Author's Note
Just a quick note: I tried my best to denote the respective accents of Fleur de Lis and Photo Finish through changing the spelling of the words they spoke, but did not want to risk changing quite so much that the end result was unreadable. Please let me know if it worked out or not; any and all constructive feedback is appreciated!
Thank you for your time, and I hope you enjoy the story! :)
Decision Paralysis
“Fleur?”
The alabaster unicorn’s ears barely caught her name being spoken in the horrible dredge of swirling thoughts that presently occupied her mind. A screaming headache made the mare screw her eyes shut as she gradually awakened ever further, nausea settling in her gut at the light filtering in through her eyelids. “…Mmmrh?” she managed to hum, turning over on top of the cushy, yet still uncomfortable surface beneath her.
The figure scoffed. “Goodness me, look at you. I don’t zink I’ve seen you in quite so pathetic a state since ze gala three years ago.”
Fleur de Lis dared to crack an eye open, fighting through the pounding in her head in an attempt to get a glance of who it was who dared to insult her so. Her vision was blurry; so blurry, in fact, that it was difficult to make out the colors and shapes of the form before her enough to truly tell who it was. Screwing her eyes shut again, the mare huffed as she turned over, burying her face back into the cushions. She would let this go for now; she was too hungover to care.
Unfortunately for her, the figure seemed to take offense to this. “My word… zis is ze third time zis month I’ve had to play babysitter for you,” she muttered. “Wait here. Do not go anywhere.”
As if Fleur could; her limbs felt like bricks. Considerately, whoever had decided to bother her was at least mindful enough to close the door quietly, and the click and clop of their hooves was not overly exaggerated. Before long, the room had once again returned to serene silence—something that brought a smile to Fleur’s lips as she took in a deep breath, and focused on remaining as still as possible.
Much to her dismay, however, this silence was not to last. The door soon opened back up anew, and in clip-clopped that same set of hooves. Fleur made a noise halfway in between a groan and growl, burying herself further into what she was rapidly finding was a couch in an attempt to escape her unwanted assailant.
“Sit up, young lady,” the mare commanded.
Fleur had half a mind to summon her security and have this visitor ejected that way. Her eyebrows knitted, and her muzzle scrunched into a face of annoyance. “Go away,” she managed to mutter.
“Not a chance. Not on a day like today,” the mystery mare responded curtly.
That was it. Fighting through pain, soreness, and nausea, Fleur rose to a sitting position, brushing away her frazzled mane while she prepared to lay into this blasted interloper. Just as she had opened her mouth to yell, however, her eyes came face to face with a sight that immediately made her heart simultaneously jump and sink. “…Photo?”
“Glad to see you still recognize me; I half expected you to still be completely hammered,” Photo Finish said unamused.
“…Ah, I suppose you were… present, last night, then?” Fleur giggled nervously, her cheeks tinging red as she recalled some of the night’s activities.
“Present? I was ze reason you only made a minor fool out of yourself as opposed to a total fool,” the light blue mare shook her head. “Zis has to stop, Fleur; I cannot keep saving you from embarrassment time after time, especially if zis is how you are choosing to react to your mother’s wish.”
Fleur let out a deep exhale, rubbing her temples with her hooves as the weight of the situation she was in once again descended upon her. “…I know, I just…”
“You just what?” Photo interrupted. “Also, drink zis. You probably don’t have any water in your system right now.”
The alabaster mare accepted the glass with a polite nod, downing the entire cup in one go shortly thereafter. She wiped her lips with a hoof before flopping back against the cushions behind her, looking up at the ceiling. “I just… lost control, is all. That was the last time, I can assure you.”
“Lost control…” Photo scoffed. “Fräulein, the only thing you have lost control of is your sense of responsibility. What do you accomplish by throwing these lavish parties, only to wake up in a state like zis ze next morning, one day closer to ze looming reality?”
“I…” Fleur began before letting out a groan. “Look! I did not ask to be placed in this situation! Do you ‘ave any idea ‘ow impossible it is to be in an arranged marriage with someone you do not love?!”
“I do not,” Photo acknowledged. “But I also know zat simply delaying a decision does not make it any easier to make.”
“You make it sound as though it is such an easy decision to make…” Fleur said cynically.
“Well, unless I have finally lost my marbles, it sounds easy to my ears,” Photo chuckled. “You are the great and magnificent Fleur de Lis. You have established an empire for yourself. Zere is not a single noteworthy soul in all Equestria who does not know your name, and who does not know your face. Your mother has arranged for you to be married outside of your own will, and ze suitor is an insufferable dummkopf of a stallion who has not one redeeming trait about him except for his name—who hardly anyone in Equestria really knows anyway. So unless I am missing something here… you tell him nein.”
“You are missing quite a lot, mon amie,” Fleur rubbed her eyes. “You seem to forget that this so-called idiot happens to be a part of the Equestrian royal family. To snub him could well be interpreted as a snub to the crown, and if that happens…”
“Fräulein,” Photo interrupted. “Do you know one pony in all of Equestria who is not a direct beneficiary of his who holds a favorable opinion of him?”
“But he is a prince!” Fleur exclaimed with exasperation. “Denying some noble of some nameless ‘ouse somewhere who no one really knows or cares for would be an easy decision. But Blueblood… he is a distant relative of Princess Celestia herself. You mention this empire I supposedly possess, but what will become of it if the crown holds it in disfavor? What will become of all of us here if I do not do this?”
“Und what will become of you if you do?” Photo removed her glasses, folding them neatly before placing them in a case that seemed to materialize from nowhere. She looked at the mare with pleading eyes, her eyebrows knit upwards in concern. “Will you ever be happy again? Will you ever be the same happy, free-spirited mare I’ve known all these years while under his hoof?”
Fleur screwed her eyes shut as she clenched her teeth. She wanted to just scream.
Because Photo was absolutely right.
“Fräulein,” the light blue mare said again. “It is one zing to make sacrifices for ze sake of others, but another entirely to live one’s life for them. Do you truly plan to sign your life away to someone who does not love you, but merely the idea of you, purely to try and make everyone else around you happy?”
“I…” Fleur began before promptly shutting her mouth again. A soft chuff escaped her muzzle, her violet eyes following the ceiling fan above her ‘round and ‘round as her mind tried to think of some kind of justification that made sense. “I… I’m scared, Photo,” she admitted. “I do not know what to do… this is a decision that could ‘ave the potential to stir the ‘ornet’s nest in a way I would rather it not be stirred…”
“So zen what will you do? Continue to avoid it and make yourself even more anxious and miserable?” the blue mare challenged. “I know you are scared, Fräulein, but by avoiding ze problem, you only make it worse for yourself; look at you! You probably have not been on a normal schedule for weeks now. You pour yourself into your work by day, and zen drink your worries away by night. You’re not taking care of yourself, Fleur, and ze longer you keep zat up, ze worse it is going to get!”
Fleur took in a deep breath, and then released it. The fan above her continued its circular running, its blades constantly chasing each other without a purpose. They traveled so far, and yet got nowhere at all, instead continuing to go around… and around… and around…
Silence filled the room as Fleur got lost in her thoughts. She so wished that there was an easy solution; that there could be something that would make all of this go away without any of the potential fallout one way or the other. But she knew that it was not going to come. It had not yet, nor did it seem like it would ever. A decision had to be made… whether she liked it or not.
