//------------------------------// // Chapter Four: When Silence Is Not Understood // Story: A Slender Chance // by The Young and Free Dragon //------------------------------// A SLENDER CHANCE BY THE YOUNG AND FREE DRAGON It is by universal misunderstanding that all agree. For if, by ill luck, people understood each other, they would never agree. ~Charles Baudelaire CHAPTER FOUR: WHEN SILENCE IS NOT UNDERSTOOD (July 29th, 2012) Granny Smith says each entry in a diary tells a story. But nothing happened today. Nothing exciting or interesting. My friends were both busy today. ~Apple Bloom's Diary January 20th, 2011 Cadence was well aware of the unseasonable heat. To say that it could be too hot during the summer didn't seem to make any sense, but it really was uncharacteristic of Equestria to be at this grueling temperature. Ponies in Canterlot spent their time in doors mostly, rather than outside. The regal residents usually worshiped the summer sun, but they practically shunned it now. Cadence was worried what effect this would have on Celestia. Of course, she didn't understand why Celestia couldn't just lower the temperature... Maybe she meant for it to be this hot. She didn't seem visibly bothered by the negative attention the sun was causing, and maybe the land needed it for some purpose only she (and perhaps Luna) knew. Cadence felt bad for her husband, who was having to dress in full military outfit and train soldiers outside today. They were the only ones in the heat, and they were surely toiling and cooking in it. She had suggested giving the men a day off, but they both knew this heat was not about to improve. Putting it off to another day would do nothing but put the men out of practice. Still, today seemed to be the hottest of all so far. She continued to move a fan with her magic as she sat in her suite, gazing out of the large window at her husband, who was doing magical combat with his soldiers. The field was clear all the way to a group of trees that stood outside of their land and sphere of influence. The trees had stories surrounding them, about them producing fruit that saved the lives of starving ponies or producing shade on the hottest of days. How ironic. Today they cast a dark shadow on to the ground, despite being almost completely bare of leaves. In that darkness, it was easy for her eyes to miss the black suit, but her eyes caught hold of the bleach white face of a strange pony standing there. She stood up. She couldn't see whoever it was too well, only that there was indeed somepony there. She went out on to the balcony, trying to shield herself from the sun as much as possible, and adjusted a telescope that was set on the railing. Once adjusted, she peered through at the strange figure. The magnification did nothing to his features, simply because he had none, though the shape of his head and body was more masculine. He looked almost like a floating head, but the telescope revealed the suit that was covered by the trees' shade, and the dark tie that was pulled tight around his neck. Despite the heat, a chill went down Cadence's spine as she brought her eyes back up to his featureless face. There were no eyes set into the head, yet he seemed to be intently watching the field. She followed his gaze with her telescope, and found it resting exactly where her husband was standing and calling out orders. She looked back to the head, which was frozen still, and she wondered if the pony was even...alive. Why was it there? Was it just a statue? She shifted her gaze back to her husband. He finished calling orders and circled around to the other side of the troops to view them as they did their tasks. When her eyes came back to the face, the head had moved, while her eyes had been turned away, and was now focused on her husband's new location. She gasped slightly feeling her heart race. It was most certainly alive, and she didn't like the way it was watching her husband. She heard the blow of a whistle that snapped her vision back on to her beloved, who had called his soldiers together and was leading them back inside. Good... She sighed, mentally. Now that creep can't watch-- She let out a squeak of fear as her eyes went back to the figure, and saw that the head was turned, and now the non existent eyes were looking straight at her. She stood frozen in fear, looking deep into the hollow pits of the blank face. As luck would have it, a drop of sweat fell in her eye and she was forced to wipe it clean. When she looked back, the figure was no longer among the trees. It was nowhere! Her eyes began scanning frantically across the open field and the clearing beyond the trees, but there was no sign of the strange pony. How can it move that fast?! It must be some sort of magic... Yes... that seemed rational. Probably just some stranger, trying to spook her. But boy was he doing a good job... She backed away from the telescope, keeping her eyes on the field as she wiped sweat from her brow and closed the door. Now feeling safe, she sighed and looked away, going into her bathroom and splashing water on her face to get rid of the sweat. She turned and looked through the door way as she moved for the towels, and let out a scream. Through her watery vision, she saw the pony standing on the balcony, looking in at her. Long black tentacles wavered about in the air, and danced like snakes. One dropped down and pushed the door of the balcony open slowly. She fell backwards out of the door way, panting heavily as her heart raced and she summoned any objects nearby to protect herself, though she could not see well at all. She waited. Soon the figure would walk in through the door and attack... Her heartbeat somehow went even faster at that thought. What did it want? It was no pony of Equestria, that was for sure. It had the body of an earth pony but those tentacles...she'd never seen anything like them. She hoped that her blurred vision had only created the illusion of them. Blurred vision.... She carefully got up and moved toward the towels, not taking her watery eyes off the door. She could fight much better if she could see... She pulled the towel over her face and quickly wiped away all the moisture. As the towel unblocked her vision, she was met with an empty door way. Where was he...? “Princess!” A voice shouted from in the room, startling her. A soldier charged into the bathroom and was smacked silly with a large brush Cadence used for her mane. She quickly apologized and helped him back to his feet. Once his wits were about him, he asked; “Is everything alright?! I heard you scream!” “I'm...I'm...” Cadence stammered. Of course she wasn't alright! Did he not see the-... While peering out of the bathroom, she saw that the room was empty of anypony. “I'm fine...thank you. I just...slipped, is all,” She said, thinking as quickly as she could. He glanced down at the water she had accidentally splashed on the floor in her frenzy and she could see that he was buying it. “Okay. Please be more careful,” He said, before exiting. “Don't worry, I will...” The princess murmured to herself.