Twilight hurried over, peering at the cloven glove. It was made for a creature with a split hoof, it seemed. "Hmm..."
Sunburst lifted the globe free and shook it gently. Little flecks began to dance, not snow, but sand, raining across the little pyramid inside.
Twilight suddenly smiled, looking up towards the pyramid that was in the room. "Is there any sand?"
Star waved wildly from the right side of the room. "A bucket of it over here."
Twilight grabbed the bucket in her magic and upended it over the pyramid. "No wonder they take so long resetting the room." The sand spilled everywhere, cascading over the little pyramid. With a deep rumple, the top of the pyramid slid to the side. A severed hoof popped free, making them all jump back. It was fake, which they noticed after their moment of surprise.
Sunburst rushed towards it, the glove floating beside him. "Cloven," he noted, pointing at the fake hoof's cloven end. He popped the glove down on the fake, working it around the fake fur and snugly into place.
With a soft chime, the limb retracted into the pyramid and words sprang into being on the wall behind the pyramid.
You're doing great, don't give up now. How do you get out? I'll show you how.
Star tilted her head at the words. "It's not showing anything..."
"Show you how," muttered Twilight thoughtfully. "Sunburst, is the chest empty?"
Sunburst returned to the chest and reached inside, feeling around before he lifted up the entire thing, peeking at the underside of the cover of the chest. With a grin, he held aloft a smaller key. "Key!"
That prompted Star to motion, looking around wildly. "Where's the lock? Is that the door key?"
Twilight snatched the key in her magic and tried it in the door leading out, but it didn't fit very well, nor did it turn when she tried. "Nope, has to be another lock."
Sunburst pointed at the words on the wall. "Show us how!" He took the key from Twilight's magic in his own and hurried over to the period after the word 'how' on the wall. He tapped the small key against the small hole and it vanished inside a hole concealed by simply assuming it was a period. With a turn, the door behind them clicked open audibly.
Sunburst drew in a breath, music welling in his chest, only for Twilight's hoof to suddenly cover his mouth. "No songs," she hissed before rushing to the door and pulling it open. "Time!"
"Twenty minutes." A pause. "A new record." The sound of a quill scratching on paper sounded through the room from the speakers. "Nice job."
Star wobbled a hoof. "Where's the pin?"
Sunburst's eyes widened. "Right, no leaving without that. Hey, where's the scavenging pin?"
"Right here," replied the stallion out of sight. Three pins fell from the ceiling. "You just had to ask for it before leaving."
All three of the puzzle solvers claimed a pin with a smile. Star pinned hers right onto a vest she wasn't wearing a moment prior. "We did it! As if I had any doubts with two amazing ponies like you two working with me."
Sunburst put a hoof on his chest. "Um, can we... sing now?" He smiled awkwardly. "I don't get the urge that often."
Twilight rolled her eyes as a little smile spread on her snout. "Yes, we can sing now."
And so they sang with joy, all flowing smoothly from throats that seemed to have forgotten any fatigue they once had. "And I'll catch every star," sang out Star during it, causing the other two to stop. "What? It's your turn."
Twilight inclined her head a little. "I think it's time--"
"--I want to go to sleep," interrupted the unseen pony over the speakers. "Sorry, but, uh, really. Good night. Please close the door behind you."
The three hurried from the door, clicking it shut behind them. Sunburst nodded at Twilight, then Star. "Please tell us exactly how you 'catch' stars?"
Star Catcher started to blush brightly. "Oh... oops, said that outloud... Um, it's nothing bad, really. I just... like catching their attention." She smiled brightly, coiling to pull a book free into view in her mouth. She set it down in front of them and flipped through it, showing a dizzying variety of hoofprints, hair clippings, pictures, and other mementos of famous ponies from Celestia down to local celebrities. "It's what I do."
Twilight drew the book closer with her magic, flipping through it slowly. "This is quite the collection."
Star sighed gently. "It's... like they're with me. I'm just... a little pony." She held her hooves up close together. "Tiny, easy to forget... When I'm next to a big pony... I don't feel quite as small." She reached a hoof towards her own book. "You must think I'm so strange. I'm sorry, um, thank you, both of you, for letting me hang out with you a little while."
Twilight and Sunburst shared a glance before Twilight burst into a sudden new yawn. Sunburst took the lead with a smile. "You're not strange, I mean, not more than other ponies. I need to get Twilight to bed, and myself too... We'll see you tomorrow?"
Star was turning away, ready to be dismissed harshly. An ear perked up, brain catching up with what was said. "Tomorrow? You want to be with me?" She perked right up, bouncing up and landing facing them. "For sure! Let's finish the scavenger hunt. That'd be something... Maybe I could be a little celebrity if..." She snorted softly. "No, I'm being silly again."
Twilight sleepily nodded. "Get some sleep. Let's go."
"You heard her." Sunburst waved gently at Star before leading Twilight away, offering his body for support as they made their slow way back towards their hotel.
Star watched the two go for a moment before sighing out. She drew out the few purple hairs she had secured from Twilight, securing them in a little bag. "I'm going to treasure this... So modest." She kissed the plastic baggie and snapped her book shut before heading off for the night.
Twilight collapsed onto the bed with a weary sigh. She looked over when she felt Sunburst climbing up beside her. "Good job," she sleepily murmured.
"You too." He glanced away before sliding closer to her. His sleepiness was lifted a little, being so close to Twilight, under the covers. He dared to ride the wave of victory and gently kissed the end of her nose. "I wanted to do that before, but Star was there, watching."
Twilight wrinkled her nose and giggled at that. "She is an odd one, but I had one waiting for you too." She went in for a return kiss. Sunburst was already trying to reply and the motion had their lips meet. Both of their eyes snapped open, staring at one another. He tilted his head so the kiss could deepen, their heads coming closer as their eyes drifted shut.
It could have become something larger, if they didn't slip gently into Luna's domain like that, cradled close together.
Twilight woke first. She was no longer kissing Sunburst, but her hooves were feeling his back. She was hugging him close, and he was hugging her in kind. They were pressed close together and she began to blush brightly, realizing how intimate they were being. "S-sun..." Despite her misgivings, it wasn't all bad. He had a nice scent that tickled at her nose, and feeling him breathe softly against her was... kind of nice.
She ran a hoof slowly down his back. "Sun?" She tensed, feeling his hoof replicate the motion and grasp her bottom. "Sun?"
"Mmm?" His eyes opened, then snapped wide, realizing where he was and what he was doing. "I'm sorry!" He moved to scramble away, but Twilight held him fast.
"Calm down," she urged. "We're not doing anything a girlfriend and a boyfriend shouldn't be doing." She rubbed the delicate end of her nose against Sunburst's, looking into his terrified eyes. It was comforting, in a way, for him to be the scared one. She had no idea what she was doing, outside of the romance novels she had read. "No one's hurt."
"No one's hurt," he echoed, taking a slow breath. "Um, good morning?" He dared to hug her gently. "I... Um... It's nice waking up like this."
Twilight considered that a moment. "It really is." Was that why ponies found special someponies? She rested her head on his shoulder, snuggling against him. "Thank you."
"What for?" he asked cluelessly, holding her.
"For letting me experience this." She leaned back, looking at him directly. "For liking me. For being a pony I like. For being you, and wanting to be with me... For a lot of things." She smiled timidly. "Are you happy?"
"I'm... I don't even have good words." He nuzzled back at her, sniffing at her clean fur. "I'm very happy, we'll start there." He wanted to hold her forever, but doubted that would be practical for either of them. "Want to get up?"
Twilight drew her hooves back and sat up in bed, yawning softly before she hopped spritely from bed. "I vote for a bath before we head back to the convention. I don't know about you, but I could use one."
Sunburst blushed as he sat up. "Is it that bad?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. as her glowing horn hefted Sunburst clear of the bed. "No coltfriend of mine is going to be stinky, mister bachelor's life." She trotted towards the bath, hauling him along.
"You're taking this very well." He leaned towards her from inside his prison of magic.
"Taking what well?"
"I mean, you know... us... being a thing?" He gestured at himself and Twilight. "Every time I really think about it, I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack. I mean, I'm happy! Really, very happy! But I don't... know what I should be doing half the time."
Twilight set the frazzled stallion down in the warm water of the hot tub. "One, this is what books are for." She climbed down after him. "Two, this is what friends are for."
He tilted his head at her. "How would friends h--" He cut off. "Wait, you asked the girls?"
"Each and every one of them." Twilight nodded softly. "Not all of them had relevant experience, but they had plenty of advice to share. Cross-indexed with the fiction and non-fiction sources, I've been able to tabulate a reasonable course of action." She raised a hoof clear of the water. "I'm happy to say that it's been quite effective!"
Sunburst sank mostly into the water as a cheerful laughter erupted from deep within him. "Of course. Why would I even think it could be something else?" He reached a wet hoof for her cheek. "I love the way you do that."
Twilight began to color swiftly, going quiet and staring at Sunburst. He squirmed at her gazing. "Um... did I... do something wrong?"
She shook her head quickly. "N-no! I mean... it's only natural that a boyfriend would be enamored with the habits and tendencies of his girlfriend." She nodded firmly, trying to convince herself as much as anyone else. "All according to plan."
Sunburst set his still dripping hoof on Twilight's lips. "And, sometimes, you have to throw away those plans, and that's alright too."
"Alright... too..." She leaned in and their hooves met a precious moment before they slid past each other. The two locked in a tight embrace, the water swirling around them in teasing eddies, but their mind was more on each other than the faint tickles of the moving water.
The scents of the other and the taste of their mouth was far more important. They became quite clean by the time they were done. Clean and close, they both felt entirely ready to tackle the next day of the convention.