Inverno in F Minor

by CrackedInkWell

32: Starting Over in B Major.

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Prince Shining walked into the infirmary; he didn’t have to ask where Inverno was since he was the only one with the curtains drawn. He walked up to the bed and said, “Hey, Kid?”

“What do you want?” Inverno moaned.

Shining went to draw one of the curtains back and got a good look at the state the colt was in. Where bandages didn’t cover, he found black and blue bruises that dotted his body. Inverno rolled over his back, but not without giving a painful whine.

“Hey, take it easy.”

“What do you want?” Inverno asked in an annoyed tone.

“Look, I know that I’m the last pony you probably wanted to see-” the Prince began, but was cut off as Inverno’s horn lit up, drawing the curtains back.

“I don’t, now go away.”

Shining forced the curtain back open, “Just listen for a sec, okay. Look, I know you’re having a bad time here. And yeah, what some of our citizens had done was a bit uncalled for.”

“Uncalled for?” Inverno sat up, “Those animals nearly killed me!”

“But they did that out of ignorance. They didn’t know that what they were doing back there was wrong.”

The young unicorn narrowed his eyes, “You know, I’ve been wondering for a long time why Papa had done all those horrible things to them. I couldn’t figure out why he would hurt those Crystal ponies, but after what they did to me, I think I get it!”

For a moment, after the colt slumps down on the bed, Shining sighed, “Look… Inverno,” the young unicorn turned to him, “You can’t just write off an entire group of ponies from one bad experience. Grant it, what happened to you was both cruel and unfair, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be like that to them back. Look, my dad told me once, ‘You can’t understand another pony unless you try to imagine their point of view. Walk around their horseshoes for a bit, try to see why they do what they do.’ Heh, I guess it’s something that even I’m still learning.”

“But why did they do that?” Inverno asked, “I didn’t do anything to them. Heck, all I wanted was to see what it’s like outside of the Palace. I wanted to know what that green stuff was, what those ponies do,… and the music was the best of all. That was all I want. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, and the Professor gave that to me. But what do I end up getting? A beating for stepping outside. It-…” here, the pail unicorn began to tear up, “It’s not fair! I wanted to give them something to apologize from what Papa had done! I wanted to be free! I wanted them to see me other than an animal! It’s not fair! It’s not fair at all!”

Shining sighed, picking up a corner of Inverno’s blanket with his magic and whipped away his tears. “In a way, you’re right. Truth be told, neither of us has any idea what we’re doing. On the one hoof, we’re trying to keep you safe from harm. On the other, however… The Professor did have a point. You’re still a kid. And kids need a little bit of freedom I guess, something that, I honestly have no idea how to give.”

Inverno sniffed, “I wished you could have told me that earlier.”

“Perhaps, I mean, I have dwelt with a baby sister before. Twiley was always a difficult pony to handle.”

“And me?”

“Well… I guess it’s a little trickier to relate to-”

“Why? Is it because of my eyes?”

The Prince hesitated before answering, “In a way. You really do have your Dad’s eyes, but at the same time, you’re surprisingly not as cruel as him. Which I guess it’s considered a good thing. But, it’s harder to relate to, because we have completely different interests. You’re obsessed with music and I’m with military strategy and a few nerdy things here and there.”

“Well, couldn’t you have at least tried?” the young unicorn asked, “At least Professor Key was trying to get to know me and a little bit from Cadence.”

Shining nodded, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to start over?”

He tilted his head, “Start over?”

“I mean, just pretend that we’re meeting again for the first time, to start it all again from scratch.”

Inverno looked over to the side in thought, after a minute, he lifted a bruised hoof up to him. “Uh... hello... I’m Inverno, who are you?”

Smiling, Shining shook the colt’s hoof, “Prince Shining Armor, or just Shining.”

“Hey Shining,” Inverno said, cracking a smile, “Say, do you know what’s going to happen to the Professor? Is he going to teach me still?”

“Do you really want him to?” the Prince asked, “He pretty much messed up a lot today.”

“But he didn’t mean to, I wanted to see what it was like outside. Plus, I guess he’s a good teacher, and he took me out as an apology from tearing up my music. So please, don’t make him leave.”

“I will talk with Cade tonight, so we’ll see what to do with him. Perhaps we might give him another chance, but we need to talk it out before we could settle on anything.”

“Oh…”

There was an awkward silence for a moment, Shining tried to figure out what to talk about next when a question came to his mind, “So… why music?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, why do you have this fascination with music?”

“Oh,” Inverno thought for a moment, “Tell me, what does music do?”

Shining tilted his head, “What does it do? Well… I guess it helps uplifts your spirits.”

The colt snorted, “That’s stupid. If you hear some dancing music, what do you do?”

“Dance?”

“And when you hear a march, what do you do?”

“March.”

“And if you hear coronation music?”

“Well… You honor those who ascend to power.”

Inverno nodded, “That is what Papa has told me, ‘Music my son,’ he told me, ‘Is powerful because once you hear good music, it can make you do things that magic can’t explain. Those who listen don’t have a choice but be taken under the spell of the composer. It keeps order, and tells ponies in how to behave.’ But for me, I don’t need to look at art because whenever music is playing, I can see it change and move. And since I can see it, I can know how to make it perfect to make it clearer.”

“You are one, strange little colt,” the Prince commented.

Comments

[SageBrony07]

Go Shinning. Its good to know Shinning realizes he made a mistake. Great job. Good luck with the next chapter.

[unit529]

Hey found a soda stand (takes a look) darn they only have pepsi and sprite... Well beggars can't be choosers. (Takes one)

[Luckyfanisaac]

“It’s not fair! I wanted to give them something to apologize from what Papa had done! I wanted to be free! I wanted them to see me other than an animal! It’s not fair! It’s not fair at all!”

This song is a good fitting for this situation.Starting at 0:21

[Luckyfanisaac]

“Do you really want him to?” the Prince asked, “He pretty much messed up allot today.”

Correction:“Do you really want him to?” the Prince asked, “He pretty much messed up a lot today.”

[Luckyfanisaac]

Shining nodded, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to start over?”
“Start, over?”
“I mean, just pretend that we’re meeting again for the first time, to start it all again from scratch.”

Reminds me of barnstein bears episode.