//------------------------------// // In Which a Kiss is Stolen // Story: Bits, Pieces and other Scrapped Ideas // by FoolAmongTheStars //------------------------------// It should not have happened. But it did. Starlight's hoof raised shakily to her mouth, hiding the expression of horror from the world, but she could do nothing about the guilt shining in her eyes. She tore them away too late, too late to keep from showing just how much this affected her, too late for Sunburst not to see her regret. “Starlight…” She turned away, looking down at Ponyville. It looked lovely, with the snow covering the streets and the rooftops, shining with soft golden light thanks to the fairy lights. The whole town was decorated from floor to ceiling with Hearth’s Warming decorations, and from Twilight’s balcony, it looked like a fairytale picture come to life. Starlight longed to be down there, to get lost in the lights and the cheer. To get away from here. “I’m sorry!” She said, wincing at how fake and saccharine her voice sounded. “I’m sorry,” she said lower, trying to sound normal. “I’m sorry.” She was about to take a sip of her apple cider, then thought better of it and left it resting on the balcony’s railing. It was the drink’s fault, she told herself. She shouldn’t have indulged, she shouldn’t have gotten swept up in the party’s cheer, she shouldn’t have accepted the drink from Twilight when she pushed her towards Sunburst.  But she did, each sip making her chest feel warmer and fuzzier inside, and Sunburst kept talking and cracking terrible jokes, making her laugh and snort unattractively. She lost herself in her own little world with him, so much so she ignored the knowing smiles from her friends, watching from afar, she was more focused on his voice, his eyes, and his smile. Which brought her to pay attention to his lips, something she never really noticed before. They were hidden slightly by his beard and looked chapped, like he never heard of lip balm, but she couldn’t stop staring. Staring and wondering if they were as soft and warm as their owner. Maybe she started complaining about the stuffiness of the room, or the loudness of the party made it hard to talk, driving them away from the room, but somehow they drifted towards the balcony, not missing a beat of the conversation. Sunburst even held the door open for her, and she walked out without a second thought, too busy continuing her argument that the use of widespread teleportation would revolutionize the traveling sector in Equestria.     (Luna helped her, she always diverged to strange topics when she argued with him.)  The cold hit her like a slap when she exited. She gasped and shivered violently, her teeth clacking loudly, a painful reminder she left her scarf and earmuffs in her room. “Geez, the weather department didn’t tell us it would get this cold!” Starlight complained, jumping in place to keep herself warm. “Wait for a bit, I’ll just go get my―” Something light and soft fell over her withers, it was warm and smelled like sandalwood and grey tea. Her cheeks flushed bright red despite the cold.  “C-Come on, Sunburst, you don’t have to…” “It’s okay,” he said quickly, nudging her towards the railing. “The room was too hot, I could use a little chill.” “But you’ll get cold, or sick, or both!” “First, I live in the Crystal Empire, this cold is nothing to me, and secondly, the temperature has little to do with the common cold, that’s a myth,” Sunburst said matter-of-factly. “And third, I’m healthy as...well, a horse!” Starlight giggled, tugging his cloak closer to her. It was a little big on her, the hems just an inch shy of dragging across the crystal floor, and she wasn’t sure if the blues and greens really suited her (Rarity was the fashion designer in her group, not Starlight) but she never wanted to take it off. Their front hooves took hold of the railing as they gazed down at the winter landscape. Starlight took advantage of the lull in conversation to take a sip of her drink, feeling a pleasurable buzz in her veins as she drank. She glanced at her friend, who was looking up at the stars, the light from the moon and the town interestingly framing his face, glinting on his silver glasses and blue eyes. Blue eyes that turned to meet hers, blue eyes that were so different from her own. Sunburst eyes reminded of her summer, of childhood wonder, of lazy afternoons spent on the floor with a book and sleeping under sunlight, of home. He was looking at her gently, his smile open and curious, his messy red hair fell over his face and Starlight’s hoof reached out to brush it away, but it never made it to its destination. Instead, it came to rest on his chest, over his beating heart, using him as support as she leaned forward and pressed her muzzle to his. She was right, they were as soft and warm as their owner, and they molded perfectly to hers, yielding at the slightest pressure. The pulse under her hoof quickened and she felt him stiffened under her touch, forcing her to pull away and realize what she did. It hit her like a snowball to the face, hard and cold, when she stared into his shocked expression. “W-Wait!” Sunburst spluttered, but she wasn’t listening. She hastily took off his cloak and tossed it back to him. “I’m sorry, please forget about this, I won’t do it again, please don’t be mad, I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m―” His hooves found her shoulders and Starlight stiffened, expecting the worse. Was he going to yell at her, berate her? Celestia knew it was the least she deserved, after invading his personal space like that, betraying his trust, for letting her impulsive nature get the best of her again. What she got instead was his chapped lips on hers once more. It was winter and his kiss was clumsy as heck, but Starlight practically melted in his embrace. Sunburst grew more confident and pressed his mouth deeper into hers, and Starlight was more than happy to let him in. He tasted like the chocolate cake he had earlier, and his tongue swiped over her lower lip, tasting the cider lingering there. The world could have stopped and neither of them would have noticed, it was only the lack of air that finally forced them apart. He pressed his forehead to hers, their horns crossing gently, as they both caught their breaths and their raging heartbeats. Her eyes fluttered open, staring into his sky-blue eyes for a moment before she gathered the courage to speak.   “So,” she said slowly in the silence of the night. “You’re not...mad?” “Mad?” He chuckled, grinning from ear to ear. “How can I be mad when the mare I like just kissed me back?” “And she’s about to do it again,” she said teasingly, pressing her lips to his in a teasing kiss. Sunburst didn’t waste time in responding, he peppered little kisses all over her face, his beard tickling her skin and making her laugh. When she had enough she hid her face in his chest, nuzzling the golden fur and taking in his warmth. He hugged her back after he placed his cloak over her shoulders again, his hooves wrapping around her tightly and Starlight never felt so safe.  For a moment the world ceased to matter.  This was good because they were both unaware of the little audience they gathered, watching from behind the glass doors. Twilight and Rarity squealed, hugging each other and jumping up-and-down. “She did it! She did it!” Pinkie Pie was jumping excitedly around the group. “Woohoo! Go get your stallion, Starlight, go, go, go!” “See, I told ya the Apple Family’s Apple Cider never failed!” Applejack said, nudging the hat on her head over a job well done. “Nothing like a little liquid courage to make a move on your sweetheart.” “...You know what, I’m not even mad,” Fluttershy sighed, her smile soft and wide as she handed the three coins to Twilight and Rarity. “I’m actually glad to be wrong for once.” “Yeah, yeah, whatever!” Rainbow Dash fluttered her wings and stomped her hoof in exasperation. “If this means they’ll stop making googly eyes at each other and sighing like idiots then I’m all for it.” “Oh, you silly Dash! The googly eyes are about to get much worse from now on!” Pinkie said with a giggle. “But at least the pinning is over and that I’m glad to see it go! Bye-Bye!” “What!? Worse! Oh no, we got to stop them!” Dash took off and headed towards the doors, only to feel a yank on her tail and Fluttershy’s harsh eyes staring her down. “Don’t you dare!” The usually shy pegasus said. “Starlight’s been through a lot, let her have this moment with her special pony.”  “She’s right sugar cube,” Applejack said after she spits Rainbow’s tail from her mouth. “And I reckon we butted enough into Starlight’s business as it is, we should leave those two lovebirds alone now.” “You’re right AJ, c’mon girls let’s celebrate!” Twilight raised her hoof and the others cheered alongside her. As they walked down the hallway, Pinkie chimed in again. “Say, what kind of wedding cake should I make? Chocolate Double Surprise Berry Chiffon Cake or the Strawberry Vanilla Angel Genoise Cake?” “Oh! The Genoise Cake for sure! It would look absolutely divine with the wedding dress I have in mind for Starlight!” Rarity answered, her eyes sparkling with ideas. “Huh, girls, isn’t it a little too soon to think of wedding plans?”  “Soon!? It’s never too soon to dream up your wedding day!” “I don’t know, I think they’re too young to think about something so life-changing.” “Young?! Sunburst got a beard and Starlight’s old enough to destroy time and space itself, but they’re too young to get married?!” Pinkie grabbed Twilight’s face in her hooves and shook her for good measure. “Come on Twi! Get with the program!”  By the time the girls managed to get back to the party, they were in deep discussion about what gifts they should bring to the baby shower.