Stars in the Making

by Borsuq

Dinner?

Starburst took a deep breath as she looked into the mirror in her room. Alright, don’t panic, she thought, so agitated that she was actually fixing her mane. We’re just going to have a dinner… with my parents… and Princess Celestia and Discord… and Illusion and Claire, which so far is the only relatively good thing about this! she added as she groaned, hitting her head lightly against the surface of the mirror.

She flickered her ear as she heard the distant sound of a doorbell. Starburst turned to look at the clock. Almost twenty minutes before dinner… that can’t be Starfall, she realized, rolling her eyes. If there was one thing that Starburst had learned about him since they began dating, was that he was bizarrely punctual. He would be on time. And since Claire likes to be fashionably late, it’s probably Princess Celestia and Discord.

It was rather strange for Discord to actually use the door and not appear along with Celestia in the middle of the dining room. Could it mean that he’s going to be civil at the dinner? Starburst wondered. I mean, I’m sure Mom would have warned Princess Celestia at least about Starfall’s… issues with authority and ponies that can magically overpower him, so she could have asked Discord to put his chaotic pranks on hold for a few hours… so that we could have a normal dinner…

…

I better go talk to Discord, Starburst decided, fixing her mane for the last time as she rose and left her room.

---

As she had guessed, the guest were indeed Princess Celestia and Discord. There wasn’t any doubt who they were; both Celestia, an alicorn pony with white coat and flowing, shimmering mane that stood much higher than most ponies, and Discord, thea draconequus with a long snake-like body and mismatching limbs, couldn’t be confused with anypony else.

“Hi Auntie Celestia, Discord,” Starburst greeted them as she entered the living room.

Princess Celestia turned from Twilight to look at her. “Oh, hello, Star. It’s so nice to see you. Especially after all the exciting things we’ve been hearing in Canterlot,” she added, her voice taking a slightly mischievous tone.

Discord, who stood beside her (dressed in a tuxedo, holding a cane, with a top hat on his head and a monocle over one eye), smirked. “Oh yes, and we’ve been anxious to meet the… source of those exciting things.”

Yeah, I figured as much, Starburst thought. Discord, of course, was always delighted by a chance to meet new ponies he could pull pranks on (in moderation, so Celestia wouldn’t get annoyed… unless she wasn’t looking), and Princess Celestia… Mom did mention that she was the one who stopped me and Starfall from wrecking the Royal Palace back when we were foals. It's not surprising that she would be interested in seeing him again.

“Actually-” Starburst began, wanting to take this chance to talk with Discord, but she was cut off.

“Now,” Discord, suddenly appearing right next to her, said, as he picked her up in the air with his forepaws and looked under her, “where are you hiding this little friend of yours? You know,” he added, bringing her before his face and looking her in the eyes; Starburst dimly noticed that his clothes had all disappeared, “the one I heard claims to the best trickster there is apparently?”

Starburst rolled her eyes, but it was her mother who said out loud what she was thinking.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually jealous?”

As she glanced at her, Starburst saw her holding with her magic all of Discord’s attire that he had discarded. Apparently, discarded right at Twilight.

“‘Jealous’?” Discord snorted, letting go of Starburst. She spread her wings and held herself in the air besides him as he turned to Twilight, crossing his forelegs. “Don’t be ridiculous, Twilight, I’m not jealous. If a slightly above-average illusionist with an ego the size of East Mustangia were to cause any negative emotions in me, then it would be offense for him daring to claim such a title,” he proclaimed, waving his lion-like paw to emphasize his point. “No, I’m merely interested in seeing if he lives up to all his ‘hype’.”

“‘Merely interested’?” Princess Celestia asked; now her voice was definitely mischievous. “Is that’s why you wanted to go straight to Ponyville after Illusion told us about his show two weeks ago? You should have seen his reaction when he heard about Starfall saying that his middle name is ‘Trickster’,” she said, turning to Starburst’s parents; Twilight, in the meantime, had managed to sent Discord’s attire away somewhere. “I haven’t seen him that obviously frustrated despite how he denied it since-”

A snap of Discord’s fingers and Celestia’s mouth disappeared from her muzzle. “Word of advice, Starburst,” Discord sighed; as she glanced at him, she saw him holding Celestia’s muzzle in his other paw: “if you’ll ever want to punish your coltfriend really badly, just convince him to marry you. Trust me, it will make his life a torture.”

Despite her condition, Celestia wasn’t alarmed at slightest. She merely turned to him, her eyebrow raised. As soon as Discord made his little speech (which caused Starburst’s cheeks to grow hot from embarrassment at the idea of her and Starfall getting married), he snapped his fingers again, returning her mouth to its rightful place.

Starburst briefly wondered how often did something like this had happened for Celestia to not even be annoyed at Discord. Both for taking her mouth away and for the comment he made. Of course, everypony who knew both of them could easily tell that Discord was kidding; despite their many differences, they truly loved each other. Which was probably why Princess Celestia let such things slide.

Of course, if he were to do that to Starfall, Starburst would not simply let it slide like Celestia.

She cleared her throat and spoke up before they could continue this discussion. “Discord, you mind if we talk a moment? Alone?”

“Oh, of course not,” Discord replied immediately, and snapped his fingers.

Starburst blinked as she realized that they were no longer in the living room, but back in her room instead. Recovering quickly (as she had now far more experience to this type of thing, thanks to Starfall), she looked around for Discord. She found him lying on his chest on her bed, supporting his head with his forepaws so he could look down at her.

“Well, what do you want my dear?” he asked, fluttering his eyelashes at her as he wagged his tail and waved his hind legs.

Despite herself, Starburst chuckled shortly, amused by the position in which the Lord of Chaos laid. She quickly shook her head to focus back at the task at hoof.

“It’s about Starfall-” she began, but Discord waved his paw, stopping her.

“Yes yes, I’ve had a loooooong discussion with Cay-Cay about not stressing the poor lad,” he said, rolling his eyes. “About how he apparently has been through a lot and what not.”

“He has been through a lot,” Starburst told him, frowning.

“I figured if you hadn’t pulled me for a talk, I would have been listening to your mother going over this bit again. Which is why I agreed at once to talk with you in private in hopes of avoiding it, but alas... I although I have to say,” Discord said, leaning closer to her and stretching his neck until his head was only a few inches from hers, “I didn’t expect to have to hear it from you, too. My, you must really care for this Starfall kid,” he added, grinning.

Starburst felt herself blush on being called out like that, but she stood her ground. “Well, I do, and I would prefer if you wouldn’t traumatize my coltfriend.”

“Oh come now, Starburst, you should know me better,” Discord replied, raising up to a standing position and crossing his forelegs, as if offended. “I don’t traumatize ponies… anymore,” he added, noticing the deadpan she gave him.

“I know you don’t,” she explained, sighing. “But Star… he’s a bit paranoid after all that he had been through. And between you, Aunty Celestia, Illusion and my mom, he’ll already be stressed by just being here. So, I wanted to ask you to not prank him or anything, just prank my mom or something if you have to, please,” she added, hoping he would be satisfied enough by that. Truth be told, she always found it amusing when Discord pranked her mom. “And, um, don’t be overly friendly to him, too,” Starburst remembered to add, recalling how often Discord broke personal space of ponies. “He doesn’t like being touched.”

“Aww, come on, Star,” Discord whined, falling down back on the bed. “First you ask me to not prank him, then that I can’t even shake his hoof? That’s not fun at all.”

Starburst rolled her eyes, and was about to reply, but what Discord said next caused her to stop.

“And after I’ve been meaning to do one of those or both for almost fifteen years now.”

“Fifteen years?” Starburst repeated, confused. “What do you-”

The grin Discord shot her was enough of an answer for her.

As Starburst stammered, embarrassed as she realized that he knows how she and Starfall had originally met (as despite that now they were dating, she was a little embarrassed over what they did back then), the draconequus, still grinning, raised his paw and snapped his fingers.

What the- Starburst thought, recovering from her stupor in her surprise as Discord teleported them somewhere once gain. She looked around, trying to figure out where they were. Wait, isn’t this Canterlot’s Royal Palace? she wondered, quickly recognizing one of the all too familiar corridors. Yeah, down that way is one of the kitchens, and this way are stairs leading down to the hall by the Throne Room… Why did he brought us here?

She turned to Discord, the question at the tip of her tongue, but she immediately forgot about it as she noticed that his body had a strange, bright blue hue to it.

“Discord, what-” she began instead, but at the same time, a rather loud noise sounded from somewhere down the corridor.

Discord pressed a finger to his lips and pointed at the direction the noise came from. Starburst turned to look there… and her jaw dropped as two tiny ponies emerged from behind the door leading to the kitchen, both with coats partially covered in flour probably, and both running as if something was chasing them.

Also, both of them were giggling and wearing diapers.

“Is that…” Starburst managed to murmur, stunned.

She didn’t need Discord to reply, though, she knew those foals all too well. She had been one of them, after all, and her coltfriend had been the other. Even if she hadn’t seen the picture her mom took of them that day, there was no confusing Starfall’s red eyes, or her wings, already big for her age even though her growth spurt hadn’t hit her by then yet; her Mom had told her that it had happened around her third month.

“This is weird,” she finally managed to say as she watched the foal her and foal Starfall run up the corridor towards them.

“I think the word you meant is ‘fun’,” Discord corrected her, chuckling, as a few royal guards and castle’s maids emerged from the kitchen after the foals, chasing them.

Starburst’s embarrassment only deepened as she realized the state all those ponies were in - all were dirty and rugged, with pieces of armor and cloths respectively missing and with frustration and worry written on their faces - and that she knew them. They were still part of the Royal Guard stationed at Canterlot and the palace’s stuff, respectively.

I’ll have to go with Star someday and apologize for this, she remarked, feeling really sorry for what they had put those ponies through. After I figure out how to look them in the eyes again…

Starburst stopped her musing as she focused on the two foals running through the corridor, curious despite her embarrassment as to what was going to happen. Discord must have chosen to show this moment of that entire day for some reason.

A bright flash suddenly appeared before them, and the next second two of the guards chasing them (both of them unicorns) were before them. Having teleported, they prepared to catch the two foals.

Starburst (the one in the past) spread her wings and jumped into the air. The older one couldn’t help but feel annoyed at how good she could fly as a foal. Like all pegasus foals at that young age, her inherit pegasus magic had surged in her body, causing her to become… difficult to be kept aground, one might say. Fortunately for her parents - and, clearly, the palace’s stuff - like with all pegasi, those flight surges quickly passed. The fact that not soon afterwards her wings had practically outgrown the rest of her body probably helped as well.

I had to spend such a long time learning how to fly… Starburst remarked, but her annoyance quickly disappeared, her mind now filled by confusion at what she just noticed. Why am I flying with my eyes closed?

Of course, she didn’t have to wait long for an answer, not with Starfall around. His horn began to glow, and a multi-colored flash shot from him in the direction of the guards, exploding before them in a very bright array of lights. Momentarily blinded, they failed to capture the pegasus foal as she flew above them, while the unicorn simply teleported, appearing behind them just as his friend landed, joining him with a giggle.

Starburst, too, would have been blinded, had Discord not suddenly put a pair of sunglasses on her. “Watch, this is my favorite part!” he whispered, excited, as he turned to the foals.

She gave the draconequus an uncertain look. “Why do I have the feeling I should be afraid of- OH CELESTIA NO!” Starburst exclaimed, her eyes wide as she stared in the direction the foals were running to.

“Oh Celestia indeed,” Discord laughed as Princess Celestia walked up from the stairs, staring in surprise at the foals.

Starburst, of course, had remembered what her mom had told her; that it was Princess Celestia who had stopped them. However, until now, she had tried to never think about what exactly happened back then.

Now she was going to find out.

Celestia’s surprised gaze stopped at the foal Starburst, and the older Starburst saw recognition in her eyes. Then they traveled past the foals at all the ponies that were chasing them. An amused smirk crossed her muzzle, probably having a good guess as to what was happening. Regardless, she moved from the top of the stairs to stand in the middle of the hallway, blocking their way.

“I think that’s enough play time for you, little ones,” she said in a kind and amused tone.

The foals stopped running, or rather, one of them had, the other only slowed down and then, after turning to his friend, stopped. Starburst watched as foal Starfall looked at younger her with confusion as she froze, staring at the Princess before her while paralyzed with fear.

Oh, great… Starburst thought, now feeling even worse than before.

Although she no longer remembered that, she knew that when she was a foal she used to be scared of Princess Celestia, as ridiculous as it sounds. From what Starburst understood, she found her mane to be terrifying, somehow. She had grown out of if, of course, and until now hadn’t paid much thought into any of that.

Now, however, thanks to Discord, she got to see, for a very brief moment, the hurt in Auntie Celestia’s eyes.

I… um… should probably hug her more often from now on or something, Starburst thought; she was really uncomfortable with having to deal with such matters. However, she found thinking about them without doing anything to be even worse. And apologize… even though I’m sure she doesn’t hold a grudge or anything over what a foal did…

As she mused, the vision continued to play. Starfall, who had realized how the huge white pony terrified his friend, had stepped in front of her, standing up to Princess Celestia. His horn flared again, but whatever magical attack he unleashed on her, it was quickly dispelled by the alicorn.

“Great, my coltfriend had attacked Princess Celestia within five seconds of first meeting her!” Starburst exclaimed as she facehoofed, finding this entire chain events to be like something out of a cartoon. Despite that, though, she did find Starfall ‘defending her’ to be quite cute… and charming… She shook her head to focus. “Can this get any worse?”

In reply, Discord offered her some popcorn.

Celestia, completely unfazed by Starfall’s magical attack, giggled. “Star, you’ve got yourself quite the defender there,” she said, trotting closer and extending her wing to Starfall, intending to gently pat him on the head. “It’s nice to meet you, little one.”

“This is my favorite part!” Discord said, grinning as he grasped the arms of his chair (When did he get the chair?) and leaned forward.

The ponies that had been chasing the two foals approached them. “Princess Celestia-” one of the maids began, only to be cut off.

Her, as well as all the other ponies, including the older Starburst, stared, utterly shocked, at the unicorn foal that just bit the tip of Princess Celestia’s wing.

Oh… my… Starburst began to think as she watched her coltfriend bury his tiny fangs into her Auntie’s wing as a foal, only to trail off as she realized that calling Celestia’s name in this situation was probably at least not appropriate.

Contrary to everypony, Discord found it to be highly amusing. A snap of fingers accompanied an explosion of laughter as he made everything freeze. “I can’t…” he managed to say in breaks between laughing. “Look at her face!”

Despite the utter turmoil of emotions she was feeling (the horror, embarrassment, and shock being the most prominent ones), Starburst turned to look at Celestia’s face. The Princess’ eyes were wide open and she pressed her lips tightly together, probably more out of surprise than an actual pain, although she no doubt had to feel something as Starfall bit her.

Starburst had to give it to Discord, it was a bit comical expression… especially considering that it was Celestia’s face. If this had been caused by anything other than Starfall biting her, she might have actually laughed briefly.

“You know, some ponies don’t like seeing their significant other being in pain,” she remarked as she looked at Discord, who was currently rolling on the floor.

“Oh please, even with those little pins of fangs he had, that was little more than a little sting,” he replied, standing up straight. “I assure you, Celestia had been through much worse. And never did she have such an expression on her face. Oh, how I wish I had been there,” Discord added as he got the last laughs out of his system, and then snapped his fingers again, causing the vision to continue.

“P-princess Celestia!” the maid that spoke earlier managed to find her voice. “Are you alright?”

Celestia, who by then had shook off the surprise and slight pain she was probably feeling, smiled. “Of course, Pixie Dust, it is just a foal after all. Thank you for your concern. Would you mind telling me who this little one is and why these two are here?” she asked as her attention shifted back to Starfall, who continued to hang on to her wing with his teeth, even while she raised it up to her eye level. “If I’m not mistaken, Princess Twilight had asked you to look after Princess Starburst a few hours ago. Surely she had already returned?”

“W-well, yes, of course, Your Majesty, Princess Twilight had returned from her walk. However, she had been accompanied by a mare named Trixie Lulamoon, I believe, and her foal,” Pixie Dust replied, pointing at the foal in question. “His name is Starfall. Princess Twilight and Miss Trixie wanted to catch up over tea, so I was asked to look after both of them for a little longer.”

“Oh, I see. I assume they’ve gotten into some mischievous mood?” Princess Celestia asked as she used her magic to gently pry her Starfall’s mouth open, freeing her wing.

“That’s… one way of putting it, Your Highness,” Pixie replied, giving the Princess a tired, awkward smile.

Princess Celestia, already holding Starfall in the air, also lifted Starburst, who had been reaching for the colt with worry on her small muzzle. “I think it would be best if those foals would return to their parents. Maybe they will be able to contain them,” she added humorously. Looking at all the guards and palace’s stuff present, she added: “Thank you for doing your best to capture them before they could get themselves hurt. I’m sure Princess Twilight will thank you all herself as well when once she hears about this.”

“It was nothing, Princess,” Pixie quickly replied, bowing; Starburst noticed that several other ponies bore expressions betraying that they didn’t necessarily agree with that statement.

Celestia must have noticed that too, as she smirked with amusement at Pixie. Then - much to Starburst’s shock - she turned to her and Discord. “Discord, honey, didn’t I asked you to not torture Starburst by showing her this?”

“Oh, how well she knows me,” Discord sighed as Starburst still tried to process what just happened, snapping his fingers.

Within a blink of an eye, they were back in Starburst room. The pegasus mare shook her head in an effort to snap herself back into focus. “How did she… I mean, what-” Starburst tried to ask, but found it difficult to formulate the question. “Did Celestia see us?!”

Discord chuckled. “Oh, hardly, my dear Starburst. It's just something she started doing whenever one of you kids did something embarrassing as foals. You know,” he added, grinning, “because she knew I would want to show those precious moments once you grow up and embarrass you.”

Gee, thanks for listening to her then, Starburst thought in annoyance. As if I wasn't nervous enough about this dinner already…

“So you said that you’ve wanted to meet Starfall for fifteen years?” she asked, hoping to change the subject.

“Ever since I’ve heard about what happened that day, yes. It isn’t often Celestia loses her composure, even for such brief moments. Anypony capable of doing that is certainly a pony worth meeting.”

Starburst raised an eyebrow, slightly confused by his reply. “So… you’re not angry at Starfall or anything?” she asked to be sure.

Discord bursted with short laughter. “Angry? Star, dear, I wouldn’t be angry at a foal for biting Celestia. I mean,” he added, quickly cleaning the claws on his paw and admiring them, “it’s sorta been my job the past three-ish decades, true…”

Starburst frowned, again finding herself confused. What does he mean by… she began to wonder, until the mental picture had appeared in her head all on its own. Uee! I don’t want to picture that!

“... but since that was about a month old foal, I really don’t mind,” Discord finished, appearing to be oblivious to Starburst’s attempts to banish an image out of her mind.

“Then what about you being bothered by Starfall calling himself ‘Trickster’?” Starburst asked, feeling slightly wobbly after all the head-shaking she had just done. “Aren’t you ‘offended’ or whatever?”

“Oh, I am,” Discord quickly assured her. “Don’t get me wrong, I highly admire his skill and dedication to the craft. The chaos he had created those weeks ago when he first came here? Very impressive. But a unicorn calling himself ‘Trickster’ when I live a short train ride away? Preposterous,” he said, folding his forelegs.

Starburst rolled her eyes, wondering whether she should point out how moments ago he had said that it was her coltfriend who had a big ego.

“Now, I would love to show him up…” Discord began, causing Starburst to frown at him. “Buuut, considering all I heard about his past from both Cay-Cay and Illusion, and that you’re practically glaring at me in a slightly intimidating manner, I will wait some time before teaching him what the real ‘Trickster’ can do. You know,” he added, a scroll appearing in his paw out of thin air, “until he deals with all of those issues he has.”

The scroll unrolled and its end fell to the ground, right before Starburst. The pegasus frowned as she began to read what was written on it. Paranoia, haphephobia, social anxiety, slight racism towards alicorns and draconequuses, mo- she read and stopped to glare at Discord.

“‘Mommy issues’?!” she growled. “Discord, I swear in your wife’s name, if you ever actually say that, I-”

“Yeah yeah, I know, I already had this lecture from Celestia,” he interrupted her, rolling his eyes and the list had disappeared. “Pity you didn’t read more positions from that list, maybe they you’d find them interesting.”

“I don’t see how exactly,” Starburst replied, still angry at what he had written on that list.

“Give it time,” he in turn said, sounding almost nonchalant. “But I must say, it’s kind of cute to see you being so overprotective over him,” he added, smirking.

Despite her earlier anger, Starburst found herself blushing slight. “I’m not going to address that,” she said diplomatically. “So… you won’t try to pick any fights with him?” she asked to be sure.

Discord rolled his eyes. “I will do my best to not scare off your coltfriend. I can’t promise you that this dinner won’t be slightly chaotic, though; tried that once,” he added, looking to his side, “lets just say it didn’t work.”

Guess that’s the best I can get from him, Starburst thought; she didn’t expect him to not cause plates to levitate or change the teapot into some dog-kinda-thingy, those things were mandatory when having dinner with Discord.

“Thanks Discord,” she said, smiling at him gratefully. “It means a lot of me.”

“No problem, Starburst,” Discord replied, smiling, then grinned as he snapped his fingers. “Can I be your maid of honor when you two get married?” he asked as he leaned over her, wearing a dress.

“Wha- no!” Starburst stammered, too shocked by the question and the sudden change of appearance to formulate a better answer.

“Oh, you’re no fun,” Discord said, rolling his eyes as he snapped his fingers again.

“Oh, I see you two had finally finished talking,” Celestia said, turning to them.

Starburst blinked as they appeared back in the living room. She glanced at Discord; fortunately, the dress was gone; she really didn’t want to explain that to Princess Celestia and her parents.

They were sitting at the couches on the side of the living room. All three had apparently started to drink some tea as they waited for them to finish, as well as for the other guests to show up. At the wall right next to them there was a door leading to the dining room. Starburst could see the table at which they’d dine at, with eight seats, plates and other silverware already prepared.

“What did you talk about?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

“Oh, um, you know…” Starburst stammered, thinking of what should she say, “just…”

“She just wanted to make sure I won’t eat her little friend,” Discord replied, jumping to the seat beside Celestia.

Celestia giggled as Starburst shot the draconequus an annoyed glare, her cheeks slightly hot with embarrassment. “Speaking of, when is Starfall coming?”

“You did invite him, right?” Twilight asked before she could reply.

“Of course I did,” she said briskly, annoyed that her mother doubted she had done that. She turned to look at the clock; it was only a few minutes until the dinner was supposed to start. “He will probably be here soon, he’s… weirdly punctual like this. Or maybe I should just whistle,” she added in an afterthought, chuckling as she recalled what Starfall had told her earlier.

“Whistle?” her dad asked, confused.

“It’s just some joke Star told me…” she began, but then paused. Surely, it was a joke… But then again, it would totally not surprise her if somehow this would have worked. “Hold on just a moment,” Starburst said, raising her forehoof to her lips and uttered a short whistle.

The doorbell sounded almost immediately.

Starburst, stunned, stared in disbelief through the door at the corridor leading to the doors. “Oh, this better be a coincidence, that was just ridiculous,” she groaned as she facehoofed. Turning back to everypony, she said: “Excuse me, I’ll be right back,” as she trotted to get Starfall.

---

“Hi, I was invited for a dinner at five o’clock?” Starburst heard Starfall tell their housemaid Rosie, who had opened the door.

“It’s alright Rosie, I can take care of it,” she quickly told her; of course, Rosie had been told who will be coming today, so she would have shown him to the living room without any problems. However, Starburst preferred to talk with Starfall in private before they’d join the others.

“As you wish Young Princess,” Rosie replied with a smile as she moved to let the unicorn colt in. “Can I take the young gentlecolt’s coat?” she asked as he entered the house.

Starburst rolled her eyes as Starfall made a show of blinking and looking behind himself. “Oh, sure, here you go,” he said as he pretended to just realized Rosie had ment him. He used his magic to take off his coat and pass it to the housemaid, who only slightly winced when she saw the scars on his back. “Thanks you Miss. You look stressed,” Starfall said as he turned to Starburst.

“Yeah, I guess you could say I’m already tired by this dinner, so that’s not surprising,” Starburst replied, sighing.

“Really?” Starfall asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “‘Cause I can always ‘kidnap’ you if you want to skip it. Just say the word and we’ll be gone before nopony would know.”

Starburst wondered whether it was mocked hope she saw in his eyes or not.

“Mister Starfall, you do realize I am still here?” Rosie asked with a raised eyebrow as she hanged his coat.

“He’s just joking,” Starburst told her quickly, before Starfall could say anything. I think, she added in her thoughts. “Thank you Rosie.”

“So what got you so stressed?” he asked as the elderly mare left. “Also, do I look alright?” Starfall added, glancing at his reflection in the glass on one of the furnitures in the hallway.

“Um, yeah,” she said, giving him a once over. Despite being basically homeless, Starfall’s coat and mane always seemed clean, but now it was even more apparent. Starburst could swear she could smell some shampoo on his mane. Other than that, he looked no different than usual, only the bandanna covering the scars around his throat also seemed cleaner. “I was making sure Discord wouldn’t, well, pick on you. I think you calling yourself ‘Trickster’ and causing all that chaos back when you first came to Ponyville sort of wounded his pride or something.”

“Oh, lovely,” Starfall commented, rolling his eyes. “I suppose there’s some lesson to be learned from this.”

“You think?” Starburst paused to deadpan at him, before continuing. “Anyway, he promised he’d behave himself… but will probably want to settle this - whatever this is, exactly - in a few years or something.”

Starfall raised an eyebrow. “And I thought Eris was weird. Alright, as long as nothing happens here during this dinner I can deal with whatever Discord wants. What about Celestia?” he asked in a hushed tone as he began to lead him towards the living room. “You’re sure she doesn’t want to banish me to the Moon for being a felon and stuff?” Starburst rolled her eyes, but Starfall still wasn’t finished. “Or imprisoned me? Or banish me? Or imprison me in the place she’s going to banish me to?”

She would have snorted with laughter if he didn’t sound so serious. “Star, she’s not going to do anything to you, only meet you. Princess Celestia heard a lot about you from my mom and Illusion.”

Starburst decided to not add about everything that Discord had showed her. Maybe after the dinner she would; she had a feeling his reaction would be funny to watch.

Starfall sighed. “I know, just… nervous. And slightly panicking.”

“Yeah, slightly,” she said, smirking and bumping his side. “‘Imprison me in the place she’s going to banish me to’? I swear, only a pony as paranoid as you could come up with something as ridiculous as that,” Starburst said in a hushed tone as they were about to enter the living room.

Her ear twitched as she heard somepony sneeze inside. Huh, did Mom catch a cold? Starburst wondered briefly as she recognized her sneeze.

Pushing the thought away, she focused on Starfall. “So… will you be okay?” she asked, stopping him before the living room.

Starfall took a deep breath, then turned to her. His eyes were closed and he was smiling. “Of course, my fair Princess. Let us go and join your family for dinner.”

Starburst’s jaw hung open as she stared at him in silence. “Okay, stop that, that’s just creepy,” she finally said, frowning.

“Ugh, I know,” Starfall groaned and looked away. “Sorry, I thought maybe it would seem impressive if I’d show I can be… courteous and stuff.”

Starburst rolled her eyes. “You’ll be fine, just be yourself.” Starfall turned back to her and raised an eyebrow. “... alright, yeah, maybe go with the courteous thing,” Starburst conceded, unable even to imagine just how this dinner would go if he acted like he usually did.

“It’s actually quite calming,” he said, shrugging. “Talking like that, I mean. I have to focus on this instead of thinking ‘I’m in the same room as two alicorn princesses and the Lord of Chaos’.”

“Whatever makes this easier for you, I guess,” Starburst said, sighing. “How did you come up with that, exactly?”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Starfall replied, sighing. “Unless she beats me to it. Anyway-”

“You do know we can hear you two, right?”

Both Starburst and Starfall almost jumped, startled, and turned head towards the living room.

“I mean, you did know your mother would use a spell to let us hear everything you’d be talking about the moment you left to get your coltfriend, right Starburst?” Discord’s called out from the living room.

Starburst facehoofed and groaned as she heard her mother exclaim: “Discord!”

“Sooorry, Twilight, but they were getting forever standing over there, I’m bored.”

Thank goodness we didn’t kiss or anything… Starburst remarked as she shook her head with resignation, too tired to even get annoyed.

“For the record,” her mom spoke up, causing Starburst to forget about her tiredness and get annoyed, “I only cast it about half a minute ago, as you were taking such a long time to return.”

Oh yeah, ‘cause that’s so much better...

Turning to Starfall, she pointed with her hoof at the living room. “We better…” she said and trailed off, not sure what exactly she should say with all of them listening in on them.

“Yeah,” Starfall replied, sighing, and the two of them trotted into the room.

“You remember my Mom and Dad,” Starburst said as they entered, pausing to give her mother an annoyed glare; the lavender alicorn gave her an abashed smile in return. “And I’m sure you recognize Princess Celestia and Discord. Auntie, Discord, this is my coltfriend Starfall,” she told them in turn, introducing him.

“Hello, Starfall,” Princess Celestia greeted him, raising from her seat. “It is such a pleasure to see you again.”

“Likewise, Your Majesty,” Starfall replied pleasantly, actually bowing to the alicorn. Starburst rolled her eyes; seeing him behave like this was just weird. He turned to Discord and bowed again, though not as low as before. “It is a pleasure to meet you both. And, of course, it’s great to see you again, Princess, Prince,” he added, turning to Starburst’s parents, before looking at Celestia again. “Beg your pardon, Princess, but what do you mean by ‘again’?”

Oh, just great, Starburst thought, glancing at Celestia with worry. Please don’t tell him he bit you, he’ll definitely run away!

Princess Celestia giggled before replying. “I’ve seen you briefly as a foal back when you spent a day at the Royal Palace playing with Starburst. I suppose one could say you made quite an impression.”

Yeah, sure, one could say that. Most ponies would probably call that impression “a bitemark”.

Starfall, who had no idea what exactly happened that day, chuckled. “I am pleased to hear that, Your Majesty,” he said.

Starburst was sure that despite his demeanor, she could see him shift slightly uncomfortable at the remark.

Princess Celestia tilted her head. “You know, Starfall, we heard what you and Starburst had been talking about outside of the living room. You don’t have to fear anything from me or my husband. You can talk comfortably and say whatever is on your mind.”

“Your Majesty, I assure you, I am not afraid, and I am talking comfortably,” Starfall quickly replied, obviously lying.

She just said she heard what you were saying, Starburst thought with annoyance. She opened her mouth to say something-

Snap!

Starburst blinked as a big cloud appeared above Starfall, with two smaller ones below it, leading towards his head. Inside the cloud, there was another Starfall. Except while the real one was standing calmly, this one was holding his muzzle and silently screaming, with the letters “AAA” all around him.

Almost immediately as it appeared, Starfall lost his calm demeanor. He shook and looked above while lowering his body slightly, standing more stable on his legs. Starburst, on the other hoof, along with everypony else, glared at Discord.

“What?” the draconequus asked, looking all around and faking incomprehension. Turning to Celestia he said “You said you wanted to know what’s on his mind. Well, here-”

Whatever else he was going to say, it was silenced by a small white cloud hitting him square in the face. Starburst blinked and turned to her right. Starfall had seemingly recovered, as he was standing again calmly and relaxed. However, the Starfall in the big cloud above him was leaning out of his cloud and reaching for the other small one, having already thrown the first one at Discord.

As everypony else also turned to him, the Starfall in the cloud blinked, then let go of the cloud and stood up in his, whistling innocently (or, to be more specific, he folded his lips for whistling and symbols like in a comics when a character whistles appeared around his head).

Starburst jaw hang open as she stared at it for a few seconds, then turned to Starfall. “How do you even…” she trailed off, not sure how to even call what he did.

Her coltfriend shrugged. “Thinking outside the box.”

That’s not a box! Starburst wanted to shout in annoyance, but considering the presence of her parents and Celestia and Discord, she managed to stop herself, not wanting them to think they were actually arguing or anything.

“Oh, now this is quite impressive,” Discord said, turning everypony’s attention back to him. The draconequus was smirking as he looked at Starfall with interest, rubbing his forepaws together. “Most ponies think the box is there for a reason, but you… oh this ought to be fun-”

“Discord?” Princess Celestia interrupted him. Discord winced as he turned to her while she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “No magic fights during dinner.”

“Ugh, yes dear,” the Lord of Chaos said, slumping down in defeat.

Slightly relaxed, Starburst turned to Starfall. “Star, don’t reply to Discord’s provocations,” she told him, knowing that even with Celestia next to him the draconequus wouldn’t control himself if he’d get hit in the face a few more times.

“Oh, sure, whatever you say Star,” Starfall replied, smiling in that courtly manner again.

Starburst deadpanned seeing that smile again, but she wasn’t about to comment on that now. She was quite happy with his reply. Starburst was about to turn to the grown-up ponies, but then the cloud (which for some reason had yet to disappear) caught her attention. Or, more specifically, the Starfall that was in it. He too was turned to her, except his muzzle bore the usual smirk of his instead of this courteous one, and next to him were words a bit different than the ones he said as well:

“Oh, sure, whatever you say, the Most Beautiful Pony Ever!”

Blushing from reading such a complement, Starburst’s mind went blank as she realized that, although unintentionally, Starfall had just literally conveyed what he thought about her right in front of her parents.

The part of her brain capable of thinking at this point thanked whatever luck they had that he hadn’t thought anything else, like those nicknames he used when they were alone or worse.

Apparently, Starfall really didn’t mean to think that, as he looked at her with confusion as she blushed. His confusion only deepened as both Starburst’s mom and Princess Celestia both sighed and said: “Aww, that’s so cute,” while her dad and Discord both snorted with laughter. He turned to look at them quizzically, then back at Starburst, and then finally he looked up. His eyes grew wider as he realized what he had thought, and his head quickly turned back to Starburst, then almost as fast to the others, and then back to her.

He smiled awkwardly, clearly nervous. “S-sorry,” he stammered, sounding embarrassed.

Against her better judgement, Starburst looked up at the cloud. Starfall there had his forelegs wide-spread, as if about to hug her, and next to him where the words:

“I am not sorry!”

“Of course you aren’t,” Starburst muttered a remark, then (as Starfall looked up with annoyance and said “Don’t make me come up there!”) she turned to Discord. “Can you take that thing off him?”

“Oh, fine,” Discord said with an eyeroll as he snapped his fingers, a bit reluctantly.

The cloud finally disappeared, causing both Starburst and Starfall to sigh with relief. And as if good fortune smiled down on them at that moment, the very next heartbeat the doorbell rung again.

“That must be Claire and Illusion. Let's go say hi!” Starburst exclaimed as she pushed her coltfriend back to the hallway, taking the opportunity to get away from everypony for a few minutes.

“Well, this is going smoothly so far,” Starfall remarked in a hushed voice as soon as they left the living room.

“You’ve certainly helped with that,” Starburst pointed out as she glared at him.

Starfall turned to her and blinked. “Are you seriously angry that your coltfriend thinks ‘the Most Beautiful Pony Ever’ while thinking about you?”

Blushing, Starburst found it hard to be angry at him. She was still annoyed though.

“S-shut up,” she said, punching him lightly.

Her annoyance grew as she heard him chuckle. “Wish you could see my thoughts now,” Starfall said, leaning closer.

Before Starburst could ask what exactly did he meant, she felt his breath on her ear an instant before he gently nibbled on it. A surprised moan of pleasure escaped her lips as both of them stopped.

He let go of her ear after a few seconds had passed, during which they’ve heard hoofsteps approaching from the down the hallway. Not wanting to be seen by her friends being so intimate with her coltfriend and annoyed at what he did, she pushed him away.

“I hate you,” she told him in a hushed voice.

“No you don’t,” Starfall replied, sticking his tongue out playfully.

Rolling her eyes and groaning, Starburst resumed trotting towards the hoofsteps. As they passed a corner, they run into Claire and Illusion. “Hi guys,” she said, trying to force a little enthusiasm into her voice.

“Hello, darling,” Claire replied, smiling, then turned to Starfall with a smirk. “Hello, Starfall; how have you been?”

“Oh, I’ve been just fine, Lady Clarity, thank you for asking,” Starfall said, once again in that courtly manner, except when Starburst glaced at him, she noticed that while he did smiled back at Claire, his eyelid twitched. “I hope today finds you and His Highness good as well?”

“Now it makes sense,” Starburst said, realizing that Claire was somehow behind the idea for Starfall to speak this way. “What did you do to my coltfriend?”

“Done? Starburst, dear, I would have thought you’d be happy that he can behave properly while being in such company,” Claire said, pretending to be wounded by her words. “Besides, it was Starfall who came for my advice as to how carry himself during this dinner.”

“What?” he asked as Starburst glanced at him. “You said she’d be here too and she seemed like the fanciest of your friends, I figure I’d ask her how normal ponies eat dinner-”

“Dinner etiquette,” Claire corrected him.

“- and what would be the best way to act in from of Princess Celestia so I won’t get sent to the Moon,” Starfall finished, shrugging.

Starburst rolled her eyes. Trust Claire to think that speaking like that would be the best… “I highly doubt Princess Celestia cares if he speaks courtly or not. Mostly because she had just said so a moment ago.”

“Maybe,” Illusion spoke up, shrugging, “but it’s still fun to see him speak like this.”

Both Starburst and Starfall deadpanned at him as he and Claire laughed. “You’re just jealous ‘cause I can pull it off better,” Starfall replied, huffing.

“So, how’s it been so far?” Illusion asked. “Dad mentioned he’d love to show a certain ‘Trickster’ a trick or two.”

“Huh, I’m actually beginning to regret having called myself that,” Starfall said, tilting his head as he pondered that. “Weird feeling.”

“Could have been worse I suppose,” Starburst replied, sighing. She wouldn’t go into details; about the last thing she needed right now was them finding out what Starfall thought of her and then get teased by them and the rest of their friends for it. “But the sooner this dinner is over the better.”

---

Starburst glanced at Starfall with a little worry as they sat by the table. While she did speak the truth when she said there wouldn’t be so many forks and spoons and whatnot as he feared, there were some. There were three plates, one for soup, main course and desert each, and of course, to each plate and meal there were cutlery assigned, four in total. Plus a small spoon for the tea next to the teacup. Compared to some dinners she had attended back at Canterlot, it was really modest set.

Surely he won’t have problems with this, Starburst thought while observing Starfall, who sat motionless on his seat, his eyes darting from the silverware on the left of his plates to the right repeatedly as if trying he was trying to figure which ones serves for what...

Starburst shook and perked her ears, realizing there was a strange music coming from somewhere. Others too began to look around. However, since somehow in Starburst’s mind the music emphasized Starfall’s seemingly having trouble with the silverware, she almost immediately turned to glare at the opposite end of the table, were Discord was.

“Discord,” Princess Celestia, sitting his his side, frowned as she too realized who was responsible.

“Oh fine,” Discords said as he rolled his as and snapped his fingers, stopping the music. “Sorry for trying to improve the mood with a little bit of music… huh,” he hummed as he rubbed his chin in confusion, “where do I even know that from…”

“Can’t leave for a minute,” Starburst’s mom commented as she came through the door leading to the kitchen, having checked if everything was alright with the food for the last time.

She sat on her seat besides her husband, her horn glowing as she prepared to teleport the cauldron with soup to the table… and then the glow dispersed as, as she sat down, her seat began to emanate a farting noise. Surprised as much as everypony, she reached under her with her magic and lifted a fart pillow.

As Starburst hid her smirk, finding that a little amusing, her mother threw the pillow at Discord. “Really?”

“Why do you automatically assume I put it there?” Discord asked, an aureola appearing above his head as he blinked innocently, the fart pillow bouncing off him and landing somewhere in the corner.

Twilight rolled her eyes and summoned the soup and poured it for everypony. Starburst eagerly ate it, as the prolonged preparations of this dinner (not to mention all the headache she went through this day) had made her really hungry. She kept an eye on Starfall, but found out that there was no need to be worried; in fact, he ate the soup more elegantly than her, but then again he was a unicorn, so that was a given. Where Starburst had to maneuver with her hooves and wings to use the silverware, he simply needed his magic.

Besides, even if he ate messily, nopony would notice with Discord around, Starburst thought as she glanced at Discord, who simply lifted his bowl and drank the soup in one gulp.

Princess Celestia, who had merely rolled her eyes at Discord’s manners, began some small talk, asking Claire how was her shop coming along, and when they exhausted the topic she turned to Starburst, asking about school and her training. Starburst, having already finished her soup, calmly told her about the last few tests and the aspects of her training she had recently focused more on (she had more enthusiasm about discussing the latter, of course). Celestia smiled and complimented her on her accomplishments, then turned to Starfall.

The jubilance Starburst felt due to Celestia’s praise was quickly replaced by worry as she observed their conversation.

“Starfall, I heard you put quite an amazing show in Ponyville two weeks ago,” Princess Celestia began, smiling kindly at him.

Starfall laid the spoon again the bowl before replying. “Thank you kindly, Princess, but honestly, it was mostly composed of things I picked up over the years,” he said, shrugging.

“Oh, don’t be so modest,” Starburst’s mother chimed in. “Every part of your performance was outstanding.”

“Do you intend to pursue a career as a magician?” Celestia asked, genuinely curious. “You seem to have a real talent for it.”

“Your praises mean much to me, Princesses,” Starfall replied, smiling and nodding his head to both of them. “As for your question… honestly, I hadn’t put too much thought into that,” he said, shrugging again.

“Really? You don’t think about what you’d want to do in the future?”

“I prefer to focus on the present. Thinking about stuff that could happen more than few months from now… well,” Starfall resumed after a brief pause, “let’s say that based on my experiences, the future has a way of turning out disappointing.”

Considering what they knew about his past, Starburst doubted anypony could blame him for this... outlook. At the same time, however, she didn’t need to look at her mom’s or Princess Celestia’s faces to know that they weren’t exactly pleased to hear that a pony of his age didn’t have any plans for the future.

To be honest… I’m not happy about that either, Starburst realized with a slight surprise. She already knew - for years even - what she wanted to do in life; she wanted to become the Captain of the Royal Guard. Starburst pretty much had an entire next decade of her life planned; except for the “having a coltfriend” part she recently had to add. And while she knew that it wasn’t exactly unusual for ponies to be unsure what to do in life (Like Prism.), Starburst felt weird knowing that her coltfriend didn’t even seem to care. Guess that’s another difference between us.

She focused back on the conversation as Princess Celestia continued: “I think saying that it’s unpredictable would be closer to truth; after all,” she added, smirking, “I don’t think you’d say that finding yourself in a relationship with Starburst to be ‘disappointing.”

Starfall’s eyes went wide as Celestia’s comment left him speechless for a moment. “Um… no, no I wouldn’t,” he stammered, sounding flustered.

Wow, I had to make him unable to use magic to make him ‘lose his cool’ like this, Starburst though, surprised and slightly impressed. Nice, Aunty!

“Especially now with her sitting right next to him, I’d imagine,” Discord commented, leaning casually against his seat and drinking tea.

“Have you thought about education?” Princess Celestia asked, ignoring her husband’s remark. “With your magical talent, you could easily get enrolled into my School for Gifted Unicorns. Enrollment is open for ponies younger than you, but we bend that rule from time to time.”

“I’m sure your school is a wonderful place to study, Princess,” Starfall quickly replied, having regained most of his composure, “but I’m not interested in gaining any further education. I prefer to rely on skills I had developed myself through my life.”

Although a slight frown appeared on Princess Celestia’s face as she heard his answer, Starfall’s explanation had seemingly satisfied her at least enough to not pursue this subject further today. Unfortunately, the other alicorn in the room wasn’t as easy to convince when it came to education.

“I’m sure that anypony who had been in Ponyville three weeks ago won’t deny that your skills are very impressive,” Twilight began. “But I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to improve them further in Celestia’s school. Or gain skills that everypony in Equestria gains through our educational system.”

“Oh, give it a rest Twilight.”

Starburst blinked in surprise as she looked at Discord. Not that she was the only one, everypony turned to the draconequus as he interrupted her, seemingly defending Starfall’s opinion.

“Going to a school to learn things that would let them become a productive member of society? That’s boring,” Discord continued, ignoring the surprised stares he was receiving. “Granted, going to your school, Cay-Cay,” he amended, glancing at Celestia, “would be a little more fun, learning about magic and all… but really,” Discord said, shrugging and turning back to Twilight, “that former student of yours never attended it and she became quite well-versed in magic on her on. And speaking of: how is Starlight?” the draconequus asked, raising an eyebrow.

And now he’s changing the subject? Starburst thought, stunned. She knew Discord was actually really nice, but she didn’t expect him to actually stand up for Starfall in his own way. That’s so sweet of him…

…

Alright, what is he up to?

There was no way Discord was doing this out of kindness. Not for Starfall. If it was concerning her or any of her friends, she could believe that. But not for the colt he barely knew and was apparently both impressed and annoyed with, even if he was her coltfriend. No, he was up to something...

I suppose it could be just that he’s bored by the conversation about school, Starburst thought leerily as she followed the conversation.

“Starlight?” Twilight repeated, blinking in surprise by the weird change in conversation, but then shrugged it off and replied: “Well, since you’ve asked, I hadn’t been in touch with her in a long time. Last I heard from her, she’s been still living in Prance.”

Oh right, she moved there… when was it? Starburst tried to remember, having a dim recollection of her mother’s student. She had been still a kid when Starlight had left some time after her graduation, but she did remember her being a fun foalsitter. I think I was four… so about eleven years.

“We’ve been sending letters to each other, of course, but with everything going on we gradually stopped,” her mom continued, her ears slightly dropping in either sadness or shame for letting that happen. “I think it’s been eight years since I got the last letter from her… I guess it’s about time to send her one again, then,” she added, immediately brightening up. “It will be fun to catch with Starlight after such a long time. Thank you for suggesting it Discord.”

“Oh, the pleasure's all mine. And please,” the draconequus added, grinning in a manner that on his face could be interpreted as both happy and menacing, “do catch up about everything. I’m sure she’d be happy to hear about wittle Starburst growing up and having a coltfriend.”

Starburst didn’t know what she liked less, the comment he made (and the foalish voice he said it with), or the fact that she still had no idea why he changed the subject. While most ponies at the table apparently shrugged that off as Discord being Discord (even her paranoid coltfriend, but in Starfall’s case that could be excused by knowing next to nothing about him), Starburst was relieved to see that Illusion was still eyeing his father suspiciously. If anypony had a chance in figuring out Discord’s scheme, then it was him.

However, when Illusion turned his head to her, all he did was shake his head subtly and shrug, as if saying: “Yeah, I have no idea either.”

Figures it couldn’t be that easy, Starburst thought, sighing mentally. Oh well, as long as it doesn’t hurt Starfall and me, I don’t care, she added as everypony finished their soup and her mom was about to serve the main course.

---

“Is something wrong with your pudding, Starfall?”

“Oh, no, far from it, Princess Twilight,” Starfall quickly replied, smiling a bit sheepishly. “The pudding, like the rest of the dinner, is quite delicious. I’m afraid I’m just… not used to eating so much… at one sitting.”

“Ah, I see,” Starburst’s mom said. “Don’t worry about it then, eat at your own pace.”

“Although,” Claire spoke up, glancing at Starfall, “forgive me, darling, but you do look like you could use a few meals like those. Pity you and Starburst can’t exchange your appetite with one another,” she added with a smirk.

Starburst shot her an annoyed glare. Thanks, as if I didn’t already feel self-conscious about eating so much right next to him, she thought. Her mother, knowing only too well her appetite, had given her a… slightly bigger serving of the main course than the others. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken those seconds as well, Starburst remarked.

“Claire might have a point…” Twilight begun, but was cut off before she could finish the sentence.

“Say the word and I will swap their appetites then,” Discord said, grinning, as he lifted his paw, fingers ready to snap.

“What? No, not that part,” Twilight quickly told the draconequus, frowning at him before turning back to Starfall. “You are… thinner than most colts your age.”

“Why, thank you, Princess Twilight, I’m trying to watch my figure,” Starfall replied.

Starburst deadpanned at him, not finding the joke amusing. He glanced at her, probably noticing in the corner of his eye a change in her expression, and winced, smiling apologetically. Because of that he missed that Twilight also shot him an exact same deadpan; Starburst smiled under her breath as he turned back her mother, who by then resumed her earlier smile.

“Perhaps you could come here for a dinner more often?”

Her amusement died as she started at her mother with wide eyes. Oh, great, Starburst thought, facehoofing. As if dinners with just you and Dad wouldn’t be awkward at all…

“Oh, I would hate to be such a bother,” Starfall quickly said, declining the offer.

“It wouldn’t be a bother at all,” Twilight almost equally quickly replied.

“Why would making our daughter's coltfriend uncomfortable and keeping an eye on him be a bother to us?”

Starburst’s hoof dropped from her face as she stared at her father, speechless.

“Flash!” Twilight hissed, looking at her husband reproachfully.

Discord, on the other hoof, bursted with laughter. “Respect,” he said, leaning over to Flash Sentry and raising his paw, which he high-hoofed.

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes, while Celestia, Illusion and Claire all shared a short chuckle. “Starburst’s father was only joking, I assure you,” Twilight told Starfall.

“Ah, I see. Excellent joke, Sir,” Starfall said, turning to Flash and trying to smile courtly again, except this time it came out a bit awkwardly.

Guess Dad’s joke unnerved him a bit, Starburst thought, annoyed at her father.

“Since you say it wouldn’t be a bother, I… I’ll think about your offer, Princess,” Starfall added, turning back to Twilight. It was clear to Starburst that he had some difficulty saying that; quite frankly, she had expected him to decline again. She looked at him in surprise as he sighed and continued: “To be honest, Princess, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I… am nervous when I spend too much time around other ponies,” he admitted, looking down at the floor and his ears dropping.

Did he really just say that? Starburst thought, blinking in surprise and worry. Of course, she knew about how the company of ponies other than her made him feel, especially for a longer period of time, but… he had told just her. Starfall didn’t like to upset other ponies about his problems and - even if he never admitted it to Starburst - didn’t like to seem weak. Crap, this dinner must have been tougher on him that I thought if he admits to that.

“Didn’t you throw a magic show about two weeks ago for the entire town?” Claire spoke up before anypony else could and before Starburst could figure out what to do in this situation. “Or what about that… commotion you caused a week before?”

“That was different,” Starfall snorted as he waved his hoof dismissively, losing whatever was left of his courteous manners. “I was entertaining and having fun.”

Please don’t say ‘having fun’ while referring to all of that right in front of my parents and Princess Celestia, Starburst thought, deadpanning at her coltfriend. She made a mental note to later actually say that to him.

“But… just having dinner and talking? Sorry, that’s just… unsettling for me,” Starfall continued, sighing as if tired as he rested his head against his hoof, elbow on the table.. “Honestly, I would have bolted from here about ten times already if I didn’t love Starburst so much.”

… Wait, what?

That was the first thought Starburst found herself capable of thinking as she stared at Starfall, aghast.

What?! she repeated in her mind as she slowly recovered. D-did he just say… Starburst tried to repeat the word Starfall had said, but not only found herself unable too, she also realize that she felt as if the temperature in the room had suddenly increased. A-and in front of my parents?! And Princess Celestia?!

She stared at Starfall, knowing she must be red all over, as she waited for him to say anything. Starburst didn’t even dare to look at anypony else, afraid of what she would see there. Because of the way he laid his head on his hoof, she couldn’t see his face, but given how about two seconds after having said… what he said, Starfall's ears suddenly perked, he must have realized just what he had said.

After a heartbeat, his head began to turn slightly… but not towards Starburst, but to Illusion and Claire. “I just said that out loud, didn’t I?”

Now annoyed as well as stunned and embarrassed, Starburst risked a glance at the pair. Fortunately, currently both had their attention focused on Starfall; understandably, they were looking at him with eyes wide with surprise.

“Yep,” Illusion replied to his question.

Starburst felt her eyelid twitch as her coltfriend merely responded with a sigh. She also felt a sudden urge to punch him. She opened her mouth, about to shout at him for taking this so… like that, but before she could, she realized they were no longer in her family’s dining room.

Forgetting for a moment about the current situation and the conflicting emotions raging inside of her, Starburst looked around. They were in some round chamber or sorts… with a hole in the wall. Looking outside she quickly realized they were at one of the towers of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, one that was mostly undamaged. It also looked recently renovated (Three guesses by whom.); there was a hammock (which appeared to be one of the castle’s tapestries) hanging on the other side of the chamber from the hole, and a surprisingly comfortable looking mattress on the floor beneath the hammock.

And there was a poster from Starfall’s show in the corner, because of course it would be there.

“Soo…” she heard Starfall begin; she shook her head and focused back on the matter at hoof. Starburst turned to her coltfriend; to her surprise, he actually was blushing about as much as she felt herself blush. He rubbed the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. “I figured you’d want to talk in private…”

“No, I’d have wanted to have this conversation right there,” Starburst told him sarcastically, deadpanning.

For a brief second, Starfall looked as if about to jokingly suggest that they could go back. Fortunately for him, he thought better of it.

Starburst took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. It wouldn’t do her and them any good if she’d be angry for this conversation. “Did you… really… say what you said right before my parents and the ruler of Equestria?” she asked, still trying to wrap her mind around it.

“I didn’t mean to!” Starfall quickly exclaimed. “It just… slipped! I… I was really nervous throughout all this dinner, and it was so weird for me to have ponies be nice to me and offer me place in school or dinner… and I was trying to talk in that stupid way but I just got tired… sorry,” he finally said, stopping his babble as he looked down on the floor

Starburst looked at his downcast form, unable to be angry with him anymore. “I… figured you didn’t mean to say that in front of them. But let's leave that for a moment. Did you, um…” she hesitated, blushing, “... did you mean what you said?”

Starfall looked up and smiled. “Yes,” he said, blushing as well. “I know normally it's probably weird to say that after knowing each other for only two weeks, but I can’t help how I feel.” He took a step towards Starburst so that he could sit closer to her. “Every moment I spend with you fills me with more joy that I can ever remember feeling. And it’s not just joy. I feel safe when I’m with you, to the point that I can eat dinner while sitting at the same table with the Lord of Chaos or go camping with other ponies… or even falling asleep not far from them,” he added, chuckling with some embarrassment. Starburst, who was all but burning as she listened to him, nodded absentmindedly. “I told you how amazing you are, Lil’Lioness, back when I first asked you out, remember? After I got to know you better, I find you even more amazing. Whenever we are separate, I catch my thoughts drifting back to you, even if I am in the middle of actually doing something, like practicing or redecorating this place. I just… can’t think of anything else this could be other than love,” he finished awkwardly.

“I… I see…” Starburst stammered, processing everything she heard. The fact that she was feeling so hot wasn’t helping her. She knew Starfall liked her, obviously, but didn’t realize he liked her that much. Hearing him say all those things, especially how amazing she was and how he’d keep thinking about her made her feel… well, aside from flushing, her heart was beating faster, so saying ‘happy’ would be an understatement. “That… that sounds like you put a lot of thought into that.”

Starfall again chuckled. “I sorta thought about confessing my feelings about a month or two from now, so I was preparing what I’d want to say,” he confessed, blushing with embarrassment. “Oh, and don’t worry, you don’t have to say anything; I know it’s been just two weeks, three since we actually met. If you’d say ‘I love you too’, it would be like something out of cheesy romance novel,” he added, rolling his eyes. “I will be happy to hear you say it when you're ready.”

“W-well… It’s good you say this, but…” Starburst hesitated, not sure how to say what was on her mind, but then gave up. “Crap, my life is a cheesy romance novel,” she groaned, facehoofing.

“What?” Starfall asked, confused. “You mean-”

She stopped him by slapping him with her wing lightly. “Yes, you idiot, I love you too. At least… I think so,” she amended, embarrassed. Seeing his eyebrow slightly rise and his mouth opening, she stopped him before he could say anything: “No, you had time to think what you want to say, I need come up with this as I go, so be quiet!”

Starfall immediately closed his mouth.

Exhaling, she calmed down. “Look, I… I’m not really good with talking about feelings and stuff. And I’ve never been in love, so I’m not sure if what I feel for you is love, but… well, I’ve never felt what I feel about you before, either. I love spending time with you, every time you appear my heart skips a beat and I smile. And when we hang out, it’s always fun, you always manage to make me laugh; and the list of ponies who could do that before you came along isn’t long. I would rather hang out with you than train. And, well, you’re amazing too. I know how you don’t like being around other ponies, but you still went on that camping trip and came to this dinner… and you’re becoming a better pony too, you no longer steal and stuff. That’s really awesome that you try to become better like that. And… yeah, I often think about you when we’re not together, too; it wasn’t easy to focus at school those past two weeks,” she chuckled awkwardly, although she knew it wasn’t really amusing. “So, yeah, I think I love you. Please don’t make me continue talking,” she begged, her cheeks again becoming increasing warm as she spoke.

Starfall chuckled warmly at her discomfort as he leaned closer, brushing his muzzle against hers. “That was quite good,” he said.

“Oh, shut up,” she told him as she kissed him.

Both of them hummed happily as they kissed, embracing each other. When their lips finally parted, they moved their muzzles back only a bit and stayed staring into each other's eyes.

“I love you, Lil’Lioness,” Starfall said, his red eyes full of warmth.

“I love you too, Star,” Starburst replied, smiling.

“Sorry about saying that in front of your parents and others like that,” he added, a bit sheepishly.

Starburst sighed. “It’s alright, just… promise me you won’t say anything of that sort in front of my parents ever again,” she told him, rolling her eyes. “Seriously, first about us dating, now this.”

Starfall sighed as they parted: “Yeah, I… wait, at this point what could I say in front of your parents, exactly?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I dunno, say that you want to propose or something? I-in a few years, I mean, like five or ten,” she quickly added in slight panic as he raised both eyebrows in surprise. However, when Starfall then smirked, her panic only increased. “No! Don’t you dare propose, like, a month from now! I’m serious!” she added in annoyance as he burst with laughter. “I will punch you in the face again if you do that!”

“Would still need an answer then.”

“Star!”

---

Starburst cleared her throat as they reappeared at her family’s dinner room.

“Oh, you’re-” her mother began, but Starburst stopped her by raising her hoof.

“We’d just like to make it clear that we’re not talking about what happened,” she said, glancing around briefly at everypony; her parents seemed mostly relieved for them to be back, while Claire, Illusion and Discord in turn seemed mostly amused. Princess Celestia, however, sat calmly in her seat, drinking tea as she listened to Starburst. “That’s the only way we’ll stay for the rest of the dinner.”

Her mother pouted, but sighed and said: “Very well, Star, I’m just glad to see you two back.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand why you’d make such a demand, darling,” Claire spoke up unexpectedly, picking up her teacup and taking a sip. “After all, if it’s some teasing you fear, you will receive plenty of that from our friends tomorrow after me and Illusion tell them.”

Starburst opened her mouth in surprise as she stared at the half-dragon. Starfall, who also stared at Claire for a moment, turned back to her. “You forgot about your friends too, didn’t you?”

Groaning as she facehoofed, Starburst did her best to ignore giggles around the table. “Remember how I asked you if you’d help me hide my friends’ bodies if I snap?” she asked Starfall.

Comments

[The Avenger]

Great chapter, as always. But the Stars relationship seems to be a little rushed to me. If Starfall does propose in the next few chapters and they're still 15, we're gonna have a problem.

[Borsuq]

8311269
Yeah, it seems "rushed", gonna address that in next chapter.

[Evilhumour]

d'awww

[Moongaze14]

Love the chaoter. The scene where Discord shows Starburst the memory of Starfall biting Celestia's wing and the scene with the cloud Starfall made me laugh. It was also really sweet for Starburst to be worried about Starfall's social condition and that Twilight and Celestia want to help Starfall by offering him dinners and an education, respectively. The dynamic between Discord and Starfall was great and my favorite part of the chapter with the possible exception of the love confession between Starfall and Starburst as that was adorable.

[Eon Dragon]

I loved this chapter. I don't think there was a part in it where I stopped smiling. Keep up the good work.

[HolyCross9]

To be honest, I was hoping that Starlight would be with Sunburst, since they are potential soul mates.

[ModsworthFIM]

Yay love it! Love it a LOT! But srsly tho, do not make him propose in the next few chapters. And never, ever stop making this story. I said it once and I'll say it again: I love this story.

[Metroid Prime]

The bodies will never be found

[darktempest]

If you nead help hiding the bodys the im your man!

More please.

[djthomp]

Too much 'deadpanned' and 'deadpanning', but other than that I'm really glad to see this active and updating. I caught up recently and read through the camping chapters, and have been enjoying the story.

[Sulpher]

Holy FUCK, there is definitely a reason for this being my favorite story, like damn.
Das sum gud shite

[FiredragonX]

THat was so cute!

[YewUnicorn]

That part with the thought clouds/bubbles was really creative!!! Loved it a lot and was constantly giggling throughout the chapter. Glad this story is still going. :)

[SageBrony07]

I'm happy with this story. The time viewing spell was funny. Also with Starfall's imagination, it was hilarious.

[ModsworthFIM]

There should be a pony to get Nidra's mind off of T.

[JediWaffles]

Starfall laid the spoon again the bowl before replying.

You're missing an in there.

Still a great chapter however, I'm enjoying seeing it's progress.

[ModsworthFIM]

If the two Stars had babies, what would their names be?

[ModsworthFIM]

I know the perfect love song for Starburst and Starfall: Scars to your beautiful

[Twilight is the BEST]

So when is the next chapter?

[Borsuq]

8482875
Currently working on a chapter for Rebirth of the Damned, after that will be working on Stars in the Making, sooo... either by the end of October or by beginning of November, hard to say as I am not sure how long the next chapter will be. Will probably do two in a row, though.

[Twilight is the BEST]

8483756
Maybe you should make a custom box on you page saying the progress, active, and what to work on next for your stories.

[ModsworthFIM]

How many chapters are you planning to do?

[Borsuq]

8510837
Yeah, I might consider doing that.

8535710
Dunno know an exact number, around ten more maybe?

[ModsworthFIM]

Any particular dates for any of them? Like a Hearth's Warming one when that time comes around? Or something like that