Love's a Roller Coaster Ride

by The Lord Thunder

Chapter 14

A splash of cool water to the face from the sink in the filly’s room helped Starlight gather her thoughts, but butterflies still fluttered in her stomach. The word “boyfriend” from the spray artist had sent them in a frenzy.

“Hoo!” Starlight heaved. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, staring at her reflection in the mirror, her face a mix of worry and annoyance--worry over how Sunburst might react, and annoyance that she’d let it get this far.

“Ok, you’ve got this, Starlight,” she told the pony in the mirror. “Like Trixie said, just tell Sunburst how you feel. But what should I say? How should I say it? I don’t want to be too forward, but Luna said-”

Starlight paused. Twilight had taught her a lot, but one of the best lessons was to not jump headlong into something without thinking it through. She had to talk it out, or at least pretend to. She glanced around to make sure nopony else was listening, then talked to her reflection as though she were opening up to Sunburst.

“I’ve been thinking. About us. I mean, you and me. Ugh, what I’m trying to say-” Starlight falled short on the words as if all the air had been sucked from her. She exhaled slowly, allowing it to calm her for what little good it did. “If we, you know, hooked up for real or something. It’d scare me a little bit. You know, about losing you again or something. I don’t know how I’d take it after the last time we got separate. Is this really what we want?”

Starlight bit her lip, almost as if expecting her reflection to give an answer she didn’t want to hear, but the only sound she heard was a small voice from her side.

“Who are you talking to, ma’am?” asked a little unicorn filly whom Starlight had overlooked when she entered the room.

“Excuse me,” Starlight said to the intruder, “but this is a private conversation between two confused and obsessive ponies. Didn’t your parents tell you that it’s rude to eavesdrop?”

The filly, however, only giggled at this odd behavior as she skipped out the door to the restroom.

Starlight let out an irritated sigh at the interruption and turned back to her reflection. There, she found newfound courage burning in the eyes staring back at her. She nodded to the pony in the mirror, then trotted out of the restroom.

***

Sunburst couldn’t believe his eyes. A limited edition, still in box action figure of Steelhoof the Barbarian sat on the Ring of Luck, just waiting to be won. It was a simple game consisting of a circle of prizes around a colorful wheel with a small arrow on it that moved through a series of thin vertical notches. All one had to do was spin the wheel and claim whatever prize the arrow stopped on. Naturally, the smaller prizes occupied most of the play area. Sure, the margin of success in winning Steelhoof was only three notches wide out of a hundred or so, but if Sunburst calculated the force of his spin correctly, he could get the Ring to stop right on it.

“Hey there, young, sir! I see you eyeing The Ring of Luck!” the earth stallion running the game yelled out to Sunburst. “Well, you look like a winner. Five bits for one spin, how ‘bout it?”

Sunburst nodded, his eyes locked with determination on Steelhoof. He’d been a fan of the comics since he was a colt. He’d even smuggled his collection into Celestia’s school when he’d been boarded there, despite his mother’s warnings that the comics would rot his mind.

What nonsense. Comics engage a young pony and stimulate their imagination. He reached into his pouch and placed five bits on the counter. “One spin is all I need.”

Moving the wheel slightly with his hoof, Sunburst tested its weight and got a feel for the bearings, measuring the amount of force he’d need to get it to stop at just the right spot. He then gave the wheel a good shove--but not too hard--sending into a wild spin. His eyes saw nothing but the swirling of the colors, his ears heard nothing but the clicking of the notches as the arrow brushed against them.

Shoot! The arrow! Sunburst had failed to account for its effect in slowing down the wheel when it hit the notches. Sunburst chewed on his hoof as the spinning slowed; there was still a chance.

The wheel came to a stop a good twenty notches away from the Steelhoof figure, right on a pink stuffed heart with the words “I” and “you” stitched in red between another heart sewn onto the plush.

Sunburst grumbed lowly to himself. What the hay was he supposed to do with a silly stuffed heart?

“Well, there you go, sir,” the operator said, presenting Sunburst with the heart before he’d even had a chance to object. “You can give that to your ladyfriend, eh?”

It certainly wasn’t what he was aiming for. Yeah, right. That might be a good idea if I even had a-

That fuzzy, alarming sensation came flooding back, stopping his inner complaint.

Starlight! She’d be coming back from the filly’s room soon. Should he give the heart to her? It wasn’t like Sunburst had anypony else to give it to, and nopony else made him feel the things Starlight did... but how would she react to it? Would she think it was something cheap and corny, or would she freak out? Indeed, she was the closest thing he had to a special somepony, and the day they’d had together had helped to sort out his feelings for her. But was it right? They didn’t have the best history, and considering how it broke Starlight when he left for Celestia’s school, was it even a good idea? Sunburst sighed through his nose, wishing he’d read more books on dating as he stared at the heart resting on his hoof, reading its message over and over.

I ‘heart’ you.”

But did the heart honestly tell his true feelings for her?

Sunburst paced back and forth across the center of the gaming area, unable to shake off the twinge of anxiety in his gut as he ran through a dozen scenarios of Starlight’s reaction to the heart. The tension only tightened with each long minute she made him wait.

What’s taking Starlight so long to use the filly’s room? At this rate, I’ll have a panic attack before she gets back.

Sunburst had considered going off to look for her when he found Starlight approaching down one of the paved walkways. The sight of her and the notion of what he was about to do made his heart pound so hard he thought it might crack a rib. He hid the heart behind himself, hoping she wouldn’t see.

Smiling, Starlight trotted up to him with some sort of cloth draped across her back. “Sunburst, I got something for-” she paused, attempting a peek behind Sunburst. “What’s that you’ve got there?”

Sunburst darted his eyes, nerves tingling. This was it. He wrestled for the courage, but it slipped away from his grip. “What's what? I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Nice try,” Starlight giggled. “You're horn's glowing.”

Sunburst fidgeted with his glasses, still averting his eyes from Starlight. “Oh. Right... right right right. Um, I won this at one of the games. I have no use for it, but maybe... ahem!” Twisting his hoof against the ground, Sunburst fought for the courage once more as he showed Starlight the heart, purposely hiding his face behind it. His stomach twisted into such a tight knot he thought he might gag, but he managed to keep hold of his nerve. “Maybe you'd like it?”

From the corner of his eye, Sunburst dared a peek. Starlight looked at the heart for a moment, her face going bright red.

“Sunburst…” Starlight said, her voice trailing off as she held the heart against her chest. “This is the sweetest thing anypony’s ever given me. Thank you.”

Still glancing off to the side, Sunburst scratched the back of his neck, giggling nervously. “Oh, well, you know…”

Starlight lunged forward and wrapped Sunbust in a hug, then let him go.

“Oh, I’ve got something for you, too. Here, I had this made just for you!”

Starlight grabbed the cloth with her magic and unfolded it to show Sunburst. It was a wizard’s robe with a picture of a magic staff spray painted on it. In place of the head of the staff was a pinball bumper.

Sunburst read the caption out loud. “World’s Best Pinball Wizard?”

“Do you like it?” Starlight asked with an eager smile.

Sunburst took a deep breath to ease his nerves, finally feeling them start to calm as he tied the cloak around his shoulders. “It’s perfect, I love it!”

“Great! I knew you would!” Starlight watched him for a moment as he adjusted the cloak to a comfortable position.

Starlight looked at him for a few more seconds, then shifted her gaze back to the plush heart. She smiled, blushing, then suddenly she sighed, drooping her head.

“What’s wrong, Starlight?” Sunburst asked.

Starlight bit her lip, hesitating. “Look, Sunburst, before we let this get too far, I just want to say, about you and me, I just don’t know. I mean, if I lost you again, I don’t know how I’d take it. I can’t stop thinking about what happened last time, when we were foals.”

Sunburst stepped closer and lifted Starlight’s chin. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“I am worried! I can’t help but worry.”

Sunburst went silent for a moment, his mind wandering off to the original plan he’d had before Starlight invited him here. If she knew, then perhaps it would reassure her he wasn’t about to leave her this time. “Starlight, there’s something I think you should know. I was supposed to go a wizards’ group meeting today; we’d had it planned for a couple months now. I missed out on that to be here with you.”

“Really?” Starlight asked. “Was it important?”

“Well, kind of. It focused on memory spells, so I’d been practising and the spells reminded me of when we were foals. Starlight, it really bothered me when I learned how much it hurt you.”

“It did?”

Sunburst nodded. “A lot. I wanted to say something that day we met again in the Crystal Empire, but with everything that was happening, I just-”

Starlight put a hoof against Sunburst’s chest, stopping him. “Sunburst, that wasn’t your fault. I was the one who overreacted.”

“I know! But I was just a foal back then, and I was so excited about going to Celestia’s school that I never stopped to think what leaving you behind meant. I just want to let you know that I’m really sorry and I never want to hurt you like that again.”

For a while, Starlight stared at Sunburst, her eyes glittering. She heaved a sudden sigh and threw her front legs around Sunburst, holding him tight. He held her close in return as both rested their chin on the other’s shoulder, enjoying the warmth and closeness in long silence.

Comments

[Geeknerd]

Awww

[i_am_the_jam]

"...and I would really, REALLY want to be friends with you, forever."

Heh, imagine Sunburst inadvertedly sending Starlight to the FRIEND ZONE

[TasermonsPartner]

Sooo sweet! 😍 This chapter had a good build-up, and the bit with the heart plushie was a nice twist to bring it all together. At the same time, I almost expected things t be even more dramatic; like some last-second obstacle that would keep them from expressing themselves properly. However, that's a pretty common troupe, so I can see why you would avoid it.

I presume there will be an epilogue of sorts? Or is this really just the first act of a much grander story?

[The Lord Thunder]

8994055
Nah, not a part of anything grander, I just wanted to do a Starburst ship. Thin, dorky betas like Sunburst and myself deserve to get the girl once in a while. All the other young stallions we've seen in relationships so far aside from Mud Briar have been big, strong alphas.

Not quite finished yet, though. We've yet for the golden moment Trixie and Maud are waiting for.

[lillytheomegawolf]

Very cute.

10/10 chapter.

Very enjoyable story thus far.

[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Very sweet.

[Yoshifan30]

Awww this was a pretty sweet chapter it shows how much they care for each other and despite that Sunburst try to win the items that he wanted he got the stuff animal instead but it says I heart you and he decided to give it to Starlight and somehow she loved it and she even gave him the customized robe and he also loved it as well but after that Starlight was still worried about Sunburst leaving again but he wants to reassure her that's not going to happen again and he did feel guilty for leaving her like that not even saying goodbye to her when they were kids and they hug it out and try to forgive each other again this is sweet moment