As outlined in section three point thirteen, metals in groups one-A and two-A tend to react with the nonmetals from groups six-A and seven-A, and form– Twilight stopped reading as somepony loudly trotted past her closed door for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past ten minutes. With an irritated groan, she slammed the book shut and pushed it away from her. Stepping up off of the thick cushion she used as her seat, she went and opened her bedroom door, intent on giving a lecture on the importance of silence to whomever was making the ruckus. She had no idea why anypony didn’t take her need to study seriously, but she was more than determined to find out.

Upon hearing more sounds come from down the hall, Twilight held her head high as she made her way towards her parents’ bedroom, a good argument already forming in her mind. As soon as she turned the corner into her bedroom, however, all thoughts of reprimanding her parents dropped away when she saw her mom stepping out of the bathroom, thick clouds of steam following her exit.

“Wait, you’re taking a shower now?” Twilight asked her mom as she stood in the doorway.

“Yes, dear,” Twilight Velvet replied, wrapping a pair of thick, fluffy towels around her wet mane and tail. She gave the towels a good squeeze with her magic and tossed them into the clothes hamper. Without wasting another moment, she trotted back into the bathroom and grabbed a brush from the vanity.

“But you didn’t tell me to get cleaned up…” Twilight said, her eyebrows furrowing as she continued connecting the dots for herself. “So that means I’m staying home, right?” Her mother nodded silently as she ran the brush through her mane before switching to her tail. “And if I’m staying home, then that means you’ve gotten me a foal-sitter, right? And that means you’ve probably asked Cadence, right?! It’s the only logical assumption!”

Not even bothering to hide her terror, Twilight ran from the room, screaming all the way back to her bedroom. Slamming and locking the door behind her, she ran up to Smarty Pants and violently shook him.

“Smarty Pants, quick! We’ve got to hide! Mom and dad got Cadence to foal-sit again! You know what that means, right?!”

“Yeah, it usually means we’re in bed by six thirty.”

“That’s right!” Twilight said in exasperation. “No studying, no researching, no experimenting, and worst of all, no reading! She’s probably just going to send us straight to bed as soon as she walks in the door!”

“And she doesn’t even give us a kiss goodnight,” Smarty Pants quipped.

“Eww, why would you want her to do that?!” Twilight groaned and rolled her eyes. She didn’t have time for Smarty Pants’ immature comments. “Come on, let’s go see if we can’t convince Dad to bring us along!” With that, she grabbed Smarty Pants with her magic and opened her door, levitating her friend behind her. Galloping back down the hallway to her parents’ bedroom, she peeked around the corner, hoping to find her father alone.

Thankfully, he was the only pony in the room. Walking the rest of the way inside, Twilight asked, “So where are you going tonight, huh?” When her father didn’t respond, she asked, “Why can’t Smarty Pants and I come? And why did you have to get me a foal-sitter? I’m not a foal; you know that!” She humphed and sat down on her haunches, her tail flicking about in annoyance as she crossed her forelegs.

“Well, your mother and I are going to dinner and a movie just to have some time to ourselves, okay?” Night Light said as he finished adjusting his tie. He looked back in the mirror and ran a comb through his mane a few times, pulling out a few knots here and there. “Besides, we’ve tried to stay as quiet as possible all day so you can study without interruption. I think it’s only fair that your mother and I get to go out and have some time to ourselves.”

“But we could come! Smarty Pants promises to not make a mess of things! Come on, why don’t you want us around?” A spark of realization suddenly lit up in Twilight’s mind. Her eyes widening, she cracked a knowing smile and asked, “Oh… okay, I get it!” She lowered her voice before continuing in a hushed whisper. “The movie’s dirty, isn’t it?” Twilight waited with bated breath for her father’s answer, but none came.

Twilight was just about to keep pestering her father for more information when she heard the doorbell ring. Her eyes going wide and her ears folding back, she grabbed Smarty Pants with her magic and darted back down the hallway, slowing and quieting her hoofsteps as she reached the top of the stairway, desperately hoping that it wasn’t Cadence.

Bending down to lower her chances of being spotted from the front door, Twilight set Smarty Pants down beside her and peeked around the corner, instantly recognizing the pink coat of her regular foal-sitter.

“Hi Cadence, come in, come in!” Twilight Velvet said, stepping back to allow Cadence to walk inside. “Thank you so much for coming on such short notice.” She looked up the stairs and spotted a familiar tuft of purple and pink mane sticking out. Lowering her voice, she said, “Oh, and Twilight’s hiding from you upstairs, so I doubt she’s going to be a problem for you tonight.”

“That’s great, because I’ve got to study for a huge exam tomorrow,” Cadence said as she lit her horn. She focused her magic around her saddlebag and laid it on the dining room table, pulling out all of her notes and a couple of textbooks. “What time can I expect you to come back by?”

“Hmm…” Twilight Velvet looked at the clock hanging on the wall. “It’s six o’clock right now, so I’d say around eleven? We’ll definitely be back by midnight at the latest.”

“That’s a little later than usual, but I think I can handle it. Besides, how much of a pest can Twilight be? I’m sure I can handle that little bookworm again.”

“Exactly. My little filly’s been studying all day in her room. Heck, I only saw her twice today, at breakfast and just as I stepped out of the shower a few minutes ago. She’s probably ready to fall asleep now if you ask me; I’m sure studying all day has tired her out.” Twilight Velvet looked back upstairs. “Honey, you ready? Cadence is already here; we can go now!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming…” Night Light said as he trotted down the stairs, paying no mind to Twilight. He assumed that she was just hiding from Cadence like she usually did every time she came by.

“Oh, and before you go…” Cadence fought to keep herself from blushing as she flicked her mane to the other side of her neck. “Is, um… is Shining around? He and I have to work on, uh… a school project later, and I was wondering if… you know.” She giggled nervously as her eyes flicked back and forth between Twilight’s parents.

“Oh, no, I’m sorry, he’s out sleeping over at his friend’s place tonight; that’s why we had to call you!” Twilight Velvet said as she started pushing her husband out the front door.

“Oh… okay. Have a great time, you two!” Cadence said with a sigh of disappointment as she waved Twilight’s parents goodbye. She watched them trot down the sidewalk for a few moments before she sat down at the table, arranging her studying materials just the way that she liked. “Well, hopefully Twilight won’t be too bothersome tonight…”

“Oh my gosh, did you hear that, Smarty Pants?” Twilight whispered, her voice teeming with unbridled excitement as she and Smarty Pants peeked around the corner again. “Come on, let’s go back to my room and figure out our plan, for tonight, the foal-sat shall have their revenge!”

“Hey Cadence, how’re you doing?” Twilight asked as she trotted up to the table, a deceivingly friendly expression on her face. She knew that she needed to appear respectable and polite if her plan was to succeed. “What’re you working on, homework?”

Cadence turned around and stuck a hoof out at Twilight, her posture a little defensive. “Right. I’ve got to do a lot of studying for an exam tomorrow, so I want it quiet tonight, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, you bet, Cady. Smarty Pants and I won’t make a peep!” She propped her hooves up on the table and pretended to be interested in Cadence’s notes. “Can I see what you’re studying?” Twilight pulled several pages of notes towards her and cocked her head to the side as she read the title on the top page: Advanced Biology.

Twilight was trembling with excitement. Now that she had everything within her grasp, the time had come. There was so much adrenaline in her system that she was barely able to light her horn, preparing to cast one of the few spells she’d learned: levitation. She snuck one last glance at Cadence and saw that she was preoccupied for the moment, so she cast the spell, grabbed Cadence’s notes with it, and ran away as quickly as she could.

“Don’t touch anythin– Hey! Come back here!” Cadence tried to swipe at Twilight but missed, her hoof hitting nothing but empty air. Just as Twilight disappeared around the corner, she got up in a flash as she gave chase. “Give me back my notes, you little creep!” She ran up the stairs as fast as her hooves would carry her, and as soon as she reached the top step, the bathroom door just a little ways down the hallway slammed shut.

Cadence ran up to it and grabbed the doorknob with her magic, failing to open it. After trying to unlock it with her magic unsuccessfully, she banged on the door with a hoof. She probably did something to the lock… “Open this door right now, or your parents will never find your remains, you hear me!?” she yelled as she jiggled the doorknob.

“You know, Cadence, I’d suggest you adopt a more humble attitude. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to these notes, right?” Twilight said. She couldn’t stop smiling. Hehe, this is so much more fun than studying!

“You scummy little troll! When your parents get home, I’ll–” Cadence heard the toilet flush and she froze. There’s no way that she…

“There goes one page!” Twilight cheerfully announced.

Her left eye twitching, Cadence yelled back, “You’d better not have flushed any of my notes, you twerp! I’ve got a huge exam first thing tomorrow morning!” There was a short pause, before Cadence heard a couple soft giggles come from inside.

“Well then, with that at stake, our demands should be very reasonable!”

Cadence’s eyes went wide. “Demands?! You don’t get any demands! Unlock this door right now and give me back my notes!”

Twilight giggled. Lowering her voice, she looked at Smarty Pants and said, “Hey, grab one of Dad’s magazines, I have an idea…” She lit her horn and grabbed some financial magazine that her dad liked to read. Hm… last year’s issue, huh? I’m sure he won’t miss a few pages…

Twilight walked back up to the door, the magazine held in her mouth. She spit it out and opened it to the first page before saying, “I sure hope you memorized this page, Cadence, because you’re never going to see it again!” She ripped the first page out of the magazine, hoping that it sounded like she was ripping a page of Cadence’s notes in half.

Cadence’s heart skipped a beat when she heard what sounded like her notes ripping from inside the bathroom. “No! Don’t flush it!”

“Are you sure you don’t want to hear our demands?” Twilight asked. She threw the ripped paper into the toilet and flushed it.

“Fine, fine! Tell me what your stupid demands are!”

“That’s more like it! Okay, firstly, Smarty Pants and I want to stay up until my parents come back, we want you to go return our library books and get the ones that we have on hold, and… Oh! On your way back, why don’t you go and grab us an extra-large cheese pizza? We’ll be running experiments that far surpass your intellect, so just leave the pizza outside my bedroom door when you get back!”

Cadence paused for a few moments as she considered Twilight’s demands. Maybe I can lure her out by making it sound like I’m going downstairs? Hm… that could work… “...Fine! I’ll be back in twenty minutes or so, okay?” Cadence said with a sly smile as she pretended to give in. She walked down the first few steps, letting her hoofsteps hit the wood softer and softer, making it sound like she was walking downstairs. Lighting her horn, she opened the front door, and she used the sound of it closing to get right up against the wall next to the bathroom door. She quieted her breath and sat in wait, for she knew that Twilight had to come out sooner or later.

“Hm… you think she’s gone?” Twilight asked Smarty Pants, keeping her voice soft. “I don’t hear anything from out there…” She pressed her ear against the door and closed her eyes, listening for anything that might sound like somepony was still in the house.

Nothing.

“I… I think she’s gone…” Twilight said as she gathered all of Cadence’s notes. As a fellow student, she’d never intentionally harm anypony’s hard work, especially somepony’s notes. She held all of the pieces of paper in her magical grasp and reached up, quietly unlocking the door.

Here we go… Cadence thought with a smug grin as she heard a click come from the doorknob. She lit her horn, ready to grab Twilight the moment that she’d open the door. Ugh… I could’ve avoided all this if I’d taken the time to study lock picking… She made a mental note to learn that specific spell when she finished her exam tomorrow.

A couple tense moments later, Twilight opened the door a few inches. Peering through the small crack, she didn’t see anything, so with a relieved smile, she opened the door the rest of the way and turned around, grabbing Smarty Pants with her right foreleg.

“Gotcha!” Cadence shouted triumphantly as she grabbed Twilight with her magic, making her lose control of her own magic in the process.

“I didn’t really flush your notes, Cadence! They’re all there, I promise! Please don’t kill me!” Twilight said frantically as she fought to escape Cadence’s hold unsuccessfully.

“Oh, I’m not going to kill you… I’m going to do much worse than that,” Cadence muttered under her breath as she stomped into Twilight’s room. “I’m gonna put you to bed!” She tossed the filly onto her bed and yanked the covers over her and her stuffed animal. “And if you so much as take one step out of bed, I’ll tell your parents exactly what you did tonight, and I’m certain that they’d ground you for a week! Hey, they might even take away your reading privileges! We wouldn’t want that to happen, now, would we?”

Twilight shook her head silently as she terrifyingly stared up at her foalsitter.

“Perfect.” Cadence left Twilight’s room, slamming the door shut with a little more force than what was necessary. She trotted back down the hall and went into the bathroom. After gathering her notes and ensuring that everything was there, she sighed and rolled her eyes, thankful that her stressful ordeal was over. Straightening her notes, she held them aloft as she walked back downstairs, hoping that the night’s excitement wouldn’t impede her studying anymore.

“Humph… what’s she know...” Twilight pouted as she sat up in bed. She pushed the sheets off of her and slid out of bed, her rear hooves hitting the wood floor with a dull thud. However, right before her front hooves hit the floor, she heard Cadence yell her name from the floor below. Adrenaline started pumping through her as she hopped back onto the bed. She pulled the sheets back over her and Smarty Pants, praying that she wouldn’t have to face Cadence’s wrath. Twilight waited breathlessly, her ears facing her bedroom door as she listened for any sign of Cadence walking up the stairs.

She waited an entire minute just to make sure she was in the clear. Just to be on the safe side, she used her magic to gently place one of her thicker textbooks beside her bed, right where she’d stepped off to make it look like it had fallen.

You know, maybe when Cadence isn’t so busy the next time she comes over, maybe I can ease up on her? She seems pretty nice when I’m not messing around with her, after all… Twilight smiled as she pulled the sheets up higher, letting loose a soft yawn. She snuggled up to Smarty Pants and closed her eyes, letting the warmth of her sheets lull her to sleep.

“Cadence? We’re home!” Twilight Velvet called out as she shut the door behind her husband. They hung up their jackets on the hanger next to the door and found Cadence sitting at the dining room table. As Night Light walked upstairs to relax, Twilight Velvet walked up to Cadence with her bit bag hovering behind her.

“Hi, Cadence. Did you have a quiet evening? Did you get your studying done?” A pissed-off look from Cadence told her everything she needed to know. “...No, huh?” A small feeling of dread filled her as Cadence stood up.

“Yeah… tonight’s really going to cost you, Mrs. Velvet,” Cadence said, using her magic to shove all of her notes and textbooks back into her saddlebag.

“...That bad?” Twilight Velvet cringed as she waited for the answer.

“Oh yeah. Very. I don’t mean this in a bad way, truly, but now I know why nopony else wants to foalsit for you two; Twilight is definitely a hoofful.”

“That she is… that she is…” Twilight Velvet counted out fifteen bits for Cadence and put them in a small bag for her. “Is the usual fifteen bits good enough to cover tonight?” Cadence just stared at her silently. “Okay, fine… How about twenty-five bits?” She slid the extra ten bits inside the bag and offered it to Cadence, silently praying that she’d accept it and not ask for more.

“That’ll work, but if Twilight keeps acting out of line, I’m going to have to charge you that next time!” Cadence said as she slung her saddlebag over her back. She grabbed the bag of bits with her magic and stowed it inside her bag, making her way to the front door. “I hope you two had a swell night. Anyways, I best be going. You know how to reach me."