//------------------------------// // Calming Down // Story: Universe 63 // by CarmenColor //------------------------------// Twilight woke up feeling much better. She looked around the dim room, seeing six figures slated out in sleep around the room. She noticed one with a party hat on. That'll be Bubble Berry. She smiled and her eyes roved over the room, searching for another figure, but she didn't find one. As light began to creep through the window, she realized where he was. Silently, she crept over to the balcony. I watched as Solaris stood out on the balcony, the Sun rising behind his sihouette. He raised his head with the Sun, making sure not to go too fast or too slow. It was majestic and beautiful. Twilight found herself unable to look away as the solar body's light lit up Soalris's multicolor mane. As he began to turn around, she managed to force her eyes away. She didn't want him to know she'd been staring. "Twilight Sparkle," Solaris said, "It is good to see you back on your hooves." She blushed. "Thank you, Prince Solaris," she said, bowing slightly, "I'm glad to be back on my hooves." She scuffed her hoof across the floor. "How are you planning on seeing if this had any effect on my magic?" Solaris smiled at her forwardness. "If you stand still, I have a spell that I can perform right now that will tell us how your magic is progressing in its recuperation." Twilight nodded, becoming still as a statue. Solaris chuckled and lit his horn. Twilight was encompassed in a yellowish glow. She stayed as still as she could until the spell was ended. "I am happy to report that this little episode of yours had little to no effect on you getting your magic back, my little pony. I will check up with you when your three month mark has passed. Do not attempt your spell before I come to see you, Twilight." The solar regent gave her a stern stare. "Of course, Solaris." Twilight nodded. Solaris's expression softened into a smile. "Good," he said, "I must be getting back to the castle then. Please tell the others of my departure when they awake." Twilight nodded again. Solaris spread his wings. "It has been awhile since I've used my wings for such a distance. It'll be nice to stretch them." And with that he took off, leaving a confused Twilight. He had just spoken to her in such a way that seemed...different. Wrong almost... "Twilight?" With a gasp, the purple unicorn mare spun around and found herself face to face with Dusk. Naturally, since Twilight was an early riser, Dusk would be too. "Did the Prince tell you whether or not your recuperation was going to stay on track?" "Yeah..." she replied, "He said it would be fine, and that he had to get back to Canterlot. He just left a minute ago, actually." She leaned around Dusk and looked inside the library. The others were all still asleep. "And you don't feel dizzy?" Twilight looked back over at him, slightly surprised at the question. "No, I feel fine." "No headache?" Twilight sighed, resigning to go along with it. "No." "And you're not too hot?" "No." "Too cold?" "No." "Too-" "Dusk!" she interrupted, "I'm fine. I said that I was fine." "Sorry..." he looked down at his hooves. "Don't be," Twilight replied, "You...well, we worry too much." The two unicorns shared an awkward silence for a moment. "Well, I'm going to go take a walk... I need to go think for awhile..." She trotted off down the stairs and out the door. "Twilight?" Dusk near whispered. He sighed, "We do worry too much, Twilight. I just wish you were bold enough to tell me when something was bothering you..." He turned around and looked over his still sleeping friends. His eyes wandered over all five of them, but lingered for a moment on one. Elusive. Twilight had spent so much time with him in her time here. Maybe she had told him something... Well, that could wait for the moment. Dusk trotted down the stairs and into the library's small kitchen, where he started making breakfast for them all. ________________________________________________________ Twilight sat at the lake, watching her reflection in the water. The edge of the water was starting to freeze, for winter was coming to Ponyville. It was supposed to snow soon. Fall had been been just starting when she had used the spell for the first time. A tear rolled off her cheek into a patch of unfrozen water, rippling her reflection. For a minute she imagined her friends all standing beside her, their faces reflected in the water, but the illusion vanished after a moment. She was so close. So very close... She had about a week until she could try to go back. She could be back in her own universe again. She just had to get through this one week. She had done over two months already. Why couldn't she seem to be able to fathom waiting a whole week to see them again? Well, there's always Rarity... Just talking to the alabaster mare didn't seem like enough, though. She wanted to be with them again. She had to be with them again. If she didn't, she expected that she would go insane. "Why did I even cast that stupid spell in the first place?" she whimpered to herself, "Why couldn't I have just let it go?" She sighed. "I didn't know that this would happen..." She sat in silence in front of the lake for quite awhile. She decided to move somewhere else when her hooves started to go a little numb from the cold ground. She sniffled from tears and the cold air. She trotted towards Sweet Apple Acres. The old barn there was warm inside, and nopony ever went in there. It would be the perfect place to collect her thoughts and stay relatively warm. She was just trying to sneak past the house, when a familiar orange colt came walking up the road. Spotting her, he galloped over. "Twiligh' Sparkle! I wasn't expectin' to se y'all around here. Whatcha doin'?" "Oh, I was just out for a walk, and...a-and...Haaah-...HaaaaaaahTCHPH!! Oh, my! It sure is chilly out today." She blushed, looking away from the work horse. "Eeyuup! Ya shouldn't be out here in the cold or you'll catch a cold yourself. I think a few o' the young 'un's already caught it this season. Y'all should get inside where it's warmer." He pointed to the old barn. "Reckon that's where y'all were headed? You can go on in if'n ya want. I'll make sure nopony bothers ya." "Oh, well... Thank you, Applejack." "Not a problem, Twilight." He watched her enter the barn before making for the house. He didn't want to be outside much longer than he had too. Applejack only wished that the old barn was warm enough for Twilight. Twilight settled herself into a bed of old straw and sighed. The straw was very soft and warm, and it reminded Twilight of the time that she and her friends had thrown a surprise arty for Pinkie in one of the Apple famlily's barns. The memory made her smile and cry at the same time. It felt like it had been an eternity since she had seen her friends. The purple unicorn snuggled deeper into the straw, and it's warmth and comfort made her sleepy. She rested her head on the straw and fell asleep.