//------------------------------//
// Love is in Bloom 
// Story: A Wish on a Star 
// by SmileandSoar 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight woke up to a thud downstairs. It was still dark; in fact it looked like she couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour or two. At first she was worried, but no more noise came. She used her magic to create a light and opened her door. As she went downstairs, she saw a light on in the library. Twilight stopped her spell, then crept down to get a closer look. Starlight was on the ground, underneath a pile of books. It seemed that he had run into a bookcase. She giggled a little, then went the rest of the way down to help. When he saw her after the world stopped spinning, he blushed a little, realizing he had woken her up, and shook the books off.

"Uhhh.... Sorry." He said in an awkward apology.
"What were you doing?" Twilight asked, slightly annoyed at being woken up.
"I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd try reading a little and see if I could learn anything. Nothing about my memories came back, but I ended up so interested in what I was reading that I lost focus and, well..." He gestured sheepishly at the pile of fallen books, but Twilight's expression had softened. After all, she had woken Spike up the same way just yesterday.
"It's all right. I'm up late reading all the time." The two used their magic to start cleaning up the books that had fallen. Most were "As" "Bs" and "Cs" from the nonfiction section, several along the lines of "Cures" "Brains" and "Amnesia." The two unicorns worked quickly, and soon only one book remained. Both grabbed it with their magic at the same time, and it began to glow a cross of purple and that yellowish-white. And at the same time, they both let go and it fell to the floor.
"I got it." Starlight said. Twilight stole a glance at the cover before Starlight physically picked up the book. It was titled "Blooming Romance," and the cover showed a couple, a light colored mare and a dark colored stallion, leaned up against each other watching the sunrise. In the forefront of the image were several young plants, just starting to blossom, but already looking stunning. The trees were still brown, but green leaves were starting to grow back. "Umm... shouldn't this be in fiction?"

"Oh, yeah." Twilight responded. "Yeah. Just put it on that table and I'll put it back later." Starlight put the book where directed. "Well, now that I'm up, I may as well do some more studying." She said. "How about you?"
"Heh. Well, I've still got a lot more to learn, so yeah. Let's go." He said with a smile.

The two were all over the place, looking at tons of different books. Some were instantly put back, some sifted through, and others thoroughly scrutinized. Whenever one found something they thought the other would find useful, they swapped books. Twilight searched for potential cures for amnesia, while Starlight researched the fundamentals. After a few hours, Twilight began to nod off. She fell asleep while reading about magic cures, and started to fall over. Starlight noticed in time and caught her with his magic before she hit the ground, and brought her over to the couch. He used his special magic to form a pillow for her, then went back to the podium where he had been reading. After a few more minutes, Starlight was fast asleep, hung over the podium. The page he had been reading summarized the strength of bonds. And that was how Spike found them the next morning.


...


Twilight dreamed of the shape-shifting figure again, but this time the location was brighter... sort of. The hall she was in seemed like a recreation of Celestia's throne room, except that everything appeared as a darker color. As Twilight walked through the hall and observed closer, she realized that everything was made of physical shadows. There was even a shadowy version of the stain glass mural that depicted her and her friends harnessing the Elements of Harmony. She reached out to touch it, but her hoof went right through it.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" Said a scratchy voice, one Twilight was unwillingly acquainted with.
"You!" Twilight exclaimed, turning to face the source. On the shadow throne sat the same character from before, currently copying Twilight's own body, but with the same piercing red eyes as before. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The creature ignored the question and repeated her own.
"Fascinating, isn't it? Even in dreams, this place retains its properties. Only ponies of special descent can step hoof into it. Of course, magic can be used to bypass that, but only a powerful magic." Twilight had no idea what the being was getting at, but it continued. "Love is a mysterious thing, no? So tender and fragile, yet capable of shattering otherwise impenetrable barriers and connecting separate worlds." The imposter chuckled. "Anyway, I dabble. That magic is protecting you now, but soon enough we will meet, my dearest Twilight. Of course, knowing that won't help you since you won't remember this conversation. Good-by for now..." And with that, the dream faded as Twilight yelled "Wait!"

Twilight woke up to Spike shaking her shoulders. At first, she wasn't sure where she was, but the night's events slowly returned to her. She was on the couch, resting on a pillow she didn't know she owned, and Starlight was slumped asleep over a podium.
"Jeez, Twilight, and you scold me about sleeping late."
"Wha-what time is it?" She asked, still a little dazed.
"Ten after eleven."
"Whoa, I slept that late?" Twilight had no idea when she had fallen asleep, but it must have been pretty late if she had slept this long. She groggily sat up and went to wake Starlight up. Outside, it was a nice morning, and the snow was almost completely melted. A few confused birds sat on a leafless tree, even though Spring was still awhile away. Starlight shook his head as he woke up; his morning mane was almost as bad as her own. he looked around blankly for a minute, and then realized what time it was.
"Oh... uh... mornin'." He said. Twilight smiled; it did seem like a good morning.


...
 

The next two and a half months flew by. Starlight became a common face in Ponyville. Almost everypony knew him, as he was such a helpful soul. Some days he could be found at Sweet Apple Acres, helping Applejack care for her new "Winter Apples." Other days he would be aiding Pinkie Pie in the creation of delicacies at Sugercube Corner. And even Fluttershy quickly warmed up to him and let him help care for some of her wintery critters. Of course, his favorite task was helping out Spike and Twilight at the library, which he had come to call "home" during his time here. Everypony else was nice and all, and he really did enjoy their company, but there was just a special spark he only felt around Twilight; like is existence was actually worth something, even though he still wasn't sure who he was or supposed to be. She didn't seem to care about his past; she never pressed him about it, and accepted him for who he was now. He still failed to recall most of his past, and while that was disappointing, he felt that his life here in Ponyville was much better than how he was living before. And most importantly, he was growing closer to Twilight. The two had been getting along extremely well, often spending hours together, cleaning the library or studying. Twilight had even found a spell that might help unblock his memories, but it was complicated and would take some more time to perfect.

Aside from chores around town, Starlight also enjoyed the scenery. Every other morning, he would get up and find a quiet place, usually somewhere around where Rainbow Dash lived, and would watch the sunrise. He wasn't sure why, but just seeing the the sun return to the sky filled him with a sense of wonder and joy. After that, he would just lay back and let time slip by, staring up at the clouds and dreaming about a future where he could be happy. He could sit there for a few minutes, or as long as several, enjoying the shining blue sky and the sun's warmth on his skin. Of course, this was ruined on days when the Cloudsdale weather ponies scheduled rain or snow, but that was just part of life. Sometimes he just had to let things pass, just like time itself kept going.

And just like that, it was the day Starlight had been waiting for since he heard about it from Twilight; today was Winter Wrap-Up day. She had told him her story of her first experience with the event, how she was worried she wouldn't fit in. She said she had clumsily tried several different things, from nest making to ice skating to field plowing before she found the role that best suited her; organizing the rest of the ponies for theirs. It was quite impressive that the entire process was organized by a single pony, so once a year, Twilight really got to shine.

Starlight was lying in the snow, considering all this, and how today would be his chance to show that he belonged here, kinda like Twilight. As the morning sun came up, dawn's first light began to shine directly through the branches of the leafless trees and reflect off the snow, lighting up the air in the appearance of miniature fireworks. It was moments like this that made him feel truly alive. After his morning display, he got up and trotted into town square, where everypony was gathering. It was just after sunrise, so not all the ponies had made it yet, but up on the stage stood Twilight and the mayor of Ponyville, awaiting the start of the day's events. Spike stood at Twilight's side, clipboard at the ready so the All Teams Organizer would be able to perform her duties. After ten more minutes, most ponies were out and ready to get going. The mayor stepped forward to address the crowd. 

"Good morning, everypony! It's time once again to clean up Winter and bring in Spring. Since we all know the drill, I wish everypony good luck, and without farther ado, present our organizer, Ms Twilight Sparkle." Twilight stepped forward.

"All right then, we all know how to start." She stated with an air of authority. "The Blue Team will start out by finding the southern birds (please make sure Derpy knows which way South is), and the Green Team will start clearing the ground. Yellow Team will get right to work on waking up the hibernating animals. Sub-Team Pinkie will start slicing up the frozen lakes, and Sub-Team Rarity will work on nest making for the birds. Everypony know what they're doing?"
There was no denial from the crowd. "Then let's get Winter wrapped!" A cheer rippled through as everypony went off to their groups. Starlight could see several ponies in Blue gathering under Rainbow Dash, in Green around Applejack, and in Yellow around Rarity (because Fluttershy sure wasn't going to lead). Starlight went and found Twilight, and asked her what position he was assigned to.
She gave a mischievous smile, and said "Find your place." She gave him a wink and left to go make sure everything started out okay. 

Starlight figured that meant he was supposed to try what Twilight had done the yer before and see where he could be helpful. He decided to start at Applejack's group, since he had been helping her on the farm frequently since his arrival. After a little walk, Starlight arrived at the work site. A bunch of ponies were hooked up to snow plows and were trotting along to clear the ground. He saw Applejack up on a nearby hill, overseeing the process and shouting commands when necessary. He went up to her.
"Hey Applejack, how's it going?"
"Howdy Starlight. It's going well enough. not the fastest year we've had, but we're gettin'er done."
"Anything I can do to help?" Applejack frowned and shook her head.
"Sorry, but we don't have any more snow plows, so there's really not much you can..." She was cut of mid-sentence by a loud thud and several bangs. The two looked down the hill and saw that Big Mac had tripped over a large rock that had been hidden beneath the snow and, judging by the way he was sprawling, had probably sprained a leg.
"Uh, welcome to the Green Team, Starlight. Could you take Mac's position while I get him home?"
"No problem. Go take care of your family."
"Much obliged. Just remember, no magic." And with that, Applejack went to help here fallen family member.

Starlight went down and got himself harnessed into the plow. When he was all set up, he went to work and helped plow through the snow. Many ponies were surprised by how strong Starlight actually was, as his pace was close to what Bic Mac's had been. after about an hour and a half, the ground was cleared to the point it needed to be for the Pegasus ponies to melt the rest. Applejack asked Starlight to go check on how Fluttershy's team was doing with the animals. She also said that Big Mac would be fine, he just needed to stay off his leg for a few hours. Starlight was glad to hear that, and went off to do as requested. Fluttershy was just waking up the bears when he arrived, and he watched with wonder at how well the timid mare handled such a large creature. When she was finished, he walked over and said hello.  
"Oh... uhm... hi, Starlight. Did you need something?"
"Nothing much. Applejack sent me to see how you were doing."
"Oh, well, that was the last animal, so we're done here. A-as long as nopony else has anything to do."
"So, should I let the Weather Team know you're done?"
"Oh, that would be great, thank you... if you're not too busy."
"Nah, it's fine. We already finished plowing up at the farm."
"Okay then, thank you." Starlight left as Fluttershy went to triple check that all the animals were awake.


...
 

On the way into town, Starlight passed Twilight. His heart did a little flutter, the same way it usually did when he saw her. It was kind of funny. He had been living in the same building as her for over two months, but that only seemed to make her more distant. He knew she considered him a friend, but he wasn't sure if she had the same feelings he did. By now, she had seen him too. 
"Starlight, hey. Is everything okay? Find a job?" Her eyes shone with a warm glow, like the essence of Spring was there, waiting for its time to return. Her multi-colored vest seemed to glow with the light reflecting off the last bit of snow. Everything about her made his heart beat faster.
"Y-yeah. I helped out plowing the snow, and now I'm off to let Rainbow Dash know she can have the Weather Team clear the sky.
"Did somepony say Rainbow Dash?!" Came a voice from up above, and the clouds started to clear. The first light of Spring was now shining on Ponyville.
"Well, I think you just told her." Twilight responded.
"Yeah, looks like it."
"Anyway, I still have one last stop to make. I'll see you back at home later."
"Uh... oh. See ya." And Twilight walked off.


...
  

The rest of Winter Wrap-Up went smoothly, and Winter was officially wrapped up about an hour before the previous year. the snow melted fast, Rarity's nest-building team hadn't had the same setback as last year (Twilight actually still had that nest around, mostly because it was unfixable, and kind-of a souvenir), and Derpy had actually gone South to get the southern birds (everypony was impressed). Twilight and the Mayor gave their congratulatory speech, and the days chores were finished. It was early the next morning that this speech occurred; earlier than last year, but planting still took long enough to push the chores into the dark hours of the day. It was maybe an hour away from the first sunrise in Spring. Starlight though about going back to the library and getting a little sleep, but he could just as easily stay awake another hour and watch the sun come up, welcoming his first Spring in Ponyville. So he started walking away while the rest of the ponies wrapped up congratulations and went to get some shut-eye.


...


Twilight had seen Starlight head away from town square. She would have assumed that he was going back to the library, but the path he had gone down lead to the Everfree Forest. So she went after him; the Everfree Forest wasn't the best place to be, especially alone at like five in the morning. Twilight reached the forest entrance right as Starlight vanished inside. She ran in after him, and managed to follow without getting left behind; she wasn't sure if he knew she was there, but he wasn't making it easy for her to catch up to him. Of course, he wasn't trying to lose her, either. 

The forest changed seasons naturally, so there were still several snowy spots here and there. Thank Luna that the fading stars were numerous, and the moon clear in the sky, because they provided just enough light for her to see where she was going without using magic. And since it was the end of Winter, the trees were a little less green, so more light could slip through the verdant cloak. The forest itself was still as gloomy as it usually was, and most animals were still asleep, not to wake up for a few more hours. Starlight walked out into a clearing, and Twilight was soon behind. Starlight had laid down in the middle of the clearing and was looking up at the sky. Twilight watched for a minute or two, then went up to him.
"Starlight..." She started, not really sure what exactly to say.
"Why'd you follow me?" He had come here to get away from his problems.
"I was just curious what you were doing. Can I join you?" Starlight was quiet for a minute, then replied:
"Watching the sunrise. You might as well, since you're here." Twilight sat down next to him. he looked a little agitated, like her being there was causing him pain, but the longer he looked up at the sky, the more relaxed his expression became. After about half an hour of just sitting there, gazing at the stars, the first crack of dawn became visible, and slowly got brighter. Twilight stole a glance at her friend, who wore a small yet pure smile, as if the morning light had wiped away all his fears and doubts. Twilight had to admit, the sunrise was beautiful, and the view from this clearing was marvelous.
"Come to think of it, this is where we first met, isn't it? That seems like such a long time ago."
"Yeah, this is the first place I saw in this world."
"This world?" Twilight asked, sitting up so he could look at his face. "What do you mean, this world?"
"Well, there's still no name, but I remember a general image of my home, and I get the feeling it's not in this world. I think I'm here more by mistake than anything else."

Twilight thought about that. It was a little weird to think that Starlight could be from another world entirely, but ultimately it didn't really matter. 
"Well, any way around it, I'm still glad I met you."
"But, I'm not even a normal part of your world. And..." Twilight put a hoof up to cut him off.
"It doesn't matter to me where you're from. You're you, and that's all I care about. And with that, she leaned over and kissed him. She hadn't come here meaning to let out all this emotion, but she couldn't deny any longer that she cared deeply for this unicorn. At first, Starlight's deep blue eyes grew wide and he started, but after a few seconds, he relaxed and kissed her back. The sun was now high enough to illuminate them, and the two were warmed by its embrace, as well as each other's. At that moment, the first buds of flowers sprang forth from the ground, rose buds, and began on their path to one day blossoming.