Sunburst woke up on a train. This wasn’t a normal occurrence for him, of course, as he wasn’t one to leave Canterlot ever. So it was a little uncomfortable to feel his seat rumbling against his belly, leading to him becoming an awake horse.

As he awakened, his first thought was about how utterly cold it was. The dumb orange horse hadn’t prepared for the train ride into Ponyville to be as cold as it was. You know. With snow right outside. All he had was his thin coat to help him deal with it, as he was much to unequipped to deal with the horrid atrocities of Winter.

So he reached into his bag, rummaging around everything he had thoroughly organized and packed perfectly, to grab his equally dumb robe. He wrapped the bestared robe around himself and shivered as he stared out the window.

It was snowing, as I probably mentioned before, making the stallion somewhat miss the days when he would play in the snow with his foalhood friends. Well, friend. Starlight was really all he needed back then. And she made the best snowponies out of anyone else on the block. With his expert engineering, yes, but it was her doing all of the work.

It was sad, really, that he had to leave all of that behind for a magic school he didn’t want to go to. But still, it was nice to catch up with her again. And now he was dating her, or at least he thought he was. It was weird.

Instead of chasing that thought line, Sunburst just let out a small sigh and rested his head against the side of his solo roomishthing. It was better to just watch the snow fall than go over how he screwed up for the thousandth time.

Still, that didn’t last for very long as he wrapped his robe tighter around him and closed his eyes. He fell asleep to the soft rocking of the train and the sound of light conversation coming from the next room over.

The orange hoers was soon woken up after the train had pulled into station. Now, he wasn’t woken by the train stopping. He snoozed straight through the quick stop, slumping forwards in his seat but, thankfully, not falling forwards.

The knocking on his compartment’s door was what woke him though. It startled the already very nervous stallion, making him jump out of his seat and almost fall onto the floor. Almost.

Sunburst righted himself just as the second knock sounded on the door. He straightened his glasses, fiddled with his hair for a moment, then wrapped his wizardy robe around him and slowly opened the door.

“Uh, hello?” He asked before catching sight of the white classical-styled Unicorn in front of him. It was odd, as he only saw that kind of purebred Unicorn in Canterlot. A small amount of panic bloomed in his heart as he thought for the worst almost immediately. “Uh, did the train de-board yet?” He scratched the back of his head, blushing slightly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if I slept through it, honestly.”

“Oh no, darling.” The regal looking mare was quick to respond, quelling Sunburst’s fears almost immediately. “As it happens, the train has just begun its ‘de-boarding’ process. I simply decided to let you know, as you seemed to be a bit too… preoccupied to notice.” She then gestured to the wall with a seemingly effortless grace, tossing her curled purple mane just the smallest bit. “I could hear you resting from the other side of that wall, you see, so I thought it would be rude if I were to let you sleep through Ponyville.”

Blushing more heavily at the fact that he’d rudely bothered this mare for the entire trip, he glanced down with nervousness. “I am horribly sorry, Ms, uh…”

She hadn’t dropped her name, had she? That was odd. Usually the first thing Canterlot ponies did was drop their name, title, who they were distantly related to, and how much they made in a year. And that got a bit long-winded when talking with someone like ‘Prince’ Blueblood, who was distantly related to just about every famous royal. Even the fictional ones.

The mare extended a delicate hoof, smiling softly at Sunburst. “My name is Rarity.” She said simply, without any of the extras that a noble like someone of her stature would seem to be.

This made Sunburst hesitate for a moment, but, after acknowledging that she wasn’t going to continue, gripped her hoof with an uneasy smile and shook. “I’m Sunburst. Anyway, I am terribly sorry for interrupting your trip, but thank you for making me aware of our stop.” His smile then grew a small bit bigger.

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all.” Rarity said in her slightly accented tone. It had the normal Canterlot lilt, but there was something different about it. Something almost forced. “I have to deal with much worse from a few of my friends. Though,” she removed her hoof from Sunburst’s grasp, moving to tap it on her chin instead, “I do believe I have heard your name somewhere before.” She looked the orange stallion up and down with a judging gaze. Especially at the oddly colored robe he was wearing. “Are you, maybe, a Canterlot noble?”

Sunburst couldn’t help but laugh softly, shaking his head. “Heh, no I’m nothing like that.” He answered with a grin. “I’m just a dumb librarian who just so happened to learn magic from Celestia, I guess.” With another, more awkward chuckle, Sunburst scratched the back of his neck. After a moment of thought, his eyes lit up with an idea. “Oh! Maybe you heard about me from my, uh, friend. Her name is Starlight.”

And now it was time for Rarity’s eyes to similarly light up. “Oh you’re that Sunburst. Do forgive me for not realizing it sooner.” She smiled ever so gracefully at him before gesturing out the door. “Come come. We should probably talk about this off the train. No use in holding things up, yes?”

Sunburst nodded without a moment of hesitation. Why would he? She seemed very trustworthy. And so the two of them sauntered off the train after Sunburst strapped the saddlebag full of his items onto his back, right under his robe.

He followed Rarity, hoping that she knew what she was doing as she stepped off the train. The mare stopped for a moment, allowing Sunburst to catch up, then picked up a slow pace so that the two could talk and walk comfortably at the same time.

“So, uh, you know Starlight then?” Sunburst asked as they walked, ignoring the wary glances from the residents of Ponyville. Usually when they saw a ‘well’-dressed stallion with Rarity, bad things were sure to follow.

“Oh, I’m one of her best friends!” Rarity responded with a small, reserved grin. “She has told the Elements and I a very large amount about you. Mostly the time the two of you spent in Canterlot.” She giggled softly, shaking her head slightly. “Now, she cut herself off every time the story seemed to be getting good, right at the picnic, but I can assume what went on afterwards.” She then shot Sunburst a knowing grin, implying much more than he actually had done that night.

A massive blush crossed his face as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his snooter. “W-well, we didn’t get up to much. I just, you know, kissed her and stuff.” Were Sunburst standing still, this would be the time that he covered his muzzle with a foreleg and looked away with a huge, goofy grin. Still, he had a good amount of walking left to do. So he just dug his hole deeper. “Then I walked her home and we met at the train station the next day.”

Rarity nodded. “Oh yes, she mentioned the train station. With a good amount of brevity, I might add.” She then pouted, almost as if she wanted to be a part of the drama that was sure to brew. “I’m almost offended that Starlight didn’t tell us that you two were an item. From what she told us about you, I was almost ready to snap you up myself.”

Somehow, Sunburst’s blush managed to get deeper and much more heavy. “I wouldn’t say we’re an item yet.” He responded bashfully, not even believing his words. “She and I didn’t really come to a decision before she had to go. And, uh,” He swallowed harshly, a small shiver running down his neck. “What’d you mean by ‘snap me up’, exactly?”

“Well, I am, and have always been, a mare with needs.” Rarity told him, rolling her eyes. She knew that he knew exactly what she meant, but she still wasn’t afraid to say it. “And yet, I have standards as well. From what I heard from Starlight, plus what I can see right now, you’re intelligent, sweet, and surprisingly adorable.” She then looked him up and down for a moment, almost as if looking over a piece of meat. Then she snapped her head forwards with a small smile. “I would say that all of the above is true, but I wouldn’t encroach on Starlight’s territory. I’ll just have to find a belle or beau on my own.”

Sunburst let out a small sigh. Were all of Starlight’s friends going to be this… odd? He grimaced a small bit. Still, they were her friends. He couldn’t judge because she enjoyed them a whole lot.

“Thank you for the compliments, I suppose.” Sunburst said warily, a bit awkwardly given the subject. He clenched and unclenched his jaw quickly for a few moments before continuing. “I hope you, uh, find someone? I guess?”

Rarity gave a grin, shaking her head slightly. “No need to worry, darling. I’m a mare who always finds what she needs.” She then stopped suddenly, looking over the building the two were now standing in front of.

It was an odd looking building that seemed to absolutely stand out apart from the samey buildings that Ponyville had. And yet, despite its oddity, it was absolutely stylish. It was cool, cooler, coolest. It was obviously the design of the stylish mare to Sunburst’s side.

“Thank you for walking me home, Sunburst.” Rarity told him as he still tried to figure how the two even got here. She just smiled at the confused stallion. “I hope that we will be seeing more of each other soon enough. And I assume we will, provided that you treat Starlight right.”

“Oh I, uh, will, I guess.” Sunburst said, still very confused at the current happenings. He then shook his head. “Wait, I thought we were headed over to Starlight.”

Rarity just giggled softly, covering her mouth with a hoof. “I have no idea where you got that idea, darling.” She told him a bit curtly, smiling at him. “I said nothing of the sort. I was heading home and you seemed to want to follow.”

Her smile grew a small bit wider as she saw Sunburst try his hardest to glare at her. It was not very effective. He was just too cute. Still, she had to throw him a bone somehow.

“If you do want to know,” She started, deciding to give up the ghost and stop teasing that poor, love-sick stallion, “Starlight can be found in Twilight’s castle.” She gestured over to the very large, eyesore of a structure that had sprouted along the edge of Ponyville, replacing Twilight’s old, much better, library.

Sunburst looked at the castle, easily visible from anywhere in Ponyville, and tilted his head in confusion, blinking a few times. “How’d I go and miss that?” He asked himself in disbelief, staring at the massive castle that he just up and looked over. “I mean, it’s right there. Probably the same size as Princess Celestia’s castle.”

“And bigger on the inside as well.” Rarity added, hoping to throw him for even more of a loop. “I would love to talk more about it, but I do have dresses to make.”

Sunburst opened his mouth to respond to her first statement, but he really didn’t want to keep her any longer than he had to. So he just dipped his head in respect and gave a small smile. “It was really nice to meet you, Ms. Rarity. I’m, uh,” He couldn’t help but scratch the back of his neck as he fully let his guard down. “I’m honestly pretty happy that you, you know, accepted me as Starlight’s boyfriend immediately. I just hope the rest of your friends do the same.”

“Oh, they will.” Rarity told him almost instantly, shooting him her largest smile yet. “You make her happy, Sunburst. That’s all that matters to us. So long as you don’t harm a hair on her head, we’ll all be fine. Unless she asks you to, of course.” She didn’t even wait for Sunburst to process that last bit before switching gears back to normal. “It was nice to meet you as well. I would certainly enjoy spending more time with you soon enough. As friends, of course.”

Sunburst smiled, chuckling breathily as he shook his head. “Definitely. You seem like a nice mare to be around. You seem to capture all the best of Canterlot, making me feel right at home here.”

Rarity grinned, giggling softly as she put a hoof to her muzzle. “I’m happy that I could do that for you.” She told him before she turned around. She looked back at him one last time. “Have a nice night, Sunburst.”

“You too, Ms. Rarity.” Sunburst said as she finally retreated to the warmth of her home. Breathing a sigh, Sunburst shook his robe off of snow and turned around to face the castle. It was finally time for him to see his marefriend again. And then he embarked.

The walk took a few minutes for him but, due to the majesty of time jumps, we don’t have to deal with that.

As Sunburst approached the castle, he had no idea if he was to knock or if he was just allowed to waltz in as if he owned the place. Princess Celestia’s castle allowed him to just go in and out at any given time, whether it was to talk with the princess herself, or to awkwardly think of flirting with one of the guards in hopes of having some sort of love life. He’d always chicken out at the last moment, but he kept going back like something would change the next time.

Anyway, he knocked on the door, deciding not to be rude, and waited for someone to answer him.

Didn’t take long, maybe a minute or two, before the door slowly swung open. Though, instead of his girlfriend, a very nerdy horse, or even dragon, a stallion stood in front of him.

The black stallion looked over Sunburst with his tired green eyes, seemingly glaring at him without even trying. The stallion let out a sigh soon after. “You aren’t Scootaloo.” He grumbled in a shockingly deep voice. He gave Sunburst another once-over and was about to shut the door in his face before another voice spoke up behind him.

“Who is it, Sombra?” The female voice asked. It was closer to, but not quite, Starlight. That just made Sunburst even more sad.

The stallion, Sombra, breathed another sigh. “Right yes. Manners.” He grimaced and unintentionally shot Sunburst another tired glare before clearing his throat. “Well, who are you then?” The frightening stallion demanded a bit too forcefully.

The mare behind him didn’t seem to enjoy that, as a lavender aura soon surrounded Sombra’s tail, pulling him back as he tried in vain to find purchase on the crystal flooring.

The source of the magic, a young mare that everyone knew as the Element of Magic, appeared in the doorway to replace the scary stallion. “Sorry about that.” Twilight told Sunburst with a small smile. “He’s new. Not too good with Equestrian customs just yet.” Brushing past that quickly so that Sunburst wouldn’t notice that the stallion was the same one that nearly destroyed the Crystal Empire less than two years before. She looked him over, though much more kindly than Sombra did. A small frown overtook her face before she could fight it. “You must be Sunburst.”

The orange stallion ignored the frown as he nodded, fiddling with his robe as he did so. “Yes, I’m Sunburst. And you must be Twilight.” He then let out a huffy sigh, mostly due to how disappointed in himself that he was. “No, you are Twilight. I most certainly recognize you. I mean, you were a bit smaller back then, but it was definitely you. And, uh…”

Before letting him finish, Twilight nodded towards the inside of the castle. “Come in before you finish that thought. I wouldn’t want you to get your knees covered in snow. And we’re letting all the warm air out.” She then disappeared inside the castle, leaving Sunburst to fend for himself.

He scampered inside, trying to shake himself clean of snow before he entered. With his magic, he closed the door behind him, then looked forward to see Princess Twilight sitting at her throne in front of the large map in the center of the main room.

He walked towards the map, passing between the Laughter and Kindness thrones as he did so. Behind Twilight’s throne, he could see that Sombra was sweeping up while grumbling softly to himself.

“So, uh,” Sunburst stammered as he approached the map, not daring to even consider to sit in one of the thrones that was presented to him, “Like I was going to say. I’m deeply sorry for whatever trouble Event and I caused you back in magic school. We were stupid little colts, but that probably doesn’t excuse it at all.”

Sunburst expected Twilight to do something in response to the few times that he and his friend targeted her for their little tricks. Tricks like enchanting her books to only give facts about one specific building in Trottingham.

And yet she just shrugged, giving a small smile. “Alright. That’s all I really wanted.” She hopped off of her throne and circled around the map to approach Sunburst. “Honestly, I’m pretty much over it now. It didn’t hurt me in the long run. And your little stunt did help me out in one of my classes.” Now standing in front of Sunburst, she extended a hoof. “It’s nice to finally actually meet you, Sunburst. All I could think when Starlight was telling me about you is the dumb colt that made me cry.”

Shaking Twilight’s hoof, Sunburst smiled bashfully as he tried his best not to cringe and run away as he tended to do when confronted with his past. “I truly am sorry, Twilight. I’ve definitely grown as a pony since those days. At least, I hope so.”

“I’ll say so. Your manners seem to have gotten better, at the very least.” She told him, then looked over his odd attire. She grimaced slightly. The mare who had worn a frumpy yellow dress to a party full of Canterlot socialites grimaced. “It seems that your fashion sense has only gotten worse.”

Sunburst scoffed, pressing a hoof to his chest. “You insult me, Twilight.” He joked before looking down at his robe. “It’s not really my choice, to be honest. It was the only warm looking thing I had in my closet. It’s my Mage robe of sorts.”

“A Mage’s robe?” Twilight asked, a bit surprised as she looked it over once again. Come to think of it, it did remind her somewhat of the ones of old. Starswirl the Bearded came to mind, as his was the most stylish of the time. Still, it was an outdated fashion style for Mages at best. She certainly didn’t wear one. Especially not as shoddy as the one Sunburst had on.

Chuckling softly, Sunburst scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. Even if I’m not officially one yet. Event made it for me before my first exam. It’s just kind of a habit to wear it each year, you know?” He smiled softly, remembering all the emotional value that the tattered robe held for him. Then he focused on the tattered bit, seeing how frayed and beat up the robe really was. He let out a small sigh at that. Maybe Rarity could help him out next time he saw her.

“I mean, those went out of style centuries ago, but I suppose it’s the thought that counts.” Twilight gave another small shrug, then sighed. “Anyway, you’re here for Starlight, aren’t you? She did say that you were going to stop by for Hearth’s Warming.”

“Oh yes.” Sunburst nodded slightly, scratching at the crystal tile. “I hope it’s not too much to ask. I just, you know, wanted to spend the holidays with her.” He let out a breathy sigh, shaking his head. “It is a bit odd, isn’t it?”

Twilight thought for a short minute, then shook her head. “No, probably not. I mean, I’m always with my friends during Hearth’s Warming now. Though I suppose I could invite Moondancer and the girls over every now and again.”

Both Sunburst and Sombra stifled a chuckle at that. The fact that Twilight still thought that Sunburst and Starlight were just friends. I mean, neither said anything about it to her, but any normal pony would probably read between the lines just like Rarity had. But still, Twilight was the Princess of Friendship, not Love. It would be best to not shake her worldview so horribly by telling her.

So, Sunburst just changed the subject. “Oh, you know Moondancer?” He asked with a smile. “She frequents my library. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her with any friends though.”

Twilight groaned softly, rolling her eyes. “Ugh, she’s probably sneaking off to study again.” She tsked, tapping her hoof and frowning. “Do you see her often?”

“Every now and then.” Sunburst answered, trying to falsify the information in the most believable way. “Usually I see her once a week. And I tend to be there almost every day. Event needs help, after all.” He kicked a hoof slightly, just to make any form of movement to lessen the lingering nervousness. “Still, she seems happier than before. That’s good.”

Twilight nodded, making a sound of understanding. Then the two nerd horses were trap in the awkward feeling of having nothing to really talk about. They could talk about Canterlot, but it was plainly obvious that neither of them liked the city at all. They could talk about Celestia, but it would just lead to the two fighting.

Thankfully Starlight entered from stage left, interrupting the both of the nerds in their hurried thoughts. Sunburst was the first to notice, grinning widely the moment he saw her. He couldn’t help but rush forward, nearly knocking her down with a big hug. It was a new thing for him, really, the feeling of an emptiness finally filling back up the moment he hugged her.

To a lesser extent, Starlight could feel the same thing. She wrapped her hooves around the stallion, rubbing them along his robe with an :/ face. “It’s only been a few weeks, Sunny. Calm down.” And still, she buried her muzzle into what little neck that wasn’t covered by cloth, then breathed a sigh.

Sunburst let out a low chuckle. “You know you missed me too, Lighter.” Still, he calmed down his hug a little bit, letting one forehoof rest on the ground as he moved to hold her with one. He then bit his lip. “Hey, so, uh,” he started in a whisper, “Does Twilight know about, you know, us?”

Starlight thought for a moment, then moved her head so that she could stealthily look at Twilight without her noticing. The purple mare held a stopwatch in her magic, frantically taking notes as she stared at the hugging horses. Starlight just slid back down. “I’m not sure she knows. Or cares.”

“D’you wanna tell her?” He asked, not daring to look back to see what she saw. She looked shaken. “I’m fine either way, really. Public displays of affection aren’t really my style.”

“Says the pony who kissed me in a train station.” Starlight reminded.

Sunburst gave a small huff, pouting very exaggeratedly at Starlight. “Why’s everyone gotta be so mean to me today?” He whined softly. He then subtly nuzzled his girlfriend, pressing his lips against her cheek.

Despite wanting to continue with this display of love, Starlight felt it was time to stop. Otherwise Twilight would probably get suspicious. She stopped her huggu, pulling back with a sigh. “Well, it’s nice to see you again.” She told him, smiling widely. She regretted it almost immediately, feeling that the words she picked sounded stilted and like she was trying to hold him at a foreleg’s length.

Sunburst didn’t mind, of course, as he was just happy to see the mare he loved. He resisted the urge to smooch her cute snooter, as Starlight must have had a reason to not tell any of her friends that the two were sort of dating. Some reason. Somewhere.

Instead he just grinned and turned so that he could face the two mares in the room, turning his back to Sombra, of course. “Well, uh,” he breathed a sigh through his nose, drooping his head slightly, “Gosh, I’m still kinda intruding, aren’t I? I probably shoulda sent a letter before I came.”

Both Twilight and Starlight shrugged, but Twilight was the first to reassure. “It’s fine. I think that a little bit of normalcy would be great for the holidays.” She tapped a hoof to her chin, thinking for a moment. “Starlight, do you think you could show him to his room? Pick whichever one for him. It doesn’t matter.” She looked over to Sombra, who was almost done with sweeping the snow Sunburst had tracked into the castle. “I, on the other hoof, need to teach a certain somepony about manners. Again.”

Sombra froze, grimacing largely before trying to make a run for it. His rushing was in vain as his black tail was grabbed in Twilight’s magic before he could even make it a few feet.

Twilight grinned, walking to the hallway opposite the one Starlight arrived from, pulling Sombra along the way as he clawed at the crystal flooring once again.

“Save yourselves!” The gruff stallion cried out, “Tell your children tales of my heroic martyrdom!” And then he was silenced by Twilight. He would never be seen again. Or, well, he probably would. After getting a serious talking to. Or worse.

Sunburst just blinked at the scenario that had just unfolded before him. As Jontron would say, it just sort of happened to him. He didn’t even participate in that. He looked over to Starlight, but she just seemed bored. She’d seen this much too often in the weeks she’d been back, so she was most certainly used to it.

“Here, let’s find your room.” Starlight told Sunburst, turning around and walking slowly. There was no real point in addressing any of that. Even Starlight couldn’t explain it.

Taking one last glance at Twilight and Sombra, Sunburst couldn’t help but let out a sigh. He then started to follow Starlight, shaking his head slightly. “Yeah, I definitely could use a nap.”

Author's Notes:

I got less lazy. Huh.