First Hoof Account

by TCC56

26 - Strike

There were downsides to being in a relationship with Cadance. Part of her growing skill set was that she was very in tune with other ponies' emotions and being so close with Sunset Shimmer only increased that. She had a sixth sense for how her marefriend was feeling and had the wherewithal to do something about it.

"You need to let it go, Sunset. He isn't worth it."

And that led to her chirping like a cricket in Sunset's ear.

She was right, of course. Blueblood wasn't worth it. But his last stunt had proven he was too dangerous to leave alone - worthless prat or not, he wasn't going to go away and he had deftly moved himself from annoyance to threat.

There had been the faint hope Princess Celestia would do something about it. Bringing Flim and Flam back to Canterlot was in direct defiance of her wishes - but Blueblood had weaseled his way out of that. His story of randomly meeting the stallions and not being aware of Sunset's parentage held just enough water to cushion the Princess' anger. He'd played himself as a victim, conned by their honeyed words rather than being a co-conspirator. She had too soft a heart to believe the truth. Blueblood was punished, yes, but it had been minor: a stern talking-to and that he would pay back any of the nobles taken in by the brothers' schemes. Nothing about what he had subjected Sunset to.

So that meant Sunset had to be proactive. She had to remove him instead of hoping he would just go away.

And after two weeks, she had a plan for how.

Trotting through the School with purposeful strides, Sunset didn't even glance as the crowd of students around her whispered and wondered. Some about the scandal of the Gala, some about just what she was up to now. A few were partially correct: she was en route to Blueblood.

The fop was holding court at a side table in the cafeteria - a place he wouldn't deign to actually eat in but was a useful social hub where he could lord over the lessers.

And that's what she was to him: lesser. Blueblood didn't even spare her a glance when Sunset entered the room. As far as he was concerned, their fight was over. He'd struck the most deadly blow possible by showing her parentage to the world - now everypony knew that Sunset Shimmer came from inferior stock. In Blueblood's mind, there could be no more grievous wound and she would never recover.

Of course, he was an idiot and that only made Sunset madder.

Cadance tried to stop what was coming. She trotted beside Sunset, putting her lanky body between the two unicorns and subtly tried to steer them apart. It didn't work - when Cadance's barrel nudged against Sunset's, she stopped walking to let the Princess past and re-angled directly for Blueblood behind her.

He noticed now - probably from the fiery burn of her angry glare. But there was no concern on his face, just smug victory and assured confidence.

Cadance moved between the two again in a vain last effort.

There was a flash of teal as Sunset teleported from one side of the princess to the other - and right in front of her target. Sunset's front hooves planted on tile, acting as a pivot for her body to whip around on. For just a moment it looked like she was going to buck Blueblood in the face - and he flinched in anticipation of it.

She did not. Sunset was no mud pony.

Instead her thick tail slapped Blueblood across the face with a meaty thwap.

He and everypony else in the cafeteria froze.

Glaring back over her flank, Sunset growled at her nemesis. "I challenge you to a duel."^*

Everywhere around them was a storm of whispers - it was school, after all, and teenagers had both a sharp sense for drama and zero restraint.

But Blueblood didn't care about that. He was staring at Sunset as his expression rapidly cycled from shock to disbelief to smug pleasure. "I can hardly believe your audacity." Recovered from the strike, he hopped off the bench and drew himself up - head high, neck straight, looking down at the smaller Sunset. "Let me be sure - you are challenging me to a duel."

Sunset, eyes burning hot, nodded.

"Your terms?"

"Once I win," she began, "You will stay away from me and away from Cadance. We're both off limits for you, forever."

Blueblood scoffed. "And when I win, you will renounce your pursuit of Princess Cadance and make way for your betters."

"No."

She wasn't able to use the Royal Canterlot Voice, but Cadance still carried the weight of an alicorn - moreso since her punctuating stomp caused the entire cafeteria to vibrate. All eyes were on her, all other voices silent. "I am not a thing to be fought over." Balefire flickered in her eyes as she glared at the feuding unicorns. "If you're determined to go down this idiotic path, fine. But I also will not be a prize. I am a pony and a..." She hesitated before finally saying the word. "A Princess. My choices are my own, and neither of you can dictate my actions."

In the silence, her words hit home - both Sunset and Blueblood cringed in shame. The two looked to each other and tried again.

"Once I win," Sunset retried more slowly, "You will swear to stay out of my life. You will not interfere with my actions, you will not involve me in your stupid games, you will not pull idiotic stunts like you did at the Gala. And to ensure that you don't, you will sign a legal document giving me permission to - should you violate your word - shave your mane off and dock your tail."

All around, students whispered like a roaring river. The image of Blueblood bald was enough to entice everypony's imagination.

But where she expected him to balk, Blueblood stood confident. The threat didn't even make him hesitate. "And after I win, you will leave Canterlot. You do not belong here, Sunset Shimmer. You have proven that time and again with your actions, your words, and now your parentage. I will defeat you, and you will never set hoof within the bounds of this city again."

Their eyes locked in a silent struggle. Neither gave an inch. They nodded simultaneously in agreement to their terms.

"As the challenged," Blueblood announced, "I have the right to choose the form of our duel." He paused to let the drama build, and the audience held their breath. "Fencing," he decreed, nearly spitting the word. "I think I'll choose the foil."

Now it was Sunset's turn to react - and she balked. "Fencing? What, you're too good for a magic duel?"

Blueblood laughed. "I'm sorry, you challenge me and then expect me to pick an arena where you have all the advantages? I'm not stupid."

"Too cowardly to take me head on?"

"Too smart to fall into your obvious trap." Blueblood snorted and gave his luxurious hair a toss. "But I'll allow you to surrender now if you want."

Surrender might have even been wise: Blueblood was captain of the School's fencing team, while Sunset had never even glanced at a blade. Everypony in the room knew she was hopelessly outmatched.

But Sunset Shimmer didn't surrender. She re-steeled herself after the momentary fumble, returning to glaring flames at her opponent. "I will not surrender."

A toothy smile spread across Blueblood's confident face. "In the interest of being sporting, I will allow you two weeks to learn how to fence. It wouldn't be fair to the crowd if it was over too fast," he scoffed.

More glares were exchanged, then Sunset nodded. "Two weeks." The confrontation ended as she turned and stomped off.

A number of the usual sycophants like Clear Sky tried to follow Sunset, but they were blocked by Cadance. A wave of her wing shooed them away, giving the couple a little privacy as they passed into the hall. A few turns took them to the exit and they stepped outside into the frigid winter air.

As soon as they were clear, Cadance whipped her head around and glared at her marefriend. "Please tell me you've got a plan and didn't just make a stupid impulsive challenge you can't possibly win." Her breath billowed in front of her, coiling like dragon's smoke.

"I have a plan," assured Sunset.

Several seconds of silence passed.

"Do I get to know what the plan is?" questioned Cadance.

Sunset shifted uneasily, snow crunching underhoof. "I'm still working out a few details," she hedged, keeping it to a half-lie and trying to ignore Cadance's frustrated grumble. "But first things first, I need to find somepony who can teach me how to fence."

And that drew a frustrated sigh from Cadance. "So you aren't secretly a fencing master."

"No. But that would have made this a lot easier."

Turning away, Cadance took a few steps over to a bench by the school doors. She brushed it clean with her wing before slumping down onto it. A moment later, Sunset sat beside her and the two leaned into one another to share warmth.

"You have to realize that you aren't alone." Cadance's tone was quiet but forceful - a mixture that practically screamed how much annoyance she was holding back. "Doing something impulsive like this doesn't just affect you any more. If you lose, what do you think it's going to do to Princess Celestia? Or to me?"

Gut instinct made Sunset want to scoff at the idea that Princess Celestia would care - but the other part hit hard enough to knock that thought away. "Oh. Yeah, I guess it would affect you."

"It would. Even if you went somewhere close, I couldn't visit you often enough." Cadance smiled a little again. "I'm spoiled by having my marefriend a few hallways over."

Sunset scoffed overdramatically. "Oh please. There's nothing nearby except farming villages and mud holes! If I had to leave, I'd go somewhere classy like Manehatten." They both descended briefly into giggles over the statement - but when that ended, Sunset's voice was quiet and soft. "You'd really visit me?"

Cadance planted a gentle kiss at the base of Sunset's horn. "My choices are my own, and I choose to be with you. Of course I'd visit. We wouldn't be the first ponies to have a long distance relationship." She paused - hesitating before continuing to speak her mind. "I'm unhappy with you right now for this stupid stunt, but I still choose you."

"It's not a stunt." Sunset put her hoof over Cadance's. "Blueblood isn't going to let this go, and he's going to keep causing problems. I have to shut him down or he'll ruin everything."

The alicorn frowned, annoyance on the rise once more. "Sunset, you can just ignore him. Let it go. He can't actually do anything to hurt you or me. Let him scream and whine while we live our lives."

Sunset just... shook her head. "I know his sort. He won't let up. I either face him now, or face him in a few months after he's caused even more problems."

"Sunset." Cadance's wing nudged Sunset's face around and the two locked eyes. There was something new behind the purple that Sunset hadn't seen before - protective, defiant, maybe a little motherly. "What could he possibly do that he hasn't already?"

It was a good question. And it was one that put a deep chill in Sunset's soul. "I don't know." But the fear under her voice wasn't because of the admission: it was the uncertainty. "I didn't think he'd bring my dads into this either, but he did. So what else could he do? Maybe they told him secrets I don't know about yet. Maybe he'll find my mother and use her against me. Blueblood's gotten under my guard once and I am not giving him the chance to do it again."

"You keep reminding me that I'm a Princess." Cadance's voice was flat - on the verge of threatening, as incongruous as that was for the fluffy pink mare. "If I have to, I can resolve this for both of you."

Sunset's ears went flat. "You're a Princess. I'm not." She didn't think to disguise the bitterness in her voice - and likely couldn't have if she tried. "I have to solve this my way."

There were no words for a minute - then Cadance stood. She didn't look at her marefriend, instead gazing out towards the rest of Canterlot and to the sky off the side of the mountain. "You're going to insist on doing this." She didn't need to turn to know Sunset nodded. And it made Cadance sigh deeply. "I need some time to think about this, okay? I just... this is so dumb."

Sunset hopped off the bench and tried to draw up beside her. "Cadance--" But the alicorn was already walking away. "Cadance, wait!"

She didn't wait. She even made sure Sunset couldn't follow and the unicorn could only watch as Cadance flew off into the crisp, clear winter sky.

Author's Note:

^*An excerpt from A History Of Equestrian Combat by Misericorde (published 811 CE):

Dueling practices existed in all of the tribes from their earliest days and by the time of the Windigo Winter (and subsequent Unification) were well established. One of the biggest insights those early forms of combat provide into pony culture is how each tribe differed on issuing the challenge.

For pegasi, their preferred way of issuing a dueling challenge was with wind. Born out of pre-tribal threat displays, the challenging pegasus would push a gust of wind at their intended opponent. At its base, the idea was to have the greatest power and tightest precision possible so that an opponent would know they were outmatched and back down before the duel even began. Commander Hurricane, by legend, was able to achieve a precise enough gust that he could cut a single hair off his opponent without disturbing the rest of their mane.

Earth ponies, on the other hoof, challenged by kicking dirt. This may sound juvenile, but most early earth pony conflicts were over land rights, and so kicking a bit of disputed land was seen as a statement of 'come try to take this'. This actually is the source of the widespread respect towards rock farmers: their definition of 'dirt' frequently came with a tonnage and few ponies wanted to offend such an opponent.

Early unicorn styles evolved frequently and quickly, as the courtly system of Unicornia was in constant flux. Verbal challenges were the most common, though numerous other trends rose and fell. One of the more interesting was the method of taking off one's hat and striking the challenged with it. This evolved a brief but fascinating period of the 'dueling hat' where headwear was designed specifically for the action. This faded out after only a generation or so, but some remnants of the brief fad can still be seen: it is the root of why it's considered polite to take off headwear as a guest in another's home. In some backwards regions, a hat is still seen as an implicit threat that the wearer is looking for a fight.

Following Unification, the merging and mixing of the tribes caused the standards of dueling etiquette to rapidly evolve and adapt. After two generations or so, a new standard emerged: the tail slap to the face. It became favored because the tail was a universally present tool (though this also is the source of noble servants traditionally docking their tails as a sign of subservience), it was an action that was fairly unmistakable, and that had the additional insult of ending with the challenger's buttocks being right in the face of the challenged.

Though the martial duel would fall out of common usage by the end of the 4th Century and be replaced by challenges of sport or skill, the methodology of the challenge continues to this day.

(I really wanted to include this section, but couldn't find anywhere to fit it into the story proper. Thanks to EileenSaysHi, daOtterGuy, The Sleepless Beholder, and RubyDubious for answering when I asked about pony dueling customs, even if I blatantly lied about why I was asking six months ago.)

Comments

[Thought Prism]

Well, obviously Sunset wins somehow, otherwise we would be deviating from the main plot thread too much. The question, then, becomes how. My guess is she exploits some sort of obscure rules knowledge Blueblood didn't know about. That, or she cheats with magic in some new way that's impossible to detect.

[Blood Rarity]

[Gavier]

In some backwards regions, a hat is still seen as an implicit threat that the wearer is looking for a fight.

I love lore tidbits like this (I'm 100% stealing this one btw)

[DrElse]

Sunset continues to be fundamentally unable to let anything go. Whether they be her ambitions, any slights against her, or anything (and anyone) she has declared to be hers. The Tragedy comes from the fact that this is why she'll eventually lose it all.

What were once her greatest virtues have begun to curdle into her worst vices, and with barely any changes in her character. For it's her lack of change that is the problem. She is no longer surrounded by enemies and left without anyone she can trust, (depending on Celestia's personal feelings she may never have been) but she'll continue to act as if she is, right unto the end of this story.

[Thranx]

Ah, this is so stressful to read! Sunset is not willing to let anything and everything go. Eventually, this will make her lose everything. She's trying to juggle too much balls and she will drop all of them if she doesn't let go a few balls.

[Glutbier]

and then Sunset disappears into the human world and Cadance follows her and Equestria suffers because of it! haha

[FireAlphaWolf]

Cadence ahouldce pulled the "this will affect me" card sooner.

[TCC56]

11732311

The question, then, becomes how.

That's the whole story in a nutshell. She has a plan. The more important aspect is that she and Blueblood aren't playing the same game - she doesn't have to cheat, she just has different win conditions.

11732379
Please do! I did a ton of theorycrafting on pony dueling traditions and almost none of it ended up being useful and/or relevant. That bit was indeed one of my favorites.

[Myrkin]

I think "Ignore him" or "Let it go" are fine advices when faced with someone who is just annoying and who can only strike with a few mean words. However, Blueblood is the pony who showed Sunset against the wall and made a few serious threats. Then he followed them up by using Sunset's parents against her in public venue. I don't know what else he can do, but at this point asking Sunset to let it go is practically telling her to turn the other cheek and wait for another slap. I can't blame her for looking for a way to obtain what is basically a restraining order against Blueblood. Ideally, she would have come to Celestia about all of this and ask her to intervene, but since her relationship with the Princess is what it is,* that's obviously isn't going to happen.

*For that I put some blame on Sunset, but most of it should fall on Flim and Flam. I mean, with the way those two raised her, is it any wonder why she would be distrustful of any parental figure?

[NightFlame389]

Earth ponies, on the other hoof, challenged by kicking dirt. This may sound juvenile, but most early earth pony conflicts were over land rights, and so kicking a bit of disputed land was seen as a statement of 'come try to take this'. This actually is the source of the widespread respect towards rock farmers: their definition of 'dirt' frequently came with a tonnage and few ponies wanted to offend such an opponent.

static.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/1/17/Zecora_digging_a_small_hole_S1E09.png
That looks vaguely like kicking dirt, right?

[Revel Montaro]

Sunset is not wrong in that Blueblood would not have stopped his needling and would have contributed to the slander and rumors, but her plan was bad. She should have known the challenged picked the rules and that he would not have been intimidated into giving her the advantage of a magic duel. This won't end well.

[Box-Corner]

As much as I want a happy and fluffy end, the cracks are forming, and they won't stop until it shatters into the tragedy this is tagged as, but I love the added context this trainride to Tartarus gives building up to that moment.

Genuinely curious to see if sunset's affinity for mind-affecting magic gets time to shine (in a terrifying premonition kind of way) the same way you built up her background and current actions to showcase her social manipulation attempts, methinks the restricted section is to be visited in the eventual future.

Side note, I wonder if this why Sunset gets into the fencing club at Canterlot high across the mirror, if she wins it might be her trying to re-live one of her most prideful moments, and if she doesn't it might be her trying to "make up" for the loss.

[FanOfWriting]

So, just how old are Sunset and Cadance here?

Also, any likelihood of Sunset interacting with human Cadance in some epilogue? Course Sunset's a teenager while Dean Cadance is an adult (theorizing to be around her late 20s) so that makes a romance between them slim to none.

[TCC56]

11757149

So, just how old are Sunset and Cadance here?

Very roughly? Sunset's about a year ahead of her age group at 14, while Cadance is a year behind at 16. Blueblood's hitting 18 at this stage. And for context, Twilight and her cohort are 7-8.

[ZanarNaryon]

I still believe that Sunst has noticeably improved in personality and emotional intelligence since the start of the fic... but wow is she still very dumb.