//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: SILENCE // Story: The Son of infinity // by Krystl_Fae //------------------------------// This Is Why I Don't Understand Mares: Part II <<>> Twilight <> "You did WHAT?!?!" I was furious. Absolutely LIVID right now. Candace and I had agreed to take things slow, to first show Andromeda that we were his friends- something he's never had before -and then go further bit by bit until we could tell him that we love him... right after we decided how to deal with the situation between us. But that was supposed to be a long way off, something we didn’t need to worry about yet. ...and then Cadance does this, doting on him all day dressed up in a Prench maid outfit. I may not have been the most open to romance, or even friendship- it only takes up valuable time I could be using to study after all -but even I have read enough romance novellas to know where this was heading. I may not have seemed like it, but as a little filly I was a hopeless romantic, before Celestia’s tutoring took up all of my available time and I couldn’t afford to continue my usual fictional reading habits. And if all those stories had taught me anything, it was that I wouldn’t stand a chance against someone as forward as Cadance without some sort of secret weapon or plan of action- neither of which I had even remotely prepared for. "What do I even do?!? I've only got an hour before I have to show up, and I don't have anything I can do....!" "Twilight... Twilight! Just be yourself, I'm sure that will be fi--" "...yes, that's it! That's what I'll do!" And without even registering what Cadance had said, I dashed out the door at top speed. I had so much to do and so little time. <<<1 hour later - Canterlot Castle>>> Celestia As I apprehensively leave Andromeda in my quarters I begin making my way to the throne room, only to pass Twilight on the way. She was... oh my stars she was utterly clueless and completely adorable. Her face was beet red and I could tell she'd never even looked at anything remotely akin to the outfit she was currently wearing given her posture and how she held herself. She obviously wanted to try and match what Cadance had done yesterday... I looked at a nearby clock on the wall. ...I suppose I have a few minutes to spare. I might as well give her a nudge in the right direction. Andromeda I'll admit, I was wondering if yesterday would repeat itself... ...I was still just as surprised when it inevitably did, only this time it was Twilight wearing the... uh... I- I'm, not even sure what to call what she was wearing. Twilight was blushing and looking away in embarrassment …I think? At this point I have no idea what I’m supposed to think. She looked like she wanted to say something, but was (metaphorically) biting her tongue... or, well, she was biting her lip, anyway. At this point I was staring off into space just trying to comprehend what was happening to me. Twilight Please don't stare, please don't stare.... I knew getting something like this would get that kind of a reaction, but... ooh, I wasn't prepared enough for this. I didn't have the time to get a proper outfit like Cadance had, so I'd had to settle for what I could get at the only store open at this hour that sold these kinds of things... I hope nopony recognised me... and, I mean, I don't want him staring at me, but, isn't that kind of why I did this in the first place? Oh, Twilight, you imbecile! This is why you plan ahead for everything! Never leave anything to chance! ...wait, is he even looking at me anymore? He has that far-off look in his eyes... should I cough to get his attention? NO! That would only... but then should I... or what if... I don't know... I never learned what to do in this kind of situation! Oh, by Celestia, what am I supposed to do now?! The princess could have at least told me a little more than how I should act, like, what I should say in this kind of situation! Or… or… or what I should do if the room goes quiet and tense… or that Andromeda might react this way and that I need to be prepared for it! O-or… I don’t know! Just SOMETHING that would help me right now! “U-um….” There was an awkward pause “…nice outfit?” Andromeda I felt like slapping myself in the face. Why did I say that? I should have just kept quiet. But no, I couldn’t help myself and had to say something to try and break the silence, didn’t I? “Uh… th-thanks…” Once again silence took over. The tension mounted and it seemed like nothing would break it when the door opened behind Twilight and Spike walked in. “Twilight? Are you there? I’ve been looking all over the castle for you and Princess Celestia said you’d be here. I know you’re busy but-“ Twilight’s blush deepened immeasurably as she heard him walking through the door and she rushed over to him, interrupting him mid-sentence as she began to usher him back out the door, much to the poor little dragon’s confusion and dismay. “Shush! Get… out of here spike…!” “Wha? Huh? Wai- what are you… what’s that you’re wearing?” “Get… out!” With a final urgent whisper, Twilight shoved Spike back out the door and closed it behind him, back up against the door to hold it shut as if she was worried the forces of Canterlot would try busting through it at any moment. As Twilight panted from the sudden rush of adrenaline Spike’s surprise appearance had induced, I remained seated on a nearby sofa, blanket over my shoulders and an open book at my hooves. We continued staring at each other for several moments before all the tension and craziness took its toll and we started giggling like foals. When we finally managed to calm down, Twilight spoke up. “So, um, do you want anything to drink or… something?” I was about to decline when flashbacks from yesterday came to the forefront of my mind. It would likely be futile to stop it today, but Twilight wasn’t exactly Cadenza, so maybe… “I think I should be fine, thanks.” I soon realised my mistake when Twilight raised an eyebrow at me. Cadenza must have spoken to her in the time since I last saw her. I prepare to give in and ask for a water but hold my tongue when Twilight picks herself up off the floor and walks out of the room. “Twi-“ “SPIKE!? WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE?!” Apparently she’d forgotten about him. I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. “Hey Spike!” The drake sticks his head in through the open door, “Wanna play some Unstable Unicorns?” I hold up the deck of cards in my hooves. “You bet!” Spike rushed into the room, the open door showing the still flustered Twilight sanding outside. “I’ve got Spike, we’ll be fine. You do what you have to do.” I tell Twilight to ease her concerns as Spike shuffles the deck of cards and starts dealing them out. <<<20 minutes later - Canterlot Castle>>> “And that makes seven!” “Neigh card! Your seventh unicorn is revoked!” “Neigh! Your neigh card is invalid!” “Super Neigh!” Spike looks at the card I just played. “Aww man… I was so close too!” “I draw…” I picked up another card from the deck as the door opens. I look up from the cards in front of me, only to drop the card I just drew in shock, allowing Spike to see it. “WHAT?! Oh, come on! How come you get Magical Flying Unicorn every single time?!” I watch on as Twilight exhaustedly sets down a heavy tray on the nearby table, almost causing the table to tip over before Twilight rights it again by setting the tray in the middle. I’m speechless at what I see, and I’m not the only one. “What’s going… whoa!” Twilight takes a few moments to breathe before speaking up. “Since I don’t know what you feel like, I just got one of everything.” “Everything?” Spike exclaimed incredulously, to which Twilight nodded in affirmation. While Cadenza had pestered me until I eventually relented and told her what I wanted, Twilight had taken the complete opposite approach and brought the choices to me. As she began listing off the different options, me and Spike looked at each other in awe before turning back to Twilight. It took nearly five minutes before she finished her list. “So…” Twilight paused to catch her breath “What do you feel like?” “Uh…. I’m just happy with a cold glass of water, thanks.” Twilight took a moment to process that before collapsing to the floor in exhaustion. I went to help her, concerned for her condition but spike held me back. “Don’t worry, this happens all the time. She’ll be fine.” Spike hopped up and grabbed a glass of water for me and a lemonade for himself “Here.” “Thanks.” Doing my best to not worry over the insensate unicorn less than a meter away, I return to the game Spike and I were playing. "Magical Flying Unicorn! And because of it's ability, I draw a magic card from the discard pile... and I choose this." I hold up the Change of Luck card, "And because of my stable's Double Dutch upgrade card I can play a second card, which will be Rainbow Unicorn. Seven unicorns; I win." Spike glared at me. "7 games to 5. I'm only down by two- and it's first up by three; I'm not beaten yet! Rematch!" I picked up the cards and did my best at trying to shuffle them. "You're on." At least today wasn't as crazy as when Cadenza was here... but I have this nagging feeling that this won't be the last time I question the sanity of my new friends... or maybe it's just me? Who even knows. Maybe this was all an illness-induced hallucination or fever-dream. <> The doctor said I was finally better today. I'm still a little nauseous when I stand up, but it's more than tolerable now. Cadenza came by to check on me, and was happy that I was feeling better. There was no sign of what had happened the other day; she seemed as normal as ever, though Twilight didn't make an appearance the whole day. Cadance said she "went overboard" which took two separate explanations for me to understand, and a third to calm me down when I thought she'd fallen into an ocean or lake or... whatever it was she might have fallen into. Metaphors are weird. Hopefully something like this doesn't happen again- the doctor said it shouldn't now that my immune system has built up a resistance to it, but IT'S NOT FINE IT'S NOT FINE IT'S I need to break it again, the sickness might come back. Maybe I could STOP STOP STOP STOP STO entirely? It could fix the problem... but I'm already uncertain how mum would take IT'S HER FAULT IT'S ALL HER FAULT grows back. I mean, it's already abnormal; but what NEED TO BLOCK IT OUT NEED TO STOP HER were to just show up without-- I clutched at my head a little as a searing pain coming from within my skull overwhelms me, drawing Celestia from her thoughts. "Are you alright Andromeda?" I nod. "Just a mild headache, I'm good." I can tell mum's concerns aren't satisfied by my response, but that she knows she isn't going to get anything more out of YOU CAN'T KEEP HIM SAFE FOREVER. HIS MAGIC IS TOO MUCH FOR YOU TO CONTAIN. YOU ARE PLAYING A DANGEROUS GAME, AND NOW THAT HE IS HERE, HE IS IN OUR DOMAIN. YOU CANNOT WIN FOREVER, INSTINCT. ...... NO, I CAN'T, BUT I WAS CREATED TO KEEP THIS COLT FROM YOU- AS WELL AS FROM HIM, MY OWN CREATOR. THE ETERNAL WAR BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU HAS CAUSED ENOUGH DAMAGE TO THIS WORLD, AND SO HE MADE ME TO STOP ANYONE FROM CLAIMING THIS FOAL. NONE SHALL USE HIS GIFTS, SAVE FOR HIMSELF! "Andromeda! Andromeda, are you alright?" Mum's voice drew me back from staring off into space and I realised I was laying on the floor, having fallen off of the chair I was sitting on. "I- uhm... I, yes, I'm... I think I'm going to have a lie-down for a while..." Mum nodded and watched me as I walked off to the bedroom. I had trouble falling asleep, and even worse troubles with nightmares that night. At the very least, the shadow that I would occasionally come across during those dreams would shade me from the blinding light to some extent... I always followed it, wherever it went, my only refuge in the brightness of the dream void. My Instincts had never led me astray before, and I doubt they would now.