//------------------------------// // Why Don't You Cry? // Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot // by Equimorto //------------------------------// Cadence always liked to watch things from up there. As much as there were things to watch from there. Which, in truth, was very little, and that was why she enjoyed it. It was peaceful. No distractions, no worries, she could pretend for a moment that nothing had ever changed. Almost. The unnervingly huge chunk of crystal she sat upon was still an inescapable reminder of the world she lived in. But, at least, not much else had changed up there, between the puffy white clouds and the clear blue sky. Many of her guards would have had quite a few things to say against her being there. That was why she didn't tell them about it when she went. Most of the time, she even got away with it. She took in a long, deep breath. Clear, fresh air. That seemed somehow harder and harder to come by back in the city. It wasn't, of course, but it still felt like it. The tension running through every creature down there was impossible to ignore, and that only made everyone more nervous. She did hope things would calm down eventually, once the citizens had grown used to how things had changed. Shining at least seemed to be taking it quite well. He'd been active helping around town, he'd personally taken part in the process of reestablishing some forms of communication between the Empire and the rest of Equestria, and he'd even started exploring the tunnels, all while keeping up with his royal duties. Maybe he was just excited by the adventurous feeling of change, he definitely was that kind of pony. It did make her worry, on occasion, that he was just growing bored with how their life was before. Well, no more of that for a while. She would have no doubt preferred it, but it looked like the universe or fate or whomever had different plans for all of them. Far more disruptive plans, and she was genuinely afraid at times that they hadn't seen the end of it yet. Far from it. That was why she spent time there. On her own, away from the stress and commotion of her life, away from the earth far down below her and everything and everyone on it. She didn't hate them, or even dislike them. But sometimes, it was nice to just let go for a while. Leave her troubles to another time, another space. Of course, it couldn't last forever. Ponies would notice her absence eventually, and it wouldn't do if she stayed there and ignored duties she had to attend. It really wouldn't do. She could maybe wait a couple of minutes longer though. Just a couple. She still had a lot of day to get through. And then another whole day the day after, and then another one, and then another one, and on and on and on like that. It was annoying, yes. But it was what she had to do. She could just hope that things would change for the better, when they did.