Teaching Cadance how to cast a light spell was easy. The months of practice on other subjects had built her strength up enough that summoning the power was trivial and it was just a matter of having her form the power into a glowing mote at the tip of her horn. The rest of the first hour was teaching her how to modulate intensity and color, then a bit of additional time showing her how to turn it into a directional light.
Where things had become more complicated was when Sunset tried to teach her how to move the light away from her horn. That had been three hours. Cadance still didn't quite have the hang of it, but she had made progress. Moving the mote slowly within hoof's reach was easy - but faster or further away got trickier in a hurry. So far, her best attempt had reached across the tea table before winking out.
Of course, that had been before.
Cadance's eyes sparkled. "A game?"
"A game," Sunset repeated. "You seem to learn a bit better when it's in practice instead of theory, so let's make it a challenge." Her horn lit and the teal magic enveloped her, then Cadance. "I've just put a tracking charm on myself for you. I'll stay inside the Castle grounds, and you'll have a compass bearing on what direction I am at all times. All you have to do," she noted with a light prod of her hoof, "Is get close enough to cast your light spell and have it come into contact with me. That will make a chime sound, and then the challenge is over."
Cadance thought for a moment - then was struck with inspiration. "Oh! So Tag!"
There was a hesitation. Sunset sighed heavily. "Yes. Tag." Her tone made her opinion of the childish game clear. "If you want to call it that, fine."
Sunset's consternation got a giggle from Cadance. "I do. So what do I get if I win?"
Another hesitation. "I, uh. I didn't think of stakes," Sunset admitted.
Weakness. Cadance spotted it instantly, and her glee was unmistakable. "Well if I win, you have to tell me the name of this pony you've got a crush on."
Sunset's heart stopped. In retrospect, she should have expected it. She had dangled that bit of information in front of Cadance - grabbing at it was natural. But that bit of introspection was overwhelmed by gut-wrenching terror. If Cadance found out on her own, it would throw off all of Sunset's plans. Sunset wouldn't be in control anymore and that idea horrified her.
Missing her companion's fear, Cadance leaned forward slightly with a predatory grin. "And what do you want if you win?"
A single heartbeat kept Sunset alive. It was okay. It was going to be okay - she just had to win, that was all. No big deal, she just had to beat Cadance in a game of magic. She could do that, she was Sunset Shimmer.
And her mouth was desert dry. Licking her her lips and pulling her wits back together, Sunset tried to think of a return challenge. A little part of her wanted to challenge Cadance directly for the information about becoming an alicorn - but no. That was too fast. Cadance might see it as a danger and mention it to Celestia - who would absolutely see it as a danger. "If I win..." Sunset hesitated again, grabbing for ideas. "When I win," she corrected to buy more time, "You have to..." Sunset's mind scrambled. Something important but innocuous, while still being problematic enough to give Cadance pause.
Cadance reached over and nudged Sunset. She was smiling far too much, and far too smugly. "I have to what?"
Wildly, Sunset grabbed the first thing that came to mind. "You have to cook me your favorite childhood meal,"
Cadance blinked. Then laughed playfully. "Oh, is that all?"
"AND!" Sunset quickly tried to up the stakes in response. "You have to do it while wearing one of the maid's outfits."
That managed to take the wind out of Cadance's sails for a moment. But her good spirits only dampened for a moment before she nodded. "Alright. It's a bet, then." She held out her hoof.
With a sigh of relief, Sunset tapped hooves with the alicorn and shook on it.
"So," Cadance playfully asked, "How much of a head start do you need?"
And this time, Sunset grinned back. "None." And she disappeared with the flash of a teleport.
That was how Sunset had ended up in her current position: huddled under a table in the kitchens, hidden from sight behind an illusory sack of flour.
Not long after settling into her first hiding place, Sunset had realized she couldn't take the easy way out of this one. There were a dozen simple ways to cheat the game: she could dispel the tracking enchantment, she could turn invisible, she could teleport away any time Cadance got close. But there was a problem: unlike ninety-nine percent of ponies, Cadance's opinion of Sunset mattered. Cheating to win would ruin the rapport Sunset had spent so much time building up and set back her plans by months if not more.
By the same note, losing was unacceptable. Just as much as the idea of Sunset Shimmer losing was anathema, the stakes Cadance had set were too high.
So Sunset had to win, and she had to win honestly.
That had been more challenging than expected: Cadance had sussed out her first hiding place in the library fairly quickly, resulting in a chaotic run to get out. Sunset had only lost Cadance when a large stack of books fell, slowing the alicorn and allowing Sunset to get into the castle halls.
The second encounter had gone even worse. Sunset had prepared her escape that time, galloping into the hedge maze with the knowledge she knew the paths and Cadance likely didn't. Unfortunately, Cadance had been born a pegasus and didn't hesitate before taking to the air. That time, Sunset had gotten away by virtue of Cadance tiring herself out: her weaker spellcasting endurance had sapped her after dozens of castings of light spells in an attempt to tag the zig-zagging Sunset.
This explained how Sunset came to be hiding under the table. It was the perfect location: there were three doors out of the room and almost a dozen staff milling about and working. They were both cover and a blockade to entangle the chaser. Unlike Sunset, Cadance would hesitate before bowling ponies over as part of their game.
Plus the kitchen was in the middle of dinner prep by her favorite chef: Gastronomique, a griffon with a talent for food and a personality gentle as a hurricane. Sunset had long since pegged the griffon as one of the Palace staff she would retain when she became a princess, both because of Gastro's talent and because griffons were mercenary enough to not care who sat on the throne as long as they got paid. (And Sunset intended to pay her favorite quite well.)
Those thoughts would have to wait, though - Cadance was walking in. For a moment she was distracted by the flow of ponies and the heady scent of mango ginger soup, which was entirely fair. Sunset's stomach had been grumbling at the smell, eagerly anticipating dinner. But Cadance's hesitation was only for a few seconds before her eyes were darting around. She had obviously learned from the previous two encounters - quickly taking stock of the room's exits and likely hiding places.
Then Gastronomique peeled away from the stove. "Princess!" He always gave the 'p' a little extra pop when he spoke, for some reason. "If you're looking for a snack, turn yourself right around. Dinner's in less than an hour and I'll not have you ruin your appetite."
Cadance beamed, taking a page directly out of Princess Celestia's book. "Of course, chef!" There was a slight accent to her cheery words that wasn't normally there - Sunset guessed it was a trace of her heritage, being brought out for some extra charm. "I'm actually looking for Sunset Shimmer. We're playing a game, you see."
Sunset couldn't see the griffon's expression from her angle, but his tone turned sour enough to get the point across. "Any 'game' that filly wants to play isn't anything you should be involved in," he warned.
But Cadance was undeterred. "Actually, it's a bit of a wager. Could I have a bit of help from you and your staff? Just for a minute?"
There was a hesitation and then probably a nod Sunset couldn't see, because several of the kitchen staff set their work aside to pay attention.
Cadance kept smiling. "Thank you very much. If you could just move and block the doors so she can't run away from me again?"
And that was the reminder to Sunset that 'mercenary' was not always a positive trait. She could only grit her teeth as the staff dispersed at Gastronomique's directions and swiftly closed off all three doors. Scrambling away in the confusion was one thing, but Sunset had no illusions about trying to rush past several full grown earth ponies who were trying to stop her. A quick look around the room - she might have been able to get past the unicorn standing with Chef Gastro, but the door they were guarding was to a pantry that had no other exits.
With escape cut off, Cadance hummed to herself as she cantered around the room and let the tracking enchantment do its work. While it only gave bearings, Cadance was smart enough to know what it meant when she walked around a table and it kept pointing 'in'. Still, Sunset hoped. And held very, very still.
Right up until Cadance stuck her head under the table, a light spell glowing on the tip of her horn.
Sunset's illusory disguise vaporized in a puff of white smoke as she shot out from under the other side of the table. The suddenness of the action made Cadance hesitate - and Sunset didn't. Two steps brought Sunset from under the table entirely; a hop got her up onto a bench; another got her onto the counter. A cutting board covered in cheese was kicked aside in her rush, sending a shower of Gruyere behind her. Then Sunset hurled herself forward - straight at one of the kitchen's narrow windows.
Panicked shouts (including Cadance's) faded behind Sunset as she smashed through. Her magic ran hot as it formed a shield that both broke the glass and protected her from the flying shards. The shield was imperfect, though: she took no damage from the leap, but landed in the pile of broken glass on the other side. One chunk scraped up her right fetlock, stinging Sunset as payment for her little stunt.
But she was out. And she was free.
The cut did make running uncomfortable, though.
Sunset stampeded away from the kitchens at full speed, already locking on to her next planned hideout: the library's restricted section. Cadance would never expect Sunset to double back and hide in a place she had already hidden; and if she did, she would certainly never expect her to be in a hidden sub-basement archive that was locked and warded to only allow Princess Celestia to enter.
Well, Princess Celestia and Sunset Shimmer, who had cracked the wards a year and a half before. She hadn't dared go deeper inside (if Celestia caught her there, it would be unforgivable) but it remained one of Sunset's aces in the hole.
It was a place of desperation, but Sunset was getting pretty desperate.
So she ran. Every step of the way, she regretted both the painful cut and her lack of cardio. But she still ran, because the alternative (losing) was unthinkable.
Sunset looped wide around the Palace's perimeter - galloping past several locations that would normally have provided good spots to hide. Cadance would hopefully hesitate and waste time investigating the guard barracks or the wine cellar. After a quick juke around the complex used as temporary housing for visiting dignitaries, she bee-lined for the Palace's main structure. Sunset knew there was an entrance to the library on the ground floor not far inside: fourth door on the right, down the hall, hang a left and then she'd come out in the Contemporary Literature section.
Maybe another two minutes of running, and she would be home free.
Unfortunately, she was also pretty sure she could hear hooves running after her over the sound of her own rapid heartbeat.
A glance over her shoulder as they entered the Palace's main foyer - Cadance was there. She was on the ground, which was a small mercy, but she was also gaining. The longer legs of her more gangly form were translating to longer strides, closing the gap between them little by little.
So the library was out: if Cadance saw her go in, she would enter too. And then they'd both be caught by Celestia. Sunset would have to lose her pursuer in the labyrinth of the Palace. If she could get out of sight, Sunset considered if she could risk a few very short teleports to buy time and distance.
And while she was thinking about that rather than looking where she was going, Sunset plowed directly into the largest mobile object in all of Canterlot: Princess Celestia's butt.
While Sunset Shimmer was not fully grown, she still had enough mass that running into another pony would normally tangle them both up and send them to the ground. Princess Celestia, on the other hand, barely budged from the impact while Sunset ended up in a heap.
She was stunned from the impact, giving the Princess time to evaluate the situation that had come crashing into her. Her adopted niece was galloping full speed after her prize student, careening through the castle's foyer. Both were splattered with mud, dead leaves, and froth. More worrisome was that her student was bleeding.
Princess Celestia's reaction was immediate. "Sunset!" Warm golden magic that smelled faintly of spring pulled the unicorn off the now-filthy white marble floor. Another aura of gold wrapped around the nearest window dressing - and destroyed it. Expensive Somnambulan cotton shredded like cheese, threading out a strip of clean, white cloth.
Sunset squirmed in Celestia's grip. "Put me down!" Her mind was still focused on the chase, not fully registering what was going on. Her struggles got her nowhere - that warm gold energy clamped down harder to keep her still. And the Princess wrapped the shreds of the curtain around Sunset's foreleg as a makeshift bandage that immediately started to darken. Halfway through the process, Cadance caught up - she stopped a few steps away, chest heaving.
With the calm assurance of centuries and the knowledge of more savage times, Celestia focused on binding Sunset's wound and inspecting it before setting her student down. Both unicorn and younger alicorn looked to the Princess with a heady mixture of emotions: Cadance was full of embarrassment as she wasn't able to meet either's gaze; Sunset was still red-hot with anger from being indignantly picked up, as well as the heady rush of adrenaline-fueled action.
Princess Celestia let their emotions boil for half a minute before finally asking the question they all knew was coming. "Just what is going on here?" Behind her there was a murmur: the palace staff and the guards by now had been attracted to the commotion, with heads poking out of every door to see what was happening.
The extra attention made Cadance cringe harder.
Sunset, on the other hand, was undeterred by the eyes on her. She had considerable experience ignoring the palace's gossip mill, even if they would certainly spent weeks whispering about this. "Magic training," she stated, eyes locked to Celestia's in a furious challenge.
The Princess merely tilted her head curiously. "And she hurt you?" The tone was shockingly neutral.
It infuriated Sunset even more. "I hurt myself." She snorted angrily at the mere suggestion Cadance could cause harm.
"She jumped through a window," Cadance explained in a quiet, meek tone. But the strength slowly returned to her voice as she kept speaking. "Sunset wanted me to try projecting my light spells further away, so we were playing Tag and--"
Instantly, Celestia interrupted. "Sunset was playing Tag?" Her neutrality was gone, replaced by wide-eyed disbelief.
The murmurs of the staff grew louder.
"We were not playing," Sunset vehemently countered. "I was challenging her capabilities."
"By playing," Celestia countered with a growing smile. Before Sunset could interrupt her again, the Princess continued. "I would say that is enough for the day, my brilliant student. If you've been injured, that should take priority over any training. Further lessons can wait until after you have seen the physicians. Even a shallow cut could become infected and cause you irreparable harm." A dark shadow passed across her face. "I will not tolerate such a thing."
The admonishment was enough to cow Sunset - partially because she knew Celestia had a point. The wound was covered in mud and rotted leaves from the sprint, after all. So grudgingly, she followed as Celestia turned to walk them to the doctor.
And then there was the light, airy chime. And the uniquely unicorn feeling of somepony else ever so slightly disrupting the flow of magic through a pony's body as their magic aura came into physical contact. Sunset turned her head to see a small mote of baby blue light up against her flank.
Shocked aqua eyes turned to the pink alicorn who - horn lit - had a smug but playful smile on her lips.
Fury exploded inside Sunset. There were no words said and barely any thought - just raw, unadulterated anger. To Cadance's credit, the way her face fell made clear that she understood just how big of a mistake she had made. She took a hesitant step backwards as Sunset twisted around, eyes locked on Cadance's. "You cork-horned feather--"
A broad white wing jammed itself between them as Celestia interceded with the speed of a lightning bolt. "Cadance, what just happened?"
Caught with her hoof in the cookie jar, Cadance rapid-fire admitted to everything. "I tagged Sunset! She never said we were stopping, so I thought I could still do it!" She craned her neck, trying - unsuccessfully - to see around the wing. "Sunset, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings!"
On the other side of the feathers, Sunset seethed all the harder at the idea of having her feelings hurt. It was insulting weakness, even if the concern did suit Cadance.
Celestia hiked her wing up a little higher to keep the two separated. "Cadance, that was very unkind of you. Sunset's injured and you took advantage of that just to win a foal's game. I'm disappointed."
Hanging her head, Cadance replied only with a sullen nod. "I'm sorry, Sunset."
Turning her head, the Princess looked to her student. "Sunset, Cadance was wrong and she apologized. What do you have to say to her?"
Anger still boiled in her - red-hot and ready to vent like lava from a volcano. Sunset hesitated only because of Celestia's presence, and that bought enough time for her sensible mind to overcome her temper. She needed Cadance. And, in truth, Sunset could understand pushing to win at any cost. Her breath slowing, she licked her lips to buy a few seconds more to regain control. "I accept your apology, Cadance." The words still tasted filthy. A thought struck her - abrupt but brilliant. "How about we compromise? We got interrupted, so we both win."
Slowly, Princess Celestia lowered her wing to let the two teens look at each other again. Cadance wasn't able to meet Sunset's eyes, but she did lift her head enough to signal her attention.
"You make the dinner," Sunset offered, "And I'll tell you the name." It wasn't to plan, but the deal meant it was in Sunset's control.
There was a hitch in Cadance's breathing - surprise. The alicorn bit her lip, untrusting of her own words, as she nodded an agreement.
Celestia breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "That seems very generous."
And Sunset's anger turned to a self-satisfied smirk. "Alright then - it's a date."
Neither of the other two grasped the true meaning of her words at the time.