Useless Magic

by FoolAmongTheStars

Side A

i. Straightforward

He woke up to the smell of coffee.

Sunburst lifted his head from the nest of papers and books he had fallen asleep on. He blinked his tired eyes, but the world was still a murky image of lights and shadows, making it harder to locate his glasses, not to mention to make out the numbers displayed on the clock. He patted his desk with gentle hooves, silently cursing his failing eyesight, before the world suddenly came into sharp focus with a flash of teal blue.

It took a moment for his tired brain to catch up on what happened, but when it did Sunburst smiled. “Thanks, Starlight.”

The mare spared him a glance and pointed at the mug at his side, full with that delicious steaming coffee, before she continued to read from the old tome, and his heart swelled at the sight of her. Her mane was a mess, there were bags under eyes and her coat was in a desperate need of a brush, but Starlight smiled and it was the most beautiful thing in the world.

And that was all it took for the words to tumble out of his mouth.

“I love you.”

ii. Like a Bell

“Hey, Sunburst!” Starlight called out from across the train platform.

He looked up and saw her walking towards him. Her friends stayed behind, watching curiously, while Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie snickered to one another. Sunburst wondered briefly what it was, and if had to do with Starlight coming to see him off.

She reached him in an easy canter, face the perfect image of innocence that lowered his guard. He walked to meet her halfway, thinking maybe he had forgotten something and she was simply returning it, or she wanted to speak to him without her friends eavesdropping. The platform was really noisy at the moment, with ponies boarding and leaving the train on equal measure. He had to stop multiple times to avoid a collision and walk around other ponies to reach Starlight.

“Yea—“

In one fluid motion Starlight placed her muzzle over his, effectively cutting off whatever he was going to say.

Sunburst's eyes slid closed as he reciprocated, wondering all along how he was going to survive the journey back to the Crystal Empire without Starlight’s attentions. Even the letters he had promised to write didn’t feel like they would be enough.

So focused he was on Starlight he missed the reaction of her friends, all staring with various degrees of astonishment. But nothing compared to the disgruntled look that Rainbow Dash was showing.

“Ha! Told you she would do it! Now pay up!”

With a grumble, Rainbow Dash tossed a bag of coins on Pinkie Pie’s waiting hoof.

iii. Twisted.

Of all the things that had changed in Sire’s Hollow, Starlight Glimmer was glad that the park had been somewhat spared their parent’s antics.

There was a new patch of flowers that she did not recognize, and a jungle gym had been installed during the time she had been gone, but the tree she had made so many memories under as a foal was still intact. She walked up to it, her eyes on the branches as they swayed lazily in the breeze. It too had changed in her absence, it had grown so much and endured whatever life threw at it, just like her.

Starlight sighed and plopped unceremoniously on the grass, not caring that her coat would be messed up, a few grass stains were the least of her problems. The mare lowered her head on top of her crossed hooves and closed her eyes, letting herself relax for the first time since she got here.

“I’m glad some things don’t change.”

Starlight’s eyes flew open at the sound of the familiar voice, she looked up and saw Sunburst approaching her, with a small apologetic smile as he walked with careful steps, hardly making any noise on the grass. Starlight looked away, letting her mane fall to the side of her face to cover the embarrassing flush of her cheeks.

“It’s nice, I guess,” she mumbled, looking down at her hooves. “I really love this place.”

Sunburst didn't reply, he walked closer and used his magic to take off his cape, placing it on the lowest branch he could see. When he didn't sit down like she expected, she looked up and saw him hesitating.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked, probably thinking she was about to refuse him, judging by the way he was carefully edging away from her and the shade of the tree.

Mind? I would love for you stay and never ever leave me again, she wanted to say but instead she twisted the words in to something less desperate.

“Be my guest.”

iv. Synonymous

Sunburst grumbled under his breath, opening cabinets and searching their contents before he closed them, growing more disgruntled by the minute.

“What are you looking for?” asked Starlight, not looking up from the letter she was writing.

Sunburst searched his desk again. “I can’t find the thing.”

“What thing?”

“You know…” He made a swooshing gesture with his hoof, before sighing and walking over to a counter behind Starlight. “I swear I saw it here somewhere... stupid thing.”

He was about to climb over the counter to reach the higher shelves when something prodded his shoulder. Sunburst turned, seeing a silver letter opener floating in front of him in a sparkly aura of teal blue, wiggling slightly in place as if saying ‘I’m here!’

Sunburst let out a small ‘ah’ and took the silver utensil, the teal aura turning to gold as he held it with his magic. He walked over to Starlight and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“Love you,” he said with a warm smile, and walked out of the room with the letter opener in tow.

Starlight smiled and kept on writing.

v. Casually

“Do you think she will like it?”

Starlight rolled her eyes and exhaled. “Sunburst, she will love it, fillies her age aren't all that picky about gifts just as long as they get them.”

The stallion pranced nervously in place, looking at the gift sitting innocently on the table. “Yeah, it’s just, this is the first birthday she will actually remember, you know? I want to make it special… Maybe I should have bought that flashy toy we saw earlier.”

Looking at his downtrodden expression, some of Starlight’s exasperation dissipated, giving room to understanding. She placed a gentle hoof on his shoulder, catching his attention as she began talking in a gentle tone that she rarely used.

“Flurry Heart adores you, Sunburst, she will love anything you give her, because it comes from you. But the way I see it, the book is a much better choice because it will grow with her, unlike the shiny toy which she will quickly get bored with,” said Starlight, looking at the book with a fond expression. “Just imagine, years down the line she will be reminded of this day every time she looks at the pictures and reads its pages, and of the kind teacher who gave it to her.”

Sunburst's shoulders slumped in relief and he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, placing a hoof on his chest as he felt the anxiety leave him. “Thanks, Starlight, I really needed to hear that.”

He lifted a hoof and placed it around her neck, drawing her in to a hug that she gladly accepted. They stayed embraced for a moment too long, causing Starlight to hesitate before she gathered the courage to speak. “Sunburst, I… I love…”

He let her go gently, looking at her with a curious expression, tilting his head to the side as he listened. Starlight gaped for a moment, before she snapped her mouth close and shook her head.

“I love how thoughtful you are,” she finally said with a smile that was a tad forced, but Sunburst didn't seem to notice. “I hope Flurry Heart learns that from you.”

“Oh, come on, you’re giving me too much credit,” he said, scratching the back of his head nervously.

Starlight shrugged and looked at the clock. “We should get going, you star pupil awaits you.”

Author's Note:

One could say I'm late to the party, I would say I'm fashionably, spectacularly, wonderfully late to the party.

Comments

[k88a]

This is really cute :3 Starburst is one of my OTPs
(By the way, Is the title a reference to Florence Welch’s book?)

[FoolAmongTheStars]

9376221
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
(And yes, it is! Your the first person to catch the reference )

[Jedi Wolf]

Sweet and adorable.

[Thunderspark Lightspeed]

In one fluid motion Starlight placed her muzzle over his, effectively cutting off whatever he was going to say.

Me: *excited horse noises*

[Gay For Gadot]

These are just too precious.