Starburst, daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle, soon meets Creme de la Creme, a mare who has come to Ponyville to visit Starburst's friend Golden Delicious. Starburst soon grows to dislike Creme. But she doesn't know why.
Starburst, daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle, soon meets Creme de la Creme, a mare who has come to Ponyville to visit Starburst's friend Golden Delicious. Starburst soon grows to dislike Creme. But she doesn't know why.
Dark clouds were beginning to cover the small town of Ponyville. Barely any sound, except for the thunder and the soft snoring of a small, orange, pegasus mare could be heard. As another thunder crack sounded, the mare woke up with a jolt.
"Huh?" she murmured sleepily. The mare rubbed her head and made her way out of bed, very, very, slowly. Finally, she stumbled out of the room and began to advance down the stairs. Through her blurry vision, she make out the shape of another pony.
"Oh, hello Starburst," her mother, Princess Twilight Sparkle said to the sleepy orange pony. Starburst rubbed her eyes to clear her vision.
"Hi, Mom," she said, now smiling. Now, almost fully awake, Starburst could see her mother clearly. Twilight had a book in her hand and a letter in the other.
"You slept in, dear," she said to her daughter. Yet another crash of thunder sounded.
Starburst looked out of the window of the library. Strange, she thought. How did I sleep through this storm?
She shook her head and turned back to her mother.
"It's a wonder you did. I never would have been able to sleep through this weather!" Twilight said, laughing quietly.
Starburst smiled a little.
"Anyway, I'd better get to Sweet Apple Acres, Mom. Need to train with Del." She began to walk down the stairs when Twilight speaks again.
"Are you sure you should train in this weather? I doubt Golden Delicious and the rest of his family will be working." she asked.
Starburst cringed. She was so eager to go, she didn't realize. Her mother did have a point.
"Oh, yeah. Better wait for the storm to clear, then," she answered sheepishly. Twilight giggled.
Starburst turned to look at her.
"What?" she asked, confused. Twilight smiled at her daughter, clearly finding something amusing.
"Oh, it's just you seem quite keen on seeing Del. Why is that?" she giggled a bit more as Starburst's eyes widen, and her cheeks began to glow a light shade of red.
"MOM!" Starburst scowled at her. Twilight laughed even more. "Oh hush. I'm teasing, Star. But really, why is that?" she asks.
Star huffed and walked down the stairs, probably just to get away from Twilight's embarrassing inquiries. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl of oats. Twilight followed her down the stairs and frowned.
"You're not mad, are you?" she asked.
Star ignored her and ate some of the oats out of the bowl. She looked out of the window and saw that the storm had passed.
"Finally. Bye Mom!" she shouted behind her and dashed out of the Golden Oak Library. Twilight shook her head at her daughter's impatience. Where does she get it from? she thought.
Meanwhile, at Sweet Apple Acres, a certain pony was getting ready to go to the Train Station. Someone started knocking on his door, so he went over to open it.
"The storm's passed, Del. You can go pick up this "Creme" gal now," his mother, Applejack said.
Del smiled.
"Finally. Bye Ma," he waved at Applejack and walked out of the building. Del followed the path out of Sweet Apple Acres, and turned right, to where the train station is located.
Through the corner of his eye, he could see an orange-colored streak heading towards him. Del yelped and jumped out of the way as it sped past him.
"What the hay was that?!" he exclaimed. Del shook his head. Probably his friend, Prism Bolt, trying to prank him.
Del walked into the train station, and out onto the platform. A train from Canterlot was just coming in. The smoke from the train made him cough, and the train stopped with a loud screech. Ponies started storming out of the train, a mixture of stallions and mares. Del tried to locate one in particular, but it was proving difficult. He scanned everypony coming out of the train, but suddenly one of them bumped into him.
"Oof!" the mare who had bumped into him exclaimed. Del looked down at her.
"Oh, Ah'm sorry- Creme!" He broke off in mid-sentence, finally finding the pony he was looking for. Creme de la Creme smiled at him.
"Hello, Del!" She said. "I told you I'd come." Del grinned in response.
"Ah'm very glad ya did," he replied.
"So, are you going to show me around?" Creme asked.
"O' course. Sweet Apple Acres first." Del turned and trotted down the path, Creme following behind.
"How have ya been?" he asked her. Creme elegantly flicked her purple mane out of the way and replied,
"Oh, everything's been lovely. Some new fashion stores have opened, and they're simply the best I-" she stopped talking and looked at Del.
"Oops, where are my manners? How have you been, Del?" The stallion laughed.
"It's fine, but, since ya asked, things have been goin' well. Thanks fer askin'." Del stopped walking in front of a large entrance that bore the words Sweet Apple Acres.
Creme gasped a little.
"This is where you live? How charming!" she exclaimed, delighted. "I barely ever get to see apple trees, everyone in Canterlot buys them from the markets!" She beamed at Del and trotted inside. Del chuckled a little at her excitement, and followed her in.
Starburst, now bearing the information that her friend, Golden Delicious, had gone to the train station, was walking slowly down the path out of Sweet Apple Acres, a little disappointed. She would have to train somewhere else.
"Star! Ah was expecting to see ya."
Starburst looked up, and to her surprise, saw that Del was back from the train station. She also noticed a pretty, purple-maned, unicorn mare walking next to him.
"Hey, Del." her gaze shifted to the mare. "Who's this?"
The mare waved at her.
"You must be Starburst, Del's friend," she guessed. Starburst was surprised.
"Has Del talked about me?" The mare nodded.
"Yes, he talks about you a lot, actually!" she laughed. Del looked away sheepishly. The mare started talking again.
"Anyway, I'm Creme de la Creme, but that is a mouthful, so you can call me Creme." she said, still laughing a little. Star didn't understand what was funny, and felt a little irritated.
"Yeah, Star, this is my friend from Canterlot, Creme. She's gonna be stayin' at Ponyville for a couple o' days." Del explained. "Anyways, Ah'm gonna show 'er where she's stayin', and o'course ma family. You gonna come?"
Starburst thought about it for a moment, and agreed.
Together, the trio walked up the path to Del's home. He opened the door and called out "Ma! Ah'm home." As soon as he did, Applejack appeared from around the corner.
"Ah, howdy again, Star." she nodded at Starburst, and her attention is brought to Creme.
"So you must be Creme. Ah'm Applejack, Del's ma." Applejack extended a hoof, and Creme shook it.
"Ya can stay 'ere as long as ya like." she continued. Creme nodded gratefully.
"Thank you, Mrs Applejack." she replied. The middle-aged mare smiled.
"Just Applejack. No "Mrs" required, sugar-cube." Starburst and Del looked at each other, waiting for Creme and Applejack to stop talking.
"So, you have some chores to do later, right?" Star asked him. He smiled, seemingly knowing what she was thinking.
"As always. And yes, ya can help me, but Creme's comin' too. Can't just leave 'er 'ere." he replied. Starburst felt irritated again, but she shouldn't be so rude as to refuse Creme's company. She sighed a little and saw that Creme and Applejack had stopped talking.
"So, where should I put my bags?" Creme said, breaking into their conversation politely, which just made Starburst feel more annoyed. Del had noticed her change in behaviour, but turned his attention to Creme.
"Oh, o'course. Just upstairs, Ah'll show ya." He led his way up the stairs, and Creme picked up her bags with her unicorn magic. She proceded to follow him up the stairs, very clumsily. Star followed them as slowly as possible, trying not to bump into Creme, who was slowly dragging her bags up the stairs.
When they finally reached the top of the stairs, Del pulled the bags, which turned out to be heavier than they looked, into the spare room.
"Ah'll let ya git unpacked, and check on ya later, okay?" Del said to Creme. She nodded, unable to talk because she had a bag in her mouth. Del walked outside of the room and looked at Star.
"Are you okay, Star?" he asked her, worried. She looked up at him, still feeling annoyed at Creme.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just, I don't think Creme and I will get along very well." she said.
I just met her. But I already don't like her. she thought. Why is that?
Del chuckled a little at her reply. Starburst, confused that her friend found this funny, raised an eyebrow.
"What?" she asked. Del looked down at her. His remarkable height compared to her remarkable shortness made Starburst a little uncomfortable at times, and this was one of those times.
"Ah'm sure you'll get along with Creme just fine, Star." he answered. "Why wouldn't ya?"
She thought about the best way to answer, bringing her wing up to her mouth in a thinking position. When she did so, an amused smile crossed Del's face when he realized how strange she looked.
Starburst kept thinking, trying to understand why, or how, she disliked Creme. When no answer came to her, she pulled her wing back and shrugged.
"No idea, actually. I just don't." she replied, finally.
"What do you mean, 'no idea'?" Del asked. "How can you not know why ya don't like someone?" Starburst frowned, becoming irritated once more.
"I just don't, okay?" she said, almost yelling. Del shrank back a little at the volume. "Let's just get Creme and go..." she grumbled, turning around and walking towards the unicorn mare's room.
Starburst brought her hoof up to the door to knock, when suddenly it swung open, hitting her square on the muzzle. Surprised, she landed on the floor, a bruise already appearing where the side of the door made impact.
Creme appeared at the other side of the door, her hoof brought up to her face in an expression of surprise.
"Oh dear! I'm so sorry!" She reached down and offered her hoof to help Starburst up, but she batted it away. Starburst pulled herself up and glared at Creme.
"You should be more careful..." she grumbled. Creme started blurting out apologies, but that just made Star more irritated. She tried apologizing once more, and Star's patience snapped.
"Just shut up!" she yelled at full volume, making the purple-maned unicorn cower. Suddenly, she frowned at Star and rose up to her full height, which easily overtook Starburst's own.
"Well, excuse me for caring about your well-being, you-" Del had covered her mouth with his hoof, and Starburst's as well.
"Stop fightin' both of ya!" he said, raising his voice. He then turned to Star.
"We're supposed to be treating Creme as a guest, not a criminal, Star!" he said. Starburst huffed.
"Well, I'm not the one who hit someone in the face with a door!" she said, almost in a growl. Del's expression changed into one of sympathy.
"What's goin' on, Star? Yer not, at all, like yerself." At this statement, Starburst calmed down. She looked straight into Del's ocean-blue eyes, confused and upset.
"I don't know, Del. I don't know." she replied.
_______________
A few hours later...
Starburst had finally made an effort to apologize to Creme about her rudeness, even though she only partly meant it.
Creme, being as kind and forgiving as she is, accepted it, and in turn, apologized for her own rudeness. The trio were now on the way out of Sweet Apple Acres towards Ponyville. Star looked at Creme, who was smiling like her usual, strangely optimistic, self.
"So, why did you come to Ponyville for a holiday?" she asked. Creme swished her mane out of her face and smiled.
"I came to see Del. We met when he came to visit Canterlot last year. He catered for my party." she explained. This statement brought out another burst of irritation from Starburst, but she held it in, trying not to cause another fight.
"That's funny... He never mentioned meeting you." she replied, casting a meaningful glance in Del's direction. He took no notice, however.
"Here we are, Creme. Ponyville Square." he said, proudly raising a hoof to guesture at the said location. His declaration was met with a 'squee' of excitement from Creme, who immediately rushed off to look around.
"She's excited." Star stated simply. Del cast a sideways glance at her and chuckled.
"Ya know, she's a lot like you, in some ways." he replied. He crossed his hooves as she frowned ever so slightly.
"What do you mean by that?" she replied, the frown becoming more prominent on her face.
"That was a compliment." he answered, seeing the corner of her mouth turn slightly down.
"Alright then. What's so similar between us?" Star asked him, just before Creme came trotting over. She had some bags in the grip of her magic, and she still hadn't lost her smile.
"You're both mighty pretty." Del replied, smiling before he was dragged off by Creme. This statement left Starburst blushing, but also this made a flash of irritation at Creme again.
As Del and Creme walked away, Starburst decided not to follow them. She wanted to think about what had happened. As her mother, Twilight, always said, think, analyze, understand. And she was only on stage one.
Star needed to understand. She had a vague thought about what it all meant, but she disliked the idea. But maybe, it was true. Maybe she just never noticed before.
"Star? Are you coming?" a voice said. Expecting to see Del, she looked up.
"Oh, Creme. Thought it was Del." she replied. The unicorn mare looked down at her, a thoughtful look crossing her face.
"You think about him a lot, don't you?" Creme asked. Starburst looked down at her hooves.
"Yeah." she answered, shocked when Creme started laughing. Her face burned instantly, realizing what she was thinking.
"N-not like that! He's my friend!" she snapped, embarrassed. Creme stopped laughing.
"But do you like him that way?" she pressed, staring at Starburst, making her slightly uncomfortable.
"No." Creme kept staring. "Maybe. Probably... I don't know!" Starburst covered her head with her wings, embarrassed.
"Do you like him?" Starburst asked. Creme thought about this, raising a hoof to her chin.
After a few moments, she said, "Yes, I suppose I do."
But not as much as you do, Star. she thought to herself. Star looked around for a second.
"Where is Del, anyway?" she asked. Creme smiled even more.
"Oh, he said he had some business at the farm to handle." she replied. "He said we could go back when we're ready." Starburst nodded.
"So, what do you wanna do in the meantime, Creme?" But, soon as the words left her mouth, Creme's big smile said it for her.
"Shopping!"
Starburst groaned and fell onto the floor.
Many shopping bags later...
"Oh come on, Star. That was totally fun!" Creme laughed. Star groaned a little under the weight of all the shopping bags she was carrying.
"It would be more fun if you'd carry some bags!" she moaned, as some items from the bags drooped over her eyes.
"Sorry." Creme picked some bags up using her unicorn magic and kept waking, or skipping in her case. She stopped in front of yet another store.
"That's enough stores, Creme. This is the eighth one! And somehow, you have over ten bags..." Star groaned again. Creme chuckled, looking sheepish.
"I suppose you're right. Let's have lunch then, shall we?" Starburst nodded her agreement. Sitting down would be so much better than more carrying. She sighed in relief and walked towards the plaza, where there were tables and seats.
Creme followed Star, hayburgers and grassfries in her grasp. Starburst sighed and sank into the chair, closely followed by Creme. She ravenously ate her food, getting sauce and hay all over her muzzle.
Creme laughed as Star ate, taking delicate bites from her burger. When she was done, (unlike Staburst) she picked up a napkin and removed any mess that remained.
"So, did you like that?" Creme asked Star, once they were finished eating. Starburst's contented sigh was answer enough.
"Oh yeah. That was delicious! Thanks, Creme." she answered. Creme smiled.
"Oh, it's no problem. I just wanted to ask you a question." she replied.
"Yeah?" said Starburst.
"Are we friends?" Creme crossed her hooves, waiting for an answer. Starburst looked up at her, surprised.
"Of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?"
"Oh, it's just, you didn't seem to like me much before. When you yelled at me..." Creme said awkwardly.
"Oh, yeah. I guess the real reason I yelled at you was because..." Star stopped mid-sentence.
"Because?"
"Because-Del-was-paying-more-attention-to-you-and-I- was... Jealous." she blurted out. Creme looked shocked at the sudden blurt of words, but that was soon replaced with a smirk.
"You like him don't you?" she said. Starburst smiled a little.
"Shut up Creme." she said, which just made Creme smirk even more.
A loud "BONG" erupted from the clock tower, and Creme looked up. She gasped and stood up.
"What is it?" Starburst asked, getting up as well.
"I have to leave soon. We'd better get back to the farm." Creme answered, picking up some bags with her magic. Starburst shuffled her wings.
"What? So soon?" Starburst questioned. Creme nodded.
"I could only stay for a day, and that day is almost up. Come on, we have to get back to the farm." she explained. Star nodded and galloped down the path toward Sweet Apple Acres.
Creme followed as fast as she could down the path, bags floating in the air. Soon, they were there. The basic, yet sweet gates of the orchard met their eyes. It was just the right amount of simple, the right amount of everything. Nothing like the bejewelled, overdecorated gates you see in Canterlot.
"I love these gates." Creme said. Starburst smiled.
"I love the place even more." Starburst replied. "Anyway, should we go in?" Creme nodded. And with that, they walked in, following the path to the farmhouse. Del was hauling a cart full of apples a small distance away.
"Oh, ya'll are back." Del said, noticing them. Star and Creme nodded.
"Yeah, but I have to leave soon, so I have to pack up my stuff." Creme replied. Del tilted his head.
"So soon?" Creme looked sheepish.
"Yeah, I got a phone call from my parents. They said I could only stay the day." she explained. Del made a soft 'oh' sound. He unhitched himself from the cart and trotted over.
The trio walked to the guest room together, Star and Del staying outside as Creme 'repacked'. They were sitting outside the door together. Del looked at Star.
"So, what did you two git up to?" he asked. Star groaned. "Let me guess."
"Shopping." they both said at the same time. They both looked at each other, and instantly cracked up. Starburst started giggling.
A few minutes later, Creme emerged from her room, carrying her suitcases. Del raised an eyebrow when he noticed how many bags she had.
"Do ya need all those?" he asked.
"Oh of course, I need my makeup, my clothes, my toiletries..." she guestured to each bag. Del chuckled.
"I'll take that as a no." he whispered to Star, making her giggle more.
"Anyway, let's get to the train station, before we miss yer train." Del said. Creme looked up at him.
"Oh, yes." she said, using a levitation spell on her bags. The trio left the farmhouse, saying goodbye to Applejack. They, for the third time that day, walked down the path and passed the lovely entrance to Sweet Apple Acres.
"It's a shame ya had ta leave so soon, Creme." Del said. Creme nodded.
"Yes, it is. I wish I could have stayed longer." They came to a stop at the train station. Creme hurried onto the platform, her bags still floating in the air. A loud voice boomed over the loudspeaker.
"ALL ABOARD TRAIN 4 TO CANTERLOT, WE WILL BE DEPARTING IN 5 MINUTES."
"Well, it looks like I have to go." she said sadly.
"Yeah. Thanks fer comin' to visit, even if it only was fer a couple o' hours." Del replied. She smiled.
"I'll be sure to visit again." she said.
"Bye Creme. Hope you come back soon." Star said.
"Yeah, of course." Creme smiled. "I'd better get on the train." And with that, she boarded the train, carrying on all her bags. Del cast a sideways glance at Starburst.
"You know why Creme and I became such good friends?" Star looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because she reminds me of you." Del replied. And with that, he kissed Star on the cheek. She blushed deep scarlet and giggled.
Meanwhile, Creme was watching out of the window. When she saw what happened, a huge smirk covered her face.