• Published 13th Mar 2019
  • 1,235 Views, 85 Comments

Bits, Pieces and other Scrapped Ideas - FoolAmongTheStars



A compilation of stories and ideas that didn't quite make it.

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In Which Starlight Glimmer Overreacts

Author's Note:

Summary: Sunburst is sick, and who better to nurse him back to help than his helpful marefriend? Well, he could think of twenty different ponies who could do a better job, but it's the thought that counts.

Warnings: None

A/N: It's okay Starlight, you tried, and that's why Sunburst loves you.

For her dates with Sunburst, Starlight Glimmer didn't have to do much.

All she needed to do was look presentable and stay out of trouble. Today, she didn't think trouble was even a possibility, as the plan was a picnic out in the park. So, aside from bringing a blanket, the only thing she needed to do was come up with a legitimate excuse to nibble on Sunburst's neck in public. As she headed for the door and wondered if 'I saw a piece of chocolate on your neck and was trying to wipe it away with my teeth' was plausible, she bumped into one of the Royal Guards at her door.

"A letter, from the Crystaller Sunburst," he said and handed her the note, giving her a quick salute before he marched off.

Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline, but she quickly opened the note and read its contents. Soon, her confused expression melted into one of horror and she gasped, dropping the piece of paper without a second thought and running down the streets as fast as her four legs could carry her.

Meanwhile, Sunburst was as miserable as he could be. After sending word to Starlight, he'd burrow himself under the couch with his warmest blanket, and brought along his favorite novels to pass the time, fully intending to stay there until his cold passed. He got comfortable under the covers and sighed, cracking open the first volume of Daring Do's adventures. His kitchen was stocked, he had a box of tissues by his side, and he knew that a day's rest was all he needed to get better.

His reading was interrupted─quite rudely─when his front door was slammed open, almost giving him a heart attack on top of his cold, and there stood his special pony, thoroughly exhausted and thoroughly upset. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she jabbed a hoof behind her. "Let's go! I got a carriage!"

Sunburst stared in disbelief, wondering if his fevered state was making him hallucinate. "...Starlight, what are you doing?"

"We got to take you to the hospital!" She ran to his side, trying to push him off the couch. "No time to waste!"

He managed to stop her by shoving her to the side. "Starlight Glimmer, you're being ridiculous. It's just a cold, nothing more."

"But what if it gets worse!" She tried to yank his blanket off, but he yanked it back. "What if starts like a cold, but then your ears fall off?! Or if you cough your lungs out?!"

Looking back on this, he would find her paranoia kinda endearing. Right now, it was annoying and the last thing he needed, he laid back down, indignant. "It's just a cold. Now go home and let me read my books." A sneeze escaped him, and he buried himself further under the blanket.

But she didn't move from her spot. Instead, she toed the carpet, her ears lowered in a pitiful expression. "...Isn't there anything I can do?"

Sighing, he looked up at her, taking pity on her saddened expression. "Well...I guess some tea could─"

"On it!" Just as soon as she arrived, she was gone, teleporting away in a flash of teal blue and, judging by the crash and a thud that he heard, landed on his kitchen table. Sighing again, Sunburst forced himself to stand, closed the door Starlight had left open, and then retreated to his couch. Though he was grateful for Starlight's concern, he almost rather not have it. Aside from her overactive imagination and tendency to blow things out of proportion, Sunburst wasn't a pretty sight to look at today. He wasn't vain by nature, but even he knew he looked terrible: baggy eyes, snotty red nose, matted mane, and fur, coupled with his sneezing didn't make him Equestria's most eligible bachelor at the moment. To put it simply, he look and felt hideous, and she was the last pony he wanted to be seen by in this manner.

But what can you do...once the tea was made, she'd leave, and then tomorrow he'd be his normal self again. Wrapping the blanket tightly around him, he focused his attention on his book, trying to get lost in its pages. However, in the midst of Daring Do heist of the dragon ruby, Sunburst couldn't ignore the clamoring sounds from the kitchen. From what he could guess, several appliances were being dropped, water spilling and Starlight had learned new swear words from Trixie. Clicking his tongue against his teeth, he called out. "Is everything okay in there?"

"Just fine!" she yelled, with a false tone of nonchalance. "You just rest!"

Something occurred to Sunburst, then. "...You do know how to make tea, right?"

The hesitation that followed was all the answer he needed, but Starlight spoke anyway. "O-Of course! You just...have to...boil water, and...um...well, experience is the best teacher, as Twilight says!"

"Oh, forget it." Sunburst pressed his face into the pages of his novel.

"Wait, hold on! I can still make something! I'll...I'll make soup! I definitely know how to make soup!" More noises followed as she desperately tried to clean up and change her priorities.

He realized then that Starlight wasn't going to leave him at all. Why did he have to date such a considerate mare? Why couldn't she just leave him until he was decent company again, inside and out? Biting back a groan, he went back to the land of fiction. Fortunately, the sounds of the kitchen quieted down, so perhaps her culinary skills were up to par. Granted, her usual masterpieces were done with the aid of her magic, and he didn't hear the tell-tale sounds of spells being used, but how hard could it be to make soup? Managing to reassure himself, he continued reading the part where Daring Do manages to escape the guards of the Dragon Palace.

When he eventually got tired of reading, Starlight reappeared, walking around the couch and holding a tray. "Soup's ready!" she chirped, placing it on the coffee table near the couch. "Vegetable noodle soup is the best thing for a cold."

Finally managing a genuine smile, Sunburst sat up, still hiding his body with the blanket. He was wearing an oversized sweater partially covered in snot, and it was not something he wanted her to remember. "Thank you, it looks..."

It looked absolutely disgusting.

"...Starlight. What is this?" He pointed at the foreign substance in his bowl, trying his best not to gag.

"Like I said, vegetable soup." The mare repeated, with a slight uneasiness in her voice. "What's wrong with it?"

Did she want a list? He picked up the spoon she'd place on the table, using it to lift up a pink floating chunk. "...You cut up my uncooked beetroot and tossed it in there."

"Can't have vegetable soup without beetroot."

"You took the noodles from my leftover spaghetti."

"Can't have vegetable soup without noodles."

"You put pepper in it."

"Can't have vegetable soup without...seasoning?"

Dropping the spoon back into the bowl, Sunburst had the idea to tell her there was soup in a can in his cabinet, but then grew terrified at the notion of Starlight handling a stove. "Actually...I'm not that hungry." Avoiding her disappointed look, he ran a hoof over his eyes. "Starlight, I appreciate you trying to help. Now get out of my house."

"No way! I want to help you! Pleeeeeease?" She leaned over him, almost tipping over the failed experiment in the bowl. "How about chores? You can't do chores when your sick, right?"

Why wouldn't she leave? Why was she insisting so much? He was absolutely hideous so there was no need for her to try so hard. It was boggling his mind. "....I did want to do some cleaning."

She saluted, happy to be of service. "I'll make this place so clean you won't recognize it!"

He made a vague gesture to the side. "The broom is in the closet." Off she went to fetch it, and as he heard the closet door click open, he bit his lip and closed his eyes tightly. Sure, she could write a spell to travel through time and perform other complex enchantments without so much as reading the material necessary to do them, but taking care of the sick? Sneezing again, he used up several tissues, feeling worse with each blow of his nose. Surely the longer she stuck around, the more gross-out she'd be at him. Trying to ignore his bout of self-loathing, he threw his attention back to his book, where Daring Do was close to unveiling the evil plot of the Historic Society.

Minutes passed, and when Daring Do was double-crossed by the handsome explorer she had an interest in, Sunburst heard something crashing and a yelp of surprise, knowing without a doubt who had screamed like that. He shut his eyes tightly, wondering if he could ignore this latest disaster. Since it only got worse, he knew he couldn't remain oblivious, and, growling, he sat up, looking behind his couch as the sound had come from there.

Apparently, in her effort to dust off his antique collection, Starlight had toppled over the display, she had an ancient jar balanced precariously in one hoof, holding the cabinet at an awkward angle in the other, and an impressive tower of knick-knacks piled up on her back while the broom kept sweeping the floor thanks to her magic.

Feeling an odd mix of love and exasperation for her, Sunburst stood up yet again, using the blanket to cover his body from the neck down. He shuffled his way to her and using his magic, he saved his collection from meeting an untimely demise. As he righted the cabinet and returned the items to their proper place, the lovers turned to face each other. The female had a sheepish smile, her cheeks pink with embarrassment, and the male's face was red out of fever. Taking a deep breath he announced, "I'm going back to bed, and you're going to leave my house."

The broom dropped with a clatter, not hitting anything besides the floor thankfully, and Starlight made her way towards him. "There's must be something I can do! Anything!"

"Starlight..."

"How about I make your bed?"

"Starlight..."

"Or I could read to you!"

"Starlight...!"

"I could cast a spell that─"

"STARLIGHT GLIMMER!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, stomping his hoof. "I'M ABSOLUTELY HIDEOUS, NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

Surprise overtook her, more for the self-deprecation than the anger. She cautiously stepped over, placing a gentle hoof on his shoulder. "What are you talking about? You're not hideous."

He snorted and looked away. "Of course I am. I'm ugly and snotty, and I sound ghastly, and I haven't showered, and I'm wearing pajamas, and, and..." He felt worse for having listed his faults, yet, strangely enough, Starlight merely smiled.

She lovingly patted his cheek, trying to smooth his feelings. "Don't be silly. You're still as handsome as ever...just a little snotty but that's all." To prove that his illness hadn't deterred her affections any, she even laid a small kiss on his cheek.

Perhaps it was the medication kicking in, or being showered with her honest affections, but Sunburst decided to stop fighting her attentions. Resigning himself to his fate, he slithered a hoof out from the blanket and touched her foreleg. "So, you really want to help me?"

"I'm not going anywhere." She nuzzled him, a friendly reminder.

"Alright." Keeping a hold of her hoof, he decided to forgo the bed and returned to the couch. When he sat down, he tugged her hoof so she would sit as well, and once she had, he put the blanket so it was around both their shoulders. "They say the fastest way to get rid of a cold is to give it to somepony else." He mumbled, snuggling up to her, resting his chin on the top of her head, resenting her for her stubbornness, and adoring her for just about everything else.

Starlight snuggled up to him, breathing out a content sigh, relaxed. He opened his book again and continued reading where he left off, when Daring Do was making her escape with the Curse Crown of the Dragons, Starlight quietly whispered into her boyfriend's skin. "Hey, Sunny, I think there's a piece of chocolate on your neck..."