> New Year's Burst
>  by Test4Echo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Usual Breakfast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yawning and arching her back, Trixie trudged into the kitchen of Princess Twilight's former castle in Ponyville, her eyes still heavy and itchy with sleep. She rubbed them a couple of times as the sweet aroma of haybacon met her nostrils, and she gave a small, contented sigh before she blearily blinked away some of the haze from her vision.

        	She was still dressed in her nightly garb: a soft pink sleeping cap with a light, bouncy ball that she swore must have gotten stuck in her mouth at times during the night. The taste of its fuzz was still fresh on her tongue, and she was pretty sure she was sucking it down hard when she finally awoke.

        	Her hooves were thankfully protected from the treacherous, icy crystal floor of the castle by fluffy white slippers. Starlight had gotten them as a present for Hearth's Warming last week, and she had yet to figure out how to get rid of them without Starlight noticing. Since the slippers had massive, cartoonish googly eyes on them, it made her look like she was some freakshow that escaped Twilight's lab in the third basement.

        	They were really comfy, though.

        	"Morning, Trix," she heard Starlight greet with a grunt. Her friend was busy at work, flipping something on the stove and whisking some eggs in a bowl. Haphazard splotches of batter were scattered across the countertop and the tiled exterior walls around it.

        	Starlight was wearing her ‘Kiss the time traveling mage or else’ apron that she had gotten from Trixie, also at Hearth's Warming. In the back of her mind, she wasn't sure if they both decided to get joking gifts for each other on purpose or it was some strange twist of reality that Discord had decided to play on them because he was bored.

        	As Starlight sloshed around the eggs in the bowl a couple of times before going back to whisking, Trixie moaned and replied tiredly, "Morning, Starlight." She arched a brow as she trudged toward the counter, near to the refrigerator in the left corner. "You're up early."

        	Starlight snorted. "Trixie, I think you might have it the other way around." She jabbed a hoof at the nearby clock hanging over the counter, and chuckled, "It's only nine-thirty. Are you finally done oversleeping?"

        	"The Exhausted and Weary Trixie never sleeps in! She merely decides when is the appropriate time for the day to start each morning." That earned a small giggle from Starlight, which in turn left Trixie to smirk herself. "Trixie has decided that in fact, society may begin at this wretched hour of nine-thirty today. She'll have to get an IOU for more sleep tomorrow."

        	"Good thing school's still out then," Starlight quipped as she poured the beaten eggs into a separate pan on the stove. Simultaneously spreading out the eggs and flipping the pancakes in the other pan, she added, "Because I don't think the students would appreciate you falling asleep as they tell you their deepest secrets."

        	"Bah!" Trixie retorted with a scoff. Waving a hoof dismissively, she snatched the container where they kept her morning supply of tea and declared, "They all have the same stories, anyway. Trixie... er, I admit that I might zone out occasionally." She grumbled under her breath, "Especially if it's Gallus whining about being poor. Again."

        	"Trixie..." Starlight sighed.

        	"It's true! At least, Trixie remembers, anyway. She admittedly tuned out after his first session where he explained in detail his parents' death, and why he has a secret—" She cut herself off and blinked. Scratching her forehead, she mumbled, "Perhaps that explains the weird griffon running around at night looking for criminals."

        	"Wait, what?" Starlight inquired, whipping her head around and shooting Trixie a confused look.

        	"Nothing!" Trixie replied with a wide smile. One that made the pressure in her head scream  for freedom from such signs of emotion this early in the day. As she opened the tea carton, she stated, "Gallus also comes in for relational advice. I'm not sure why he thinks Trixie would be best for that."

        	"Something something, you helped Headmare Starlight and Sunburst, I think?" Starlight answered with a small snicker. While she waited for the eggs and the pancakes to finish cooking, she grabbed a cloth and wiped down some of the counter. Floating a cup of coffee over from the table, she sipped at it thoughtfully to hide the smug smile that was spreading across her muzzle.

        	"Okay, okay, so maybe Trixie has some experience with romance," Trixie groaned as she filled a mug with hot water before digging into the tea container with her magic. "Still, I don't know why he expects me of all ponies, the Unrequited and Single Trixie, to teach him the ins and outs of how to snog a hippogriff."

        	At that, Starlight choked and sputtered up some of her coffee. Gagging and wiping a couple of tears from her eyes, Starlight snapped, "Trixie!"

        	"What?!" Trixie whined as she continued to search through the container. It was feeling mighty sparse down there. "At least let Trixie have her caffeine infusion before she deigns to talk any further." She huffed and rolled her eyes, getting a similar response from Starlight.

        	Still with no teabag in sight, she finally poked her face into the carton and froze.

        	The entire container was empty, save a single lonely, potentially mildly expired bag of tea. She could even see a few bits of the leaves had slipped through the pores of the bag.

        	Sniffling, Trixie whimpered, "Why? Can Trixie not have her one joy in life?!" A soft giggle came from Starlight, and Trixie flattened her ears against her head. Since it was the only option, she took the teabag out of the container and sighed.

        	Glowering at it for a second, she snarled, "Celestia damn you to the depths of the sun, where Luna will then bury you in the deepest crater of the moon, and then Twilight send you to the pits of Tartarus!" She paused for a second. "And Cadance would do... something. Maybe make you look after Flurry Heart." She shuddered at the thought.

        	"I don't think it cares, Trixie," Starlight interjected as she sipped on her coffee again before resting her cup on the table—which had a spot appropriately marked with her hoofprint, a couple of stars like on her cloak, and about a dozen packets of sugar or creamer.

        	As Starlight began to place three equally sized pancakes onto three plates, Trixie huffed, "It's the theatrics, Starlight! Something only showponies understand!" Pressing a hoof dramatically to her chest and cooing a bit at the warm and fuzzy tufts from her slippers rubbing against her skin, she added, "This bag of tea has become Trixie's arch-nemesis! For it reminds her that she did not have the foresight to buy more tea!"

        	"Really?" Starlight flatly asked.

        	"Yes," Trixie replied with a nod.

        	Glaring at it for a moment longer, she bared her teeth at the offending packet. Then she shrugged and brightly chirped, "Oh well, time to taste this little slice of heaven!" At that, she quickly plopped the bag into her steaming mug and waited patiently for the tea to seep out and create the bitter, earthy drink that she loved to drown in sugar and cream.

        	Starlight simply shook her head and passed a plate over to Trixie. With an appreciative bob, Trixie grabbed it in her magic and set it down on the table before she hastily flopped down at her seat. As she drew her hindlegs across the floor to rest underneath the table, she swore that she heard her slippers squeak in a little, cutesy squeal.

        	Momentarily, Starlight stared out of the window above the sink, sighing as she watched a few flakes fall from the sky and glitter in the morning sunlight. Although Trixie couldn't see as much detail from where she sat, she made out the snowy pathway outside the castle that led to the School of Friendship, which was currently closed for the weeks between Hearth's Warming and New Year's.

        	A soft gust of wind kicked up some wispy snow and scattered it in front of the window, creating a kaleidoscope of color as the sunlight passed through the tiny ice crystals. Surrounding the window frame were a few strings of lights that they had gotten on sale after Hearth's Warming. Trixie wanted to test the limits of the magic power they could draw from Ponyville's new generator, plus the lights were pretty.

        	Who didn't like pretty lights?

        	Noticing that Starlight was still gazing outside, Trixie asked before she sipped on her tea, "Starlight?"

        	"Oh, sorry, I was just... thinking," Starlight replied with a small giggle-snort. "I suppose I have to fill Twilight's role on that now, huh?" At that, she sighed, and her shoulders slumped noticeably. Trotting over to her chair, she sat down and began to pensively munch on her pancake.

        	As the first bit of tea hit Trixie's tongue, she gagged and spluttered before spitting the vile substance back into the cup. With a betrayed glower, she grabbed the teabag from where she placed it on her plate and stared in disbelief at the small writing on the bag's string tag: decaffeinated.

        	"Who the buck got decaffeinated tea for Trixie?!" she demanded, whipping her head up to glare at Starlight.

        	Defensively holding up her hooves, Starlight retorted, "Wasn't me, Trix. Pretty sure that it's been there since I was first here. Probably Twilight got it."

        	"Sparkle..." Trixie hissed, shooting her gaze back to the cup of defiled tea. How could anypony possibly not want the sweet nectar of the princesses to be in their tea? It was the perfect balance between no caffeine, and caffeine overload like in that disgusting swill called coffee.

        	"It wasn't on purpose, Trix."

        	"She probably predicted with those science instruments of hers that Trixie would come back to her life," Trixie answered with a snort. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she huffed, "She's trying to poison her arch-nemesis with this cardboardy venom!"

        	Starlight facehoofed. Hard.

        	Groaning and dragging her hoof down her face, Starlight finally mumbled, "Trixie, you know that Twilight—at worst— is just annoyed by you, right? There isn't a murderous bone in her body."

        	"There's always a first!" Trixie retorted as she floated the mug over to the sink. With a slight whine, she begrudgingly poured the tea down the drain, and a single tear rolled down her muzzle as she heard it lap up the drink without a second thought. So much for receiving her caffeine infusion like she wanted.

        	"Also, since she's the sole Princess of Equestria now, she could… you know, probably just come up with a crime and have you banished for it instead," Starlight theorized as she bit into her scrambled eggs and chewed slowly. Tapping her chin thoughtfully, she shrugged and went back to digging entirely into her food. "Doesn't seem like a bad idea some days."

        	"Well," Trixie mumbled morosely, "this still tasted like cardboard."

        	"So, it tasted like tea?" Starlight inquired as she sipped on her coffee. The loud slurp caused Trixie's eye to twitch irately.

        	"There's a difference, Starlight. Unlike that disgusting dirt water that you and Sunburst drink every morning, tea has the most wonderful, powerful, delicious flavors in the whole world!" Dramatically thrusting a hoof into the air, she quickly summoned a few magical fireworks to explode in the pattern of a teacup. Starlight simply stared at her.

How could her friend be so blind as to fall for the wiles of coffee, when there was so much more enjoyment in tea? She could hardly taste the sugar and cream in coffee compared to tea, no matter how much of each she put into her cup.

        	Sitting back down when she saw Starlight's bemused expression, she drawled, "Decaffeination is like—" She rolled one of her forehooves in its fetlock as she searched for the proper analogy. As she struggled, Starlight merely raised an eyebrow mockingly, a thin smile on her lips. "It's like Trixie without her cape, or Sunburst after he washes his mane! So close, yet so not like the real thing!"

        	Blushing a bit at the mention of Sunburst, Starlight glanced to the side and mumbled, "But he smells so sexy when he gets out of a four-day study session."

        	"That's exactly Trixie's point!" Trixie declared as she jabbed a hoof in Starlight's direction. Scarfing down her eggs, she moved onto her pancake and then noticed Sunburst's plate sitting at his place, which was tantalizingly empty of a certain stallion.

        	She glanced over at Starlight, who was in the middle of finishing her coffee and reading a quick article in the newspaper. Now was the perfect opportunity to strike at the delectable, additional morsels to feed her working appetite. As she reached out, stealthily, inaudibly, to take the pancake off of Sunburst's plate, she asked, "Trixie takes it that you have finished the school's preparations for next semester?"

        	"Almost," Starlight replied as she lit her horn from behind the newspaper. A bright cyan splotch appeared on Trixie's hoof and then burst, feeling like somepony pinched a nerve in her fetlock. Trixie yelped. Pulling back her hoof, she heard Starlight huff, "Now leave Sunburst's food alone. You know I'm not that easily distracted."

        	"Unless it's because of Sunburst," Trixie mumbled under her breath. Glowering down at her plate, she scraped up the last crumbs from her pancake and mournfully licked them off her fork. It always seemed like Starlight never made as much food as Sunburst. Not everypony felt obsessive about watching their weight!

        	"Sunburst still has to finish some of his final studies for Crystal University, Trixie," Starlight huffed as she flipped a page of the newspaper. If it weren't for that, she would have potentially died from the death glower that Trixie was leveling her way. Although, if the newspaper was held up long enough, Trixie's mind lasers might bore through it, and then she'd regret getting on Trixie's nerves.

        	"Yes, yes, and he's busy with being vice-headmare of the school," Trixie finished with a roll of her eyes. Eyeing the pancake again, she felt her stomach rumble, and she smirked. Glancing to either side, she started to inch forward again, and she quipped, "But why is he called a headmare, Starlight? Trixie's pretty sure he's a stallion. Unless he's a better magician than she!"

        	"Keep digging your grave, Trixie," Starlight snarked back, using her magic, again, to swipe at Trixie's outstretched hoof. "Besides, it's just a traditional title. One of the greatest headmares of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was a stallion." After a short beat, Starlight hissed, "Or maybe just a really, really, homely mare."

        	"You could always change it, especially since, well, you dislike tradition so much." Trixie shrugged and continued to stare at the taunting piece of food that could have alleviated her continued starvation. Undoubtedly, if she didn't get more sustenance soon, she'd fade away into nothing!

        	"What's that supposed to mean?" Starlight inquired, swiping away Trixie's hoof one more time as she looked over her newspaper.

        	Groaning in defeat, Trixie rested her head on the table and stared up at Starlight. Applying a small amplification spell, she made her stomach's gurgles sound louder, and she smiled weakly. Hopefully the guilt of seeing her friend suffering from malnourishment and lack of caffeine would move Starlight's cold, stony heart.

        	When it didn't, she huffed and she added, "Well, it's because you always seemed to be in such conflict with Firelight." Almost inaudibly, she quipped, "Something Trixie definitely doesn't have experience with." At the piercing stare she received from Starlight, she giggled anxiously.

        	"I'm trying to be a bit more understanding of Dad," Starlight snorted as she got up and grabbed her plate as well as Trixie's. As she deposited them into the sink, she snarked, "Although, it would be nice if he didn't send me a new shawl every other week. I haven't worn that since I was like, five."

        	Trixie snickered at that. When she was offered some coffee from the pot that Starlight had brewed, she momentarily considered it, but shook her head. She was awake now, anyway, and there was no way she'd ever be caught dead drinking that black garbage.

        	"Tea, Trixie's beloved," she moaned softly as Starlight placed the pot back on its brewer to stay warm.

        	"Hard to believe it's been a year already," Starlight sighed as she sat down and began to trace absentmindedly her hoof around on her place. She still had a bit of flour from when she was making the pancakes on her hooves, and slowly started to sketch out her and Sunburst's cutie marks linked together. "Year of school, year of Twilight ruling Equestria, almost a year of me and Sunburst..."

        	"Don't remind Trixie," Trixie grumbled testily. It wasn't like that when she helped Starlight and Sunburst, it was because she wanted to ensure her survival. If she had her own choice, she would have galloped into Sunburst's room and charmed him with her overwhelming charisma to date her instead. Perhaps offer a bit of money, too.

        	Honestly, she could still do that, but not annoying Starlight to Tartarus and back was a good thing. Starlight was nothing if not a jealous marefriend.

        	For a moment, Starlight remained quiet, as she seemed to ponder something in her head. Trixie could see just by her slight eye movements that she was bringing up and discarding ideas one by one. Finally, she looked over at Trixie and asked, "I'm still coming up blank for what should be our opening ceremonies for the new semester, though. Any ideas?"

        	"Well, we should put up warning signs first," Trixie quipped as she finally took off her sleeping hat and shook her mane out of its messy mop-like appearance.

        	"For what?" Starlight narrowed her eyes and peered at Trixie.

        	"Because of the griffon incident," Trixie explained nonchalantly. She eyed Sunburst's food one last time before she heard the growl come from Starlight's throat and thought better of it.

        	"And that ties to this how?"

        	"Because of your blatant abuse of magic, of course," Trixie replied without a single care, almost relishing in the brilliant scarlet that was spreading across Starlight's face. Kicking back in her chair, Trixie leaned back and then stared at the ceiling. "Honestly, Trixie isn't sure how you can live with yourself after hurting those poor mares, Starlight."

        	"Trixie," Starlight snarled, although she soon let out a deep breath. Trixie could hear a few sparks of magic bounce on the table, though, followed by the stench of scorched crystal tile. A feat only Starlight could pull off.

        	"Yes, Starlight?"

        	"I was the one who saved them from getting snapped in half from you and Gallus' boneheaded idea!" Starlight growled, gritting her teeth and glaring at Trixie with narrowed eyes. Some veins on her neck pulsed with heightened pressure, and she heavily heaved a couple of times.

        	"Trixie remembers differently," Trixie responded, still completely unaware of the danger that was probably in her future. "All she remembers is poor Gallus coming to her without a single clue how to ask Silverstream out, and Trixie getting an idea." She shrugged. "It was perfectly executed, until you had to disrupt it."

        	"I don't think, 'Ow, my legs aren't meant to twist that way,' is an expression of support," Starlight retorted as she managed to calm herself enough to not instantly blast her friend into the next dimension. After all, cursing Sunset's world with two Trixies would be disastrous.

        	"Well, Gallus was about to ask Silverstream from his perch when you had to ruin the whole thing," Trixie snarked back, finally letting her chair fall back to the ground loudly. "Honestly, Starlight, you should know better."

        	"He was fumbling it, and you were letting him hurt creatures!" Starlight protested before she groaned and rested her forelegs on the table. Propping her head in her fetlocks, she slowly rubbed her temples and grumbled, "I'm getting a headache."

        	"Whatever, we can agree to disagree," Trixie replied with a wave of her hoof. "He got her in the end, meaning the Resourceful and Ingenious Trixie won again!" She lit her horn, and a small array of fireworks and streamers exploded behind her. Just as quickly as she summoned them, she banished them away, although not the smell of gunpowder that came with the fireworks.

        	"Are you at least going to answer that lawyer's letter?" Starlight asked.

        	"What lawyer?" Trixie inquired innocently, batting her eyelashes at Starlight. At that, Starlight groaned.

        	"Ugh! The lawyer that has sent ten letters in the last five days?!" Starlight demanded, getting a perplexed stare from Trixie. In a flash of magic, she manifested one of the letters that had lain unopened in the foyer. Slapping down on the table, she jabbed a hoof at it "One of these?! Demanding one hundred thousand bits in damages to her clients?! Those mares that I 'hurt'?!"

        	"Doesn't ring a bell," Trixie answered with a shrug, leaving Starlight to grind her teeth together before flinging the paper away.

        	"Face reality, Trixie!" Starlight snapped.

        	"Trixie chooses to substitute Starlight's reality with her own," Trixie shot back with a smirk and a smug wink. Starlight merely growled in frustration before falling back in her seat in defeat. Trixie did stare at the letter for a second, then mused on how exactly she could get the lawyer off her back. Perhaps changing names and living in her wagon for a while would be an option.

        	As Starlight was about to continue on with her tirade over Trixie's willful ignorance, her jaw hung limply as Sunburst trudged into the room, still wearing his cyan robe and fuzzy slippers that Starlight had gotten him for Hearth's Warming. Within seconds, Starlight's anger seemingly melted away, and she cooed softly to him, "Hey, Bursty."

        	"Glimmy," he answered automatically, trudging past Starlight and taking the remaining coffee that was in the pot and pouring it into a massive mug. On it was written "Momma's morning boy," and there was a very visible splotch of lipstick on the writing. Barely visible was Stellar Flare's signature.

        	"Sleep okay?" Starlight inquired as he thumped into his seat and guzzled down some of the coffee.

        	"Uh-huh," he muttered, munching on a pancake and robotically taking the newspaper from Starlight to begin reading it. In only a few seconds, he seemed to have eaten the entirety of the food on his plate and was gulping down the coffee from his mug.

        	Starlight giggled contentedly as she stared with a dopey expression at Sunburst. Trixie just rolled her eyes. It had been like this for months. Months! How could anypony remain so lovestruck after dating another for months?! 

She could almost understand it. After all, she did truly, deeply love her hat, Pointy. But even she didn't make googly eyes at it all day. That was reserved for herself and a mirror.

        	With Sunburst's interruption, the conversation mostly died in the kitchen, outside of the occasional question by Starlight to him that went answered with monosyllabic statements. Inwardly, Trixie snorted. The studying and work of vice-headmare had definitely turned Sunburst, who was the bright-eyed one when he and Starlight started dating, to the grumpy, caffeine addict.

        	Not that she related with the latter point. She could stop her tea consumption at any point. As long as the tremors didn't start and she didn't get the sudden urge to maim and kill for another cup.

        	Within minutes, Sunburst was finished with the paper, and after slurping down the remaining few drops of coffee in his mug, he sighed and let it clink loudly on the table as he slammed it down. Stretching his back, he stated, "Sorry, Glimmy, but… but I have to study for another exam today." He looked at her plaintively and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

        	"I-I know that you were probably wanting to do something special for our first New Year's together, but, well..." He awkwardly scratched behind his head. "I'm not sure if I can make time for it."

        	"Oh," Starlight answered, suddenly sitting up rigidly and staring off into the distance, beyond even Sunburst. While he didn't appear to notice it, Trixie certainly did, and she hummed softly in thought.

        	"Sorry," he mumbled and cantered up to her before wrapping a foreleg around her. Pulling her into a tight hug, he rubbed his chin on her head for a moment, and she leaned into him with a soft coo. He breathed in her mane and sighed before he released her. After giving her a final nuzzle, he muttered, "Maybe once I finish the exam in a week or two?"

        	"Sure," Starlight answered, still completely stunned as he gave her a light peck on the forehead and then trotted away.

        	Watching him depart and listening to his hoofbeats begin to fade away, Trixie was barely able to keep herself from retching at the saccharine display of affection that had taken place. Starlight was still gazing out of the kitchen, a thousand-yard stare taking over any other emotion she might have been feeling.

        	"Okay, what's the—" Trixie began to ask before Starlight screamed and smacked her face into the table. "Problem?" She sighed and bemusedly looked at Starlight, who was moaning in pain as she kept her face firmly planted into the table.

        	"I wasn't planning anything for tonight!" Starlight finally exclaimed as she jerked her head up, her pupils slightly constricted in panic. A few bits of her mane had grown frizzy, and a slightly anxious tremor had worked its way into her left ear.

        	"I'm not ready! What do I do for tonight?! Does he still want to do something tonight?! Was that a hint?! Is there some secret stallion code that I have to interpret?!" Starlight began to breathe rapidly, short gasps escaping her lips as she jerked her eyes around the room.

        	"Starlight," Trixie began, a bored expression on her face.

        	"I have to plan the meal, find the food!" Starlight whimpered.

        	"Starlight."

        	"And then, what if he doesn't like it?! Will he break up with me, just after Hearth's Warming?!"

        	"STARLIGHT!" Trixie shrieked before using her magic to clamp Starlight's muzzle tightly shut.

        	"Yeff, Trikffee?" Starlight asked as best she could through the field that was surrounding her mouth. Some sweat trickled down her face, and her pupils were still nothing more than pinpricks.

        	"Breathe," Trixie commanded as she released Starlight. As Starlight obeyed her, thankfully, she asked, "Do you need to do something special?" She shrugged. "Trixie is pretty sure that Sunburst would appreciate the thought of you cooking something for him as a treat."

        	Gazing at Trixie like she'd just grown a second horn, Starlight gasped, "Seriously?! We've not even been a thing for a year, and you want me to treat it like it's nothing?!" At Trixie's small nod, she exclaimed, "Ugh! It's like you want him to break up with me!"

        	"While Trixie may actually want that," Trixie began, ignoring the glower that Starlight shot her, "she knows that this means a lot to you, but you are working yourself up over nothing." She smirked. "Remember that he just wanted hayfingers at that Prench restaurant."

        	Starlight winced. "Don't remind me."

        	"Trixie just did." Trixie's grin grew wider, and she patted Starlight patiently on the back. "So, maybe just make him some hayburgers exactly how he likes it, and spend a bit of time in his room?" She held Starlight's head up to give her a reassuring gaze. "I'm sure he'd love it."

        	"No," Starlight answered with a shake of her head.

        	"Of course not," Trixie huffed and leaned back into her chair. Rolling her eyes, she mumbled, "Nopony seems to listen to the Wise and Experienced Trixie." She threw up her hooves in disgust.

        	"It's not that, Trix," Starlight clarified as she pushed herself off her chair and clip-clopped over to her friend. Giving Trixie a quick embrace, she added, "Thanks for the input, but I have to do this right." She cleared her throat. "So, I'm thinking, maybe a bottle of wine, a nice entrée, and perhaps some hoof foods?" She scratched her chin in thought.

        	"Can you get all that done today?" Trixie inquired as she arched a brow. Slipping off her slippers, she poofed them all away to her bedroom and then summoned her cape, which she quickly clipped on. She sensed an excursion was almost upon them.

        	"Probably," Starlight admitted with a slight blush. "I have to do this right!" She sighed. "So he knows he did right by me."

        	"Remember the last time you two went fancy..." Trixie warned with a click of her tongue.

        	"There's no angry Prench ponies this time around, Trixie!" Starlight stated with a slight raspberry. "It'll be perfectly fine!"

        	"Uh-huh," Trixie quipped, leveling Starlight with a miffed expression. "Trixie's totally not heard that before."

        	Ignoring her friend's sarcasm, Starlight gave Trixie another hug, and then quickly did up Sunburst's dishes and tidied up the kitchen. When things were as clean as she could get them, she sighed and then trotted out into the tiny hallway before entering the wide foyer. As she reached the exit to the castle, Trixie in tow, she held her head up high, wrapped a scarf around her neck, and slipped on a toque. Rearing onto her hindlegs and confidently pointing out into the great outdoors, she cried, "Next stop: Hay-Mart!"
> The Usual Grocery Run
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Starlight mumbled as she and Trixie cleared the last few buildings in Ponyville and soon trotted onto the sidewalk leading to the superstore on the outskirts of Ponyville. Hay-Mart had only recently expanded from Fillydelphia and Manehattan to central Equestria, and it was still relatively novel to Ponyville's residents, as evidenced by the line ahead of them. Starlight groaned at the sight.

        	"You don't say?" Trixie inquired sarcastically, giving Starlight an unamused frown as they saw the line slowly, painfully inch forward to allow another desperate shopper to retrieve the items they needed.

        	Despite the impressive bulk of the department store's building total size, it seemed to be stuffed to the brim, almost ready to burst and spill its figurative guts onto the street and sidewalk. Its dull grey edifices seemed to sap any and all life from the area, which made its bright blue trim all the more garish.

        	A couple of attendants, or at least what Starlight assumed to be attendants, stood by the doors, checking shoppers' bags as they left. Although they were a good distance away, Starlight could imagine their dull, lifeless expressions, as betrayed by their slouched postures and ponderous movements. That alone was probably holding up the line more than it should.

        	Everypony ahead of them looked to be as equally as frigid as she and Trixie. Despite everypony being bundled from head to hoof, they were all huddled close together to keep their individual body heat as effective as possible. Conversely, while she and Trixie were only wearing light clothing, her warmth spell was doing the trick, for the most part.

        	When the wind wasn't blowing hard, they were probably much more comfortable than anypony else in the line. But, of course, the wind was blustering rather consistently at the moment. Whenever it did, it'd slice into the thin, invisible heat shield and blast them with icy tendrils that sent shivers down their spines.

        	Every time there was a gust, Trixie would gleefully remind Starlight when she complained that she was the one insistent on trying the spell. Although she had not been fully ready to depart when Starlight dragged her out of the castle, she was bundled up a bit better than Starlight. Every time she snuggled into her scarf with a smirk as the wind bit into Starlight's fur caused Starlight to more seriously consider covering her with a cold spell. And a sound dampening one to silence the inevitable yelps.

        	Sighing and hanging her head, Starlight mumbled, "We'll never get inside in time!" She heard a few ponies ahead of her grumbling and griping, and she leaned over and craned her neck to try and see what was causing the ruckus. Leaning forward slightly, she stumbled when the pony ahead of her abruptly moved a couple of feet as whoever was next in line was finally allowed into Hay-Mart.

After dusting herself off, she furrowed her brow as she saw a couple of ponies, a middle-aged mare and a young filly, trudging out of the exit. It didn't take long for Starlight to recognize Spoiled Rich and Diamond Tiara, since the former held her head high and mighty, like she owned the entire store.

Diamond was saddled with two massive bags filled to the brim with what looked to be various cosmetic products. At the distance, Starlight couldn't quite tell the exact contents, but she could guess they were heavy, given how much they dragged on the ground as Diamond desperately struggled to haul them behind her mother.

With a final yank, she did manage to leave enough of a gap that the line began to move more freely, and Starlight breathed a sigh of relief as the pace quickened. As Diamond's bags crossed a wide, metal tower with a small crystal, the crystal began to flash a bright red and a shrill beeping filled the air. A couple of ponies ahead of Starlight groaned, and she herself flattened her ears against her head.

Trixie just sighed and conjured up some earmuffs.

Spinning around, Spoiled Rich glared disappointedly at Diamond for a second, and while Starlight couldn't hear what was exchanged, she could take a good guess. "What did you do?!" she imagined Spoiled demanding, and she rolled her eyes as the older mare whipped her head around as one of the attendants near the door approached her.

With the shrill siren, she couldn't make out much until the line got closer, but she did see Spoiled's face turn a brighter crimson as the attendant spoke with her. After a couple of seconds, she puffed out her cheeks and jabbed a hoof back at Diamond, who shot a bemused frown at her mother.

Getting closer to the trio of ponies, Starlight managed to hear Spoiled as the device finally deactivated, "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Princess Celestia, ma'am?" the young attendant snarked as she smacked on some bubblegum and blew a large bubble. It expanded for a couple of seconds before exploding in Spoiled's face.

With a snort, Spoiled quipped, "No! Although if she had asked me for advice, Equestria would be a lot better off."

"Mommy…" Diamond sighed, tiredly smacking a hoof to her face. "Can't you just let her check the bags for the—"

"No!" Spoiled barked back, vitriol in her eyes as she focused quickly on Diamond before she switched her anger back to the attendant. The attendant just shrugged and fiddled with the keys she had on her uniform. "My husband is the wealthiest pony in town! He has enough influence with the mayor that he could get you all fired for this!"

Diamond merely groaned, but she noticed Starlight as she and Trixie came closer, and her face lit up. While Starlight really hadn't interacted with the Rich's daughter much, she did know from Apple Bloom and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders that Diamond had turned over a new leaf a while ago. She could relate.

At this point, she could see that the bags that had been placed solely on Diamond were laden with mane dyes, split evenly between the two purple tones that comprised Spoiled's hair. Inwardly, Starlight mused, "I knew that it wasn't natural!"

"Ma'am, just let me check for the item that was missed when scanning and you can be on your way after you pay," the attendant huffed before she blew another bubble. Her short ponytail bobbled slightly as she inhaled the bubble and chewed.

"Everything was properly categorized," Spoiled sniffed with derision. "I should know, because I was keep careful track of—"

"Actually, Mommy, I think they did miss one of them," Diamond interjected, which earned a rueful glower from Spoiled.

"See?" the attendant inquired. "It'll be simple and quick."

As a small gust of cold wind blew through the line, the young mare started to trot toward Diamond when Spoiled threw up a hoof and blocked her. "Hooves off!" Spoiled barked. "Don't make me speak to my husband and get you in trouble! He knows the store owner!"

"He doesn't," Diamond mumbled, which caused Spoiled's expression to twist into a furious scowl. Starlight chuckled lightly.

The noise caught Spoiled's attention, and when she glanced in Starlight's direction, the rage-filled snarl suddenly melted away and she smiled happily. "Oh! Miss Glimmer! How pleasant to see you again!" She chortled and started to saunter up to Starlight.

"Great…" Starlight thought as she suppressed a moan. However, she didn't manage to keep from rolling her eyes, although Spoiled didn't indicate she noticed Starlight's irritation. If there was an Equestria Games sport for being a busybody, Spoiled would have been the MVP.

Resisting the urge to be too snarky, Starlight instead forced a razor-thin smile on her muzzle and stated, "Hello, Spoiled. I see you're busy doing… whatever it is you're doing." Starlight grunted as a mare pushed past her and Trixie, grumbling under her breath about the hold-up they were causing.

Peeking back at Diamond, who was now aiding the attendant with finding the missed can of mane dye, Spoiled grinned a bit too sincerely, "Oh! You mean this! I just have to keep those workers in line! They seem to think they run the place."

"Actually, they do." Trixie snorted and put her conjured earmuffs back on her head. "That is all Trixie will say."

The two of them stared at Trixie for a moment, then Starlight quipped, "Are you buying for the old ponies' home? I've never seen so much mane dye in one place."

Spoiled blushed for a second, and stammered a few times before finally blowing a faint raspberry and waving a hoof dismissively. "Well," she sputtered, "it was just that these were on sale, and, well, I have to touch up my highlights every now and again." She beamed. "And Diamond was so helpful for coming along."

Peering over at Diamond, who had apparently paid for the extra item and rested the two bags on her sides again, Starlight arched a brow inquisitively and hummed, "Right." As Spoiled's grin widened a bit more, Starlight declared, "I think you could help your daughter a bit, don't you think?"

"Ach!" Spoiled exclaimed, glancing every which way but at Starlight. "W-Well, you see, I might have a few grey hairs here and there—I'm getting more mature, you see—and all this walking around the store has tired me out." Blowing loudly through her lips, she wiped at her forehead, which wasn't perspiring at all, and she tittered lightly. "Besides, isn't Diamond being so generous? That's one of your school's tenets, yes?"

"I know that speaking honestly is also important, and honestly, Spoiled, you're just using Diamond so you don't have to work as hard." Starlight nickered and approached Spoiled, who took a couple of steps back. Ignoring some of the other ponies who walked past her, since she broke from her spot in line, Starlight added, "And honestly, you were the worst headmare candidate of them all!"

"Well, I never!" Spoiled huffed and angled her head derisively at Starlight and started poking her mane. "I can feel you adding more grey hairs as we speak, Miss Glimmer!" She gave an overly dramatic sigh and whimpered, "And I'm getting faint from all this exertion."

"I think you can at least afford to help carry the bags back," Starlight jabbed as she grabbed one of the bags in her magic and floated it onto Spoiled's back. She huffed as Spoiled immediately bucked it off. "And I don't think that your little 'I'm so weak and tired' routine could fool anypony! Even Trixie!"

"It did, actually," Trixie interjected quietly before she gave an anxious giggle at Starlight's unamused frown.

"But I am just so exhausted at the end of every day!" Spoiled declared, puffing out her cheeks and ignoring the glower from Diamond. "Don't you know how hard it is to be me? Keeping the Rich household together? It's so difficult!"

"You're slowing down the line!" somepony from behind Starlight cried, and Spoiled glowered in his direction.

"I'm trying to explain my situation! Be patient!" she barked back, a small scowl twisting onto her face. It quickly reverted to a pained, plaintive look as she focused again on Starlight.

As Starlight was about to retort, Trixie popped up beside her and exclaimed, "While Trixie is very sure that Starlight would love to talk more about your lovely new mane style, Trixie has a couple of show props to find inside after she accidentally animated some in her last show, and Starlight promised to help." With a wide, apologetic smile, she chirped, "So… bye!" Yanking on Starlight, she pulled her friend a few feet away, and then let out a sigh as Spoiled snorted at the interruption before storming off.

Starlight still managed to place a bag on Spoiled's back, and used a temporary spell to keep it attached. She stuck out her tongue as Spoiled glared back before Starlight wriggled  out of Trixie's grip and waltzed toward the entrance.

        	Smirking a bit, Starlight released the heat spell and felt the warmth of the forced air of the entrance beat onto her fur. The noise of ponies yammering at each other, the rattle of carts turning into different lanes, and the rhythmic dinging of bit registers resonated throughout the superstore. Although a bit of a cacophony, it wasn't to the point of drowning out all thought, and Starlight turned to Trixie.

        	"Thanks, Trix," she stated before giving her a grateful hug. "I probably would have gotten the whole routine about being the best vice-headmare candidate." A small giggle-snort escaped her lips.

        	"Maybe don't thank Trixie yet," Trixie replied as she pushed Starlight away and pointed to the rows upon rows of ponies that were waiting to enter the chaos that awaited them on the floor of Hay-Mart. From what Starlight could see, it was a veritable wall of bodies that ponies had to push into to even hope of getting to whatever they were wanting to buy.

        	Near the ceiling, over what she believed to be part of the produce aisle, a couple of pegasi in blue aprons watched the sea of bodies with concern. Although their uniforms had a large, grinning sun on the front, they appeared anything but happy. Both were doing their best to avoid being accidentally snagged by any passerby's cart, or walloped by large boxes that were sticking out of some customer's trolleys.  

They were balancing in their hooves what looked to be crates of apples or oranges. Quickly jabbering between each other, they pointed at the floor like they were planning how to land.

        	Starlight could guess why. With such an insane number of ponies, they risked being trampled just by flying nearby.

        	Suddenly, she and Trixie were knocked from the other end as a couple of new customers were allowed entrance. Trixie squawked in surprise as she tipped forward and smacked her face into the floor. She twitched for a second or two before she finally spluttered and pushed herself back up.

        	Starlight, meanwhile, was shoved ahead and managed to grab hold of a cart's handle, and hung on as she regained her balance. Wrapping one hoof around the cart tighter, she pulled and felt it try to go in two different directions. She glanced over and saw that she was currently staring at a wizened old pony, whose mane was done up in curlers.

        	Both of them gawked at each other for a second, and then Starlight furrowed her brow. With a furious tug, she started to shift the cart in her direction, but then the elderly pony yanked back. Surprisingly, there was a decent amount of force behind it, and Starlight nearly lost her grip and stumbled back.

        	However, she was blocked from collapsing because she smacked into the chest of another pony, who had also attached a hoof to the cart and was tugging in her own direction. Another followed suit after that, and soon it was half a dozen different ponies who all were vying for the cart to be theirs.

        	"Is this the only cart left in the bucking place?!" Starlight wondered to herself as some sweat trickled down her forehead. The elderly mare leered at her and gave a menacing chuckle. Slowly, she reached out her free hoof and wiggled her mouth a bit. After a couple of seconds, she slipped out her dentures and held them in her hoof.

        	As Starlight's stomach churned at the action, the mare cackled and then manipulated the dentures as she reached over with her hoof. In a smooth action, she made the dentures bite down on Starlight's fetlock with an impressive amount of strength, and Starlight yelped as she was forced to let go.

        	Sliding down onto her rump, Starlight saw the coot repeat the process on each of her challengers until she was the sole remaining customer holding the cart. She placed the dentures back in her mouth, wiggled them a bit, and then stuck out her tongue. "Ain't lost a cart battle yet," she huffed, then pushed the cart free from its small docking station and bolted off.

        	

        	Groggily getting to her hooves, Starlight felt the welt that was beginning to grow on her fetlock. She asked herself softly, "All that for a cart?" She whimpered and gently stepped away, dejectedly sighing as she searched for Trixie. In the chaos of the other ponies getting in, she had lost her friend.

        	In a couple of seconds, she heard a cart roll up beside her, and Trixie stated, "Trixie has found a cart, Starlight." Starlight whirled around and gawked at Trixie, who was calmly standing at the back of a shopping cart and giving Starlight a confused eyebrow raise. "It looks like you got bitten by a timberwolf."

        	Starlight chuckled. "Not quite, but probably just as vicious."

        	Staring at the mass of ponies in the outside portion of the aisles, Trixie asked, "Maybe, just this once, you could use a mind control spell? Make ponies let you through?" Trixie winked. "Wink."

        	Leveling Trixie with an unamused scowl, Starlight groaned. She mumbled, "You know that if Twilight finds out I did something like that again, I'd probably have to spend a year writing 'I will not mind control ponies' again, right?"

        	"But it'd be worth it if Sunburst gets his special dinner," Trixie retorted with a small chuckle. When Starlight sighed and moaned again, she winked once more at Starlight. "Wink."

        	"Ugh." Sticking out her tongue, Starlight rubbed the sore spot again. Some of the slime from the mare's dentures had started to matt on her fur, and she shuddered at how much she'd have to scrub to get it out. She turned her attention to finding a break in the crowd of ponies that filled the Hay-Mart. It seemed like there was no end in sight to the wall of flesh that swamped the floor, yet there had to be a way in.

        	Pondering for a second, she glanced to the left and to the right, searching for any potential gap to barrel into. It wasn't like they could go to another aisle either, because there were just as many ponies jamming them as they were in the produce area.

        	As the seconds ticked down, and Trixie nonchalantly hummed offkey to the chipper Hearth's Warming music that was playing in the store, Starlight's left eye started to twitch. A small, furious growl built in her throat as she switched her gaze to every possible location they could get through. Finally, she spotted a small gap in the line for a number of quickly cookable appetizers, and she screamed, "Go!"

        	Darting for the gap, she heard Trixie yelp and suddenly take off after her, and she dove forward. Shoving her forelegs forward and pushing to get enough room to butt in, she was nearly crushed between the bodies. she managed to push through, though, and only poked somepony once in the hindquarters with her horn. She narrowly avoided being bucked by the pony's hindlegs in response, but the pony behind her wasn't so lucky.

        	With an undignified yelp, a brown mare went flying through the air and landed back in the cart section. Barely audible over the din of ponies, a scratchy colt's voice cried, "Yeah, Mom! Best way to practice for EBA 1009!" A second later, said colt shot through the air too, his propellor beanie spinning violently. He at least appeared to have done it under his own volition, somehow.

        	As he descended, he started to scream, as he apparently misjudged the angle and bounced once off the side of a cart and smacked headfirst into the floor. Starlight couldn't see much after that, but she heard him cry, "Oh hey! A bit!"

        	Squeezing through some more ponies, Starlight suddenly popped out of the crowd and into an almost dead aisle. She wheezed a couple of times as her lungs screamed for air and did a careful three-sixty of her surroundings to watch for any unannounced ponies bumping into her. After she made sure the coast was clear, she swiped some sweat from her brow, and she tried to brush down her mane, which had gotten more frazzled due to the tight quarters.

        	No matter how much she pressed it back, even with a small application of magic to it, it refused to stay back down correctly. With a tired shrug, she winced at the pain in her fetlock, then called, "Trixie?!"

        	As if to answer her, Trixie emerged from the crowd, almost as if she could part it through presence alone, and she gave a small bow. Miraculously, her cloak was unscathed.

        	Snorting at Trixie's overly dramatic entrance, Starlight huffed as she stated, "It's like all of Ponyville is trying to keep us out." She rubbed her chin in contemplation. "Or really more than all of Ponyville. Where'd all these ponies come from?" It wasn't like Ponyville was a big place. Maybe a couple of thousand inhabitants, if that. Probably it was an overestimate, but she swore there had to have been at least that many in the store alone.

        	"Maybe they're from Sunset's world?" Trixie suggested with a quick shrug. "But then they'd be all panicking, wouldn't they? Their things being pony things, and all that." She hummed thoughtfully. "Say, Starlight. When are you going to take Trixie on a tour of Sunset's world? She wants to try an 'intelligent phone'." She flexed her forehooves, while leaning forward a bit and giving Starlight a pleading, plaintive look.

        	"Smartphone," Starlight corrected, swishing her tail back and forth in irritation before she rotated around and faced down the aisle. Glancing over her back, she quipped, "And probably never. I'd have to arrange with Sunset to send their Trixie over at the same time. There's no way they could handle two Trixies there at once."

        	"Aw, and I was wanting to get my autograph," Trixie whined as she hung her head. "And Trixie signing it for herself doesn't count!"

        	As she was about to argue, Starlight scrunched her muzzle up in thought and then shook her head. The last thing she needed was two Trixie's complimenting each other while referring to themselves as "Trixie."

        	"Trixie is sure that the other Trixie wouldn't cause trouble while Trixie is there!" her friend exclaimed hopefully. With an almost puppy dog-like pout, she flashed Starlight one more begging glance, and Starlight simply shook her head.

        	"Remember the bright idea you had with Celestia's horn? Making it disappear?" Starlight growled as Trixie nodded, without any apparent sign of regret. "Remember how you were found out and nearly thrown in jail because of it? Especially after you had trouble recalling how to reverse it?" Trixie still appeared unphased. Gritting her teeth and staring up at the ceiling for a second, Starlight growled, "Do you really think two Trixies potentially putting their heads together for their 'greatest trick of all time' is a smart idea?"

        	"It was just a parlor trick, Starlight," Trixie chimed back, closing her eyes happily as she giggled at the memory. "It didn't hurt anypony."

        	"You literally turned Celestia into a pegasus for half a day!" Starlight exclaimed, gesturing wildly at Trixie with her forehooves. "And then you wanted to keep her horn!"

        	"It was going to be a nice souvenir, or Trixie could have used it as a toothpick." Trixie shrugged again, staring wistfully off into the distance and sighing. "Good times," she mumbled, which only caused Starlight to smack a hoof to her face.

        	Thankfully the pain of a hoof connecting with her muzzle kept Starlight from immediately giving into her frustration. Still, Starlight kept her hoof there for a moment, waiting for her face to finally revert to a calm, collected, and not at all so angry it'd make Chrysalis jealous. She pulled on her nose for a second, then sighed. Staring tiredly at Trixie, she simply mumbled, "Right, well, let's just get this over with."

        	Starting off at a slow trot, she glanced at her hastily scribbled list that she had made up in the short time they had taken to get to Hay-Mart. She might have also been at points keeping herself from breaking down into a nervous wreck that would have put the likes of Twilight to shame, too. Squinting a bit at the chicken scratch hornwriting, she finally huffed as she made out the first item.

        	Appetizers. That was all she wrote. That was an obvious start. But what could she get? She could see that this section of the aisle was already picked clean, so things like vegetable trays and nachos and dip were already gone. Granted, there had to be more options, but would it be something that Sunburst liked?

        	Moaning in resignation, she hung her head and slowly checked each shelf, pleading for them to still hold something that could be used. Of course, she came up empty, and by the tenth item that should have been there, she was beginning to sense that the hunt for food might not have been as straightforward as she thought.

        	"Maybe this was a bad idea..." she thought to herself as she listened to Trixie continue to hum and whistle to the music playing in the store. At the very least, the relative quietness of this section allowed her mind to calm down, if only a smidge.

        	As Trixie started to get louder with the next Hearth's Warming song, Starlight grated her teeth at the singalong. One of her ears twitched as Trixie missed the note entirely and cried, "Filly it's cold outside!" Starlight whipped her head around to see Trixie bopping to the beat of the song, happily following Starlight without a care in the world.

        	"Be nice if I could be so carefree right now," she mused tiredly as she reached the frozen appetizers section. Halting her train of thought, she stared at the single, remaining box of anything in the entire aisle. A logo caught her eye, hidden partly behind ice that had built up on the box. She used a bit of magic to swipe away the ice, and she saw it was a single container of sweet potato pierogies. They weren't her first choice, but they would be suitably fancy enough for a romantic New Year's Eve meal.

        	Gazing up at the ceiling, she silently thanked Celestia before she galloped toward the freezer that held her prize when she heard a voice exclaim, "Oh! Pierogies!" Before Starlight could come to a halt, the freezer door flung open, and she smacked into the glass.

        	"Ow," she griped internally.

        	As she peeled herself off, she saw a blue unicorn with a white and dark blue mane staring at the box. The unicorn was reading the cooking instructions when Trixie, who was still humming to the song, blithely bumped into the mare with her cart. Gasping, the unicorn dropped the box to the floor.

        	In that moment, Starlight squeaked in glee and powered her horn to grab hold of the box. At the same time, the blue unicorn took it as well, and it hung suspended in the air as their two levitation spells fought against each other. Suddenly, Starlight recognized the pony. "Colgate," she growled, narrowing her eyes at the dentist.

        	"Glimmer," Colgate snarled back, pawing at the ground a couple of times. "You haven't gotten your teeth checked since last year." She grimaced. "They must be disgusting." With a harsh pull, she almost broke the pierogi box free from Starlight's grasp.

        	"I didn't come back because you drilled into my gum!" Starlight cried as she gave a strong tug and dragged Colgate a foot or so forward. "You nearly caused me to bleed out!"

        	"Because you were squirming!" Colgate snapped back, renewing her efforts to relieve the pierogi box of its current owner. "And I told you not to!"

        	"Maybe don't use a giant drill!" Starlight countered as she ignored Trixie's bemused back-and-forth motions to follow the bickering pair. Starlight strained and started to literally peel Colgate's magic from the box, the extreme effort of moving another pony's magic sapping her reserves of energy. Her horn sparked a couple of times as it started to glow brighter from her increased output.

        	"The drill bit is only half a foot long!" Colgate screamed while sweat trickled down her muzzle. She eyed the pierogies longingly. "And you had a cavity!"

        	"Just. Remove. It. With. MAGIC!" Starlight bellowed back. With a final groan, she managed to shove the last bits of Colgate's magic field off the box, and she went stumbling backward before falling onto her rump. However, she held onto the pierogi box, and she joyfully cheered. Colgate staggered into her cart, and then snarled at Starlight.

        	"You win this time, Glimmer," she growled. "But don't expect any anesthetic the next time you have to get your teeth fixed."

        	Starlight just stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry as Colgate huffed and shoved her cart past Trixie. Keeping the expression of derision for a moment longer, Starlight pumped the air once with a hoof and then dropped the box into Trixie's cart.

        	Trixie just stared at Starlight, completely bored. "Was it worth it?" she finally asked, earning an emphatic nod from Starlight.

        	"Serves her right for criticizing my teeth," Starlight huffed. "There's a reason why I use a cleaning spell every day on them." She flashed her pearly whites, and Trixie uninterestedly bobbed her head in agreement. "Now let's find the next item!" she exclaimed with a slight whoop. "Uh..." Pulling out the list, she squinted and mumbled, "Vines? Oh, wine. Wine!"

        	Trixie huffed and followed after her friend as Starlight glibly bounced down the aisle, her hooves clip-clopping loudly on the tiled floor. This time, Starlight was the one humming along to the Hearth's Warming music, although she was confident that she was keeping her tune perfectly, unlike Trixie.

        	Now that she had at least one item ticked off her list, there was hope that she'd be able to get the rest in time for her to make it as a surprise for Sunburst tonight. She sang softly along, making a turn once they got to the end of the aisle and then freezing when she observed the mass of ponies, again seemingly congregating along the perimeter of the shopping area for the Hay-Mart.

        	If she was just going to grab some fresh bread or the like, she'd have no issue, but it seemed like there were a number around the deli area, where she had hoped to find something nice that could be broiled, as well as near much of the frozen food and fresh hay product areas.

        	Basically, wherever she specifically wanted to go, fate had decided that it would play a joke on her. She threw her arms in the air in disgust, moaning once or twice in frustration as she searched for her next chosen location. There was only a small alcohol section in this Hay-Mart, if she remembered right. Partly that was because of the preference for the Apples' cider products instead.

        	After craning her neck, she caught the sign for the drinks section, and then she motioned for Trixie to follow her. Trixie let out a confused hum and then quickly trotted behind her, wheeling the cart along. Starlight barely noticed as Trixie floated in a small package of cracker snack packets and licked her lips. Also, as they passed the canned aisle, Trixie snatched a large bottle of peanut butter and plopped it in.

        	Since Starlight was laser-focused on the drinks aisle, she dove into the crowd that had amassed to grab something to give them a buzz. After a bit of force, she managed to again pop through, stumbling out and into a relatively clear stretch of the hallway. Only a couple of ponies were perusing some barren shelves with maybe some imported cans of cider, which looked absolutely pathetic compared to the care and artistry the Apples provided with their own stock.

        	Mumbling quietly to herself, Starlight counted off the rows, eventually finding where the wine section started, and she beelined straight for it. Trixie finally emerged from the chaos behind her with a gag, and then stared momentarily at the cans of cider that were left before bolting after Starlight.

        	Lightly skidding on her hooves, Starlight scanned the almost completely empty shelving, whimpering to herself, "No, no, no!" How was she supposed to make a romantic date if there wasn't any wine?! Never mind that their first date didn't have any of that. Now that they were a thing, she had to go all out!

        	Biting her lip and swiveling her head this way and that, Starlight finally whinnied excitedly, as she spotted a small number of bottles near the far end of the aisle. Galloping over, she began to quickly sort through them. "Canterlot Ruby. Manehattan Popfizzle. Vanhoover 'Ling Grove..." Starlight slowly read them out, checking their descriptions to see what would match her taste the best, let alone Sunburst's.

        	Deciphering the fancy explanations of the flavor profiles started to make her head spin. Flowery, earthy, musky, tart, dry, sweet, hints of honey, overtones of smoke, it was all hard to take in, especially given that some of the cheapest ones claimed the most powerful tastes.

        	While she wasn't exactly sure of what to grab, she knew that if it was inexpensive, it was probably horrible. So, putting a bottle of Crystal Empire Glass back in its spot, she stared at the single bottle of Griffenheim Rot that stood on its own at the top of the shelving. She shuddered at the price tag, but spinning it around, she read some of the description of its aromas.

        	It was much simpler, but they seemed all right.

        	She placed it back on the shelf. Was it really worth the seventy bits it was asking, though? That'd make it almost the entire cost of her trip out here.

        	Tapping her hooves on the floor as she pondered, she heard Trixie declare, "You could just get a few of Flim and Flam's Definitely Original Squeezy Cider." To emphasize, she held up the six-pack of the cider, which had a picture of the two unicorns knocking back a can each. There was some small print she couldn't quite make out on the bottom of the cans. Something about not being a stolen recipe or the like.

        	"That's pretty low-brow, Trixie," Starlight replied with a sigh. "I don't even think he likes cider."

        	"Well, does he like anything?" Trixie retorted with a snort. Placing the cider cans back on the shelf, she shrugged. "Trixie isn't sure. To her, he doesn't seem to be very much into this." She waved her hooves at the shelves.

        	"Well, I mean, I suppose, maybe," Starlight stuttered, and for the briefest moment, her visions of a wonderful evening shattered at Trixie's questions. "But, well, I am not really a wine connoisseur either, so there's always a time to start?" With a small, nervous chuckle, she scratched the back of her head as Trixie gave her a miffed eyebrow raise.

        	"Sure..."

        	"Honestly, it's fine. I'm sure we'll both have a glass, be happy with it, and then leave the rest for later." Without looking back, Starlight cast a quick levitation spell and grappled the bottle of Griffenheim Rot. As she pulled it down, it teetered a bit in her magic as the minor griffon enchantments in the bottle partly interfered with the spell. Without warning, she felt a hoof tug in the opposite direction, and she whipped her head around.

        	Staring at Starlight, a hungry, insatiable look of desire in her eyes, was Berry Punch. Everypony knew Berry. And everypony knew to not get in her way of her choice of drink. Ever.

        	"Great..." Starlight grumped internally as she saw Berry's slightly flushed face grow a brighter red of frustration. Berry gave another yank, and Starlight held on tightly. There was no way anypony was going to get between her and her plans for a perfect evening with Sunburst.

        	"Let go, Berry," Starlight declared calmly, hearing Trixie start to wander away from the two of them as Berry's expression turned a bit dourer. "I was here first; I chose this first. It's mine."

        	Softly, to the point of almost being impossible to hear over the noise of the rest of the customers in the store, Berry hissed, "This is the last one in Ponyville. I. Need. It!" She pulled harder. "New Year's Party tonight. My place. By myself! All of it. Mine!"

        	Starlight braced against the earth pony's strength as it strained her remaining magic reserves further, and she groaned, "It'll be perfect for my date with Sunburst!"

        	"Find another drink!" Berry retorted, and then grabbed a different bottle from the shelf. "Here!" Whipping it with enough force that it faintly blurred from the speed, she sent it careening toward Starlight, who only managed to duck because she anticipated the action. As the wine bottle soared over her head, she heard it shatter behind her, and she was suddenly splashed on her hindlegs by the fermented drink.

        	"Are you crazy?!" Starlight demanded, although she already knew the answer. Everypony in this bloody town was crazy. There was always something that was making her realize that. Today it was nearly being decked by the town alcoholic.

        	Berry didn't reply, instead, she grabbed another bottle and revved it up for a swing. Starlight's eyes widened, and she instinctually summoned a shield that blocked the glass from getting near her. Not the wine, though, as the shield collapsed after being struck. She spluttered and coughed as the liquid flew everywhere and soaked her.

        	Mane now clinging to her neck and wine dribbling into her nose and mouth, she spat, "Why is everypony so violent today?!"

        	"This is the last store open for New Year's!" Berry screamed, pulling ever harder on Starlight's bottle. Horn sparking with the effort, Starlight managed to continue to hang onto the wine, but she felt the spell field beginning to fizzle. Desperately searching for something to use to get Berry off, she gasped when she turned in time to see one more bottle coming straight for her face.

        	She ducked, barely, the glass shattering as it hit the shelf. A few shards bounced off a hastily constructed shield. Another shower of wine dribbled through some of the cracks that formed on it, and she was effectively a walking vineyard by the end of the glass pelting it. With her hooves now wet and slippery, she struggled to hold onto the bottle.

        	Berry smirked as she started to wiggle it out of Starlight's grasp when Starlight heard Trixie cry, "Hey, Berry! Trixie suggests these instead!" Berry jerked her head to the side to look in Trixie's direction, and a whizzing case of cider slammed directly into her muzzle. With a squawk, she stumbled back before falling flat on her back, the case still in the middle of her face. She groaned once before falling unconscious.

        	Blinking away the stinging wine, Starlight slowly wiped her forehead, then powered her horn. She floated the bottle of Griffenheim Rot over to the cart, and she mumbled, "Thanks, Trix."

        	"Trixie is beginning to agree with Starlight's first assessment," Trixie answered as she poked Berry's form once. Seeing that she was only knocked out, Trixie let out a small sigh of relief. Glancing up at Starlight, she quipped, "Maybe somepony can make a new wine from this." She prodded Starlight's wet mane. "Vive la Glimmer." She snickered at her joke, but Starlight just cringed.

        Licking her lips, Starlight briefly caught a taste of one of the wines and its overly sour flavor. She shivered, then cast a quick spell to dry her off and squeeze all the excess liquid out of her fur and mane. After a shake to make sure she was dry, she wrinkled her nose at the strong alcoholic smell that still lingered on her.

        	She was going to have to shower well when she got back.

        	Over the intercom of the store, there came a tired voice, "Cleanup in aisle five. Berry Punch is at it again."

        	Starlight snorted at that. Whatever the case, she had accomplished her next goal. With a satisfied grin, she checked off that item, and then she paused. Figuring out her writing was proving to be a bit more troublesome than she thought, but she shrugged and started to make her way toward the aisle exit.

        	After a bit more figuring out her scribbles, Starlight stated, "Oh, this should be easy. Just need to find the ingredients for hay schnitzel." She pointed toward the baking goods section and began her trek there. Surprisingly, it was fairly empty of ponies.

        	"'Hay schnitzel?'" Trixie repeated, sounding slightly repulsed and also confused. "What the—pardon the pun—hay is that?"

        	"Ugh," Starlight grumbled whilst rolling her eyes at Trixie's jab. "It's an old recipe that Stellar Flare made when I was a filly. Sunburst apparently loved it." She giggled. "It sounds really simple to make: just hay, get it mashed together well enough, bread it, and then fry it. Add some garnishes, and boom! Hay schnitzel!" With a triumphant nicker, she pumped a hoof into the air once and smiled widely at Trixie.

        	"Trixie... thinks that cardboard sounds more appealing than that." Trixie scratched her chin, and she finally huffed, "Actually, she knows cardboard is more appetizing."

Starlight tittered softly and declared, "Well, this is Sunburst we're talking about." She smirked.

"True, he did order—" Trixie paused at Starlight's glare. Grinning awkwardly and clearing her throat, Trixie instead declared, "What Trixie meant to say was that she sometimes wonders if pepper is too spicy for him." She arched a brow. "Are you sure that he wouldn't just like a gourmet hayburger instead, though?"

        	"Pfft," Starlight mumbled with a dismissive wave of her hoof. As they twisted around the small lanes that had been formed in the crowds of customers, she stated, "That's too simple, Trixie! I have to do something that takes a bit of effort to do!" At Trixie's unconvinced stare, she added with a bit of force to her voice, "I have to show how much I care about him!"

        	"Right." Trixie simply frowned and shook her head. "Whatever, Starlight. He's your coltfriend." With a sigh, she lowered her voice and she grumbled, "Unfortunately."

        	"Say something?" Starlight asked, a glare on her face indicating that she knew exactly what Trixie had whined about. Her horn was currently glowing brightly, creating a much wider berth for the duo as they turned into the baking aisle.

        	As a spark from her horn fell onto Trixie's nose, Trixie smiled weakly and whimpered, "Trixie meant, 'understandably.'" At Starlight's curt nod, she gave a small exhale and wiped her forehead.

        	Soon, they found the breadcrumbs that Starlight would use to make the batter for the schnitzel's coating. Starlight arched a brow. "Huh," she muttered, looking over both her shoulders and then doing a quick spin around. When she finally arrived again to look at breadcrumbs, she quipped, "There's nopony here to beat me to a pulp this time."

        	"You say that like it's a bad thing, Starlight," Trixie pointed out as she rested against the cart, kicking one of her hind hooves back and forth.

        	"Well," Starlight started a bit unsurely, "it feels weird after the last two times." Indicating the entire line of different products she could choose, she stated, "And then I have all these choices. Is this what shopping at a superstore is supposed to feel like?"

        	Not bothering to deign it with an answer, Trixie simply let Starlight ponder her choices for a moment as she stared at the rows of breadcrumb containers and the various producers of it. Starlight tapped her chin, switching her attention between the different flavors she could get. Did she buy just the plain ones, or did she get one that tasted like garlic, or had some spice to it?

        	Were these all just a representation of the numerous choices that life presented her, each with their own compelling option, but ultimately leading back to the same result? Was she just supposed to pick at random and hope for the best? And did she always have to do it alone? Why wasn't Trixie providing input?

        	As she continued to ponder these existential questions, Trixie finally sighed, "Just pick one, Starlight. Trixie is beginning to tire, and she needs a snack." She licked her lips as she stared again at the peanut butter and crackers that were in the cart. "Soon, my precious," she mumbled under her breath. "You will all be Trixie's."

        	"Fine..." Starlight huffed as she closed her eyes and chose one at random. When she opened them, she saw that she had grabbed the plain crumbs. Probably for the best, she ultimately decided. Dropping them in the cart, she clapped her hooves together, and she stated, "Now to find hay!"

        	Trixie pointed to shelves about three cart-lengths down. Blushing and giggling softly to herself, Starlight let out a small, nasally snort. "Oh, yeah, that would work."

        	After picking up enough hay, she and Trixie quickly pushed their way through another crowd to grab a couple of garnishes. Although it was picked over, they were able to grab some cloves and a lemon, and the two of them started to make their way toward the checkout counter. As they approached, Starlight managed to snag a cake that had been left by itself on a nearby shelf, and she squealed triumphantly as she realized she had all the items she needed to make the perfect New Year's meal.

        	Finally reaching the checkout counter, Starlight sighed contentedly as she began to unload the cart onto the nearest conveyer to a cashier. Thankfully, they only had to wait a few minutes, as it seemed like most cashiers were going pretty quickly. She heard mention of those new credit cards that had been invented only recently. To her surprise, it seemed they carried the required magical equipment to read them.

        	According to Twilight, there was a similar system over in Sunset's world, although without any magic to process the transactions. Twilight also added it might have been the reason why she wasn't going back over there, because she might have gone on a spending spree of buying electronics to bring back when she didn't understand how credit worked.

        	That was apparently the other Twilight's problem to solve now.

        	"Well," Trixie stated with a stretch, "Trixie has a few things she's going to get for herself, so, meet you at the exit!" At that, she snatched the crackers and jar of peanut butter plus a box of teabags that she'd pilfered from another cart in her magic and happily skipped along to another counter. She pulled out a small bundle of bits and placed them on the conveyer belt and slowly trundled along as she got closer to her cashier.

        	Starlight rolled her eyes, focusing again on her own items as she noticed the conveyer's rather dirty exterior. Some of the late afternoon sunlight was pouring in through the wide bay windows of the checkout area, highlighting the numerous streaks of grime stuck on the rubber. A number of tabloids and magazines were displayed on racks at eye level to try and catch as much attention as possible.

        	With a huff, she read a couple of the headlines. "Does Princess Twilight have a secret hayburger problem?!" one asked, an unflattering picture of Twilight in the middle of devouring said food and spraying condiments all over her face adorning its cover. Another inquired, "Hottest mare of the year, or simply the most powerful? Is Princess Twilight every bachelor's dream come true?!" At that one, Starlight blushed as it was a clearly altered image of Twilight to appear in a more beckoning, seductive pose on a bed. They even added socks to accentuate the sexiness of her appearance.

        	Sticking out her tongue, Starlight shuddered and brought out her own bag of bits. She clinked them onto the counter, next to the cashier, and flashed him a massive grin. A bit giddily, she bounced on the tips of her hooves as he started to slowly enter each item into the cash register.

        	He was probably about seventeen and had already started to develop a hunch. His mouth hanging open slightly, he lazily tapped in the product code for the breadcrumbs, and then pushed aside a bit of his greasy black mane. From what Starlight could see, his light blue coat had a few splotches of similar grease on it. She mildly cringed back as he snuffed loudly and wiped at his nose.

        	"Hello!" she greeted kindly, getting no response in return. Scrunching her muzzle, she mumbled under her breath, "Okay, be that way then." She looked over his shoulder to see that Trixie was happily chatting up the cashier that she had. Starlight groaned. Of course she'd get the antisocial pony.

        	As he started to enter the item code for the cloves, Starlight cleared her throat, and he looked at her. Blushing a bit, she stated, "Sorry, but if you could enter them a bit faster, that'd be great." She nibbled her lip. "It's for an important occasion."

        	He blankly stared at her for a moment, then, wiping his nose again, he muttered, "You distracted me. Now I have to start again." With that, he turned to the register, deleted the entry, and then slowly began to hoof in the product code again.

        	"Ugh!" Starlight moaned, slamming her head onto the counter and repeating the motion a couple of times. As she went in for her fifth smack, she heard hooves trot up to her, and she saw Trixie munching on a cracker or two.

        	"You seem upset, Starlight," Trixie stated nonchalantly.

        	"You don't say," Starlight answered as she glowered at Trixie. The cashier was still typing in her purchases, and she sighed as she rubbed at her now throbbing forehead. Whether it was because of the repeated head-bashing, or because of ponies being the biggest pain in the flank, she wasn't sure.

        	After she opened her eyes, she saw that he was staring at the wine and then back to her. Repeating the motion a couple of times, he inquired in a painfully dead and slow voice, "I'm going to need to see some ID."

        	"What?"

        	"ID."

        	"I heard you," Starlight grumbled as she straightened herself up. She didn't even know if she had ID. She was just recognized as Twilight's student pretty much everywhere in Ponyville. And, well, almost all of Equestria. It helped that she saved it once or twice, too.

        	Fumbling around in her small pocket dimension where she kept other important items, she finally came up empty and she chuckled, "Uh, I'm Starlight Glimmer." When the cashier simply stared at her, she raised her flank a bit and pointed at her cutie mark. "This is all the ID I need. Nopony else has this cutie mark."

        	"If you're trying to seduce me to get this, ma'am, it won't work." He pointed at a sign that clearly read exactly that. "Company policy."

        	"Why would—" Starlight's left eye twitched, and she simply groaned. "Ugh!"

        	"Don't worry," Trixie declared with a smile, "Trixie has this." She flipped up her cloak to reveal, along with her bit bag, a couple of different items, including a small card. She grabbed it and passed it over to the colt. "Here you go. I'll cover for my friend." She smiled smugly, and Starlight merely glared daggers at her while the colt went over the ID.

        	After a couple more seconds of inspection, he brightened and stated, "Oh! You're Trixie Lulamoon? The magician?!" He placed the wine bottle on the counter and hopped off to grab a piece of paper. "Can I get your autograph?"

        	"Of course, Trixie loves to make her—" she held back a weak gag after she saw how greasy he was "—fans' day." She quickly stamped her hoof onto the paper with a bit of ink she conjured, and soon enough the rest of the items were bagged and ready to be paid for.

        	"Finally," Starlight sighed in relief as she opened her bag to pay. "How much do I need to pay?" When the colt listed off the total of one hundred and sixty-five and one quarter bits, she choked on her spit and nearly fainted. However, she managed to keep her composure, and she reached into her bag. Luckily, she always kept a two hundred bit on her, in case of an emergency. This was definitely an emergency.

        	Passing it over to him, she stated, "There, now if I could get my change?"

        	For a moment, he simply stared at the bit like she had hoofed him some ancient artifact that was going to turn him into a seapony or something at any moment. Shortly, he glanced up at her and he asked, "What's 'change?'"

        	"Y-You do have bits on you, right?" Starlight stuttered, her mane beginning to fray more as the stress of just checking out dragged on and on. When he nodded, she stated, "Then you just give me my change—you know, to even things up—from the register?"

        	"But how?"

        	Starlight smacked a hoof to her face. "You. Make. Change?"

        	"How?"

        	"You. Subtract. The smaller number. From. The larger one!" Starlight snarled through gritted teeth. If she opened her eyes, she knew she was going to see red, and there would be a very good chance that this colt would be the one going into another dimension, not Trixie.

        	"Oooooohhhhhh," the colt exclaimed like she had revealed the inner workings of the universe to him. "Oh, yeah, I'll do that." Whipping up a calculator, he slowly began to punch in the two hundred she gave him. He froze for a second, stuck out his tongue as he thought, and then shook his head. Starlight groaned after he redid the calculation, reentered it, and then cleared it one last time.

        	Her left eye twitching again, she finally snapped, "It's thirty-four and three-quarter bits!" Heaving and shivering, she glowered at him as he stared dopily at her. He ploddingly opened the cash register and extracted the stated number of bits from it. Dumbly foisting them over, he meekly whimpered and gave her a receipt.

        	"Thanks!" she snapped, ripping the receipt from his hoof with her magic and thrusting it into the bag of her items. "Have a good day!" she snarled at him, then stomped off with Trixie in tow, who was still munching on the crackers and peanut butter like she was watching an entertaining movie.

        	As Starlight levitated the cart back into its spot, she heard over the intercom, "Attention, valued customers. To begin the afternoon, we are offering a sale on breadcrumbs. Please go to aisle seven to find them. Thank you for your patronage and enjoy your shopping!"

        	As soon as it cut out, Starlight felt the ground begin to rumble, and she and Trixie exchanged worried glances. From outside, there was a sudden surge of ponies breaking for the door, and she could hear them chanting over and over again, "Sale! Sale! Sale!"

        	As the doors burst down, Starlight's ears flopped against her head. "Buck."
> The Usual Dinner
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bobbing his head to the rapid drumbeat of the song currently blasting in his room, Sunburst twiddled with a quick sketch he was creating of another diagram for his crystal mage exam. He softly hummed the melody to one of the best tracks from one of his favorite new groups, Horn Impalers. It was all thanks to Starlight and her short fixation on what she called black metal that got him introduced to it. Of course, it wasn't directly, but during their trip to Sire's Hollow to fix their parents—first of many—friendship problems, he'd taken a bit of time later to check out Starlight's well-preserved room.

There, he had been introduced to Horn Impalers, which Firelight had quickly tried to hide. Apparently he didn't like it when his "Little Pudding Cheeks" listened to it, but didn't have the heart to throw it out when she ran away.

        	Honestly, he couldn't even make out the words of the song, but who cared? That drumbeat was sick and the guitar solos were perfection incarnate.

        	As the singer to Horn Impalers let out a death-like scream, Sunburst did his best to mimic it before he went back to staring at the textbook and its clean depiction of a weather inversion matrix. Even though he was no longer the official Crystaller of the Crystal Empire and therefore didn't have to finish his post-graduate studies that he'd started while there, he felt like he had to. After all, since he dropped out from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, he couldn't repeat his mistake!

        	Imagine all the knowledge he wouldn't have gained otherwise! It was preposterous. Plus, somepony had to eventually one-up Twilight "Egghead" Sparkle in useful useless trivia.

        	After a couple more minutes spent hunched over his books, he groaned and stretched, then flicked his music player to the next song on the album. He sighed and cracked his neck, glancing around his room at the relatively spartan arrangements. Outside of his piles of books and scrolls gathered around his desk, there was a decent-sized bed, enough for two ponies, and a small wardrobe filled with spare cloaks.

        	Scratching at his beard, he smiled as he peered at the picture of him and Starlight on his bedside table. It'd taken a bit of prodding, but he'd convinced her to share a copy of their first pictures together from their first date. He had chosen the one where she was giving him a nervous but smoldering stare in the photo booth as his image of choice. She was so cute when she was flustered.

        	Resting next to the upright photo was another one they had taken after Hearth's Warming. Sunburst was in the middle of kissing her forehead, and she had a furious blush on her cheeks. However, she was grinning like there was no tomorrow. He chuckled as he briefly picked it up before returning to his studies.

        	It'd only be a bit longer before he'd be able to spend more time with her. Once the exams opened in the next couple of weeks, he'd head up to the Crystal Empire, complete them, and finally have the time to fully commit to his job as vice-headmare. And Starlight's coltfriend, of course.

        	Settling into his chair, he quickly peeked at his clock and felt his stomach rumble as the reality of it almost being six-thirty in the evening reared its head. Maybe he'd get something to eat soon and see what Starlight got up to for the day. It'd been awfully quiet in the castle, so he surmised that she and Trixie must have headed out for something. Or maybe the loud music was finally getting to his hearing.

        	With a shrug, he started to sketch out another diagram, humming along to another Horner Impalers song. When the tune reached its crescendo with a bloodcurdling scream from the singer, he finally managed to nail the same note as he belted out at the top of his lungs. As he did, there was a bright flash of cyan magic in front of his face, and twin Persian-blue eyes gazed directly into his.

        	His shriek transforming into a real one, he staggered back and tipped over his chair as he heard Starlight exclaim manically, "Sunburst!"

        	Groaning and rubbing the back of his head, Sunburst slowly turned off the music player, and the room descended into an uncomfortable silence. Shaking his head, he saw his vision swirl around the skylight in his room, and he mumbled, "Starlight?" Dazedly, he began to right himself, and he stumbled as his balance remained off-kilter.

        	He heard Starlight's rapid breathing, and a few questions started to dart around in his head. Most of them involved how many ponies ended up dead or injured, or if there was a new dimensional horror from the depths of Tartarus that she accidentally released. That was before his head reminded him that he whacked hard onto the crystal floor, and the pain banished anything other than feelings of confusion and nausea.

        	After about half a minute of regaining his composure, Sunburst blinked and stared at Starlight. Readjusting his spectacles, he saw that she was still perched on his desk, a few sparks of magic playing from her horn as she peered unblinkingly at him. Her pupils were barely visible, and she had an anxious expression on her muzzle.

        	"Starlight?" he repeated, coming a bit closer to her. "I-Is something wrong?"

        	Starlight simply stared at him for a second, and then she shook her head. "Nope! Nothing wrong!" Before he could continue inquiring, she stretched out on his desk and crossed her hindlegs together. Propping herself up on one forehoof, she rapidly batted her eyelashes at him and she declared, "I've been such a busy mare today." She puckered her lips. "And I have a little surprise for you."

        	At that, she giggled lightly and beckoned him closer. "Just a little dinner treat for the two of us." When he remained stationary, she pouted overdramatically, her mane becoming a bit more frazzled, and she asked plaintively, "Don't you want to kiss your marefriend?"

        	Sunburst barely heard her as his mind drifted off into the dark, distant past of his colthood. It was a disturbing time, shortly after Sunset ran to the human world. Of course, at the time, it wasn't really known where she went, and Stellar Flare had gotten a bit more... pedantic after Celestia broke the news.

        	One day, when he came home from school, he was looking for an after-school snack of some apple juice and haychips like he always had. And that was when he encountered her. Stellar Flare was almost in the exact same pose as Starlight, resting on the couch, and staring at a picture of her, Sunset, and Sunspot. When he came in, she put it down and declared, "Bursty! Why don't you come here and give your mommy a kiss?"

        	She even made the same puckered lips that Starlight did.

        	"Sunburst?!" he heard Starlight cry through the mental haze. When he finally snorted and looked at her, she motioned for him to again come closer and stated, "Kiss for the cook?" She rapidly batted her eyelashes and smiled sultrily.

        	Shivering at the memory, Sunburst stuttered and then mumbled, "Uh, did you hit your head or something, Glimmy?" He nervously scuffed a hoof on the floor. "You don't seem quite, uh, well, y-yourself."

        	"I'm fine!" Starlight declared, popping up from the desk and trotting over to him. All the while she sashayed her hindquarters a bit, which just gave him more flashbacks to that traumatizing couple of years. She cantered next to him and gave him a small nuzzle.

        	Briefly, he let his worry slip away. He returned the nuzzle and caught a whiff of her mane. Within seconds, his nose was filled with nothing but the smell of grapes and ethanol, and he did all that he could from gagging at the aroma. Instead, he pulled back, and while his eyes watered, he stated, "O-Okay."

        	"Well, fine as can be after fighting through literally all of Ponyville today," Starlight huffed under her breath before flashing Sunburst a wide smile. "But now I'm home! And our food is almost ready, and it'll be just great!" Her left eye twitched once, and then she rubbed her head under his neck again before prancing toward his room's door.

        	Unlatching it with a soft click, she twirled around in the doorway and flashed him a beckoning look. Lowering her voice to sound huskier, she declared, "I'll be waiting for you, Bursty." She winked and then blew him a kiss before slowly sliding out into the hallway. As he was about to sigh in relief, she popped in again, repeated the goodbye more anxiously, and then disappeared.

        	He stared at the open door as he heard her singing softly to herself, and he wondered internally, "What in Celestia's cake-addled hindquarters got into her?"

        	Shuddering one last time as the flashback of Stellar Flare on the couch came back to haunt his mind for a moment longer, he trudged back toward his studies and sighed as he sat down. Absentmindedly jotting down a couple of notes, he sniffed as his nostrils finally cleared of the winey smell, and he could catch hints of something fried floating its way up through the entrance.

        	For a moment, he considered flipping his music back on, and then he heard a loud explosion which rattled the floor. A few seconds later, some beeping from the fire suppression spells in the castle resounded and Starlight screamed in frustration.

        	As the spell continued to blare, there was a sudden "fwoomp" noise, and then the castle fell into an eerie silence. The tantalizing scent of whatever was cooking continued to waft its way up, and his stomach grumbled all the louder. He glanced down at it as he rubbed it thoughtfully.

        	"It's just me and my books," he mumbled aloud as he glanced between the textbooks and the door. It was getting a bit late, and he did need to eat. While he was still on the section on the differences between solar-absorbing matrices and solar-powering matrices—the former actually stealing bits of the sun—he could always work on it after he ate. It wasn't like he had anything else planned for New Year's, anyway.

        	After thinking for another few seconds, he huffed to himself and then hopped off his chair. Quickly trotting over to the tiny attached bathroom, he brushed his beard and mane, noting how quickly they returned to their scruffy appearance. Exactly as they should be.

        	Fixing his cape, he resolutely tramped out of his room and into the hallway, and watched as snowflakes drifted down out of the sky by the windows. In the early evening, it was almost impossible to see much without the aid of house lights or street lamps, but he did make out a few ponies wandering about.

        	In the distance, he could see the town hall lit up for New Year's as well as the party that already seemed to have already started. The spotlights' movement and various colors indicated it must have been a rave of some kind, and he could imagine some of the students that stuck around for the winter break visiting it.

        	As he trotted down the hall, he glanced at the pictures, swearing that those of Twilight, her friends, or just some random ponies from Ponyville's past were all watching him. He felt a tremble work its way down his spine as he envisioned his mother again, and when he reached the foyer that would lead to the kitchen, he paused as he saw Trixie reading a magazine on one of the benches.

        	Kicking her hind hooves together absentmindedly, he noticed she was wearing the slippers that Starlight had got her. Suspiciously, she was also dressed in a cloak that looked identical to one of his own. . He jutted out his jaw and flared his nostrils. The magazine appeared to be a magicians' periodical, seemingly about the Hoofdini's one magic scandal. Trixie appeared completely engrossed.

        	As he descended the staircase to the main floor, he saw Trixie look up over the magazine and sip on a bit of tea. "Trixie wishes you luck."

        	"Uh," Sunburst stuttered, arching a brow inquisitively at her. "Why?" he inquired, peeking toward the kitchen and seeing a small trail of smoke brushing against the ceiling.

        	"Starlight is being Starlight," Trixie answered with a nonchalant shrug. She slurped on her tea and sighed before going back to her magazine. "Don't die, or Trixie will kill you for ruining her and Starlight's lives."

        	"Okay," Sunburst warily drawled. Sure, Starlight seemed a bit on edge, but she probably originally wanted to do something more for New Year's, and she was feeling antsy about doing something simple for him instead.

        	When Trixie didn't divulge any more information, he nickered and then cantered toward the kitchen. As soon as he stepped inside, he yelped when Starlight suddenly killed the magic-powered lights and ignited a pair of candles on the table. In the orange-yellow glow of the two flames, the fine lines that had formed around her rictus grin looked like they were scars that had been sliced into her cheeks.

        	Her head tilted slightly to the right, and she spread her forehooves wide to reveal the feast that she had prepared for the two of them. "Surprise, Bursty!" she exclaimed, her voice hitching near the end in one of her adorable giggle-snorts.

        	Her mane was slightly matted, and he could see that there were soot splotches on her locks of hair which she hadn't bothered to clean out. Following her forelegs to the table, Sunburst gazed, stupefied, at the dishes laid out cleanly on the tabletop.

        	Steaming hot pierogies, filled to the brim with what appeared to be a sweet potato and honey interior, lay gleaming on a large plate between the two candles. On either end, where they normally sat, was a well-garnished plate of a thin, flat piece of a fried, breaded dish, as well as some various vegetables and herbs. Along with the pitcher of water, which she'd already used to pour healthy glasses of it, there was an unopened bottle of Griffonian wine near a vase of flowers. The flowers themselves were a bit wilted, but it was the thought that counted.

        	Although it was hard to see over the glare of the candles, Sunburst could make out that there were some scorch marks on the stovetop. Smoke still drifted off one of the burners, and it looked like a pan might have fused, somehow, to another.

        	Puddles of grimy water were splashed over the countertop, and he could see a stack of dishes and bowls piled high in one of the sinks. There also appeared to be a couple of eggs smashed on the floor, although they were almost impossible to see in the dark.

        	Suddenly, he recognized the main course that Starlight had made. It was the hay schnitzel that Stellar Flare always made. The one that he said he liked. The first time he had it, when he almost said he thought it was just average, Stellar Flare had begun to nuzzle and hug him, as well as shower him with kisses on his forehead to ask for him to change his mind.

        	Just to get her to stop being... that, he agreed that it was actually really good. If only that meant she stopped making it afterward. It felt like they had it every weekend.

        	Shaking himself, he flashed Starlight a weak, uneasy smile, and he asked, "What's this?"

        	"Dinner!" Starlight exclaimed chipperly. She giggled again and blew a faint raspberry. Waving a hoof dismissively, she whinnied, "Don't be so silly, Sunburst. You'll make me laugh."

        	"I... wasn't?" Sunburst muttered hesitantly, his heart beating a bit harder as he could tell how stressed Starlight was.

        	Staring at him with still constricted pupils, despite the darkness of the kitchen, Starlight inquired, "So?! What do you think?!" She jittered a bit in excitement, and Sunburst bit his lip as he tried to think of the right words to say. No need for her to go into her certified Glimmer panic mode.

        	"Well..." he mumbled as he shifted back and forth on his hooves. Fiddling with his spectacles a bit, he finally stated meekly, "I suppose it looks tasty, but—"

        	"Good!" Starlight screamed, her head twitching again as she started to sit down. Sniggering maniacally to herself, she tried to hide her still unhinged smile, and she added, "Because I went through way too much work to get all this." She snorted and giggled, "I mean, I had to fight a freakin' dentist for the pierogies!" She laughed louder. "And then a drunk for that wine! And then there was that stupid cashier!"

        	Wiping away a couple of tears, she finally gazed at him longingly. Sighing and resting her head on her hooves, she puffed out her lips and playfully cooed, "But it was all worth it because I know you'll love it!"

        	"Well... I do," Sunburst mumbled as he slowly sat down and stared at the schnitzel. Suppressing the memory of his mother's overzealous embrace, he asked innocently, "But couldn't you have just made me a hayburger from the freezer?"

        	"HA!" he heard Trixie guffaw from the foyer.

        	Starlight's left eye twitched.

 


***


 

Exhaling loudly, Starlight practically melted into the couch in the living room of the castle that was nearest to the entrance foyer. Sparkling points of bright white, blue, red, and green glittered throughout the room, as the lights from the Hearth's Warming tree that was still up reflected off the crystal walls and floor. Hanging from the ceiling, a delicate-looking chandelier burned with a few candles, which added a pleasant aroma to the den.

        	Starlight ached. Her fetlock still throbbed from when she was accosted by the elderly mare, and she was pretty sure that Colgate must have placed a spell on her teeth because she swore she was getting a cavity. Feeling a bit itchy from the dried wine that she had been doused in by Berry Punch, she scratched under her chin and tried to wriggle into a more comfortable position on the couch.

        	Every bone in her body seemed to have some pain or tender point, and she grunted and groaned as she adjusted her rump to press further into the luxurious cushions. Each motion caused the couch to creak slightly and rock back and forth, making her feel slightly drowsy after their large meal.

        	Even though Sunburst had protested at the amount of work she had put into it, in the end it was a rather scrumptious treat. Maybe, though, she didn't quite get the secret ingredient that Stellar Flare used in her version of the hay schnitzel, as Sunburst clearly only found it adequate.

        	In the back of her mind, she concluded that it was something for her to strive for: she'd just have to start making the meal every week or so in order to improve and eventually best Sunburst's mother.

        	Outside in the inky black night, she spotted the crescent moon that Twilight had risen, as well as the brightest stars that could overpower the light pollution in the room. They twinkled and sparkled, giving the view she had of the School of Friendship a somewhat romantic or mystical flair.

        	Standing unopened on the coffee table in front of the hearth, the bottle of Griffenheim Rot cast a reddish shadow as the fire in the fireplace crackled and cracked. The fire's radiant orange glowed warmly as it mixed with the Hearth's Warming tree's illumination in the room's left corner, providing a snuggly, homey atmosphere.

        	Perfect for pressing further into the couch, and her coltfriend.

        	Moaning softly and leaning into Sunburst, Starlight cooed under her breath and felt her cheeks grow hotter. She glanced up at him, then nuzzled into a nook in his neck. She breathed in. She caught the faintest whiff of him over her own remaining musk of dried wine, and she sighed contentedly. As she pushed her frayed mane deep into his chest, she mumbled, "Well, I guess it still worked out, right?"

        	"Uh, yeah, it did," Sunburst replied, although he sounded a bit confused. "You, you were afraid something wasn't going to go well?" Pulling her back, he stared at her, the fire reflecting in his spectacles and hiding most of his face.

        	Starlight bit her lip. Now that she had finally calmed down enough, she realized that her fear was a bit overblown. Admitting her concerns seemed a bit ridiculous now, but... they were supposed to be honest with each other, so she resigned herself and slumped her shoulders.

        	Carefully, and with a tone of defeat, she answered, "I... thought that you might be upset if I didn't do something special for New Year's."

        	"Starlight!" Sunburst exclaimed in dismay. She winced as he shook his head before he pulled her in for a hug. Whimpering, she folded her ears against her head as he stated soothingly, "It didn't need to be anything fancy. Just knowing that you made a meal for me would have been enough." He let go and smirked. "B-Besides, you, well, you know, only treated me for Hearth's Warming last week."

        	At that, he snickered a bit, and she blushed.

        	Groaning and resting her head on the armrest of the couch, Starlight muttered, "I know, but it's our first New Year's together! And I... I wanted to make it memorable!"

        	"Well, you certainly did that," Sunburst murmured as he gazed off into the fire and shivered a couple of times. "Can't forget something like that."

        	"What?"

        	"Nothing."

        	Starlight simply stared at him momentarily before shaking her head. "Maybe I went a bit overboard." At his rueful grin, she playfully tittered, "Okay, I definitely went overboard." She gently rubbed one of his forelegs with hers, and she answered breathily, "But it's because I love you and wanted to do the best for you." Gritting her teeth, she glared at the floor, "Especially because of how much work you're putting into all your studies."

        	"Which will, you know, be done soon," he quipped, getting a slow bob of Starlight's head in agreement. Looking back at the Hearth's Warming tree, he scooted a bit closer to Starlight and then pulled her in for a tighter hug, pressing her against his side. As he did, Starlight exhaled giddily and limply let him tug her all the way, almost mushing up against him like putty.

        	"Thanks," he said. "It was still a tasty meal." Glancing at the wine, he stated, "But I guess it's not quite over?" He peered at her, and she smiled excitedly. "I'll admit, I've not really tried this wine, or really any, before." He adjusted his spectacles as he snatched the bottle in his magic and read off some of the descriptions about it. "Sounds... fancy."

        	"Happy New Year!" Starlight exclaimed with fake enthusiasm. Although the meal hadn't taken them extremely long to eat, putting the leftovers away and cleaning up after her expedition in the kitchen took a couple of hours. Then she tried, with only some success, to do a quick suppression spell to get rid of the wine stench. As she was already tired by the end of the meal, she feared that if she properly cleaned herself she might fall asleep as soon as she was out of the bathtub.

        	Sunburst peeked at the clock that was above the mantlepiece of the fire. It ticked steadily away, revealing that it was only about ten minutes to midnight.

        	Blinking at the time, Starlight mused to herself as she followed his gaze, "Time flew pretty fast." It seemed only like that morning she'd been fighting through the crowds at Hay-Mart. Now there were only a few minutes left in the year.

        	Without waiting for Starlight's input, Sunburst broke the seal of the wine bottle and then unscrewed it. Pouring out about enough to fill a fifth of their individual glasses each, he resealed the wine and then floated one over to Starlight. She snatched it in her own cyan magic field, and then momentarily inspected it.

        	Although the fireplace distorted the colors of most things, she could tell that the drink was an almost blood red tone. Her nose might have still been a bit overstimulated by the other wines, but she was able to catch hints of mulberry and a couple of different savory spices floating up from the glass.

        	They both stared at each other, like they were daring themselves to be the first one to try it. Eventually, Starlight shrugged and took a sip. As soon as the wine touched her tongue, she gagged as she tasted none of the promising aromas and only sour, vinegary grape along with the strong flavor of ethanol.

        	Barely keeping herself from choking, she managed to swallow it, and she saw Sunburst have a similar reaction. They both held their glasses up and exclaimed at the same time, "Ech!"

        	"This is horrible!" Starlight coughed as a few tears threatened to trickle down her nose. She hacked again as she could still taste the awful mixture of sour and cleaning solution. "Ponies drink this?"

        	Spluttering and wheezing, Sunburst finally stared at his glass and he mumbled, "I-I heard of acquired tastes, but, but I don't know of anypony, let alone anycreature, who'd like this! Ever!"

        	As Starlight pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth to try and get rid of some of the flavor, she felt her bottom lip tremble, and the tears that had gathered in her eyes now made good on their warning. Stinging and salty, they tracked their way down her muzzle, and she sniffled a couple of times before she pressed her head into Sunburst's side.

        	With a shushing sound, Sunburst calmly replied, "It's okay, Glimmy." He gently rubbed her back, making a couple of slow, breathing noises. When her lungs started to return to a normal pace, he pushed up her chin and smiled. "It's okay. It was still a good meal with you." He shrugged. "And, well, I wouldn't pass up these last few, these last few months with you anyway."

        	"Awww," Starlight cooed before she rested her head on his side. Quickly pecking him on the neck, she giggled, "Thanks, Bursty."

        	"Anytime, Glimmy," Sunburst answered as he rubbed her head. He glanced at the wine glass again, then gave a small, noncommittal grunt and took another sip. With a hiss, he managed to keep from choking this time, and he mumbled, "Yeah, I still don't see why ponies like this." He huffed. "But I'd rather not waste it."

        	"This... might have cost a bit of money…" Starlight admitted sheepishly, sniffing her own glass and then just downing the rest in one large gulp. She coughed and choked, but held it down. At least she wouldn't need to worry about making the suffering last longer.

        	Almost instantly, she started to feel a slight buzz in her head, and she sighed before going lax and resting against Sunburst. For a minute or so, they simply leaned against each other and stared at the fire, before they finally heard a muffled series of complaints from the far-right corner near the entrance.

        	Grunting, Starlight pushed herself up, and she glowered at its inhabitant. Trixie was currently bound and gagged, and she was struggling to get free. "Quiet, Trixie!" Starlight snapped. "It's your own fault!"

        	"Was it really necessary to do that to her?" Sunburst asked as he sipped again on his wine. "It's not like she really did anything."

        	"Aside from being a pest when I was distraught!" Starlight declared, shooting daggers at Trixie, who merely blinked innocently in her direction. "What a friend, right?"

        	"I don't know... I just don't really see why she has to be here anyway." He looked over at Trixie. "I doubt she'll bother us, right Trixie?"

        	Emphatically nodding her head, Trixie mumbled something else before she gasped when Starlight pulled the gag off her muzzle. "Trixie promises that she won't make fun of Starlight again when she's clearly having a 'moment.'" She tried to flex her hooves, but they were bound rather tightly with the rope that Starlight had enchanted so only she could untie it. It had taken her a bit of time to find a proper length, so she temporarily sealed Trixie in her storage dimension before binding her up.

        	"'Moment,' huh?" Starlight asked, arching a brow in an unamused manner. With a soft whimper, Trixie nodded as she started to nervously sweat, and Starlight shrugged. "All right. I suppose Sunburst has a point." She gave him a nuzzle, which made Trixie perform a small, overdramatic retching motion. "Sorry, Trix. I guess I just got a bit carried away with, well, everything." She gave an apologetic wince and flushed a beet red.

        	"You don't say," Trixie flatly muttered. She leveled Starlight with a half-lidded glower, and she huffed, "This will be going in Trixie's diary, for sure."

        	Rolling her eyes, Starlight paused as she noticed that Trixie's horn was lit with a soft pink field. Glancing up, she saw that held aloft in a matching magic grip was a bit of mistletoe, which as soon as it was spotted jiggled weakly as if to emphasize a point. She could tell that Sunburst observed it, too, as he moved a bit closer to her and nudged her neck.

        	She arched a brow as she peered at Trixie again, and Trixie simply winked at her. "Wink," she hissed, a goofy, toothy grin on her face.

        	Starlight chuckled. Leaning over to Sunburst, she pressed in and closed her eyes as their lips connected. Electric sparks seemed to burst in her mind, and she moved in further as she felt the soft warmth meld with hers. With a contented moan, she let go for a second, then went in for another round, despite seeing how dazed Sunburst appeared to be.

        	From her spot in the corner, Trixie finally tossed the mistletoe and she watched for a second. When Starlight released Sunburst again, Trixie asked, "So, you'll let Trixie go now, right?"

        	Starlight didn't answer, instead smacking Sunburst again on the lips before pulling him in for a hug, and Trixie inquired, "Uh, Starlight?" When Starlight didn't answer, she coughed and cried a bit louder, "Starlight? Equestria to Starlight!"

        	Starlight was still focused on snuggling Sunburst.

        	"STARLIGHT!" Trixie screamed before falling back into her corner and groaning. As she stared emptily at her two friends, who were both too wrapped up in their own world to notice her, she simply huffed, "What is Trixie? A broken teacup?"

 


FIN