7 - Degree
Four balls sat perched on the edge of Sunset's desk. Each was visually identical to the rest in size (approximately that of a tennis ball), color (muted green) and shape (spherical with a slight divot on the bottom to prevent them from rolling) - the sole difference between them being a single white numeral painted on the side.
Cadance peered at the four balls curiously.
"Practice weights," Sunset explained. "Each of the four is made out of a different material, so you have a variety of masses to work with. They're all otherwise identical and they're thaumatically neutral." She motioned to the lightest - labelled with a chunky 1. "Lift it. With your magic," Sunset quickly clarified. "Think hard about picking it up and light your horn."
Cadance nearly said something - then stopped. And rather than question, she did as commanded and glared at the ball. For long seconds, nothing happened save for Cadance looking stupid and vaguely constipated. But when a baby blue aura started to wrap around the ball, her eyes widened with surprise and glee - and then disappointment as the aura winked back out of existence just as the weight started to move.
Sunset sighed with frustration. "You need to concentrate. Right now you're so raw at this you can't lose focus."
"But I did it!" Cadance pointed feverishly at the ball. "I actually did it! I mean, I don't know how I did it but I did!"
"By using magic." Sunset scoffed quietly at her student's foolishness.
That answer wasn't enough for Cadance. "Yes, but how? You never taught me any formulas or spells or... or incantations! It just happened!"
"Of course it just happened." Sunset hopped out of her chair and trotted over to Cadance. "Let me guess, you thought those were necessary?"
"Yes!"
With a derisive snort, Sunset reached up and gave a slightly-too-hard tap on Cadance's horn. "This is what matters with magic."
Wincing, Cadance flinched back and rubbed her horn gingerly.
Sunset paid that no mind as she continued. "All of those old jerks like to think they're superior because they figured out the meaning of everything with formulas and math. And sure, what they did helps. A lot of the advanced stuff needs specific incantations or runes to make it work - like I'm not gonna try teleporting without a casting framework because I like not being inside a wall. But the real key to magic isn't something you get out of a book, or Celestia's school would be pumping out Starswirls by the dozen."
Lighting her horn, Sunset wrapped Cadance in her teal aura and heaved. The alicorn yelped as she found herself flipped upside-down and placed hooves-first on the ceiling.
"What makes magic work," Sunset lectured, "Is power and will. The most brilliant researcher might know a thousand spells, but he can't cast it if he doesn't have the thaumatic ability. And the most powerful unicorn in the world can't lift a quill if she doesn't have the force of will to make it happen."
Pacing, Sunset started a slow circle around the center of her room. "All the big spells are is a tool. They help you focus your will and your magic, but they're not what gets the job done. You're what does that. An engine requires fuel, and without your magic the fanciest incantation is nothing but inert words and math."
On her second loop, she scooped a paperclip up in her magic. The tiny scrap of metal burned with a bright glow - pulsing and twirling as Sunset heated the metal and softened it. Then she pulled it out into a long, thin spike. "If you got asked to drive a nail, I bet you'd look for a hammer. And sure, a hammer's the best tool for the job. But you could still drive it in with a rock or a heavy book or your hoof." She grunted, slamming her makeshift nail into the doorframe with a burst of magical force. "Or just your raw magical ability. Spells are like that - they're a tool but you don't need them for basics. And if you're powerful enough, they slow you down. As an alicorn, your innate power--"
"Um. Sunset?"
The unicorn looked upwards.
Face bright red, Cadance nervously smiled downwards. "You're ranting in circles. And it's really interesting to see how passionate you are about this and also it's very educational, but being upside-down is just a teensy bit distracting."
Sunset stopped sharply in place. "...oh. Right." She slowly rotated Cadance around and lowered her to the floor. "Uh, sorry," she apologized with bright red cheeks. "I got distracted for a moment there."
On her hooves again, Cadance wobbled slightly as the blood drained from her head. "It's... it's okay." She dropped, sitting with a loud thump. "I just need a minute."
They both were silent as Cadance's blood started to flow naturally again. Once she felt more herself, the alicorn gave a little nod to continue.
Sunset started slower this time. "What I'm trying to say is that your horn is an extension of you, just like your magic is an extension of your horn. Every time you cast, you're projecting yourself out into the world and trying to change it. A complicated spell can help you focus on what you're trying to do or act as a conduit for your magic, but at the end of the day, you're affecting the world, not the spell. Does that make sense?"
"I think so," Cadance agreed with a slow nod. "It's the difference between theory and practice, right?"
Sunset smiled - a small but honest one - as Cadance got the hint. "Mostly, yeah. You can know all the spells in the world, but that doesn't mean you have the ability to cast them. Basic levitation is just that - there isn't really a spell for it so much as it's unicorn instinct." She paused. "Which you don't have, but we'll work on that. All you need to care about right now is that lifting those practice weights is as easy as thinking about it and having a strong enough will to make the universe bend to you."
Turning, Sunset lifted the 4 ball into the air with her magic. "Now that you've got the basics of turning your magic on in the first place, you can start using it to project your will into the world. Make it bend and do what you want it to. After you get that, we can start working on more advanced stuff." She paused, recalling her conversation with Princess Celestia. "In fact, I know just the way."
As Cadance watched curiously, Sunset swapped the heavy 4 for the much lighter 1 and held the ball up between them. "Concentrate. I'm going to toss this to you. Catch it and throw it back, alright? We're starting really light and I'll go slow."
Which - perhaps surprisingly - is how it went. Sunset gave the ball a gentle lob towards Cadance. Her first attempt to catch it was depressing: the ball passed through her magic as if it wasn't there before landing by her hooves.
After a dozen attempts, Cadance managed to put enough strength out to slow the ball. Instead of hitting the ground at her hooves, she managed to stop it in the air. It still hit the floor between them, but it was tangible progress.
After three dozen, the ball jerkily stopped mid-air as Cadance finally caught it.
"All right!" Sunset clapped her hooves at her student's success.
Then the ball - and Cadance - dropped to the floor with a thump.
Scrambling to her side, Sunset found things weren't going quite as well as she'd thought: Cadance's pink coat was soaked with sweat.
"Just... just need a moment," said the pink princess with a shaky smile. "That was more tiring than I thought it would be."
The fact that she was still talking shifted Sunset from worry to relieved irritation. "Princess Celestia's going to kill me if you get hurt. Even if you do it to yourself."
Cadance just laughed - breathlessly and from the floor, but she still laughed. "Well as long as I don't stupidly overdo it again, you should be fine. Nopony's going to hurt me."
Her laugh was met by Sunset's stony silence. Cadance's weary humor drained when she noticed the unicorn's cold face.
"Plenty of ponies want to hurt you." Sunset kept her tone even - it was a chore, partially because she knew she was one of them. "Only a few will ever get the chance, but few isn't zero and it's going to happen. It's part of being who and what you are, Cadance. You will always be a target. Politicians, rebels, assassins, that sort of thing. The Princess just hasn't finished preparing you for that yet." For a moment, concern nipped at the edges of Sunset's mind, and not just for her own future. She stopped herself, taking a steadying breath to push it away. "That's why she demanded that after levitation, I teach you shielding techniques. Catching a ball is a step towards being able to catch arrows. Princess Celestia knows what dangers come after an alicorn."
There were a number of ways that Sunset expected Cadance to react. She (foolishly) had been least prepared for the one that happened: Cadance broke down into sobbing tears after a moment of blank-eyed shock. For Cadance to be upset, sure - but not for the pink pony to almost instantly become a bawling mess. And even less so for her to lunge into Sunset's embrace for comfort.
Very, very awkwardly, Sunset wrapped Cadance up in a hug. It was slow and hesitant, but she did. And while she told herself that it was part of the plan... Sunset knew her own empathy wouldn't let her do any different.
After a minute or so, Cadance managed to regain a passing semblance of coherency. "I never wanted any of this," she lamented through the tears. "I don't want to be an alicorn."
"Everypony wants to be a princess." Sunset's response was reflexive.
"I don't! I never wanted this." Cadance buried her face deeper into Sunset's chest. "I just... I was just trying to help. I didn't want to be--" She cut herself off with a hiccup. "I want to go home. I just want to be a nopony again."
"Why?" At heart, Sunset knew it was the wrong thing to say. But the words came out before she could stop herself. Then there was no taking it back, and she had to commit. "So what if some idiots are going to come after you? You've got the power to stop them. Sure there's some dangers, but a nopony couldn't do anything about it." She pushed Cadance up, forcing the alicorn to look her in the eye. "You can. There's no going back, Cadance. Just forward. Putting them under your hooves."
For once, it wasn't Sunset's temper that burst - it was Cadance's. "You're saying ponies are going to try to kill me!" She shoved Sunset backwards - unexpected alicorn strength sent the unicorn sprawling. The remaining spheres - 2, 3 and the previously replaced 4 - fell to the floor as Sunset's back slammed into the desk. "A month ago the worst thing I had to worry about was if I could find a nice enough present for my parent's anniversary! Now I have to learn magic so I don't get assassinated?! Why would any sane pony ever want this?"
"Because--" And Sunset's lips slowed as her normally sharp mind made a connection weeks too late. Cadance was an alicorn. Sunset was going to be an alicorn. There was no going back from that - you couldn't unbecome one. It wasn't just Princess Celestia that Sunset was going to share eternity with - it would also be with Cadance.
Forever.
Like it or not.
While Sunset's mind churned over that realization, Cadance curled herself up protectively. While the tears slowed as she slowly found her emotional balance, they were replaced by shivers as stress washed over her like the ocean. "I guess you don't know, either. It's just something little fillies want." She laughed - tinted with uncharacteristic bitterness. "Everything's just been so wild and hectic since I came here, I never thought that... I never thought about the problems that come with a horn."
Snapping out of her own thoughts, Sunset's first instinct was to scold Cadance for her short-sighted weakness. But...
Forever.
She didn't. She closed the distance and loosely (awkwardly) embraced Cadance. "Princess Celestia should have prepared you for it. You can't go back, but she shouldn't have kept you in the dark. She-- she shouldn't have kept you outside." Sunset's throat clenched saying those words - words so very, very familiar to her. "She should have known you were ready."
Cadance didn't have any more words - not at that moment. She just stayed close to Sunset - and in turn, Sunset stayed silent in her own thoughts.
The spell was only broken when there was a knock at the door and the muffled voice of a servant. "Madam Sunset? I have the lunch you ordered."
"...Rose petal sandwich on sourdough with mustard." Sunset had forgotten she'd ordered it. With a nudge, she pushed Cadance's head up. "You should eat something. Then get some fresh air. You're still mostly pegasus, so..."
With a snotty snort, Cadance nodded and slowly extracted herself from Sunset. "Yes. Yes, you're... you're right. A fly around the grounds might clear my head."
Before she could get away, though, Sunset grabbed her by the fetlock. "After you eat."
A little smile broke through Cadance's sadness. "After I eat," she allowed.
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I can't help but be excited for when Sunset Shimmer realizes she loves Cadance and can't go through with her plans
hER HAIR IS ALIVE AND IT IS HUGGING SUNSET
Unlike Sunset, Cadence never understood. Sunset a lest has had time to think on what being a princess would mean. CADENCE had it forced on her.
Ah. Sunset is feeling emotions. Look at that C h a r a c t e r D e v e l o p m e n t. Now we just need Sunset to admit she's feeling emotions, then we'll be cooking with gas.
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Gas. Napalm. Is there really a difference?
I really wish this story had the AU tag instead of the tragedy one. I really like the idea of a Cadance/Sunset romance, and this is getting good.
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Or realization hits that Sunset loves Cadance, and Sunset doubles down on her plans. All because a lifetime is not enough time.
Would anyone else like to have a sequel that takes place after all the tragedy and that actually has an au tag
It's very fun to read Sunset's ramble about the nature of magic because I was working on a magic system for a fic also starring Sunset (which may or may not happen mostly I just like worldbuilding, Ask Me About My Equestrian Calendar), and I take the complete opposie approach. All the power in the world is completely useless if you don't know how to use it, and power in general matters a lot less than knowledge and experience. An alicorn with infinite magical power would be exhausted from using telekinesis on an apple if they had never used telekinesis before, and a unicorn with completely average magic reserves could teleport a dozen times in a row if they've spent their entire life practicing nothing but teleportation spells, like training a muscle. Not that power is useless, of course, the best teleporter in Equestria would still be limited in range and number of teleports by how much magical stamina they have, it's just that being very experienced and good at a specific spell means it drains a lot less power to use.
Off, let my rambling get away from me a bit there, sorry about that the autism is strong with this one. I love Sunset's little ramble though, just found it really fun and interesting that it was so polar opposite of what I had written (interesting in a good way<3)
also sunset getting really into the teacher role is super cute<3 AND AAAAAH BONDING STARTING!!!! Get Feelings, loser!
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Well, a lot of this chapter's magical theory traces back to Sunburst and Moondancer. Conceptually, I was rationalizing a system where they could exist. Both have very high levels of knowledge and understanding of magical theory and systems, but neither is particularly capable. Thus Sunset's line of
There has to be something holding them back from being a Twilight, and I reduced that down to will. They understand the concepts and how magic works, but they lack the mental (and spiritual) strength to mold the universe to their desires. (This also helps explain Starlight Glimmer, who as best we can tell has zero formal education but has tons of will and the mental fortitude to use it. Or even to a lesser extent Trixie, who with her meager levels of knowledge can manage teleportation while the much more learned Sunburst can't.)