The Son of infinity

by Krystl_Fae

Chapter 5: IDENTITY

A Rose By Any Other Name...

<<<5 minutes earlier - Canterlot Castle>>>
Andromeda

An...drom…eda...

Andromeda, 'to be mindful of ponies', that was the definition I had found. It was also the name Celestia and I decided on using, since I don't remember my original name, if I ever had one, nor do we know whom my parents are.

That wasn't the only thing we talked about though. My brain was still processing the conversation we had afterwards. I remember the gist of it; Celestia asked me how I saw her in a metaphorical sense, I replied with the truth, which was that I thought she was like a motherly figure, acting how a loving parent might act towards their child, and then.... my mind is still reeling from the word 'adoption'.

I mean, it’s already almost like we're a family despite the short time we’ve been together, despite how swiftly the topic was brought up after we had only recently met, but... could I live up to it? She's so kind, caring, and loving, and I'm just... some poor pony she found dying in the street. It was.... miraculous doesn't even begin to describe it. My life took a full 180 the moment she found me. If it wasn't for that... I don't know where I'd be now. I managed to tell her that I would think it over for a few days, to which she agreed. I could easily see the two of us being like a family, but... am I really good enough to be called her son?

That was when I heard the door open.

I nearly jumped for cover on instinct, before remembering our conversation this morning over Celestia’s niece Cadance coming over to keep me company for the day, and settled for hiding behind the back-rest of the chair I was sitting on, which faced away from the open door.

As the door closed, I took a small peek over the top of the chair to see just who Celestia's niece was and what she was like. Looks don't mean anything when it comes to how a pony truly is on the inside, but it can give hints at what life the pony lives and how they live it. After years on the streets, I had learned to pick up these tells quite quickly.

As Celestia stated before, she was about half a decade older than my approximate age… not that we really knew what that was; pink coat, pink mane and tail, just... pink. Obviously quite cheerful, a little cautious at the moment, likely because she was meeting me for the first time as well. It seemed she was quite intelligent, and if the highly groomed mane and tail had anything to say, was also a noble of some kind, but I could see the tell-tale marks that she had likely groomed them herself. All in all, just like a younger, more flamboyant, pink Celestia.

I tried pulling together what little scraps of bravery I have left and spoke to her. Then again, I guess the nerves might have also been because she was a filly around my own age.

"H-hello?"

My voice was weak, but still managed to grab her attention. She jumped slightly, and turned her head to look at me (to which I flinched and hid slightly more behind the couch; my instincts in overdrive from the fight-or-flight response racing through me).

"O-oh! Are- are you Andromeda? Aunty Celestia said to come up here and meet you."

She was nervous, though attempting to hide it, and was probably trying to think of the right thing to say so as to not scare me off like a frightened animal. Which I guess was the best way to approach the situation. I poked my head out a little bit more and nodded slightly. She let out a small sigh under her breath in relief, but I saw the movement anyway.

It was at this moment my brain messed up my speech patterns and relayed the wrong name "A-are you Cadenza?"

As soon as I realised my mistake I barely had enough time to get ready to do something when she giggled a little bit. I was expecting to have to correct myself or apologise profusely, but she just giggled at my mix-up.

I guess I'll have to get used to this.

"Everyone usually just calls me 'Cadance'."

“Uh- oh, I- I didn’t mean, um… sorry, Cadenz- ah! I uh, I m-mean-“

She giggled a little bit and smiled sympathetically at me, “It’s ok, you can call me Cadenza if you want.”

Now it was my turn to let out a small sigh of relief. I was overly worried there for a second. Now I just need to get through who knows how much longer of this and I'll be fine... hopefully.

Cadance

When I entered the room and he first spoke, all I could see was a small black muzzle, a short white mane, and two red eyes poking out over the top of the chair. When he mistakenly called me 'Cadenza', I giggled behind a hoof at his shyness and nervousness overtaking his logical thoughts. When I allowed him to call me that anyway, I heard the faintest sigh of relief. Not just any relief though, relief as if he was expecting all of Canterlot to come down on him from calling me that. Auntie Celestia had told me that she didn't tell him of her title or mine, but perhaps he found out? ...or maybe she wasn't exaggerating when she told me what he was like at first. The second idea was more than a little terrifying if that is how he has learned to act over the years.

I walked over to another chair in the room and sat down. He was now sitting down in the chair he was in as well, though he looked quite nervous.

"Is something wrong?" I asked out of concern. No normal pony I know of would act this way. Ponies were the most social creatures on the planet; to think of one going without proper social contact for as long as Andromeda did was nearly unheard of unless they were in a magical stasis the entire time.

In response, he just shook his head and muttered a silent "..n-no..". Something here was off, he was so quiet... too quiet. At Celestia’s school, all the other students his age would do nearly anything for a chance to talk with one another, even I had been guilty of that sometimes, and yet, here before me sat the most quiet colt I had ever seen, not saying a single word more than necessary. I needed to find a way to break him out of that shell.

<<<3 hours later - Canterlot Castle>>>
Andromeda

I could tell she was trying to get me to talk, but I just had too many doubts (what if she asks something I can't answer, how do I know what questions I should and shouldn't ask, how....). After many suggestions, we had finally settled on silently reading books. I had been slightly thirsty for a while now, though I didn't want to just suddenly get up and interrupt her reading, or ask her to get some water for me, it wouldn't be polite. But now I was quite parched and needed a drink.

I placed the book upside-down on the arm of the one-seater-couch I was on (with some difficulty) to preserve my progress, and hopped down off the couch, walking over to the small table holding the pitcher of water and several cups. Gently balancing on my back hooves, I used my front hooves and fetlocks to grab the pitcher and pour some water into an empty cup. After re-placing the pitcher onto the table and using the same technique to drink the water, I landed on all four hooves again and walked back over to the couch, jumping back up into position and resuming my reading... after fiddling with the book to get it back up the right way.

Cadance watched me the whole time, much to my embarrassment. She probably thought I was an idiot, with the way I held the pitcher and cup.

"Why don't you just use your magic?"

...or not.

I sat there after the question was asked, unsure how to respond. She probably noticed my nervousness and decided to drop it.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to; I was just curious. You're a unicorn with magic, yet you do everything by hoof. Even with your broken horn, it's like you're avoiding it deliberately, not even using it for the smallest tasks."

“I… I can’t…”

"Is... is it because of your broken horn? Are you unable to-"

"N-no..."

Seeing that that wasn’t enough to satisfy her curiosity, I add a little more.

"....it scares me."

"Oh..."

Not the whole truth, but the truth nonetheless. She doesn't need to know what I've been through. It happened so long ago that all I remember of it are the nightmares.

Those horrible, horrible nightmares....

I visibly shiver and slowly resume my reading from where I left off. Cadance notices my reaction, but says nothing of it.

I try to continue reading, but maintaining my concentration is near impossible. All I can think of is the nightmare. Bright, bright shining white... and... the furious... engulfing my vision... I try to run, but it clings to me like burning oil... It hurts, it hurts so-

"Are you alright?!"

Cadance snaps me out of my relapse, and I realise that I'm shaking, a few tears falling from my eyes.

"I-I th-think that's enough reading for t-today...."

I stutter out a quick answer and head into the room I share with Celestia. I don't need this right now, I have to clear my head. I move the covers over me as I lay there and drift off to sleep.

Cadance

That was new.

I ask him why he doesn't use magic, and then a few moments later he's as unsteady as a candle in a hurricane, pale as a sheet, and with tears brimming forth like a flood. This is obviously something bad. I thought it might have been his horn; but he said it wasn't, and I've heard of unicorns with even less of a horn that are capable of casting at least some basic spells. Something to do with magic must have happened to him in the past.

But what -or, who- could do such a thing to traumatise somepony so severely?

Maybe he messed up a spell? Perhaps he saw something traumatic happen, and now he doesn't use it because he remembers what magic is capable of? Perhaps it was even a spell that left him in such a state, lying in the streets of Canterlot.

I look through a crack in the door. Whatever it was, he's asleep now. I just hope he doesn't dream about it.

I sneak through the door and sit down on a chair near the unlit fireplace to continue reading. I place the book on the table and use my hoof to turn the pages. Whatever it is about magic that spooks him, it must be bad for him to react like this. He doesn't need me using magic around him as a constant reminder.

<<<5:14pm - Canterlot Castle>>>
Andromeda

I woke myself up from the grasp of sleep and looked over to the large grandfather clock on the far side of the room.

5:14

I had slept for more than 6 hours.. I wonder if Cadance has gone by n-

Never mind. She's over at the table reading another book. Though, she isn't using her magic and is instead perched on a precarious pile of pompous pillows (alliteration, one of the few things that brought life to my childhood in the streets), turning the pages with her hooves. It looks like she was laying on the couch, but could never get comfortable enough so she had to design her own out of pillows.

"Why.. aren't you using your magic to read?"

My question made her ears perk up and she turned to look at me.

"Well... after earlier.. I decided that you didn't need a constant reminder of whatever it wa- I mean; I decided I wouldn't use magic around you so you would feel more comfortable."

"....while I do appreciate the thought, it's ok. I'm used to others using magic around me, it's just my own that..."

I lower my head a bit as I say the last part.

"Well then! If you can't use magic, neither will I!"

I look up to Cadance. "What..?"

"Well it's not fair if I can use magic to do things and you can't, so I'm not going to use magic either! That way it'll be fair!" She nods to herself in conviction, still sitting on top of her mountain of pillows.

"..."

I didn't know how to respond to that.

Author's Note:

I’m trying to not go too fast with plot progression, but I want to get all the story points out ASAP (I detest writing filler). Tell me if you think I could improve anything!

Special thanks to Epyrios for pointing out mentions about Andromeda's broken horn. Instead of making too much clunky exposition in the story, I've decided to leave more detailed explanations for things I leave untouched in the Author's Notes.

Unicorns are known for occasionally breaking their horns. Minor chips and cracks are somewhat common, and can be healed over time by not expending any magic for a few days. Horns that have been broken off completely can be reattached, so long as all the pieces are there, through an extended healing process (including a horn cast, like one would get for a limb after breaking a bone). Even unicorns with broken horns or even shattered horns can cast some basic magic, however, if given time- so long as the horn root has not been removed from the skull (like how teeth have "roots", horns do as well. It was theorised that they were originally an external "tooth"-like appendage that was exposed over generations to enough magic that it became capable of conducting it).
For example; Tempest Shadow AKA Fizzlepop Berrytwist is also capable of basic-level telekinesis and other simple spells (i.e. AOE healing spells) that do not require containment fields (like a fireball spell, which requires a plasma-specific containment field).

Comments

[Revluc_The_Pony]

I like the expansion of the horn.

[EnderHooves]

she was about a decade older than my approximate age

I tried pulling together what little scraps of bravery I have left and spoke to her. Then again, I guess the nerves might have also been because she was a filly around my own age.

This story is fantastic so far! But I'm curious, they say she's a decade older, and yet approximately the same age. If you say that someone who's 60 and someone who's 70 have approximately the same age, sure. But 13(ish) and 20(ish)? That's nearly twice his age. Bah, everyone is a child to an immortal.

I really liked how you did Cadence here.