//------------------------------//
// 32 - Love 
// Story: First Hoof Account 
// by TCC56 
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Being with the Princess of Love on Hearts & Hooves Day was a magical experience. Sunset could say that with perfect confidence now. While things had started tense and rocky, dinner had given both of them the chance to ease into what had been before. Salad had been awkward but by the time the entree (couscous and goat cheese stuffed tomatoes) arrived they were talking and laughing as if nothing had happened. 

Just thinking about it later made Sunset smile. 

They had been together again. They had been - as Cadance put it - normal. 

Getting there meant Sunset had lost, but that fact was only a tickle in the back of the unicorn's mind. That alone was a tribute to how special 'normal' was.

Dinner had passed into a laughter and smiling. It had led to returning to Sunset's rooms where the two had laid down by the fire and enjoyed a long evening of chatting about absolutely nothing. And in the end, it had turned into to them cuddled up together until morning. 

But the problem with magical experiences is that they end. As does Hearts & Hooves Day. And when the magic passes, you're left with the bitter reality of life. 

In this case, the bitter reality of the Princess of Love in a city having the romantic equivalent to a hangover.

Just as the holiday brought about a whirlwind of romance, love, and new couples, the aftermath was when everypony woke up the next morning to realize who they had gone to bed with. Even for those in a more stable relationship, it didn't take long for the high of the holiday to pass and the shine to come off the apple. 

Not for Sunset and Cadance - they were fine. But all around them the spirit of love had faded into the reality of late winter days that were gray more often than they were sunny and to dealing with one's problems in the harsh light of life. 

One particularly wry columnist in the Canterlot Herald had noted that the week after Hearts & Hooves was good for two things: cheap chocolate and filling the pocketbooks of divorce lawyers. 

All of that negativity washed back on to Cadance and to say she was in a bad mood was understating things. The first two days hadn't been too bad, but the souring psychic environment kept mounting after that. All Sunset could do was try to boost Cadance's spirits and keep her mind occupied elsewhere. 





It was eight days after Hearts & Hooves. The worst had passed and Cadance was starting to emerge from her brooding malaise. But that was emerging - not emerged.

"Go away, Sunset." Cadance grumbled, refusing to even look at her marefriend and instead morosely stared down at the city.

The plate of rose petal sandwiches with mustard on sour dough waved under Cadance's nose, held cheekily just out of range by Sunset's magic. "Come ooooooon, they're your faaaaaaavorite." 

"I will beat you with a pillow."

Sunset paused. "A down pillow or one of the heavy foam ones that feels like a rock?"

Cadance tightly pursed her lips. "Which ever one you want to be beaten with the least."

"So I'll be beaten with your fluffy, pillow-like--" Sunset's smirking joke was interrupted as she devolved into a bout of rough coughing that interrupted her magic and sent the plate of sandwiches clattering to the floor.

That instantly changed Cadance's tune: she whipped around, leaving behind her dour staring out the window to be at Sunset's side. "Sunny? Breathe, Sunny. Take it slow." 

Sunset held on to Cadance's shoulder, leaning into her as the spasm passed. "Sorry," she croaked. "Ow." She rubbed her chest, just below the puncture scar that was now mostly hidden by her fur. "Ow, that hurt."

Slowly, Cadance guided Sunset across the hall to a bench - the gatehouse causeway was not the most hospitable location, being little more than an elevated hallway that passed over the Palace's main gate, but the long passage was prime real estate for looking out the windows and down onto the city proper. It would have been a great location for meditative thinking if not for the constant hoof traffic between the two halves of the castle it connected. Still, it had good strong benches and decorative busts of ancient ponies scattered about. 

Sitting on one of the benches (and beside a marble bust of Turbinado, the pony who discovered how to refine sugar), Sunset did as the doctors had instructed her to do in this situation and took several long, deep breaths. Each breath hurt, but each also forced the airway to expand and ease - like stretching a pulled muscle. After a few minutes, Sunset nodded that she was recovered.

The pause was needed. Time for both of their racing minds to slow; time for Cadance to focus on something else; time for Sunset to get out of the moment and away from her urge to be a smartass. 

Conversation restarted quieter, with Cadance resting a hoof on Sunset's knee. "Everything alright now?" She got a nod back and continued. "I'm sorry, Sunny. I just can't... it's like I've lost the ability to see colors. Everything feels so gray and it's making me just-- just--" She devolved into a low, frustrated growl. 

"I know." Sunset put her hoof on top of Cadance's. "I'm just trying to cheer you up."

"I know," Cadance said back with a soft smile.

Sunset clapped her hooves and stood. "How about this - we go out on the town."

And she was met with a deep frown. "Out into all of those ponies feeling miserable?"

"But we could be romantic!" Sunset spun, her face close to Cadance's. "We could go and have a nice dinner together! Be romantic! Like a--" She struggled to find a good metaphor. 

Fortunately, Cadance was better at romantic wordplay. "Like a lighthouse beside a stormy sea?"

"Yes! That!" Sunset beamed as if she had thought of the line. 

Still, Cadance was unconvinced and still frowned. 

So Sunset moved in with her second volley. "I know just the place we can go before dinner, too. There's a certain flower shop we haven't visited in a while," she sing-songed. "If there's anywhere in Equestria that's still a bastion of love, it's got to be the place where ponies buy each other flowers."

A flash passed across Cadance's expression - one of hope and relief. "That's a great idea! You're right, there has to be a lot of love there still!"

And Sunset beamed even brighter, because this one she had thought of. "So come on! Let's go pay our favorite anti-social florist a visit."





To an outside observer - one who wasn't quite as in tune with the ebb and flow of the magic of love - it seemed a perfectly normal day. Winter Wrap-Up was just around the corner and the snow had started to melt in the sun. Temperatures still required dressing up - scarfs and boots, with Cadance also bringing her earmuffs - but there was a distinct undercurrent of warmth in the air that promised the weather would turn soon.

The streets of Canterlot were bustling. Unsurprising, considering it was just past noon on a Thursday. Most ponies were in their daily grind, creating the unusual situation of a princess being able to trot down the street without too much of a fuss. Sure there were looks and whispers, but ponies simply had lives to live and couldn't spare the time to gawk. 

Side by side, Cadance and Sunset trotted along the slushy road, close enough to share a little body heat. Even though Sunset hadn't been this way in a few months and the streets of Canterlot were a winding maze, she remembered the path to the flower shop well. They'd take a right up ahead at Hammer & Nails Farriers, then go up Oak Street and past Cotton Candy's Confections to--

Sunset's mental navigating was interrupted by the loud crash of something wood hitting cobblestone. Specifically, the drawer from a dresser that had been ejected out of a third story window, hitting the street in a shower of splinters and clothes. It stopped both mares in their tracks - and instantly brought about the appearance of the four Royal Guards who had been following them in civilian clothes. Two unicorns threw up defensive shields, while the earth pony leapt in front to body-block and the pegasus did the same to guard their rear. 

It was all for nothing, however, as a moment later an earth pony mare leaned out the window. "AND THERE'S YOUR SHIRTS!" 

On the street below, the pegasus stallion she'd nearly hit with the drawer used his wings to make a rude gesture back up.

All four bodyguards relaxed, as did Sunset. Just a lover's spat, not an assassination attempt. 

Cadance did not relax. 

Sunset only looked away for a few seconds, but by the time her eyes went back to her marefriend? Cadance was twitching. Violently standing still in the street, limbs shaking and eyes filled with frustrated rage. 

"Uh, Caddy?"

Cadance said nothing back.

"Caddy?" Sunset waved a hoof in front of Cadance's face and got no response. 

Meanwhile, the two ponies were still arguing.

"And what, your sister coming by means I'm supposed to drop everything? I spent weeks planning that trip!" The stallion stomped in anger, narrowly missing one of his own scattered shirts. "You can't expect me to throw away my only time off between now and next winter with no notice!"

The mare yelled back with equal rage. "I expect you to show a little compassion! You know what happened to Aqua's husband! She needs comfort right now, not you rolling your eyes and whining about going to Baltimare!"

"It was two days, Star!" His voice echoed off the tightly packed buildings of the urban street. "You could have handled your sister's--"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT." 

The stallion snarled. "Your sister's road apples." 

Another dresser drawer came hurling out the window and shattered messily on the street. A number of hats joined the shirts on the cobbles.

The guards looked at each other. 

"Should we stop them?"

"No way, I'm not getting involved in a domestic. Nopony ever wins and you're just begging to get hurt."

"The Princess is looking pretty uncomfortable. If we're not gonna stop it, we should get her out of here."

"We go where she goes, not the other way around, dingus. Unless she's in danger, she decides when we leave."

It was all white noise to Sunset, though. "Cadance, come on. We should go. This--" and she waved a hoof at the argument. "--Isn't good for you."

Cadance said nothing, but her eyes... Her eyes burned holes in the two arguing ponies.

"AND ANOTHER THING!"

The hairs in Sunset's mane stood on end as she felt something pulse in the air. None of the others noticed it - not the guards, not the arguing couple - but Sunset could feel it like an electric current across her skin. She backed two steps away. 

"IF I HAVE TO CLEAN UP YOUR HOOF SHAVINGS OUT OF THE SINK ONE MORE TIME--"

From her position, Sunset watched as a shimmer of energy washed across Cadance's flank. Her cutie mark pulsed, throbbing like the beat of a heart. 

"WELL MAYBE YOU WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I'M--"

Cadance's horn lit. Baby blue magic formed two halves of a heart in the air - one jaggedly broken down the middle. She pinched her eyes shut and the two halves slammed together to make a whole, sending a wave of magic across the scene. 

Both arguing ponies stopped mid-shout. Both blinked. 

"I... Star..." The stallion swallowed roughly, voice suddenly calm. "Look, I'm sorry. I know the timing wasn't great, but--"

"But you need some 'me' time," completed the mare in the window, apologetic and soft. "Everypony does. I should have been more understanding. I just wish you had talked to me sooner."

Below, the stallion sighed. "You're right, I should have. Look, can we...?"

She smiled down at him. "Talk about this? I can't say you should talk to me more and then tell you no when you want to talk. I love you, Swift. We shouldn't throw away six years over one fight." 

The stallion - Swift - nodded. "Let me get my stuff off the ground and I'll come up. Maybe we can order in something to eat? Just to be sure neither of us is hangry."

She laughed and nodded.

"Huh." One of the guards scratched his chin. "That defused pretty suddenly. Not that I'm complaining."

Behind the guards, Sunset was also not complaining. She was internally screaming in terror. This was her worst case scenario. One of the things Sunset had been wary of for the last few months had been Cadance learning to use her own unique magic - the spell or special talent tied directly to her cutie mark. It was an unknown: a magic that Cadance would have without Sunset teaching it and something she would have all the advantages in using. Now it not only had emerged but it was obviously a mind-affecting spell - something Sunset had zero experience with and that Princess Celestia had always refused to teach about. Cadance had an ace that not only could beat anything Sunset threw at her, but that Sunset might not even realize had been used against her. 

It utterly terrified the unicorn.

And that wasn't even touching on how horrifically dark mind magic was to begin with.

A quick glance showed the guards hadn't noticed - their attention had been on the fight, not their charge.

It didn't take much for Sunset to pull Cadance a few steps away - the alicorn was in a daze, stunned as she tried to comprehend what she had just done - and get a little privacy. "Cadance, what are you doing?" Sunset hissed.

"I-- I don't know?" Cadance's eyes flickered back and forth between Sunset and the building that now lacked an arguing couple. "I saw them shouting, and I just... Something inside me said I had to act. So I focused and I thought really hard and..." She shifted uneasily. "I think I understand what you keep saying about how magic is will." Comprehension of what had happened crept to her face in the form of a borderline manic grin. "And I fixed it!" 

Sunset grabbed Cadance by the cheeks, forcing the alicorn to look at her. "Never do that again."

Cadance's smile vanished. "What?"

"Never do that again," Sunset repeated in a hushed voice. "And never tell anypony you did that. Do you understand, Cadance? That didn't happen. Never speak about it, never repeat it."

Cadance's eyes searched Sunset's to find the joke, but there wasn't one. "I-- All I did was try to remind them how they felt about each other. They just needed to calm down and remember how they feel. I just-- N-No, I don't understand."

Sunset's response was a low rumble. "What you just did wasn't just magic. What you did was mind control. You used your magic to alter those ponies' minds and change their behavior. That's dark magic, Cadance. Dark dark magic. The kind that won't have you thrown into a prison because it's too risky to leave any possibility for you to escape. If anypony finds out you did that - or worse, that your cutie mark is for mind control magic - then..." Sunset trailed off, verbally stumbling. "I don't even know what they'd do to you. But it would be bad."

Cadance didn't - couldn't - respond. She tried several times, opening her mouth only to close it again when she couldn't find the words. Doubt was in her eyes, mind visibly scrambling to try and figure out if this was legitimate or some plan of Sunset's that would once more send their relationship into a death spiral.

"Please." Sunset's earnest plea was quiet, desperate to be unheard by the nearby guards. 

Another moment of soul-searching. And then Cadance's eyes looked to the cobbles, her ears went flat, and she nodded. "Okay," was her quiet response. 

"Never speak about it. Never repeat it," Sunset recited.

"Never speak about it," Cadance said gloomily. "Never repeat it."

And Sunset grabbed her in a tight hug that was almost returned. It broke quickly as Sunset cleared her throat to draw the attention of the guards. "We're going back to the castle. You can get back to whatever it is you do when you're not creeping on Cadance." One of them sputtered indignantly, but the rest saluted and meandered to disappear into the background once more.

What they did didn't matter to Sunset. She just put her barrel against Cadance's and nudge-guided them back towards the Palace. "Sorry Caddy. I didn't mean to freak you out but... it's scary, what you did."

Cadance nodded in silence.

"I just want to keep you safe."

Another silent, gloomy nod.

Sunset didn't try to lift Cadance's spirits again. They spent the rest of the return trip in silence, returning to their rooms without another word said.