The Sun Also Surprises
is a romance fanfic set in The Weedverse and written by Kudzuhaiku. Princess Celestia feels lonely and has the need for romantic companionship again, so she asks the most expert pony she can think of for help, and Princess Cadance, the Alicorn of Love, is only too happy to oblige.
And that's how Princess Celestia ends up on blindfolded dates in back rooms of Canterlot cafes.
Has two sequels: The Perilous Romance Of Swans, and The Perilous Gestation Of Swans which occurs right after the former.
The Sun Also Surprises contains examples of:
- Badass Bookworm: Gosling is in the Guard, but as soon as he qualifies for the scholarship, wants to go to University and study history. He's noted to be one of the smarter Privates in the Guard.
- Berserk Button: Cadance's button is lying, because nothing causes serious relationship hangups or destroys a relationship like a pony lying to their partner. This is why Cadance emphasizes on ponies being open and truthful to each other.
- Blatant Lies: It's generally not a good idea to claim you didn't faint while talking to the three ponies surrounding you when you wake up.
- Blind Date: Part of Cadance's methods. Also taken quite literally, as the participants are blindfolded to prevent preconceptions getting in the way. There are strict rules with the process, though - one cannot circumvent the magics that hide one's appearance and alter one's voice, or Cadance will know. Don't mention tribe, or the date will get nasty. And be honest with each other.
- Casual Kink: Cadance quite casually mentions paddling and roleplaying as being fun while talking to Celestia, who treats it as Too Much Information.
- Camp Straight: Downplayed, Gosling isn't massively camp, but his interest in the arts, history and culture made him vulnerable to a false accusation of being gay, and ruined his High School career.
- Communications Officer: Gosling is in the Signal Corps.
- Decadent Court: Celestia has lived through at least one, and it's scarred her, making her scared to have foals. It was implied that her own children were used as bargaining chips or killed by ambitious nobles, or at least saw it happening to other foals.
- Dream Weaver: Unfortunately, not enough of one. Luna is unable to stop Celestia dreaming of Gosling's death.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Celestia is quite pleased with how Gosling looks, once the blindfolds come off.
- The Empath: Cadance has this power; she calls it her "love-sense".
- Hidden Depths: Thanks to Cadance emphasizing honesty in her interviews, Celestia reveals that she loved playing in mud puddles (a fond memory of Cadance's), she likes rainstorms because it makes her appreciate the re-appearance of the sun better, and she lived through a period of Decadent Courts, which was traumatizing enough to scare her into avoiding having foals for a long time.
- Jailbait Taboo: Celestia nearly bails when she learns Gosling is a teenager. Cadance points out that he's old enough to be in the Guard, he's very mature and sensible for his age, and when the age difference can already be measured in millennia, a half-decade doesn't matter very much.
- King Incognito: Enforced; to ensure the blind date with Gosling goes smoothly, Cadance instructs Celestia never to reveal the fact that she's a Princess. Only her partner could put the clues together before the big reveal comes.
- Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: Once Cadance no longer needs to monitor things directly, she and Shining go for a little walk.
- Mayfly–December Romance: Celestia is immortal, and just about anypony she might end up with is not, almost leading her to give up on the whole idea almost before it starts.
- Mistaken for Gay: Played tragically for drama; because someone spread malicious rumors about Gosling's sexuality (revealed in The Perilous Romance Of Swans to be his ex-girlfriend, Skyfire Flash, for refusing to hook up with her), Gosling became the target of vicious bullying, making it hard to learn in school as he would get into fights every day with even the hoofball team. Not even the school helped him. It was so bad that Gosling ran away from home to join the Royal Guard.
- Nervous Wreck: Celestia spends her time immersing herself in fear and worry on the day of her blind date. Hearing that her blind date partner (Gosling) is having the same feelings provokes some sympathy.
- The Pig-Pen: Luna, due to her mind still being in the Middle Ages hygiene-wisenote , never really bathes. This results in a very, very stinky alicorn.
- Playing Sick: In Chapter 3, Celestia considers getting sick just to avoid going on the blind date.
- Serious Business: Cadance considers love in general this, and the cases she handles in particular. She makes it quite clear what will happen if Celestia disrupts the processes.
- Seriously Scruffy: After an entire day of worrying alone, Celestia has chewed her lips raw and passed the point of preening until she's started plucking her own feathers.
- Shipper on Deck: Cadance's job description.
- Super-Senses: Luna and her Wardens are mentioned to have the ability to tell a pony by their tribe, simply by listening to their breathing. Celestia is not good at it.
- Teacher/Student Romance: Celestia apparently had some idle fantasies about Twilight Sparkle, ones she's not entirely gotten over but never acted on because of the ethical implications. Apparently Cadance had a crush on Celestia as well, much to Celestia's discomfort when it comes out.
- The Plan: The entire story was planned by Cadance months in advance, without either of the principal characters even suspecting.
- Too Much Information: Celestia's response to details about Cadance and Shining's love life.
- Unequal Pairing: Another hurdle for any relationship Celestia ends up in. Fortunately, Cadance's methods mean that her date will get used to treating her as an equal before discovering the power she actually holds.
