• Published 23rd Jan 2019
  • 3,591 Views, 81 Comments

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 8 - SuperPinkBrony12



The eighth installment of a What If series that involves the rewriting of episodes. This one covers one episode each from Seasons 5-7, and then eleven rewrites of Season 8 episodes. (Warning!: Rewrites based on personal opinion. Please respect it!)

  • ...
6
 81
 3,591

S8 E9: The Parent Tracks, Part 2 (The Parent Map What If?)

Author's Note:

Once again, I'm not the greatest at doing a "Previously on" recap in writing format so my apologies if it looks a little bit lackluster.

Since Part 1 of this two parter focused on Starlight and Firelight, I figured it was only natural to shift focus in Part 2 to Sunburst and Stellar Flare. And this brings us to some of the other problems people had with the original episode. Some criticize that Sunburst doesn't have any real character, which in the original episode he didn't get much of a chance to prove otherwise. And when said episode was his only appearance in all of Season 8, compared to the bigger role he had in Season 7 and even Season 6, it's easy to find him lacking.

People also probably were getting a little bit sick of the "amazingly embarrassing parents" trope that was starting to become a standard in the show, and Firelight and Stellar Flare certainly didn't make themselves look the greatest. So while I already tried to flesh out Firelight some, here I wanted to try and develop Stellar Flare more.

And you may be speculating that with this becoming the ninth episode of Season 8 in the hypothetical scenario imagined, that "Non-Compete Clause" would be the episode scrapped to make room for it. Well you're partially right and partially wrong. "Non-Compete Clause" the episode is indeed scrapped, but the plot is bumped to another episode and reworked. Maybe you can guess which one it is, but if not you'll find out in a couple of rewrites.

Episodes to be rewritten:
Bloom and Gloom
The Times They Are a Changeling
Discordant Harmony (Bonus Chapter)
Fake It 'Til You Make It (Bonus Chapter)
The Parent Tracks Parts 1 and 2 (Two parter of the Parent Map)
Molt Down
Marks for Effort
A Matter of Principals
Friendship University
Yakity-Sax
The Washouts
A Rockhoof and a Hard Place
Mother Knows Least? (Father Knows Beast)

Starlight and Sunburst were on their way back to Ponyville after having spent a weekend back in Sire's Hollow, the town in which they were born and had spent their childhood in.

Sunburst was about to tell Starlight all about what had transpired between him and his mother, Stellar Flare, during the weekend while Starlight had been working out issues with her father, Firelight.

It had all started for the two unicorns when Sunburst got a letter in the mail at his home in the Crystal Empire. Said letter had been from Starlight and had read:

Sunburst,

Come to Ponyville right away! There are some ponies here who'd like to meet us, and I think you know who I'm talking about.

Sincerely,

Starlight Glimmer

Upon arriving in Ponyville, Sunburst had gone straight to Twilight's castle, where he found Stellar Flare and Firelight already waiting for him. "Ah, there you are, Sunburst," Stellar Flare had happily declared. "We've been waiting for almost half an hour now. You know it's very rude to keep guests waiting."

"Oh my gosh, you are just as cutsie-wootsie as ever, sugar plum!" Firelight had cooed at Starlight and had proceeded to call his daughter all sorts of embarrassing nicknames, much to the chagrin of his daughter.

"Let's not forget that we came all this way here to reconnect with our children." Firelight had spoken a short time later.

Both Starlight and Sunburst protested, only for Twilight and Spike to encourage the two to go. "A getaway might be just what you all need to reconnect." Twilight had suggested.

And Spike had added. "Take it from a dragon who's been around this block, the more you try to ignore something or put it off, the worse it becomes when it finally catches up to you."

So reluctantly, the two unicorns accompanied their parents back home to Sire's Hollow. "You and Sunburst go ahead and have a look about the town. My precious little pony and I have a lot to catch up on. And there are some things I want to show her!" Firelight had instructed, and Stellar Flare and Sunburst had split off.

When they met back up at the library later that day, Starlight had run off when the subject of her past and what she'd done prior to becoming Twilight's student came up.

It was Sunburst of all ponies who came to the rescue, comforting a crying Starlight at the fountain in the center of town. "You're not the only one whose parent has been driving them crazy since before we even got here." Sunburst had gently spoken while gesturing a hoof to hold Starlight's neck.

"You're not the one who ran away without even telling said dad where she was going. And for him to just act like it's all okay, that it's like it never even happened, it just doesn't feel right to me." Starlight had complained, revealing why she was so uncomfortable talking about her past with her father.

Fortunately, Sunburst had encouraged his friend. "If you don't tell him how you feel, how he's going to know he's not treating you right?"

Starlight then leaped to her hooves, realizing what she had to do! "This is something I have to do on my own! If not, how can I call myself a good guidance counselor? I just hope that when it's over, I won't have destroyed the relationship with my father forever."

And indeed she hadn't, Firelight proved to be very understanding. "I know I probably haven't shown it in the best way since bringing you here. I guess I was just so eager to see my little filly again, I ignored the fact that you weren't that little filly anymore. You've grown up and become a splendid young mare. I dare say you're almost too good for your old stallion."

But Starlight had turned around and embraced her father in a hug! "Dad, don't say such things like that! You're my dad, you could never be too good or too bad for me. Even if you can make that love hard sometimes, I would never want to not associate myself with you."

Firelight had then proposed. "If I promise to treat you less like a filly and more like a friend, do you promise that you'll keep in touch while you're managing your adult responsibilities?" To which Starlight happily told him yes.

Yet on the train ride back home Starlight had asked. "By the way, Sunburst. It seemed like you were having some problems with your mother."

After a bit of reluctance, Sunburst had agreed to tell the long story. "It all started after we went our separate ways for the first time this weekend." He had begun, and such is how his story unfolded. All the while Starlight listened carefully, hanging on every word.

While Sunburst's experiences with his mother hadn't been as dramatic as the experiences Starlight had had with her father, they were still experiences he was unlikely to forget anytime soon. And they were still fresh in his mind as he recalled them now for his audience of one.

Sunburst's story began right at the part where Firelight and Starlight had parted ways to go back to their home. Stellar Flare smiled as she turned to her son. "You probably can't wait to see all the things I added to the town. I've added so many things you may not even know where you are. And while we're at it, we can see about getting you a job at one of the locations."

"I told you I already have a job, Mom!" Sunburst growled in protest. "I'm a crystaller now, a very big responsibility."

But Stellar Flare shot back a look of confusion. "What's a crystaller? I've never heard of such a position before," Sunburst opened his mouth to explain, but Stellar simply giggled in reply. "Doesn't matter. I can get you a better job, one that'll let you stay here and be close to Starlight, as well as your father and I."

"Where is Dad anyway?" Sunburst asked. "Kind of thought he'd be here by now."

Stellar smiled. "You know your father, probably off having the time of his life in Las Pegasus. Won't he be surprised when he comes home and learns his son's got a job and is moving back here?"

The currently on leave crystaller just sighed. If only news from the Crystal Empire traveled the same ways news from the rest of Equestria did. His mom would know he was already highly successful in his line of work and wasn't interested in getting a job elsewhere.

Unfortunately, he was stuck with that very prospect for the weekend and with no way out of it. "I hope Starlight's having a better time with her parent than I am with mine." Sunburst thought to himself.

"Now then," Stellar declared. "I know exactly what you need to do, Sunburst."

"Let me guess, make a plan." Sunburst quipped.

But Stellar proudly held up a scroll in the pale, light grayish-emerald green aura of her magic and declared in a singsong tone. "Already got one! I always come prepared."

"Just my luck!" Sunburst thought to himself.

"Step one: Get interviews with all the biggest job providers in town," Stellar read aloud from the scroll. "Step two: Pick the job that you like best. Step three: Be sure to thank me for helping you land whatever job you choose."

Sunburst again put a hoof to his forehead. "Mom, I told you that I already have a job. It's a good paying job in the Crystal Empire, I don't need another one."

"I appreciate you trying not to hurt my feelings, Sunburst. But I've already arranged everything," Stellar Flare said with a smile. "Everything's going to be a-okay. Aren't you glad you have me to help you stay on task?"

"Not really," Sunburst frowned. "But you're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"

Stellar proudly replied with a shake of her head. "Nope," And she was all too happy to add. "I've set up interviews for you at all the biggest employers in this town. There's got to be something here you'll like. Something you'll enjoy more than being a crystaller."

"This is all your way of trying to get me to move back here and be with you and Dad, isn't it?" Sunburst questioned. "I appreciate the gesture but I'm perfectly fine on my own. I don't need to come back here."

"You say that, yet I know what happens to those who leave the nest before they're ready," Stellar replied more seriously. "A mother's job is to do her best to provide for her children, give them the tools they need to grow up right. That's what I'm doing now. You agreed to spend the weekend with me, didn't you?"

Sunburst stammered. "W-well yes, I did... b-but..." He tried to think up a good counter-argument but nothing would come to him.

Stellar clapped her hooves together. "Excellent! Now come on, you don't wanna be late for your first interview do you? In fact, here." She took out a bottle of some kind filled with an unknown purple substance, and sprayed its contents towards Sunburst's face.

Sunburst choked and his eyes watered at the super strong scent of whatever it was he'd just been sprayed with. He even had to take off his glasses and rub his eyes, as a strong fruity smell filled the air. "What the heck was that, Mom?!"

His mom happily told him. "It's essence. It's from a stand in the town."

"That was essence?! That was way too strong to qualify as that!" Sunburst thought to himself. "Is that what replaced the fruit stand that used to be here? What's wrong with actual fruit?"


Reluctantly, Sunburst followed his mother through town before she stopped at a small, light pink colored stand outside a store that had a similar colored roof over it. An earth pony mare with a fuchsia coat, purple eyes, a sleek dark blue mane and tail, and a dark-gray jacket with a blueish-green tie symbol on the collar stood in front of it. And was currently eyeing two other mares: One was an earth pony with a brown coat, sea green eyes, a three shades of green mane and tail that hung in curls on the side, and a light yellow jacket with lots of fuzz on it. And the other was a unicorn with a light blue coat, a pinkish-purple mane and tail, blue eyes hidden behind purple glasses, a purple bead of some kind that hung on her left side, and a pink scarf with two dots.

The fuchsia coated earth pony turned to Sunburst as Stellar Flare seemed to give an encouraging nod. The mare cleared her throat. "Oh, Sunburst, thank goodness you are here," She spoke in a noticeably stilted tone of voice. "I could most certainly use your help. These two ponies here refuse to buy any of my essences."

The other earth pony simply growled. "Maybe because we don't like to cover up our natural scent, know what I'm saying?!" She proceeded to lift a hoof and the fuchsia coated earth pony had to struggle not to gag at the incredibly powerful stench that was coming from the other mare.

Stellar Flare cleared her throat quite audibly, and all three mares sighed in unison with each other. The unicorn spoke in a just as stilted tone of voice. "And she refuses to take out any of our books. If only there was somepony skilled at books and getting along with others. Wherever could that pony be?"

Sunburst turned to his mother. "Mom, you don't need to 'create' problems for me to solve at these job interviews. Can you stop doing this?" Then he stormed up to the stand, giving two bottles to the two mares. "Here, use these and maybe take a shower or something. I've smelt worse but that's not a compliment," And then he turned to the essence sales pony and told her. "And you don't need to make your scents so strong. Essence should cover up the smell with something pleasant, not make everypony gag." In his mind he was thinking. "Given the choice I'd rather be back in the Crystal Empire, foalsitting Flurry Heart. At least she doesn't intentionally create problems for me to solve."

Both the fuchsia coated mare and Stellar Flare were impressed by Sunburst's performance. "Nice job, Sunburst. And I mean that for real," The fuchsia coated mare told him. "I've been trying to make that sales pitch to those librarians for months now. In fact, that's the first sale I've had in a long time."

Stellar then encouraged. "So what do you think, Sunburst? Maybe you'd like to consider working at this essence stand? It's right next to the smoothie shop, so you'll never go thirsty. And you'll see lots of ponies every day."

"Not interested, Mom," Sunburst growled. "I don't do essences. Especially not when they smell so strong they're worse than the stench they're trying to cover up! And you can't just make up problems for me to solve and think I'll be okay with that." He stormed away.

"Sunburst, wait!" Stellar called but to no avail. She then turned back to the trio of ponies and told them. "See?! This is what happens when we don't rehearse!" Then she too stormed away.


The next stop on Stellar's "job hunt" was the town bakery. "You can thank Firelight for this still being around," She told her son. "They make the bread just as it used to be. But that's exactly what the problem is."

"What do you mean?" Sunburst nervously asked.

Stellar didn't answer, she just offered her son a roll of bread. It looked perfectly fine to him and it smelled pretty good too. The stallion bit into it. A big mistake on his part! Immediately, a sharp jolt of pain registered in his mouth and he struggled to spit the huge roll back out!

When he finally did, Sunburst's eyes were watering again. "Mother, what the hay?! I almost chipped a tooth!"

Stellar apologized. "Sorry, Sunburst. This is exactly why I think you'll be great here. Apparently, when Firelight told the bakers to make it just like they used to make it, he didn't realize they'd take it so literally," She gestured a hoof to pictures taken years ago, and they depicted numerous ponies with several teeth missing. "The bread used to be so hard you could barely bite into it without a tooth or two going missing."

"On the bright side, they make very fine bricks once they cool," The baker stallion declared before he sighed and hung his head. "I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. I try to follow the original recipe as close as I can, but I don't mean to make it so hard."

"Are you using the right kind of flour?" Sunburst suggested. "I remember when I first tried my hoof at baking, and everything turned harder than concrete. If you don't use the right kind of flour or prepare it properly, you're going to have super hard dough."

"Well, I keep my dough stored in the back. You're welcome to come take a look with me if you'd like." The baker stallion offered.

Sunburst rose to his hooves. "I think I'd better." So he followed the baker stallion to the back. The back of the bakery turned out to be an almost frigid freezer like storage area.

"See?" The baker stallion commented as he adjusted his signature mustache. "I keep the dough stored where it's supposed to be stored, and I always make sure to thaw it out before I use it. It always seems soft enough when thawed, but whenever I use in it bread and put it in the oven it always turns rock hard. What am I doing wrong?"

Sunburst adjusted his glasses and gazed around the walk in freezer. He was used to the cold weather of the Crystal Empire and the surrounding tundra of the Frozen North, so this kind of cold didn't phase him the way it would others. And having foalsat Flurry Heart on so many occasions he had long ago learned how to pick up on even the faintest of sounds (helpful for the many times his young charge loved to disappear on him). His trained ears picked up what sounded like tiny droplets of water. Looking up, he noticed a small hole near the roof, below which the flour sacks were resting.

"I think I know what the problem is," He told the baker at last. "There's a small hole, so small you probably didn't even know it was there. But it's small enough for water to seep in and get into the sacks, hydrating them. And because it's so cold in here, the water freezes. When you take the dough out of here, is it colder in certain spots?"

"Now that you mention it, it always does feel a bit icy to the touch. But I just assumed that was a side effect of being stored in the freezer for so long." The baker stallion replied.

Sunburst shook his head. "Your dough is getting frozen solid because of the leak. It doesn't matter how much you thaw it out. Because it's so cold your oven has to cook the dough for a longer period of time than normal. If you fix the leak, your bread won't be so hard and you won't have all your customers losing their teeth."

The stallion smiled. "Oh thank you, Sunburst! You're a true lifesaver! You should seriously consider working here in this bakery. It seems like you've got a talent for noticing things nopony else would. But then, you always did have a keen eye."

"Thanks, but I'm not very skilled at baking I'm afraid," The once proud magic student politely replied as he adjusted his glasses. "Still, I'm happy I could help."


"Sunburst, how come you don't seem to want a job in this town?" Stellar Flare asked her son as they left the bakery. "You've managed to solve problems even I could never figure out. And I'm the one trying to make Sire's Hollow more modern, it's what I founded the Sire's Hollow Development Society in the first place."

"And you and Firelight seem to be trying to take the town in different directions. Maybe if you and Firelight would work together more often and took a more active role in managing Sire's Hollow, you wouldn't have so many problems." Sunburst suggested and in his mind he thought. "And maybe you wouldn't be breathing down my neck so much about getting a job here."

Stellar appeared to take notice of her son's suggestion. "I might have to come up with a few plans for that. Firelight and I have mostly been staying out of each other's way up to this point, but I suppose we could do more if we worked together," With a chuckle she added. "How come you're not working as a problem solver in some big city or something? Ponies should be trotting to you from miles around."

"Because I'm perfectly fine with my life as it is, Mom," Sunburst declared. "Now can we please stop with all the job interviews? I don't need them!"

"Oh but Sunburst, sweetie," Stellar spoke in a sweet, maternalistic tone. "I've saved the very best for last. I've got a job I think you'd be very interested in. I know how much you love books."

Sunburst deduced what his mother was about to suggest ."You're going to get me a job at the town library?" His suspicions were confirmed when his mom nodded. "And you promise it's the last interview you've got lined up for me this whole weekend?" His mom nodded again. "Fine, I suppose I can give it a fair shot. But if I say no to it then that's it, you have to stop breathing down my neck about getting a job like you promised to do before we came here."

"Fair enough, Sunburst, you've got a deal," Stellar proudly declared. "But once you see how glamorous the life of a librarian can be, you'll dump your old job and move back to Sire's Hollow in an instant!"


Stellar brought Sunburst to the library and right to the front desk, quickly striking up a conversation with the current librarian (it was the earth pony mare Sunburst had given the essence to earlier).

But just as Stellar was about to ask the librarian if she'd be willing to let Sunburst fill her spot for a while, who should come trotting into the library but Firelight and Starlight?

Stellar turned to greet her guests with a smile. "Firelight! My my, how funny to see you and Starlight here," She commented. "Why I was just talking to the librarian here about possibly letting Sunburst take her place. Sunburst always did like books."

Sunburst put a hoof to his forehead. "For the last time, Mom. I already have a job."

"A job you won't tell me about," Stellar replied. "Besides, wouldn't you want a job that makes good money and lets you make something of yourself? Plus, this way I can see you every day, and so can your father. Oh, how I wish he were back from his vacation to Las Pegasus so he could see this!"

"Well I know a certain silly filly who'd probably love to have her childhood friend working here," Firelight encouraged. "Sunburst would make an excellent librarian. Isn't that right, honey bun?"

"Sure, if he actually wanted or needed the job, which he doesn't," Starlight protested. "And before you ask, no, I'm not giving up my position as guidance counselor and acting headmare should Twilight have to leave. After everything Twilight's done for me, I owe it to her to help oversee her school and make it a dream come true. I'm starting to think I should hire Sunburst to come be my assistant there, just so he has a reason not to have his mom breathing down his neck the way you are with me."

Firelight only shook his head. "Oh, do I sense my little filly is acting up? I would hate to have you pay a visit to the time out corner, honey bun."

"Again, Dad, I'm not a little filly," Starlight sighed and groaned. "This is exactly why I've been avoiding coming back here to see you. Because I knew you'd treat me this way!"

"Honey bun-" Firelight began.

Starlight threw up a hoof. "I'm not done! You show up in my life after all these years and you seem to act like nothing's changed, like everything's still good. But we both know that's a lie. Things change, I've changed! The sweet and innocent little filly you once knew is gone! I've done things... terrible things! Things I wish more than anything I could take back, but I can't!"

"Sweetie, it can't be that bad. If you were truly some kind of horrible monster, which you aren't, you wouldn't be such a successful pony right now," Firelight sweetly replied. "Please, whatever your past is, it doesn't have to haunt you here. I'm your father, a father's job is to listen and to understand."

"You say that, and yet if you knew the truth about what I did you'd be scared out of your wits and want nothing to do with me!" Starlight protested as tears welled up inside her. "I'm a terrible daughter! It was so easy for me to blame you for not being around because of work, when in fact I was the one who ran away the moment my friend got his cutie mark before me! I tried to take cutie marks away from other ponies and tried to alter the past so I could come out on top! Is that really a pony you think you could understand?!"

Firelight's mouth dropped open in shock! The stallion found himself at a loss for words. "S...Starlight, I..."

The mare just sobbed and turned around. "No, don't look at me! Coming back here was a mistake! I can't relive the past, because I'm not the pony you think I am!" And she ran off without another word.

"Starlight, wait!" Firelight pleaded but it was no use, his daughter ran off and disappeared.


Starlight was still sobbing to herself by the fountain in the middle of town when she received a visit sometime later from Sunburst of all ponies. "Hey, Starlight," He greeted, his tone of voice sounding noticeably somber. "Looks like you had quite the break down back there."

"I'll say," Starlight sighed as her sobs died down a little. Her voice became raspy and her eyes were stained red. "It's just, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. On the one hoof I don't want my dad treating me like a little filly because I'm all grown up, but on the other hoof I'm terrified of what'll happen when he finds out what a horrible pony I was. And I can't blame him for the decisions I made myself."

"Hey, you're not the only one whose parent has been driving them crazy since before we even got here," Sunburst replied as he gestured a hoof to hold Starlight's neck. "I think my mom took the news of me flunking out of Celestia's school really hard, she's been trying to come up with 'plans' for my future. But I've already picked out one, I'm happy with the pony I am now."

"That's easy for you to say, Sunburst. The worst you ever did was shut yourself off from the world for a while," Starlight responded in her raspy voice. "You can still come back to your parents and say you're a good pony."

Sunburst adjusted his glasses. "Well you are too. Look at all the wonderful things you've accomplished in the past two years."

"But does any of that compare to almost destroying Equestria to get what I wanted?" Starlight nervously asked. "Your parents were always around growing up, your parents could be there for you no matter what. You're not the one who was a latch key filly that stayed up at night, waiting for her dad to come home. You're not the one who ran away without even telling said dad where she was going. And for him to just act like it's all okay, that it's like it never even happened, it just doesn't feel right to me. And what's even worse is that he seems intent to treat me like I'm his little filly, like it was only yesterday I ran away."

"And you haven't told him any of this?" Sunburst asked to which Starlight shook her head. "Well then, you know that's what you need to do. Regardless of what may happen, your father has a right to know. And if you don't tell him how you feel, how he's going to know he's not treating you right?"

Starlight looked up at Sunburst. "And what if I tell him, and he wants nothing to do with me? What if I tell him and he disowns me on the spot? What then?"

"Well, you'll still have me to support you. I'm one pony that knows you're a good pony inside, flaws and everything," Sunburst reassured his troubled friend. "I can go with you if you'd like."

But Starlight leaped to her hooves. "No, Sunburst! This is something I have to do on my own! If not, how can I call myself a good guidance counselor? I just hope that when it's over, I won't have destroyed the relationship with my father forever."

Sunburst watched as Starlight dashed off back to the library, leaving him on his own once again. And it was then that he knew what he had to do. Much like Starlight the time had come for him to confront his parent over the way she was treating him. And hopefully, like Starlight, when it was over he would not have irrevocably destroyed the relationship or otherwise damaged it.


Sunburst found his mother not at the library, but back at home (which coincidentally was not far from Starlight's home. Sunburst could well remember how often he would invite Starlight over to his house when they were little ponies. It helped that doing so allowed Stellar Flare to keep a closer eye on the filly she was entrusted with watching).

He found Stellar Flare inside, looking over a discarded pile of various scrolls. No doubt they were all plans for Sunburst, because it wasn't like her to discard plans if she thought they could still be of some use.

"Mom?" Sunburst called as he cleared his throat, hoping to draw attention to himself.

It worked, Stellar turned around slowly and locked eyes with her son. "Oh, it's you. Look, I know why you're here. You've come to tell me that you're going back to Ponyville or wherever it is you currently live, and you're not coming back here ever again," She let out a long sigh. "I don't blame you. I was so eager to have you back with me that I didn't stop to think about what you might want to do."

Sunburst shook his head. "No, Mom, it's nothing like that. You're my mom, I could never hate you no matter how hard you may try to make that so. I just don't always need you to come up with plans for me. I'm a full grown stallion, I'm perfectly capeble of taking care of myself. And as I told you multiple times, I already have a job. I'm a Crystaller. Not just any Crystaller though, I'm officially the Royal Crystaller for Princess Flurry Heart who's the heir to the crystal throne. Though right now she's still just a baby."

"I see. So basically you've become a glorified foalsitter," Stellar commented and couldn't help but snicker. "I guess that means you get paid to change diapers."

"Among other things," Sunburst corrected. "But I think I know why it is that you're coming up with so many plans for me. Why you're so intent on trying to find things for me to do," Now it was his turn to sigh. "It's because I flunked out of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, isn't it?"

"Well... yes," Stellar confessed. "I still remember when you wrote to me, telling me that you were going to drop out because you couldn't keep up with the lessons. You could talk the talk but you couldn't walk the walk so to speak. You were so eager to go to the school once you got your cutie mark, kept talking about how you'd be that big, important wizard you always dreamed of becoming. I started to wonder if maybe your father and I were too quick to send you off. You never even got a chance to say goodbye to Starlight, your closest friend. And I watched her struggle every day that you were away, hoping you'd come back or respond to her letters."

"That was really more my fault," Sunburst replied to his mom. "I got so excited when I got my cutie mark after all that waiting! I thought I could do everything and anything I set my mind to. But even when Princess Celestia herself took me under her wing for a brief period of time, i started to realize the limits of my abilities. I could read and understand even the most complicated of magical spells, but actually putting them into practice took more than what I had. After that, I was too ashamed to ever show my face in Sire's Hollow again. After all the expectations I'd placed on myself, to come home a failure was more than I could bare."

"Sunburst... I had no idea you felt that way!" Stellar realized as she stumbled back. "No wonder you were avoiding this town for so long."

Sunburst glumly admitted. "Yes, as much I'm ashamed to it that's why I never responded to any of your letters. Especially once I became that Crystaller, I thought I'd finally buried my past. That I'd never have to give it another thought ever again. I should've known you can't bury the past so easily, it always comes back to haunt you eventually."

Stellar was silent for a moment, before she asked her son. "Why didn't you ever tell me this? Even just one letter would've been a major help."

"Would you have believed me though?" Sunburst inquired with a glare. "Be honest."

"W...well, I want to say yes..." Stellar began before she then gulped. "But another part of me knows that probably isn't true. I'd have probably assumed you just needed one of my plans."

"But don't you see? Not everything in life can be planned," Sunburst protested. "Do you think I planned to end up as a crystaller who also doubles as Flurry Heart's foalsitter? Do you think I planned to tell Starlight or you what became of me after magic school?"

Stellar Flare said nothing, and her silence spoke volumes.

"It's all okay though, Mom. In the end, everything worked out for the better," Sunburst added. "I appreciate that you want to be there for me, but you can't. You have to be willing to let me live my own life. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Stellar nodded her head in agreement. "For the first time all weekend, Sunburst, I do," Then she grinned. "You know, maybe I oughta take a break from all this planning and come see you? I'm not sure what exactly this Crystal Empire is that you live in, but it sounds lovely. Tell me, is it nice this time of year?"

"So long as you don't mind the cold it's lovely all year round," Sunburst happily declared. "It's like a little slice of heaven."

"Well then, if you promise to visit more often, I promise I'll come and see you in the Crystal Empire someday," Stellar Flare proudly declared. "And when I do, you can be the one to come up with a plan. A plan for where you'll take me and what you'll show me."

"A-actually, I much prefer to go with the flow," Sunburst nervously chuckled. "And if you start to drive me crazy, I'll let you know instead of... never talking to you or writing to you," Then he adjusted his glasses. "I hope there's still time to show me what else has changed here since I left. Maybe I could even take another look at that gate and figure out why that recording kept getting stuck."

Stellar shook her head. "It sounded like a good idea, but obviously not all good ideas turn out that way when you put them into practice. You can take a look at it if you want to, but I think the citizens of this town will sleep better without it."


"And that's my story, Starlight. The whole thing," Sunburst finished. "Including the parts I... didn't want you to know about."

"Well, I told you all about my past even when I didn't want to," Starlight admitted as she snuggled up closer to the stallion. "Did you really think I wouldn't be curious about yours? I always wondered what happened to you in the time between going off to Celestia's school, and becoming Flurry Heart's crystaller. What, did you think if I found out I wouldn't want to be your friend anymore?"

Sunburst nervously replied. "K-kind of. You're a hard book to read, Starlight."

Starlight chuckled. "Not anymore, I'm not! Now I'm an open book, and so are you. We both have parts of our past we thought we could keep hidden. But in fact, trying to keep them hidden is what things that much harder when they were exposed."

"Huh, never really thought about it like that." Sunburst realized.

"By the way," Starlight went on. "Did you ever get a look at the gate? And did you actually fix it?"

Sunburst shook his head. "Even if I could've it would've just kept saying 'Welcome to Sire's Hollow!' every single time it was pushed open. I figured the whole town was better off without it."

"Yeah, good point," Starlight realized with a chuckle. "So, I guess it's back to staying in touch via letters? After all, you're busy as Flurry Heart's foalsitter and I've got the position as guidance counselor and acting headmare at Twilight's school. Plus, Trixie still sometimes need my help with her magic show. Though she is getting better from what she tells me."

"One of these days you two should think about taking your magic show on the road," Sunburst suggested. "If it ever came to the Crystal Empire, I'd be sure to get a front row seat. And if you needed a volunteer, I could fill that role in a heartbeat."

Starlight giggled. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Sunburst. For now, I'm pretty comfortable living in Ponyville and working with Twilight. And Trixie seems perfectly content perfecting her magical tricks in the peace and quiet of Ponyville. It helps that all the students at the school are so easily entertained."

"Seems like you're doing pretty well for yourself, Starlight," Sunburst smiled. "Maybe I'll talk to Cadence about taking some time off in the near future to come and see you, how's that?"

Starlight let out a yawn. "Sounds great, Sunburst. Now, I think I'm gonna take a bit of a nap. It's still a long train ride back to Ponyville and I wanna feel refreshed. Especially since Twilight and Spike will wanna know how the trip went." And she departed the train car for another, leaving Sunburst alone.

Unknown to Starlight, Sunburst had a letter similar to the ones he'd always been getting from his mother. But only he knew what it meant. There was nothing really written in the letter, but he was still going to frame the envelope up on a wall in his house when he got back to the Crystal Empire. That way he'd always remember where he'd come from, and that he had loving parents ready to support him no matter what.