//------------------------------// // If you want something done right // Story: Operation: Starburst // by randomkid //------------------------------// "Ugghh," Sunburst groaned, as he slammed his head on the table in front of him. "Today was, yet another, disaster." "Oh, it wasn't too bad," Starlight said, trying to cheer Sunburst up. "Really? I ended up blowing up the kitchen?" Sunburst said, resting his hooves on the table and burying his head in them. The two ponies were sitting outside at a small cafe near Sugar Cube Corner, with some empty cider glasses on the table. The two ponies were sitting across from each other. "Oh, that happens all the time here. Heck, I don't think a day in Ponyville passes without a good explosion," she said, getting up to go sit next to him. Sunburst looked up and gave Starlight an unamused look. "That's not really helping Starlight," he said, before he started to hit his head on the table. "Why. Am. I. Such. A. Screw-up?" "Now come on, stop that. Here, look at me for a second." "Why?" Starlight used her magic and turned his head towards her. Sunburst looked back, and it was like he was looking at Starlight for the first time in years all over again. The troubles of his day seemed so insignificant compared to her soft face and dazzlingly striped mane. Yet, her eyes were not locked on his. Instead, Starlight was staring at his lips. Sunburst didn't understand why. "What is it?" he asked. "You've still got a little ash on your muzzle here, and it's been driving me crazy." Starlight tried to wipe away the smudge with her hoof, but Sunburst turned away from her, wiping the smudge with his own hoof. She noticed as his ears drooped slightly. "I'm serious, Starlight. I can't seem to do anything right. This is just like magic school years ago." Sunburst looked down at the ground and sighed. Why is she even friends with me? It doesn't make sense. The perfect mare and the screw-up. Sounds like some cheesy love story. Sunburst was shortly broken out of his thoughts by the warm feeling of a pony leaning on him. He turned his head, and his face grew bright pink as he looked down to see Starlight leaning on him and nuzzling his neck softly. "Well, I don't think you're a screw-up. To be honest, my time with you has been the most fun I've had in years. Sure, I hang out with the other ponies, but those are Twilight's friends you were my first friend. I know how capable and smart you, are and I would never think you're a screw-up." Sunburst's face was now bright red, and he was struggling to not panic. What do I do? What should I say? His mind was running a mile a minute. Until he looked down and saw Starlight looking up at him. He didn't see that usual playfulness in her eyes. Instead, he saw sincerity. He wrapped his hooves around her in a tight hug, and despite how dry his throat felt he tried to choke out a response. "Thanks Starlight. I didn't know you felt that way." His words were slow and shaky. Starlight started to return the hug. He had finally started to calm down and observe his surroundings. It was then he realized the small blush on Starlight's cheeks. He just stared at the small mare in front of him as time seemed to stretch on. The two sat like that for a little while. "Hey! You two should kiss!" A random stallion from the left shouted out. The two ponies slowly turned to see that a crowd of people had gathered on the street to watch them. They turned to each other, beet red, and ran as fast as possible. "Hey! You didn't pay your bill!" Their waiter pony shouted out. * * * The two unicorns finally made it back to the castle, after returning to pay the bill, and collapsed to the ground. "Geez, that waiter was really fast," she huffed. After taking a few minutes to catch their breathe, they moved to the library. "Well, at least we're back at the castle." Starlight said cautiously closing the blinds. She didn't want any ponies to try and watch them again. The townsponies were always trying to find ponies being romantic for some reason. "Hey, uh, Starlight," Starburst mumbled out. She turned to him and her ears perked up. "I just wanted to say thanks again for what you said back there. Oh and what you did. I guess I just needed a hug to cheer me up a bit," even if I knew it was purely platonic. "No problem Sunburst. Anything for a friend," Starlight responded. Those words again. "Well, it's a good thing I have such a perfect friend," he said. "Perfect? Perfect?! Really? Have you seen my history? I'm anything but perfect," she said, somewhat sarcastically. "Did you forget the time I enslaved a whole village and stole all their Cutie Marks? Or the time I went back in time and almost ruined history? Perfect, please." "It was meant as a compliment," he mumbled, quietly. "I don't really think it is. Perfect is boring, stale, no flaws whatsoever. I don't want to be that. I'd prefer to be myself and work through my issues like Twilight has been teaching me." With every word that came out of Starlight's mouth, he fell more in love with her. This is what he loved about her. Starlight's willingness to work towards bettering herself, something he tried to do every day but fails. But Starlight made it look so easy. "Heck, look at all the reformed ponies that Twilight helped. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sunset Shimmer. They've done pretty well for themselves." Suddenly, Sunburst's attention was focused on what Starlight just said. "What was that last one?" "Oh? You mean Sunset Shimmer? Yeah, she was some previous student of Celestia who got banished to another world. Why?" Starlight asked. "My sister was banished to another WORLD?!" Sunburst shouted. "Wait! SISTER?!" * * * "Wait, so, let me get this straight. My sister is in a world where there's no magic, they aren't ponies, and tried to take over Equestria with an army of brainwashed teenagers?" Sunburst asked, trying to wrap his head around this situation. Starlight gave a simple nod. "How could she think she could use magic to manipulate others?" Starlight visibly cringed at his statement. "Oh, uh, no offense." "None taken," she responded. "Wow, she went even more nuts than I did. She always seemed so level headed as a foal. I'll have to ask Twilight if I can try and use that portal some day. I haven't seen her for a while," Sunburst said, rubbing his chin. "Maybe I'll join you. I never got to meet your sister as a foal." Starlight smiled, happy to see Sunburst not thinking about being inferior to somepony. She hated seeing him like that. She knew how strong and confident he can be when it was needed. Sunburst walked over to the window and saw that the moon was high in the sky. "Wow, it got late fast. We should probably get some rest. It's going to be a full day of failure tomorrow," he said, followed by a loud yawn. And there it goes again. He's doubting himself. Starlight thought to herself. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," she responded. And with a wave, he left the library to go to his room. Why? Why does he keep doubting himself? He was able to save the Crystal Empire, he was able to send Thorax to us when we needed him. Can't he see how much he's worth? Starlight sighed and started walking to her room. She stared at the closed door to Sunburst's room for a few seconds before slowly entering her own and closing the door behind her. * * * "Well, crap," Spike said, looking at his empty checklist. Sunburst has been here for two whole weeks and he hasn't made any progress at all with Starlight or his magic. Worse yet, Sunburst has screwed up at every. Single. Turn. He completely bombed every conversation, avoided eye contact, accidentally animated a pie on a "date" and, worst of all, what just happened at the cafe. Sunburst was basically hopeless. Spike sighed. "What do I do now? I've been trying to get them together indirectly but it doesn't work." Spike looked over his list again. In hindsight, the steps on the list were very vague. He just expected every thing to fall into place once he got them to study magic together. However, love was more complicated than that, and Spike knew that most of all with all his past experiences. Spike remembered how his crush on Rarity turned out, an unrequited love. "I need to start stepping in, if I want this to work out!" He said, thinking out loud. "Maybe I should give him some advice for Starlight! That could work!" Spike ran out the room and decided to give the advice tonight. Giving Sunburst time to let his advice sink in. The baby dragon skipped happily as he went to go tell Sunburst what he had to do to win over Starlight.