Chapter 10
The first thing that went through Twilight’s mind was just how quiet it was, the wind and rain from before gone. That though was followed shortly afterwards with the realization that she was awake. Her body was numb from horn to tail and wouldn’t respond to any of her commands. Twilight felt her heartbeat speed up as she strained to move even her eyelids and see what was going on. She managed a small slit but her lashes blocked any detail other than the soft light coming in on her from somewhere above.
Twilight groaned and felt more than saw, movement at her side. A shadow passed in front of her limited vision, a hoof gently smoothed her mane the way her mother used to on sick days.
“Stay still, Twilight. Go back to sleep, we’re safe here.”
Six years ago
Not for the first time, Twilight wondered why Princess Cadance hung out with her. Sure, they were classmates in Princess Celestia’s class at the School of Magi, but they weren’t the only students. Maybe it really was their similar ages? Cadance had the distinction of being the youngest student to ever be personally tutored by the Princess. That honor used to be Twilight’s claim to fame until the pink alicorn had arrived.
Of course, it was a special circumstance since Cadance was the first new alicorn in centuries.
They had gravitated toward each other almost immediately. Neither of them had many friends at the School or out of it, just family they saw during the holidays. Cadance, ever the more outgoing, broke the ice first by opening the class door right into Twilight’s face in front of Princess Celestia. That led to their first fight, which led to their first stuttering apology session - after their first stent in detention.
After that they had become fast friends, study buddies, confidants, and lab partners.
If anyone had asked her, Twilight would have said that Cadance was her best friend. But after their latest match of Dewey Decimal Hide and Seek in the Canterlot archives...she wasn’t sure. She needed to talk to someone about it. Obviously, Cadance was out. The Royal Sisters were busy and she wasn’t going to visit her family for another few weeks. That left Spike, and as much as she loved the little guy and respected his advice, this wasn’t something she felt he would be good at.
As with so many other things that initially confused her, it fell to books to pick up the slack in her knowledge. But which subject should she check? Biology? Physcology? Sociology? Twilight bit her lip. Perhaps that section in the archive on naval expenditures that hid Princess Luna’s romantic fiction?
She woke up in darkness this time, her mouth dry and throat sore. More feeling was returning her body and she could tell she was in a bed and covered with a blanket of some sort. It was soft and warm but the blanket felt as if it weighed a ton and smelled faintly herby. The air in...wherever...she was had similar hints of herbs and fragrant plants with an undercurrent of chemicals. Like an apothecary's.
Twilight grunted and got her eyes open for all it helped her. It was the middle of the night and everything was still. Twilight breathed deeply and licked at her mouth to wetten it again, letting her ears adjust to her surroundings. She could make out the faint hum and chirp of crickets, the call of an owl and the distant breathing of a large creature that was unmistakably Spike.
Twilight groaned as she shifted microscopically and let her eyes close as that drained her of energy again.
Six years ago
Deductive logic led her to the answers she was seeking. Cadance had called her a ‘Prince Charming,’ ergo, Twilight found herself in the foals’ section of the main library, sitting at a too low table surrounded by several stacks of books. Children’s Tales had never held her interest before but the more she read, the more she began to piece together the ‘rules of fairy tale chivalry and courtly love.’
Twilight was of noble birth herself and she knew these so called rules to be mostly hogwash and wishful thinking, but she could certainly see the draw. The Knight, the Lady, the Princess, and the Commoner were all roles she saw repeated over and over with similar traits that portrayed them as either villainous or virtuous. She could see that Cadance very much favored the Princess and Lady stereotypes with a bit of the rebellious Commoner thrown in for good measure.
Which made sense, given her low birth and then promotion to Princess by way of alicornination. Cadance also seemed the see the Knight stereotype within Twilight. A helper, a trusted advisor and stalwart defender. Obvious love interest.
Twilight blushed and set down the book she’d been reading. Was that what that kiss had been about? Cadance simply following through with the expectation that the Princess kisses the Knight that saves her? Was it all an act?
If it was, then why did it make her heart skip a beat when she thought about it?
Twilight pushed the book away and leaned back to look up at the vaulted ceiling above her. She sat there in silence for a moment before she gave a quiet voice to the question that was weighing heavily on her mind. “Do I like mares?”
“And so what if you do, my dear? I think this world could use more of us.”
Twilight startled and fell back with a yelp. She rolled over onto her belly and looked up at an older, molted yellow colored, mare wearing thick rimmed glasses and her mane tied up in a loose bun with chopsticks. “Wha? Miss Monarca? You mean you…?”
The librarian smiled, nodding with a conspiratorial wink. “Oh yes, young Miss Sparkle, I do. I even know what it’s like to have a mare confuse and excite you at the same time. I couldn’t help but notice what you’ve collected over here and came to see if I could offer you any advice. Given your whispered question, I’d say you could use it. I understand if you don’t want to talk about it, but I’ve found it’s always nice to know you aren’t alone when it comes to the plights of love and affection.”
Monarca smiled and picked up a few discarded books left unshelved by the children that had last spent time in the section, and stacked them in her green colored aura. “Don’t let me bother you, I just need to get these organized and back in their places. Just pretend I’m not even here.”
“Um, wait!” Twilight blushed and chuckled nervously as the librarian turned her way again. “Um… can I ask you something?”
“Of course, youngling. Haven’t I been helping you find answers in this place for years now?”
Twilight nodded and got to her hooves. “Well, it’s about Cad—Princess—Cadance. She called me a Prince Charming and kissed me yesterday because I woke her up in the archive. And I feel...I don’t know, funny about that. How am I supposed to feel?”
Miss Monarca held Twilight’s gaze silently for a moment, her face carefully neutral, then she leaned in close and whispered. “You got a kiss from a Princess. That is a treasure, Twilight Sparkle. Wars have been fought for as much in the past and will be fought again in the future for just a single kiss. Feel honored. Feel loved. Feel proud, and powerful, and complete for the Goddesses above have smiled upon you.”
Monarca leaned back and smirked. “At least, that’s how I feel when my Princess gives me a kiss.”
“Ok, I guess.” Twilight looked down at the soft carpet floor as she thought about the implications of what Cadance’s actions could mean.
Monarca hefted the books she’d picked up a moment before and patted Twilight gently on the head. “And a bit of advice from an old mare who’s loved and lost. Go talk to her. Don’t bottle it up or you just might become someone you don’t recognize in the mirror someday.”
Twilight nodded as the librarian’s green glow faded away with her hoofsteps. She knew what she had to do. Knights didn’t back down from challenges in the fairy tales Cadance liked and neither was she.
Twilight blinked her eyes to clear the sleep from them. It was light out again and someone was holding her head up.
“‘ere, drink t’is. It will ease your ac’es an’ give you energy.”
“Whe...where is Cady?” Twilight grimaced at the roughness of her own voice. How long had she been out?
“S’e is not ‘ere. S’e an’ a dragon are gat’ering supplies for te potions I make for you.”
Twilight forced her eyes to focus as a cold, sweet liquid was poured into her mouth. It proved hard to swallow and her tortured throat screamed in pain as it worked. She coughed as her head was laid back onto the pillow. Twilight’s stomach clenched and then eased as the drink settled and she could feel its coolness spreading out to her limbs a moment later.
“I know...you.”
“Yes. We meet again, Battlemage. Now sleep. You Princess return soon enoug’.”
Twilight kicked a pebble as she stood in indecision outside the door that would take her into the wing of the castle that held Cadance’s room. She’d stood there for almost ten minutes as the librarian’s words of advice echoed in her mind. The great clock bonged the hour and Twilight sighed, dinner would be soon. If she wanted to talk to Cadance, she had little time to do so before the Royal Sisters would be expecting them.
She pushed the door open and started up the stairs until she was on the third floor landing. Cadance’s room was at the end of the hall where the wing met the main body of the castle. Twilight walked slowly, thinking to herself about the coming conversation and how she could get through it without sticking her hoof in her mouth. She kept getting hung up at the part where Cadance started talking and Twilight wasn’t sure what she’d say back.
When Twilight rounded the final corner, she paused as Princess Celestia exited Cadance’s room, her face severe and serious. Celestia closed the door behind her softly and turned to trot briskly toward the deeper interior of the castle without pausing or looking her way. Twilight raised her hoof to call after the Princess when she heard a sniffle that came from within. She wondered for a moment if she should knock but then she pushed the door open and stepped inside.
“Cady?”
Cadance sat on her bed, her head hung and tears running down her cheeks when Twilight entered. She looked up and sniffed. “Oh Twily, it’s not fair.”
“What’s the matter? I just saw Princess Celestia come out.” Twilight walked up to Cadance’s bedside and took a seat. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh Twily, I’m leaving Canterlot!”
It was darker when she woke up again, but her body felt nominally better than it had. Twilight sighed and blinked with considerably less effort than last time. She smiled when she saw Cadance, looking tired and a bit ragged herself, standing next to her bed. When she spoke, her voice was gravelly but her throat felt close to normal. “I thought it was the Prince Charming that woke the Princess, not the other way around.”
Cadance blinked at Twilight for a moment, her eyes tearing up as she smiled with relief. “Weirdo.” Cadance shook her head and pulled the blanket back as she slipped into the bed and her Twily’s arms.