It Was a Magical Time

by Test4Echo

Fashionably Late Shopping

As Starlight pushed open the doors with her magic, she was met with a gentle breeze. The wind had calmed down, and the snow had stopped altogether. From the castle, she could see the lights of Ponyville begin to turn on, casting glints of yellow across the fresh snow.

Checking her scarf and toque again, she stepped off the porch and onto the snow-covered gravel path, the stones and snow mixing together to create a unique crunching sound. Soon, she picked up her pace and headed towards Ponyville proper.

Puffs of breath floated in front of her vision as she tramped forward. Even though she was technically already in the town proper, there wasn’t much around Twilight’s castle. It and the school had a large swath of unused land around them.

Slowly, she began walking down one of the streets toward the town square. Houses along this road were decorated with all kinds of lights and ornaments. Some even had garlands stretched across from one home to another. In turn, the garlands were decorated with more wreaths, balls, or other ornaments.

Some of the lamp posts were also decorated with garlands wrapped around them or with the occasional topper on top. They showcased various scenes from the first Hearth’s Warming. One had some crude depictions of the founders of Equestria bickering away. Another was of a trio of Windigos, galloping on a storm cloud. Lastly, another that caught her eye was one depicting Clover the Clever, Smart Cookie, and Private Pansy embracing. A large heart rose above them, directly impacting the Windigos tormenting them.

Stopping in her tracks, Starlight watched as a couple of pegasi continued decorating the exterior of their home. A whizzing bolt of mint green and cyan flew around them, eventually stopping to reveal a young filly begging for anything she could do to aid her parents.

For a few more seconds, Starlight watched as the family put up some different sets of lights on their house. When she saw that they were having a bit of trouble, she offered to help and used her magic to grab hold of one side of the string of lights. Shortly, with her help, the family finished setting things up, and they landed on the ground.

Briefly thanking her, the family returned indoors to the comfort of their heated home and closed the door. A minute later the lights sputtered to life as magic flowed from inside the house to the exterior. However, it remained rather dim, and Starlight huffed. Lighting her horn, she concentrated on the spell matrix and imagined the magical contours. With a jolt, she shot a bit more energy into it. The lights soon brightened, and she felt her job was done.

As she continued on the street, she saw a few ponies gathered together, singing some of the traditional Hearth's Warming songs. A small crowd of ponies had congregated and were eagerly listening to the impromptu choir. Some of them flung a few bits into a small box next to the singing ponies, which clinked off other coins already inside.

She stopped as she heard the same tune that Trixie was humming only a few minutes earlier. “Why me?! Why this year of all years?” Steeling herself, she tried to keep her breathing under control, but a few tears did manage to slip their way out of her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. A couple froze before they fell, creating mini-icicles on her face.

Picking up her pace, she trotted past the choir and headed toward the square. After she was out of earshot, she released a breath she didn't realize she was holding and leaned against a house. Looking up, she saw a few tiny flakes of snow fall from the cloudy sky, the lights from Ponyville casting a faint brown and yellow glow on the bottom of the clouds.

When she felt that she had regained enough composure to continue on, she wiped her face with a forehoof to get the tears off her cheek and trotted on. Soon enough, she arrived in Ponyville Square and blinked at the glowing lights. Long strings of the large, white orbs were strung across the open space. More were cast between the houses on either side of the road.

She could hear the buzz of conversation and the clanging of a few bells as she entered the square. The square itself was alight with activity. Since it was only a couple of days before Hearth's Warming, the merchants and vendors who set up shop there were starting to wrap up. Although there was still about an hour left before they would be done for the night, they were giving some warnings about the impending closure. A couple were trying to finish early. One was lucky, but the other simply groaned and whacked his head on his counter as two mares hemmed and hawed over his range of eating utensils.

She could see a few families enjoying a stroll along the riverbank, and a couple of others skating on the frozen river.

Smells of different foods reached her nose. Not only did the holiday merchants sell items to purchase, but they also sold food. Lots of food. Her stomach rumbled as it reminded her that she hadn't eaten yet. However, she didn't feel like she could eat one of the many massive servings that was normally sold.

A family of pegasi were flapping around one of the houses across the square. All of them were singing away, but the filly especially was belting out the verse of the carol. She was off-tune, and Starlight flattened her ears against her head.

Fluttering to the ground, the mother snatched a few ornaments in her wing and passed them to her daughter. The filly cried in glee and hastily pinned them under the awnings of their house. After a couple more trips, the building was fully decorated, and the trio of pegasi wandered inside. A second later, their home was alight with multispectral glows from the tree in the window.

A small band of ponies were playing some songs at the request of a crowd in the middle of the market. Starlight spied one of the potential headmare candidates she interviewed months ago. It was good to see that she still had other avenues for work.

Contemplating heading over to the band to chat up the musician when she had finished, Starlight ultimately determined to not use up her time when the shops would soon be closing. However, she did decide to wait a few minutes to watch as the final bits of decoration were put on the Ponyville town hall.

This year, it was decided that it would be done up like a large Hearth's Warming tree, just in time for the holiday itself. She didn’t get why Mayor Mare wanted to keep it to the last minute, but it was her town to run, not Starlight’s.

Aside from a few missing fake branches and some patches of green wrap ripped off, it looked markedly like the actual thing. Strings of lights were wrapped around the bannisters of the two balconies, although they were not yet turned on.

Starlight noticed that there were a few scuffed and ripped decorations on the town hall. Also, a couple of windows were shattered. Confused, she watched as the pegasus team dedicated to finishing the decorations tried in vain to lift the large tree topper to the spindly roof of the town hall.

A gray pegasus with a yellow, unkempt mane tried futilely to instruct the others on how to lift it. "No! To the left! Which left?" She scratched her head momentarily. "Uh, just left! What do you mean it's my left or your left? Left!"

There was a deafening crash, and the topper smashed into the town hall again, leaving a fresh crack in the exterior wall, but otherwise being no worse for wear. A few of the pegasi glared irately at their coordinator, but went back to supporting the topper.

Slowly, they began to flap up toward the roof at the somewhat confused directions of the gray pegasus. "Hey guys!" she exclaimed with a gasp. "I think you'll get it this time!" Her posture slumped as the team overshot the roof and almost sent the topper tumbling to the ground far below.

Igniting her horn, Starlight prepared to grab the topper in case it slipped from their grasp, but thankfully they held on and began to fly up toward the roof again.

"Sorry guys, my bad. I thought the roof was to the right, but, uh, I guess it was to the left." When inquired again about the direction, she cried, "I don't know what you mean by that! It's just right or left, duh!"

After a few more failed attempts, one where Starlight was sure that it'd end up crushing somepony, a pegasus in the group smacked their face with a hoof and let go. The group managed to hold on as he flew up to the coordinating pegasus and had a few words with her.

Finally, the two switched places, and the new pegasus began barking orders and directions to follow. Moments later, the topper was placed nimbly on the top of the roof, sliding down until the spire of the roof was too wide for the base of the topper.

The show now over, Starlight sighed and began to walk through the square. Her target was the merchant row of Ponyville, which required going through the holiday market.

As she approached, the noise of conversation increased even more, and she had to squeeze through ponies waiting in line to see different ponies' wares. She spied a few familiar faces in the crowd and briefly watched a few demonstrations. All the products were of no use to her, as they were all focused on being quirky gifts rather than useful decorations.

One stall did grab her attention, as it advertised ornaments from all over Equestria. Unfortunately, the vendor turned her away when she reached him as the pony before her managed to clear out the rest of his stock. He wished her a happy Hearth's Warming, pulled down a blind, and placed a sign proclaiming he was out of stock.

"Awesome. Just awesome." Starlight grunted and continued toward the merchant row, briefly stopping at a couple of other stalls, but remaining unimpressed by anything they offered.

Finally, she got through the mass of ponies and took a deep breath of fresh, cold air. It stung her nostrils, but she didn't care. At last, she was free from the throngs. Her fur still tingled a bit where they pressed against her, and some smells still lingered in her nose. Thankfully another deep inhale got the last bits out and replaced them with bitter wind instead.

Shaking her head to clear it, she trotted down the street. Signs of all kinds advertised different holiday specials or the current hours of the businesses. A few were already closed for Hearth's Warming, but thankfully enough were open so that she could browse around to find the best decorations for the castle.

A few groups of ponies left some of the stores, laughing as they inspected their findings. Along the street, groups of shoppers peered into the window displays of the different stores. It was always confusing to Starlight. Ponyville seemed to have some of the strangest merchants she'd ever seen. Every day it seemed she could find a new market for niche interests. It didn’t matter how random the combinations seemed to be. They had a place for sofas and quills, for Celestia’s sake!

The snow scrunched underneath her hooves, and she meandered down the street, stopping every so often to look in a window. A couple of times she pressed her face against the glass to see into the store, her breath soon creating fog on the surface and leaving behind a short-lived imprint of her muzzle on the glass.

She grunted as a pony left the store she was inspecting and accidentally bumped into her. Steadying herself, she accepted the mumbled apology and went about her way. The cloud cover began to thin out, leaving clear patches of Twilight's night to send light blue rays of light to the surface.

Ahead of her, Starlight saw a pony dressed as Chancellor Puddinghead ringing a bell and wishing everypony a happy Hearth's Warming. She held a basket for donations, and ponies occasionally dropped a bit or two into it as they passed by.

Grabbing her bit bag and checking the contents, Starlight grabbed a couple and put them in the performing pony's basket. The pony tipped her hat and wished her a happy Hearth's Warming before going on her way further toward the square of Ponyville.

Soon, she approached a small jewelry store and took a second to look through the window display. She saw a few ponies milling about, looking at different bracelets or other assorted items. At the back, she spied a mare and stallion talking with the owner of the store. The stallion was nervously explaining something to the owner, while the unicorn mare just stood by, impatiently tapping a hoof.

The owner thought for a moment, then ducked behind the counter. A moment later, he popped up with an ornate horn ring and displayed it for the two to inspect. After briefly thinking, the stallion nodded and looked to his marefriend, fiancée, whatever, Starlight couldn't determine for sure. The mare nodded curtly, and the owner closed the ring box and took it to the bit register.

Sighing, Starlight stepped away from the window and looked around the street. "Maybe one day," she said to herself and began walking toward one of the shops across the street.

The sign above the entrance to the store advertised itself as Beds and Plates and now with Tree Ornaments, Too! As she entered, a bell chimed, and she was hit with a small hum of conversation. Over the foreground of noise, she heard a Hearth's Warming tune playing on a record player that was being broadcast throughout the store.

The floor was fairly open, so that families could test the beds in the store. On the far wall were different plate sets. A sign advertised that all Hearth's Warming sets were twenty-five percent off so that the stock could be emptied before the holiday.

To the left of the entrance, the owner and a couple of other staff ponies were swamped with paying customers. The one cashier was gazing with wide eyes as a portly couple trundled toward her. In the husband’s magic, he levitated a stack of at least a hundred dishes, all in varying garish hues and patterns. Starlight rubbed her eyes. About a dozen of them were garnered with pillows and mattresses. Who would buy a dozen plates with mattresses painted on them? There was even one with just a bed frame.

Starlight groaned. Her head was beginning to pound just trying to parse the concept. With a couple of blinks, she spotted another pony, this time a spindly earth pony, carefully meander her way through the crowd. In her grasp, somehow staying together, was a skeletal frame constructed out of feathers. She couldn’t tell if it were bird feathers or pegasi feathers.

The pony slinked past a pair of foals who were playing with pillows. As one was smacked in the head, there was a clattering noise, and a few pieces of plate flew from the pillowcase. Giggling, the hit foal shook the impact off, and she dove to smash her own pillow into her attacker.

At the last second, the young filly dodged, bumping into the pony and her bed frame. In an instant, the entire thing exploded into a cloud of feathers. Momentarily, the mare just stood there, her right eye twitching. Falling to her knees, she cried, “No! It was the last one!” She whacked a hoof to the floor in despair.

One of the other staff members managed to place a reassuring hoof on the customer’s back. With a yelp, she was pulled into a tight embrace as the hysteric mare wailed on about the bed frame.

“I think… I’ll just go over here.” Stepping to the side, Starlight ducked as another pillow was flung her way, then quickly glanced around to see what could be of use to her. Near the back of the store, she spotted containers of ornaments and began to trot toward there. She checked both ways as she reached an intersection in the aisle. Sure that she was clear, she took one step forward, then was slammed into by a small form. The little bundle of literal energy was off before she could get to her hooves.

Clearing her head, she glared at the small colt who had already taken off toward another area of the store. As she got up, she heard an irate voice snap at her, "Watch where you're going! You could have hurt my little pony!" Starlight turned around and eyed the pony who berated her.

"You've got to be kidding me, it's your son who needs to watch out!" Starlight retorted, smacking a hoof to her face. "If I ever have foals," she thought as she glared at angry mother, "they will not get away with stuff like that."

"My little angel would never do anything to hurt anypony!" The other mare gasped, pulling a hoof to her chest in shock and shooting daggers at Starlight. "Just be thankful that it's Hearth's Warming, or I may have had you sued for touching my poor baby."

The subject of the fight had come up behind his mother and begun crying, whining that one of the staff ponies wouldn't let him bounce on the beds. Pulling on her leg, he cried, "Please, mommy! Can you make them let me play on the beds?"

Clicking her tongue, his mother looked down and said, "Don't worry, honeybun. Mommy will make things all better." She rubbed his head affectionately and then shot another glare to Starlight before turning around and heading toward the counter. “Just wait until the manager hears about this! The nerve of ponies! They think they can just walk about willy-nilly?!” She huffed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

When his mother was no longer paying attention, the colt turned his head and stuck his tongue out at Starlight. At that, Starlight just groaned and smacked her face again.

Seconds later, the two were verbally assaulting one of the staff ponies, who held an unimpressed expression. When the mother didn't get her way, she began gesturing at the pony and raised her voice. Seconds later, a couple of other staff ponies arrived and began to drag the two out of the store.

Despite protesting and trying to grab onto anything they could to stay in the store, the two were thrown out the door, and a semblance of peace returned.

Sighing, Starlight turned back around to inspect the shelves and boxes of ornaments for potential purpose. Unfortunately, what was left was fairly sparse, leaving much to be desired in terms of selection. What was left was tacky. For instance, there was a crystal ornament of Celestia with giant eyes and miniscule wings. “How did they even mess that up?” she grumped to herself.

At the bottom of the shelves were a few boxes of discount ornaments, so she quickly rummaged through that. Between the different cheap plastic ornaments and broken glass balls, she came up empty-hoofed. She grunted. So much for making her shopping trip easy.

Turning around, she left the store and was back on the street. The clouds were steadily dissipating, leaving the cold winter night sky to display its myriad of stars. She took a few seconds to look up and down the street and then started to canter toward her next destination: the Paintbrush and Microscope store. Its holiday sign proclaimed that it was also selling lights for Hearth's Warming and other assorted baubles.

Inside was much the same story as the previous store. There were crowds of ponies going between aisles of paintbrushes and microscopes—she swore this was the weirdest combination—occasionally checking an item out or grabbing one from the shelf to purchase.

Along the back wall, numerous strings of lights were displayed, all lit to showcase their color combinations and attract as many ponies as possible. They looked like the latest type of matrices. Sure, the subsidies from Twilight helped Ponyville spruce up their decorations, but stores weren’t as lucky. Considering how expensive it was for Twilight to fund all of Ponyville and her castle, Starlight wondered just how much it cost the owners. They must have had a mage working around the clock just for food!

She chortled to herself and shook her head.

As the counter was fairly empty at the time, Starlight sauntered up to it and looked at the owner, a lanky tan stallion with deep lines in his face and a short afro mane. Said pony soon noticed the attention and looked up from his work. Smiling, he whacked a couple of old paint brushes against his easel.

Getting up from his seat, he approached Starlight and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with today?" His voice was soft and soothing, instantly putting Starlight at ease.

"Uh, well, maybe," she stuttered, returning his warm smile. Taking a couple of steps forward, she made sure nopony else could hear her. She muttered, "I'm, well, just wondering why you have such an odd selection of things. I mean, paintbrushes and other art supplies I could understand, but microscopes?” She took a glance around. “Who buys both of those?"

Chuckling, the pony softly replied, "Well, let's just say it was a happy little accident that I found out ponies here had a shortage of both." He winked at her and started to head back to the stack of old brushes. "Supply and demand, you know. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, sitting back down on the stool and grabbing a brush in his magic. "I need to finish beating the Tartarus out of these paintbrushes."

Still confused, Starlight simply nodded and thanked him for the answer. She stepped back from the counter and weaved her way down the packed aisles. With a grunt, she shot a tired stare at a group of ponies chattering at the end of the corridor. After a couple of seconds, one turned to her and arched a brow.

Jerking her head to motion for them to move, Starlight huffed when they went right back to chatting. Nickering, Starlight powered her horn and reappeared behind them, almost colliding with a petite mare who was inspecting some bottles of paint. Both jumped in surprise, and the mare splashed herself with a blob of bright purple.

“Sorry!” Starlight exclaimed, wincing and using her magic to suck the paint off the mare’s face. She carefully dropped it inside the bottle and trotted away. The mare just blinked emptily.

With a sigh, Starlight reached the back and inspected the lights. Hopefully there would be something, anything, that could decorate the castle.

She clicked her tongue as she visualized the hallways of the castle and the empty porch. After a few seconds of thinking, she grabbed a couple of strings of white lights and headed back toward the counter. Sure, there was no exterior spell matrix plug, but if she and Trixie combined their magic, they should be able to power the lights for a day or two.

Seeing that she was back with some items to purchase, the owner got up from his work again and helped her with her order. "Now, did you find everything you were looking for today?" he asked her in a pleasant drawl.

Starlight nodded and hummed her agreement.

"Good." The pony went behind the bits register and plugged in the codes for the light strings. The register clanged as the price came up. "That'll be eighteen bits, please," he requested.

Starlight took out the requested bits and placed them in his hoof. With the transaction completed, he grabbed a small paper bag, placed the lights inside, and pushed them toward Starlight.

"Have yourself a Happy Hearth's Warming, you hear?" he called to her.

Starlight waved and left the store. She managed to compress the paper bag enough that she could fit it into her saddlebag and then checked the street for the next store she would visit. Mentally, she checked off some of the exterior decorations, but that still left her with a few more for the porch. On top of that, there would probably be enough to fill some of the gaps in the castle halls.

Her next stop was the Toilets and Perfume store, which was selling "assorted holiday trinkets." Starlight corrected herself. This was the strangest store in Ponyville, not the Paintbrush and Microscope store. At the very least, the proprietor of the latter was kind and gentle. Unlike him, the owner of this store was like a walking plumbing disaster. There always seemed to be clouds of dust in the store, and usually he was tinkering with some odd faucet or valve.

On top of that, he was about as unkempt as a pony could get. Usually there was a permanent five o’clock shadow on his chin, and he was never without a pair of soiled overalls. Still, from the couple of times she was in there, he always smelled of lavender.

Reaching the business, she stopped and gazed at the sign. It was a bit… crass. It looked like Luna, or maybe Cadance, sitting on a toilet, dressed as Princess Platinum. While doing their… business, they were also spraying themselves with a bottle of perfume.

“Well, at least Rachet Petal is straight to the point,” she grumbled under her breath. She grunted and pushed open the door. On cue, a poof of dust hit her in the face, and she coughed.

Waving her hoof, she managed to get her hacking under control and blinked to clear her vision. She gasped. He had actually managed to clean the place up. Aside from the aerosolized dirt.

As with the other stores, the Toilets and Perfume store was filled with ponies doing last-minute shopping. Toilets of all kinds lined walls and shelves in most of the store, with a small, ornately decorated section dedicated to perfumes at the far-right side. In the very far corner, past an aisle of rust-scented vials, there was a cheap neon sign flashing on and off to show where they kept the Hearth's Warming things.

Resigning herself, Starlight pushed through the crowds and toward the holiday items. She didn't spend even ten seconds taking a look through the junk that was left on the shelving. If there was such a thing as a decoration monster, this was it. All it needed was a spell to give it life.

Her expression falling flat, she headed back toward the entrance, walking through the perfume section. As she passed one of the displays, a hint of the perfumes caught her nose, and she turned to look at them. A small mare came around and inquired if she could help Starlight find anything.

"N-no, I'm just, you know, looking," Starlight answered nervously. Her nose twitched. Taking another whiff, she perused the bottles. In their varied shapes, different liquids of various hues sparkled in dimmer light. Letting her brain process the aroma for a moment, she tried to place it.

It felt familiar, but it didn’t immediately click. Behind her, the mare peered over her shoulder to try and make out what she was doing. “Are you sure there isn’t anything?” she asked, a bit of eagerness in her voice.

“Well, okay, maybe there’s something after all,” Starlight replied with an awkward chortle. There was a hint of something spicy in the smell, but it also carried a sweetness to it. Some of the other tangy aromas gave it a slightly homey feel. Almost like she was traveling back to… Sire’s Hollow.

She blinked. Suddenly, everything clicked. The concoction carried a fragrance awfully similar to the smell of Sunburst’s family home. A few images of her and him frolicking in the sandbox in Stellar Flare’s back yard flashed in front of her. She sighed.

When Sunburst and her had visited to solve their parental issues, it had been in the summer. Those flowers were not in season when they were there, so her memory wasn’t as fresh. Wherever the perfume was hiding, its intriguing aroma beckoned her closer to the bottles.

“Which perfume smells like, well, spring? It reminds me of something.” Starlight bit her lip and glanced back at the mare. A faint blush formed on her face. “Maybe it could be a little surprise for Sunburst? It isn’t weird to get a perfume that smells of home, right?”

Tapping her chin, the mare peered at the shelves. A small bit of her silvery mane flopped in front of her face, and she blew it away. She ran her hoof across the bottles and arched a brow. “That describes a lot of our selection.” She rotated a hoof. “Is there something more pungent that you can make out?”

“A lot of your selection?” Starlight echoed, giving her a flat stare. “I see at least a dozen bottles dedicated to different plumbing scents.” She jabbed toward a bottle labeled Rust in Musk. “Who the hay wants that?”

“You’d be surprised,” the mare grunted, giving a slight wince.

“Ehuh.” Starlight scrunched her muzzle and shot her a miffed frown. After a few seconds, she cleared her throat, and she went on. “Anyway, uh, it smells like there’s some… ginger in it? Also—” she inhaled deeply “—saffron?”

"Oh! You describe one of our most popular perfumes at the moment!” the mare declared, flashing Starlight a wide grin. She reached over and snatched a bottle from a group of about half a dozen, and she passed it to Starlight.

Dimples forming, the mare giggled and explained, "Along with the saffron and ginger, it is mixed with four other spring flowers, and has a drop of honey! Also, we managed to capture the enticing scent of late-night dew! Only fifty bits!"

Gagging, Starlight looked at the tiny bottle and then back at the mare. "F-fifty bits for this?!" she cried. At the mare's nod, Starlight groaned and looked at the bottle. Would it be worthwhile? Celestia knew when Sunburst would be back next, and Luna knew when he'd actually be free, so would it be worth the investment?

After pondering for a minute, Starlight groaned and nodded. Putting on a forced smile, she said, "Thanks for the info." Before the employee could say anything else, she trotted off and waited in line for her purchase. Soon enough, she was fifty bits lighter and gently placed the perfume into her saddlebags next to the lights already in them.

Before she closed her saddlebags, she gave it a quick shake and watched the liquid inside slosh around. Its light yellow color shimmered in the lights from outside, making the entire bottle appear like it was made of crystal.

She exited the store and walked toward her last target for the evening: the Quills and Sofas store, which was advertising its sale on all Hearth's Warming decorations. Opening the door to the store, she heard another bell chime, and a classily dressed tan stallion approached her.

"Good evening, miss," he said, bowing slightly. The store was mostly empty, save for a few ponies milling about some of the sofas. "Is there anything I can help you with tonight?"

"Well, I was wondering what kind of things you had for Hearth's Warming," Starlight answered. Suddenly, her head began to itch like crazy. With a wince, she scratched under her toque. The wool was starting to stick to her mane, and, as it moved, it yanked a few stray hairs out by the root. "You wouldn't believe all the junk I had to look at tonight."

Chuckling slightly, the pony replied, "Yes, quite." Perking up, he continued, "If you'll follow me to the back here, I can show you some of the decorations that are currently on sale." He spread a hoof wide and motioned for Starlight to accompany him.

Soon, the two reached the back of the floor, and before Starlight were a few shelves of different holiday items, ranging from ornaments, to lawn decorations, to lights, to tree toppers. The stallion briefly discussed a few of the sales that were currently being held for Hearth's Warming items and then departed, leaving her to ponder what she would buy, if anything.

Looking over the different items, she levitated a few ball ornaments over and checked them out. They all appeared to be made of durable crystal which had been infused with different impurities to give them different colors. She set them down for the moment and inspected her bit bag.

She drew a sharp breath as she counted what she had left, but determined that she could afford the exterior ornaments. Grabbing them, she walked toward the counter and soon paid for them. The stallion clacked a few keys on the register, which dinged loudly through the store.

“Here you are, have a Happy Hearth’s Warming!” he declared as he passed her the bags. As Starlight departed, he gave a small wave before another customer charged up to the counter. With a groan, he rested a hoof on his fetlock as they started barking at him about one of the sofas pricking them in the rump.

The door chimed, and Starlight shivered. In the evening air, her breath quickly turned into clouds of vapor, and she watched as ponies continued milling about in the streets, going into stores, or heading back to their homes.

Beginning to canter toward the castle, she looked up into the sky to see that the clouds were now completely gone, leaving a deep blue sky with pinpricks of light from the many stars. If it was any other season, it would have felt magical, staring into the deep abyss of the night sky, but to Starlight, it just felt empty.

Sighing, she walked through the town square again, crossing one of the bridges over the river and stopping to look at a few of the ponies still skating on the river. She hummed to herself as she propped her head on her right fetlock, and mused to herself, "I wonder what Sunburst is doing right now?"

As she headed to the castle, her mind began to wander as she pondered what the situation in the Crystal Empire was like.

***

Clopping hooves echoed down the hallways of Princess Twilight's old castle. Starlight pranced through the corridor, heading toward Sunburst's room. In her stomach, a slow gnawing feeling was growing into a dense lump of stress as she approached his room.

Beams of light radiated through the crystal walls of the castle, bouncing off the floor and sparkling through the passageway. Its orange hue painted some of the opposing wall, almost appearing like shafts of fire. The occasional breeze blew a few loose leaves past a window which scraped and scratched on the glass. A few shadows darted across the carpeting, casting bolts of black on the shining surface.

Sunburst’s door was mostly open. Approaching it, Starlight softly knocked on the doorframe and peered inside. Sunburst was hunched over his bed, grabbing items he'd need for the weekend. At first, he didn't notice her, so she knocked again and cleared her throat expectantly.

Surprised, Sunburst turned around and smiled warmly. "O-oh! Come in, Starlight." He turned back to his suitcase to continue packing.

A frown on her face, Starlight waded through stacks of papers and random bits of clothing. Eventually, she made her way to her coltfriend's side and sighed. She breathed in the smell of his mane and felt a bit of her tension ease.

"You, you know, you don't have to knock," he stuttered. He tried closing the suitcase, but it bounced back open, spraying books, papers, and a couple of spare capes everywhere.

A piece of paper landing on his face, Sunburst grunted, "Oh great, just great!" He huffed and began stuffing the suitcase again.

As he continued to try and fill the luggage bag, Starlight instead cast her gaze around the bedroom. She sighed inwardly and looked at the various papers, books, and other things scattered around. On his desk was a massive stack of papers, mostly scholarly theses, with another, smaller stack of blank paper beside it. On a small empty space, there were a few sheets strewn about, scribbled with notes or half-written sentences.

She grabbed one of the sheets in her magic and read the opening for Sunburst's thesis on the applications of mass regeneration spells. According to the hypothesis, combining magical crystals akin to the Crystal Heart, healing spells could be amplified to heal entire armies in case of war, or to quickly repair environment damage caused by fire, flood, or any number of other catastrophes.

"Is this what you've been working on?" she asked, floating the paper in front of his face. While she was glad that he had started back on getting his magical doctorate, the fact that it took so much time was disheartening.

Brushing the paper out of the way, he answered, "Yes. I'm, well, sorry that things have been taking up so much of my, my time." He sighed and tried closing the suitcase again with little success. "But you don't know how important getting that doctorate is! It could open up so many more possibilities for the school!" Turning around, he solemnly smiled at her. "I-It should be finished in the next couple of weeks, I hope."

Sighing, Starlight nodded. "I know, I know, it's just not the same writing to you when you're in the Crystal Empire." She sniffled a bit and put the sheet of paper back on the desk. A hollow feeling had begun to permeate through her body, and she shuddered a bit.

"Yes, I know." Sunburst went back to packing, this time taking out one of the spare cloaks and throwing it into a pile of other used ones. "I don't, I don't enjoy it either, but Cadance has been desperate for the help."

After digging around in the suitcase a bit more and pulling out a couple of textbooks, he added, "Besides, it's better than not talking at all, right?" He grabbed a checklist that was next to his bed and stroked off a couple of lines, a frown on his features.

He tugged at his beard momentarily with a hoof and then went back to organizing his luggage. He jumped when Starlight wrapped her forehooves around his neck and whimpered a bit. He relaxed and rested his head on hers.

"Flurry can't be that much trouble, can she?" Starlight asked, pouting a bit even though from where she was holding him, he couldn't see her face. "Can't Cadance and the other mages in the Crystal Empire handle her on the weekends?"

Sighing and turning around, Sunburst nuzzled Starlight and said, "Unfortunately not. I mean, Flurry is starting to learn how to speak, and well, with her magic and temper, she can get a bit explosive when she doesn't get a word right.” He blinked, and pulled his jaw tight. “You don’t, uh, want to know what happens when she gets really mad.”

For a brief moment, Starlight sensed his heartbeat grow faster, but he swiftly calmed himself by taking a sniff of her mane. She cooed softly and closed her eyes.

With a light cough, he pulled back, turned around, and cantered over to his suitcase. He snatched a couple more items out and scratched his chin. “Now, do I really, really need the anti-alicorn spray again?” he pondered aloud. He hefted a dinged up bottle with some tape holding a nozzle onto it. There was a small scribble of Flurry’s face on it, and she was blowing a raspberry.

Starlight grimaced and looked over the room again. She spied a small kettle and a bag of coffee, along with a few used mugs lying on Sunburst's nightstand. Next to the mugs was a picture of she and him on a train going to Vanhoover. She smiled and levitated the picture over.

"Was it only last month we did this?" she pondered, putting it back on the nightstand. To her, it felt like ages. Aside from that one date, the pair had barely spent time together outside of work at the School of Friendship. Every weekend, he had to go up to the Crystal Empire to be with Flurry. From the occasional letter that she saw from Cadance or Shining Armor, Flurry was causing headache after headache. Still, it was not like Sunburst should be the parent of Flurry! Cadance and Shining needed to take some responsibility.

When he heard Starlight put the picture down on the nightstand, Sunburst stated, "I-I know, it's been a long time. Or, well, it felt like it." He adjusted his spectacles and tried pushing the suitcase lid down. With a loud click, the latches closed and stayed shut. Only a couple of tremors went through it before it finally settled. Pumping his forehoof in the air, Sunburst proclaimed, "Yes! I think I'm finally getting the hang of packing!"

Starlight smiled and thought, "He's such a dork. A big, soft, loveable dork."

After double-checking that the suitcase would stay closed, Sunburst turned around and gave Starlight a hug, pulling her into his chest. The two stayed pressed against each other for a moment, both basking in the tiny amount of alone time they managed to have.

Starlight sighed and closed her eyes, thinking back to their first date back in early summer. She wished she could go back there. Technically, she could. It's not like she didn't know a time travel spell or anything, but it wouldn't be the same. That, and Twilight would probably lock her up for messing with time again, but those were minor details.

Once more she breathed in the smell of his mane and smiled. For the moment, she was content, and it felt like the problems of dealing with a new school year vanished as she stayed in his embrace.

Eventually, Sunburst broke the silence by softly stating, "I hope that, you know, things will calm down soon." He let go of her, and she stepped back to look him in his cyan eyes. "I mean, Flurry is getting a better handle on her magic, so hopefully, maybe, possibly, she'll stop blasting holes through the Crystal Palace's roof or walls."

He winced and pawed at the floor nervously. "She barely missed hitting one of the servants last weekend." He coughed and said, "But, I know that she'll be better this time!"

Raising an eyebrow, Starlight just stared at Sunburst. She couldn't stay incredulous for long, however, and instead asked, "Are you sure things will be okay? Flurry seems, well, pretty unstable again."

"Oh, most definitely!" Sunburst nodded rapidly, almost sending his spectacles off his nose. "She'd never hurt her Crystaller! Well, on purpose, anyway." Scratching his chin, he muttered, "Or maybe she would?

"Anyway..." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "I need to finish up here. My train leaves in an hour, and I have to find the perfect book to read while I travel there." With that statement, he grabbed a few books from the bookshelf on the other side of his bed and began to inspect the titles.

Sighing again, Starlight stepped forward and placed a hoof on his back. When he put down the books to look at her, she quickly hugged him and whispered, "I'll miss you."

Returning the hug, he answered, "D'oh, it won't be long. Just, you know, another weekend." He pulled back and smiled at her. "Besides, it's not like you don't have lots of work to keep you busy, too. If anything, I should be the one complaining. I mean, you have to deal with the EEA all the time. That takes patience!"

Starlight chuckled. "You're right." She snuggled into his neck momentarily before she heard a few joking growls from the door.

Whipping her head around, Starlight saw Trixie standing in the doorway, a sleazy grin on her face. "Well," she began, "Trixie was going to ask if you wanted to go see a new show that came into town, but she sees that you're... busy." She wiggled her eyebrows and winked. "Wink."

"Oh, not this again," Starlight muttered, smacking a hoof to her forehead.

"Trixie would tell you two lovebirds to get a room, but, well, she sees you already have one." Trixie snickered and covered her mouth with a hoof. Lightly, she added, "So, instead, she'll just recommend you get a bed." Failing to hold back laughter, she started to make her way down the hall.

"Trixie!" Starlight cried, dashing out of the bedroom and into the hallway. "When I get my hooves on you!" She didn't get a chance to finish.

"Trixie thinks not!" Trixie called back, ducking into another hallway.

"Ugh!"