//------------------------------// // C7 - Not Without A Reson // Story: Trapped In Canterlot // by TartarusFire //------------------------------// No direction. Just alone for another day to brood. Except for the hooves coming closer to her door. Caedes closed the book and hid it under the nearest side of her blanket. Dragging the cloth over the rest of the secret prize, she laid back down on top of it, to have it go unnoticed. A minute later, the door opened, revealing the day’s meagre rations. The only difference between yesterday’s ‘medicine’ and this was that it was gray instead of black. Beckoning Caedes to move toward her, Empathy stood while holding the bowl slightly above the ground. Caedes looked up to grab the bowl. Silver eyes and gray coat. Empathy nodded as Caedes ate. Empathy was intent on making sure the food was eaten and not dumped into the toilet. After yesterday, they were on a razor’s edge. Noting that the bow was empty, she trolled over and stopped above her daughter. She waiting, wondering about nothing in particular. The bowl rose, and Caedes received a stroke on her mane. Both shivered from the unusual contact. Empathy took her leave, wondering why she had stroked her. She raced back to her book. Anything to get that touch out of her mind. She obviously didn’t care at all. No. None at all. She curled up, hugging herself in confusion. "Why?" Nothing else passed through her mind. Only why mattered. *** When did it all change? That wasn’t the proper question; she knew it had happened long before they were married. When did it matter? A better question she told herself, believing it was the ansewer to the most recent problem, but she was wrong. Why does it matter? The best question. It only mattered because some pony cared. It only mattered because they — no she, because she cared. There was no more they. It had ended yesterday. A stockpile was all that was left. How long would it last? What then? An untrustworthy sitter? Was it the right decision? Probably not. But it had happened so very regrettably. Never ending. It would never end. As long as she or one of us.. me exists, it will never end. They will come for her. They will not let her free. Unless they never come at all. Which scenario would happen? Metaphorically chained, existing while bound and watched, or would it be fleeing from the consequences of an undeniable urge, an urge shattering the conception of peace. Why would their gods forsake them? Laughter, enjoyment, reveling in the darkest form of Harmony? It didn’t matter why. Why did not matter. Why never mattered. How was only a temporary question. What will come of all this? A plague unto our lives currently, but how will it develop? Will it change into an insatiable drive? ... And what of me? What role do I play in this twisted game of Fate? Am I the sword, the shield, or the pawn? I can’t be a pawn, I’m her mother. No, Tracker was a pawn, only useful up until this point. Both our lives remain. Yet, I still care. This magic was supposed to take that away from me. Or is it simpler than caring? Is it just pondering how life has become this? So why? Why did I stroke her? *** "Just focus on the book," she told herself, "nothing else matters right now." She flipped the title page. "Page two. Self Dia-gn.. Diagn.. oh.. sis?" The word’s meaning eluded her. Feeling grumping from forgetting the dictionary, she lamely rose and walked the short distance to a rather thick book on the floor from where it had previously been used. Positioning it between her horn and on her forehead, Caedes managed to push it halfway before she stopped for a breather. Finally next to her blanket, she tipped over and lay on her back. "That was farther than it normally is..." Sounds of panting flowed around the room. Almost ready to give up before it had even begun, she nosed the dictionary open and rubbed her muzzle. "I feel like I’m going to have lots of paper cuts before I get much of anywhere in this new book." Thankfully ‘D’ was close to the top, so flipping to the page was easy. It was between Damage and Diphtheria, she was sure of it. "Di-a-gno-sis: A series of tests used to find error." Her eyelids drooped. "A series? That’s going to be in the ‘s’s..." She had called it. It was going to be a long day. "Sear-re-s: one after another, usually to describe an event." She frowned grimly. Tests were never a good thing. "Back to page two then." "These diagnoses are meant to find out how much aid you need. First off, prepare to levitate. You will need to time yourself, so have a clock nearby. This book is enchanted with a stress. The stress will increase over time if you are open to this page, so do not close it! Otherwise it will become just heavy enough to become annoyingly taxing. So, are you ready? Good. Levitate this book for as long as you can, and time yourself. When you are finished, turn to the next page for results" She murmured self-defeatingly, "Good thing I’m in the ‘s’ section. I need to find out what ‘stress’ and ‘taxing’ mean..." A small paper cut filled excursion later, and Caedes had enough information to know what she was about to do. The book was trying to test how much magic she had access to and how much effort she could use. Rarely using magic hadn’t helped her ability by any means, but with such small amounts, previously determined, almost any spell was impossible, including levitation. She humored the book. "Right... levitation... that worked out so well before." Magic swelled inside her—there wasn’t much of it. It came out of her horn, ensnaring the book. It wrapped around the side. Stress started building inside of her. There wasn’t anything left. Gasping, the aura surrounding half, if she were optimistic, of the book faded. Grabbing the sides of her head, she fell down in agony at the sudden headache. "Da-ang. Bo-ook! I—" she teared up, "I ha-aa-te you!" She kicked it, relishing in its fake agony. She managed to kick it to page three. "Well done, regardless of how well you might have done, Nice Pony. Here are the pages of Where you should go, based on how long you levitated this book. 15+ minutes: Wow, okay, you’re scaring me. 10-7 minutes: You really don’t need this. Enjoy your magical prowess. 7-5 minutes: Pages Four through twenty should suffice. 5-3 minutes: Pages Twenty-One to Thirty-Four will do. Less than 3minutes: Thirty Five to Forty-Three. You need some help. Good Luck!" She gaped at it. "I couldn’t even pick it up for even a second... Is it even possible for me?"