4. Spring Sprung
My Farrier Lady, Sunspot
Spring Sprung
Winter had its own problems. Spring brought new ones. Ponies stopped basking by the fires, frolicking in the snow, and started to move along the paved streets again. Long walks in the fresh flowers, frolicsome gallops through green pastures, and through it all, nails that had been weakened by the constant shock of going from fireplace to snow back to fireplace’s glow worked their way loose, until…
“Good morning, Mister Hammer. We were wondering if you had a moment?”
The voice was not Sunspot, but sounded similar enough for Golden Hammer to look up from his work. And then promptly drop his shoeing hammer on his hoof.
Love stood in the doorway to his shop, pure and unadulterated love in a wave of joyous pink and bouncing curls, with a beatific smile. Although the alicorn was not nearly the size of Princess Celestia, she had the same overwhelming sense of presence that made the whole world seem to revolve around her every move in a dance of joy, not to mention that she was as beautiful as anything Hammer had ever seen before. It took him a few moments of staring before he recognized the violet hue of a small unicorn by her side, who was carrying a book suspended in front of her nose.
Rather than wait for Hammer to find his voice, which he suspected would take some time, the Alicorn of Love swept forward into his dingy and smoke-stained shop as if it were a ballroom filled with the grandest nobles in Canterlot, and spoke directly to his customers. “Oh, Baroness von Pinchpenny. Such a surprise to find you here! Oh, no. Don’t get up. You were here first, after all. And this must be your darling son, Nickelplate.”
Hammer’s current customer had been a royal pain to get situated, as many of his younger ilk had proven before. His mother had determined that ‘Nickel’ needed to have his shoes tightened. Nickel did not want his shoes tightened. He liked the clomp-clomp of a loose shoe. He squirmed. He complained. Hammer had tried not to consider administering just one light tap of the hammer on the back of the kid’s head, just as gentle as he could make it to induce a little calm.
Princess Cadenza’s presence stopped the young colt just as effectively as if Hammer had fallen prey to his temptation with the #4 hammer.
“Just a moment,” Hammer murmured through the handle of his clinching tool. He never would have kept his back turned to a princess before, but his brief experience with Princess Celestia had made him more comfortable with the idea. It helped that the young princess was happily chatting with the baroness, and Twilight Sparkle had just stopped in place with her book still hovering in front of her nose. Plus, he needed to take advantage of the distraction before Nickel started wiggling again.
“There,” he finally declared after getting both young forehooves settled with a couple of new nails and a layer of hoof shellac to protect the clinched metal stubs. “Baroness, if you could please move your colt. I believe Twilight Sparkle is next.”
When nudged, Nickelplate moved to one side, although he continued his slack-jawed admiration of the chatty princess until his mother pushed him out of the forge room and into the street. Twilight proved just as easily manipulated as the awestruck colt, taking her place in the still-warm support frame and making no resistance to Hammer lifting her hooves one at a time to check for slack. It was the only way that Hammer could concentrate, since the Alicorn of Love was in the room, and radiating her warm presence even hotter than the nearby forge.
“Five nails, young lady. And there’s been some arcing around that left rear shoe.”
Twilight Sparkle gave out a grunt and did not move her nose out of the book at all, not even when he used an awl punch to pop out two of the loose nails and re-nailed them into a more solid section of hoof. Obviously attracted by their royal guest, Tap Brad came out of the enchanting shed in order to ‘supervise’ Hammer’s work, which was not too bad because he passed over nails and tools with the casual competence gained over three decades of experience.
“You should be able to just file down that frazzled shoe,” he rumbled over Hammer’s shoulder.
“I was a little worried that it might have broken the enchantments,” admitted Hammer.
“No, they’re fine. M’Lady?” asked Tap Brad, making a motion toward Cadence’s hoof. “See,” he added while holding the delicate pink hoof next to Twilight’s shoe. “My boy’s using the redundant enchant overload runes I figured out when Miss Mi’Amore was shod last time. Somepony had been spreading a little love through the royals at the gala, and overdid it.”
Princess Cadenza blushed, and Hammer could swear he heard traffic far outside the farrier’s shop stumble to a halt.
“Oh, be nice, Tap,” she said with a giggle. “Some of those old ponies just needed a little nudge.”
“And some wouldn’t fall in love if you tossed them off the Canterlot cliff,” continued Tap. “Or at least they’d never admit it.”
Hammer bent to the task of Twilight’s shoes with as much concentration as he could, gently running a steel rasp over the burrs that had been formed from improperly grounded magical overload and trying his best to ignore the playful banter between Nails’ father and the pretty pink princess. He had just reached the end of the process and was getting out the clear hoof shellac when Mi’Amore Cadenza called out, “Oh, I’ll get that, Mister Hammer.”
With four practiced swipes, she expertly applied the sealer to each of Twilight Sparkle’s hooves, then returned the applicator to the container, leaving Hammer to mutter a quiet “Thanks” under his breath.
“Thank you oh so much for squeezing Twilight in on such short notice, Mister Hammer.” There was a brushing of aggressive pink around Hammer’s head, and the faint touch of lips on his cheek before Princess Mi’Amore turned to Tap Brad and repeated her application of what was certainly a mark of appreciation for a job well done. Or at least that was what he was trying to believe, which was made all the more difficult when Mi’Amore flicked her tail while trotting out the door, with Twilight Sparkle trailing along behind.
He could have sworn there was a knowing wink included from those entrancing eyes.
- - Ω - -
There had been no pressing need to visit Away this evening. He really couldn’t stay late at work because there was not enough work to catch up on to make it worth the coal. There was a new Amethyst Maresbury mystery novel on his chairside table at home, just waiting to be read. Nails was off with his latest noblemare, enjoying a week with a whole gaggle of snooty unicorns while doing something related to rosebushes in Baltimare. Tap Brad had vanished right after work for his own home. So it was a real mystery to Hammer why he was sitting at the bar in his regular booth, without even a beer.
Well, maybe not that much of a mystery. Miss Maresbury would have solved it in moments. One beer would have led to a second, and a third, until Stout Flagon would have needed to either drag his unconscious bulk back to his house or just throw a blanket over him until morning. The real mystery was why he was there.
While he was just sitting there feeling sorry for himself, there was an emptiness in his heart that he did not want to even consider. His life-long friend could easily vanish for good into high society, submerged into a world of small crackers with even smaller dabs of miscellaneous rare substances on them. Maybe he would drop by the forge occasionally with a small colt or filly trailing behind him, regaling his noble offspring with tales of life with the common pony while they were shod.
Thankfully, his morose musing was replaced by joy when a familiar small earth pony mare abruptly nudged up against his side with a solid thump that would have tipped an ordinary pony over. “Hey, you big lug,” said Sunspot, giving him another firm push. “Isn’t Nails back from the Baltimare Rose Jamboree yet?”
Spot put the two mugs she was carrying down onto the table so gently that not even a drop spilled, then slid the tray with the two sizzling kabobs up next to them. Giving a little hop to get into the booth seat, she rapped Hammer on the fetlock when he reached for one of the kabobs.
“Hey, get your own. I’ve been working on the Winter Wrap-Up aftermath all week. Today, there were three diplomatic receptions where I barely got a few sips of tea. I need fuel.”
Hammer sat nursing his stinging fetlock for a moment, then reached one hoof up and waved at Stout, who proceeded with the process of sending another kabob their way. Actually, two once Pirouette sashayed over to their table and slid another tray alongside the first.
“Thought I’d save time,” she smirked with a wink. “An’ to make sure the big lug gets at least one of those.”
Since Spot was a good portion of her way along the first kabob with her mouth full, she was unable to make the snappy comeback she obviously wanted, so she had to pass it on to Hammer once she swallowed.
“I lived on tea and cucumber sandwiches for the last three days. If I don’t get something solid in me, I’m not going to be able to face the sun tomorrow, and the entire world is going to come to an end.”
“By all means, m’lady,” said Hammer, moving the second tray closer to her. “Eat up. The worst thing that happens if I can’t get going in the morning is a few ponies limp for a day or two.” He sat there and watched her demolish two kabobs, although she stopped with the third crooked in her fetlock.
“Who died?”
“What?” asked Hammer, temporarily shocked out of the darkest of his shadows.
“With that face, either your dog died—”
“I don’t have a dog,” said Hammer. “I was just thinking about… Nails, I suppose. I’m going to lose him. I’ve known him all my life.”
“And the pretty Lady Iolite is going to sweep him away from you,” finished Spot before scrunching up her muzzle and pouting in the most unbelievably cute way. “Oh, fudge. I’m buying.”
“I’m not really hungry,” said Hammer, still lost in his dark thoughts. “Both of our parents had us late in life. We’re both only foals, grew up running back and forth between houses, terrorizing the neighborhood until we got our cutie marks. Together for that too. And… I’m going to start crying if I keep this up. He’s been the only brother I’ve known.”
He looked up just in time to see Spot surreptitiously wipe the back of her fetlock across her eyes, leaving a damp smear. He wanted to say something to keep his depression from spreading to her sparkling violet eyes, but it was too late. She refused to meet his plaintive look, picked up her tankard, and began to drink until there was nothing left in it but dampness.
“I’m sorry,” he managed.
They sat there in the booth for a time, with the remaining kabobs remaining untouched. Each of them made an effort to break the continuing silence, then sagged back into their seat with the words unspoken. It might have lasted all of the remaining night, except for Hammer spotting a familiar flicker of purple peeking in through the front door of the bar.
“Twilight Sparkle,” he nearly whispered.
“No, that’s not it,” said Spot, looking down at the table and drawing a crescent with one hoof in the condensation left behind by her tankard.
“No, I mean I see Twilight Sparkle at the door,” he whispered. With a quick gesture he motioned the little filly to come on in, then gave Stout Flagon a cross look when he moved to intercept her path. Little Twilight was carrying the small sleeping dragon on her back, who rocked back and forth in his slumber as his transportation limped forward.
“Good evening, Twilight Sparkle,” began Hammer in his most polite voice. “Does Princess Celestia know you are out wandering around tonight?”
“No,” she said almost too softly to hear, and mostly into the floorboards of the bar.
“It must be something important if it brings you out of the palace this late at night,” he continued, considering her awkward limp on the way to the table. “Did you finish blowing that shoe off?”
“Yeah,” she mumbled. Her nose twitched, and she looked up with a brief swallow, then a wider-eyed look at Sunspot, who was still sitting silently by his side and hidden from the front doorway. “Miss Sunspot?”
“Oh!” said Sunspot. She was blinking rapidly to clear her eyes of the tears that Hammer had been afraid were going to start just a few moments ago, and seemed to be sliding back into her familiar role as Daytime Very Important Pony Dealer-Wither. To give her a little time to recover, he spoke up again.
“Do you want part of a kabob before we fix that shoe, young miss? You look like you skipped dinner, and I believe we have an extra.”
He scooted the platter over to the other side of the table and held out his forelegs for the sleeping dragon. Spike did not even shift positions when Twilight floated him over, and he tucked the infant dragon into the crook of one foreleg while marveling at how warm he was for being a lizard. Twilight dragged herself up into the seat, looked down at the kabob, and gave it a sniff.
“Onions? Princess Celestia doesn’t let us have onions. They make my breath stinky, and give Spike gas.”
Hammer snorted. “Around here, they’re endangered. You have to eat them before Spot goes for them or you might get bitten.”
“Hey!” At least that shocked Sunspot out of her depression. She gave him a friendly nudge to his side and rolled her eyes, although that welcome smile did not appear as he hoped.
“Eat up,” said Hammer in the encouraging fashion that his mother had used. “You’re not in trouble, Twilight.”
“I’m not?” said Twilight Sparkle at the same time as Spot said, “She’s not?” which made an inadvertent duet.
“You’re worried you’ll get caught.” Hammer gave a low chuckle and retrieved his tankard, taking a first sip as a sense of warm remembrance began to chase away the shadows. “Silver Nails and I used to slip out of the house and sneak down to the Fire Festival every summer. Our fathers were all—” he lowered his voice and huffed “—too dangerous for little colts with all the drinking and dancing and wild young mares. We’d sneak out, and back into our own rooms far too late at night. Then in the morning, Tap Brad and Sledge would drag our sleepy carcases down to the shop where we’d spend the whole morning sweeping up the fireworks casings that had rained down during the night and doing extra chores. We always got caught. They always knew. But I learned something that I’m going to teach you tonight. Do you mind if I teach one of your lessons instead of Princess Celestia?” he added with a conspiratorial wink.
The little unicorn had the most transfixed, fascinated expression, and she quickly nodded.
“I’m not going to tell Princess Celestia you snuck out of the palace to get your shoe fixed,” said Hammer. “Neither is Miss Sunspot. You are.”
“Me?” squeaked Twilight.
“She will find out eventually,” said Hammer in his most reassuring voice. “Right?”
For a moment, it looked as if Twilight Sparkle were about to put forward a long explanation of how such nighttime excursions could be kept secret from the most powerful alicorn in the world, but common sense kept her mouth shut after a few weak attempts.
“So after you get something to eat,” continued Hammer, “Miss Sunspot and I will take you back to the forge, fit the spare enchanted shoe that my partner Nails was wise enough to have prepared, and see you back to the palace all safe and secure. Then before you go to bed again, you will go to your teacher and tell her what you did, and why. She will understand.”
“She’s probably sleeping,” said Twilight far too quickly for Hammer’s taste. “Her bedroom light was off, and I didn’t want to disturb her.”
“Doesn’t matter,” said Hammer, giving the kabob platter a brief push to scoot it closer to the young unicorn.
“She’s the Princess, and really important,” tried Twilight again before Hammer interrupted.
“You’re important too. She cares about you far more than you realize,” said Hammer. “When you welded your shoes to the floor back a few months ago, she kept it quiet so other ponies would not see how embarrassed you were, and sent one of her guards privately to get me. I’m sure she had other, important things to do that day, but she stayed with you instead. What would happen if she got up for a late-night snack tonight, and checked in your room on her way back to bed?”
Twilight’s eyes got large, and undoubtedly scenes of Princess panic surged in waves behind them.
“Besides, if you wanted to keep this a secret, you should have considered how many witnesses were here,” continued Hammer with a brief gesture at the other end of the bar where several off-duty guards were engaged in off-duty drinking and storytelling.
“Oh,” said Twilight Sparkle.
Sunspot slipped out of the booth and stretched her neck. “I’ll go tell the lunkheads to keep this quiet for now,” she explained. “Maybe send one back to the palace to clue in the rest of the guards in case of some late-night royal snacking. We wouldn’t want Her Highness to worry, now would we?”
“No, ma’am.”
That was all the words he managed to get out of the normally talkative student until they returned to the forge, and Hammer got all the lights on. Spike continued to snooze during the trip, but the increased light and the clatter of him unpacking Twilight’s reserve horseshoes caused the infant dragon to shift on Hammer’s back and yawn.
“Finally up?” He chuckled as the dragon began to turn around, looking in all directions at the fascinating new place it was in, then winced as it began to sharpen tiny little infant claws on his back. Thankfully, Sunspot picked up the dragon and cuddled it while he got out the spare set of enchanted shoes.
“I really thought that shoe would hold,” he mused while getting out the hoof file. “Even Mister Brad said it would be fine. You must have been throwing a lot of magic around for such a little thing.”
“I am pretty strong for my age.” A little bit of praise had taken the edge off Twilight’s morose grumping, and she wriggled in the shoeing brace. “Do you need me to hold the shoe in place while you nail?”
Several practiced swipes of the file later, Hammer looked at the resulting workspace. “If you can hold it very carefully. I don’t want to put any more holes in your hoof than needed. Too many of them and we’ll have to epoxy and let you run around with a hoof-boot like Princess Celestia for a week or two while it cures. What exactly were you doing to break Nails’ fine work this time?”
When Twilight did not answer, and Sunspot appeared to be too busy entertaining the infant dragon to fill in any details, he continued, “I’ll bet you were rearing back. Nails used to do that when he was trying something beyond his capacity,” explained Hammer before Twilight could ask. “Just because I’m an earth pony doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about magic.”
“I didn’t know that,” said Twilight, still twisted around so she could see what he was doing with her hind hoof. She proved to be a wonderful assistant in that regard, holding the shoe right where he prompted her and keeping it from shifting even in the slightest while he was putting in the nails. The questions even started up again, which showed the young unicorn was feeling more comfortable, so Hammer took his time swaging off the ends of the nails and applying two coats of clear hoof lacquer.
“How strong are you, anyway?” he asked when there was a brief break in her questions. “I mean may I see you lift something so I can look at how the shoes react under magical load? Maybe we can figure out something in the future to keep you from limping over to the bar in the middle of the night.”
“I’m not really that strong,” said Twilight, backtracking on her previous claim. “I mean compared to an adult. Like…”
The anvil that Hammer used to shape the shoes glowed purple in her magic and floated up a few inches off the floor while Twilight Sparkle concentrated on her magic. The light from her horn was a pure glow, with none of the wavering or flickers that Nails had at her age, and she shifted on her hooves while the anvil bobbled slightly. To be honest, Hammer had expected an impressive show of power from the little unicorn, but he could barely budge the anvil and its heavy stone base with all of his own strength, and together with Nails’ magical assistance, they could only move it across the floor a few inches at a time.
Still, it was sitting there bobbing in place like a cork while Twilight continued talking.
“...so many other enchantments that take more power and concentration, but simple levitation is really not that much of a challenge. Transformation spells take far more work. I’m working on—”
“Just a moment,” said Hammer, relying on the instructions he had once heard Tap Brad give to his son. “You’re shifting on your hooves. Get your balance first before you start. That’s right. Stay braced just like that. And don’t say anything,” he added.
He walked slowly around the little unicorn, keeping away from the anvil just in case something else unexpected happened. In his un-expert earth pony opinion, the unicorn was holding up her spell without any signs of strain at all, making him deeply impressed with her skill, and more than a little stunned at her power.
I guess that’s why Princess Celestia picked her as a student to replace the last one.
“Hey, Ham.” Sunspot gestured at him from the doorway into the more formal shoe fitting room. “Can I talk privately with you for a moment. Twilight, honey, just keep that up until we get back.”
The door had a large shatterproof glass panel so customers could watch Hammer work, which sometimes made him feel a little like some sort of sweaty performer for elderly mares in the fitting room who were ‘just shopping.’ Since they both could watch Twilight from the other side, Hammer decided it was not that much of an abandonment by her ersatz teacher, particularly since Sunspot seemed to have shaken off his contagious depression for the most part.
Once they had the door closed, Hammer bent down and asked, “So…?”
“Seeing you talk with Twilight just made me want to tell you how good you are with foals,” said Sunspot, who had the infant dragon in the crook of one foreleg. “And how sad I am that I can’t have any of my own.”
“Oh, well…” Hammer could not raise his voice above a whisper, particularly when Sunspot raised her head to touch noses with him.
“Twilight’s watching or I’d kiss you right here,” she said. “That doesn’t mean we can’t be good friends, it just means you can’t think of me as what I’m afraid you’re starting to think, because I’m thinking that too, and I know it can’t happen.”
“Seems to me we’re thinking too much,” replied Hammer without really thinking about his words. It didn’t help when he brushed his lips against Spot’s for one, long, timeless moment that lasted for entirely too short a time. “I’m sorry for making you sad tonight,” he added once they separated far enough to talk.
“That’s... not making me sad,” she whispered back with just the smallest hint of a giggle. “And it isn’t you, it’s me. I promise, I’ll tell you about it sometime. Not tonight. Some other night. Oh, I don’t want to lose you,” she added with a husky whisper.
“I’m not going anywhere,” said Hammer, “except we need to get back into the forge room before Twilight Sparkle drops that anvil on something important. So as long as you’re not leaving…”
Spot managed a full giggle at that. “Oh, if only you knew. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I’m starting to need Away more than I ever expected. But for now…”
“Duty calls.” Hammer held the door open for her. “M’lady, I believe it is time for my guests to return to their homes. Twilight Sparkle, if you could please put the anvil down. Carefully,” he added when a low thud shook the forge area, making the old shoes nailed to the wall jingle.
“Please have the bill for our visit sent to the palace as soon as possible, Mister Hammer,” said Spot, stepping carefully back into the dusty forge area with a measured pace and moving up beside Twilight Sparkle.
“I certainly will, Miss Sunspot,” said Hammer, following along behind. “Will you young mares be needing an escort to the palace?”
“I do believe it would only be prudent this evening,” said Sunspot, moving out the back door of the forge and motioning Twilight to follow. “Princess Celestia’s student shall act as our chaperone, so there will not be any rumors of impropriety.”
“Once I lock up, I shall be prepared to depart,” said Hammer. He slid the heavy door closed and locked it, putting the key back into his bit pouch where it belonged and allowing Sunspot to put the snoozing dragon back onto his broad shoulders. Although he did drop his formal posturing enough to whisper to Twilight, “When you are discussing your visit with Princess Celestia this evening—” he took a certain pleasure at seeing Twilight flinch without a frown, but an expression of actual thought into what she was going to say to the Princess “—I would appreciate it if you did not mention Miss Sunspot and myself… engaging in a public display of affection.”
“Eww,” said Twilight while walking alongside them, although after some thought she added, “I thought secrets were bad.”
After a quick glance at Sunspot to see if perhaps she was going to offer any support, Hammer managed to put forward, “Yes. But there’s a difference between secrets and privacy. For example,” he added, turning to Spot. “Do you know about my first visit to the palace for Twilight?”
“Not really,” said Spot with a cute thinking expression. “Princess Celestia put her hoof down and said it was none of our business. That squelched the rumor mill fairly quick.”
“See, Twilight.” Hammer turned back to his small student. “You’d be awfully upset if other ponies started whispering naughty things behind your back, right? What if Princess Celestia had told the other palace staff all about my visit, every single detail?”
“No!” declared Twilight with the cutest wrinkled-up nose. “She’d never do that. And I wouldn’t either!”
“Well,” continued Hammer as they walked, “what if Princess Celestia had some handsome noblepony she liked to slip out at night and visit? Would she be upset if you talked to your friends about it?”
“I would never…” Twilight trailed off and thought, which Hammer considered to be a good sign. Whatever thought she was thinking was sure to get a good mental flogging in the process. “Well, my brother…” she started again, only to come to a halt and think some more. “I probably shouldn’t talk about him, either. For the same reason.”
“And thus ends the second lesson of the evening,” said Hammer. “Privacy. Somewhat of a mixed message, but so is life.”
They walked through the moonlight in unaccustomed silence for a while with only the ringing of steel shoes against the cobblestones. It did make Hammer think of Sunspot’s shoes, and wonder just where she had them repaired, but he did not want to break the mood.
Still, as they drew near the palace, he had to say something, even if it sounded corny.
“The stars are certainly beautiful tonight. It has been a pleasure to share them with two such fascinating young mares.”
“I… really don’t like the stars much,” admitted Sunspot. “I’m so busy in the palace that I never get the opportunity to look at them.”
“But they’re so interesting! I love the stars,” said Twilight Sparkle. “I used to put my telescope in the back yard and my parents would stay up with me all night. We’d do star charts and talk about the constellations and try to make up some of our own. I… didn’t get to see my parents during the day very often, since they had such important jobs.”
“Does being Princess Celestia’s student involve stargazing too?” asked Golden Hammer.
“Not yet, but I hope so.” Twilight Sparkle fairly skipped along the cobblestoned street with her tail swishing behind her. “I mean we’re studying all kinds of spells and history and all kinds of things, so I’m not sure where we could put it.”
“At night, I would hope,” said Sunspot. “I’m certain that if you ask your teacher, she will make room. We should always take time in life for the things we appreciate.”
Twilight Sparkle nodded vigorously, and looked back when Golden Hammer slowed to a halt outside of the torchlight illumination that cast the palace gates into nighttime splendor. It was such a beautiful place that he wanted to stroll on in with his entourage, walk through the hallways illuminated with the light of the moon and Spot’s happy smile… Well, mostly he had a greedy sensation in his heart, which would be more like walking around with the beautiful mare while shouting on the inside, “Look at her! She likes me! Isn’t she wonderful?”
But that would fire up the gossips inside the palace like nothing else.
“I had better see you two off now,” he said instead. “Twilight Sparkle, please take care and remember what you learned tonight. And Spot…”
He hesitated, and Twilight promptly turned her back on the two of them and closed her eyes. “Not listening,” she declared, which made Sunspot laugh.
“Later,” she promised, and gave him a gentle kiss across the lips in the darkness.
His long saunter back home was filled with stars and thoughts about the beauty of the city’s night.
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Twilight is a little like a shoe boomerang with emphasis on the boom.
Tap: No, that shoe is fine.
(Later). Limp, limp, limp....
On a basic level, effective use requires three simple things. Power, understanding, and confidence. Twilight has the power already, more than any unicorn could reasonably need. The understanding will come with time and experience, young Twilight does love her books. The confidence is the final part, ease-of-use derived from familiarity and certainty.
Twilight has never been good with confidence.
This leads her to under, or over-power her spells, as she's simply not comfortable with really grasping the sheer volume of power at her disposal. Overcorrecting, y'see? Mayhap she'll get there a bit sooner this time, with a bit of earth pony pragmatism thrown in.
But that's not what we're here for! We're here for the sweet, sweet shipping! And yes folks, this ship is 100% Cadence-approved!
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The "rang" is the sound of the detritus bouncing off the walls.
That’s the second time Celestia’s ‘previous’ student has been mentioned. As a big fan of ol’ bacon hair I have to ask, is that train going anywhere?
I see you found a better use for the name than I did.
Loving the story so far! I'm taking notes for future reference. :)
Misguided scholars have posed that the only way to rule is by instilling fear in your subjects. These people are wrong. Clearly, the best way to sway the people is with cuteness and sex appeal.
Well, Hammer, you have the approval of Love herself. Congratulations/I'm sorry (Choose one or both.)
"Did I mention I'm not Celestia?"
You may not think you can have him, Spot, but the solution may just call for some creativity.
Heh. She's not wrong.
He really is quite good with foals. Loving this so far; looking forward to more.
Anyone here ever seen Roman Holiday?
10041547
Yeah. I just hope it doesn't end like that picture.
10041547
What, is that something like The Passion of St. Tibulus?
You're only slightly off there Hammer
Well, Cadance is obviously onto her Aunt’s little side adventures... I wonder if that would be news for Sunspot.
I see Twilight has begun to stick her nose further in books and ignore the world around her. I wonder if this Celestia ever has her faith shaken by that as we get closer and closer to her sister’s return... her missing sister is obviously weighing on her here as she commiserated with Ham over the potential of him losing his only sibling. The fact that she might be stringing along someone that she can’t commit to having a lifetime with is broached, if not entirely dealt with.
Then again, knowing the future, if this follows the show then it’s not really that far off before a certain sun Princess is able to retire altogether...
And how much would you have to pay the changelings to have a vat of love waiting for them at the bottom to make that work, anyway?
/snark
I wonder how often Trixie blows off horseshoes then, because she does this, like, all the time.
Of course, though she loathes to admit it, Trixie isn't nearly as powerful as the likes of Twilight here, and even more so, I could see her getting a much higher band of horseshoes than she actually needs so to "compensate" for her very exaggerated "great and powerful magic skills."
Oh, he's only just now thought of that, of how he, the farrier, has know her this long, and yet she hasn't once come to visit him and help out his business as a...we'll say "very good friend" for now...by getting some new horseshoes from him. Hmm, wonder why...
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I certainly hope it is, because I'm loving the mental pictures of Spot's face if and when she were to find out. It's certainly what I'd do if I were writing this.
Yep, still great.
Twilight learning, Hammer teaching and doing his job, Sunspot saying she'll tell him what's up eventually...
I really love this story so far! Thank you for sharing it :D Filly!Twilight is very amusing and I really like Hammer and Nails. I'm already hoping that my favorite sun princess gets to retire to Away.
Aha! They were in Equestria: 1940!
This is an amazing love/word lore story.
Really looking forward to more.
The Angela Landsbury reference amused me. I kind of wonder how many other readers got it.
I'm also quite enjoying how the story plays with the open secret of Spot's identity. "Dont tell Princess Celestia about our relationship" indeed.
On a side note, I'm a little surprised Spot's color scheme isn't the traditional white-with-pink-mane. Not that that's a bad thing.
For some reason, I suddenly imagined what that scene would have been like if it had been a younger Cadance.
"She shall be our chaperone, so our relationship will be known by everyone tomorrow."