Sunset looked over at Cadance, wondering why she'd agreed to this. Going out in the middle of the night was something she did, sure, but it wasn't to go and have fun. It was to hunt things that lurked in the shadows, or at least to study the stars. Sneaking out to one of Canterlot's nightclubs was pretty far removed from her usual ways to spend time, not least for the same reason she didn't go to restaurants. Showing up somewhere alone meant a whole night spent sitting quietly and watching other people enjoy themselves.
Not that she was alone tonight. She still wasn't sure the results would be far different.
"See? It's the perfect disguise." Cadance adjusted the big, floppy hat covering her horn, wide sunglasses hiding her eyes. If not for the fact that she was a head taller than most of the ponies around her, and the big crystal heart on her butt, one could almost (if they were generous) say that she was anonymous.
"You're kidding, right?" Sunset rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure ponies are bowing to you."
"I'm in disguise, Sunset. I didn't even bring my crown or anything!" Cadance laughed. "There's no way they can tell who I am if I don't have a crown on!"
"I didn't know that ponies only recognized you when you had your crown on," Sunset said, deadpan. "I wonder if Celestia ever goes out without her regalia and leaves ponies wondering if they recognize the pony three times their size from somewhere."
"Just remember to use my codename," Cadance said.
"I'm not going to call you Lovebutt all night."
"Spoilsport," Cadance said, sticking out her tongue. She led Sunset to a long line of ponies waiting to get into a club.
"We're going here?" Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't this a little... lowbrow for a Prin-"
Cadance coughed.
Sunset rolled her eyes. "For a fine, demure lady like you, Lovebutt?"
"Don't be silly. Places like this are fun! I'm not a million years old like Celestia, you know. I'm basically the same age you are, almost. Practically. Getting your cutie mark and the... other thing... at the same time sort of make biological age and stuff a mess."
"Uh-huh," Sunset said, getting more and more skeptical by the moment.
"The point is, I go undercover to places like this all the time. Sometimes I wear a long coat and pretend to be a unicorn. Other times I wear a hat and pretend I'm a pegasus! I could be anypony!"
"You could even wear both and pretend you're an earth pony," Sunset suggested.
"That's a good idea. I have to remember that one." Cadance nodded, approving of the suggestion.
"Stars save me," Sunset whispered.
"Come on. I bet two mares like us can get in without having to wait in line." Cadance made an exaggerated winking motion since Sunset couldn't see her eyes past the glasses. Sunset groaned and followed her to where a bouncer was standing guard at the door.
"Hello there~" Cadance purred. The bouncer's cheeks turned the same pink as Cadance's coat.
"Your highness! Please, come in." He stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter.
"Perfect disguise, huh?" Sunset asked. Cadance shooshed her.
"He's a bouncer. They're very observant. It's no surprise he saw through my otherwise perfect disguise." Cadance nodded at her own logic and walked inside, nodding to the bouncer as they entered.
Inside, it was very loud. There had to be some kind of silence spell bubble protecting the property values around the club, because as soon as Sunset walked past a blue line on the floor, the noise flooded her senses like a tidal wave, a bass beat thudding through her body like a second heartbeat.
"I love this song!" Cadance yelled, having to shout just to be heard. Ponies were packed in, a crowd dancing on a magically-illuminated dance floor while a raised seating area surrounded it on all sides, and a second level protected by mirrored glass hung over it all. The lights were low and multicolored, shining from improbable locations like a dark rainbow just below the surface of the club.
"What in Tartarus is that?" Sunset yelled back. She spotted the musician across the floor, a stallion behind turntables and a complicated looking piece of magitech with bubbling, glowing tubes and knobs.
"He's a DJ!" Cadance said, pulling Sunset towards the seating area. "LP is playing tonight! He's really great! He mixes classical music with contemporary stuff!"
Sunset thought she recognized Beethooven's Fifth, though usually it wasn't being played backwards and forwards at the same time while what sounded like several cats died horrible deaths at the hands of a brass section.
"Let's get some drinks!" Cadance suggested. Sunset nodded. When they got to a booth, the noise suddenly cut down to a more manageable level. Sunset looked down to find another painted circle on the ground. A second silence bubble, at a lower intensity.
"I'll need a drink to get through this," Sunset muttered.
"Great!" Cadance smiled. A waitress came over and Cadance leaned over, whispering into her ear. She nodded and left after a moment. "I ordered for you. I hope you don't mind."
"Considering both of us are incredibly powerful spellcasters, I don't think we're supposed to be drinking at all," Sunset noted. "There's a law against it. It's named after a nice round lake that used to be a distillery."
"With how today has been going, we can make an exception. It's either a celebration or a distraction or both." Cadance smiled. "Just try not to summon anything with an unpronounceable name."
"Be careful," Sunset warned. "I know beings who are so powerful they have over twenty apostrophes in their first name alone!"
Cadance laughed, and after a moment, Sunset joined her.
"So you really come here often?" Sunset asked, looking around.
"Yeah," Cadance said. "To be honest, I'm pretty sure they know who I am. Especially after I opened a tab and expensed it to the Crown."
"That would be a dead giveaway, yeah," Sunset snorted. Drinks were put in front of them, very large glasses with a half-dozen types of fruit around the rim and liquid inside in a variety of alarmingly bright colors that, even more alarmingly, did not seem to be mixing on their own.
"They're called Seapony Dreams," Cadance said, sipping on a curly straw protruding through the layer of fruit. "They're really good, and they have a kick like a mule with the strength of two mules."
"That description does not necessarily make me want to actually drink it," Sunset noted. She sipped at her drink and shivered. It was good, but something in her body could instinctively tell how much alcohol was in it. Thankfully, she often ignored the suggestions her body made, and took a quick second sip to let it know who was boss.
She looked up to see Cadance looking across the dance floor, her horn's light just visible from under her floppy hat.
"What are you doing?" Sunset asked, turning to look.
"Don't stare," Cadance warned. "I'm just helping a few ponies out. A little love magic makes a first date a lot less awkward."
"See, that makes it sound like mind control again," Sunset noted.
"It doesn't work if the ponies don't genuinely like each other," Cadance said, turning back to the table. "Like that griffon at the bar there. He just wants to get his beak wet."
Sunset snorted at the phrasing, her drink almost going up her nose.
"Not while I'm drinking!" Sunset coughed.
"But it was such a cute reaction! But I'm serious. He doesn't care about any of the mares here. Or stallions. He just wants to have some fun. There's no real love there, so my magic wouldn't help him at all."
"And you can tell that at a glance, with no spells?" Sunset asked.
"I'm the Princess of Love. It's my business to know." Cadance smirked. "Or... portfolio? Divine mandate? Royal right to butt in?"
"That just begs the question of why you don't have a coltfriend yourself," Sunset pointed out. "Unless you're just holding out for a perfect match."
"There's no such thing as a perfect match," Cadance shrugged. "Actually, given the right circumstances, I think almost any two ponies could fall in love. Ponies are such amazing, multifaceted beings that there's almost always some way that they can be compatible with each other."
"That's very romantic," Sunset said.
"It's true, though! The problem is, sometimes it would take a lot of work to make a relationship last. If you only love one thing about a pony, like their appearance, or their talents, or the way they preen your feathers, but you don't love the rest? It's hard to stay with a pony for any length of time if you have that little in common. On the other hoof, if you love somepony except for one or two little things, that's a small barrier to overcome."
"And so what was it with you? Seeing too many ponies that only love you for being a pretty face?"
"More like they loved the idea of me without loving me as a person," Cadance sighed. "Half of them think that because I'm the Princess of Love I'm also the princess of putting out on the first date."
Sunset snorted with laughter again.
"I'm serious! The closest I came to a decent date was with Shining Armor."
"Twilight Sparkle's brother?" Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's the one. He was very polite. And very shy. That was the real barrier there - he never felt like he was worthy of dating me, and so he kept sabotaging himself." Cadance sighed. "It was nice for a while, but we started to grow apart because of Midnight. I didn't have as much time to foalsit his sister, we stopped seeing each other as often, and we eventually decided to just stay friends. I think it was a relief for him. The pressure between trying to date me and trying to get into the Royal Guard was making him crack. Maybe once some of the stress is gone we could try again but..."
"I'm surprised to hear the Princess of Love give up on a pony like that," Sunset said, after a moment of thought.
"It wasn't easy," Cadance admitted. "But it was better for both of us. But what about you? I bet you've had your eyes on some cute colts. Or mares? I don't know which you prefer, actually."
"I haven't thought about it," Sunset said, flatly. "Do you have any idea how little real free time I have? Between my studies and fighting monsters and taking care of Midnight, I haven't even thought about trying to date anypony - and don't you dare offer to set me up with somepony."
"Well, what about-"
"And when I say 'somepony', I don't mean I want you to try and find me a griffon to date."
"Aww. Spoilsport," Cadance teased. "Griffons are fun, though. Not much for serious relationships, but they are very passionate."
"I do not want details, Cadance," Sunset said. She took a long drag from her drink to try and erase the pictures forming in her mind.
"I never kiss and tell," Cadance said. "At least not without changing the names to protect the innocent. But if you don't want to talk about love, we can talk about something else."
"You could start by telling me how to get a pair of wings," Sunset said. "Like how you did it. It wasn't just because you wanted it enough. Celestia must have told you something."
"If there was a secret formula to it, I'd tell you in a heartbeat," Cadance said. "Celestia said even she wasn't sure of all the specifics, and you know she gets sort of vague and skips difficult questions."
"If she told you anything, it's more than I know," Sunset said.
"Well..." Cadance hesitated. "She said there are a few requirements. The first thing is that you need to have a high enough level of magical energy in your body to begin with. It's like how a fire has to have fuel to grow, right? If you don't have the magic inside you, even if you do everything else right, you couldn't get to that next level."
"I've got that," Sunset said.
"Definitely. I was strong for a pegasus, but even Celestia has said your magic is the strongest of any unicorn she's ever known."
"Flattering," Sunset muttered.
"The second thing that you need to become an alicorn is exposure to a huge amount of external magical power. Like Prisma's spell overloading in my face. I think between that and getting my cutie mark, there was enough magic all at once to fuel the ascension."
"So Celestia really could turn me into an alicorn?" Sunset asked.
"No, because there are two other requirements," Cadance sighed. "The third, as Celestia explained, is total understanding of yourself and your magic. You have to have a moment of total clarity. It's like when you find your cutie mark, that same sudden understanding of some important, defining part of yourself."
"And the last thing?" Sunset settled back into her seat.
"A great need," Cadance said. "You can't become an alicorn just from wanting it enough, or being strong enough, or studying all the magic in the world. I'm not sure exactly what Celestia meant, but... I think because harmony had been damaged so badly by Prisma, there was enough of a need for my love magic that I fulfilled the last requirement."
"Great," Sunset hissed. "And at least one of those can't be faked or worked towards in any constructive way."
"Well, I'm pretty sure hunting monsters down won't help," Cadance smiled faintly. "I think doing that was starting to make you lose sight of what's really important in life. I don't want you to end up bitter and alone like Prisma was."
"So what? I should go to bars and drink and date random ponies?" Sunset asked, obviously upset. "That can't be the answer."
"I think connections between ponies are important," Cadance said. "Alicorns represent all three pony tribes coming together in harmony. If it wasn't for the love I felt for the ponies around me, I don't think I would have been able to have that real understanding of myself that I needed."
"Bah!" Sunset scoffed. "I'll figure it out. And then I'll publish it so everypony knows how to become an alicorn!"
"I don't think there are a lot of ponies that can become an alicorn, even if they know how," Cadance said. "And if it really requires knowing yourself inside and out, well... it would be like trying to publish a book on how to get your cutie mark."
"I guess," Sunset sighed. "I just wish I could... figure it out. Then ponies would respect me for being me, not because I can be useful to Celestia, or because they're afraid of what I might do to them."
"I think the most important thing is that you keep trying to be a better pony," Cadance said. "You've really grown a lot ever since you started taking care of Midnight."
"Ugh. Half the time I feel like she's holding me back," Sunset admitted. "But at the same time, I couldn't ever just abandon her."
"Is that why you made sure she was set for the night before leaving her with the maids?" Cadance asked.
"And why I had a guard stay nearby in case the maid couldn't handle something," Sunset noted. "Midnight is a great filly, but I know how much trouble I got into at that age."
"Of course you remember. It wasn't that long ago. She's only about ten years younger than you are." Cadance smiled.
"Yeah, yeah," Sunset blushed and drank more, the flavor abruptly changing as she drained one layer and started on the next. "I mean she's already got a head start on getting Celestia totally flustered."
"Not that it's difficult," Cadance laughed. "I remember when Celestia first came to see me at the village, she was in disguise as a normal unicorn, and then she tried to be all impressive and regal at my parents and removed her disguise, but the ceiling was too low, and her head-" Cadance giggled so hard she snorted. "Her head went right through the roof and she got stuck!"
Sunset laughed hard enough that she had to put her head down on the table for a moment.
"That's- that's so her," Sunset said, between laughs. "I bet she tried to pretend it was a lesson, right? That's what she always did to me. Like she's really great at chess, but that's only because she spent a couple centuries memorizing all the openings. If you play any other board game, she's awful. Like this one time, we played Mareopoly-"
"No way," Cadance gasped. "That game is a friendship ender!"
"I got a lead early in the game, and she kept falling further and further behind. I offered to let her concede, but she thought she could turn it around. When we finally finished, she banished the game to the sun!"
"You're lucky she didn't banish you there." Cadance smiled. "You should have seen her when I went out on a date for the first time. It was with this cute filly that was working as a translator for the Zebrican ambassador."
"A filly, huh?" Sunset raised an eyebrow.
"As the Princess of Love, I feel that experimenting is an important part of life," Cadance said, turning up her nose. "I didn't get a second date with her, mostly because of Celestia. When I brought her back to the castle, she made us sit down and give us an hour-long lecture on the importance of safe sexual practices because she was sure that one of us would end up pregnant."
"But... you were both mares!"
"Given how the talk went, I’m not entirely sure Celestia was aware that mattered.”
"No wonder you didn't get a second date," Sunset muttered. "Do you remember when she was pink for a week?"
"Who could forget?" Cadance snorted. "She banned all cameras from castle grounds and refused to talk about it."
"Want to know how she turned pink?" Sunset asked.
Cadance gasped. "Isn't it treason to talk about it?"
"It's a state secret. I can tell you since you're a princess." Sunset leaned in and whispered something into Cadance's ear. The Princess' grin got wider and wider until she gasped and pulled away.
"She didn't! With the whole pot of pasta?"
Sunset nodded and leaned in, whispering again. Cadance burst out laughing and had to cover her muzzle with two hooves.
"No way," Cadance said, finally.
"I swear on my magic," Sunset said. "I saw the whole thing. That's also why she passed the legislation on truth in labeling and false advertisements."
"I can't believe you managed to keep that secret!" Cadance giggled again. "That's got to be the most ridiculous thing I ever heard!"
"Ponies probably wouldn't respect her as much if they knew about all the insane things she got up to," Sunset said.
"Maybe," Cadance agreed, sitting back. "We should really spend more time together. This is fun!"
"What we should really do is get another round of drinks," Sunset said, looking at her empty glass.
"A natural leader," Cadance said, nodding seriously. She raised her hoof and waved to the waitress. "Another round!"
Sunset groaned and rolled over. Her head felt like it had been bashed open with a golden brick wrapped in pegasus down. She was sure if she tried casting even a single spell it would make her entire horn shoot off like a rocket and explode.
Her bed was extremely comfortable, though, and she felt warm and safe. That was nice. Then her blanket moved, and light got into her face.
"Ungh... somepony close the curtains..." Sunset muttered.
"Sorry," groaned another voice. Sunset blinked, opening her eyes slowly and trying to focus. That voice had been very close-by.
"What?" Sunset asked, confused. "What are you doing in my bed?" She narrowed her eyes, trying to focus on the pink mass.
"Your bed?" Cadance asked, turning over. "Isn't this my bed?"
"No, it's..." Sunset looked around the room. Everything was pastel and pink. "It's your bed."
"I thought so," Cadance yawned, pulling Sunset closer. "Your bed is probably all scratchy..."
"Why am I in your bed?" Sunset asked, still too out of sorts to process what was happening.
"You're a really affectionate drunk," Cadance said. "You really started to open up after the third round, and then you admitted you'd never gotten a really good kiss, and then..." Cadance stopped and considered. "Then things get a little blurry."
"Did we make out while we were drunk?" Sunset frowned. "And why aren't you as hung over as I am?"
"Earth pony magic, They're immune to hangovers," Cadance yawned, not answering the more important question.
"Argh! I hate you," Sunset muttered. Cadance squeezed her. "Help me get to the shower. I still feel all sticky."
"That's from the whipped cream."
"What in Tartarus did we do last night?"
"I remember there was something with an ice cream sundae, and-" Cadance frowned and reached back to touch her own cutie mark. She winced. "Yep, you do bite too hard."
"Bite?!"
"I'll tell you in the shower," Cadance said, helping her to her hooves and bumping her flank against Sunset's as she walked towards the bathroom. "I don't want you to use up all the hot water~"