//------------------------------//
// 3 - Things First 
// Story: First Hoof Account 
// by TCC56 
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Sunset Shimmer's room was not a welcoming place - by design. She didn't want visitors, and the maids were encouraged to do their job and evacuate as quickly as possible. 

For starters, the room was in a perpetual state of twilight: Sunset had long since demanded blackout curtains on all the windows to shut out the watchful eye of Celestia's sun. She had also gone out of her way to remove anything even vaguely comfortable for a second pony to sit on - she had one chair, a quilt on her bed made out of the itchiest possible wool (that she put on when she wasn't sleeping), and three tables each at a carefully chosen height and position so the corners would dig into the hip of any pony that leaned against them. A classical painting hung on either side of the fireplace - one of Starswirl the Bearded and the other of Princess Platinum. Both had been enchanted so their illusory eyes would follow anypony in the room other than Sunset. And as a finishing touch? Sunset had enchanted the room to be extremely low humidity - ostensibly to help with the preservation of old manuscripts and scrolls. And while she had her own reserve of drinks hidden away, all she publicly had to offer visitors was cilantro tea.

She had considered adding caltrops around the doorway, but that had struck Sunset as both overkill and irritating to clean up afterwards. (And it would be her cleaning it up - from past experience, caltrops were very firmly outside of maid responsibilities.)

It would also have been a problem in this case, as for perhaps the first time? Sunset had invited another pony into her room. 

Owlishly, Cadance blinked as she took in the space. "It certainly is..." She hesitated, eyes scanning over everything. "Stoic." 

Sunset snorted, already monopolizing the only chair. "Forgive me for not being bright and cheery. I take my time under Princess Celestia seriously." 

"Still, I'm surprised. Fillies our age usually have a bit more decoration." Cadance squinted at the painting of Princess Platinum, gauging the eyes. "No band posters? No mementos from foalhood? Not even a potted plant?"

Our of sheer reflex, Sunset growled. "I thought you came here for lessons in magic, not to question my decorating choices."

And the cruel undertone was shrugged off immediately. "I'm just curious, that's all. I want to get to know you, too."

"All you need to know right now," Sunset fired back, "Is that you're going to listen to my instructions or you're going to keep opening doors with your wing forever."

Another blink from Cadance. "And that's... bad?" She reflexively looked at her wing and then at the door behind her.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Yes." 

With an actual flare of mild sarcasm, Cadance snapped a salute with her wing.

Ignoring that irritating resistance, Sunset got to work. She lifted a thin metal and crystal probe off her desk, holding it at the ready. "Alright, we'll start with the very basics. Light your horn and let's get a read on how much thaumatic output you've got. At least then I'll know what we're working with."

Cadance's pink cheeks got pinker. "I, um. And... how do I do that?"

Sunset's head made a rather satisfying thunk against the desktop. 





It had taken nearly an hour to teach Cadance how to light her horn.

"From the top," Sunset instructed wearily. 

Cadance set her hooves apart, taking a wide stance that was completely unnecessary. "Right. First, clear my mind of all outside thoughts so I can concentrate."

"Which should be easy." Sunset couldn't help but snark a little.

"Second," Cadance continued, ignoring Sunset, "I tense the appropriate muscle."

That drew a sigh from Sunset, who - after an hour - no longer could bring herself to explain that the adeno-cornus was not a muscle but a stretch of synaptic tissue bridging the gap between brain and horn. That fight was long since lost. It worked for the world's dumbest alicorn and that was good enough for now.

Cadance's entire face was scrunched up like she had just eaten a half-dozen lemons. "Third, push." And she did, tipping her body slightly forward as she tried to shove her brain out through her horn. It was an obvious struggle, but after a few seconds Cadance managed to form a thin single corona of pale blue. It vanished moments later when Cadance stopped straining with a gasp, but it was enough for her to shoot a victorious, gleaming smile at Sunset. 

The unicorn remained unamused. "Congratulations, you've successfully done what most foals can do at birth. Next we'll work on potty training."

With a pouty moue, Cadance harumphed. "I've had a horn for less than a week. I think I'm doing okay."  She paused. "But maybe we could take a quick break? I'm really thirsty."

The devil sparked in Sunset's eyes. "Yeah, sure." She turned away, lighting a small magic burner to heat the teapot. "You're going to need to keep doing that, though. Eventually you'll stop having to concentrate to light your horn, and it'll become reaction." 

"Like muscle memory for flying," Cadance theorized.

The comparison to having wings made Sunset glower slightly. "Yeah. Muscle memory. That's when we can start working on real spells. Until then you won't even manage the basics like levitation. You'll never be able to form complex thaumatic equations in your head if it's taking all of your little brain to form a simple aura."

Cadance shifted on her hooves, eyes casting about in vain for a place to sit. "Look, Sunset, I--" She frowned a little and changed tack even before starting. "Have I said thank you yet for volunteering to help me with this? I know you said you did it because you wanted to know more, but I still really appreciate it." 

The tea warmed, Sunset poured out a cup. "I know you do." Taking a deep sniff, she passed the steaming teacup over. 

There was a brief hesitation as Cadance took the cup in her wings. Then, lacking a better place, she sat down in the middle of the floor. 

Sunset immediately started reconsidering the caltrops. She hadn't anticipated the floor as seating. Nopony with self-respect would do that - that was for animals. 

Cadance saw none of the twisting expression and thought nothing of where she was seated. She was too busy making her own disgusted face at the taste of the tea. "This is certainly, um, different." 

"Cilantro," Sunset pointed out, eager to take control back. "Lots of good vitamins and it promotes a healthy heart." It also tasted like warm soap to a significant percentage of ponies.

Another sip. Cadance smiled a smile that didn't go below the surface. "That's very mindful of you."

Sunset dismissed the thin compliment. "Being Princess Celestia's student is tough. I have to keep at the top of my game for everything, and I'm not going to lose because of a blood pressure spike. I'm no charity case."

There was silence for a moment before Cadance filled in the blank Sunset had left. "Like me."

Her response was a shrug. "I didn't say that." 

"But you implied it," Cadance countered.

Sunset shrugged again. She had thought it.

Deeply sighing, Cadance set the still mostly full teacup on the nearest painfully-angled table. "Sunset, I understand that this is a big change for you. But I swear I'm not trying to make your life difficult - it's just that everything is so new to me that--" 

"Save it." Sunset savagely cut Cadance's whining apology off. "It doesn't matter what you're trying to do, just what you are doing. Saying you didn't mean to steal something doesn't make you less guilty."

Cadance flinched. "You... you think I'm stealing from you?"

She didn't get an answer, which was as far as Sunset could restrain herself. 

Silence lapsed between them - awkward and heavy. Sunset silently cursed her own anger getting the better of her. So while it hurt her ego, she held out an olive branch for the sake of her plan. 

"Look," she tentatively ventured, "I won't pretend I'm happy about this. And right now, I don't like you. But..." Sunset swallowed her pride. "We can work on that?"

It was a tiny concession, but enough for Cadence to latch on to. Hard. Instantly, she was all smiles. "You mean it?"

Sunset shrugged, her grave dislike for Cadance still too hot to entirely commit. 

"I'll take it." Cadance grabbed hold of that sliver with all her meager strength. "We might have a long way to go, but I'm not going to turn down my first potential friend since I came here."

That spiked Sunset's curiosity. "What, you don't have half the guards and maids eating out of your frog?"

Cadance's candy mane shuffled as she shook her head, falling to droop over her left eye. "No, they're... they act respectful, but I think they're all afraid of me." 

Sunset suppressed her initial observation that fear was good, instead grunting out a much more socially acceptable response. "Why? You're about as threatening as six kittens in a wicker basket."

The image got Cadance to giggle - before she dropped to seriousness again. "Well, I think it's because they've never seen an alicorn besides Princess Celestia, so they don't know how to act around me. And Pr--Aunt Celestia told me that all the laws are phrased as 'the Princess' without naming her, so technically I have the same authority she does." She paused. "I'm not sure why she made the laws that way, but it's suddenly important and it makes ponies nervous since they don't know who I am yet."

"And because you're an alicorn, they say you're a Princess." Sunset managed to not choke on the word.

Cadance nodded gloomily.

That was important information. Sunset had already read the legal texts and inferred it all, but having it confirmed by Celestia herself didn't hurt. It guaranteed that once she figured out the secret, the power Sunset was after would be hers. By law, they couldn't deny a princess.

"They'll get to know you." Sunset leaned into what she expected for her own future. "Sure, maybe they're afraid now but after they see what you can do? They'll learn better. Right now they're just small-minded ponies who can't see past their own noses. You'll show them." A barely suppressed smug smile came to her lips. "You'll show them all."

"I hope I do show them who I really am." Cadance - innocent as she was - didn't seem to catch the obviously ominous statement at all. "Thank you, Sunset. That really helps."

Again, Sunset shrugged. "Eh. As I've said before, we going to have to live with each other. And I know how much of a pain in the flank servants can be."

"Do you?" Cadance shifted on the thick burgundy carpet. Then another grin overtook her face. "Oh! That's actually a great place to start!" Rising up to her hooves, she closed the gap between them by half. "You wanted for us to get to know each other better - how long have you been here at the castle?"

An easy question. Sunset barely thought about the answer. "For about as long as I care to remember."

That was too unspecific for Cadance. "I mean, were you born here? Are your parents part of the staff, or--" 

She ground to a halt as Sunset stiffened. 

"...Sunset?" Cadance frowned, concern etched on her face. "Are you okay?"

Before, Sunset's voice had always been full of emotion. Anger, sarcasm, inquisitive curiosity - not now, though. Very neutral, she spoke in a slow, even tone. The heavy collar of restraint weighed down every word. "Let me make one thing clear, Cadance. You're welcome to blather on about where you're from as much as you want. But that subject is off limits for me. The only thing that matters is that I'm here. I got rid of where I came from - unlike you, I don't care about that past. It's not today, and it doesn't matter. Clear?"

Cadance hesitated. Then she nodded - slightly, neck and expression stiff.

Internally, Sunset sighed and kicked herself. So much for keeping control of her temper. "Look. We're not going to make any more progress today. Go practice and figure out how to light your horn properly." 

There was reluctance on Cadance's part as she visibly wrestled with trying to find something to say. But she didn't argue with Sunset. "So... later, then?"

Sunset could feel the urge to snap rising and fought to restrain herself. She managed a dangerously chill nod as she turned back to her cluttered desk. "I've got work to do with my own lessons. Come back when you're better prepared." 

Slowly, Cadance stood and inched to the door. There was another pause before she stepped out - enough for a sorrowful look back - then she was out of the room.

And only then did Sunset let out a ragged breath and let the tension slip out of her spine.