Shatters of a Reflection Chapter 6: Starting Over
I had to admit, Twilight was actually fun to talk with. You know besides being a little kid still. We talked for a while and she told me a bit about herself.
She was one of the Unicorns to pass the test to join the Royal Academy for Gifted foals. She also passed the test by hatching a baby dragon from its egg.
It really didn't surprise me that there were dragons here. I mean, with talking ponies that can fly and use magic. What's left to surprise me?
But I'm getting off topic, Twilight explained to me how excited she was since she was made Celestia's student. She was being taught by her personally. I thought that was pretty cool.
She told me a little about herself, she was the younger of two siblings. Her older brother wanted to be a Royal Guard when he was older. But I wasn't exactly on good terms with them so it made me a little worried.
She also told me that the one thing she liked the most was learning which made her a book worm in my book but she had a cute way about it. She had a bag with two books inside; one was intermediate Magic, and the other Creatures of Equestria.
She said she was looking for whatever it was that I was.
I let her know that she wasn't going to find me inside any book since I wasn't even from this world but she insisted that he read about something like me before but she couldn't remember where. That's one of the reason she was bullied too. She was looking for proof of me when it happened.
But that was all in the past now.
I looked into the sky, the sun was setting.
"Well, time to head back." I got up and stretched my arms and legs out, "Now that I think about it, Twilight how are you getting back home?" I asked her.
She just smiled, "I live in the castle." She said plainly.
I just looked at her and thought it made sense since she was Celestia's student after all.
"Alright then, what do you say we head back now?" I asked her.
She just lifted her bags onto her back and looked up to me. I chuckled a bit at how ready she was.
"Let's go then." I said leading the way out of the bushes we had been in for a while now.
We walked down the path talking about how she moved her not to long ago. She was sad to leave her parents but this was a once in a life time opportunity.
"Well, at least you have a friend here with you. I am going to be stay here for the time being." I told her.
She seemed to brighten up at that, "Really! Then that means I have three friends here at the Castle!" She said beaming.
I wondered about it for a moment, I knew that Celestia was instantly one of them and I was one of them, but then who was the other? For a moment I thought someone was watching me and I looked around until I saw a familiar face watching as Twilight and I walked up the stairs.
"Princess!" Twilight shouted with glee as she hurried up the stairs to Celestia who greeted her with a gentle hug.
"Hello Twilight. I see you found Jake in the gardens." She said smiling.
But Twilight shook her head, "Yup! Jake is my friend now!" She said happily.
I felt a tingling feeling inside when she said I was her friend. I never had a friend before, well no one that meant it. There was this one kid who said he was friends with everyone even me, but he never even spoke to me once.
"Is that so?" She said glancing over towards me.
I just stood there stiff, "T-that's right." I stuttered out.
She only giggled into her hoof, "Well that's good for the both of you. Seeing as Twilight moved here not too long ago, and even if she is my student I may not be able to see her all the time so it eases me knowing that she has another friend here." She said and I just nodded to her.
"Now then, I believe it is time for dinner. Shall we?" She said motioning me to follow as Twilight walked right behind her.
I just fixed the strap of my bag and followed them.
Once more in the same dining hall as before we sat down on both sides of Celestia. Twilight on her left and myself at her right.
"So did you go through your belongs? Jake?" Celestia asked me.
I looked away from the all the plates and silverware being placed before us.
"Oh, yes. I found some extra clothes and a few things I don't think I would need but you never know." I told her.
She only nodded to my answer, "And what of you Twilight? Did you learn anything new from the Academy today?"
Twilight flinched a bit but I looked at her and smiled which calmed her down a bit, "The teachers started to so us how to do beginners Teleport spells. We have to move an apple from one side of the room to the next. I haven't quite gotten it down but I am on my way!" She exclaimed happily as the food was placed down before us.
Twilight had a small sandwich with the edges cut off while Celestia had yet another slice of banana pie and some tea.
I on the other hand was given soup. And from the looks of it, it was potato soap. They added some carrots and some bell peppers to it. That was nice of them to remember that I could eat everything they served.
We waited for Celestia to eat first before she gave a satisfying hum which meant we could begin.
I grabbed the spoon at the side of my plate and dipped it into the soup, it was creamy. I took one bite and I was on cloud 9. This was the best soup I had ever tasted! I took another bite and then another. And before I knew it I was stopped by the sound of metal hitting glass and I looked to see that I had finished the soup without realizing it.
"Oh." I muttered out as I heard Celestia holding back a laugh with her hoof and Twilight was looking at smiling. "Sorry. It was just so good I couldn't help myself." I said sheepishly as I rubbed the back of my head.
But Celestia shook her head, "Do no worry about it Jake. I am sure with what you ate earlier, you are probably still hungry.
I only nodded her, "'I'm fine now thou." I told her. She simply nodded to me and drank some of her tea.
I noticed Twilight looking around "Is something wrong Twilight?" I asked her and she looked at me.
"I don't see Cadance anywhere." She said grabbing my attention.
"Cadance? Is she supposed to be here?" I asked wanting to know where she was. I had to talk with her.
Twilight just shrugged at me as the both of us looked at Celestia who was about to take another bite of her pie. She stopped as she was about eat it and noticed we were staring at her.
She removed the spoon of pie away from her mouth and coughed before she spoke, "Yes Cadance. She informed me that she wouldn't be joining us for dinner today. She had to take care of some last minute thing. She told us.
It made me think that maybe Cadance was the third friend and it was reasonable.
Then I asked the question, "Did she happen to say when she would be coming by again?" I asked Celestia.
"She should be coming home within an hour's times I believe."
Huh? "Wait she lives here?" I asked dumbly.
"Yes, Cadance is my niece after all." Celestia said making me piece things together.
So Twilight is Celestia's student, who is also the ruler of this land. But as the ruler of this land she is sometimes too busy and so with Cadance in the picture she must be watching over Twilight. I thought it made sense in a way.
"So Cadance is your niece that would make her."
"A Princess also." She said right to the point.
Wow, things just got a lot harder.
"Do you still need to speak with her Jake?" Celestia asked me but I only nodded to her, "Well I know she will not be doing anything tomorrow so I will let her know you are up and wanted to speak with her." She told me.
"Thank you." I said to her as we continued to eat out deserts.
After dinner I said my goodbyes sand goodnights to both Celestia and Twilight. And once more I was led by Sliver Wing to my new room. It was in the west tower, one of the lower ones compared to the others but I wasn't one to complain.
"Here you are. The Princess has informed the guards that if you need anything then we are to get it for you. But aside from that rest easy." He said before walking away.
I looked at the two doors before I walked over to them and opened it. I was greeted with a large green colored bed with what looked like trees branches running alongside each of the pillars hovering over the bed.
"Well this isn't what I was expecting this." The room was larger than my house back on earth. I looked around and there was more to it than that, there was a desk with a few scrolls rolled up with an ink and a quill. There was a three person couch. One thing that got me the must was that there was a fire place along with book shelf on both sides.
If only I could read the language here.
I walked over to one of the doors
It was a bathroom, and from the looks of it. It was made for a pony. I looked at the shape of the toilet and the shower. Both where low enough for a normal sized pony and the shower looked big enough that I could change with a problem.
Then I realized something.
I smelt my cloths and arms. I smelled bad. For one I had been in the same clothes since I got here and through all that I been hiding next to dumpsters and covered in blood and dirt.
I walked out back into the bed room. I opened my bag and took out a pair of clothes.
A pair of khaki shorts and a simple black shirt, and last a pair of underwear.
I laid them out and walked back over to the restroom where I looked inside the shower to see the colors red and blue over a handle.
"Even in another world you can still see hot from cold." I said to myself as I turned the knob to hot and let the water flow out.
I striped down and got in. It felt refreshing. I soaked in the water for what seemed like hours but was really just 20 minutes.
I used the soaps that were left there. One was of strawberries and another of cherries.
I usually just used soap but I like the smell of strawberries so I dapped some on my hand and washed my hair.
I washed the soap away and rinsed myself one last time before I shut the water off and got out.
I grabbed one of the towels on the rack and slowly dried myself off.
I like the feeling of being wet after you shower. I walked out and nearly slipped because I was still wet.
"Man that felt good." I said putting on my underwear.
I put the towel on my head and started to dry off when I heard a click.
I ripped the towel off and looked around.
The lights were off since I blew out the candles. But I could see a shadow moving outside the balcony window.
I slowly jumped behind the opposite side of the bed and waited.
There was another click as the door opened in the shadow came.
I waited as the figure slow walked over to the other side of the bed and looked around.
I heard whoever it was shuffling through my things.
And I took this moment to jump out and grabbed the pony and flipped them over on the bed as I was over them. I grabbed both front hooves and held them at the side as I made sure they couldn't get up.
But the strange thing was. When I threw the pony down and pinned them. Whoever it was let a girlish shriek.
"Huh?" I looked closer and saw the pony had a pinkish coat.
She was whimpering in my hold. Her mane covered her face but I could make out her expression. It was of fear.
But I knew her. That same pink coat. The twist of pink purple and golden mane.
It was her.
"Cadance."
"Epp!" Was the only thing she said as I felt her trembling.
Forgetting myself for a moment I jumped off her and fell back on my ass.
She slowly got up and looked over at me. There were tears in her eyes and her eyes. They looked swollen.
She glanced at me for a moment before she spread her wings and flew right at me.
I closed my eyes thinking she was going to hit me but I felt her hooves embrace me instead.
"What?" I mumbled out as she just began to cry.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" She cried out. "I didn't trick you I really wanted to help you but instead I just ended up hurting you." She said to me.
She wept much like the day before only for her it was of all the guilt she had gathered since that night.
I just did the same thing I did with Twilight and held her.
Her hold on me increased as her sobs just got louder and louder.
I just sat there holding her. What was I supposed to say? What else was I supposed to do?
She apologized to me. She was crying in my arms.
So I just let my mind go and said, "I forgive you."
Those three words held more meaning they anything I could of said because her hold on my just got harder.
It was as if I was a life line and if she let go of me she would be lost.
She was still crying but she lifted her head off me and looked up to meet me.
"Re-really?" She asked me. A part of me wanted to say no. But that was the old me. I was changing. Even if somewhere inside me I didn't like it. It was already set in motion.
I looked at her; she was eagerly waiting for me to answer her question.
I nodded my head and a light flashed in her eyes. As if a switch had been flipped. She lunged at me wrapping her hooves around my neck and hugging me closer than before.
"Oh thank you thank you thank you!" She said in-between sobs.
I just pat her back when I felt two lumps on both her sides. I glanced down and saw she had two wings.
She was an Alicorn.
I didn't think about it much since Celestia did say she was her niece so it made sense that she was like her.
But after a while of her I started to feel a bit uncomfortable. Not to be rude but I still didn't like being well hugged.
It was nice but it felt foreign to me. Like it didn't settle right. It was something I guessed I needed to get used too from here on out.
"Um, Cadance?" I said and she pulled back.
Our faces were close to each other and I could feel her breath on my face. She blinked as she looked at me.
"Not to rude but... could you get off me."
Too blunt. Or at least I think it was. She turned a light red and jumped off me faster then she had hugged me.
"I'm sorry. I was just so happy I didn't think that maybe you were getting a bit uncomfortable." She said quietly.
I just took a deep breath and shook my head, "No, its fine. It's just I'm not used to..." I paused for a moment.
"Being touched?" She suddenly said.
How did she know?
She seemed to know what I was thinking since she gave me this sad smile.
"Aunty told me a bit about you. She told me that you weren't treated as kindly as many foals should be." She said before she got this shocked look on her face, "Oh no! I'm sorry I didn't mean to talk about your past. It's just, Aunty asked me what I wanted to know about you and so told a few things. But I didn't mean to pry into your past."
I cut her off, "No it's alright. This makes it easier." I said closing my eyes.
I wondered just what exactly Celestia told her when I felt her hoof touch my arm.
It didn't feel rough, I mean yes her hoof was hard but it felt soft. Soft like human skin but at the same time it felt like the padding under a dog's foot.
She looked at me and smiled, "How about we start over?" She asked me while fixing her mane and whipping her face a bit before she smiled and held her right hoof towards me.
"My name is Mi Amore Cadenza."
I looked at her hoof and like before I had another moment, I hesitated before I held my hand up and grasped hers.
She smiled as I shook it, "Jake Muller. But I guess you can call me Jay."
Jay was a nickname I think I would be given had I had friends.
"Jay." She said thinking about it for a moment, "I like that." She told me as we let go of each other.
"Well then Jay. I know you already called me by it but, my friends call me Cadance."
I chuckled a bit and I cracked a grin.
"You consider me your friend?" I asked her dumbly.
She only giggled, "Aunty was right when she said you were silly." She laughed.
I just frowned at her but she just smiled at me, "Of course you're my friend Jay!"
'You're my friend!' The words played over and over in my head.
In the span of a few days. I gained the few things I wanted for the majority of my life.
I found acceptance in someone who saw all of me. Who showed me the kindness and love of a Mother.
A child who reminded me of myself. And when I alone when I needed someone. But here, she when she needed someone, I was there. So I showed her that she wasn't alone. I was there for her and in turn she called me her friend.
And then Cadance. She who I accused of lying to me and leading me into a trap. But she truly wanted to help me. And was conflicted about it. It made her feel guilty and when I found out the truth. I was able to forgive her, and she me.
And she called me her friend.
I never thought this would happen to me. I always thought I would be alone.
But here, here I found something I don't think I would find back on earth.
"Is something wrong Jay?" I heard Cadance ask me which snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Huh?" I looked at her, but mv vision was a bit blurry. I reached my hand and brushed it against my cheek. It was wet. I was crying again.
Only, like before. These weren't tears of loneliness. They were tears of joy.
"No, nothing's wrong." I said wiping my face with my arm before I smiled at her, "Everything's, just fine." I told her.
-Tbc.
A short chapter but none the less another chapter done. I will be holding off my writing since this weekend I am going to camp and I won't have internet up there but the good thing is that in my free time I will be writing the next chapters!
But a few things to clear up, 1: Once again I thank everyone that took the time to read and for the few that reviewed my story, I thank thee. It not only helps motivate me to write but it makes me happy knowing others can enjoy my stories even with all the little errors here and there.
And 2: With the next chapter will be our first time skip. I know time skips aren't liked as much seeing as Readers like to well read about what happens in the story. But there will be no more than two or maybe three. And in the next chapter will our first one.
Next time on Shatters of a Reflections, "Jake sees the light of a new day dawning, but it's always darkest before the dawn. As Jake finally heals completely, he learns more about Equestria from Celestia, Twilight, and Cadance. But what happens when a certain pony returns to Canterlot? Next time: Bad Blood."