//------------------------------// // 7: Breakfast in E Major // Story: Inverno in F Minor // by CrackedInkWell //------------------------------// The guard by Inverno’s side as he walked through the crystal halls didn’t help him feel any better. The colt himself had caught the guard giving him a certain look a few times as he was escorted through the labyrinth of the palace. It wasn’t one of those weird looks, nor was it warm, but the look that the sea-green crystal guard was giving him was a cold one. While the guard himself didn’t say a word to him, Inverno knew what that look meant. After all, he had seen his father give that look before, whenever any of the slaves messed up. 'Why are you still living?' His escort’s eyes seemed to ask. Inverno was lead into a room that was big enough to fit his organ several times over. There were high ceilings and tall vaulted windows that looked out to the Empire below. In front of him were the three alicorn princesses, as well as the one prince, dining at a table together. One vacant pillow sat in between Shining Armor and Celestia, the feather cushion expecting him. Cadence was the first to notice the colt in the room. She gave him a welcoming smile, “Good morning,” she said, “Care to join us?” He took a moment to glance around the room; he found that the only other ponies in the room beside the royals and himself were a couple of maids that were kept at a safe distance from him. Beside them was a cart that held several shiny domes in several sizes. Inverno trotted up to the empty seat and took his place amongst them. “What would you like this morning?” Celestia asked after sipping her cup of tea. Inverno’s stomach roared loudly, and he realized at that moment that he had hardly eaten anything since... he couldn't remember when was the last time he ate. Looking at their plates, he saw pancakes soaked in dark maple syrup, eggs on toast with a side of fruits that he couldn’t identify, and a bowl of soup that had chunks of vegetables swimming in a yellow broth. And there was Luna’s plate, holding a plate of noodles with a red sauce; this was confusing to Inverno because when, or if he ever got pasta, it was always a dinner item. So naturally, he asked, “How come… what’s your name again?” “Luna,” she answered. “How come Luna is eating pasta? Isn’t it something that you would eat for dinner?” The princess of the night nodded, “Quite, we can see thy confusion, for we do not blame thee, most ponies that see us dine are often baffled as well. Ye see, we art nocturnal most of the time, that is unless Cel hast us to be awake early for either court or some emergency.” The young unicorn blinked, “Nocturnal?” “She means that she’s awake during the night and is asleep all day,” Shining explained before taking a bite of his toast. “So in a way, her order in eating is a bit backward.” “Oh… Why didn’t she say so?” Inverno commented, looking back at the bowl of strange fruit on Shining Armor’s plate. “What’s that?” “Uh?” Shining asked, looking to what the young unicorn was pointing at. “Oh, it’s a fruit salad.” When Inverno gave him a blank look, he explained: “It has pieces of bananas, raisins, some watermelon, apples, marshmallows, strawberries…” Shining trailed off when Inverno’s expression didn’t change. Using his magic, he lifted the little bowl over to him. “You know what, just try some.” At first, he stared at the bowl for a moment before picking the bowl in his red aura to examine it closely. After sniffing it a few times, he focused his magic on one particular piece of fruit that was mostly white, has a round edge and two nearly flat sides along with a slimy like texture. After putting it in his mouth and gave it a few chews, the flavor was as unrecognizable as the fruit itself. There was sweetness, almost creamy but not quite. He repeated this with some of the other ingredients in the bowl, examine and taste. Finally, after going through each one, he tilted his head back and let the salad fall into his mouth. “Looks like somepony is going to need a few lessons in manners,” Cadence commented, amused. “Would you like more?” When he said that he would, the maids in the room dished up another bowl for him to consume. “Inverno,” Celestia started, trying to engage a conversation with him, “Do you mind if I ask you something?” The colt looked up from his bowl, pieces of the salad stuck to his face. “Do you remember a few days ago, when you heard about your father’s passing and got angry?” Inverno took a moment to swallow before answering, “Of course I do. Why?” “Do you recall that the crystal floor beneath you creaked?” The colt nodded but didn’t understand where she was going with this. “My question here is this: How did you break the floor like that?” The young unicorn scratched the back of his head, “Um… I’m not sure. But it has happened before whenever I get mad. Papa said I should learn to control my temper because whenever I do get angry, really angry, things around me just break. I could remember how not only the floor and walls creak, but sometimes a bunch of stuff too. Like the time that when I was playing on the organ and Papa told me to go to bed. I didn’t want to, and I got so mad that my hooves broke the keyboard. “Sometimes, if I get incredibly angry, things tend to break without me touching them! Like I remember this one time where a sla… pony kept messing up with everything I told It to do. I got so angry, I thought about crushing It. Then suddenly, that sl- pony, scared me because It did something that none did before, it screamed.” The dining room became quiet but Inverno added, “I watched It, grew smaller until it made a mess. I’m not exactly sure what it was that leaked out, but Papa was really surprised by this. Since then, he told me that I really must ‘watch my anger.’ But I don’t know why it happens though.” Luna was the first to speak after a shocked pause, “And this pony, did he or she live?” “Yeah,” Inverno nodded, “It did whine and moved funny until Papa came in.” After taking another mouthful of the salad he asked: “Uh, you know since Papa’s gone, what should I do now? I mean, I don’t have any more music to copy, and Papa hasn’t taught me how to be a king because he said I wasn’t old enough.” “An excellent question,” Cadence nodded, finishing up her pancakes. “As well as an interesting point, considering that you’ve pointed out that you’re too inexperienced to rule. So tell us, how good are you at the organ? I imagine that it must be difficult to play.” Inverno shook his head, “No, not really. I know how to play it, as well as read music. After all, I learned how to read music before I learned the alphabet. Besides, I’ve written some music, too.” “But what about all the music you’ve copied?” Shining asked, “I mean, why have you copied a mountain of music for?” “Because Papa said that I should know music better than anyone in the whole kingdom,” Inverno answered. “He told me that, ‘Music is the greatest tool to influence a kingdom.’ In that, it's so powerful that if I do it just right, I could control what others think, feel, and do when music is playing. So he told me that he banned all music in the Empire, to be wiped out. But before he did, he brought me some of the good music for me to copy so I can study them. So I can find out what made them so good before he takes the originals away. Are you going to make me copy music?” “Oh no,” Cadence shook her head, “We’re not going to do that. If anything, the musicians here in the Empire, whether they admit it or not, owe a debt to you for saving its music from being lost forever. If it wasn’t for you making all of those copies, our ponies’ favorite songs might have been long forgotten.” Inverno tilted his head, “Really?” Cadence nodded. “Although,” Celestia said, getting up from her seat, “I do think that you should still be educated, not just in music, but in other subjects as well. Going to a public school outside of the palace is out of the question, for I fear they will mistreat you. So I will send a hoofful of tutors to you until the Empire’s feelings subside. Although, before we return to Canterlot, I’m rather curious about your musical skills. Would you mind playing something for us before we depart?”