Starlit Romance

by Test4Echo

Food and a Show

Tonight was the night! The whole two days that Starlight had to wait were pure torture. Every chance she had to interact with Sunburst had been an arduous task of keeping herself from calling the date off there and just making out with him. But, she made it.

This area of Ponyville was a rather new section, designed to be part of the student housing for the School of Friendship. There were days when she wondered why Twilight never offered her castle to the students that couldn't live in the school itself, but never got around to it.

The sun was low in the sky, red and orange streaks of light painting the houses in warm colors. A faint breeze blew through the street, rustling the leaves on the young trees and causing them to sway.

"Oh buck me! Has he bailed? Oh, he better not have bailed!" she ruminated, pacing back and forth outside the restaurant of choice, Parfait Poutinerie Prançais de Pierre. The sign for the restaurant was of a giant, gruff pony holding up some hayfries slathered in gravy and cheese curds. Slowly, Starlight was beginning to regret eating here.

As she had made her way to the restaurant, she swore that she saw somepony ducking behind cover every so often, but she never got a glimpse of the culprit. Eventually, she just let it go as a trick of the shadows from the setting sun.

She continued pacing, her hoofsteps thudding and crunching against the gravelly road. It was almost a quarter after six! "Oh, when he gets here, I'll tell him what's for!" she angrily thought to herself, nearly colliding with a couple of other restaurant guests.

She'd even done herself up, too! Well, not that one would be able to really tell, but she had gotten Rarity to give her mane a quick perm and managed to grab one of the last bottles of perfume from the Perfume & Toilets shop. "Why are there so many weird shops here in Ponyville?" she mused as she waited, finally stopping in her tracks and going to sit outside near the entrance.

She received a few glares from guests that entered and gave a few nervous smiles in return. "Hurry up, Sunburst. I don't want to keep looking like a homeless pony."

"Starlight!" she heard Sunburst call. She whirled around, trying to find her date before being swept up behind in a strong hug. Closing her eyes, she felt him inhale the perfume she was wearing, a smile creeping upon her face. "Okay, maybe I won't kill him. Yet, anyway."

Turning around, she beamed and took in his appearance. At first, it didn't seem that he had done anything different for the night, but then she noticed his cloak was a slightly brighter shade of blue.

Noticing her staring, Sunburst explained, "Oh, I uh, I have a few spares. You never know when you might need a replacement cape!" He smiled, a few dandruff flakes falling off his mane as he raised his head proudly.

Snickering, Starlight gave him another hug and nuzzled his neck. "Well, you finally showed up." She breathed in. Thankfully—to her, anyway—he hadn't showered, and his mane still smelled wonderful. Stepping back, she suggested, "How about we head inside? They may start to think we're looking for a free meal."

"Oh, you're right. Sorry to keep you waiting, I just had a hard time deciding what to wear." He sheepishly grinned, leading her by the hoof.

"You have a closet of the same cloaks, how hard was it to choose?" she inquired as the two waited to be seated by the maître d’. The restaurant was definitely not some smelly fast food joint, but it wasn't really high class either.

The maître d’ was a squat, brown pony with thick wrinkles around his eyes. When he saw Sunburst and Starlight enter, he walked around his stand and said in a heavy Prench accent, "Ah! Two more 'onored guests! Welcome to Parfait Poutinerie Prançais de Pierre! Right zis way, s'il vous plaît!" He grabbed a couple of menus in his forearm and led the two ponies to one of the tables on the open floor.

Ponies of all ages were gathered here tonight, the buzz of conversation creating a din that could easily keep their own private. Soon, a waiter was by and gave them both glasses of water, shuffling off after promising to return shortly to get their orders.

Playing with her mane a bit, Starlight glanced around the establishment at some of the different plates of food that ponies were eating. She looked back down at the menu and tried deciphering the different names. "Knew I should have paid attention in Prench class instead of plotting out revenge schemes in crayon."

She scratched her muzzle as she thought back to her fillyhood days. "They weren't even very good plans, either. 'Find Sunburst and make him write "I will not abandon my friends'' one thousand times?' Please." Another waiter caught her eye as he brought out some kind of dessert and subsequently lit it on fire before serving it to one of the guests.

Despite the flames looking unappealing, her stomach reminded her she hadn't eaten since this morning. As she felt it rumble some more, she grumbled to herself, “Thanks nerves.” Turning back to her menu, she read things over again. Thankfully, it had images of some of the meals they served, dotted around as the restaurant’s best examples of what to order.

She looked up from her menu and smiled when she saw Sunburst watching her. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Yes?"

"O-oh, I was just waiting to see if you found something you wanted," he answered, scratching the back of his neck. While she couldn't hear what he said, she did see him move his lips some more and managed to make out "wasn't watching."

Humming, she looked back down at the menu again. There were a few options that looked interesting. About the one thing she did know was poutine, but seriously, gravy and cheese with fries? Gross. She stuck out her tongue as she thought about it.

Flicking through the pages, she thought, "Let's see poutine, blech; cretons et pain, that sounds, well, painful, I think; fèves au lard, maybe; hmm, this pâté chinois sounds interesting." With a shrug, she concluded to herself, "Sure, let's go with that."

"All right," she said, folding her menu and placing it next to Sunburst's. "I think I'm good."

"Great!" he replied, waving their waiter over when he noticed the pony.

After briefly giving their orders, Sunburst ordering hay fingers and fries—which garnered a scathing glare from the waiter—and Starlight adding soupe aux pois to her order, the two were left alone in the crowd of ponies. At last.

First out of Starlight's lips was a question. "Why did you order hay fingers? Why come to a Prench restaurant just to get something from any old place?"

Coughing a bit, Sunburst replied, "Well, ah, you see, I just really like them. I always get them if a restaurant has them on the menu. Some crispy hay fingers and plum sauce?" He held up hoof and mouthed "perfection." When he saw that Starlight wasn't convinced, he continued, "D-don't knock it until you try it. I might, well, I might try a bite of your dish, if you don't mind, that is."

Smiling, Starlight shook her head.

The two fell into silence. The sounds of the crowd felt mildly overwhelming to Starlight, as it was hard to concentrate on one conversation to keep her grounded in the soundscape. Soon, some sweat began to form on her brow, and she started smiling a bit too widely.

Sunburst, for his part, was matching her body language to a T, avoiding eye contact wherever possible and trying to find something interesting either on the ceiling, the floor, or the crowd. Grabbing his spectacles in his magic, he breathed on them and wiped them with a hoof.

Suddenly some accordion music filled the air, and all eyes turned to watch as the staff carried out a small piece of cake with a candle on it, singing happy birthday in Prench. The object of their attention were two ponies, themselves probably on a date. They didn’t appear much older than their mid-teens. The colt looked like he wanted to melt into the seat, but the mare held back a few giggles and watched as the staff continued their show.

Turning back to face Sunburst, Starlight thought, "Come on, Starlight, you're losing him!" A trickle of sweat slid down her face, and her eyes slowly shrunk. "It's not that hard, you've talked to him for months on months now! A stupid date shouldn't be so hard!

"Ask him about what he's hoping to accomplish with Flurry this summer, that always gets him going!" She stopped to watch their waiter go by, but he was delivering another table's food. Allowed to continue her monologue, she thought, "Or, ask him if he's found any antiques lately. Sure, they may be boring, but at least it shows interest. That's always a plus!"

"Well," she heard herself say, almost against her will. "Stop moving, tongue! I haven't thought of a good thing to say yet!" Unfortunately, being a part of her, her tongue paid no mind and continued. "Here we are!" she said, her voice rising nervously a bit at the end.

"O-oh yes! That we are!" Sunburst replied with a few vigorous nods. "Yep. Definitely here. Waiting for food. On a. Date." He punctuated the last word extra hard, like it was still hard to pronounce.

If her spirit could somehow leave her body, smack it upside the head fifty times, and then turn back time to reverse that statement, Starlight would have done so in a heartbeat. But she couldn't, so she didn't.

Some more time passed. Whether it was a few seconds or a few minutes, Starlight couldn't say. Not that it really mattered, as she felt like she was currently trapped on the moon for a thousand years with her worst nightmares. No, that'd still be too nice and easy for her.

Finally, Sunburst broke the silence. As he opened his mouth, she expected him to usher in a wealth of conversation topics, sure to defeat any chances of awkward conversation that she had started. Unfortunately, he didn't.

"So, uh, what are your plans for the summer?" he asked, using his magic to levitate his fork around and dig it into the tablecloth without care.

"Oh, Celestia and Luna above, you've got to be kidding me." As much as she willed to answer with something more interesting that would lead to deeper topics, she replied, "Oh, you know, stuff. Summer stuff. Trying to not die from the heat, that sort of thing."

"Yes, it is going to start getting hot soon. Thankfully the Crystal Empire is up north enough that it isn't too bad."

Once again, the table fell into silence. Starlight sighed and rested her head on the table, watching with a bemused expression some of the different ponies in the restaurant. The young couple from earlier had left and were replaced by a couple of boorish construction workers, who were laughing it up over a couple of drinks.

Trying again to get the ball rolling, she asked, "Did you read any good books, lately?"

Adjusting his spectacles, Sunburst replied, "Oh, not really. Just a few dry theses by long-dead ponies. Some light reading. It took me a day to read one, but I never back down from reading something that's over two thousand pages."

"Yep. Just an A-grade date happening here," Starlight mused, kicking one of her hind legs against the table and rocking the water in her glass a bit. She sighed and rested her head again on the table before pulling back slightly and letting her forehead prop her up while she looked at the paneling on the floor.

"Uh, Starlight?" she heard him clear his throat and ask.

Starlight jerked her head up and looked at Sunburst expectantly. Inwardly, she didn't expect much from his upcoming question, but one never knows. "Yes?" she asked when he didn't continue.

"Well, uh," he pulled a bit at his cloak and looked around, "I always wondered what you thought about handling the school now. I mean, you're going to have to create the syllabus, organize housing, find new professors and substitute professors, deal with Chancellor Neighsay and the EEA. I-I mean, I can always help with that, of course!" As he continued his train of thought, he became more and more flustered. "It's just that it seems like an awful lot of work for, you know, one pony, and I wondered what you thought of Twilight handing the reins off to you, so to speak."

Starlight blinked. Twilight never really talked much about her responsibilities as headmare beyond caring for the students. Starlight always assumed that it'd just be dealing with course syllabus that would keep her busy in the summer. Furrowing her brow, she grumbled to herself, "Twilight, you A-class bitch. Probably thought I'd figure this out on my own or with all my friends, right? After probably freaking out and vaporizing half of Ponyville!"

Her face grew hot, and she could feel it contorting in anger. From across the table, she could see Sunburst take a long, hard gulp. But, before she could explode in a bundle of anger-fueled magical death, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She wasn't calm enough, however.

"How do I feel?!" she bellowed, enough to make a dent in the conversations of many ponies and cause them to turn their attention to her.

In the background, a couple of younger ponies said, "Hey, you should record this and put this on Yourbook. This could go viral!"

"I feel upset! Betrayed! Left to dry!" Starlight continued, glaring up at the ceiling. "Twilight's my friend, sure, but she didn't think to tell me any of this!" She raised a hoof and shook it at the ceiling. Twilight wouldn't be able to see it, but she didn't care.

Sitting back down, now slightly more in control over her rage, Starlight continued, "I work as the counsellor for a few months, and she decides I'm good enough to be headmare! I should have known she was planning something more! Always Twilight and her friendship tests! Ugh!" She began waving her forehooves around in emphasis

Sunburst tried to sink down into his seat as much as he could, to avoid the eyes of all those who were watching Starlight. Currently, she was just sputtering as she was trying to think of what else this revelation made her feel. Occasionally, she waved a hoof while trying to start a point.

At that moment, their waiter was coming out from the kitchen, plates of food and a bowl of soup in his magical grip. He started walking down the floor toward them, ignoring the ponies staring at his customers. With a haughty air, a small smirk forming on his face as he expected to save the struggling date , he started to place the food on their table.

Without warning, Starlight began her tirade again. "I was this close to getting comfortable as headmare and then—" She stopped mid-sentence as she flung a hoof out, whacking the waiter right in the face and causing him to lose his grip on the food. Said food was hers, and it was now soon to become Sunburst's.

"Crap. Crap, crap crap crap!" Starlight panicked as she watched dumbfoundedly as the dish went flying through the air, collided with Sunburst's dinner, and sent both his and her food into his face.

The plates fell to the ground and shattered, scattering porcelain pieces everywhere. A few of the pieces managed to lodge themselves into some of the booth seats on the edges of the floor. One of the servers barely managed to avoid tripping on the mess of plate fragments.

"Buck."

Their waiter shook his head and glared at Starlight. After a few seconds of him fuming, he cried, "Licorne pourpre imbécile!" With that, he stormed back into the kitchen and came out a minute later with a dust tray and broom in tow and swept up the debris.

Scoffing, he turned around when he was finished and went back into the kitchen. He popped out a moment later and shouted, "You are being sharged doobel! Espéce de garce insouciante!"

The restaurant was quiet for a moment but soon returned to its normal hubbub as the ponies forgot the event.

Starlight was beet red. If a pony met her right now, they’d think that her fur was indeed red, and not its normal light purple. She said nothing and continued to watch Sunburst, who was still sitting motionless in his chair. A few pieces of her meal, which was some kind of vegetable pie, fell off his mane and onto his nose.

Chuckling nervously, she said, "Sorry."

Sunburst blinked.

A pit starting to grow in her stomach, she begged, "Please, please please! I'm sorry, I got too caught up. I'm sorry!" She started to get up, her napkin in her grip, but Sunburst held up a hoof. Sitting back down, she gulped.

"Well," he finally spoke. He used his magic to levitate his fork up and spear a piece of her meal from his nose. "I guess I got that taste test like I asked." He smiled and took a bite. "Mmm. This is really good!"

Suddenly, Starlight felt blood flowing through her body again and she eased back in her chair slightly. "Well, I don't think anything worse can happen now!"

Somehow, the incident had managed to get the conversation gears in both their heads turning. Starlight spoke first as she rested her forehooves on the table. “So, what else do you plan to do this summer?”

“Oh, n-nothing much, really. I think Cadance will be relieved more than anything that I agreed to spend the season there.” He chuckled a bit and flicked a piece of food from his mane. “I mean, she wrote to me while I was asleep last week. Fifty letters!” To emphasize, he placed his left hoof on the table and then stretched his right as far as he could. “Fifty!”

“You’re kidding!” Starlight exclaimed. She leaned in slightly. “Flurry Heart couldn’t be causing that much trouble!”

Quickly nodding, he continued, “She was. L-like, I’ve never seen Cadance this panicky before.” He pulled on his beard, getting some food on his hoof. Squinting, he hummed to himself and peered past Starlight. Finally, he proclaimed, “Oh, now I remember one of them!”

He cleared his throat. “N-now, if I recall right, her first letter said, ‘Sunburst, Flurry has been acting really strange the past few nights. Would you be able to spend the next few weeks here looking after her? Shining and I need your help figuring out what’s going on.’”

He stopped, waiting for Starlight to say something. Instead, she just leaned further still, almost completely off her seat. Her eyes were wide, exposing her desire to hear the end of the story. At last, when he saw that she was going to stay silent, he finished, “Well, by the end of the night, I was buried in letters.” Faintly, a blush formed and he muttered, “I-I would tell what the last one said, but, well, I don’t think Cadance would appreciate me repeating it.”

“You can’t leave me on a cliffhanger like that, Sunburst!” Starlight cried, flopping back onto her seat. She crossed her hooves and playfully pouted at him.

Glancing around, Sunburst uttered, “Well, her last letter may have involved the words ‘Oh Celestia, it’s all on fire,’ and ‘So help me, I’m going to end this nightmare.’” He blinked and readjusted his spectacles. “Actually, wait, that was her second-last letter. Her last letter just said that she got Flurry to sleep, and I needed to come soon.”

He smiled. “What about you?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m topping that,” she answered, shaking her head in amusement. After a second or two, she grunted and grimaced, turning her gaze to their waiter, who walked past and served another table. As the waiter walked back to the kitchen, he locked eyes with her and glared.

She sighed and placed her forearms on the table. Resting her head in her hooves, she gently rubbed her temples and stated, “I think I’m going to be spending a lot of time in Canterlot with Twilight. Mainly about not placing all the responsibilities of a school on somepony and having them figure it out!”

“Oh! Speaking of that,” Sunburst interjected, his eyes lighting up. “What do you think will happen now that Equestria is safe?” He looked around the restaurant at its almost entirely pony clientele. “Do you think more creatures will immigrate here?”

Starlight shrugged. “Maybe. Twilight told me before she left that she’ll be spending time negotiating with the changelings, Yakyakistan, and other nations.” Again, she watched as their waiter went by to another table. Was it just her, or did the food seem to be taking longer this time?

Raising an eyebrow, Sunburst reached across the table and tapped her arm. “They’ll bring the food soon, Glimmy.” Like on cue, the kitchen doors opened and their waiter backed out, holding their meals in his magic.

Sauntering over, the waiter sniffed arrogantly and left Sunburst’s meal on the table before turning to Starlight. . As he placed her meal in front of her, he shot her another look so cold, that it would have frozen her on the spot if it was possible.

The food was, she had to agree, really good. Outside of the beets that were part of her main dish. Those things could perish in Tartarus for all she cared.

After the main dish, they both decided to try the crème brûlée for dessert. Soon after their order, their waiter brought out two small cups of cream and set them down in front of them. With a brief flash of his horn, the surface of the dessert ignited, sending waves of heat toward the two ponies.

Almost instantly, the fire was out, and they tried the treat. Waves of pleasure washed over Starlight as she took the first bite of the dessert and she quickly ate the rest of it, eyeing Sunburst's dish when hers was empty. She smiled as he offered her the last spoonful of his dessert, and quickly accepted.

When Sunburst flagged down their waiter, the pony brought with him the bill. He huffed and grabbed the two dessert dishes and marched off to the kitchen, giving a nasty glare to the two of them.

Sunburst levitated up the bill and blanched. Readjusting his spectacles, his eyes quickly moved through the bill again. For good measure, he did it one more time.

Anxiously, Starlight began chewing her lip. Would the restaurant accept an I.O.U. backed by the Equestrian monarchy? As Sunburst read the bill again, she piped up, "So, how much?"

"T-two hundred bits," he slowly replied, showing the bill to Starlight.

"Double crap." Sighing, she said, "I'm sorry, Sunburst, I guess this has been a screw up so far, huh?"

"W-well, don't be so sure. I happened to bring a bit extra for this occasion, so I can cover it," he answered, pulling out a sack of bits from a pocket in his cloak. He counted out the amount and nodded, leaving them on the bill and waiting for their waiter to return.

Said pony soon did and looked at the bits expectantly. After counting them, his face fell, but he pocketed the bits and the bill anyway. Coldly, he said, "Bonsoir, do not let the door hit you on the way out. Radin."

"That was quite an experience," Sunburst declared, leading Starlight out of the restaurant and into the very late-day sun. A few cicadas were buzzing their song, and the last red rays of daylight made the roofs of the houses appear on fire.

"You know, I think he really accepted us in the end. I think he wished us good luck, or something. I don't know, I need to brush up on my Prench." He stopped near the end of the patio and waited for Starlight to catch up, as she was slowly plodding behind him, her posture indicating her defeated mindset.

"Yeah, I didn't pick up on that," Starlight muttered as she reached him.

The sun reflected off his spectacles, making his eyes appear like they were two lasers headed straight for her head. Being honest with herself, she'd prefer if they were.

"So, when is this Midsummer Kite Dream thing?" she asked half-heartedly.

"It doesn't start until an hour after sunset, so I was thinking we could just walk around Ponyville, maybe visit one of the parks, or just head to the event now and find a good spot," he replied, ignoring the bits of food that were still left in his mane.

"Yeah, sure, that sounds—Oof!" Starlight grunted as she walked past Sunburst and smashed into a pony who was attempting to sneak past the patio entrance and into a nearby bush. She winced as she fell on her rear. It was a specific pony with whom she collided. A friend. Said friend was sprawled flat on her back, mumbling to herself as she tried to regain her bearings.

Shaking her head and getting back to her hooves, Starlight growled, "Trixie! What are you doing here?!"

The unicorn in question gazed up at Starlight and Sunburst. "Well, you see, Trixie was, uh, heh heh." She trailed off as Starlight got closer, fixing her with a strong glare. Scooting back a bit farther, she bumped into the wall of a house. Starlight continued inching closer, still glaring.

She laughed nervously, glancing between Starlight and Sunburst. Her brow began to moisten and she gulped.

"Trixie," Starlight growled, pushing her face right up to the unicorn and causing their muzzles to bump together. "Were you following us?"

"Uh, well, uh, maybe?" Trixie squeaked in reply. She winced when Starlight snarled.

"You have five seconds," Starlight threatened, her horn beginning to glow.

"Well, T-Trixie may have wanted to keep an eye on your date. But she just wanted to know that you were safe! Honest!" She waved her hooves back and forth helplessly, a bit of sweat making its way down her neck.

"Ugh! Seriously, Trixie?" Starlight groaned. Leaning back, she offered a hoof to help Trixie get up. Wordlessly, she let Trixie know that the magician was in deep trouble later.

Her friend merely chuckled again and scratched behind her head. "Perhaps Trixie isn't the best at staying hidden..." she mumbled.

Starlight smacked her hoof to her face. The shadow she kept noticing as she walked to the restaurant made sense now. "You've been following me since I left the castle, haven't you?"

Slowly, Trixie nodded.

With a sigh, Starlight stepped closer and smiled. "Trixie, I can take care of myself. If Sunburst tried anything—" she switched her gaze to her date, who was doing his best to find something interesting in the bushes beside a house, "—he wouldn't know what hit him."

Trixie smiled for a few seconds before her eyes opened wide and she gasped. Shortly, a devious smile grew, and she narrowed her eyes knowingly. "Oh, Trixie gets it." She jabbed an elbow into Starlight's chest. "You're just wanting to keep all the fun to yourself. Wink." She winked.

"Not this again," Starlight complained, her face once again turning a bright shade of red. "T-Trixie! I don't know where you got that idea, but it isn't funny!" she stammered.

"Uh-huh, Trixie understands. She'll let you two have fun by yourselves. Wink." She winked once more and stood still. Almost squeeing a bit, she looked at Starlight expectantly, as if she was hoping her friend would invite her along for the rest of the evening.

"Trixie," Starlight began, intending to choose her words carefully. "Go." Or not. Being blunt worked, too.

"Fiiine," Trixie exhaled, lowering her neck and looking at the ground. "I suppose the Lonely and Heartbroken Trixie will have to entertain herself at Twilight's castle. Alone." She gave one last plaintive look at Starlight, flashing her with the best puppy dog eyes that she could manage.

Unfazed, Starlight merely pointed a hoof to leave.

Whining a bit, Trixie slowly trotted off. Eventually, she reached a turn in the road and disappeared behind some houses. As she did, the last bits of sunlight passed the horizon and the moon began its ascent into the sky.

After a few seconds, Sunburst noticed that Trixie had left and trotted up to Starlight. She was morosely kicking a hoof against the ground and sighing every few seconds.

"Well," he began, placing a hoof on Starlight's shoulder, "I never knew Trixie was so protective of her friends. You're lucky to have her as one."

Looking up into his teal eyes, Starlight sighed once more. "Yeah, you could say that." She shook off his hoof and stretched her back. Putting on a smile, she continued, "I know I shouldn't let that bother me. We still have a kite show to see!" She chortled a bit, her sadness from earlier washing away.

As he saw his date lighten up a bit, Sunburst smiled himself. "Would you, would you be so kind to accompany me to the Riverside park, Starlight Glimmer?" he asked in an overly formal tone. He bowed and extended a forehoof. "The moon reflecting on the water is a, is uh, uh, is kind of a pretty sight," he finished, losing the snooty accent in the end.

Snorting and laughing a bit, Starlight replied in a similar manner, "I'd be honored to join you, my dear Sunburst." She extended her own forehoof, locking it with his and starting to walk.

The two laughed as they left the suburb and headed toward the town square of Ponyville. As they did, the occasional pedestrian passed by. A few waved to Starlight, recognizing her as Twilight's protege and school headmare. Thankfully, the most they said was a quick "Hi" or "Good evening, Starlight" and nothing about their offspring's grades.

In the evening, the town square was alight with ponies milling about in the cool evening air, chatting on a few tables set up around, or enjoying a quick stroll by the river. The town hall was the centerpiece, many hanging lights attached to the underside of the roof illuminating a large swath of ground around it.

Many dark homes around the square began lighting up as ponies returned from a hard day at work.

As the pair passed by a couple of the abodes, Starlight caught a glimpse of a few families gathering around to play a game or two. In another, she spied a mare pulling out some freshly baked scones, placing them on a nearby counter. Starlight suppressed a chuckle as a filly in the house snatched a scone when the mother wasn’t paying attention.

A few foals were playing a game of tag, running around the square and weaving in and out between the tables and different ponies. Watching the children, Starlight hummed to herself, remembering her younger days before Sunburst left.

Soon, they crossed through the square and made their way down another street. At the end of the line of houses was a small park. Its many trees created a dark silhouette against the backdrop of Canterlot Mountain and the swiftly darkening sky. A few lights from houses across the river peeked through gaps in the treeline, appearing as tiny, artificial stars in the otherwise black foliage. A sliver of the full moon began to climb over the trees as they approached.

Her heart skipped a couple of beats as she looked down at her and Sunburst's intertwined hooves. Inwardly, she was screaming like a little filly who had received a once in a lifetime gift. Turning her gaze upward, she thought, "Thank you, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, whoever."

A few silent moments later, they reached the park, their hoofsteps changing from the clopping of cobblestones to the soft thudding of grass and dirt underneath. The park was mostly empty. A couple of ponies were gathered here and there, mostly watching the moon rise over the horizon and shine off the glassy water.

The two walked for a bit along the riverside, enjoying each other's presence. When they passed a bench, Starlight suggested they sit down and watch the moon for a bit.

Settling down, Starlight pulled her legs underneath her chest and waited for Sunburst to take his seat. The orange unicorn fidgeted for about half a minute, eventually having to remove his cloak and leave it hanging on the back of the park bench.

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before turning to observe the moon. Sunburst was the first to break the silence, "You know, I was always curious what it was like to live on the moon. For years when I was at Celestia's school, I'd study the features of it."

He pointed to the moon, its pure white rays of light casting a shadow on Starlight's face. "You know, uh, when Nightmare, uh, Princess, no wait, I guess she isn't princess anymore," he stuttered, fidgeting a bit more. Gathering his thoughts for a second, he continued, "When Luna was trapped on the moon, the 'Mare in the Moon' was only visible without a telescope. When you, you know, looked through one, all you saw were a bunch of craters."

Starlight followed his hoof up to look at the moon. Its featureless face still caused her to do a double take every so often, she was so used to Nightmare Moon's effigy on it from when she was young. Looking back at Sunburst, she pursed her lips. "Oh Celestia, he's so cute when he talks nerdy. And hey! Astronomy to boot!" She wiggled her way toward him a bit and turned to look at the moon again.

"It's actually really fascinating. I was recording the moon when Luna was released. I mean, right before my eyes, I could see craters disappearing, maria forming and reshaping. It, it was astronomical history happening in the moment!" He sighed and looked at Starlight briefly.

"And then Nightmare Moon brought in eternal night. For a, for a moment, I actually thought of you, and hoped that you were safe, wherever you were." He smiled, running a hoof along the back of her mane.

Closing her eyes, Starlight returned the smile and rested her head on the side of his neck. She opened her eyes again, a couple of tears welling up, and watched the moon's reflection shimmer in the river's water.

The water babbled and burbled as it slowly meandered downstream, occasionally splashing over a particularly low bank. Starlight sighed and took in the sounds of nature, along with the faint beating of Sunburst's heart.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, letting the rippling of the river’s water wash over them. Eventually, Sunburst continued, "And when I became the Crystaller of Flurry Heart, I took the opportunity to write to Luna to learn more about what it was like on the moon." He winced, sending a few crumbs of food into Starlight's mane. "I learned a lot of old Equestrian curse words that day."

Starlight chuckled, nuzzling further into Sunburst's neck. "So, did that stop you from trying to find out more?" She asked, already guessing the answer.

"O-oh no! Shortly after that, I was looking through the Crystal Palace's library for some books on magical inhibitor spells." He scratched the back of his neck. "Flurry was being a real pain that week. She destroyed five diamond doors! Do you know how much magic you need to channel to destroy a door made of diamond?"

"Uh, never gave it much thought." She pulled her head back to look at Sunburst and raised an eyebrow. Sunburst's expression was blank, his memories returning back to the events of that fateful week.

Briefly, he shook his head to clear it, sending more food crumbs flying in all directions. "Well, you see, when I was looking through the books, I found an old tome with different protection incantations." His face lit up. "And in that, I found an old spell that had the same effects of what I saw on the moon!" He got up from the bench and trotted around it excitedly. "Not only that, I realized that it was the same spell that was placed on the Crystal Empire.

"I thought that the Elements did something special, but they must just massively amplify the magical potential of all ponies!" His cyan eyes sparkled, both from the moon's reflection and the pure thrill of discovery. "The spell basically is a long-term regeneration spell. If something gets damaged, it will slowly repair itself until the item..." He stopped and made a popping noise with his mouth. "...quickly restores itself visibly."

"So, your conclusion was...?" Starlight inquired, not fully following him, but not really caring that she didn't, either. Absentmindedly, she wondered if Twilight had studied the magical powers of the Elements. If not, Sunburst should definitely geek out with her over them some time.

"Princess, uh, I mean, Celestia must have cast the spell on the moon, not Luna! I mean, the Elements vaporized Luna, and I’m still not sure on how they did that, but what was left of her impacted the moon. Something about the moon “healing” itself also helped bring Luna back!" He started pacing around the bench again. "And, and the Crystal Empire was destroyed, but the land was slowly healing and repairing itself until it could make it appear again."

"Huh," Starlight mused, rubbing her chin and looking up at the moon again. "Did you tell this to anypony?"

"D'oh, I tried, but most just laughed. They dismissed it as being antiquated magic and that modern scientists have determined that Celestia must have used a standard imprisonment spell or the like." He narrowed his eyes and grumbled. "Puh! They didn’t even try to prove it. I-I handed them a new theory on a silver platter to test, but no!" He began muttering to himself, scowl illuminated by the pale moonlight.

"You know, I feel like I'm slowly starting to appreciate antique hunting more and more," she thought to herself. She patted the open spot next to her and Sunburst hopped back up.

"Sorry to hog all the talking. I don't, you know, get to talk about my findings much." He sighed, taking a long look at the ground before looking back up at Starlight. "Thanks for listening." Smiling, he wrapped a hoof around her back.

With a chuckle, Starlight said, "Well, I was a friendship counsellor for a reason." Moaning contentedly, she pressed up against Sunburst and tried to bury her head into his neck. She breathed in as she moved her face near the back of his mane. Smelled like nerd. Yet, she didn't care. "I wonder if it's creepy if I snip a bit of his mane off for keeping," she wondered, pushing deeper into his neck and rubbing his mane.

Suddenly, she fell face-first into the bench. "Ow," she murmured, getting a delicious taste of aged oak wood. Groggily, she raised her head and saw Sunburst flat on his back. She had tried so hard to bury herself into him that she managed to push him right off the bench.

Blushing, she giggled a bit and said, "Sorry." She rolled off the bench and onto her hooves and helped Sunburst right himself. "Are you okay?" she asked, checking him over. He didn't look hurt, aside from maybe what little pride he had.

With a nod, he grabbed his cloak and set it around his body again. Pulling out a pocket watch, he cast a brief illumination spell to check the time. "We still have a few minutes," he said, putting the pocket watch back into one of the pockets lining his cloak.

"All right," Starlight simply stated. She looked around at the park, which was now totally deserted. A blissful smile on her face, she walked up and gave Sunburst another hug. "Thanks for this," she whispered into his ear.

A light shade of pink on Sunburst's cheeks, he rested his chin on her head and returned the embrace. For a few seconds, they held each other before Sunburst let go and looked into Starlight’s eyes. As he took a step back, he waved a hoof indifferently and said, "O-oh, no problem! Uh, in case you were wondering, I didn't manage to find a good spell to stop Flurry Heart." Wincing again, he continued, "All that furniture came out of my pay for a good while."

Starlight chuckled again and sat back down. Following suit, Sunburst returned to the bench and asked, "What about you? What were you doing when Nightmare Moon, uh, I mean, Luna returned?"

Starlight grimaced. Glancing around, she sighed and said, "I'd rather not talk about it right now. Would take too long to explain." She figured enough time had passed, so she got back up and motioned for Sunburst to follow. "I suppose we should be heading to the kite show?"

"Y-yes!" Sunburst cried, jumping up from his seat. His hoof caught in his cloak and sent him flying onto the path, a few grunts coming from him as he tumbled.

Gasping, Starlight rushed over to check on him. His cloak covered his front half, leaving his flank high up in the air for all ponies to see. If there were other ponies, that is. She stared at his haunches for a few seconds, her eyes growing wide. Reaching out a hoof, she hovered mere inches away from his exposed cutie mark. At the last moment, she turned away, a small blush beginning to form on her face. “No! Must resist!”

From underneath the cloak, she could hear a muffled, "I'm okay." He pushed himself to his haunches and rattled his head around, clearing the glazed look from his eyes. There were a few cuts and scratches along his face and chest, but nothing that wouldn't heal over in a couple of days. After clearing his mind, he briefly searched around for his spectacles on the floor. With the help of Starlight, he soon had them back on the bridge of his nose, thankfully no worse for wear aside from a small scuff on one of the lenses.

With a short laugh, a bit of the air catching in her throat, Starlight exclaimed, "You had me worried, you dork!" She nuzzled his neck and got quite a few of the remaining food debris from earlier in her mane.

As Sunburst got up, he took liberty to flick the crumbs from her mane and took her hoof. Casually, the two unicorns trotted out of the park and back into town.

Comments

[FoolAmongTheStars]

Starlight, honey, baby, sweetie, I know you like how he smells but for the greater good tell him to take a bath after this. I promise he will smell a thousand times better.

This is freaking adorable! The fluff is suffocating me but I can't stop reading! I love how their date is going and their adorable/awkward chemistry, this is such a joy to read.

[Autistic Retard]

Hey! I’ll have you know Poutine tastes delicious! XD