A Conversant Stranger

Starlight Glimmer gently put the tip of the cup to her lips, taking a slow slip.

Across from her, sitting in one of the outside tables in front of the homely café, sat a man. She watched him, as she had been for the past fifteen minutes.

He was handsome.

Red hair, fair complexion, high cheekbones. His face was fair and pleasant to look at. From his strong jaw, his long neck, to his broad shoulders stretch across his torso, he looked wise and confident. His waist was slimming, his tailored shirt and jacket loose.

Starlight would have never spotted him, had he not first disrupted the momentary peace of the café if his porcelain cup hadn’t slipped from his grasp and shatter into a million pieces on the floor. Like ants, the waiters rushed to clean up the mess. They quickly ran over to his little table with mops, rags, and a trashcan to pick up the colorful shards.

Embarrassed and somewhat flabbergasted by the incident, the man jumped from his seat and tried to help. The waiter-ants ignored his attempts, setting him down once they were done and handing him another cup of coffee.

However proficient the servers were, no matter how mortified the man was, Starlight could see that another accident was inevitable, as his mind appeared to be anywhere but on this planet.

His large hands fluttered over his chocolate biscuit and the second coffee cup. They were like birds that were either so eager to fly they kept tripping on their feet, or rather (Starlight assumed this to be the most likely), they were so scared stiff the mere thought of leaving the nest on some strange journey rendered them senseless.

Sure enough, as she watched, his elbow inched closer to the light blue cup, the liquid peering out over the lip. She felt sorry for the small cup, which had an adorable design of two ponies running along the rim, yet she could not do anything but gaze as the man’s elbow continued to tip the cup over. After a short struggle, the cup gave up to its fate, and gravity took over and sent it over the edge.

As the tell-tale crash resounded to the front doors of the café, Starlight heard the distinct sound of irritation in one of the waiter’s voice as he said to his colleague, “Oh, not again. Comet Tail, get another cup.”

Starlight couldn’t blame them for their annoyance, after all, she wouldn’t be as cheery if she had to clean up after the same guy twice, and yet she still wished that they could pity him a little more.

Instead of sitting idly, and watching the man distress once again by the turn of events, Starlight got up from her chair and kneeled next to the man, who was hunched over picking up the pieces of the second fallen cup.

“Here, let me help,” Starlight said.

The man glanced up at her, the corners of his mouth curving upwards in a cheerless smile.

“Thank you, miss,” he said. The sound of his deep voice sparked a tiny sense of longing, it reminded her of a voice she had heard not too long ago. Starlight shook her head, though the sense of yearning did not leave her.

They picked up the pieces slowly (the waiters were taking a bit longer to get over here, Starlight noticed).

Now that Starlight was closer, she could judge the man more easily. His boyish face suggested his age to be around mid-twenties or early thirties. There were already small signs of wrinkles by his eyes, hidden slightly by the frame of his spectacles.

Charming, Starlight thought as she picked up the last piece.

After tossing the pieces into the trash, the man straightened up his back and held out his hand to her. “Thanks again for helping me.” He gave a small chuckle. “I’m sorry I’m such a handful.”

Starlight like the sound of his laugh. It again reminded her of someone she knew, though she tried very hard not to make the comparison. So, this is you in this universe.

The man gestured to the chair opposite his own on the table. “Please, allow me to get you something.”

Starlight felt her cheeks warm up. His blues eyes, wonderfully intense blue eyes, settled on her and she felt very light all of the sudden.

“Oh, there’s no need. Thank you. I was just-“she began before the man held up his finger.

“No, no, I insist,” he gestured once more to the lone chair. He leaned closer to her, his mouth close enough that Starlight could just barely detect the sweetness of coffee on his breath. “After all, you’re the only one that bothered to help me.”

Feeling light, Starlight obliged, giving her one of his best smiles. What am I doing? She thought as the man ordered from the slightly aggravated waiter. His closeness put her at ease, and his overall manners and voice gave her the impression she knew this man very well, though she arrived in this dimension a little over a day ago.

Yet as he turned his eyes on her once more, and his smile, Starlight felt her worries ease down into her stomach.

“Well, what a way to meet.” He began, his eyes bright. “I’m afraid you’ve caught me on one of my worst days.”

His eyes, they’re so expressive, Starlight notices, and found herself very fond of the fact. I like his eyes.

The man began some small talk as they waited for their order. “Are you foreign, perhaps? I hear a bit of an accent in your words?”

You have no idea. “Yes, I am. I…um…visiting a friend for a few days before school starts.”

“Ah, well, you have come to a wonderful place. The city of the young, they call it.” He grinned at himself, as though he told a very amusing joke. “Lovely place to visit, lovely place to live, lovely place to…well…”

His hand was tapping his knee impatiently. As the waiter brought over the coffee, Starlight could not help but notice his eyes darted around the café furiously.

He was not paying any attention at all to the third cup. Another fatality was destined.

Starlight put a piece of hair behind her ear, as she leaned forward and hesitantly asked, “Um…why is your hand doing that?”

The man looked at her, opened his mouth to say something, then shut it quickly. His eyes descended downward slowly, as though he could not believe himself. In an instant, his hand stopped tapping and he turned to Starlight with an apologetic grin.

“Ah, yes, of course, er…that is…” he paused, searching for the right words. “To be frank, I have no idea.”

How honest, Starlight thought as she listened to his voice, which dipped and rose with anxiety. Who’s Frank?

“Today,” he started, talking more to himself than her. “Is the first day of the rest of my life: I’m about to either make the biggest mistake possible or…”

He paused once more, his hand tapping his knee again. Starlight felt the need to say something, and at the same time, she saw that he just needed to blab, which he was comfortable doing.

“Or it could be the day that destroys me. Ha, ha.” His laugh was devoid of any humor. She had heard the same laugh when everything seemed lost. It was a laugh of hopelessness, something she hoped to never hear again.

The man was fumbling with something in his pocket now. With the tips of his fingers, he gently tugged a tiny box. Black velvet glistened in the light as his thumb went over the lid, petting it like a cat. Or something very expensive.

Wondering what was inside, Starlight could only guess what important thing could fit inside something so small. She didn’t dare to ask, for the way he was showing it to her, he expected her to know exactly what it was.

Feigning surprise and smiling, she nodded her head, pretending to know exactly what he was talking about, praying he didn’t catch how dumbstruck she truly was.

Not that she should have worried anyways, for the man’s eyes did not look up from the thing as he gazed at it in pure amazement. His eyes grew distant, and Starlight knew he was no longer looking at the box, or her, or at anything around them. He was engrossed in his world, perhaps the one revolving around whatever meaning the thing inside the box had.

Starlight finished her tea (it tasted sweet and bitter, a lovely combination) and sat still, debating whether she should tell the man that she had to leave. It was the polite thing to do, back in her dimension, at least.

However, Starlight thought, this isn’t my dimension. And as she looked at the man, who still had not returned from his world, she felt he would not notice her missing. Starlight got up from the table, quietly too, and walked out to the park across the street without further incident.

She stopped under the shade of a tree and watched as the man sat up abruptly, his entire posture changed. A woman, Starlight regretfully could not see her face, glided over to the man and sat down in the seat Starlight had occupied.

Ah, so that’s who he was waiting for, she thought as she watched them talk for a minute. Then her suspicion over the box as something valuable was proved correct as she witnesses the man slid it over across the table. The woman (now she really wished she could see her face!) stopped moving, as though her breath was taken away. She then jumped and tackled the man in a fierce hug, then she proceeded to kiss him deeply, amid the cheers that erupted from the café. The moment was more intimate than she expected, and Starlight blushed, turning away from the lovers with an impish smile. She felt a bit strange, as though she had walked in on two people pronouncing their love in an almost sexual way.

The sense of familiarity still resided in her chest. She knew that man, well, at least a version that lived in her universe. Starlight could not help but feel a small tingle of jealousy, knowing the lady (who, from the way she glided to the man, indicated quite clearly that she was more mature and graceful than Starlight would ever be) was the one he loved.

Stop it, she chided herself. He might look like him but it’s not him, besides, I just met him for a few minutes, why do I feel like this?

Her question went unanswered, and she forgot it when the device in her pocket started ringing. She took it out and fumble with the buttons for a bit, before remembering how to answer it.

“H-Hello?” she said, pressing the thing to her ear unsurely.

“Starlight, where are you?” Sunset Shimmer asked, her voice coming out as a shrill, Starlight flinched at the noise. “You can’t just run off like that! Now get your butt over here or we’re going to miss the movie!”

“Alright, alright, geez!” Starlight said and turn it off, stuffing it back into her pocket with a huff, and ran in the direction of the movie theater.

The incident, understandably, went forgotten for quite some time until she was suddenly reminded of it. In another café, in another place, with the same and yet different man, or rather, stallion.

They sat together on the table, Starlight sipping on a cup of tea while Sunburst was engrossed in one of his books. He didn't completely block her out, however, for once in a while he would look up and excitedly explain certain parts of the book that he found interesting.

Sunburst walked over to Starlight, his book in tow, and bowed his head as he showed her an interesting page of the tome. With his head bowed, his floppy hair covered his eyebrows, a jagged line across his eyes. On impulse, Starlight reached up and touched his forehead, just behind his horn, letting his hair slide between her hoof as she moved it back. Sunburst looked down at her with a look of surprise mixed with awkwardness. Awkwardness won out in the end because his cheeks were colored with a hint of pink.

“Starlight?” he whispered, hoping that nobody around them took notice of their strange embrace. It would be more than he could take if some pony he knew saw them like this, especially in regards to the mixed feelings he had for the mare. He rightfully wondered if she could hear the blood rushing under his skin or the increase of his heartbeats.

Starlight, of course, had not the slightest idea of what she was doing to the stallion, staring intently in his eyes with curiosity. Intense. Like the man’s, but not quite.

She ran the tip of her hoof down his cheek, feeling his warm skin, still unaware. His eyes do the same thing. They're very expressive too. She reflected, remembering some of the times he smiled at her. Different, but still the same.

“Starlight?” Sunburst gulped.

The corners of Starlight’s lips curved upwards and she looked at him with newfound wisdom.

“You need a haircut,” she said.

At times, new-found wisdom is best kept to oneself until the appropriate occasion. And at the current moment, Starlight would simply relish in it, savor it and swim in the delight. Someday, she might let him in on her wisdom.

Perhaps.

Author's Note:

Remember that we didn't see Sunburst in the Equestria girls special? Well, I present you my headcanon as to why he wasn't there (besides, you know, the obvious reason that the writers simply didn't want him there).
My first draft included human Sunburst as the school's history teacher, and Starlight experiencing both feelings of attraction and guilt as she attended his classes, but I dropped it because of the age difference that I would have to implement if I wanted the story to work.
I hope you guys had as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

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