Trying Love

I had never realized how peaceful the castle was in the morning. Whenever I was roaming the halls or the grounds, ponies were always rushing about on official business. The only room with reliable peace and quiet was the throne room, where my mother spent most of her day. Every once in a while. somepony would request to speak with her, and would be sent in to discuss whatever pressing Equestrian matter they had. I would simetimes be allowed in the throne room on particularly slow days, and my mother and I would play chess to pass the time, but it was very rare that her attention wasn't constantly occupied.

In the early morning, the halls were empty, and echoed with the sound of my hooves striking the stone floor was I walked from my room (which was located on one of the highest castle levels, something I had requested when I was young and just learning to fly) to the kitchen, a fairly decent trek. It was both serene and eerie, having only ever seen the main wings of the castle buzzing with the activity of ponies hurrying from place to place as they planned events or searched the archives for scrolls or records. It would seem that no records were important enough to search for at four in the morning.

The only ponies that were up at this hour with me were the stoic night guards who neared the end of their shifts, still standing absolutely motionless at their posts. As a filly, I had tried just about everything to get the guards to crack their composure, but I was never successful.

I stepped into the kitchen and looked around. This was a place I didn't normally venture into, since during the day there were always cooks preparing something, or on stand by in case anyone who worked here wanted a meal. If I remembered correctly, they arrived at six to make breakfast. On a normal day, I wasn't awake until seven or eight.

"Couldn't sleep?" I jumped at the sound of my mother's voice in the doorway behind me.

I turned around sheepishly. "No. I barely slept at all."

She walked over and raised a hoof to brush a few stray hairs from my face. "Are you nervous about your first day of school?"

I bowed my head and nodded. She thought for a moment, then turned my chin up to face her. "When I was a little filly and couldn't sleep, my mother would make me a warm cup of cocoa. It always helped. Why don't we do the same?"

I smiled broadly at the idea. "I would like that."

She stepped around me and got to work, lifting a pot from the pot rack with her magic and pulling a bag of cocoa from storage cabinets. I watched as she hummed very quietly to herself, rolling what she'd said over in my mind. She didn't mention her parents much; I knew they had died long, long ago, but whenever I asked, a shadow of saddness crossed her face. They must have done a good job, though. She was the best mother I could ever ask for.

Soon enough, we were sitting at the elegant dining table, both with steaming mugs of hot cocoa. It was delicious, and the warmth soothed my raw nerves at the idea of the day ahead.

"You'll go to the office to retrieve your schedule," My mother was explaining as I listened carefully. "Go to each class when the bells ring. I trust that you'll be very polite to your teachers and peers. I'm sure you'll make lots of friends." She gave me a smile with warmth that matched the creamy drink I sipped.

"Do you really think they'll like me?" I asked doubtfully.

"Cadence," She cooed. "They'll love you."

A few hours later, with slender saddlebags filled with parchment, quills, and ink, I was about to find out. I'd been surprised at how short the fly was from the castle to the campus of the school, but it might have only seemed short because I was relishing the feel of freedom rushing through my wings. Of course I was allowed out of the castle before, but always under careful observation. Now, I was fending for myself, with nopony to watch over me until the late afternoon. It was invigorating.

When the high school appeared in my sights, I angled my wings downwards to come in for a soft landing. A few Pegasuses were doing the same thing, and dozens of Unicorns trotted past me towards the magnificent school.

It was exactly what I would expect the only high school in Canterlot to look like. The main entrance was impressively tall and beautifully designed, with crisp clean colors and the name of the institution in large, copper letters: Canterlot Learning Organization Prep School, which most ponies referred to as CLOPS, since the full name was such a mouthful. Some of the classes were indoors, and some were outdoors, and through the wrought iron fencing I could see that the campus was immaculate. The grass was perfectly green, shade trees and benches dotted the grounds, and paved paths wound from class building to building. As I stepped carefully through the heavy glass doors held open by the magic of a polite Unicorn with a green mane, I took it all in with absolute awe. This is where I would be spending the next ten months of my life.

Finding the office to get my schedule wasn't hard, as the entrance to the school was the office that then opened up to the grounds, and different buildings for different class departments. The office was bustling with activity, between secretaries trying to tend to everyone's needs and students greeting friends they hadn't seen over the summer. The counseling offices were to the left, and I kept a careful distance from anyone who looked like they might strike up a conversation, trying to ease myself into things one step at a time. One of the counselors was unoccupied, and I pushed the door open with a meek smile.

"Good morning, dear." The mare behind the desk gave me a warm welcome. "What can I help you with?"

"My name is Cadence," I said, gathering up my courage and optimism. "I'm new here, and I need to get my schedule."

She immediately began digging through the file cabinet that stood behind her, nodding as she listened. "Oh, certainly. Cadence, you said? Cadence...Cadence...aha! Here we are. One schedule, coming right-" She stopped short as she looked it over. "Well, it seems we have a mistake."

"What is it?" I asked, my eyes widening. My mother had enrolled me, hadn't she? I didn't remember her writing any letter while I was around...

"You're enrolled in both magic and flying, which is absolutely silly, you'd have to be an..." She raised her eyes from the paper, then coughed to cover up the surprised expression on her face. "Oh, my, you'll have to excuse me. It's just, we've never had an Alicorn attend here before."

I blushed. "Oh, that's alright. I'm...I'm not from Equestria, I'm visiting here to experience the culture. I'm staying in the castle." I carefully recited.

"The castle! How impressive, dear. Well, I do hope you enjoy your stay, you'll find that our school is the best in the country. If you have any problems with your schedule, please let me know, I'm Mrs. Nuts."

I thanked her as I retreated from the office, holding the schedule in front of me to read as I managed my way through the crowd now bottle necking the office and stepped onto the beautifully landscaped grounds. According the the small scroll, my first class was English, and it started in...

The bell sounded, crisp and loud in the morning air. Well, I guess it started now.

The classrooms weren't difficult to navigate, since every building was clearly numbered by the hundreds according to what department it was. The English building was 800's, the Magic was 900's, and so on and so forth. My schedule informed me in plain black ink that I would be having English with a teacher named Mr. Ment, which only sparked curiosity as to what his special talent might be. I walked into the classroom just as the late bell sounded, and quickly scrambled to find a vacant seat. The only one available was behind a white colt with a blue mane, who turned to smile at me and gestured for me to sit. Everyone was looking now; not only was I late, but I was new, a face they'd never seen before. All around me I could hear the whispers.

"Is she an Alicorn?"

"Have you heard anything about royalty visiting?"

"I bet the horn's fake! I read an article-"

After I was seated, an older stallion that I assumed to be the teacher rose from behind a desk and cleared his throat. If he noticed me any more than anypony else, he didn't show it.

"Good morning, class, and welcome to your final year of studies here at Canterlot Learning Organization Prep School." He said, his voice low and filled with authority. I felt myself straighten in my seat.

"CLOPS," Somepony snickered from the seat next to the blue maned unicorn, diagonally from me to the right. It earned him a dirty look from the teacher, who huffed and continued.

"Just because this is your last year doesn't mean it will be any easier. I expect full effort and attention from you until the very last day. My class is difficult, but there is no reason every single one of you shouldn't pass with flying colors."

Already, whispered conversations were breaking out around the classroom, but Mr. Ment didn't seem to notice. As he paced the front of the room, I noticed that his cutie mark was a simple, empty scroll. Appropriate for an English teacher. The colt in front of me with the white coat twisted around and flashed a line of perfectly white teeth in a smile.

"You're new here, right?" He asked quietly. My eyes darted to the teacher, still going on about preparing for his class and paying no attention to the fact that his students were...paying no attention.

"Yes, I am." I whispered back, ducking my head a little.

"My name's Fancypants," He informed me with another smile. "And you are?"

"Cadence," I said, automatically using my nickname from the castle. Before he asked, I added, "I'm visiting from outside of Equestria, and I'm staying in the castle."

"A foreign exchange student!" He grinned. "How marvelous. I do say, you look absolutely stunning, dear. I look forward to getting to know you better."

I felt heat creeping onto my cheeks in a blush, and I smiled shyly. "Thank you. You, too."

He turned back around in his seat to face forward just as Mr. Ment instructed everyone to take out a pen and scroll for notes on the year's syllabus. I used my magic to lift my quill from my saddlebags beside my desk, which prompted a new series of whispers from many ponies about the authenticity of my being an Alicorn. I sighed. The joy I'd felt at first following my freedom was quickly diminishing. It was going to be a long day.

My next class was flying, which was entirely uneventful beside the constant comments about my wings and horn. I'd already explained my foreign exchange student story eight times by the end of second period, and my wings ached from the exercises Ms. Bolt had put us through to "ascertain where our abilities stood". I'd had to dodge a few prying questions about where I was originally from, and by the time I dropped my bags to the tiled floor of my government classroom, I was ready for a long nap in the sitting room of the castle. I reminded myself that I had wanted this, and that it was only the first day- surely, things would get better.

The government teacher was an older mare with glasses perched on the end of her snout, and she gave us all a warm smile and introduced herself as Mrs. Ment. My ears lifted at this, and I couldn't stop myself before I spoke up. "Are you related to Mr. Ment?"

The class snickered, and I sank down into my seat, embarrassed. The teacher only smiled at me, though, her eyes filled with kindness. "Yes, he's my husband. He's Parch Ment, I'm Parla Ment. I see you're a new face here at school. What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Oh, my name is Cadence." I returned her smile.

"What a lovely name. Alright, class, I'm sorry to leave you so soon, but I really have to use the rest room. Each of you take a book and open them up to chapter one." She nodded towards a stack of books on her desk before walking out of the classroom, using her magic to shut the door behind her with a soft click.

As soon as she was gone, the class erupted into discussions and laughter. Everypony got up and crowded around her desk to get a book, and to avoid the pushing and shoving, a few other ponies and I hung back for a few minutes. I noticed that one of the others, with a yellow coat and orange mane, was struggling to get something out of his book bag. For a moment I assumed he was a Pegasus, since he didn't use magic, but then I saw that he didn't have wings, either. He was the first Earth pony I had seen all day, and because I hated watching him struggle, I used my magic from across the room to loosen the tie on the bag. He looked up, and his eyes met mine, and we exchanged a friendly smile.

"Who else doesn't have a book?" A Pegasus asked from the front. "Only two left." Two books remained in the pile, and the inquiring pony had one clenched in one hoof. The Earth pony and I both stood up to retrieve a book. I used magic to take my book, pulling it through the air towards my desk, the the Pegasus chortled at the Earth pony.

"Hey, Braeburn," he said, grabbing the last book. "You won't mind if I help you with this, right?"

"Uh, well, I s'pose not." The Earth pony replied in a high southern drawl. "Thanks, Buck!"

"No problem!" He laughed as he beat his wings and flew up, placing the book on the highest cabinet despite Braeburn's pleas as soon as he realized what was happening. "There you go, buddy, have at it!"

Almost everypony in the class was laughing at the spectacle, laughing only harder when Braeburn tried to stretch on his hind legs and didn't even reach halfway to top of the cupboard. Everypony but me. Angered from what I'd seen, I aimed my magic and easily pulled the book down and into Braeburn's waiting hooves.

The laughter of the class immediately died down, and the Pegasus, Buck, reeled on me. "The hay was that for?"

"You were being cruel." I said, anger bubbling in the pit of my stomach.

"It was all in good fun! Ain't that right, Braeburn?" Buck mocked the Earth pony's accent.

"Shut your mouth." I said, my eyes narrowing.

"Ha! Look at that, everypony, Braeburn has to have a filly fight his battles!" Another Pegasus spoke up from the back. More laughter broke out, but before I could get even angrier, Mrs. Ment returned with a smile on her face.

"Oh good, you all have your books! I'm sorry about that, let's begin. Chapter one, everypony, turn to chapter one." She waved her hoof at us. I gave Braeburn another smile, which he gratefully returned, before turning my attention to my school work.

When that class was over, I checked my schedule to see what I had next. It looked to be Magic, one of my favorite subjects. My mood instantly lightened as I walked towards the class, only a few hundred feet from my previous class. I was getting good at walking in and going as unnoticed as possible, especially since there were fewer and fewer ponies I hadn't yet seen in my classes now, so my appearance wasn't as new to them. When I walked into Magic class, though, I was surprised to find that almost nobody turned to look at me, and everyone's attention was on another pony. She was tiny, and looked to be shockingly young to be in a class full of ponies in their twelfth year. She was a light purple Unicorn with a dark purple and pink mane, and kept her face hidden by her hooves. Maybe I was wrong, but was she even missing a cutie mark? What was a foal doing here?

I walked in, my curiosity building by the minute. Nopony was in a desk but the little filly; everypony else was just standing around, talking and whispering, occasionally shooting glances at the small Unicorn. I approached the nearest mare, with a white coat and pink mane, and quietly asked what was going on.

"Oh, you're the Alicorn I've been hearing so much about!" She gasped, taking me in. For a moment I thought she wouldn't answer my question, but she shook her head. "Oh, sorry, silly me. Apparently she's some sort of very advanced talent. Princess Celestia herself requested that she be placed here, and apparently if she does well, the princess will take her on as a protege! Isn't that just the juiciest thing you've ever heard?"

My stomach did flip flops at the mention of my mother's name, but I did my best not to show it. Instead, I smiled at the white Unicorn. "That is. She's very lucky. I hope she holds up alright, she's shaking like a leaf."

The mare laughed as though this pleased her very much, but the bell rang before we could say much more. Everyone scrambled for a seat, and despite my sore wings, I flew over a few desks and sat myself firmly in the desk beside the filly. I knew how it felt to be stared at all day, the least I could do was extend my hoof.

The teacher walked in just as the last few ponies settled down. The teacher was a fairly young stallion of a light brown color, and introduced himself as Mr. Star. He didn't mess around with further fluff about the semester or what he expected of us, which I appreciated. Instead, he told us to find a partner and practice our best spells to show him.

"Prove to me that you deserve to be in Advanced Magic." He said. "If you shouldn't be, I won't hesitate to remove you."

The tension in the room was suddenly palpable. I wasn't nervous, though, I was excited. This was my first real assignment, and it was definitely something I would be able to do. Magic was my best skill.

"Want to be partners?" I asked the filly. She looked at me with wide eyes, and nodded. I smiled. "What's your name?"

"Twilight," She said breathlessly. "Thank you. What's yours?"

"Cadence." I replied. The room filled with the sounds of desks scraping along the floor as everyone turned to face their partners, and we did the same. "Now, what magic do you want to do?"

She balked. "Oh, um..I'm not sure. This is my first day in school."

"Mine, too." I confided. "I've been homeschooled all my life until today." I knew that this was probably too much to reveal, but for an inexplicable reason, I trusted the little Twilight.

"Me too!" She squeaked, smiling.

"Well, why don't you show me your best trick?"

"Hmm..." She thought about it. "Well, okay! Close your eyes."

I did as she asked and I waited for a few seconds. "Is anything going to- oh!" I jumped when I felt something sprout from my face. I lifted my hooves, panicking for a moment, then dissolved into giggles when I realized that the Unicorn had given me an impressive handlebar mustache. She laughed, too, and soon we were laughing so loudly that Mr. Star walked over to see what the fuss was about.

"Interesting," He side, suppressing his own grin when he caught sight of me. "You did this, Twilight?"

She nodded, blushing.

"Great job. Can you remove it, too?"

She squeezed her eyes shut in concentration, and her horn illuminated with a pink aura. As fast as it had appeared, the mustache disappeared with a quiet pop.

"You're very talented, Twilight." Mr. Star praised her. He turned to me. "Cadence, isn't it? Why don't you show me what you're capable of?"

I smiled, thrilled with the opportunity. "Oh, sure! Um...pick somepony, anypony."

He raised his eyebrows at me, clearly curious, and played along. "Alright, how about Fleur." He nodded towards the mare I'd spoken to earlier. She was chatting with her partner while she used her magic to weave a pattern out of strips of paper. I bit my lip and focused on her, then allowed magic to swell into my horn. The image of Fleur filled my mind, and I charged it with emotion before pushing my magic across the room and into her chest almost imperceptibly.

While the magic may have been undetectable, its effect was not. She immediately broke out into a smile, forgetting her weaving project and leaning over the desks to inform her partner that he was one of the best friends she had ever had. Mr. Star looked at me, even more curious.

"A false desire spell?" He asked. "Those are strictly against the rules."

"There's no false desire. My special talent is to spread love. I take the love that a pony has in them, and with my magic, I intensify it and make them more aware of it. Any problem they might be having with the other pony loses its importance."

"Hmm..." He stared at me thoughtfully. "That's very impressive, definitely a special talent suited for an Alicorn. I look forward to having you in my class, Cadence."

With that, he moved on to the next set of partners, and Twilight and I beamed at each other.

"You were amazing!" She said, awed.

"So were you!"

After a few minutes of talking, the filly and I were fast friends. I learned that she was incredibly smart, probably smarter than most of the ponies in the class, and that she wasn't very good at making friends. She told me about her interest in astrology and studying, and how she wanted nothing more than to work personally with my mother (although, of course, using the title of Princess Celestia).

"My parents got invited to go to a conference with the princess tonight, actually." Twilight said, her voice moving from animated to disappointed. "But my brother has a date with his girlfriend, and there's nobody to foal sit me. Hopefully there will be another time for all of them to talk, though." She sighed, clearly not believing this would happen.

"You need a foal sitter, huh?" I said, the gears already turning in my head. "I don't think I have any plans for tonight, I would be happy to come and watch you."

Her face immediately lit up. "Really? That would be amazing! My parents would just love you. Here, let me give you my information. Can you come at six?" She asked as she lifted a quill and parchment from her overflowing bag. She scrawled down an address and pushed it towards me.

"Six? Sure thing." I smiled, happy to have pleased the filly so much.

The bell rang, and desks scraped again as everyone straightened them out in a hurry to get to lunch. Twilight gave me a tight hug before taking her things and trotting out of the room, calling thanks over her shoulder again just before she disappeared out the door. I laughed to myself under my breath, hoping that my mother wouldn't be too upset that I'd already made plans after only a single day at school on my own.

I walked out onto the grounds again, searching for a place that I might be able to sit on my own and enjoy the two fresh apple's I'd packed in my saddlebags. I spotted a nice shady place beneath a tree that was open, and I started walking over, scanning the campus for any clue as to how ponies usually spent their lunch hour.

"Howdy there, miss!" I heard a familiar voice call out from behind me, and Braeburn trotted up beside me. "You're the pony from mah government class, right?" His southern accent seemed even more pronounced than it had been this morning, but I didn't mind it.

"Yeah, that was me." I said with a nod. "I'm sorry they were so awful to you."

"Oh, don't you worry your pretty little hooves 'bout it. I'm the only Earth pony here, y'see, so they like to have their fun sometimes." He shrugged it off. "Yer new here though, ain't ya? I was thinkin' ya might want some company while yer eatin', if ya don't mind."

"That would be lovely." I said with a smile. The day was only half over, and already I'd made two friends! "I was thinking I might sit underneath that shade tree, unless there's something else you'd like to do?"

"Nope, that sounds just fine, miss." He said, falling into step with me.

We got there, and I sat on the grass, nudging my bag open with my snout and pulling out a red apple. Braeburn's eyes widened. "You like apples?"

"Doesn't everypony?" I asked before I bit into the crisp fruit.

"Well sure, I s'pose so. But if you like 'em a lot, I'm sure you'd like to hear 'bout what ah'm doing with mahself after graduation!" He said, practically wiggling with delight.

"Oh, um, sure." I said, biting into the apple again.

"It's a little thing called Aaaaaappleooosa!" He cried, rearing up onto his back legs and launching into a description of a town he wanted to start as soon as he was out of school. I nodded, listening intently, but allowing my eyes to wander over the campus, pony watching.

A pony about fifty yards away caught my attention as he emerged from a classroom, shaking out his multi-toned blue mane over his white coat. My eyes widened, watching him carefully as he walked towards the fountain in the middle of campus, his saddle bags slung at a haphazard angle over his flanks. His cutie mark was a shield with three stars across the top, an obvious indication of strength and nobility. My heart skipped a beat as the sun caught his mane, the blues shimmering in the light. He had a casual smile on his mouth, so easy going, obviously unaware of how completely beautiful he was. My heart hammered in my chest. I had never felt this way about another pony before, I simply had to know him. Was this what my magic was all about? Was it possible to love a pony and never to have spoken to him?

I stood up, more than ready to walk over and say something, anything, but I stopped myself. Braeburn continued talking, completely unaware of my distraction. I stared as the gorgeous stallion's casual smile stretched into a happy grin, and the pony called Fleur from my magic class trotted up to him and launched herself into his arms, their mouths meeting in a passionate kiss.

I fell back to the grassy ground as though I'd been punched in the stomach.

If this was love, why did ponies like it so much?