//------------------------------// // A Special Night, Part 2 // Story: Sunburst's Weekend Off // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// The interior of the chariot was as comfortable as can be, but the windows had been tinted from the outside, so the two occupants had no idea where they were headed. After Twilight had whisked them away to Celestia knows where, it started to move forward, and they heard the rolling of the wheels on dirt and gravel. "You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with this, would you?" Starlight asked her date as the chariot angled slightly downhill and continued on it's way. The duo couldn't tell if it was horse-drawn, or if it was magically propelled. "Your guess is as good as mine, Starlight." Sunburst told her. "If you're really that curious, why not fire up a spell that lets you see through walls?" "And spoil whatever surprise they've prepared for us? Where's the fun in that?" Starlight replied. "Mm." Sunburst nodded in agreement. "Besides, I don't think it really matters what they've got planned for us, because it's going to be wonderful, because it's with you." Starlight said, leaning into her coltfriend. Sunburst blushed, and put his leg around Starlight's shoulders as the chariot continued to descend. They enjoyed each other's company in silence as the chariot ride continued. A few minutes later, they felt the terrain level out, and not a minute later, the chariot came to a halt, and they heard muffled excited mumbling from outside, followed by approaching hoofsteps. The handle of the chariot's door was turned, and it opened with a barely audible creek, and there stood Double Diamond, who greeted the couple with a smile. "Starlight! Sunburst! Good evening, and welcome." The earth pony greeted with a curt bow, then stepped aside to let the couple exit. Upon stepping out into the evening air, Sunburst gave a look of mild surprise, but Starlight's mouth immediately went agape, and she was unable to will it to close at the sight she was taking in. The chariot had stopped at the front of her old village, which the population had officially christened 'Our Town' after her ousting. Now, standing before her, in two lines down the single road into town, were all her former villagers, greeting them with warm smiles. The line continued all the way down to the end of the short road, where her old cabin used to be; having been replaced with a great tree. At the base of the tree, Starlight could tell a table had been set for two. "Starlight?" Sunburst whispered, snapping her out of her stupor, and she noticed that Double Diamond was ushering the two of them forward. The three of them proceeded ahead at a walking pace. She remembered each one of her three visits here since she had found redemption with Twilight. First, was nearly the day after she had agreed to study the magic of friendship; she had taken the train here with Twilight to come and apologize, and it had been quite the emotional reunion. The animosity had been set aside, especially between her and her original four founders, but she still didn't believe herself welcome here. So it was quite unexpected when she received an invitation several months later to their new Sunset Festival. Deciding to take Trixie along for support, they arrived at Our Town to the delight of pretty much everypony. They eagerly bombarded her with questions, not only about where she was staying and her studies with Twilight, but also about how their decorations looked, what kind of food they should have at the festival; the fact that they welcomed her input for their new festival stunned and overwhelmed her, and Trixie rushed her away, to everypony else's bewilderment. She wasn't ready to face the fact that perhaps her villagers had missed her and wanted to welcome her back. It was a good thing they did, though, because upon returning to Ponyville, they unraveled a deceptive changeling invasion, and with the help of Discord and Thorax, they thwarted Queen Chrysalis' attack. Afterwards, the four of them, along with everypony they had rescued, returned to Our Town for the festival, where she apologized for taking off earlier, and was beginning to realize her capabilities as a true and effective leader. Now here she was again, and she felt her emotions bubbling higher and higher with every warm, welcoming nod she received as they made their way down the receiving line. She smiled back at them, tears threatening the corners of her eyelids. Lights had been strung up, down, and across the two rows of buildings, illuminating nearly the entire town as the sun dipped below the horizon. When they got to the table, the two of them took in the elegance of the setting. It was the most proper silverware placement Starlight had ever seen. Even Twilight would've been humbled. Sunburst's horn lit up, and the two chairs on opposite sides were slid out for them. Sunburst took his seat on the left side, and Starlight sat down on the right. Together, they took in the absolutely exquisite look of the table, and Starlight again had to wipe her eyes; she never saw anything this fine outside of Canterlot. Her village had put this together on less than 24 hours notice. Each of them had a dinner plate, bread plate, wine glass, tumbler, cloth napkin, and seven pieces of silverware. In the center, two tall candlesticks had been lit and gave off a subtle apple fragnance. "I don't think I've ever had fine dining this fine before." Starlight commented, as Double Diamond trotted away into the closest restaurant building. "I'll say. They really went all out." Sunburst agreed, who was currently comparing the tablecloth to his cloak, trying to determine which was the finer fabric. Starlight giggled at him. Suddenly, their dining area was further illuminated when more lights strung up in the tree branches above them came to life. They didn't stare at it for long, for they heard a noise approaching from the rear of the building Double Diamond had disappeared into. Both pairs of eyes widened when Double Diamond, Night Glider, Party Favor, and Sugar Belle came out not with their meals, but pushing an entire kitchenette on wheels, and parked it in front of the table, giving the couple a prime view of the equipment. With that, Double Diamond came around with a plate with a hot steaming loaf of bread, and a bottle of wine, which he set next to the candles. "Once again, Starlight, Sunburst, welcome. You wouldn't believe how long we stayed up last night debating what kind of 'dinner and a show' we should put on for you two, when Sugar Belle suggested that dinner be the show. We sincerely hope you enjoy yourselves, and may I say, we're thrilled that you two have found each other." Double Diamond smiled at them, walking back to the other side of the kitchenette. The four of them didn't notice the slight blushes on the pair as they donned chef's coats, and began preparing their meals. Starlight tore her eyes away for just a moment as she picked up the bottle of wine, and again, her heartstrings were pulled as she looked at the label. "Would you look at that..." Starlight said, showing the bottle to Sunburst. "Hoofington Vineyards Red Wine, 975CE. Should we even ask how they got this so fast?" Sunburst whispered to his date after reading the label. Starlight silently shook her head, agreeing that it would be a bit rude. No doubt her villagers had their ways, as Sunburst began to pour two glasses of wine, bottled in their hometown, aged from thier birth year. With wine in hoof, the two of them sat and sipped, watching her four founding villagers prepare their dinner, starting with what appeared to be a soup. Party Favor chopped the ingredients and Double Diamond prepared the broth over the burner, while Night Glider was working on the next course, and Sugar Belle was most likely preparing dessert. "So let me get this straight," Twilight began, wondering why hordes of ponies played this game. "I can't just cast a spell, I have to cast a spell, roll a 20-sided die, and that determines how effective my action is? My character is a mage! Spells should always be effective!" She argued. "Yes, but there are defensive rolls too. Your enemy could be good at resisting or deflecting spells. That's why you play; to level up your character and learn more powerful magic. Besides, the rolls are automatic, thanks to Discord." "Alright, so what's the goal here?" Twilight asked, adjusting the cloak that had been given to her character, Lora. "This is a new rulebook Big Mac and I picked up last week, called 'Wingdom Hearts 3'. Lora has to gather her allies, fight through hordes of 'Gutless' and rescue Princess 'Can't Dance'. The store owner said it was a highly anticipated release, so it must be good!" Sunburst's and Starlight's first course was a piping hot and savory cup of minestone soup. After finishing every last morsel, it was immediately cleared away and they were then presented with a lush salad of mixed greens and fruits. It was tricky paying attention to the food in front of them when the spectacle of the next course was also happening right in front of them. Party Favor had gone so far as to juggle the spear fork and knife while the pasta was brought to a boil. The main dish was a platter of pasta with a creamy white tomato-and-mushroom sauce. When that was finished, Sugar Belle brought forth her exquisitely prepared dessert; chocolate lava cake with freshly churned vanilla bean ice cream. The way the ice cream melted over the steaming hot cake, along with how the chocolate filling oozed out upon cutting it open, was all the convincing their stomachs needed to make just a little more room. "I hope everything was up to par for a first date." Double Diamond said, her four founders coming up to the table as they finished off their dessert. "That was the best meal I have ever had. Ever." Starlight said, setting her fork down on the plate. "Mmhmm. Thank you all so much." Double Diamond gave a bow. "It was our pleasure. And now, we'll leave you two be. We hope we made your first date a night to remember." With that, the four of them wheeled the cooking equipment back to the restaurant it came from, leaving Starlight and Sunburst alone at the table under the tree, the candles having burned about a third of the way down. Now all that remained was to finish off the wine. "Okay, so maybe this story would make a little more sense if I picked up the book for Wingdom Hearts 1 first." Spike said, the playthrough of their chosen campaign having been less than stellar. "Even with Discord's magic, why do I get the feeling that you have to be a diehard fan of two separate franchises to fully appreciate this game? Spike, you should talk to Luna. Doesn't she have one called Haylo or something?" Twilight said. "Yes, that one starts off well enough," Discord said, snapping his claw and the castle environment began to return to it's normal state before the game had begun. "But by the fifth installment the writer changes and everything just starts to go south." "Whatever happened to reading a good book? You don't always need interactivity to make things exciting." Most of the residents of Our Town had retired to their homes for the evening, leaving Sunburst and Starlight out under the starry night sky, laying several feet away from the other side of the tree, an empty wine bottle between them. "I hope I didn't have too much..." Starlight began, her speech only slightly slurred. "I want to remember this night for a long time." "I'm sure you'll be fine. We split it nearly in half." Sunburst reassured her. "Forty-sixty is more like it. Guess I drink when I get this nervous..." "What would you have to be nervous about? The food was divine, and your company was the best it could be, Starlight." "It's just that... This weekend has been full of firsts. My first crush... My first date..." "First kiss?" Sunburst asked, before realizing what he had just said, and his face burned red. No, that had not happened yet. Starlight looked over at her furiously blushing date, and slowly leaned in closer with half-lidded eyes. Sunburst, eyes, widening, quivering, leaned in as well. Their lips connected softly yet sloppily, and a tingling surged through them from horn to hooves. The kiss lasted only a couple seconds, and they parted and looked in each other's eyes. "First kiss." Starlight repeated. Sunburst smiled. This would be a date to remember. "Are there any other 'firsts' you want to get out of the way tonight?" "Hm?" "Well, you did ask about it last night in bed." "Oh. Ohhhh. Well, um..." Sunburst fiddled with his hooves and straightened his glasses to buy a precious second or two. "No. I remember you saying it would be moving too fast." "It is one night later..." "Yes, but still. I'm afraid that it would be the wine talking. I want both of us to have an absolutely clear head when that decision is made. Besides, I don't think that would make for a very good story in the morning... Telling everyone how far we got after dinner on the first date..." Sunburst tried to discern any kind of reaction out of Starlight's expression, but either his intoxication or hers, or most likely a mix of both prevented it. "And lastly, I think we're perfect for each other, Starlight. I do. But I don't want to remember our first time getting that close to each other to be out in the dirt. I want our first time to be as memorable as that dinner we just had." Starlight let out a chuckle. "Alright, alright. Point taken." "But now that you mention it, there is another 'first' that I'd like to do before we hop back in that carriage." Sunburst said, and came in for another quick kiss. "I love you, Starlight." Starlight's eyes widened as that sentence echoed in her ears. Nope, that wasn't the wine talking. "And I love you, Sunburst."