Sunburst to the Rescue

by David Silver

13 - Raising the Roof

Sunburst wandered the aisles slowly. Last time he had come there, it was with two other mares, both closer to his age. One of them had been quite excited, the other wasn't quite into it. The one that walked at his side seemed somewhere in between.

"What are we looking for?" asked Stellar, her eyes darting from one old thing to the next. "This looks like a place Firelight would be... very happy to visit."

Sunburst thought of Starlight's father a moment. "He was... Yeah, um." He reached out and picked up an antique perfume bottle, its chain worn leading to the bladder one had to squeeze made of old and aging leather. "Look, it's like the ones you used."

Stellar smiled at it. "We perfected some scents that are testing very well." She accepted it in her magic, floating it over to herself and spinning it slowly in the air. "Look at this thing, so antiquated. Do you suppose it has any scent left in it?" Without delay, she squeezed the leather with a flex of her magic.

A weak sputter was all she got, the old thing trying its best to comply with her wishes. Her nose twitched softly before wrinkling. "That is not an appealing aroma."

Sunburst put up a hoof just in front of its old nozzle. "Whatever is hiding in there has likely long gone bad over time. Still, it's fascinating to think about how things changed, and how they stayed the same."

"Mmm," She lifted the bottle closer to an eye, peering at how it was put together. "I... think I see what you mean, son. It's so similar to one of mine, and so different all at once. I can see where things changed." A little smile spread on her face. "A pity I don't know the specifics."

Sunburst happily began reciting the specifics of how the design evolved, prodded into it with his mother's subtle prompt. She nodded as he spoke, happy to be spending time with him. It didn't hurt that it was mildly interesting how the technology she used had evolved.

---

Starlight tapped two pencils on her desk in a lively beat. No foals had come to her for any counseling, leaving her day mostly open. It was just another day of being available, in case, with the vain hope that she could leap into action.

A knock on the door made her jump in place, her magically held pencils dropping to the desk and casually rolling off as if they were making a bid for freedom. "Come in!" she nervously blurted, rather than keep whoever it was waiting.

That was no foal. Sunburst entered with a nervous little smile. "Is this a bad time?" he asked as he brushed a hoof through his frizzy mane. "I, uh, need some counseling."

Starlight blinked at her foalhood friend. "You didn't have to come here for that, Sun. You know I'd talk with you anytime." She gestured to the seat on the other side of the desk from her. "Please, sit. Empathy cocoa?" She fetched a mug in her magic and soon had it filled with chocolate and a few marshmallows. "What's on your mind?"

Sunburst hopped up onto broad-bottomed chair and sat down on his haunches comfortably on it. He accepted the mug with his magic, noting she had one too. Empathy... "I feel like a lot of things are changing around me... and it's a little scary... but I don't want to... hide from it. It's not a... bad scary, you know?"

Starlight nodded softly. "What's the first thing you noticed?" she asked with a gentle little smile. She didn't figure she'd be counseling her friends, but that didn't stop her from trying. She sipped softly from her mug, trying to keep her face in an expression of mild pleasantness.

"Well, um... my mother recently started, you know, prying, but not in her usual way." He rolled a hoof even as his magic tipped the mug to continue sipping from. "She's been actually learning about me, as a pony. She asks questions and doesn't tell me what she wants me to do. It's... uh... kinda nice actually... but different."

Starlight felt a brow trying to rise and actively struggled against it. Careful, professional, supportive. That was her job. "I see," she said, stomping silently on her emotions. "That is quite the difference. Your relationship with your mother was... strained?"

"No! I mean... a little? I mean, you were there, Starlight." He flopped back against the chair he was in. "We talked out the worst of the misunderstandings, but it had ended in a sort of... truce. They agreed to back off of us, and we'd try better at being there, you know, as their family... But I didn't expect her to suddenly turn around and try so hard to learn about me instead of... trying to tell me how I should be."

Starlight set her mug down on the desk as she leaned forward a little. "You have no idea how jealous I am of you right now."

He went pink instantly, ears jumping up. "Oh! Uh, sorry?"

She waved it away. "Ignore that, that was... unprofessional of me, but, uh... Yeah... I'd love my dad to turn a corner like that. He's stopped pinching my cheek, but I can see I'm still his darling little filly, no matter what I do." She clopped her hooves together. "Maybe this school is really working for her. I hadn't considered the effect on an adult, but this is really amazing if it's working this well." She tapped at her chin. "Maybe I should invite him to... No, let's not do that."

Sunburst could see the play of nervousness over her features. She didn't have the bravery to invite her father into town in the hopes he'd have the same sudden change of heart. He chuckled softly at his friend's reaction. "You have a point. I really should be happy, and I am! Really! It's just... offputting. I feel off-balance. I want to be happy... I... I have a mother I want to talk to again, and... it's..."

Starlight reached across the desk and gently brushed away one of Sunburst's falling tears, her words stolen from her at the display.

Sunburst shrank away, realizing he was crying at her touch. "O-oh, sorry."

"No, don't be," she practically whispered. "You're not doing anything wrong, not at all... She is reaching out to you, and this is... different, but you're both approaching this like adults. Thank you."

"Thank me?" He sat up a little taller. "What are you thanking me for?"

"For sharing this." She waved a hoof around vaguely. "You didn't have to. Thank you." She placed a hoof at her chest as she cleared her throat. Her magic grabbed the mug from the desk and brought it over for a loud slurp of empathy. "Now then, was that all that's changed, or are there other things?"

Sunburst's nose darkened from the tip of his nose slowly spreading backwards along his snout. "This also involves a mare..."

Starlight nodded as she sipped from her chocolate. "Yes?"

"It's, uh, about Twilight. She's... interested in me, I think." Suddenly he was doused with a mouthful of chocolate in a powerful spit from Starlight. He pulled out a cloth to wipe clean his glasses.

"Oh! Well..." She set her mug down, blushing at her improper outburst. "I'm sorry, you were saying?"

He ran a hoof over his collar as his glasses floated back into position on his snout. "She described her ideal, um, partner... and it was... like she was describing me." He laughed suddenly. "As if that could be true, um... I could be misunderstanding her entirely."

"I see," said Starlight, her face returning to a strict impartiality. "And what was that description?"

"She said she would prefer--" He adjusted his glasses despite having just put them on. "I mean... is it alright to say that?"

Starlight's eyes darted. She wanted to hear, but he wasn't entirely wrong. She couldn't prod into what Twilight said too hard. "If you'd rather not, but it could help know if this was a misunderstanding?"

He nodded stiffly. "You have a point, alright... She said she would prefer an intelligent eccentric that wouldn't mind her adventures." He tapped at his chin softly, brushing his beard with each motion. "Then she... kinda went on about how smart I was, and how my eccentricity helped her... I'm left wondering if she was trying to... tell me this as clearly as possible without coming out and saying it."

Starlight could feel her heart thumping in her chest. "I... see..." Neutral, neutral. She had to remain neutral. Her face was pressed in a forced display of it. "That must have been unnerving."

"You can say that again!" He reached out a hoof for the desk, his cup of chocolate tipping for a fresh sip. "I thought we were friends, not... potential partners."

Starlight's cheeks bulged as she resisted the urge to anoint Sunburst in a fresh coat of chocolate. With a hard swallow, she nodded. "The line between friend and partner is not as strict as some see it. Some ponies fall from one to the other before they even realize what's happening."

"So I was right?" he asked, sounding scared.

"Is that bad?" She smiled a little. "How do you feel about Twilight?" She couldn't believe she was really giving romantic advice to her friend. Imagining Sunburst in a romantic situation stressed her in a whole new way. He was supposed to be her cute little innocent stallion, never even knowing what a mare's attention was in that way.

"A-are you kidding?" He laughed a little hysterically, setting down his cup. "She's, like... It's like... It's like my dream is coming true, and I'm terrified I'll wake up at any moment, or I'll say something stupid and she'll wake up and realize I'm a horrible choice in a partner and call the whole idea off."

Starlight reached for his hoof, gently patting it with one of her own as she looked into his frightened eyes. "You can't live like that, Sunburst... Even if this does end badly, you have to move forward. You know she's not a mean mare."

"No! No..." He took a slow breath. "Of course not... if things don't work out, I suppose we'll simply return to our old relationship, right?" He cringed visibly, teeth clenched. "Right? This won't ruin our friendship, right?" He was shaking a little with obvious fear. "I don't want to mess that up."

Starlight couldn't resist but stroke his hoof gently. Her friend needed her. She could feel his uncertainty and fear. "Sunburst. Look at me." His eyes rose to meet hers and she stared into his. "Sunburst, it'll be alright. Repeat that."

"It'll.. be.. alright." He tried a little smile, shallow as it was, shaking all over.

"She's likely going through the same thing," she noted with a little grin. "She's probably wondering how badly she messed up telling you, and wondering if you'll run away never to be seen again. She is exactly as scared as you are, even if she shows it differently." She leaned forward. "So you have to be brave, not just for yourself, but for her too. She deserves a chance to try this, and so do you."

His ears lifted, twitching slightly as his shaking ebbed. "Do you really think so?"

She smirked. "When it inevitably gets awkward, you come back here and tell me all the juicy details. We'll work it out."

"You are the best!" He suddenly dived over the desk, hugging her tightly around the neck and clutching tightly to her. "Thank you!"

Her magic gently pushed him back as she laughed. "That's enough of that, but, hey, feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you..." He glanced away and back. "So how do I start this? Is there a proper ritual to observe?"

Starlight barely resisted the urge to bury her face in her hoof. What had she just signed herself up for?

Author's Note:

Sunburst opens the bag and the cat leaps free with a mighty roar. Surely this can only end well!

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Comments

[Crystal Treasure]

Haha full steam ahead! I am legitimately impressed with how Stellar is acting right now, though I can see how it throws Sunburst off. Counselor Starlight is also doing a good job.

[GalaxySpacePony]

This is like my favourite thing. I thrive on good communication of feelings in fics. I'm looking forward to seeing where you go next with this. As usual, your pacing is spot on.

[zimmerwald1915]

No, Starlight, you're supposed to be the slightest bit jealous, mind-control Sunburst to love you, and spay Twilight for even thinking of muscling in on your turf.

[FanOfMostEverything]

"It's like dealing with a bear, Sunburst. She's as afraid of you as you are of her."
"I'm pretty sure no bears have ever been romantically interested in me."
"Spend enough time around Fluttershy and you'll make animal-based metaphors too."

In any case, wonderful to see some open communication and Starlight offering good counsel. And that last question... They really are perfect for each other.

Also, I found one of Starlight's therapy typos:

Sunburst's nose darkened from his nose slowly spreading backwards.

I think you changed gears midway through this sentence.

[Sherlock Hooves]

Please dont do the trope where Sunburst does try and start things and Twilight gets confused saying, "oh I wasn't talking about you." Please it's too tropy

[David Silver]

9084673
I hope it made sense that Starlight saw him more as her little brother and less as the stallion she wanted. She loves him dearly... as a friend. That should not even be counted as 'less'. She would jump through fiery hoops for him, she just isn't trying to get him in a bedroom.

And that can lead to jealousy too, mind, just with time sharing. Friends that get romantically involved can often become harder to remain as close to.

[Ebonysdagger]

Wow, a likable Starlight. This is new to me. I'm curious, before I continue reading, as to whether Twilight is any of these things at this point. Twilight likely would consider the entire conversation academic, I know I would in that situation. Sunburst, I understand where you are coming from. If I found myself in that situation I'd be asking the exact same questions. Rituals are very handy guidelines to fall back to if you have nothing else.