The Trick to Growing Up

by Hakuno

5- Market Castle

Chapter 5: Market Castle

Eight nodes. That’s the novice way.

“You must make sure the gemstone is completely engulfed by your aura,” Miss Clockwise said, levitating a shiny sapphire in front of her for all the class to see. “Otherwise, the vectors might break, and your spell will fail.”

There was a murmur around the classroom as Miss Clockwise wrote the warning on the board. Not because of what she had just said, but because she could write, hold the gemstone and still look straight to them with no apparent effort. Sunset rolled her eyes at their ineptitude.

“Now, you try it out. Remember to visualize in your minds before casting the enclosing cage.”

Sunset looked up to the ceiling and sighed. Why had Princess Celestia insisted that Sunset take this particular class? Enchanting was her specialty! She suspected she was even better than the teacher herself!

There were several clinks all around her as most of her classmates dropped their gemstones. They couldn’t even sustain an eight-nodes enclosing cage!

“Sunset Shimmer,” Miss Clockwise called her. “Why aren’t you doing anything?”

Sunset resisted the urge to retort. She only gave the teacher a deadpan, then levitated her ruby. With the most bored expression she could muster, she created thirty-two nodes around the gemstone at even distances from each other. The vectors came next, and she could already hear the gasps from those who were sensible enough to notice her grandeur.

It was no easy task. She had to split her concentration into so many parts in order to calculate the spatial distortion and the mana input into each node to form the vectors, and doing so while also deliberately mustering an even expression was maybe a tad too much for her.

Maybe.

“That is…”

But Sunset did not let Miss Clockwise praise her yet. Once her enclosing cage was solidly constructed, Sunset fed the nodes with a simple light-producing spell and a two-fold potentiated blue spell. Then, once the ruby had turned a shiny blue, Sunset slid in a much more complex environmental auto-regenerating energy spell.

With a satisfied nod, Sunset set the blue ruby down, letting her aura dissipate with grace. That third spell would make her enchantments run for about a week before running out. She felt very proud of herself, so much so that she almost smiled.

“Sunset Shimmer, this is incredible!” Miss Clockwise said. “Three spells into a thirty-two nodes enclosing cage is-”

“An easy task for me,” Sunset interrupted her, still wearing her bored frown. “Maybe I should be in advanced enchanting, hm?”

Then she allowed herself to smile.

~~~~~~~~

“What is this?!” Sunset exclaimed as she approached the weird-looking carriage. It was shorter but longer, and it was a smooth metallic dark gray. The wheels didn’t seem to be made of wood, either. There were so many things she could not recognize of this carriage, but the most impressive fact was the lack of horsepower.

“It’s a car,” Dandy said, and her voice sounded oddly uncomfortable.

The man inside gave Sunset an odd look as she approached him. “How does it move? What kind of technology is this? I haven’t read the whole encyclopedia yet so I don’t know anything about this car.” She mused for a moment. Maybe it worked similarly to a train? Then again, if the front part was the engine, it was so small and quite possibly so complex she got an itch to dismantle the thing.

Dandy placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Sunset, dear, stop bothering him and get in. You can read about it later.”

Sunset pouted, but the expression on the man’s face told her that he was not going to be able to answer her questions. Peasant.

She complied and followed Trixie inside. The interior had an odd design as well, but it was so much more comfortable! She supposed she could wait, after all, Dandy was taking them to the “Mall”, and Sunset had been wanting to know what it was. Trixie seemed eager to go as well.

As she looked out the window, Sunset took a good look at her surroundings. Every street they passed had dozens of cars of different colors, none of which were being pulled. Some were smaller and some were huge. People walked this way or the other, and Sunset felt like she was in Manehattan again. Was Manehattan the most technologically advanced city in Equestria? That couldn’t be true!

Something that caught Sunset’s attention was that all the buildings seemed to share a rectangular shape, like boxes stacked next to each other, but vertically. Was it for a practical reason or just aesthetics? If it was the latter, then Sunset did not understand it.

Finally, after some twenty minutes, they arrived, and Sunset could not believe what she was seeing.

This building looked like a castle, but miniature!

Its design was nothing like the rest of the buildings. There were a lot of angles and shapes, making it look like some sort of fortress, but then, people walked in and out of it like it was no one’s business. There was a garden-like area at the side where more people gathered to form queues in front of booths.

The building was, by Sunset’s estimation, at least five stories high, and it covered so much ground! It was probably just as big as Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and that was only the second biggest building in Canterlot right after the castle itself!

“I think we all should grab something to eat first,” Dandy said right after they got out of the car. “What do you girls-”

“Burgers!” Trixie said. “I can’t stand vegan anymore!”

Sunset raised an eyebrow at that. “Vegan?”

Dandy sighed. “Well, I suppose it’s ok for you.” She then turned to Sunset. “I’m pretty sure we’ll find something for you.”

“For me?” Sunset asked. What were they talking about? She cocked her head.

“Yes. You know, vegan food?”

Sunset narrowed her eyes. “What is that vegan you’re talking about? I feel like I’m being left out of a joke.”

Dandy and Trixie shared a look that made Sunset feel more uncomfortable.

“Well, you’re a horse,” Trixie said.

“Pony.”

“Whatever. You eat fruit and veggies and grass, right?”

Sunset huffed, offended, and crossed her arms. “Excuse me? You think I would just eat from the ground? I’m not some low-class hicksville peasant, you know? The maids use only the highest quality ingredients for every meal and I will be very angry if you so much as imply I eat grass again.”

Trixie blinked, then gave her mother a desperate look.

Dandy stepped closer to Sunset and calmly placed a hand on her shoulder. “What Trixie meant to say is that we’ve been eating meat-free food because we thought it’d be against your, uhm… culture.”

Now that got Sunset’s attention, and she sharply looked up at Dandy. “Meat?” She looked at Trixie, then at Dandy again. “You guys eat meat?”

“Yes,” Dandy replied. “I’m surprised the encyclopedia hasn’t mentioned that yet, with how much you’ve been reading it.” She cleared her throat. “In any case, we won’t force our diet on you, so don’t worry.”

Sunset looked down. Humans ate meat. She wasn’t sure why it was so shocking to her. Minotaurs and Gryphons and many other creatures were carnivorous, and there were some ponies that enjoyed eating fish every once in a while, but she had never paid them any mind.

And now she was one of them.

The thought was making her feel nauseous. Sure, Dandy said she could still have her previous diet, but she was still bothered by the fact she was supposed to eat meat. The logical part of her mind was arguing that a balanced diet was important, and these humans, as far as she was concerned now, needed meat for that.

But then, the memory of Miss Genny, the only gryphon in Celestia’s school, eating fish every other day at the cafeteria became vivid in Sunset’s mind and she could see and smell the flesh and listen to the chewing sounds and she thought she was about to vomit.

“Sunset?”

But that was pony Sunset Shimmer. That was her past self. She was now a human and humans ate meat! Should she try at least once? Trixie did mention the word ‘burger’. Maybe it was something similar to Hayburgers.

“Hey, Sunset!”

Sure, Sunset had never been a fan of the unhealthy things, but if they were the human counterpart of the popular meal, maybe they were at least half as good, and if that was the case, there was a high chance she could like it.

“Sunset!” Trixie yelled.

“Stop screaming in my ear!” Sunset yelled back, making Trixie step backward. Then she noticed they had gotten to a huge open area with lots and lots of tables, like a cafeteria, and all around there were booths of what she could only guess was different kinds of food. “Huh.”

“Do you want me to help you pick something?” Trixie asked in a much lower voice.

Sunset blinked and turned around slowly. Trying to make out the different booths. There weren’t many people around, so it was easy to read some names, though that did nothing to tell her the kind of food they’d sell. After turning twice on her heels, Sunset noticed Dandy was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Dandy?”

“Oh, uhm,” Trixie fidgeted. “Mom went to the bathroom. She said to order already.”

Sunset hummed. “You’re getting a burger, right?”

“Y-yes.”

“Is it tasty?”

Trixie smiled. “Yes. It’s my favorite food!”

Sunset looked at Trixie for the longest time, then scratched her head. “I… I want to try a burger too.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Sunset replied as she looked away. “I at least want to know. If I don’t like it then I’ll just get something else.”

Trixie beamed. “Oh, I bet you’ll love burgers!” She said as she grabbed Sunset by the hand and pulled her towards a booth that had only a huge crown as a logo. “They’re super tasty and you can have them however you like! I always ask for extra pickles. Mom can’t stand them but I just love them!”

Sunset listened to Trixie ramble for the whole ten minutes they stood in line. It was interesting how she could be sort of a doormat one moment and the most talkative person the next one. Most of the time Trixie kept to herself, then she’d decide to start conversations with Sunset out of nowhere.

What an odd girl.

The queue wasn’t long, and before Sunset realized, Trixie had already pulled her to the counter. “I’ll have a double cheeseburger with extra pickles,” Trixie said. “Small fries and small soda.”

The person behind the counter, a boy that looked like he’d rather hit himself than be there, hastened to take the order.

“What will you have, Sunset?”

Sunset scanned the menu that hung from the ceiling. Even back in Equestria, she had never been to one of these places and had no idea what any of the ridiculous dish names meant. She grimaced. “Whatever the smallest one is.”

Trixie paused, then ordered something that sounded too childish to be a real dish name. It took a while, but they were finally seated at one of the tables with their orders. Sunset was curious about these food trays they were given, but she was distracted by the meal in front of her.

“You got a burger too?” Dandy asked. She had arrived a few minutes ago and had gotten herself a sandwich from another booth.

“I want to try them out,” Sunset replied. She looked at the wrapped-up semi-ball in front of her and felt her stomach turn. Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea. To her left, Trixie had already unwrapped hers and was eating like her life depended on it.

With still slightly uncoordinated hand, Sunset unwrapped the paper and uncovered the greasy food. The paper underneath was already becoming transparent. For a moment, Sunset felt more repulsed by the thought of eating so much fat than meat. She pursed her lips as she lifted the burger.

“Well… I guess there’s a first time for everything,” she whispered. Before she could cowardly back away, she gave a big bite. She almost regretted it as soon as the grease’s taste filled her mouth. This was precisely the reason why she had decided to never eat hayburgers again! She could already feel herself going fat and having to run to burn all those calories and…

And…

What was this flavor?

Soon after the taste of grease washed her mouth, she was greeted by the unusual but not at all bad mix of mustard and ketchup. She had even gotten a pickle and it was as delicious as they were back home. But above all, there was a novel flavor.

She had no idea what to compare it to. She had never eaten anything like it. This meat, it was hard to come up with a description of its taste. But more impressive was the fact that she was not retching. Sure, the thought of knowing she was eating a dead animal was still nauseating, but it wasn’t as horrible as she had first thought.

Not with the help of the rest of the ingredients.

Sunset would not say it was delicious, or even tasty, but it certainly was bearable. Perhaps she could get used to eating meat. She just hoped her next meal would be less greasy.

“So?!” Trixie asked, startling Sunset. She had already devoured her burger and was now enjoying her fries. “Did you like it?!”

Sunset looked back at her own burger. It didn’t look appetizing in the slightest, and yet she didn’t feel disgusted.

She just shrugged. “It’s ok, I guess.”

After they finished their food, Dandy ushered the girls along. Sunset looked around. She had been distracted when she entered this Mall, so she wanted to pay attention to everything.

They walked through what, architecturally speaking, should be a hallway, although it was so wide it felt like a street. Stores lined to the sides and there were booths of various merchandise in the middle. This Mall was like a market fused with a shopping street and then put inside a building.

It was mind-blowing.

At some point, Dandy led them into one of the stores. It was full of clothes and mannequins and women of all ages.

“A tailor parlor?” Sunset asked as she looked around. But there were just too many clothes, and of so many different kinds!

“No tailors in here,” Dandy said. “Just clothes. We’ll first get you some undergarments.”

Sunset barely listened to Dandy. She was accustomed to having a large amount of dresses for formal events and such, but this store was just insane. There were just so many clothes and they all were so cramped together. And there were so many humans! How was Sunset supposed to know where to even go?

But Dandy seamlessly led her to a specific section. Sunset noticed a whole row full of panties of all colors and, she guessed, sizes.

“Pick seven,” Dandy said. “One for each day of the week. Then seven pairs of socks. Choose the colors you like best. I wouldn’t recommend white for the panties, though. Not at least for your first year.”

Sunset cocked an eyebrow at that, but Dandy wasn’t looking at her, and instead to a pair of socks. Maybe she was planning to buy some for herself. Sunset shrugged and did as asked. She picked some panties that seemed to be the same size Trixie had been lending her. However, she decided to exclude the pink ones. She wasn’t a fan of that color.

She did the same with socks.

“Done,” she said to Dandy, who was inspecting a weird piece of clothing that looked like two bowls tied together.

Dandy smiled. “Alright, then. Now we’ll need to get you some brassieres.”

Sunset blinked. “Uhm… I thought we were buying clothes?”

“We are,” Dandy replied, slowly. “Oh, right. You don’t have them over in your world, do you?”

“Sure we do,” Sunset replied. “I just don’t understand why you want me to get braziers, you already have electric lights. And what does that have to do with clothes anyway?”

They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds.

“Brassiere,” Dandy said. “Not brazier.” She then showed Sunset the weird-looking clothing. “This is a brassiere, or bra, if you will. It’s another piece of undergarment us girls wear.”

Sunset cocked her head. “Really?” Dandy nodded. “Then why have Trixie not lent me some?”

Dandy chuckled nervously. “Well, Trixie doesn’t need them yet. But you do.”

“Why?”

Dandy sighed. “Well, you already read about anatomy. You know girls grow breasts.”

“That’s right,” Sunset said. “That’s actually interesting. Why do they grow despite not being pregnant? The anatomy section said they actually grow a bit more during pregnancy, but it failed to say why they grow at all.”

“Uh, yeah.” Dandy cleared her throat. “I don’t think I can answer that question. But that’s not important right now. You see, breasts can get in the way in day to day life, so we use bras to hold them in place. And you already have them quite large for a girl your age. I can only imagine how big they’ll get as time passes… But I digress.” She gave Sunset the one she’d been holding. “You’ll have to try them before buying them.”

Sunset grabbed it. “Alright…” She looked at the brassiere and realized she had no clue of how she should put it on. Well, might as well learn now. She lifted her shirt.

“Wait!” Dandy hissed, placing a hand on Sunset’s arms. “You, uh… Ok, look, let’s go to a changing booth, alright?”

Oh, of course. The nudity taboo again. Sunset rolled her eyes and followed Dandy to a booth. She stepped inside the extremely small little square and turned to Dandy. “Wait, how do I put this on?”

Dandy paused, then seemed to stifle a groan. “Ok…” She entered the booth, making it even more claustrophobic, and closed the curtain behind her. “I’ll teach you. First, take off your shirt.”

Sunset did as told. She was pleased with herself at how fast she did so. She had stopped being clumsy with clothes! Or at least she had thought so. Turned out this brassiere was a new level of complex. It was so weird and counterintuitive… Sunset felt like a foal, completely incapable of doing something that was supposed to be normal.

She’d have to practice a lot at home.

Finally, after trying out what seemed like an endless supply of bras, she finally got only seven.

“Well, now let’s choose your everyday clothes,” Dandy said as they got out of the booth.

“Just grab whatever,” Sunset said, exhausted. “I don’t care about fashion.”

Dandy clicked her tongue. “You say that now, but trust me, you need to at least look good. Now, let’s get some shirts.”

Sunset groaned. Why did choosing clothes have to be such an annoying affair in either world? At least back in Equestria Sunset had royal tailors that crafted the best dresses just for her, and she’d have to wear them just once. Here, in the human world, she had to wear things anyone could get in the same store, and she’d have to wear them all the time.

This, Sunset decided, was another con of this world.

By the time they finished, she was completely spent. Dandy had tried to explain the different kinds of sizes of clothes and other stuff, but Sunset had barely paid any attention. She just wanted it over with and return to exploring this Mall.

As she waited in the queue next to Dandy, Trixie stepped closer, holding a purple shirt with a yellow round neck and a picture on the chest Sunset didn’t recognize.

“Mom!” Trixie said chirpily. “Can I get this one? It’s really cute.”

Dandy looked back at Trixie. “Sorry, honey. We came to buy Sunset clothes. Maybe next time.”

“But mooooom!”

“Don’t throw a tantrum,” Dandy warned calmly.

“But you’re buying a lot for Sunset!”

“It’s her money,” Dandy replied. “Technically speaking, she’s the one buying.”

Sunset watched the exchange with curiosity. Why did Trixie want more clothes? She had more than enough. How else had she been lending so many clothes to Sunset? It made no sense.

Ultimately, Trixie desisted and returned the shirt where she had found it. She had also developed a small pout.

What a baby.

They went out, finally, carrying a few bags, and Sunset looked around at the other stores. She cocked her head. All nearby stores sold clothes. Why? She could understand maybe two, but every other store nearby?! What was wrong with these humans?!

After a few minutes of walking, the stores began showing different things. One in particular seemed to be selling technological gadgets. Sunset walked up to it to see. She recognized speakers, but the rest of the objects were alien to her. She was about to get inside to look more when something caught her attention.

On the store right next to this one, there was a huge poster of Elementials, the cartoon she watched with Trixie every morning.

“What is this?” She asked. The store had several other posters of different other cartoons she could not recognize.

“Oh!” Trixie exclaimed excitedly as she stepped next to Sunset. “That’s the Elemetials video game! I thought it’d come out next month!”

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “There is a video game about Elementials? I thought it was a cartoon.”

“Well, yes. But it’s so popular that some company decided to make a game. And by the looks of the trailer, it looks pretty good!” Trixie turned to Dandy. “Mom!”

“No way, Trixie,” Dandy said immediately. “I already got one for your birthday.”

Trixie groaned, although it sounded more like a whimper to Sunset. Sunset turned to look at the poster again. “Is it similar to the other games you have in your room?”

“Not quite,” Trixie replied after a pause. “It’s a fighting game.”

“Aren’t all your games about fighting?”

“No, they are different genres,” Trixie said as she crossed her arms. “I don’t have fighting games.”

Sunset cocked her head. “I don’t understand. You fight a lot in Timeless Tirek.”

“But that’s an RPG,” Trixie said. “You level up and there are a lot of NPCs to talk with. Elementials is a fighting game. You don’t level up or walk around, you just fight.”

“Come on, girls,” Dandy said. “Let’s get going.”

Trixie sighed and turned around.

“Wait,” Sunset said. “I want to buy this video game.”

Dandy raised an eyebrow. “It costs fifty dollars. It’s pretty expensive.”

Sunset crossed her arms. “Well, it’s my money.”

“That you gave me for rent, services, and clothes. Not for video games.”

“Then, what if I give you another coin every two months?” Sunset offered. “I also have to study how economics works in this world. What better way to do so than spending money on stuff?”

Dandy gave Sunset a tired look. “One extra coin every three months,” she said. “I’ll give you 500 every month. I don’t want you having too much money and getting into trouble.”

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Fine. Let’s hurry and buy this game,” she said to Trixie and entered the store.

Dandy had said the game was expensive, but the total of buying her clothes had been a lot more than fifty dollars. Sunset didn’t like not knowing the value of money, and she wasn’t sure using it to buy video games was a bright idea.

But she really wanted it.

Author's Note:

I really don't like the "Sunset has to be a vegetarian because she was a pony" trend in most Sunset fics. So this chapter exists with the sole purpose of having her become an omnivorous person.

Just wait till she tries bacon.

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Great chapter!

Will Sunset try to eat her hair to see if it tastes like bacon?

[Snowdrifter]

10214466
Or ketchup and mustard?