//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Cadenza // by SingMeloetta //------------------------------// For the next two days, just like the princess had told her to, Cadenza waited patiently. She was definitely looking forward to school, craving the social interaction that came with it. She’d spent most of her two days cooped up in her room, doing anything to avoid another encounter with her serving staff. As she was a princess that depended on the emotions of others to stay healthy, this had definitely been a bad idea. On her first day of school, she’d gotten up while the moon was still high in the sky, preparing her hair in her bright blue ribbons. She had already gathered everything she thought she needed for the day, looking in her saddlebag again to see exactly what she thought she had; a pack of fresh quills and a few blank notebooks. Luckily, somepony had gone out shopping and got her a bigger one, so she was also able to fit her book in there as well. She waited in her room for hours for the sun to come up, saying a prayer to the sun goddess just before she left her chamber for the morning. She had been up preparing for school since at least 5 that morning, and yet she hurried through that morning’s breakfast as if she was already late. She hadn’t meant to do that, of course, but she couldn’t help her excitement. Celestia called out after her just before she left. “Cadenza, do you remember where you’re supposed to be going?” “It is the Academy of Canterlot, no?” Celestia, now feeling  a renewed sense of confidence in her niece, smiled and nodded, Cadance turning back to look at her once more before she began her walk to school. Over the past two days, ever since that incident with Mirror Gleam and Chamomile, she’d been learning English with the princess, and, according to Celestia, she had actually been making some astounding progress, though Cadenza was sure that the princess was just trying to give her some encouragement. Sure, her English wasn’t going to get her awards any time soon, but it was enough to get by. Cadenza soon took her first steps outside of the palace gates since she'd arrived in Canterlot, her eyes going wide as she admired the view. Even outside of the palace, the city itself was stunningly beautiful, with shades of purple, gold, and white everywhere she looked. As she took a look at her surroundings, she realized that she had no idea where the academy actually was. She had planned to turn back, when out of the corner of her eye she noticed a white stallion, who looked to be about her age, carrying a saddlebag. She walked over to him and attempted to follow his path. “Ugh! Don’t stand too close! Stay back!” The stallion freaked out, wiping off some dust that wasn’t there. “I am sorry. I am trying to find the way to the Academy of Canterlot. Do you know where the Academy of Canterlot is?” The look in his eyes suggested he was going to tease her, but his expression softened and was almost forming into a modest smile once he noticed the horn on her head and the wings at her sides. “Here, come with me, right this way!” He led Cadenza down the sidewalk, all the while trying to make conversation with her. “So, what’s your name?” “Mi Amore Cadenza.” “That’s a lovely name! I’ll just call you Cady, though; It’s so much easier to remember that way. You can call me Prince Blueblood.” She had heard the name before, and soon realized that the colt himself looked familiar. Chamomile and Mirror Gleam hadn’t been the only ones to mock her heritage after all. She sped up a bit as she saw the school building in the distance, hoping she could lose Blueblood in the process. “Don’t speed up too fast now, Cadie. I wouldn’t want a fair lady like you getting lost, now would I?” Cadenza faked a girlish giggle and slowed down as they walked through the doors. With any luck, she could make her escape from Blueblood now. Most rooms had giant signs labeling them, so she was able to walk herself to the front office without much trouble. The mare sitting at the front desk recognized her, but didn’t bow, only giving her a sheet of paper. “Here’s your schedule, honey. If you get lost, you can ask any one of our students. I think you’ll notice very quickly that they’re all very kind.” “Thank you.” Cadenza smiled, reading her schedule right outside the door. She could actually read her schedule quite well, and got through most of the day without any problems. Surprisingly, it was leaving the school for the day that caused her the most stress. She suddenly found herself shoved up against the lockers, practically bowing to the hooves of a light purple pegasus and the white unicorn who always seemed to be by her side. On top of that, both of them were stallions, so that only made the height difference feel that much greater. They were both in her English class, but they hadn’t interacted much yet outside of that. The fact that she was intimidated isn't helping much either, the negative feeling beginning to overwhelm her senses. “H-hola.” She stammered. “Oh, looks like the insignificant princess isn’t being very loquacious in this present time. Isn’t that correct, my fair acquaintance Moonstone?” Royal Breeze hissed at her in delight, seeing that his words were effectively overwhelming her. “It appears that she has gone inarticulate. How delightful.” Her head spun, and she couldn’t tell if she was going to trip over her own hooves or get a headache. She knew this was probably English, yes, but none of the words that her aunt had taught her had been this confusing, she just couldn’t understand-suddenly, another wave of emotion came at her, and she felt herself get dizzier and dizzier the longer she stood upright. It wasn’t just his words, though, as she could also sense his bad intentions, and from the way his heart felt, he was going to do something much worse than taunt her with words she didn’t understand. She was soon proven right when she felt a white hoof slam her in the face. She crunched herself up against the lockers, but she hated feeling this weak and useless. She’d never been treated like this back in Altomarete. The more she thought about her hometown, the more her confusion melted into sadness. Sadness was the worst emotion she could feel that she knew of, as that left her even more defenseless than she was before. “What do you think you’re doing? Leave that filly alone!” She opened her eyes again to see a large white stallion standing in front of her protectively, a magenta barrier shielding the both of them. “Alright, alright! You don’t have to get so protective over your precious princess, dude. Geez.” The two colts galloped out of the school building together, leaving the white stallion to turn and face Cadenza. “Are you alright?” When he spoke, Cadenza’s heart began to flutter in her chest, and she began to get lost in his deep yet bright blue eyes, and she could feel the dorkish smile forming on her face. No pony had ever stood up for her like that before, and she didn’t even know this stallion! “Are you alright?” He repeated himself, and Cadenza nodded, though she was unable to stop smiling as her heart fluttered faster and faster inside her chest. Like confusion and sadness, she knew this feeling too; This was love, and not just the kind that came and went like the wind. This was pure, and this was strong, just like the stallion that had caused it. The kind of love where she could hear twinkling bells wherever she walked, the kind that warmed her whole body and made her feel like she was floating gently above the clouds on a summer’s day. “What’s your name?” “My name is Mi Amore Cadenza. It is nice to meet you.” The stallion waited for a minute before replying. “Oh! You’re Mi Amore Cadenza? My mom talked about you the other day; She works for Princess Celestia. She says you seem like a very nice young mare.” They walked home from school together that evening, and they spoke a little more. She found out that he had a little sister, and how she’d had at least six other foalsitters in the past three months because all she liked to do was read. By the time they’d made it to her room and they said their farewells to each other for the evening, she was fighting the urge to ask him to stay a little longer- he had a home to get to, and, from the sound of it, a younger sister who loved him very much. And she may have just met him, but she loved him too.