He stood next to a stand where ponies got shaven ice with various flavors drizzled on top. The ponies that came up to it ignored him, as was normal, but he was not ignoring them.
Under the later-afternoon sun, he watched each come up, his eyes on the angle of their ears, the way their eyes turned, the flicks of their cute tails, and other little hints Roseluck had advised him about.
He was judging them silently, taking measure of their thoughts. It felt like a super power, and it was all his to enjoy in silence.
Sure, Jacob wasn't entirely certain he was reading them all correctly. He'd have to touch bases with Roseluck again and keep practicing, but it was... uncanny. That little colt was super happy when he got to the front of the line, but he kept glancing away, nervous. Had he snuck there without telling his parents he was getting a sweet treat?
The next mare strolled up with a bored look in her eyes and tilt of her ears. She showed no interest in the ice cone she ordered and was delivered. The cone wasn't for her, maybe? She was told to go get it for somepony else, perhaps?
Jacob giggled a little to himself, getting an odd glare from her before she strode away. Oops, giggling didn't help his shield. He waved a hoof over his face, dismissing his expression. He felt... different, but good. He was seeing through the veil and it was a heady experience.
"Hello." There was Daisy, walking right up to him as if his shield never existed. "Um... good afternoon... Jacob..."
He turned his grey eyes onto his would-be date. He tried to turn his new vision on her, but it... wasn't as easy. This was a mare he was going to date. She looked, uh... nervous? Excited? He couldn't tell. He was too close to the situation and cursed softly. He needed to grind this skill a bit higher before he could use it reliably when it counted. "Daisy! Good to see you."
"It is?" She glanced around and back at him, smiling a little awkwardly. "I mean, of course, ha ha... I didn't keep you waiting for long, I hope?"
"I was just pony watching." He waved a hoof towards the cart he had parked next to. "Want a little treat for the walk?"
"Oh, they have carrot flavor." Her eyes were on the sign that displayed the choices. "My favorite."
"Two carrots," he ordered, reaching for coins he could grab with his hoof thanks to another recent trick he had learned. He felt a moment of pride, as if he had really grown as a pony. He could even see that the stall owner was bored as heck, and mildly irritated, though he wasn't sure why.
Jacob had never stood in the proper line, but he had also been standing right there the whole time, just not really noticed. The stall-keep accepted his coins and had two cones set in their waiting hooves in short order to get to the next customer, deciding just serving him was faster than even trying to argue. He had other ponies to get to.
Daisy softly nibbled at her cold treat, walking towards the lake that wasn't far beyond the stand. "So... do you walk here a lot?"
"Honestly no." He licked and chewed at the crushed ice as he walked, one hoof raised to keep it in mouth-range. "I usually lurk closer to the center of town, but this is nice. You?"
"Me neither," she sighed out softly. "I'm usually with the girls, handling our flowers... Um... do you like flowers?" She glanced nervously out of the corner of her eyes at him.
"They're nice... smell good." He wasn't sure what else to say about flowers... "They come in nice colors."
"They do!" she blurted out, grasping desperately for conversation she could take part in. "I love the shapes they come in too. Getting colors and shapes to balance out is what makes a bouquet really stand out."
"I never thought of it like that." Jacob had never really thought about flowers much at all. "What's your favorite?"
Daisy went red in her cheeks. "I bet you expect me to say a daisy... well, sorta... There are actually a lot of daisies out there, and each of them is great in a different way." She glanced back at her rump where two flowers rested.
Jacob glanced back there, but she went even darker instantly and he quickly looked away. "Oh, uh, was just looking at what you were looking at."
"Oh... you can look at that." She smiled, nervous enough for him to notice. "Sorry, this is... new."
"A good new, I hope?" He glanced at her rump-adorning flowers. "What about those flowers?"
"A good new, I think... Those are nice flowers, but I don't feel like that right now." She pointed a hoof across them towards the lake, the cone still stuck to the end of it. "The swans are so graceful."
There they were, with curved necks, graceful and drifting across the water. He imagined their feet paddling with all the fury that was absent from their face, propelling them forward. "They're nice..." He took a big bite of his cone, wanting to finish it off. It was gone. In its place, a sudden sharp pain as his head complained about the temperature difference.
He stopped, hoof going to his pounding head. "Too fast, too fast..."
"Be careful..." She set her cone down carefully and turned towards him. "Brain freeze is just the worst."
He looked to her face and smiled a little. She was looking concerned, and not nervous for a change. She was prettier when she wasn't worried. "I'm alright, promise. Don't let your cone get dirty. Thanks."
Daisy squeaked, reclaiming her cone. "Right. So..." She started walking again, walking alongside him. "So what do a mare and stallion do, once they've gone around the lake?"
"Anything they want." Jacob lifted his shoulders as he went with her. "We only promised to take a walk, so if you want to go home, that's alright. If you want to hang out more, that's alright too." Daisy was nervous, he decided, but not terrible company. "We could get something real to eat, or do some pony watching. Maybe we could drop in on the other flower mares and tell them how it went."
"I can handle that," she squeaked, wobbling in place. "Leave... that to me, thanks, ha ha... um..." Daisy looked anywhere but at Jacob, the talk going quiet for a little while.
He noticed she didn't seem to lose him even in the quiet. "Say, Daisy?"
"Hmm?"
"If you could hang out with any stallion at all, just... any stallion, maybe one that doesn't even exist, what would they be like?"
Daisy blinked with wide eyes. "What a question! Oh, wow, um..." She dropped the remnants of her cone into a trash bin and curled the hoof around to her chin, looking thoughtful. "They wouldn't be one of those 'strong' stallions. Muscles like that turn me off."
"Aw." Bulk Biceps slunk away, dejected.
Daisy raised a brow at him. "When did he get there? Um, anyway... Soft... Yes, soft and not too pushy..." She canted her head a little. "Someone who likes to listen instead of always talking? They'd ask more questions instead of just... assuming things, like a stallion knows everything." She rolled her eyes. "A stallion like that."
Jacob filtered through the stallions he knew. No wonder she was sad about Big Mac being claimed, though... "Big Mac isn't very soft. He's really strong, and big."
"You said I could make up one." She snorted softly, tongue extended. "Don't change the rules on me halfway in."
"Oh, right, sorry... Uh... Anything else about them?"
"Well..." They were about three quarters of the way around the pond, walking along the idyllic scenery. "They would... care about me. Like... they wouldn't ever just assume 'she's fine'. They'd just ask... Even if I got shy."
"Are you fine?"
Daisy lit up brightly. "No," she squeaked. "Here I am, describing a stallion that doesn't exist to a stallion that does. Am I hurting your feelings?"
"Nah... They sound like a cool stallion."
Daisy blinked at that, peering at Jacob. "You like stallions?"
"As friends. A good friend is good, boy or girl." He stopped a moment and turned towards Daisy. "We're just about done, and, uh, this sounds silly probably, but you did good. Go... home, and tell them how it went. You did good."
Daisy took an unsure step away. "Are you telling me to go away?"
"No! No... sheesh..." His ears flattened and he looked away. "I'm trying to not be pushy... You're a nice mare, and I don't want to push being friends. Relax, you know? If you want to hang out again, just ask."
"Just ask..." She glanced away before taking an unsure step forward. "There's one last thing to do."
Jacob raised an ear as he asked, "what's tha--" She suddenly darted in the last few steps, planting a kiss on him, stiff and nervous, but still a kiss. Daisy pulled back just as quickly and ran away in a wild gallop, unable to face him a moment longer.
He was left behind, crashing to his haunches. That wasn't his first kiss, but it was a special one, he decided, raising a hoof to rub over his lips. He tried to use his new super powers, but they refused to come to him. Before he had been too close. It had advanced to drowning in it. He gave up and stood up slowly.
He wandered off, looking for a quiet place to sit down and gather himself.
Twilight brought down her hoof on a paragraph. "I think I have it!"
"Have what?" Spike looked over from where he was hovering, a comic in his hands.
"I was researching the prince problem." Twilight set the book aside and stood up. "Did you forget?"
"Forget? I thought everyone forgot... oh, huh... I... didn't forget?"
The door to the library burst open, admitting Pinkie into the room on her knees sliding in, forehooves wide. "His name is Jacob!" she declared with a big grin.
Twilight looked over with a raised brow. "Huh? Who's name is Jacob?"
"I'm going to guess it's the prince's? Pinkie timing is hard to argue."
"Exactly so." She bounced up to her hooves, pointing one of them at Spike, another moving for her nose. "He admitted it to Roseluck, and she told me, and I've been telling everyone! Jacob! Jacob!" She bounced in place excitedly. "What a human name, but a good one."
Twilight blinked softly. "I... oh. No wonder I was able to conduct proper research. This discovery must have weakened his shield of anonymity. With the discovery of his name, we 'know' him, even if just a little. I wonder if it's had any other immediate effects." She raised a hoof to her chin. "I wonder if I'd spot him now, or if I'd walk past. I couldn't be certain."
"One way to find out," noted Spike with a shrug. "Shall we go prince hunting?"
Pinkie twirled in place on one hoof, coming down facing the exit. "You mean Jacob hunting, duh. Let's go! I want to give my friend a hug, and that's easier when you know their real name."
Spike lowered from his perch, setting his comic aside along the way. "You could give a pony hug without knowing their name."
"Yeah but then it's weird and they complain." Pinkie shrugged softly. "I tried it a few times."
"Haven't you hugged Jacob before you knew he was a prince?" Twilight moved to join Pinkie in departing. "I'm reasonably certain you have.
"But he's special! I'm helping him not be forgotten. Hugs can be forgiven for that, I think. Right? He didn't complain, so I'm rolling with that."