddenly feel extra soft and snuggly? Why did she feel so safe, all of a sudden? And what was that wet feeling on her horn? And then on her-

Her eyes shot open, consciousness instantly coming back to her in a way that only usually happened when she woke up from a nightmare. The warmth was coming from the sleek form of Cadence, snuggled tightly up against her. The wetness was… Eww Cadey. Cadence had perched her head above Twilights, and it looked like she’d unconsciously licked her horn in her sleep. Likely from a dream, which was also where that hoof nestled between her hindquarters had probably come from.

Twilight rolled her eyes but smiled, gently dislodging Cadence from her body and slipping out of bed. Cadence would likely be sleeping for a little longer, so she decided to get a start on her day. Her time here in Ponyville had been quite an incredible series of events, all seemingly one after another. The Running of the Leaves, that dragon roosting on Smokey Mountain, the whole Winter Wrap-Up fiasco… It was kind of astonishing she’d managed to get any studying done at all!

A big help to that of course, had been Cadence. She’d never played the role of Love Beat for so long before, but she had slipped into her secret life like a fish into water. The town had come to appreciate her talent for setting any number of small issues aright with a few kind words or a helping hoof. More than a few of the married or committed couples in town had come to treasure her good sense, and though they did not know it, her subtle magics reinforcing the love of all those she encountered. Of course, there were a few grumbles over her free-loving, frisky, and flirtatious nature, but the town was inclined to look past that most of the time.

Twilight descended the steps a few minutes later, running her brush through her mane in even strokes as the scent of freshly made oatmeal hit her nose and the sound of Spike whistling a happy tune in the kitchen met her ears. Breakfast thus taken care of, she took a moment to give her library a quick lookover. Books shelved, shelves dusted, dust properly disposed of. Everything was in its proper place, which meant...

She grinned and snuck back upstairs. Spike wouldn’t be expecting her for the ten or fifteen minutes she usually spent spiffing up the library, which was more than enough time to have a little time with Cadence. Sure enough, the sound of the shower and Cadence’s beautiful voice singing a silly song filled the loft bedroom. Twilight slipped over to the bathroom door and with a little magic finagled the latch open without a sound.

Within, bright sunlight backlit Cadence’s form as she did a cute little dance under the shower head. The curtain turned it into a shadow-play, which was actually kind of sexy to watch for a few moments before she snuck into the room. When Cadence was turned about, her hooves working lather into her mane, Twilight leapt all at once into the shower and tackle-snuggled her from behind. “Surprise!” she crowed, sing-songing it like Pinkie Pie might have done.

“ACK!” Cadence yelled, but immediately started giggling madly, twisting about wetly to shove her soap covered hooves into Twilight’s mane and plant a long, sweet kiss on her lips. “Mmmf… Good morning to you too,” Cadence whispered softly, and Twilight shut her up with another firm kiss under the steaming hot water. She so treasured the moments like this, when she could steal away the time. Which wasn’t to say she didn’t get many opportunities, but she loved every single one of them anyway.

By the time Twilight got done with the kiss, all the soap had washed out of Cadence’s mane and had to be reapplied. Twilight, of course, volunteered. “So, Fancy Pants is coming in to town for a week, right?” This was a good time to make sure she had her hoof firmly on the pulse of this week’s complex series of plans. As well as her hooves carefully lathering up Cadence’s mane and not wandering to other parts of her body.

Cadence sighed happily at the sensation of somepony else doing up her mane and nodded lightly. “Yes, he’s tired of me writing letters to him about Rarity’s dresswork. He’s coming to see it for himself.” Her tone was happy, bright, and Twilight giggled at the thought of those letters. Cadence gave a small laugh of her own before continuing. “So we’ll have a chance to catch up with him. Fleur, sadly, cannot make it. She’s apparently quite busy with Photo Finish right now.”

Twilight sighed softly but kept her mood up. She’d get a chance to see Fleur soon, she was sure of it. “Well, one is better than none. Do you know when he’s coming in?” Cadence’s mane thus lathered, she let it sit for a few seconds while she gave Cadence’s body a good scrubbing with her hooves. Which was, of course, a good opportunity to get those hooves all over her lover's body and elicit a wide variety of fun noises.

Cadence shivered under her touch, and after a few cute moans gently slapped her hooves away. “Now, now, Twilight! Not before breakfast, you naughty little pony.” She looked back to flutter her lashes at Twilight, then grinned. “He should be in today or tomorrow, so we’d better go over to Rarity’s place and give her the good news.” She winked. “We wouldn’t want her to be surprised, or she might faint.”

Twilight laughed and set to her task. “She’s probably going to faint anyway!” Today was going to be awesome, she just knew it!

Breakfast tucked away, the pair of them trotted off into town, headed for the Carousel Boutique. Unlike Canterlot, everything was pretty close together in Ponyville, so getting to Rarity’s place wouldn’t take very much time. Or rather, it normally wouldn’t, if they weren’t constantly bombarded with distractions or other little chores to be taken care of. By the time they were only a few dozen yards away from the library, they’d already acquired a half dozen little items for their day-to-day lives and stopped to speak with some of the other townsponies.

Of course, there was no such thing as a ‘simple’ trip across Ponyville, no matter how peaceful and quiet things were. “Hey, Twilight! Did you hear?” That was Rainbow Dash, diving down from her clouds with a challenging smirk on her face. “I’ve been accepted for the Best Young Flyer competition!” She did a happy little dance in the middle of the street at the proclamation, flaring her wings out in an adventurous pose. “And I’m going to wipe the floor with all the other competitors using my Sonic Rainboom!”

Twilight blinked in astonishment at that declaration. Not that Dash had been accepted, but that she was going to attempt a Sonic Rainboom to win it. “Wait. Nopony alive has ever done the Sonic Rainboom!” Cadence blurted out, her voice laden with disbelief. “The only one recorded in the modern era was a fluke of nature, and that was years ago! Are you trying to claim that was you?” Cadence scoffed and arched a challenging eyebrow. “That’s a bit of a stretch, even for you, Dashie.”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at her, huffing out a breath. “Only Pinkie gets to call me that. And theres no need to claim it, since I know I did it. That’s how I got my Cutie Mark after all.” She shook her flank at Cadence and grinned slyly. “Besides, I don’t need to brag. You’ll get to see along with everypony else at the competition, Lovey. Then your cute little banking tricks won’t look nearly as impressive.” Then she stuck out her tongue and let out a mighty fine raspberry.

Cadence rolled her eyes, and Twilight had to giggle. She knew what was coming next. “One of these days, that mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble, Dashie,” Cadence planted her hooves on her hips, the grin fierce on her face. “Or maybe It’ll be my mouth that gets you into trouble, once you finally admit how much you want me.”

Dash yawned impressively and wiggled a hoof at Cadence with a sly grin. “In your dreams, filly.” She socked her hoof into Cadence’s shoulder. “Like I want to take a ride on the town bicycle,” she sneered at Cadence, but Twilight shook her head. That was uncommonly weak for Dash, actually.

Cadence gave off a bright laugh, and put on her very best ‘sexy look’. “You’re just jealous because Pinkie likes me in the sack more than you.” She stuck out her own tongue and gave it a sexy little lick around her lips. “C’mon. You know you’re curious how I got her to scream like that when you came over. Betcha I can make you cum in ten seconds flat.”

There was a subtle pause, and Rainbow Dash burst into laughter and fell to the ground, kicking her legs up as her chuckles rolled. Cadence giggled madly while covering her mouth with her hooves, and Twilight just shook her head in astonishment. “I swear you two,” she half-growled, but they wouldn’t stop laughing. “You’re embarrassing me, sheesh!”

Dash finally recovered a few seconds later, shaking her head and wiping away the tears. “Twilight, I’m never gonna forgive you for telling her about that line.” She shook her hoof at Cadence, still grinning. “As for you, heart-butt, this isn’t the last you’ve heard of me today. I’m just in too good of a mood to really get going.” She winked and took to the air. “Just see if you can’t figure out some way to get the rest of the crew to Cloudsdale, will you, Twi?”

Twilight nodded. “I’ll do my best!” Then sighed as Dash, er… dashed away. The last thing she needed was more spell research, but she supposed she could dig up a wing spell or something. Cadence was still giggling for a full thirty more seconds before recovering. “Feel better?” She put on her best ‘stern teacher’ face and glared at Cadence.

Who was, predictably, unfazed. “Mmmph. Much, thank you.” Cadence grinned and began walking again, forcing Twilight to scramble to keep up. “Ah, if only she could just get over that ego of hers, that Dash would be… Mmm,” she purred, and Twilight resolutely ignored her. She was trying to get Twilight worked up now too, and that wasn’t going to happen! “I mean, I can just imagine with that tight athletic body… she could really rock a strapon, you know?” Cadence kept her voice pitched low enough so nopony around them could hear.

Twilight’s cheeks burned, and she smacked Cadence’s shoulder. “And now who’s the naughty pony, huh? Sheesh, Cadence.” She stuck out her tongue and shook her head. “I love her dearly, don’t get me wrong. But I think that might complicate things a bit, don’t you?” She fell silent for a few moments, stewing in her thoughts. Cadence looked a little sad, and Twilight wasn’t going to have any of that. “Now, Rarity on the other hoof…” she said slowly and giggled as Cadence returned the whack on her shoulder.

“She’d be ten times worse, and you know it,” Cadence laughed, then brightened up. “Oh! Well, would you look at that.” She pointed and sure enough, they were almost at the Boutique. “Funny, we usually have more trouble getting here in under an hour…” Cadence tilted her head, rubbing at her chin. “Why do I have this feeling that something is going to go wro- OOF! Excuse me!” she snapped out, sincerely distressed… and Twilight turned to see who she’d hit.

“Harrumph! I would hope you’d excuse that fat flank, young lady.” The voice was just as haughty and arrogant as it had been all those years ago. “Hmph! It was a mistake to come to this little mudhole of a town just because Fancy Pants said he was coming,” Hoity Toity sneered, and turned his gaze right past Twilight… probably not even recognizing her. She’d only been a little filly at the time, and she’d avoided him quite adroitly in the years since.

His voice hadn’t gotten any less annoying either. “I swear, the idea that any kind of fashion could come out of this hole is foolish at best. Sapphire Shores must’ve been trying to keep the attention away from her supplier.” He sniffed derisively, and Twilight felt the anger begin to boil in her belly. He didn’t even seem to notice they were standing there anymore. “And just look at this trashy place, so garish! So foalish! No wonder Princess Celestia sent that irritating little brat here.”

Cadence reached out to grab Twilight’s shoulder and tried to pull her back with a frantic headshake. But Twilight was already moving forward with a feel of cold anger in her belly. Hoity sighed as though grievously put upon, still talking to himself. “Oh well. Perhaps I can find some scrap here to bring back with me and use in one of my own designs. It’s not as though this small time loser designer would be able to stop m-”

He would never finish that thought, as Twilight reared to her hindlegs and let training take over. “Nopony talks about my friends like that!” she snarled, and Hoity turned just in time to take the patented Fleur De Lis right hook right across his chin, and she followed it up at astonishing speed with the the straight left right into his stupid sunglasses, which she broke. He hit the ground with a bounce, and the only thing that kept her from following up with it was Cadence grabbing her and hauling her back. “Nopony!” she yelled at his unconscious form, struggling to get back to beating him senseless.

“Twilight! You knocked him cold, simmer down!” Cadence yelled in her ear and added more frantically. “Twilight, other ponies are watching!” It was that which caused Twilight to snap out of it, to see several townsfolk staring at the downed pony… and for a brief moment, Twilight wondered if perhaps she shouldn’t have done that. They were all looking at her with a mixture of horror and momentary worry, until...

The front door to the boutique swung open, revealing Rarity. It was obvious to all she’d been standing there since the beginning of it, and though her face was stained with tears, her head was held high. She deliberately marched down the steps to where Hoity Toity lay, looking up at Twilight with a fragile but happy smile. “It is good to know a lady can always count on her friends to stand up for her,” Rarity sniffled, her voice tremulous, obviously restraining tears. “Now, would somepony be gracious enough to remove this…” she shook silently for a moment, “filth from my front step?” The words were practically spat, laced with venom.

In an instant, the townsponies’ fear turned to resolve and grim humor. A trio of stallions hauled Hoity up and winked cheekily at Rarity before galloping him off toward the edge of town. Rarity gave a derisive little sniff, though her trembling was still plain to see. “Really, Twilight. Wherever did you learn to punch like that?” She was clearly impressed, even as Cadence finally let her down to stand on her own four hooves.

Twilight paused, wondering if perhaps she ought to name the source. But Cadence was nodding, so she grinned. “Ah, Fleur de Lis taught me, actually. She’s quite the talented hoofboxer.” She tapped her hooves together, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice, given Rarity’s stunned look. “Um… We met through my foalsitter, you see…”

“Wait. Stop.” Rarity held up her hoof, her eyes wide. “You… You know Fleur De Lis? Chic Weekly’s fashion model of the year for four years running?” Rarity’s voice ended on a squeak with the last word, all of her emotive trembling gone from distressed to excited. Twilight made to speak, only to find her cheeks squished by Rarity’s hooves. “Oh, please Twilight, tell me you’re going to introduce us?” She fluttered her lashes fetchingly, and Twilight had to laugh a little.

Cadence giggled too. “Rarity, relax. We’re going to do you one better.” She winked. “C’mon, let’s go inside. I’m dying for a bit of your tea, and you’re going to want to be seated for this surprise.”

Rarity blinked rapidly, then shook her head. All trace of her nervy emotions gone, she beamed. “For you, Love Beat, I’ll break out my very finest leaves. But really darling, what could possibly be better than meeting the hottest fashion model in Equestria?”

By the time Twilight had managed to calm Rarity down, the tea was done, and she was sipping at it with a look more reminiscent of Pinkie Pie than anypony else. Half giggly and delirious with excitement, her mane frizzed just a touch. Cadence was over near her work bench, sifting through sheets of designs while Twilight brought Rarity back to sanity. “Are you sure you’re alright, Rarity?” Twilight asked in genuine concern. The poor dear looked cracked like an egg.

“Oh! Oh yes. Just fine darling.” She coughed discreetly and took a much larger, less ladylike gulp of her fine green tea. “Um. When did you say he was coming, again? Today?” She squeaked around the last word again, and Rarity’s horn lit up to drag a pile of paper, art supplies, and a massive heavy book labeled ‘Ideas’. “I should be able to whip something up in…” Rarity began slowly, then stroked at her cheek. “Twilight, dear heart… have you made plans for what you’ll wear to the Gala?”

Twilight blinked and shook her head. “Well, to be honest, no. I’ve got a few nice things I could wear back in Canterlot but-” Her mouth was suddenly full of dramatically-placed hoof, and the rest of the reply muffled.

“That will simply NOT do!” Rarity proclaimed with all of the stern seriousness of Celestia at her most cross. “This is the Grand Galloping Gala! The biggest night of High Society hobnobbing in all of Equestria! I shan’t allow you to go in any old thing. We must design something that will grip the imaginations of every one of those ponies! Something that will have them talking about you for years to come!” She paused, her features lighting up with dawning wonder and excitement. “No, one alone will not do for Fancy Pants! I must design something for all of us!” And like a flash she was out of her chair, a flurry of art supplies and paper flying after her as she raced about the shop. “Pegasus styles for Dash, of course. Something homey but strong for Applejack, and goodness me, whatever shall I make for myself? Something fabulous, of course!”

Twilight barely managed to catch the discarded teacup before it hit the floor, Cadence slipping to her side with a look of tolerant bemusement. “Do you think she remembers that Fancy is going to be visiting?” Cadence wondered aloud, tilting her head in amazement as Rarity went to precise but frantic work on her first sheet of paper, jeweled glasses now perched cutely upon her snout.

“I think we’d better not try to interrupt her,” Twilight whispered conspicuously. “You know how she gets when she’s like this. I think we’d better go try to intercept Fancy Pants, so she doesn’t freak out when she isn’t ready.” She began tip-hoofing for the exit, Cadence right behind her, the pair of them quietly closing the shop’s door behind them, blowing deep sighs. “Okay. We’d better go tell the girls, too. Um… I’ll handle Fancy and get him to safety. You go find the girls and...” She paused and facehoofed. “Make sure they know Rarity really needs our support on this one. The last thing I need is Rarity having some massive freakout when Dash inevitably tries to ‘cool up’ her dress.”

Cadence nodded happily and swept up into the air. Twilight rubbed at her eyes, laughing softly. Well, she had wanted to ask Rarity to do a piece for her, and now she was going to get one! As she walked away though, her ears pricked in astonishment. Rarity? Singing?

”Stitch-by-stitch…”

Love Beat… er, Cadence, quickly took to the wing across town. Fluttershy first. She’s the most likely to visit Rarity. If there was only one thing that had stuck with her about her new life here, it was that keeping everypony informed of things was exceedingly important. Not telling her friends when another friend was in a mood was the equivalent of juggling with volatile fireworks in the middle of a cupcake factory. Like asking for a very sticky explosion, and it would take a while to get the smell out of your coat.

So she put a little extra speed on as she headed for Fluttershy’s forest cottage, hoping that the rest of the team would be busy with their normal tasks. It was kind of strange, but… Well, Cadence had gotten to really enjoy the little, day-to-day things that had to be handled in Ponyville. Sure, it wasn’t quite the constant excitement of Canterlot, but dear Celestia when it did get exciting, it didn’t fail to impress!

Dead ahead of her was a project that had intrigued her as much as anything she’d ever done in all of her lifetime. Peeling down out of the sky to her front staircase was easy, as was the gentle knock on her door. “Hey, Fluttershy! Are you home?” she called, bright and chipper and gentle. Gentleness was the key with this filly, and she worked hard to keep herself from getting… overenthusiastic.

The door slipped open a moment later, with a single cute eye gazing out of the crack for a moment before opening to a warmer smile. “Good morning, Love Beat. Um…” Fluttershy hesitated a moment before continuing timidly, “Is something the matter?”

Fluttershy was the most reclusive, shy, introverted pony she’d ever met. She was so much worse than Twilight had been that it was almost horrifying. But while she knew she’d never change the adorable yellow pegasus’ essential nature, she was bound and determined to try to make it easier for her to step out of her comfort zone. “Just wanted to drop by and let you know Rarity’s working on a big project for a very important somepony, and she’ll probably be pretty busy with it.” She winked, keeping her voice low. “Just in case you had plans to see her soon.”

Fluttershy squeaked and pressed her hoof to her mouth. “Oh, no! No, we don’t have plans until the day after tomorrow for the Spa.” She… blushed. She blushed! And not in an embarrassed way either! “Um… You should join us sometime. You’d probably like it, and it’d be fun to have somepony else I’m comfortable to go with. Um... if that’s okay with you, I mean…”

“Ponyville has a spa?” Cadence could hardly believe that, but Rarity wouldn’t be attending any such thing unless it met certain standards. “Of course I’ll come!” She beamed, unable to suppress a happy little dance. She hadn’t had a proper hooficure in months!

“Oh, that’s lovely,” Fluttershy cooed, gently rubbing at her foreleg. “Um… I’ve got a lot of chores, but thanks for letting me know about Rarity. You should tell Pinkie next, I think.” She gently pushed at the door, and Cadence nodded solemnly. Fluttershy needed time to work up to socializing, so she wouldn’t push it… today.

“Thanks, Shy. I’ll see you soon then.” She waved gently before taking off again. Finding Pinkie would be easy, thankfully. It was impossible to miss her given the usual mass of balloons, streamers, and/or general mayhem that accompanied her. That, or she was at Sugarcube Corner helping the Cakes out.

But that was a few minutes out, and up in the air was a splendid time for her mind to run away with her thoughts, forcing her to confront all those nasty, complex feelings she had lately been trying avoid. Thoughts like how wonderful it was to wake up next to Twilight every morning, or how relaxed and happy she’d become in spite of being a universe away from her old stomping grounds.

The reason was pretty bloody obvious, even if she didn’t like to think about it. Oh just admit it, Cadence, you’re still frightened about what happened with Shiny, her traitorous thoughts needled her relentlessly. It’s been ten years, Princess! You’ve proven your magic works dozens of times since then! Twilight is absolutely head-over-hooves for you, and you know you feel exactly the same way!

It was easy to imagine a little miniature version of herself, angrily hopping up and down on her shoulder. Stop whining about things and just make her your marefriend! Court her properly! You’ve been schtupping that filly for five years now, stop waffling about it!

It’s not that simple! she silently whined back. She can be so bloody fragile! I don’t want to hurt her if I can’t live up to the mare she wants me to be! What if it turns out that intimacy is all we have? How can I possibly tell her ‘I love sexing you up, but I’m just not into a committed relationship’!? It’d crush her!

The little Cadence plopped down and glared. You think this isn’t hurting her now? It’s no excuse, little Miss Princess of Love. If you try it, and it doesn’t work, you’re not going to lose her! She might freak a bit, but she will forgive you! But if you never even try, she’ll be stuck worshiping this ideal relationship that never happened, and you know it!

She winced away from the razor-sharp thoughts, almost too distracted to notice the sounds of Pinkie Pie singing away as she worked the kitchens at Sugarcube. Shoving aside those uncomfortable musings, she lazily spiraled down to the front staircase. She had to make sure the rest of the girls were kept up to date, and maybe Pinkie could help her with that. The last thing she needed right now was to go talk to Rainbow Dash who might just annoy her enough to make her lose her cool and-

She winced again, slapping her head with her hoof. “No. Focus, filly. Get your stuff in order. You can talk to Fancy Pants tonight.” Pushing open the doors to Sugarcube, she was hit by a sudden wave of wonderful scents that instantly set her to drooling. Someday, someday very soon, she wanted to put Pony Joe and Mr. Cake in the same room and make them engage in a pastry duel.

“Oh, good afternoon, Love!” Mrs. Cake proclaimed brightly, reaching up to a high shelf to pull down a familiar basket of powdered sugar pastries, laying them on the counter with a devilish smile. “Your usual, dear? Or would you like to try something new? Pinkie’s been getting creative with the cupcakes again.”

Cadence coughed at the sight of the beautiful jelly-filled donuts, and after ten seconds of resistance, sighed happily. “I’ll take three, Mrs. Cake. And can I borrow Pinkie for a few minutes?” There was just no way to resist their baked goods. It was worse than walking into Donut Joe’s. Well. Maybe not worse.

Mrs. Cake winked and quickly bagged up three of the donuts before trotting off into the back. Cadence carefully used her wingtip to pull out her bits bag and scatter the small golden coins onto the counter before tucking her paper bag into her saddlebags… then looked up into the huge, blue, and bright eyes of Ponyville’s own Pink Party Pony. “LOVEYDOVEY!” she squealed and hugged Cadence with all the enthusiasm of a little foal. “Ohmigosh I’ve got such good news! Lyra and Bon Bon are finally going to tie the knot!” She bounced up and down with a rapidity that would have shaken the cabinets and cases of lesser bakeries to pieces.

“Well, it’s about bloody time,” Cadence felt her lips tug into the grin she simply couldn’t hide when she was around Pinkie. Maybe it was her natural sensitivity to emotive magics, but she simply could never feel hurt or down when she was around Pinkie Pie. “We’ll have to put our heads together for the wedding plans then.”

Pinkie looked like she was just about to vibrate herself through the floor at that thought before Cadence grabbed her shoulders and chuckled. “Later, Pink Filly. I’m just stopping in to let you know Rarity’s going to be having a very important guest soon, and she’s working on a big project for him. We need to make sure we’re all behind her on it.”

Pinkie stopped vibrating and settled down, taking on a certain solemnity and smiled softly. “You got it, Loveydove! I’ll even prepare an extra-special Pinkie surprise for her big reveal!” She giggled brightly, then her smile turned sly. “Want me to go tell Dashie, then?”

Cadence laughed in pure relief. “Yes, please! I’ve got to get back to Twilight, and I don’t want to end up hock deep in a pissing contest with her.” Something she had a very hard time keeping away from sometimes. Much as she loved Rainbow, she also really wanted to smack her from time to time. She managed to keep away from that with sly, blunt teasing most of the time, but she’d gone a couple rounds with the pegasus already. Weirdly, she’d always gotten the impression that Dash liked it when they fought.

Pinkie winked. “I’ll just wrap-a-doodle things up here and head on out. Shouldn’t be more than a jiffy to find Dashie, anyway.” She hopped up to plant a cute, chaste kiss on Cadence’s cheek and bounced over to the back room. “Mrs. Cake! I’mma take a break, okiedokie?” Pinkie called into the back, and Cadence quickly trotted out the front door, pausing only to grab a donut from her bag and bite deeply into the sweet strawberry filling, surrounded by puffy tender pastry and powdered sugar. Mmmmmmm.

Wait. She had something she had to do. Right. Applejack! Still had to tell Applejack, and… and goodness, they certainly made lovely pastries. Cadence continued making happy sounds as she trotted off towards Sweet Apple Acres, humming brightly and trying very hard not to think about her little purple problem too much.

“Little Light!”

Twilight felt a laugh bubbling up as she tossed her forelegs around Fancy’s neck, hugging him him warmly. “Good to see you, Mr. Fancy Pants.” She kissed his cheek lightly, giving him a little nuzzle before detangling herself. “I didn’t expect that you were going to be here so soon!” And… really she hadn’t. She’d been sure he wouldn’t make it until tomorrow’s train, but…

He smirked slyly at her, his eye sparkling behind the monocle. “And miss a chance to catch up with my Little Light and my dear Love Beat? Hah! Not likely,” he snorted loudly, then rubbed his hoof into her mane. “You really need to write more often, Twilight. Fleur and I have missed you so. She’s sent demands with me to know how you and your amour are faring.”

Twilight’s smile fell a little, and she sighed softly, turning and gesturing for him to follow. As always, he packed light, only a large rolling suitcase and his saddlebags. “I thought things were going really well, but… she’s been getting withdrawn with me, Fancy.” She sighed softly, wishing she could lean against him right now. He’d been more like an uncle to her than anything else, but he was still one of the few ponies she felt comfortable talking about… this subject with. “Like, somedays it’s everything I could possibly hope for. She’s kind and sweet, she’s loving and intimate, and all of those wonderful things. And then some days, she looks scared everytime I start getting close to her. Ergh!” She scrubbed at her head. Years of studying love and romance, and she still had no idea what logic drove Cadence’s mind.

He nodded, smiling faintly. “Well, I’ll be here all week, so I’ll be able to have a word with her I think. Perhaps I can help her sort her head out.” He winked. “Worse comes to worse, we’ll lock her in a room with Fleur and a few good bottles of wine. If that doesn’t solve it, nothing will.” His hoof hooked around hers and squeezed it gently as they walked. “Don’t look so sad, Little Light,” he said gently, smiling at her. “She loves you. I know it, you know, it, I believe even she knows it. She just needs to find the courage to let it happen to her.”

Twilight laughed faintly. “You’d think given what we get put through here on a weekly basis she’d have found it by now!” It was insane just how ridiculous things got around Ponyville, and yet… yet she couldn’t help but love the place all the more for that. “Anyway, today might be the better day to talk to her. Rarity’s going to be busy focusing on a project to impress you, and-”

Fancy’s raised hoof cut her off, and he fixed her with a faint, amused glare. “Ah ah. I do not think so, Little Light. I am not going to speak to her until I have spoken to you. Love is a two way street.” He gently took her by the shoulder, correcting her path until they were wandering through the marketplace. “We’ll go back to your place when we’ve spoken. Now. I know you, Little Light. You are not telling me something.” The flash from the monocle he wore was a little alarming, but there was only concern in his tone. “I cannot help you if you will not speak to me.”

Twilight opened her mouth to fervently deny that something was wrong, then shut it quietly. She kept walking for a while, not really sure where she was going and not really caring either. She did have a worry, no matter how much she tried to cover it beneath playfulness and cheer. “What If I’m just not enough for her?” It was hard to say, hard to even think, but there it was.

Fancy stared at her in astonishment. “Twilight, I had rather thought you didn’t much mind her lusty ways.” He couldn’t keep the incredulity out of his voice, and his eyes narrowed a bit. “This isn’t jealousy I’m detecting, is it?”

“No, no!” she burst out, laughing in a strained way. “Goddess no, I don’t mind the fact that she’s so passionate. I even enjoy it.” She blushed, unable to stop the silly smile on her face. “I’m not jealous she takes other lovers, Fancy. I’d hardly have anything to say on that matter myself. Her devotion to me is as little in question as Fleur’s to you. I meant… Am I not big enough to fill up her heart the way Shiny did? Am I not… Enough?” The last words tumbled out, and it felt oddly satisfying to finally speak her fears to someone.

“Ah,” was all Fancy Pants said at first, his confusion and astonishment clearing instantly. There was silence between them, and it was an oddly comforting sort. Fancy Pants wasn’t just going to blurt out some trite reassurance or silly story. He would give her the best advice he could formulate. It was a few moments before he spoke again. “Twilight, do you recall the first bit of advice I gave you, all those years ago?”

She nodded faintly. How could she have forgotten them? They’d been some of the wisest words anypony had ever said to her. “Well, that applies here too,” he continued, motioning for her to follow him back through the market, the hustle and bustle around them oddly soothing. “Twilight, I’ve met many a pony in my few years in this world. I’ve met ponies who brimmed with confidence, and those who lacked it completely. Talented and talentless, beautiful and ugly.” He gestured broadly to the crowd around him. “The common clay of the world and the fine china of the heights of society, and I will tell you this.”

He gently poked her chest, smiling gently. “There is more of the good stuff that makes up Equestria in you, Twilight Sparkle, than I’ve seen in any other creature within it.” He chuckled richly, stroking her cheek once before continuing to walk. “Your friends are proof of that, Twilight. Never believe for a second that you’re not good enough, because I would not waste my time on somepony who wasn’t, and neither would they.” His voice rang with conviction and made her blush a bright red again.

He trotted around to face her and winked cheekily. “You’re more than enough pony to fill up the hearts of six remarkable young mares. I have no doubt in my mind that you’d be enough to fill up the heart of our dear little princess.” He grinned broadly. “Not that I intend to leave anything to chance. We shall make plans for the Gala such that we can dispel the doubt in her mind forever. That girl needs to stop being such a stubborn mule.” He paused and looked a touch sheepish at a passing Donkey couple. “No offense, sir.”

“None taken.”

About an hour or so later, with Fancy Pants now well ensconced in his hotel room, Twilight returned to the quiet library. It was barely past lunch, which meant that Spike would be busy with his daily errands, and there was unlikely to be many visitors to the library at least until after dinner. Twilight quietly turned the door’s deadbolt and trotted across the wooden floor and up the staircase. She wasn’t sure if Cadence was home yet, but she didn’t wish to be disturbed for a little while as it was.

The bedroom was sadly empty, but perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing. It would give her some time to think, time to consider what Fancy had said and maybe put in a little more time with that book on sweet things to do for your marefriend, or maybe focus on that one set of scrolls Celestia had sent her on the subject of patience or- “Stop it Twilight,” she told herself in the sternest, most demanding voice she could. “Do something constructive.”

She glanced about for something suitable. No cleaning, no book shelving, no study projects she could work on right now, no… wait. Fancy Pants. Her makeup! “That’s it!” She dashed over to the vanity, a brush of magic drawing shut the curtains and casting the room into a dim light. Another touch of magic lit the vanity lights as she pulled out the huge nested box from under the thing, setting it neatly to one side.

The box folded open as beautifully as a book, and her magic threw open the closet to parade past the string of dresses he’d brought her from Canterlot. “No, no… Something sensual. Something you’d wear for a special occasion.” The dresses went back, and she brought out her special things. The things Fleur had bought for her, that she had rarely shown Cadence. Lingerie, seduction wear, things which delved into sexual experimentation she hadn’t had the courage to get into yet.

It wasn’t a hard decision. There was one particular piece she loved oh-so-much for it’s boldness. A tight black corset of shiny black silk that laced around her body, and solid silk stockings to match. A fetching red bow for her mane, and a long red tailwrap that kept her tail flagged appealingly high and perfectly framed her marehood to be enjoyed both for viewing and for other fun.

She did a quick little turn around in front of her mirror and smiled prettily. “Hey there, purple smart,” she cooed softly at the reflection, giggling faintly. “You’re looking good tonight, but we need to art you up a bit.” Makeup was a ritual she’d performed many a time before, but she still wasn’t close to the artistry Cadence or Fleur could produce. Still, practice made perfect, and so she would get in some practice.

Lip gloss first. She would go for the dark seductress look tonight, so she stuck with the deep midnight blues for her colors. The feel of the semisolid stick running over her lips had a sensuality all its own. She dug for the hoofpaint she wanted while pulling out the subtly glittering eyeshadow and setting it on her vanity. There was something sexy, something… alluring about preparing to present yourself to a lover, even if only in theory.

She’d presented herself to quite a few lovers over the past few years. Cadence’s inclinations towards intimacy had rubbed off on her considerably, and she’d greatly enjoyed having a second partner to enjoy herself with. The pair of them had surprised and delighted no few stallions and mares together, and they had done so separately too. Someponies might have thought she’d be jealous, but in truth…

In truth, Twilight thought, all you really care about is what she feels for you. And that was the key to everything. At the end of the day, Twilight was who Cadence wanted to come home with, wanted to be a part of her life. Perhaps someponies might find that strange or indecent, but Twilight honestly didn’t care about them. She loved Cadence, and she knew right down in the center of her heart that Cadence loved her back. And that was all that really mattered, in the end.

The eyeshadow was carefully brushed on, and her lashes shadowed darkly. She carefully dusted her coat with the colored powder to darken it a little, and tilted her head back and forth to admire the picture she presented. “Will you be my special somepony, Cadence?” she whispered into the mirror, a phrase she practiced saying all the time. Someday, Cadence would be ready to hear it from her, but until then she would be patient. Even if she really hated being patient sometimes.

The door to her bedroom banged open a moment later and an exasperated sigh rumbled through her room. Twilight nearly jumped high enough to hit the ceiling, whirling about to see Cadence leaning wearily against the door and muttering under her breath. She looked sweaty and a bit exhausted, rubbing her hoof across her forehead. “Remind me to never let Applejack talk me into giving her a hoof with the farm-work again, Twilight. She’s such a hard taskmis-” Cadence stumbled over her words as she took in Twilight all dolled up, her jaw dropping about three inches. “Bwuh.”

Twilight paused, then felt a slow, coy smile cross her face. “There you are, beloved,” she purred, sashaying across the room. Why waste such a perfectly good opportunity if she didn’t have to? She gently wrapped a foreleg around Cadence’s neck and planted a velvety soft kiss on her lips. “Close the door,” she whispered into her ear, and was delighted to see Cadence not hesitate even for a moment.

The door swung shut, and the latch was thrown a bare second later. Their privacy now assured, she pressed herself into Cadence and her kiss into something a little deeper. This was more than sex, more than mere physical pleasure between them. Twilight wanted that closeness, that intimacy so very, very much…

Cadence responded slowly, pressing back into her kiss with as much passion as she always did. Twilight could feel Cadence’s muscles tensed under her coat and pressed her hooves into them with slow, circular massaging motions and deeply inhaled her scent. Not just sweat under there, oh no. “Just farm work, huh?” she teased gently, before pressing into the kiss again with soft nips at Cadence’s lower lip. Cadence blushed brightly and muttered something unintelligible out of the kiss.

Twilight giggled faintly, pulling away enough for Cadence to speak. “Our friends are nuts, Twily,” Cadence said much more clearly, but her eyes were sparkling. “Which is half the reason I love them, to be fair.” She nuzzled into Twilight’s embrace and sighed happily. “Why don’t we do this more often?”

Twilight felt a grin cross her face and gently nipped on the edge of Cadence’s ear, slowly walking love bites up to the tip of it and being rewarded with a cute sounding moan and a squirming mare in her forelegs. “I don’t know. Personally, I’d want to make love to you at least three times a day if I had my way about it…” Her voice was breathy and soft, and hot… and Twilight immediately realized how far off the leash her words had gotten.

But… Cadence didn’t get nervous, or scared, or anything like that. Instead, she blushed and shivered in Twilight’s embrace again and said nothing. That was… a new kind of reaction. One Twilight very much enjoyed, but it was new. She gently stroked her hoof down Cadence’s cheek and spoke in her gentlest voice. “Of course, I’d be just as happy to get a nice long cuddle, too. So long as it was with you.”

Cadence giggled faintly and nuzzled her cheek up into Twilight’s, then said in a soft and wickedly naughty voice. “Oh, I think we can come up with something a bit more exciting than that.”

Author's Notes:

I Feel the need to make a brief reference point, that while many of the upcoming chapters will be referencing events from episodes, the plots of those episodes are not the point of the chapters, but rather using their events (And changed events) as a backdrop for the relationship between Twi and Cadence and the Mane 6.

Thanks for your understanding.