Equestrian Vacation

by Dragonboy111

Chapter 7: A Talk With Cadance

"So..." said Cadance. She was having her mane done but had to stay as still as possible, which was boring beyond belief. So, she decided to talk to Harry. "How long have you and Twilight known each other?"

Harry thought back. The letters on his end started when he was ten, and for Twilight the letter started arriving just after she arrived in Ponyville.

"Not sure. Time between here and Equestria doesn't seem to work normally. It's about four to five years on my end." Harry replied.

"It's always good to see Twilight making new— Ow!" Rarity pulled Cadance's hair a bit hard.

"Sorry! These instructions are quite complex," Rarity apologized.

"Just be gentle with my mane at least, okay?" Cadance requested. "Anyways, as I was going to say, it's good to see Twilight making new friends."

Harry smiled.

"If we were any closer, I'd call her family. She's been nothing but nice to me. And, unlike back home, our friendship didn't start with 'You're Harry Potter?!' or something."

"Oh, are you— ouch!— famous or something?"

Rarity was working up a fever over Cadance's hair. Harry was no expert, his hair refused to stay short, but Rarity's styling looked anything but ceremonial. The gems were asymmetrical, and stray strands were all over the place.

"Little bit of both. My 'claim to fame'," Harry waved his hooves in air quotations, "is 'vanquishing' the dark lord as a baby, then vanishing for..." Harry did some quick math. He was just over a year old when his parents died, and got his letter at age eleven, which left about... "nine and three-quarters years." Funny how that worked out. "People can tell who I am just by my scar. And this year, someone put me in a highly dangerous magical tournament as the fourth champion out of three. I can't go anywhere without rumors following me."

"Sounds arduous," Cadance remarked. "I understand a lot more than you think."

"Really?"

"Yes. You see— Ow! Rarity, the mane!" Cadance yelled as the unicorn pulled on another strand. Rarity was checking the notes and trying to get Cadance's mane to work with her. "So, uh... how's it going so far?" Everypony but Cadance cringed, not wanting to disturb her with the news.

"Oh, I'm so sorry... It's just... oh so complicated." She ran through the instructions once more, laughing nervously all the while. "I can fix it!" Rarity's words got Cadance concerned.

"Fix what?!"

Harry decided he needed to intervene. If Rarity was to fix Cadance's mane, she needed the princess to stay still. He jumped off the massage table, nearly stumbling on his legs. Thank Celestia he had four and not two. His attempt to move didn't go unnoticed. The stylists backed away, and Rarity and Cadance looked scared for him.

"Harry, go back, you're recovering," Cadance said in a voice reminding Harry of Madam Pomfrey.

"I can walk," he said before he decided to stop and stand still as a wave of vertigo hit him. Okay, maybe he had moved too much. "You said you understood something?" Harry said in an attempt to distract Cadance. Though she recognized the effort, she ultimately went along with it.

"Yes. You see, before Celestia raised me as her niece, I was an orphan. I never knew my parents," Cadance said sadly, and Harry began to understand why she could relate to him. "And when I ascended to an alicorn, I became a very public figure."

"Wait, ascended?" Harry asked. You could do that? Despite Twilight's efforts to teach him about Equestria, Harry felt like he was missing something.

"Yes, ascended. I can't tell you all of the details, but I was the subject of a lot of royalty and their politics after my ascension. As an alicorn who wasn't several centuries older than them, they wouldn't leave me alone," she said.

Harry winced in sympathy. Sure, he wasn't royalty, and he wouldn't be 'rich' for a few more years, but the nagging was relatable. If everyone went on for a week about how Harry was a champion, Canterlot's aristocrats must have bothered her endlessly on how... she was...

"Wait, are you immortal?"

"I don't like to talk about it." Cadance looked at the ground quietly.

The conversation was saved by Rarity quickly dragging Cadance away for a 'conditioning rinse' to get her hair back in order.

"Oh my, I'm terribly sorry about this, I'll get this fixed in time, I promise!" Rarity declared. Unfortunately, no one else could do much to assist her, aside from taking direct instructions. "I'll get your hair back in shape, undo the knots, remove the gems and ribbons, and start over. I can save this!" Unfortunately for her, she couldn't prevent Twilight from entering. The bell rang as the purple unicorn walked in.

"W-What are you doing here?" Rarity gasped. Harry jumped in front of Twilight if only to save Rarity's dignity.

"We finished the welcome committee song and we just wanted to introduce Ms. Harshwhinny to—"

"Can't do that, she's not ready!" Harry said. "Rarity is trying to fix her hair—"

"Her own, or the princess's?"

"Cadance's mane of course!"

"Harry, I need to speak to the Princess." Twilight tried to step around him, but Harry was quick to mirror her movements.

"She's in the middle of a delicate conditioning rinse that must go perfectly if there's to be any hope for her hair!" Rarity said from behind the princess.

"Come on, how bad can it be?"

"Do you remember the 'Hairity' incident?" Harry asked.

"Twilight, did you tell him about the Poison Joke!?" Rarity screamed.

"Okay, okay, I get it, bad hair," said Twilight. "I'll see if I can stall for time."

"I'll join, I feel much better," said Harry.

"No, you should stay here." Twilight countered.

"I'm fine, I can take care of myself," Harry said hotly.

"You nearly die once a year."

"You can't protect me from that."

"But I can protect you here!"

"What if I don't need-"

"TAKE! IT! OUTSIDE!" Rarity yelled.

Stunned by her outburst, the two unicorns stepped outside the spa. Once outside, the two tried and failed to make prolonged eye contact, both a little ashamed of their own actions.

"Harry—"

"Twilight—"

The two responded simultaneously, but couldn't bring themselves to say anything. After an awkward silence, Harry managed to speak.

"I- I'm sorry," Harry stammered. "Can we talk about this later? I don't think I'm ready."

"Me too," Twilight said. "I need to go check on Ms. Harshwhinny and the others. If you want—"

"I'll stay near the spa. I just- I just need some air," Harry said.

He turned and walked off, away from the castle. Twilight sighed. She would need to take care of this, but for now, Ms. Harshwhinny demanded her attention.

Harry was walking off in a random, direction, trying and failing to distract himself. He had just argued with Twilight, his oldest friend. Maybe coming to Equestria was a mistake, maybe he should've—

"Ow!" A mare yelped.

In Harry's state of mind, he hadn't looked where he was going, causing him to collide with an earth pony. When Harry looked up from the ground, he saw she was dressed in a tailored suit and had a flowered suitcase, the latter of the two was on the ground. He also noticed her mane was soaked.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" he said. "Here, let me get that for you." He levitated her case back up. "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"At least somepony apologized," she grumbled.

Harry noticed her grumpy mood easily. It reminded him of McGonagall on her bad days.

"Bad day?"

"Dreadful. First off, I'm not greeted at the station so I have to wander this place, then somepony doused my mane. Do you know how long it took to style it for today?" she said crossly. "Honestly, this might be my worst trip yet."

"Well, I can't do anything about your mane, but I know somepony who can," Harry said helpfully. "There's a spa and manicure building a block down."

"Oh, are you a resident?"

"No, just got here today, but my friend's working there for the afternoon. I don't think it's too busy right now. I can take you there," Harry said. The mare seemed to deflate slightly.

"I have been looking for somewhere to sulk over this fiasco. Lead the way," she said. Harry picked her bag up and started to guide her to where Rarity was.

"You know, I never got your name. I'm Harry, I'm visiting the Empire with some friends." Harry tried to break the ice some more.

"You may call me Ms. Harshwhinny, I'm the Games Inspector for this year's Equestria Games." She said. Harry nearly tripped.

Oh, ponyfeathers.

Author's Note:

Alright, I know this is short, but trust me, it gets better. Also, for everyone wondering, we will be seeing a glimpse small of Hogwarts some time soon, so stay tuned!

Comments

[ghostcyclone02]

"You nearly die once a year."

"So do you, and you became a god last time."

(correction: Got my episodes mixed up, this is during s3 and Twi is not yet a god)

[keybounce]

"You may call me Ms. Harshwhinny, I'm the Games Inspector for this year's Equestria Games." She said. Harry nearly tripped.

So, unlike canon, where the mistake went unnoticed for the entire visit, this time it is found immediately. So, we should see things improve quickly. Right?