First Hoof Account

by TCC56


19 - Date

Harvest festivals were not, strictly speaking, Sunset Shimmer's thing. She had been to a few - all prior to her time as Princess Celestia's student, which soured them further - and they were almost universally boring. To be fair, Sunset could admit that even as a foal she had been atypical and overly mature: hayrides and petting zoos and corn mazes were nothing compared to a good book and they were useless in helping a budding princess reach her destiny.

Of course, this year's festival was theoretically doing just that. Cadance's presence changed a lot of things for Sunset.

They had met just after breakfast outside the Palace's main gate.


Sunset had opted for a teal scarf to keep herself warm - it had been a present from Princess Celestia not long after Sunset became her student. It encapsulated their relationship, as far as Sunset was concerned: while Celestia had access to the finest materials and top designers, she had given Sunset a scarf made from normal (if well-spun) wool and hoof-knit by somepony with mediocre skills. But it was warm, functional, and went with her eyes so Sunset had kept it.

Cadance's scarf was creamy white with baby blue cables, but more notable was the look of sour irritation on her face as she arrived.

"Problem?" Sunset tried not to smirk and managed to mostly kept it internal.

Cadance let out an irate snort, ears flat to her head. "This scarf's supposed to have a matching knit hat." She paused for a beat. "A really cute one!"

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "And you aren't wearing it because...?"

The alicorn pouted. "Because it doesn't fit over this stupid horn." Her eyes crossed as she tried to glare at the offending appendage.

For a moment, things were quiet. And then Sunset broke out into mad laughter. After several more seconds, Cadance gave in and joined her with a more restrained giggle.


That hiccup aside, the date started well. Both mares chattered and laughed on the walk down - Cadance was eager to talk about anything and everything, while Sunset limited herself to the occasional interjection plus a few quick anecdotes about recent events at CSGU. The twenty-five minute walk flew by in a breezy haze of light conversation through the chill air of early November.

Ancient experience told Sunset that festivals like this one were usually held in some variation on a field: broad, open spaces that were frequently farmland repurposed after the crops had been cleared away. Maybe a town square or a fairgrounds if the settlement was big enough. But always wide, flat, and open. Canterlot had no such spaces: bolted onto the side of a mountain, flat spaces were rare to begin with and almost always occupied by structures older than any living pony (save one.) Open was right out in the maze of urban alleyways, and the nearest fairground was Baltimare. But Canterlot was also the capital and the center of Equestria, so it had to have festivals: one per season, at minimum. So without a suitable space, Canterlot festivals were bizarre, snake-like affairs that wound along the city's streets. Normal traffic was largely blocked, which in turn upset shopkeepers who couldn't get their usual hoof traffic - causing them to move their shops to the sidewalks to gain more attention and further clog things until the entire city moved at a snail's pace.

That overcrowding was a large part of why most Canterlot festivals were known as 'commoner events' - few if any of the nobility wanted to literally rub shoulders with their servants in the crowd, and so high society had abandoned the city's larger celebrations in favor of more clique-friendly garden parties and galas where the guest list was tightly controlled. (It was also an open secret that Princess Celestia didn't attend Canterlot's festivals for a similar reason: she knew that if she attended, every noble and flank-kisser in the city would scramble to attend as well. So by her not attending, she preserved the peace to let the common pony to enjoy themselves.)

And those common enjoyments were everywhere from the moment Sunset and Cadance arrived. They had barely made it past the first row of booths before they each had an ear of roast corn slathered in paprika and garlic butter. Ten steps later, they were watching a clown dressed as a scarecrow making balloon animals for foals. Ten after that, a pony was handing out fliers to promote an event deeper into the tangle: a pukwudgie race. (Sunset - not being a fool - very strongly warned Cadance off of going to see the 'adorable critters' in action.)

Instead she steered them towards a much less dangerous attraction: a woodworker carving a large statue with a chainsaw. They stayed long enough to finish their corn, making playful guesses at what the massive log would eventually become. When they left, they made final bets over the wager of who would pay for dinner - Sunset claimed it would be Princess Celestia's face, while Cadance put her money on a deer-like harvest spirit called a Seedling.

From there they wound down into the old servant's district that was the heart of the celebration. The trees that lined those cobblestone streets were near the end of the season, but still threw a canopy across the celebration that was bolstered by streamers in orange and red and yellow. The first stop Sunset steered them towards was her one ally in the neighborhood: Wallflower's family had turned the sidewalk in front of their shop into a snack stand selling daisy sandwiches and candied rose petals.

But it wasn't the food Sunset was stopping for.


Waving a hoof, Sunset pulled the attention of the older earth pony over. "Hey, is Wallflower here?"

It took a moment, but then he recognized Sunset - and beamed the smile only a proud father could. "Why yes she is! You were her customer, weren't you?" A nod from Sunset, and he whistled. "Wally! There's a friend here for you!"

Wallflower's entrance was heralded by a low grumble. "Dad, you know I don't have any--" Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Sunset. "--You're back!" Excitement bubbling, she scrambled to the counter. "Did the flowers work? I still say yellow irises were the right choice but I have to know if you did it."

Grinning ear to ear, Sunset stepped slightly to the side. "Well, since you helped me I thought I owed you an update. Wallflower Blush, I want you to meet my marefriend - Princess Cadance." It was the first time Sunset had said the words, and something deep inside her chest bounced at saying them.

Cadance, for her part, blushed a little as she stepped up to the counter. "Thank you for helping Sunset with the wonderful bouquet."

But the true reaction was Wallflower's as her face passed from shock to awe, finally being told who the flowers had been for. She beat her father to bowing by less than a second - and that touched off a ripple that went through the crowd. Not everypony went into a bow, but the conversation turned to a hushed rumble as every nearby eye focused on the alicorn in their midst.

"I'm honored to hear that you liked my daughter's work, Your Highness." Wallflower's father was quick to cut in where his daughter was awestruck.

Cadance - shifting from one side to the other with rapid unease - motioned to him with a wing. "It's Cadance. Just Cadance." Her eyes darted at the growing attention of the crowd. "Please stand?" Desperation stampeded rather than crept into her voice.

He did, but his eyes stayed averted from meeting those of royalty. "As you command." He quickly reached over, grabbing one of the wax paper packets of candied rose petals. "I would be honored if the Princess of Love would take a small token of gratitude from our humble shop."

Cadance backed away from the offering like it was a snake.

Instantly Sunset stepped up beside her, taking the little bag in her magic. "Why thank you so much! The Princess and I are very grateful for your family's help. I could never have asked her to this festival if it wasn't for Wallflower's assistance." It was a game - Sunset learned well from Celestia, even if it was observation rather than proper education. Smile widely, enunciate clearly, keep your tone even, speak at a loud volume without shouting. "We will be sure to come back next time we need some flowers." Assure everypony around that it was all fine before disengaging.

The florist bowed again as Sunset nudged Cadance to reverse. Around them, the now-aware crowd parted to give passage to royalty while staying within gawking distance. The pair inched towards a side-street, with Cadance staying glued to her unicorn companion's side. Luck came in when two stallions - ones Sunset recognized as members of the Royal Guard in civilian clothes - blocked the path behind them by moving a food cart full of kettle corn down the road. It bought several seconds for Sunset to teleport them both to the only nearby location Sunset knew: the inside of the flower shop. Fortunately it was behind where the crowd was looking and indoors, giving a brief bit of peace.

Cadance, meanwhile, was trembling.

"Hey. Hey." Sunset awkwardly patted her date's side. Giving comfort was wholly unfamiliar to her, but she had seen the motions enough time to get the gist. "We're away from the crowd now, alright? Just breathe."

She did. Cadance lowered herself to the floor, taking deep breaths that gradually brought strength back to her limbs and allowing her to raise her head again. "I'm sorry." She paused, briefly biting her lower lip. "I just... froze."

"Princess Celestia hasn't let you out in an uncontrolled situation yet," Sunset guessed. And the nod she got confirmed it. "So when you got that gift..."

"Why did he do that?" Cadance's interruption was almost by reflex.

It took a moment for Sunset to grasp the question - and when she did, it made her sigh heavily. "She didn't even teach you..." A grumble of frustration. "Look at it from his perspective. He's a florist. Half of his business is ponies buying flowers for dates, spouses, or weddings. So when the living representation of Love walks up in public and thanks him for the bouquet, what do you think happens?"

To her credit, Cadance wasn't stupid - just uneducated. "Everypony sees it and takes my thank you as an endorsement."

Sunset nodded. "You probably tripled his customer list by using the word 'wonderful'."

A grimace crossed Cadance's face. "And then I tried to refuse his gift."

"Which would have put him out of business within a month, because who's going to buy flowers for your date from a shop that the Princess of Love disapproves of?" Sunset shook her head. "That's why I had to step in like that."

Cadance's head flopped to the floor. "But I didn't mean any of that. I just wanted to say thank you."

"It's the power of being a princess," Sunset observed with ironic bitterness. "Princess Celestia should have taught you this months ago. This is why she's so stingy with her emotions. She would rather be cold than rock the boat - there's a lot of damage she could do with a smile." There were, of course, degrees to Celestia's smile and many of them were lies - but this wasn't the time to muddy the waters.

Laying her neck against Cadance's in a half-nuzzle, Sunset mentally cursed her lack of wings - for the first time because of how useful they were to hug with rather than other reasons.

They were quiet and alone for a minute, though Sunset saw movement out of the corner of her eye: Wallflower had briefly slipped inside to pick up a new batch of rose petals. Thankfully she didn't press, leaving the pair to have their breather. The only acknowledgement she gave was a sly, smirking wink of approval to Sunset before disappearing again.

But clumsy as Sunset's attempts to be comforting were, they worked well enough to ease Cadance back into stability - if not into happiness. "I hate being a princess." Cadance barely murmured it. "I want to go home and see my parents again. I don't want any of this."

"That isn't how it works. You're a princess. Nothing can change that." Sunset sat up, though she stayed beside Cadance on the floor. "Even if you ran away, you wouldn't stop being a princess." She hesitated for a moment. "And I still don't really understand why you wouldn't want to be. This was just a... a temporary hiccup because Princess Celestia messed up your education."

Sour as limes, Cadance sighed. "I don't want to be a princess because I want to be normal again. I want to go on dates and cook my own meals and not worry about assassins or ruining somepony's life because I smiled the wrong way." She pulled her wings up, tenting them over her head. "I thought maybe this date could be normal, but I guess I was wrong."

Sunset pursed her lips. "...I've got an idea. Stay here a minute." There was no response - and so Sunset snuck out the back door. The rear alley was barely notable, acting only as a small pass-through for ponies to leave out their garbage. (That much was clear by the smell.)

A quick glance around spotted a bulky brown-furred pegasus with a blue mane and wearing a crimson windbreaker trotting in her direction down the unlikely path. Holding up a hoof, Sunset waved him down. "Give me your coat." It was not a request.

"...Excuse me?" He stopped dead several paces away in confusion as a teenage unicorn half his size demanded he strip.

"Give me your coat," Sunset repeated more forcefully. When he didn't immediately respond, she sighed with irritation. "Spearhead, I know that's you. Just because the armor's off doesn't mean I can't recognize a Guard. So you can stop pretending that you aren't undercover being a bodyguard and give me your coat. Cadance needs it."

He hesitated for a moment, then pulled off the jacket with a grumble. "Technically the correct term is plain-clothes, not undercover."

"Yeah, don't care." And Sunset didn't. She just wanted his coat, and she got it. "You can tell the rest of the guards Princess Celestia had tail us that Cadance and I are going to come out of this door in about three minutes and we'll be heading south towards Rein-Back Square."

Spearhead's wings fluffed up, now exposed to the chilly air. "Have I said lately that I'm glad you're on our side? You could be a real pain in the flank if you wanted to cause real problems."

Sunset shot him a playful wink. "Too bad I'm on my side, then." He rolled his eyes and grumbled, but she didn't stick around for his retort.

Ducking back inside, Sunset quickly draped the jacket across Cadance's back. "Here, step one."

The alicorn raised her head so she could twist and look back at the piece of clothing. "Huh?"

Sunset's magic pulled the coat around Cadance, wrapping her barrel. "You can get normal if we make you look a bit less like a princess. This thing's huge on you, so you can hide your wings." She paused, glancing at those fluffy, multi-hued wings that still peeked out from the jacket's edges. "They're way easier than the horn."

At the suggestion, Cadance stood and shuffled the jacket on. Indeed it was too big for her in the right way - it wasn't perfect, but in a crowd she would probably pass for a leggy unicorn. After giving herself a look over, Cadance glanced to Sunset. "I... I guess I should have taken Auntie's advice and used the disguise to start."

Oh-so-familiar fury burned in Sunset's gut. "Absolutely not." She bit back the anger, taking a moment before starting again. "You're making the choice because you're not comfortable. She wanted to make the choice for you because she's afraid."

The statement of Celestia being afraid visibly confused Cadance - but she let it go. "Is the jacket going to be enough?" She flexed her wings a little, puffing the fabric out.

"Covering your mark would be good, but we work with what we've got." Sunset, however, had that now familiar knowing grin on. "But I've got one more part to the disguise, and I think you'll like it."


She did. In fact, Cadance was giggling wildly.

"And done." The unicorn with the brush pulled back and smiled. "Some of my best work for a beautiful filly."

The mirror came around, allowing Cadance to see herself. The pink fur of her face was almost entirely concealed, covered in a playful layer of paint. Most was under a layer of celestial white that acted as canvas for the real art: a beautiful Monarch butterfly that lay across her face like a masquerade mask. She gasped - and then started giggling happily again.

Sunset hoofed over a few extra bits. "I didn't think you'd object to getting some face-painting."

"I haven't done it in years!" Dancing out of the chair with rapidly clacking hooves, Cadance giddily high-stepped over to her date. "You should do it next!"

Hesitation. A frown. "Well, I, uh--"

Cadance countered Sunset's reluctance with a pair of begging doe-like eyes surrounded by butterfly wings. "Please?"


Sunset chose to have her design be a dragon: fine green scales of paint with a hard brown ridge up the center of her muzzle as a 'frill'.

With suitable disguises, they meandered deeper into the festival. Occasionally Sunset would catch a glimpse of their plainclothes escort - the rather chilly Spearhead bought a nice gray sweater for himself at some point - but for the most part they were able to wander and partake without further interruption.

And that suited Cadance just fine. She hadn't noticed the tails and the longer she went without being recognized, the more her good mood returned. And strangely Sunset found herself smiling wider as Cadance laughed.

Face-painting led to a stallion doing street magic. Street magic led to briefly assisting a group of foals who were scrambling through the festival on a scavenger hunt. That hunt - while attempting to help them find a non-pegasus feather - brought them to a hobbyist painting competition, the artists vying for the invaluable prize of a first-place ribbon and a meal at the local pub. And that competition, in turn, led the pair to an airborne hayride where a team of pegasi took donations for the Lower Canterlot Fire Company in exchange for a ten minute ride aboard a hay-filled sled over top of the festival.

And throughout it all, there wasn't a moment where they didn't have one form of food or another. Caramel apples, fried dough, chili hayfries, cups of warm soups, and far more were constantly in their hooves or magic. By the time dinner arrived - around about when they were watching with glee as Royal Guard volunteers demonstrated the use of a trebuchet by hurling pumpkins off the side of the mountain to a chorus of cheers - neither was even slightly hungry. So after stopping back to settle their bet about the chainsaw carving (and both losing as it turned out to be a bust of Commander Hurricane), they started to worm their way back towards the castle.


Distantly behind them, the sounds of a concert kicked into full swing. The Canterlot Symphony Orchestra was playing a medley of jaunty harvest tunes, bouncing with an unusual vigor and joy. Ahead, the Palace loomed large and signaled a return back to their more normal lives.

Still, in spite of her earlier complaints about that life, Cadance was all smiles. "I can't believe how far that pumpkin flew! I just wish we could have seen what it looked like when it landed."

"Next year," Sunset suggested through her grin, "Maybe we could offer to help. Far-seeing spells aren't that hard, so if one of us is at the bottom and the other's at the top, we could watch the impact and project the image to everypony watching."

Gleefully, Cadance clapped her hooves. "That sounds fun! It's a date!"

They both went quiet at that, mutually blushing.

"Hopefully not the second date," Sunset half asked, half commented with a quiet unease.

It took Cadance a moment to grasp Sunset's meaning - then she flashed a shy but knowing smile. "Is that your way of asking for a second date sooner than next year?"

The counter was swift and sassy. "Is that your way of saying you want a second one?"

They both looked at each other - and then broke out laughing.

"Yes," Cadance answered.

The weight lifted off Sunset's shoulders. "Awesome."

That preliminary question handled, Cadance moved to the next problem. "Scheduling might be tough, though. We're both pretty busy. And I know we'll make time! But that's easier said than done." She - and Sunset - frowned. "I could ask Kibitz for help, maybe?"

Sunset shook her head. "Ask Raven Inkwell. Kibitz is good at coordinating, but Raven's the mare who keeps the schedules. If anypony can carve us out time together without disrupting anything, it's her."

That was the point that they reached the gates and passed into the Palace grounds proper. The guards there gave both a nod of greeting, one stepping aside afterwards to note in the logs that both princess and student had arrived.

It took perhaps another two or three minutes for them to reach their split - Sunset's rooms were by the base of the northern Noon Tower, while Cadance's were in the east annex. They paused where they were to take their separate paths, each looking to each other for a cue of what was supposed to happen next.

Sunset - being who she was - took the initiative. "So. We're still on for Thursday? I thought of a couple new field dexterity exercises to challenge you." She conspiratorially leaned closer and stage-whispered. "Juggling while I quiz you with math problems to disrupt your concentration."

Laughing, Cadance rolled her eyes. "Yes, Thursday." Her wing reached out to grab the leaning Sunset, pulling her date into a hug. "Thank you, Sunset. Today was really, really great and I needed it." She paused, lips pursed at the memory of the flower shop. "Maybe more than I realized I did, given my breakdown." A nervous eye flicked to Sunset. "Can you... not tell Auntie I did that?"

Sunset drew a hoof across her lips. "I won't say a thing." She knew the bodyguards would tell Celestia soon enough anyway.

The alicorn gave Sunset another squeeze before the hug broke. Then they stood for a few more seconds in awkward silence - neither wanting to definitively end things. But they eventually had to, and it was Sunset who gave in first.

"Well, uh. G'night, Cadance." She waved half-heartedly and took a step backwards.

"Good night, Sunset." Cadance smiled softly to her date. "Thank you for a wonderful day."


That night, Sunset dreamed of flying as she so often did.

For the first time in a long time, however, she wasn't flying alone.