Thorsday, October Fish, 2012, 12:47 pm EDT
Crying in a church isn’t terribly uncommon. Whether it’s the brimming joyful tears of a bride, the weeping of mourners, or the simple wails of an innocent baby who just wants a bottle, it’s usually expected, or not commented upon.
Crashing from a terror-induced adrenaline rush and realizing that one has been eating one’s family without them knowing it was something entirely different. My sister’s natural reaction to me crying, approaching and trying to comfort me, filled my nose with vanilla.
::That’s love, and it’s not your nose,:: Chrysalis corrected. ::Hmm. Quite filling, as well.::
“Kay, please stop.” My new voice was thick with emotion and tears. “I appreciate the gesture, but I might hurt you until I get a hold of this.” My sister jumped back as though I were on fire, and I tried to get up and walk away. “Tried” being the operative word.
“What the hay?” I asked, rubbing my nose with a holey hoof. “I was able to walk just fine as Cadance.” I got on my hooves and wobbled for a bit, reminding myself of one of my grandmother’s newborn foals.
I tried to get a better hang on my walking when I felt a splash on my back. I turned to face the source and found the priest, aspergillium and bucket of holy water in hand. Despite being a lapsed Catholic at best, old instincts made me cross myself in response. His shock was amusing, but his relief was tangible.
I paused in the middle of my wobbly circuit and began to make my way to the confessional. ‘It’s been a long time,’ I thought, ‘I may as well get shriven.’ I stopped for a moment, catching Mom’s eye while Dad prayed and indicated the confessional with my horn so she’d know where I was, and I caught another waft of love-vanilla.
I settled into the narrow booth as best I could, my tattered wings buzzing slightly until I found my balance. I waited for the priest to take his place, and began. “Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been far too long since my last confession...”
Minutes later, feeling lighter than perhaps I should have, I was working out how to kneel at a pew. A prayer reference card floated in a green aura before my eyes, and I began my penance.
I absently noted a scent of peppermint and gingerbread as I prayed.
::Whatever you’re blathering on about,:: Chrysalis chimed in, ::keep it up, this love is delicious.::
I screwed up my face in concentration and continued the prescribed course of Hail Marys, Our Fathers and so on. As I did, the peppermint and gingerbread scent faded into a kind of muzzy haze, like I knew it was there, but it wasn’t as urgent.
I also felt like I’d had a good meal. Worried, I looked to my parents, who were nestled up to each other. The vanilla scent I’d come to associate with their love had a touch of cinnamon to it now, but it was now as muted as the Christmas-like scent that had filled me as I prayed. They looked fine, and since I wasn’t hungry anymore, it wasn’t likely that I’d hurt them any time soon.
I looked around the church. “Where’d Kay go?”
Dad looked a bit confused, almost endearingly so with Mister Cake’s face. “She called a cab so she could get the Nitro from the mall. You were in there quite a while.”
I tried to chuckle self-deprecatingly but it came out as a giggle. “Well, you know, when a lapsed Catholic has reason to be in a church, they’re going to take a while in the confessional.”
Dad snorted in amusement. “Be that as it may, Kay should be back soon, shall we go wait for her?”
I looked with trepidation at the door. Did I really want to go out in public like this? And aside from waking up disguised as Cadance, I really had no idea how to shapeshift yet. ‘I need to accept, adapt, and survive.’ I mused, then lifted my head. ‘If I must be a Queen, then I need to have some dignity.’
My delay didn’t really hamper my parents, who had already stepped out to wait for Kay’s return. As I began to wobble out the doors, I heard a joyous shout.
“Mommy! Ponies!” An adorable little girl in pigtails had glomped Mom.
I hesitated. ‘Should I go out? Should I disguise myself? Do I even know how?’
Mom was handling the glomp attack surprisingly well, using her pediatric nurse’s training to good effect, while Dad was placating the girl’s mother.
My ears twitched as I heard Kay’s Nitro coming down the road. I stepped down the stairs towards the curb and immediately froze at a terrified gasp. Seconds later I felt a warm pressure on my forelegs and the scent of vanilla and modeling clay assaulted my senses. I looked down and realized the little girl had switched targets.
I barely had time to register my surprise when suddenly, I was being buffeted by a large purse. I blanked out the incoherent shrieks from the mother, mainly because I was concentrating on using what magic I’d been able to figure out to keep the strikes from causing me grievous bodily injury.
“Susie! Get away from that monster!”
“But Moooom!” The little girl whined. “Changelings need love, too!”
I heard the Nitro pull up and the door open, followed by the clack of boots on pavement and the crack of knuckles popping.
“I suggest you step away from my sister, bitch.” Kay’s voice was cold and flat. She brought her fists up into an almost parodic version of the Notre Dame mascot’s fighting stance.
“Kay, not in front of the kid.” I slowly began to edge towards the SUV, hoping that things could be reasonably handled. My tattered dragonfly wings began buzzing and I felt the pressure of my body weight shift from my hooves to my withers. “What if the little girl were Braden hugging a mountain lion?”
“Nobody messes with . . . “
“Kay!” I shouted. “I’m willing to disengage without any further incident! We have places to be and this situation doesn’t matter.” I side-slipped in midair, intent on just getting in the car and getting this stupid confrontation over with.
Then, the lady’s purse smacked me again and set me spinning. Her terror spiced her love for her daughter into a heady, savory feast.
I blanked out for a moment, and when I came back to myself, the woman was on her knees, staring blankly into space, and I felt like I’d just gorged on a Thanksgiving dinner.
I turned back to the little girl who was staring wide-eyed at us. “Little one, your mother loves you very much.” I said kindly. “But she’s going to need to know how much you love her. Can you give her a big hug and tell her?” At the little girl’s determined nod, I smiled. “Good.”
More subdued, my family piled back into the SUV and got back to the Interstate.