Like Old Times
Why Loved Then Hated
Ch.5
A sigh escaped Sun Burst. He looked at Starlight before resuming his story. “...During the autumn, I was beginning to anticipate Hearth’s Warming Eve. Every year, my family goes to Manehattan to visit my aunt and uncle. You remember, yes?”
Starlight Glimmer had to think for a moment. She then remembered. “Oh yeah, I do remember.” The mare let out a giggle. “I remember when you invited me one year. Your uncle is so funny.”
“And he still is,” Sunburst agreed. “So, of course, I told my roommate and wanted to invite him. He didn’t turn down the offer for a second.” The stallion let out another sigh and frowned. Starlight Glimmer waited patiently. All of the pauses he was doing was beginning to bother the mare.
“When winter began, I was anticipating a letter from my parents and tell me when they will be leaving for Manehattan. Weeks went by… and then Hearth’s Warming Eve went as well…” Sun Burst’s shoulder’s sagged.
Starlight’s eyebrows creased slightly. “They forgot to tell you?”
Sunburst let out a harsh sigh. “N-no,” he choked. “They did not.” He looked off elsewhere, trying to hide anymore potential tears that may begin to fall from his eyelids. “You… remember that I told you I forgot about your first four letters and didn’t right back, right?”
“Yes.”
“I did the same thing to my parents…” Something clicked in Starlight’s mind. She remembered when she asked Sun Burst’s mother and father if her letters were getting to their son and they told Starlight that he does not reply back to them either.
“I spent Hearth’s Warming Eve alone that year…” The stallion looked at Starlight Glimmer. “I can guess you the same thing.”
“It felt empty…” Starlight admitted. “I was praying you would write to me. But you didn’t.” Both ponies wore a hurt expression. Sun Burst’s was worse.
“So… the day after Hearth’s Warming Eve passed, I wrote to my parents… I asked them why they didn’t invite me to Manehattan.” Sunburst pounded his hoof on his forehead with frustration. Starlight was about to ask if it hurt, but she knew she used to give him worse. “And then… came both theirs and your letter…” Starlight noticed how frustrated Sunburst was. He was angry with himself. That was something that didn’t need explanation.
“Which letter did you read first?” the mare asked.
“My… p-parents…” he choked. “The letter they wrote me explained why they didn’t consider taking me to see my aunt and uncle. They said that because I didn’t reply to any of their letters, my parents assumed that I was busy and wanted to be left on my own.” Sunburst shook his head. “They were wrong about that. Of course I wanted to go and not be left alone. But… I neglected their letters.” The stallion looked into Starlight’s pretty eyes. Those lovely, shiny, blue eyes. “And at the end of that letter…” He sniffed hard and tears began to run down his cheeks. “They- told me… that you missed me… a lot…” After whimpering a few times, Sunburst said, “And then I r-read your letter…”
At this point, Starlight Glimmer couldn’t take the crying anymore. She hated all of this depression. She wanted it to go all away. She didn’t want to hear the rest of the story. She didn’t want to hear what was coming next. Because she knew what she wrote in that fifth letter. But Starlight also knew that Sun Burst was trying to make things right.
“Oh Starlight,” he sighed, “When I read your letter, I never knew how much I hurt you until I actually saw your personally. But when I did read it… It- it changed me.”
Starlight let out a light sigh. “I put a lot of anger into that letter. Do you remember what it said?”
“I… I-” Quickly, Sunburst stood up with his head tilted downward. “I’m sorry.” With no other words to say, he began to briskly walk toward the door.
Starlight Glimmer was not about to have him leave just yet; besides, she has seen enough hurt and didn’t want to see him in pain any longer. She had forgiven him. “Stop,” the mare ordered as she got up and went after him.
Sunburst did not stop. “I don’t deserve you or your friendship Starlight,” he called back. “Everything you told me in that letter was true.” As he came to the door, the stallion stopped. Starlight stood a good distance away from him as she stared at his back flank. “I am a jerk. A deserter.” He looked at his childhood friend and continued his lamenting. “I AM A FORGETFUL MEAN FACE!” Sunburst then collapsed and fell forward, shielding his face with his arms. All he could do was cry.
Cry.
Cry.
Cry…
It wasn’t hysterical sobbing. It was soft huffing and sniffing. He could feel his hot breath bouncing off the ground as he lamented on the floor. “I’m sorry,” Sunburst spoke through his sobbing voice. “I know I have said this already, but I cannot say it enough.”
A touch on his shoulder made him flinch. Sunburst glanced up to see his Starlight Glimmer staring down at him. She reached out a hoof. There was no need for words. Sunburst saw that she was willing to help. He took the hoof and felt himself being pulled up. The stallion stood in front of the unicorn, a stream of tears still running.
Then… Starlight Glimmer quickly moved. She wrapped her arms around Sunburst’s neck and squeezed tightly. Not even knowing it, nor caring to know, tears ran down her face as well. “I forgive you.” He didn’t move or make a sound of reaction. “You can touch me now.” That made him move. Sunburst hugged his friend close against him. Finally, they were in contact. And even after years of being apart, it was beginning to feel like old times.
***
Sunburst sat alone at the park, grinning angrily at the grass, wondering if he leered hard enough that it would catch fire. Tears ran down his cheeks as he remained still. Few bruises covered the colt’s body. He ached when he tried to tend to the damaged spots, or even move.
All he knew was that he was angry and that he hated Rusty.
“Sunburst!” a filly called out. “Suuuuuunburst!” Sunburst turned his head to see a pink filly with two pigtails trotting through the park. Even though he wanted to be alone, the colt called out to her.
“Over here,” Sunburst said plainly, still looking downward.
Quickly, Starlight Glimmer turned around to see her friend sitting on their bench. “I’m not surprised to see you here Sunburst,” the child spoke as she came to him.
“Whatever,” he huffed. Sunburst snorted out of his nostrils and turned his head away from Starlight Glimmer, embarrassed she had to see him cry. Regardless of how he was feeling, the filly got up on the bench and sat right next to him.
“Heartburst…” The moment the orange unicorn heard his pet name, he frowned. “...why did you have to go and fight Rusty?”
“Because he was being a jerk to you!”
“So,” Starlight shrugged. “I can handle myself. You know as well as I do, my magic far surpasses anypony in our class. The only pony I could consider my equal is you. Him telling me my magic will get me nowhere means nothing to me.”
“I just want to be a big stallion in standing up for my Star Eyes,” Sunburst argued. “And I want to show you that I am strong.”
“But I don’t like seeing you hurt!” Starlight argued. At this point, she was frustrated to the point of tears. The sight of her tears made Sunburst’s heart cramp. “It’s very sweet of you to want to help me. But if it’s going to physically going to hurt you, then I will be full heartedly get against it.”
A sigh escaped Sunburst. “I just-!” He folded his arms in a huff and clenched his eyes shut, making fresh tears squeeze from his eyelids. “I wish I wasn’t so weak and such a crybaby. I wish I was strong and not so sensitive.”
“And I wish to not see you hurt…” Starlight said softly. “I wish to see you the way you are. That’s why I love spending so much time with you. It’s not just the smart colt that you are…” Starlight brought her hoof and touched the center of Sunburst’s chest. “...it’s also what is in here.” Scooting up against him, the filly wrapped her little arms around her friend and held him tightly. Sunburst, now relaxed, did the same thing to his Star Eyes. “Let me fight my own battles. You'll know when to help me if I ever need it.”
“Thank you,” he sniffed, keeping his mucus from dripping onto Starlight’s shoulder. “You make me feel like a million bits.” The filly giggled and squirmed as she took in the complement. “But you know what would make me feel like a billion bits?”
“What?” Starlight asked.
Sunburst’s cheeks lit up. “A k-kiss.”
Letting out a sigh, Starlight responded, “I told you a trillion times that my daddy won’t let me have a boyfriend until older. That means no kissing.”
“Come on please?” the boy beckoned.
“No.” Starlight broke her contact with Sunburst and folded her arms in a huff.
“Nopony will kn-”
“When a mare says no…” With all of her strength, the filly grabbed Sunburst’s shoulders and threw him off the bench. “...she means NO!” He landed with a hard thud. Dust from the trail kicked up and another bruise formed on the colt’s arm. Even though he was in pain, all Sunburst could do was laugh. No matter how much pain she would bring him, Starlight Glimmer would never truly hurt him. Ever.
***
They continued to hold each other for quite some time. Neither of them wanted to move. They just wanted to be held.
“Let's go back to the couch and finish the story, okay?” Starlight asked.
In unison, both ponies removed their embrace. “Okay.” Sunburst wiped his tears from his face and then looked at Starlight. “Just try not to cry anymore,” he chuckled. “I cannot stand seeing Star Eye’s sad.”
Because Starlight didn't give him permission to call her Star Eyes again, she wanted to jab him in the shoulder. But the mare thought against it and retracted the rule. He can call her that again.
Returning to the couch, the two unicorns sat right next to each other, but not yet touching.
“So, continue please,” Starlight asked.
“Right…”
Despite knowing he and she are on good terms, Sunburst still didn't want to talk about the rest of his story. Guilt was eating away at his heart. But he figured that if he got upset again, Starlight Glimmer would be right by his side. Quite literally.
“So after reading your letter,” Sunburst started, “I was obviously upset… And felt awfully guilty. I rushed around the room to find your letters. When I found them, they were behind my desk covered in dust.”
“Wondering how long it was between the fourth and last letter you sent, I checked the second to last one. And… there was a three month gap between them.” Sunburst ran his hooves through his mane, wanting to pull his hair from his head. But an arm came around his torso. The stallion smiled and placed his arms back down on the sofa.
“Thanks,” he smiled.
Starlight didn't give back a your welcome, but did give a smile back. “Continue please.”
Sunburst cleared his throat. “Right. So after reading that last letter of yours, I sent a letter back to my parents, asking if I can come back home for the weekend to see them and you. After that, I wrote back to every single letter you wrote to me.”
Starlight gasped, “You did?”
“Yeah,” the stallion gulped, trying to make his hurt throat stop hurting. “When I got a response from my parents, they… told me you moved.” His sad eyes fell on Starlight. “The moment I read that fact on that letter, I changed.” He shook his head. “I hated how I wasn't invited to Manehattan because I put off responding to my parents. And…” Sunburst began to speak softly. “...I hated myself for not responding firsthoof. And I hated myself for using you.” The stallion’s ears fell back, still feeling shame. “I never thought I would see you ever again…”
“From that day forward, the moment I got a letter from somepony, I replied immediately. I wanted to acknowledge the sender and make them feel important. And again Star Eyes, I am very, severally, and truthfully sorry.”
“It's fine.” The mare’s star eyes began to water up. Finally, everything made sense. She wasn't discarded. She wasn't unimportant. She was loved and always has been by Sunburst.
“Don't cry on me,” Sunburst warned.
Starlight took in a deep breath and sobbed. “Too late you stupid idiot!” she exclaimed but smiled as well.
Instinctively, Sunburst grabbed his friend and pulled her close. “You make me feel like a million bits,” he whispered into Starlight’s ear. She giggled and squirmed as she held him as well.
As the two then looked at each other, they smiled. No more regret. No more hurt.
Just happiness.
“WHAAHH!” A scream erupted in the library. Starlight and Sunburst snapped their necks to see where the shout came from.
At the doorway, Moon Dancer was sprawled on the ground and Twilight Sparkle was on top of her. Both mares blushed with embarrassment as they looked up at the ponies sitting on the couch.
“Why were you two spying on us!?” Starlight barked, removing herself from Sunburst and the couch. She then stomped over to the princess, wondering why she was intruding on her’s and Sunburst’s privacy.
“I- I could explain!” Twilight answered, scrambling to get off her friend. Moon Dancer stood up thinking the alicorn was not above her. But when she did, Moon Dancer lifted herself into Twilight’s underside and made the princess topple over again.
At this point, Starlight Glimmer was staring down at Twilight Sparkle with an obviously bothered expression. “Well?” the pink unicorn asked.
“Just… friendship observing,” Twilight shyly answered, bringing her forearms to her lower chin.
“And what about you?” Starlight looked to Moon Dancer, wondering why she was spying along with Twilight.
“Well, it wasn't my idea to spy,” Moon Dancer admitted, “but I am just as guilty as she is.” Moon Dancer made an obvious point to Twilight. “I just wanted to see how much Sunburst really cared about you.”
“What do you mean?”
All the mare's looked at the stallion who was still sitting on the sofa. Sunburst glanced around, wondering if he should say anything, but decided not to.
“On the train ride here,” Moon Dancer continued, “he told me that he had the biggest crush on you and how special you were to him.”
Sunburst rubbed the back of his head and blushed a bit. “It's still true. I do… kind of still… you know…” Looking around for something, he grabbed a Daring Do novel and opened it. He swiped his hoof at it and in his hoof, a red rose was there.
Both Twilight and Moon Dancer let out an “aww” after witnessing such a sweet gesture.
“I still don't know how you do that,” Starlight shook her head, but still blushed at the nice act.
“And I will never tell you how, either,” Sunburst commented. He tossed the rose at Starlight, and she grabbed it with ease.
“Soooo,” Twilight spoke suspiciously, “would you say that you two are now friends? Perhaps moooore?” The alicorn wiggled her brows as she spoke her last statement.
“I can honestly say that we are friends again.” She looked at Sunburst and gave him a sweet smile. “The best.”
“I'm glad to hear that,” Sunburst smiled back.
Twilight Sparkle gave a smug look at Moon Dancer. “Was there any doubt that the Princess of Friendship made a wrong choice on bringing these two back together?”
All Moon Dancer could do is roll her eyes and shake a hoof at the alicorn. “Whatever.”
“But as for Sunburst and I being more than friends...” Starlight continued. All eyes were all on her as she spoke. Everypony was now anticipating her response. “...it may be a while before I make that choice.”
Sunburst stood up and walked over to Starlight. “What do you mean?” he asked.
She turned to face him. “Exactly what I mean. It's great that you and I are friends again. I just need some time before I can decide if I want you to…” Starlight blushed, “...become my special somepony.” The mare rubbed the back of her forearm in embarrassment.
Twilight Sparkle leaned him toward Moon Dancer and whispered, “I guess studying romantic friendships is off the list for now.”
Moon Dancer smirked, “Don't worry. He lives in Canterlot. I'll ask him if they are dating another time.” She and Twilight winked at each other before looking back at Sunburst and Starlight.
“Aww come on,” Sunburst begged. “After all the tears we just shed, you won't consider dating now? We are older now.”
“We just finally got a chance to see each other after all these years,“ Starlight Glimmer sighed. “Let's get to know each other about the older us.”
“Then maybe just one date? Say… next week? Sunburst held his eyebrows high and wore a bright smile.
“No…” the pink unicorn grunted, now becoming irritated with her friend. Her ears pointed back, signaling a warning to Sunburst.
Unfortunately, he wasn't getting the message. “Maybe… if you are free tomorrow-”
From out of nowhere, a book slapped the orange male across the cheek hard. “I said no!” Starlight shouted. The recoil from the hit caused Sunburst to fall over. A large bruise began to swell on the stallion’s face.
“Why did you do that?!” Twilight demanded, upset that her friend did something drastic. Even Moon Dancer looked upset at the act.
“He was teasing me,” Starlight commented. She placed the book that was in her hoof on the ground and headed toward the door. “Now if you don't mind girls, I have to go spend time with Rarity.” Just before exiting the room, she called out, “And Sunburst?”
He grunted, still in pain and still on the ground. But to Starlight, that was a reply. “If you are still around, you may get to see me in a lovely dress. Stick around if you want to see that.”
With nothing else to do or say, Starlight walked out of the library.
“Are you alright?” Moon Dancer asked, now concerned for Sunburst. She walked over to him as he was lying on the ground. “That looked like it hurt.”
All Sunburst could do was laugh. “I'm fine.” He gestures to his wound. “THIS! is just a love bite. Starlight has a tendency to go above and beyond when it comes to getting back at somepony. But she is a genuinely good mare.”
“I can agree to that,” Twilight agreed.
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Nice!
Well, at least they are going to be friends first.
7147425 its feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenished. now you can read it
7304333 It just seems more realistic the way I ended it
Starlight and Sunburst have that sexual tension kind of relationship.
Lol, Sunburst just got the FRIENDZONE!!!!!! I guess it works, makes it more realistic and stuff. Either way, great job, loved this story to pieces!!
7330835 Thanks. Again, I think the show could have made Starlight a little more upset at Sunburst and he should have been a little more sorry about what he did. Like you said, 'Realistic."
I liked this story at first but as it goes on it just feels like it is just meandering around. The story told by Sunburst became too melodramatic and boring for me. Personnaly I can only read about them crying for the same reasons so many times before I stop caring.
I'll leave the story with a like because of how much I enjoyed the first couple chapters, but I don't think I will be finishing it.
7531316 I will admit there is a lot of crying, but it was to capture the idea of regret. Thanks for the criticism. I improve a bit more when it is constructive and makes me more aware of my errors.
7837127 I have looked into getting an editor, and I had one. But there were a few problems: editor took way too long, editor changed the story as they edited, and editor lost interest after five chapters...
But let us delve into your critiques.
First Paragraph: I just wanted to start this paragraph with a scene set up, just to give the reader a picture. However, I have seen writers not give too much detail of where a character is, or what time, and their scene make perfect sense.
Second Paragraph: There was no need to explain exactly what Starlight Glimmer did after more than a week has passed. Maybe I should have explained more on what she did that made her new life more enjoyable, but that is for the reader to decide I suppose. Besides, I did write out that she did go to her old village and apologized. However, the many moons was a poor choice of words and I was not aware of how long that actually means. I will change that.
Third Paragraph: Like the first paragraph explanation, scene set up. Your suggestion may have worked as well, but I feel that Starlight's plan for the day should be addressed first.
Fourth Paragraph: Whelps are known (at least from what I have read and seen) are the smallest of what dragons are. He is a baby dragon still. Unless whelp is an insult in MLP, I see no reason to fix that.
Thank you for the feedback.
Well, there's an abusive relationship in the making. Liked the story and all, but I really couldn't get behind Starlight's constantly hitting Sunburst. Like, seriously hitting, not just playful punches on the shoulder.
I hate Sunburst, and nothing I've read can change my mind about this.
However, that was pretty emotional, and I'll admit even if I hate the ship, you did a really good job on it.
8747745 I am glad you liked the emotional levels in my story. And thanks for not hating the story because it has a ship/ character simply for the fact that the story features someone you don't like. :3
That did not need to be so long. The first chapter was fine, but the rest of it was pure “tell not show”, quantity over quality
10163609 I cannot disagree with this. If there’s anything I’ve learned after this was showing and telling. It’s easier to tell than show in my opinion.
This is not sarcasm when I say thanks for the reminder. It’s important to notice what your stronger and weaker creations are and why they stumble or are stable.