Starlight sighed contentedly. She looked around her office. Headmare of the School of Friendship. Still, after so many years, it took her by surprise at points.
Adjusting her burgundy suit jacket, she got up from behind her desk. A few pops emanated from her back. Life loved to remind her she wasn't as spry as she once was. Softly, she chuckled as she thought back on some of her adventures when she was younger. Imagine pulling the acrobatic moves now that she did then!
She moved a standing mirror over to where she stood and observed herself. No more wrinkles, yet, anyway. Aside from a few crow's feet, she looked barely different than she did when Twilight ascended to the throne. Turning to the side, she straightened her dark purple blouse and did one more onceover.
Sliding the mirror back into its corner, she grabbed a small watering can from her desk and cantered over to a nearby water cooler. As it emptied its contents into the can, she looked at the wall above it, specifically one of the many pictures hanging on the wall.
Smiling, she relived the moment captured again. The birth of her daughter, with her loving husband hovering over both of them. The picture was taken shortly after her daughter arrived, and despite how tired she was in that moment, she had wanted it taken. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say.
Air bubbled to the top of the water cooler, taking her attention away from the picture and back to the present. Her can was almost overflowing, so she closed the water stream and gently brought the watering can over to her desk.
Sitting back down and groaning a bit as the plush leather cushioned her old bones, she lifted the can up and poured it over Phyllis XXIX. As the philodendron plant sucked up the water she provided, Starlight turned her attention to the school calendar for the week. For once, her schedule was mostly empty, aside from a couple of parent-headmare meetings.
"Hmm?" she hummed, bending down near to the plant. "Oh, okay. I'll stop." Like that, she ceased pouring water on Phyllis and dumped the rest of the water back into the water cooler. Nopony used it aside from her, anyway.
Sighing again, she placed her forehooves on the desk and sat still. Perfectly still. A clock ticked above her door, striking noon hour. Its loud clanging was soon interrupted by the murmur of students leaving their classrooms for lunch. Shortly, she fidgeted a bit in her seat and wondered, "Maybe I should send a letter to Twilight, I haven't seen her in a few months."
She turned her attention to the rest of her desk. Planning materials lay scattered about, and sheets of paper showcasing different proposed school budgets were splayed around. A couple had coffee cup rings from long nights spent reading reports. . Stuck to the side of the desk was a note about contacting Chancellor Neighsay II—apparently it was a hereditary position—and the EEA about some minor "infraction," as they called it, by one of the students.
Lastly, a few photo frames were strewn about. One was of Twilight and the old Elements of Harmony when the school opened officially for the first year under her leadership, another was with the new Element bearers together in one of the restaurants of Ponyville. They were having a bit of a laugh as a very pregnant Starlight tried sitting down at the booth, but she was laughing in it, too.
Carefully, the door to her office opened and Sunburst strolled in, humming an off-beat tune. When he saw that Starlight was sitting behind her desk, he smiled and closed the door, keeping the noise of most of the student body out of the office. "Hey," he said, taking a couple steps toward the desk.
"Hey," she replied, giving him a tired smile. She pushed back again from her desk, wincing as her right knee took her weight. "Ow," she hissed before trotting from behind her desk and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. She managed to mostly avoid getting beard hair in her mouth. He hadn't changed one bit, well, aside from somehow becoming even more hairy, not that it mattered to her.
From her bottom desk drawer, she pulled out two wrapped daisy sandwiches and floated one over to Sunburst. Sitting down on the left-side couch in her office, she unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. After gulping down the bite, she asked, "So, how did the morning go?"
After finishing his own bite of lunch, Sunburst teleported in a bottle of water sipped loudly on it. He then said, "O-oh, these students are really bright this time around. They caught on really quickly to the fundamentals of magical matrices and how they can be used to amplify the power of generosity and kindness." He took another sip. "Although there was this one yak that kept wanting to see who could shoot spitballs the furthest."
Starlight hummed to herself, taking another bite of her lunch and teleporting in a cup of coffee. The hot liquid slid down her throat and warmed her body. Unfortunately, being the main headmare of the school meant she didn't teach as much as she would have liked, so her daily lunches with Sunburst helped keep her in the know about the students' lives.
"Anything else?" she inquired, taking a final bite of her sandwich. Mentally, she noted which spices she had used this time so she could make these ones again. They were better than usual.
Tapping his chin with a cream hoof, Sunburst squinted his eyes. About the only thing that had changed about him was his eyes, or more accurately, his eyesight. From her angle, his spectacles caused the eyes to warp slightly and appear humorously large.
She snickered to herself as she waited for him to say something.
"Well, I did bump into Luster and a few of her friends when I was heading to teach Friendship Foundations. I-I told her how proud we were of her improvement, although she seemed to have a lot on, you know, her mind." He shrugged and finished his lunch.
Warmth spread through Starlight's body, and not from the coffee, which she had quickly chugged. Whenever she heard mention of how quickly her daughter had improved on her life's outlook after Twilight had listened to her concerns and fears, she couldn't help but beam with pride. To think that only a couple decades ago she, Starlight Glimmer, hated the idea of friendship! Now she had her own legacy of friendship. With Luster Dawn and her own friends, she could impart all the lessons she had learned as Twilight’s student. Hopefully, long after she was gone, Twilight could use Starlight as an example of how everypony should be given a second chance.
Sunburst didn't have much else to add as he took another drink of water and got up to throw his sandwich wrapper in a nearby wastebasket. Likewise, Starlight took aim and threw hers through the air. The wrapper hit the wall behind the basket and bounced in.
"Whoo!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hooves in victory and ignoring the pops they made when she moved them so quickly. "I still have it!" She got up and sauntered over to Sunburst, lightly tapping his flank with hers.
In return, Sunburst chuckled and brought her close for a quick hug, nestling his head on top of her mane. He breathed in the perfume she decided to wear today. Vaguely, it reminded him of the past, although he couldn't quite put his hoof on what.
Blowing his beard away from her face, Starlight tapped his nose and made her way back around to her desk. She opened another drawer and pulled out a small bottle of Sweet Apple Acres' top-grade apple cider: Made with love, tradition, and love of tradition read the label. Afterwards, she pulled out two small glasses and poured a bit of the cider into each glass.
Offering it to Sunburst, she downed her glass in one gulp. A new, different wave of warmth rushed over her from head to tail, and she smiled sultrily at Sunburst.
Quizzically, he eyed the drink. Looking back at her, he arched an eyebrow as she poured a bit more for herself. "Uh, isn't it a bit early in the week for this?" he inquired, not drinking his cider yet.
Waving a hoof dismissively, Starlight answered, "Pfft, we have like, an hour. That's plenty of time for it to start wearing off." She leaned forward again. "Besides," she stared at him with half-lidded eyes, biting her lip seductively, "today is a special day."
It was just then that Sunburst noticed one of the pictures on Starlight's desk. It was a bit faded, but to him it was still as clear as the day it was taken. In it, he was smiling happily, unaware of the loving look that Starlight was shooting him.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, nodding his head in understanding. Instantly, he downed his own glass and moved closer to Starlight. "How could I, I forget that day?" He moved in and poked a hoof right in one of her ribs before she could react. Smiling, he continued with the unexpected tickle attack as Starlight snorted and giggled in delight.
"Okay! Okay!" she cried, still suffering from a few laughs after she pushed Sunburst out of hoof's reach. She finished one last swig of cider and put her glass down next to the bottle. She giggled a bit more and said, "Remember when we thought that was our worst date?"
"Oh, yes! T-tell me about it!" Sunburst stated, pouring himself another drink.
"I thought I had lost the stallion of my dreams," she said, looking deeply into Sunburst's eyes.
"And I thought the mare of my dreams wasn't ready for me," he replied, staring back into hers. He poked one of her cheeks, just below her crow's feet. "And she's still just as beautiful as the day I met her."
Starlight let out a soft "aw" and pulled Sunburst in close. "Come here, you." She snickered and went in for a kiss. Pleasure mixed with the taste of cider, food, and most importantly, love, and she held the kiss, Sunburst returning it passionately.
For a few seconds, her world was just her and her husband, then she heard a mocking "Rawr, rawr" come from the entrance to her office. Jerking her head up, she saw Trixie standing in the doorframe, a smug grin on her face.
Trixie jokingly wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead onto her purple teacher's uniform. Somehow, even after all these years, she still managed to look like a magician at least a bit. Maybe it was the stubborn desire to keep the stars on the back of her skirt.
"Trixie," Starlight grumbled. "Who said you were allowed in here?"
"Oh, don't worry," Trixie responded, cantering into the office and closing the door behind her. "Your secret is safe with me." Briefly, she eyed Sunburst up and down, then turned her attention to Starlight.
Sighing, Starlight leaned back and released Sunburst, who sheepishly got up and inched away from the desk. "All right, what is it you need?"
"Well, I can see that you're 'busy' right now, so I can tell you later," Trixie replied, turning around and opening the door again. She looked behind her and said, "Don't be too loud, you crazy lovebirds. School's in session, you know. Wink."
"No! Stop!" Starlight called, halting Trixie in her tracks. Grimacing, she continued, "The mood's ruined now. What were you wanting to speak to me about?"
Trixie looked between both her friends—and bosses—and sighed, "Well, it's good for once that Sunburst is here, too, because I believe you both should know this."
Raising an eyebrow, Sunburst looked at Starlight before moving his gaze to Trixie.
"Go on," Starlight stated, folding her hooves together. While Trixie was better at speaking in first person, she frequently reserved it for serious matters.
"Well, as you know, the Responsible and Caring Trixie makes her rounds every so often around the school, so if there are any students who need friendship counselling, she can quickly see to their needs," Trixie began, playing a bit with her silver mane.
"Yes, Trixie, we know what you do, get to the point," Starlight muttered, circling one of her hooves in an attempt for Trixie to pick up the pace.
"Er, well, I..." Trixie started legitimately sweating a bit. Gulping, she said, "You may want to sit down for this, Sunburst."
Silently, Sunburst complied, although his face grew even more confused.
After both her friends were as comfortable as they could be, Trixie went on, "When I was passing by one of the back halls, I heard something come from one of the broom closets. So, I thought it was maybe a student that was experiencing something horrible." At the statement, Trixie shuddered herself.
"Yes, Trixie, go on." Starlight grunted. Tapping her hooves together, she watched her friend squirm slightly. Trixie stuttered a bit as she tried to put sentences together.
"Well, er, uh, I may have found Luster discovering some of the more 'intricate parts of friendship', if you know what I mean," Trixie punctuated each part of that statement with her hooves acting as air quotes.
Sunburst paled. He sat rigid on the couch before flopping over listlessly on one of its arms, his mouth hanging open in shock.
For Starlight's part, she fared much better, only managing to sputter a few words incoherently. Eventually, she managed to regain enough of her faculties to question, "Luster? My Luster?"
"Mhmm." Trixie nodded, a small blush beginning to creep up on her face.
"With whom?!" Starlight demanded, getting up from behind her desk and trotting over to Trixie.
"Oh, you know, one of the students. I don't remember his name, but he was a nice enough pony," Trixie answered meekly.
Narrowing her eyes, Starlight switched her gaze between Trixie and Sunburst. She quickly filled her watering can and poured it over her husband, who sputtered awake from unconsciousness.
"Get up. We're finding Luster," she ordered, getting ready to leave the office.
Both ponies followed suit down the hallways which were currently fairly empty. A few students that were just getting to their lunch break now spied the trio and quickly ducked out of the way. Starlight’s face was pulled in a furious scowl, the crow’s feet crinkling more and appearing like scars.
Rounding a corner, Starlight called out, "Luster Shimmer Shine Dawn! You get here right now, young filly!"
The only response was her voice echoing down the hallway. Starlight narrowed her eyes again and growled. "When I find Luster," she said to Trixie and Sunburst, "she is so bucked."
FIN