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Post by thepatriot on Nov 26, 2011 15:58:31 GMT -5
He could hear what they were saying, even over the deafening drum of his heart. From what he could make out from Aestella, she had brought Diamond Point up into the room he'd been resting in. Turns out Diamond was just as tired as he had been... Well he guessed that made sense. At least it wasn't necessarily his or Diamond's doing that they'd ended up there together. A simple mistake, that's all it was. Though Quill doubted Aestella had gone as far as dropping Diamond Point on top of him, but still! Simple mistake.
He felt a pinch of hurt when Diamond Point asked Aestella to be put into a separate room from now on, though he was quick to dismiss that feeling with a landslide of mental anger. Of COURSE she wanted to be somewhere else! What had just happened was completely awkward and wrong, something to never be repeated again. Just because he had feelings for her, and apparently her for him. . .
The thought of there actually being a chance with her overflowed the stallion once more, making him feel giddy. Of all the times to be an emotional wreck, and here he is now?! There were important things that needed to be taken care of! And all he could find himself focusing on was that white maned mare in the kitchen. He hadn't even brought up the topic of what happened two nights ago with those ponies in the forest. He knew that his 'situation' with her needed to be addressed, but perhaps this higher cause could be more of a useful distraction.
He looked into the kitchen once more to find Diamond sitting at the table, asking Aestella if she'd slept or not. He could deal with this situation too! Maybe just running through normal actions and situations would help ease away whatever awkwardness had developed.
Recomposing himself and trying his best to calm down, Quillson stepped into the kitchen. He looked over at Diamond for a moment before averting his gaze to Aestella and her oatmeal. "G-good morning you two." He forced a smile, probably looking as out of place as possible for him. "What's this I hear? You did get sleep last night right Aestella??" Hopefully the periwinkle pony wouldn't notice his acting strange, and would suffice with answering his question.
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Post by zasknu on Nov 26, 2011 16:08:40 GMT -5
"She's upset with me... I should have known better not to bother her, oh why do I have to be so terrible!" Aestella mentally scolded herself, continuing to eat her oatmeal, finishing the bowl after a few more spoonfuls. She glances at Diamond resting her head on the table, and how tired she looked. "She must not have slept well at all... I'm such a horrible friend..." Aestella placed her spoon back down into the empty bowl and frown sadly when she heard Diamond speak again, asking if she had slept at all.
"See? Even she knows that you should be sleeping" Tock stated matter-o'-factly as he stared at Aestella as if he was telling her to go to sleep or at least take a nap. "She doesn't need to sleep," Tick chimed in, watching Aestella to see if she would give in to Tock's pressure, "She ate breakfast, she'll be fiiine." Aestella turn her head to stare at the pair, giving them a quick 'shhh' before turning back to Diamond. "N-" She started to respond, barely making a sound when Quillson stepped into the room and asked pretty much the same question as Diamond.
"O-oh... Good morning, Quillson." He sounded a little off as well, not at all like the confident stallion he was before he disappeared. She was almost afraid of the answer she was about to give her friends, but she they had asked her questions and she had to answer. "N-no, I haven't. But I'll be fine. I've been eating... a little... but it will be alright." Aestella tapped the bowl softly with a hoof, and trying to sound as innocent and not tired as possible. She's done enough horrible things to her friends, she didn't want them to have to worry that the young inventor wasn't taking care of herself too.
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Post by diamondpoint on Nov 26, 2011 16:27:59 GMT -5
Diamond shot up in her seat at the sound of Quillson's voice. A lump got caught in her throat, causing her to squeak softly and her mind started panicking. 'No no, stop that. Calm down. Freaking out never helped anypony. Think slowly, calmly. Just... think!' she mentally commanded herself, her eyes wide and locked on Quillson. 'And stop staring!' she jerked her gaze back to Aestella.
Aestella was saying something, probably admitting she hasn't slept, but Diamond didn't hear. Her mind had too many thoughts buzzing about. 'Okay, okay okay... look! YOU thought it was a dream, right? So, maybe... maybe HE thought it was a dream too? You might be all clear! So stop worrying and don't even think about how awkward it's going to be as soon as Aestella leaves the room.' ...Oh Celestia, send me to the moon. Now please.
Diamond cleared her throat and forced herself to speak up, "Aestella... Y-you really should get some rest... a... a nap at least. At some point, soon. Maybe not right this instant, but in a little bit... alright?"
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Post by thepatriot on Nov 26, 2011 17:31:19 GMT -5
It took all of Quillson's power to keep him from looking over at Diamond Point. He had to stay focused at what was at hoof, no distractions. He maintained his gaze on Aestella, doing his best to pay attention to exactly what it was she said. No sleep at all? If anything, Quill knew how problematic a complete lack of sleep could be on a situation. Take right now as example A.
"Eating is good and all Aestella, but you just got over from getting sick. It's going to take a normal eating *and* sleeping habit to keep you healthy." He looked back at Diamond as she cleared her throat, beginning to speak. Every word that came out of the pony's mouth drew him in, the stallion watching and listening intently. So much so that he forgot to look away after she'd finished. Luckily he caught himself staring, again, and diverted his attention back towards the other unicorn in the room.
"She's right Aestella. Some sleep will do you some good, even if it's just a little bit." Quill cast another weak grin to the unicorn, unsure of just what to do or say next. Food! That's right, it was morning. They all needed some breakfast. Well, Aestella already had food but he and Diamond could still eat. He waywardly stepped across the kitchen towards the unicorn's cupboard, reaching to open the door. "Anypony hungry? Diamond? I know I could go for some breakfast." He looked over at her again, though hurriedly looked away. At the floor. Which was weird, because there was nothing on the floor.
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Post by zasknu on Nov 26, 2011 20:09:52 GMT -5
They wanted her to go to sleep. It was an innocent enough request, and it was probably a good thing to do for her health, but Aestella couldn't shake the feeling that it was more than that. Both of them were acting so strangely. Diamond was stuttering and tired, not at all like her usual energetic self. Aestella had interrupted her sleep and made her this way, it was all her fault. Quillson also seemed tired, probably because of whatever happened to him when he vanished, but maybe he didn't sleep well either because of what Aestella did, moving Diamond into his room. But his smile seemed forced, and he kept glancing at Diamond as though he was uncomfortable.
Aestella frowned, her ears drooping back. "If you think I should go, then I guess I should go..." Aestella got out of her chair, floating the bowl over to the sink and placing it inside. "I'll be in my room, if you need me" she stated quietly, levitating the two mechanical birds and the small brown book over to her, taking them with her as she left. She had told them to leave twice already, saying that it would be better for them to go, leaving her home and most likely her life for good, and now she was thinking that they should have. "All I've done for them is make them sad... I'm just a terrible pony, that's probably why everypony leaves me..."
As the depressed unicorn reached the door at the end of the hall, she opened it with her magic slowly, and slipped into the small dark room. Aestella placed her friends down on the trunk, ignoring their voices telling her that things weren't her fault, that she wasn't a bad pony, that she was overreacting to her newer friends' simple fatigue. She paid them no mind, laying down on her mattress and facing the wall, wrapping herself in her single sheet waiting for the energy she gained from her oatmeal to wear off so she could drift away to hopefully a better place where she could imagine herself as a better pony.
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Post by diamondpoint on Nov 26, 2011 20:31:36 GMT -5
Oh no, things were happening! Why were things happening? Quillson was coming closer and Aestella was going farther away! No, no... Aestella was leaving! Oh, roasted hay bales... Diamond extended a hoof after the Unicorn, willing her to stay longer, but it was no use. She rounded the corner and was gone from sight. With a soft whimper, she slowly glanced towards Quillson, who was busying himself in the cupboard.
"I...uh... y-yes... Please. I could eat." she smiled weakly, not sure where to look. Looking at him was awkward, but avoiding it seemed rude. Her mind not shutting up wasn't helping anything either. The panicky voice in the back of her mind was starting to give her a headache. Ignore it... push past it.
"I'll... just have what you're having, I guess...." She lost her battle with awkwardness and stared at the table.
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Post by thepatriot on Nov 26, 2011 22:31:26 GMT -5
"Oh! Aestella, you don't have to leave right now! I was just saying that it would be good if you-" And with that, the unicorn left the kitchen. What had he done? He hadn't meant for her to just leave like that, how could he have been so rude?! He stepped back out of the pantry to follow her, but she was gone. Great. Just, great... He looked back from the empty door way, his eyes landing on Diamond Point sitting at the table. She was looking all over the room, as if she couldn't stay focused on one thing at a time. Before her eyes could come back to him (assuming they would) the stallion turned back to the pantry.
Slumping his shoulders a bit, he pulled free a box of 'Sugar Oats!' cereal from the shelves inside the pantry. He walked it back over to the counter, pulling two bowls free from the cupboards nearby. He poured the cereal into the bowls, then filled them with milk from the fridge as well. Two spoons, one for each pony still there were placed inside their respective meals. He carried Diamond's first on his back, setting it down in front of the Unicorn. He dared one look to her during this, though he quickly retreated back to his own bowl.
"I hope that's enough... If you wanted something more, I could get to work on it for you." He finished talking as he reached the table, sitting across from Diamond Point. Offering out a weak smile to her, he placed his bowl down and took his seat. What to say, what to say? Something definitely needed to be said... Maybe 'this' topic would be a better place to start.
"Do you think we, or, one of us should go talk to Aestella? She seemed rather upset when she left, and I can't stop feeling like it was partially my fault." He risked eye contact and direct facing to Diamond as he spoke, waiting to see what she thought on the matter.
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Post by zasknu on Nov 27, 2011 3:02:45 GMT -5
Though the sheet did not provide much warmth, Aestella was comfortable on her mattress, staring into the black nothingness of her room. She knew every inch of the wall before her, even in the darkness she could tell where the brush strokes of the white walls started and stopped, and it's familiarity made her much more comfortable with what was happening in her home. Her new friends were mad at her, she could understand that. She had made them sad and angry by doing things she shouldn't have.
Rolling over on the mattress, the unicorn looked up at her friends on their trunk, watching her unhappily. "What's wrong?" She asked, starting to get a little afraid of their expressions. "What are you going to do to fix this?" Tock asked plainly. "You clearly need to fix this, you don't want to ruin your friendship. It just started!" Tick exclaimed impatiently. Aestella frowned, unsure of what to say. She desperately wanted Diamond and Quillson to be happy, but all she did was make them mad. Just being in the same house as her made their lives worse. "Well... I guess... I'll just ask them to leave again..." Aestella turned away from her friends, facing the wall again and closed her eyes, "Better they are gone then they remain to be hurt by me..."
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Post by diamondpoint on Nov 27, 2011 4:17:52 GMT -5
Diamond sat frozen, her eyes locked on the table, as Quillson worked on making some breakfast for them. Her mind lock in a struggle between talking to the stallion and hiding under the table. That latter was winning when a bowl of cereal appeared in front of her. She flinched a little, squeaking lightly again. How long had that been there? Only a few seconds, she hoped. Otherwise, that might have been odd...
Diamond slowly looked up at Quillson, then quickly looked back down at her bowl, blushing lightly. 'Burning Everfree! I got to get out of here! This tention is killing me!' She swallowed and nodded, "Yeah, I think we probably should... Seems she might have gotten the wrong idea, again. I'll, uh... I'll follow your lead." she said, keeping her eyes downcast. She floated a spoonfull of cereal into her mouth, while waiting for the Stallion's response.
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Post by thepatriot on Nov 27, 2011 5:05:18 GMT -5
She looked mortified to be there. He knew almost exactly how she could have been feeling, having experienced his own outburst of emotion just two days before. Sure he hadn't exactly 'done' anything on it other than distance himself, but he thought the mindset would be similar. Maybe. Honestly he didn't know, but thinking about ANYTHING kept him sane at the moment.
Quillson took his own bite of cereal, deciding it best to not look at Diamond too much. She was uncomfortable enough already, she didn't need him adding to that more than he already had. Would it be better if he left? He couldn't leave Aestella again, not after what had happened before.... but he could still keep his distance from Diamond Point. Of course, if that was best for her... He didn't WANT to leave, despite the awkwardness. He still liked her, a lot. And if anything the situation that morning should have been a relief to him. But how it was effecting his friends... that was a problem.
He took a few more bites of his breakfast, staring down into the cereal as it slowly became soggier. He looked back up at Diamond Point, hoping his eyes wouldn't put her under too much stress. "I... I want you to know I'm here to talk about... whatever it is that's on your mind. I don't know that I'm the most qualified for this but, ... I'm still your friend, right? And maybe together we can... figure out how to approach this?" He finished that last bit as if it were a question to the two of them.
"And uh... I can always leave too, if that helps. I know having me right here must be... really something. So if you want to see less of me or, whatever you think is best, I'm happy to oblige." Hopefully she wouldn't cast him off, but he knew how distancing yourself from the 'problem' could help. He smiled softly at her, sicnerity in his eyes. He just wanted to ease the situation, no matter which direction it took them. "I do want to talk, at some point. That is if you're okay with it and all... But for now, I'm going to go check on Aestella and make sure she's okay. I'll be right back though, and we can do whatever you think is best."
He waited a moment for any reply Diamond could have given him, and walked carefully back out into the hall. He made his way towards Aestella's 'room', pulling his situation with Diamond from his head and replacing it with his friendship with Aestella. He needed to make sure she understood that their strangeness wasn't her fault, and that she was of no sense in trouble or at fault. He stopped outside the pony's door, knocking lightly. Waiting a moment for either a response or a prolonged silence before opening it up.
"Aestella? Is it okay if we talk for a minute? I just want to make sure you're okay."
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Post by zasknu on Nov 27, 2011 5:15:00 GMT -5
The ring of metal on metal chimed through the house, as a much older Aestella gently tapped a sheet of brass into a nice curved shape. Her current project took a lot of work, but she felt that she had gotten all of the details right. Carrying this last curved plate over to a large mechanical construct in the center of her now larger workshop. Carefully, she lifted the plate with her magic, setting on the top of the machine, tapping it into place with a hammer then using her magic to fuse the plate to the other pieces of metal around it, until it formed a solid piece of brass. Taking a step back from her creation, she set her horn aglow, enchanting the batteries inside the machine to last a lifetime.
"Encio, how do you feel?" She asked, watching as the large mechanical earth stallion began to shift and move, imitating the movements of a real pony to almost every detail. "Technically, I do not feel" Encio began, testing the movement of his new body's legs, and speaking despite not being able to move the body's mouth, "But I would say that I feel wonderful, thank you Madam." The clockwork pony bowed graciously to the inventor, who smiled and bowed back happily. "See Tick, Tock. I told you I could do it. Now our friend can walk with us when we travel."
From behind Aestella, there was a loud mechanical scoff, as Tick flew over and landed on Encio's back. "Travel? Since when did you ever do that? You haven't left the house your whole life!" Tick exclaimed, annoyed at havign to point this out, again. Aestella gasp with shock at her friend's outburst. "That doesn't mean we can't start now, righ-" She was cut off as Tock flew over as well, landing next to Tick. "I am sorry, but we are tired of waiting for you. A real friend wouldn't be as shut away as you are. Which is why we have made the decision to leave you."
Aestella couldn't believe what she was hearing; her lifelong friends, her best friends, her only friends... we're leaving? Just like that? "B-but... why?" She whispered, tears streaming from her eyes. "You really don't know why?! Still!?" Tick exclaimed, no longer having the patience to keep quiet with his displeasure with the inventor and flying out of the house in a huff. Tock watched his brother leave and sighed at Aestella, "You aren't worth the time anymore. All you have done is sit in your workshop, tinkering with machines and sending anypony who could have been your friend away. We're going to go find any of them to spend time with instead."
With that said, Tock followed his brother out of the house and out of Aestella's life forever. Aestella collapsed to the floor, shocked at what just happened. "Madam, are you alright?" Encio asked, stepping forward towards the depressed unicorn. "How could this have happened... they are gone... after all these years. But... you'll still be here... right?" Teary eyed, Aestella turned hopefully towards the robo-pony waiting to hear him say he would stay. Encio coughed politely and took a step back, "I regret to inform you that I will be taking my leave as well." Aestella's jaw dropped again, and she asked again; "Why!?" Encio looked Aestella in the eyes and said simply, "Now that I have this new body you made me, I no longer need to be shackled to your existence and can now take my leave of you. I thank you for this gift and wish you well in the rest of your days." Bowing again, he turned from the sad excuse for a pony and left the house as well, closing the front door softly behind him.
"...for a minute? I just want to make sure you're okay." Aestella opened her eyes and turned away from the wall, tears in her eyes from her nightmare. "Q-quillson? Oh... I'm sorry, can you repeat that? I was ... asleep." She swallowed nervously, and wiped her face on her sheet as she shifted around to sit up shakily in bed to get a better view of Quillson.
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Post by diamondpoint on Nov 27, 2011 5:41:43 GMT -5
Talk. Talk? TALK?! He wanted to talk. Talk about what? There was nothing to talk about! Not! Not a thing! It's not like she slipped up in a sleepy state, nope. That's definitely not something to talk about. Nope. Not in the slightest. That talk is just crazy talk!
Diamond sighed. He was right. They needed to clear the air, but, oh Celestia, she did not want to. If only she could go back an hour and not k--do that... thing.. again. But no, she did and she had to live with it, and they needed to talk. Just... not right this second, they needed Aestella to calm down first.
"Ah...! No, no... you don't need to leave, you shouldn't leave. That wouldn't help at all... But yeah... go talk to Aestella, I'll... I'll wait here." she smiled a little at Quillson, then looked down at her food again, floating another spoonful into her mouth. She slowly ate, staring at the milky bowl, sadly.
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Post by thepatriot on Nov 27, 2011 6:21:31 GMT -5
"Oh, I just wanted to know if we could talk for a moment." He waited a moment, looking at the pony in her bed. She was... crying? Oh no! What had he done?! How could he have been so thoughtless before, pushing this dear friend of his to isolation and sadness of this magnitude. He had to rectify the situation, and now! Quillson stepped into the closet, quickly embracing Aestella in a hug as she laid huddled under her blanket.
"Oh please don't cry Aestella. I didn't mean to make you leave before, I was just saying I thought it would be best if you got a little sleep at some point.". He continued to hug her, hoping she would see his sincerity. "I wanted to come by and make sure you were okay, but now I can see you're not." He pulled back, maintaining a face of worry for his friend. He hadn't expected her to be like this, after such a simple comment before. things were REALLY getting to his head...
"I'm sorry, so so sorry. I just want to help you do what's best for your own good. I would never want you to just, go away. Or anything like that. The same goes for Diamond Point, I'm sure. We're your friends. Right?" At this he offered out another smile, not forced of fabricated like those in the kitchen.
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Post by zasknu on Nov 27, 2011 13:39:31 GMT -5
"Told you so" Tock stated, followed by a loud, "See? They do like you!" Tick chirped giddily. Aestella tossed a quiet 'shh' at them again as she wiped her eyes off again with the sheet. All they wanted was for her to sleep, they weren't mad, they were concerned. She had overreacted so much to the situation and for apparently no good reason. They wanted her to be happy, and healthy, and they definitely didn't want her gone.
"Y-yeah... we're friends. T-thank you, for not being angry that is. I'm sorry if I made you two feel uncomfortable... It won't happen again, I promise." Aestella dried her eyes and stared up at Quillson with her tired expression but with hope in her eyes. Even though they didn't get angry at her this time, didn't mean she would be safe from messing up again in the future, and next time she might not be so lucky.
"I'll just... be in here, sleeping then. Thanks for coming and talking to me. And... you don't, hate me then?" Aestella whispered, settling back in her bed and trying to get comfortable. Despite Quillson's effort to reassure her, she couldn't find the willpower to close her eyes, afraid that when next she woke she would find that her newest friends will have vanish, as Quillson had the last time Aestella slept.
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