Chapter 9: A Taste of Normalcy
“Umbrella at your side, it’s raining but you close it tight…” I hum nearly inaudibly, subtly bobbing my head up and down before noticing two castle staff passing by me with phones in both of their claws.
“‘And how are you?’ purred a cat just passing through.”
I nearly shy away when I spot a sharp glare from one of the passing griffins out of the corner of my eye. A small wave of anxiety crashes through my body and I take a shaky breath while running a hoof through my mane.
Just ignore them, just ignore them, and I’ll be fine. I gotta listen to that song again, maybe it’ll take my mind off of everything. Wait, now that I think about it…
I let my shoulders drop, allowing my muscles to relax.
Holy fuck am I tense.
Shaking my head, I make a right down another very familiar, and somehow still completely foreign, hallway. My gaze focuses on a plethora of sun rays spilling in from a sliding glass door farther down.
Finally, here we go. Lesson two.
I chuckle to myself.
Dear Princess Celestia, today I’m gonna get fucked today during spellcasting. Signed, an incompetent fool.
Yeah, like I could ever be as good as Twilight in spellcasting.
No, but Twilight’s the exception. No one is ever going to be as good as her.
I shake my head before finally stepping out into sunlight…and immediately squinting my eyes to the point where I can just barely make out where I’m going.
Fuck, I need to get out and touch grass more. Actual fucking incel right here.
Taking the small stone path out to a remote corner of the garden, I’m finally able to properly make out my surroundings by the time I can also see a relatively small outcropping coming into view. A distant, staccato chorus then draws my attention.
“Hey!” Cadence calls out.
“Sup, how’s it going?” I reply while panning my gaze across the sectioned-off area.
Two large oak trees sit at either side of the other end of it, which itself is enclosed by a small hedge. Cadence is sitting beneath one of the trees with a book in her magical aura and her mane tied up in a ponytail, likely to keep the flowing mess of vines out of her face.
But I’m not allowed much time to contemplate how adorable she looks as I follow her piercing gaze to the other oak tree across from her. Under said tree sits Celestia, still scrolling and tapping away at her phone, oblivious to the incessant and vigorous throat clearing by Cadence.
I can barely contain my laughter.
“Hey, Celestia! How’s it going?” I call out a bit louder than Cadence as I walk over to her.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Holy shit, this mare.
“Ay yo! Sunny Side Up!”
Like the snap of a griffin’s claw, she throws her head up and magicks her phone away.
Heh, guess you can say ‘Celestia only knows where her phone went.’
Sometimes, I’m just a comedic fucking genius.
I shake my head and smile.
“Smh Ce-”
“What did you just call me?” She asks, her eyes boring into my soul.
Oh fuck.
“Uh, sorry, that came out of me without thinking.”
Oh shit oh fuck oh shit oh fuck oh-
But the harmony of an overlay of laughter breaks me out of my storm when I’m hit with both Celestia and Cadence’s laughter.
Oh, fuck these mares.
“So you ignore me and then laugh at me?” I ask, raising my tone in mock offense and raising a hoof to my chest.
“It was simply a joke, my little pony.”
I have to restrain an eye roll.
“I know, I was messing with you, too,” I reply, smirking. Celestia bows her head for a moment, smiling, before bringing it back up to face me.
“My apologies, Mezzo, I seem to have lost track of time.”
I smile.
“It’s alright, Celestia, you did say that you have a hard time pulling yourself away from your work, so no need to apologize. ‘We all have our flaws’, I believe you said.”
“True, I did say that, but it does not excuse my actions.”
“Then can we not excuse my stammering?”
“Your stammering is not something you can help.”
“Technically, I sort of can, but are your work habits something you can help?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, they are.”
“Really? So you weren’t forced to develop such stringent work habits from your millennium of ruling alone? O-or just ruling a country in general?”
“Please stop arguing, we’re not getting anywhere with this,” Cadence interjects, suddenly right next to us. “You’re here to learn and teach spellcasting, not figure out who is most at fault for something.”
“You’re right, Cadence. My apologies,” Celestia states.
Ah, fuck, I sorta got carried away there. But she shouldn’t blame herself!
“Sorry, you’re right.”
Maybe…
“How about you stop apologizing about things beyond your control, and I do the same. At least to each other.”
Celestia pauses for a moment, bringing a hoof to her chin.
“Mezzo, what did I just say?” Cadence asks, her voice scarily level.
Uhhhhh, abort?
“What? I’m trying to broker a peace treaty.”
“That sounds fair,” Celestia says finally, drawing our attention and allowing Cadence to take a step back.
“If you can make the effort to not apologize for your stammering, then I’ll make the effort to not apologize for my work habits. But-”
I close my mouth.
“-Only on the condition that we both strive to do better next time,” She finishes, putting a hoof out.
Doing better next time? Sounds like my life in a fucking nutshell. That’s, like, half of what I worry about. Usually.
“That’s agreeable. Deal,” I state, putting my hoof and shaking Celestia’s. Cadence takes the opportunity to walk back to her tree and continue her reading.
I should ask about what she’s reading later.
“Anyway,” I start, sitting down in the shade. “We got off track, let’s just run the gauntlet again.”
I clear my throat and continue speaking before Celestia can.
“Hey, Celestia, how’s it going? Are you ready to continue my spellcasting lessons?” I ask with an overexaggerated level of enthusiasm before chuckling.
“I’ll let you call me Sunny Side Up for the day if you want.”
What? Actually, fuck it. I’ve been doing too much thinking lately.
“Sure, so lemme rephrase that. Hey Sunny Side Up, how’s it going? Are you ready to continue my spellcasting lessons?”
I smirk when Celestia fails to hide a chuckle.
“Yes, I am ready. Today, we’re going to start with basic levitation: one of the simplest spells in the book.”
“Alright.”
“Now, you need to focus and stay calm. Negative emotions will be your enemy when actually casting any kind of spell.”
I nod.
“Now, see that stick right there?” She asks, pointing a hoof to a small, thin, brown stick about three inches from my right hoof.
“Yep.”
“Close your eyes and focus on that stick. For right now, pour a small amount of magical energy into it and imagine the stick moving. We’ll get into more efficient ways to cast levitation later.”
I nod again and close my eyes.
Clear my thoughts. Focus on my heartbeat. Or the slight breeze.
How am I supposed to dea-
I should listen to that s-woosh.
What’s Cade-woosh.
The sun-woosh.
Woosh.
A small stream of blue emerges from a cloud cover.
A small stream of blue jettisons out into my surroundings.
It’s approaching the stick like the stray end of a vine in a violent windstorm.
Almost there.
The stream gets thicker. A small pressure starts to form in my head.
What?
A geyser erupts from the cloud cover. My head starts to throb.
What the fuck!
Roaring like a tidal wave, the geyser expands, getting thicker and thicker, until the pressure in my head is too much.
The next thing I know, I’m lying on my back staring up into a rainbow of colors. My head is throbbing and my chest is killing me. It feels like someone took a sledgehammer to my ribcage.
My ears are ringing, but I can just barely register something in the background trying to break through.
What the fuck?
The ringing in my ears starts to subside. I try to muster up the strength to bring a hoof to my forehead, but something stops me and my hoof falls limp. I can make out voices now, cutting through the ringing with their pleasant tone and soothing timbre.
“Mezzo! Mezzo!” Cadence whisper-yells at me.
Oh so, that is her above me. Wait…
“Why are the branches tinted yellow?” I croak as my vision finally comes fully into focus.
Cadence sighs.
“Something went wrong while you were casting the spell. We’re not sure what exactly, but-”
“Did I fuck up the spell?”
“No, you didn’t mess up the spell, but we’re not sure why it happened.”
Yeah, I definitely fucked that up.
“What exactly happened?” I ask as I readjust myself.
Why does the ground feel softer than normal?
Oh wait, that’s just Cadence.
“You caused a minor explosion due to a sudden and large release of magic.”
I sigh.
Fuck me.
“Oh, woohoo,” I say, my voice as dry as the Appoloosan desert. Which isn’t hard given how I can now feel how dry my throat is. “I blew up again. My favorite. I assume the tint is Celestia’s shield spell?”
Cadence nods.
“Yep, she threw it up quickly enough to prevent any major damage to you, but you’ll still likely suffer from slight magical exhaustion after this.”
I nod.
“And you haven’t teleported me down to medical yet because…”
“Because we need to check you in like any other castle staff, and teleporting you in your current state would likely just make it worse, no matter how good we’ve gotten at it.”
“Fair point,” I drag out of my vocal cords along with a pained grunt as I adjust myself again. “Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. Can you walk?”
I try to muster up the strength to move my hoof again. I end up flimsily swinging it around in front of me before letting it flop to the ground.
“Barely.”
“Alright, I’ll carry you out,” Cadence says, slightly exasperated.
Ah great.
“Thanks,” I say as I feel myself briefly become weightless. “And sorry for causing all of this.”
“No problem, Mezzo. And again, it’s not your fault.”
I wrap my hooves around her neck.
Kind of seems like my fault, and your tone ain’t helping, chief.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
“Yep!” I call out, my voice barely muffled by the mountain of sheets and comforters I’m under.
With a soft click, my bedroom door opens and surprisingly doesn’t squeak on its hinges. Cadence pops her head in through the doorway. Once she makes eye contact with me, she fully walks into my room with a plastic tray full of food and a water cup suspended in her soft blue magical aura. Annoyingly, I catch my gaze lingering a bit too long on her still-present ponytail.
Fuck off! Stop staring, creep!
“Hey, how’re you feeling?” She asks, her melodic voice ringing out slightly across my room. It brings a slight smile to my face.
I peel myself out of the covers and sit up a little.
“Bit better. Not as light-headed as before and I c-can think straight again. I think,” I say with a grin.
“That’s great to hear. I brought you some dinner,” She smiles while raising the tray a little in front of her.
“Thank you so much. Thanks for dealing with me, I really appreciate it,” I say as the tray slowly floats over and plops itself into my lap.
I know I’m a fucking hoofful of a foal to deal with given I’m just spending my days here leeching instead of doing anything to help.
And then I guess I’d be hypocritical if I didn’t acknowledge what I said to Cadence the other day during breakfast. But it’s not like they’re my trusted loved ones or anything. I can only assume it’s out of a sense of obligation or something.
“Although why didn’t you just send one of the staff up here with my food? That seems infinitely easier, no?”
Cadence frowns slightly and I can’t help but feel like I’ve said something wrong. Like that foreboding feeling you get right after you say something you definitely should’ve thought through more and you start to panic a little.
“Because I wanted to check up on you.”
Fuck me! I’m such a fucking idiot, holy shit!
“Right, sorry. I, uh, shouldn't have said that,” I reply, lowering my voice.
“Why would you expect that from me?” She asks, her eyes a little wider and eyebrows just a little scrunched up.
“Because that’s…”
I slouch slightly.
What I would do to me.
“...I dunno, I guess that’s just my immediate thought process. Sorry.” I nearly whisper that last part.
For a long moment, she just stands there, staring at me as if I were the world’s largest puzzle and I feel a pit start to expand in my stomach.
Oh wait, she’s still just standing there. Standing there. Another fucking dumbass move by me. And here I am more concerned about how uncomfortable this silence is making me.
“So, uh, are you staying?”
“Maybe.”
“Then, uh, have a seat. You can use my desk chair to roll around if you want. Sorry, I should’ve said that earlier, I got distracted.”
“It’s alright,” she starts with some concern lacing her melodic voice as she makes her way over to my desk chair. “I got distracted too.”
I nod before I finally start to eat the food she brought me. Thank fuck it’s just light spaghetti. I don’t think my stomach would be able to handle anything heartier.
“So, what do you do all day in here when I’m not dragging you around?”
I chuckle, like when you just let a small breath out of your nose.
“Uhh, nothing important, really. I’m actually grateful you drag me around since my job was usually the only reason I got out of my apartment. Normally, I’m just playing video games, reading, or practicing.”
“That’s it? You’re not talking with your friends or going outside?”
I shake my head.
“Nah. I used to get outside more but I’ve been losing motivation to actively exercise since college. Both my major and my current job usually keep me inside which, I’m sure, is a negative feedback loop at this point. Er, negative positive feedback loop. As for my friends, mostly no. The only time I talk to them is like once every two weeks or so when I remember to message them and check up on what they’re doing. Other than that, nothing.”
“That’s sad.”
Pffft, okay. Sure.
“Damn, blunt much?”
“No, I didn’t mean that as an insult. I mean, creatures are usually happier when they’re around others.”
No, really? Everything Mom ever told me, all those NetMeTube videos I watched and extrapolated from, and my own personal experience thoroughly drilled that into my head.
“True.”
I look up from my long, slender, wheaty goodness to see Cadence peering at me.
Ha, yeah no, we’re not continuing this.
“S-so, what do you do all day when you’re not dragging me around?”
“I’m usually hanging out, helping around where I can.”
“I thought Celestia and Twilight told you multiple times to not help.”
“Uhm…” she trails off.
Really? Alright then, I’ll honor it.
“Never mind, you don’t have to tell me-”
“No, no,” she says quickly. “You said what you did, it’s only fair if I do the same.”
Damn, an instant 180.
“Alright.”
“Uhm, I…sorry,” she says sheepishly.
“Ta-ta-it’s alright.”
Fucking dammit, stop stammering!
She seems to take my words to heart and leaves silence hanging in the air for another full five seconds before she finally speaks.
“Usually I’m doing one of two things: volunteering or playing video games.”
I feel my mouth go agape for a split second.
“So you do actually play video games? What else do you play other than, ya know, The Great Calamity?”
Just gotta save my question about her volunteer work for whenever I can fit it in.
“Well, I’ve recently been getting into competitive games, I find those a lot more engaging.”
“Wh-that why you didn’t know so much about Calamity?”
I have to force myself not to clench my teeth.
She nods.
“Yep, I normally don’t have so much fun with the game.”
Wait, but that implies…
“So my commentary made it more fun for you?”
She smiles.
“Yes, it did, thank you.”
Let’s fucking go!
“Thank fuck, I thought I was being annoying.”
“No, you were fine,” she says, waving her hoof dismissively.
Well, I was still yelling in your ear, should probably cut down on that next time.
“Anyway, you mentioned volunteer work?”
She goes to open her mouth, but closes it again a split second later, only to open it back up another heartbeat later.
“I like to volunteer at any local orphanages that I can. I love getting to read to the little fillies and colts and helping the nurses take care of the foals. They…” she trails off, her gaze now cast down towards the floor. She doesn’t seem to notice the idle movements of her hoof on the floor, twisting the chair ever so slightly back and forth.
I-what do I even say? I fucked up the last time we brought up foals when she mentioned infertility to me a couple of days ago. What if-
“So, what were you doing on here?” Cadence asks hastily, ripping me from my thoughts and bringing my gaze up to see her focused on my open laptop. The almost ethereal blue the screen casts onto her mane is mesmerizing.
Understandable.
“I was trying to respond to gig requests from creatures back in the Western settlement, mainly to deny them since I’m here, but I couldn’t keep focused for very long. But I could probably get back to it once I’m done eating.”
Oh right, I forgot I have food here.
“Mind if I look through it a bit?”
I cock an eyebrow.
I ain’t got nothing important in there, so…
“Uh, sure? Knock yourself out,” I say, shrugging.
And so, for the next five-odd minutes, the silence of the room is only occasionally broken up by the clattering of metal against plastic and a small, barely audible click that has been ingrained into my memory.
That is until I notice Cadence…looking at me. I can’t quite articulate how she’s doing it in such a way that sends a shiver down my spine, but she certainly manages to do it.
Uh oh, what’s wrong?
“Mezzo, what is this?”
“What is what?” I ask like a fucking idiot.
Cadence clears her throat and smirks, turning back to face the laptop screen.
“In the end, the Alicorn of All’s confrontation with the ancient evil ended in a triumphant victory, thus ending the 100-year war.”
No. NO! I THOUGHT I DELETED THAT BOOKMARK!
A cold sweat starts to coalesce on my brow.
“With the evil’s defeat came the release of the four Alicorn Pri-”
“Okay, Cadence, Cadence, Cadence, you have to listen to me,” I say like I’m trying to calm a wild animal approaching me.
And Cadence’s toothy grin only accentuates that feeling.
“That was a joke.”
“Are you sure?”
Holy fuck, I’m not getting out of this.
I suppress a laugh.
“Yes. I swear on my fucking life, that was a joke,” I say, punctuating each syllable with a gesture.
She smiles even wider and leans back in my chair.
“Hum, I dunno, Mezzo, doesn’t seem like a joke to me.”
Oh, fuck off! NO!
I throw my head into my hooves.
“This is not happening.”
“Do you really wanna get with all four of us?”
I start to chuckle and shake my head.
“You do realize that’s a tall order, right? You do realize that Celestia and Luna are my Aunts, right?”
“You suck.”
“So that is what you want me to do.”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!”
Cadence finally breaks down laughing, cradling her front hooves in her stomach.
I just smile and shake my head.
“I think Twilight and my Aunts both deserve to know about this.”
“DON’T SEND THAT TO THE GROUP CHAT!”
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Poor Mezzo. <.< >.> *sends a copy to the three of them with the header "Mezzo's reading material."*
BURN THE PHONE QUICK BRO.
Welp, he had a good run at least...
I really liked the ending conversation, dialogue with the back and forth with Cadence and him could be worked on better. Like when he starts getting feelings for her I just- hard to say it feels like Cadence. Something about her portrayal in this story just feels a bit off, I don't know if that's intentional either.
And I just don't think you've given enough time for both of them to truly feel like they having feelings for each other
I feel like you needed to slow down with the whole romance shtick, as much as I love me some romance and cute fluff like the teasing at the end. I don't think you should rush for him to just have feelings for her especially with how we know shinning armor was with her a long time ago. Something like love should have more time to flourish and build with the nuances of stability and trust that grows and builds.
11183267
No, having Cadence be OOC definitely isn't intentional.
11183272
I agree, love does take time to actually flourish, but what Mezzo is feeling right now isn't love. It's like he thought to himself before, what he's feeling is simply infatuation, a desire for what is pretty and good looking and entirely vain. It's just a matter of when that will grow into actually loving her, and whether or not that has happened will be something he's going to have to grapple with. But we're not there yet, that's months down the line.
I hope you can trust me when I say I'm trying my best not to rush this.
Does that change your thoughts at all?
Either way, I'll be adding some of what you've mentioned to my chapter 10 doc checklist. Anything else specific you can name?
11183398
That's very reassuring, I would recommend more moments with them two, I know you've done so but they way they are. Like Cadence playing games? It's fine but maybe add a bit of few seeds to actually encourage the love? Something us love dove fans can latch onto to see him a little more grounded instead of some entertainment or latching. Something simple like a dinner conversation, something more grounded to just give us a tease while making sure it's nothing more than hints.
11183470
Then you have nothing to worry about, I already have things planned
11183267
Another question that just came to me, would you say it’s more Cadence’s actions or dialogue that feels off?
11183713
To me it's more of the situations, Cadence isn't far off but feels like not enough depth has been shown to us of what and how she is. These moments with her and him just feel like passing the time, nothing meaningful in it's moments simply passing conversations. Don't get me wrong you do make Cademce feel more, well involved but just not enough spotlight is given to her feelings and how she is mentally or physically, no goals or wants right now simply wanting to help others for the sake of it but we don't hear WHY.
11183828
I see what you’re saying, but I’m not planning on revealing everything all at once, especially not this early, and neither is Cadence.
Though, I am trying to hint at things to come.
I can imagine it would’ve been hard to make friends and open up to others when everyone except your immediate family sees you as a literal Goddess.
Either way, I ask you to wait a bit longer. While they are just building their friendship right now, more meaningful moments are already planned
11184141
That's fine, I just want to there to be atleast some more hinting personal moments
It should be "So is that what you want me to do?"
Sounds better like that xP
And you should always put a question at the end of a question lol 😆 Can't believe I missed that lol
11191301
Nah nah, the real correction there is italicizing the “is”
EDIT: Just checked, the “is” already is italicized. So it’s left that way intentionally
11191376
You still forgot the question mark lol
11192708
Not a question, it’s a statement