I cleared my throat. "So uh... Lily." I cleared it again, looking around awkwardly. "Do you like tea?" When she started nodding frantically I sighed in relief, at least we could bond over one similar interest. "Doctor Cornf–" I cringed at her radically transformed expression. Gone was the excitement, instead replaced with livid fury. "C–Count Chocolate?" I very quickly corrected to my host's delight as she continued to sneak around the room in the dark.
"Yes, Your Highness?" He responded.
"Starbutt!" Lily quickly corrected, throwing a stray boot at the door in anger.
"Yes, er..." He hesitated. "Your Starbutt–ness?"
I stifled a giggle. "Could you bring us some warm tea?"
He agreed and quickly left. Likely due to embarrassment at calling a princess Starbutt. I had to admit however, it had a nice ring to it. If I weren't already named, I would've loved that name I think. "So! Lily, what do you like to do for fun?"
She quickly shook her head, her tiny wings giving a weak flap as she grabbed and hung from the loft railing bars. "No funnies in here, Starbutt. This is a bad place." She climbed up it, literally turning sideways as she clambered towards me. "It's a huge risk just talking to you, but I love you." She whispered, pushing her emotionless face right into mine, crushing our noses together. "I want to know everything about you, so it's worth it."
I felt the sweat drop down the back of my neck as I inched backwards, suddenly very uncomfortable. "That's ah..." I laughed unintentionally, a reflex to feeling this awkward. "I'm not so sure I..." I coughed, ducking under her and quickly escaping to the other side of the room. "I'm not so sure that's appropriate, Lily!" I blurted out, my wings ruffling as fight or flight instincts wanted to kick in. Particularly the flight ones. "Lets just steer away from this topic, okay? Okay!" I proceeded to giggle as I glanced around the room, smiling brightly as I cheerfully removed my hoof from the from the awkwardly damp papers on the ground. "I see you like drawing." I remarked, looking over the walls.
"Mhm!" She bound to the floor and climbed up a stack of cover–less books, plucking a page from the wall. "Here!" I quickly caught the fluttering page she threw at me, turning it to see... Something.
"It's..." I studied it. "Beautiful?"
She slipped under me and pointed at it. "It's my kidney!" She grinned as she shifted her protective clothing to show a strange discoloration on her side. "One of mine was taken out so I drew it from memory." She traced the jagged line trailing her side. On the outside I just grinned wider, only to stop my internal retching. That was not something I really wanted to know, but oh well! "Is it accurate?" She looked the drawing over again.
"That's nice!" I pinned the drawing back to the wall.
"Your Starbutt–ness?" I galloped over to the door. "I have your tea."
"Oh wonderful! Please, uh... Bring it in." I glanced at Lily again.
She bounded over and pressed against the door. "Count Chocolate? Are you ready?"
"Yes, I am."
She unlocked the door and climbed up a stack of books, holding a particularly large one in her hooves. "Enter." She pulled the door open with a sheet rope, wearily watching him walk in backwards. For moment I feared she'd pounce him and try to kill him with the book, but thankfully she just watched until the door was shut. She sighed in relief, hoping down and staring right in his face. "It's safe." She said as she pulled another hat from under her loft, smacking it on his head.
He opened his eyes, taking her antics in stride. "Your tea." He bowed to me slightly as I levitated the tea from his back. I glanced around for a place to put it, but holding it in my magic was the easiest solution.
"Thank you." I smiled sincerely to him as he stood back up.
"No problem, Princes–I mean Starbutt." He looked down at our tiny host, watching from afar. "And how's my patient today?" She stuck her tongue out at him, causing him to laugh. "That's good. Have you been sleeping well or do I need to change the medicine again?" He crouched down, trying to be on eye level with her.
She sighed, "I told you, I don't need any medicine for sleeping! It doesn't help." While they were talking I busied myself with preparing the tea. I sat aside two cups, placing a sugar cube at the bottom of each before pouring the tea over them. I grinned at the steam wafting up, I love the feeling of searing hot coffee running down my throat, it's better than a Pinkie Pie hug. I shivered as a cold chill danced down my spine. I found myself nervously looking down for a moment before I changed my thoughts to 'it's almost better than a Pinkie Pie hug'.
I stirred them before handing the cup down to Lily. She took a small sip, her pupils shrinking as she stared at the cup. I ignored it, looking at the Doctor. "So Count Chocolate, how long have you been–" Lily screamed, throwing the cup of tea nearly in my face. Instead she missed, splashing it across Doctor Cornflakes' face. As he yelled and clutched his face in pain I looked between them rather confused. "What's wrong?!"
She bound across the room, grabbing things and throwing them at me. Books, stuffed toys, paper all bounced harmlessly off my magic as I just stared at her. "You traitor!" She grabbed the large book from earlier, struggling to lift it over her head. "You tried to poison me! That tea tasted wrong and I saw you!" She hissed, throwing the book barely far enough to not crush her hooves below. "Putting the poison in it, you–you..." She shook her head, nearly biting her tongue as she growled and babbled. "Princess Twilight Sparkle." She stomped before whispering the words out like rabid foam.
And so we waited there, staring at each other in dead silence. Doctor Cornflakes held a hoof over his eye, not daring to make another noise as he watched us both. She suddenly looked around. "Princess Twilight Sparkle!" She yelled out, looking around her room in confusion. "Of Friendship!" She added with another stomp, her expression turning from rage to terror.
"Lily?" Cornflakes asked quietly.
She didn't even glance at him, her eyes kept shifting left to right. "Princess Twilight Sparkle!" She screeched to the room, backing herself into a corner. Me and Cornflakes shared a glance before looking back at her. "Why?! Kill her! Kill her, kill her, kill her!" Sobs racked from her as she hid between her hooves in the corner. "You know her name..." I barely heard her now as Cornflakes started to walk closer to her. She had curled into a ball, muttering and whispering to her stomach. "You... know..."
Doctor Cornflakes removed his hoof from his eye, wincing before closing it again. He reached down to her slowly, "Lily... Calm down, okay? Nothing's going to hurt you." When he placed his hoof on her head and tried to pet her, she only smacked his hoof away. He looked back at me with his one eye and frowned. "I'm sorry, Princess. But I think we need to leave her alone for a little bit. She needs some time to cool off I think." He cast another glance down to her before walking over and opening the door.
I frowned as well, gathering the shattered cup up in my magic before leaving the room.
«♦»
“Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up”
― Veronica Roth