It was a slightly somber affair when Sunburst walked Starlight to the train station on the next day. They both were smiling, but it was mostly just each one wanting to put on a show for the other, not wanting them to feel bad about this. Mostly Sunburst not wanting Starlight to feel bad about leaving though.

They arrived at high noon, walking side by side as they stepped into the train station. Due to how mildly warm it was in Canterlot, and nowhere else, fans were turned onto their lowest setting and let run. Sunburst picked a seat right under one of said fans and moved over so that Starlight could sit beside him.

So they sat, basking a bit in the chill of the fan for a moment. Then, Sunburst turned to Starlight with a small frown. “So, this is it then?” He asked simply with a sigh. “I mean, not the end of us, but, you know…” He then trailed off with a small shrug.

“Yeah, I guess this is it. For now.” She turned to Sunburst, shooting him a reassuring grin as she did so. “Still, what is ‘us’?” The lavender mare asked, a small blush crossing over her face. “I mean, we did kiss and everything.” Without noticing, she slid a tiny bit closer to him.

“I’m not really sure.” Sunburst admitted, a shy grin overtaking his face along with a blush. He wasn’t really used to this, y’know? The most he’d ever done with a mare before that was talk to one over coffee and that was with Starlight too. Now, he’d done more with stallions, but that’s another story entirely.

Not too long after, Starlight shared a smile of her own, though it was a bit more confident as she wasn’t a wuss. “That was kinda my first kiss, so I don’t know what comes after.” She then moved to look ahead, staring at the train tracks instead of Sunburst. “I wonder if I’d have more experience if I hadn’t enslaved an entire town.”

“Eh, maybe?” Sunburst shrugged, then kicked his dangling legs a bit, sighing slightly. “I mean, if I’m being honest, I’m as confused as you are.” He did the :/ face that your humble narrator cannot figure out the name of. “I’ve only kissed one pony in my life, and that didn’t amount to much. It looks like we’re the same amount of in the dark here.”

Starlight let out a small sigh, drooping her head low at the news. Then, after a moment, she shrugged. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to decide ourselves.” She said as she looked up at Sunburst. “So, what do ya think? Are we friends, more than friends, less than friends?”

The orange stallion shuffled with nervosity, clenching and tapping his hooves as he thought. “Well, we’re definitely friends. I mean, we’ve spent the past couple days together, and I’ve been really enjoying myself. I just really don’t know about the more.” He huffed, thinking harder and harder as he twiddled his hooves. “I think I’d like to be more than friends with you.” He then admitted with a heavy blush. “You, uh, make me feel things. Not too sure what those things are, but they’re things.”

“You make me feel things too.” Starlight told him, looking into his blue eyes with a smile. “I’ve really enjoyed the time we’ve spent together these past few days. We probably could have done more, but what we had was fun.” She placed her hoof on top of Sunburst’s, holding it still. “I really really liked last night. Especially, y’know, the end.”

Sunburst let out a cheerful giggle, blushing and turning away from Starlight for a moment. “Yeah, that was great. I, um…” He looked back at Starlight, then down at the intertwined hooves between the two of them. “I’d kind of, you know, like to do it again, really.” He looked back up into Starlight’s eyes for just a moment before bashfully looking down again.

Without a word of response, Starlight placed her free hoof under Sunburst’s chin. She lifted his head to look her in the eye, shooting him a grin as she leaned in for a short kiss. It wasn’t much, really. Nothing like the kiss the two had shared the night before. Still, it was much less awkward now that the two weren’t full of non-alcoholic wine and extremely nervous.

Sunburst couldn’t help but fidget as she pressed her snooter against his. His breath caught in his throat, hooves scratching at the wooden bench as he felt her soft lips pressing against his own. Still, he pressed back with a small smile, still letting her take the lead. He could most certainly say that he wasn’t ‘the stallion’ in this relationship. Not that he minded. He loved this.

And yet this moment had to end soon after, Starlight pulling back to leave Sunburst there with a doofy smile. Of course, she was unable to stop herself from giggling as she stared at his dumb face. It just served to remind her why she loved him so much.

Likewise, Starlight’s cute giggling, combined with her adorable smile and the small blush that covered her face, among many many other things, served to remind Sunburst of exactly why he loved her. As such, he giggled along with her as he enjoyed the time they were spending together. For the first time in his life, he didn’t care much if anyone was staring at him. All he cared was that Starlight was happy, because she made him happy.

After moments, the giggling turned to silence as the two just decided to enjoy each other’s presence. Sunburst leaned over to nuzzle his something-or-other as they basked in the ambient sounds of the train station.

Much like anything, though, this had to end. Starlight wasn’t much of a fan of silence. Especially with the distracting sounds around her, making her a bit anxious. So, she turned to Sunburst, trying to hide her shuffling. “So, how’s the mage exam going? Are you still going to give up?”

There was nothing that managed to uplift Sunburst’s spirits quite like mentioning his greatest failure. Despite that, he couldn’t be mad at her. She was just interested in his life. That didn’t mean he couldn’t lie though. “Well…” he started, scratching the back of his neck, “I guess I’ll give it another shot. I don’t really have much to lose, do I?” He shot her an apprehensive grin, trying to fool her into believing he was fine.

She was about to see through his ruse, but was very much distracted by the sound of the train rolling into the station loudly. She looked up at the clock, tilting her head slightly. They’d been sitting there for about thirty minutes now, but it felt like much, much less.

Sunburst was the first to slide out of his seat, happy to be rid of the conversation topic. He extended a hoof, intending to help Starlight out of her seat. She used him, much like always, so that she was more comfortable.

They stood facing each other before Sunburst decided to, for once, take the initiative as he leaned in to nuzzle her gently. “Get there safe, you hear?” He whispered softly in her ear, wrapping a hoof around her in order to keep her in place. “I don’t want to lose my first girlfriend already. And, you know, I’d miss you too.”

“So I’m your girlfriend now, eh?” Starlight said with a grin as she dragged the dumb stallion into a hug, nuzzling him as well. “Do you suppose that means you’re my boyfriend then?”

Sunburst nodded softly, making a noise of approval as he hugged her as well. The pair continued their hug for a moment, sighing happily as they felt each other’s warmth under the coolness of the fan.

And yet, Sunburst pulled back with a small frown. He hated to break up the loving hug they were sharing, but he had something to say. “Listen,” he told her, hoping that she would, you know, listen to him, “I’ll write you as soon as I can, alright?”

Starlight nodded for a moment, then she realized. “Didn’t you say that last time we were at a train station together?” She then shot him a smile, letting him know she wasn’t angry.

Despite that, Sunburst blushed and turned away. “It’s different this time, you know?” He scratched a hindhoof on the ground as he thought. “I know your address this time, for one. It’s kinda hard to miss, isn’t it?” He forced out a chuckle, trying to be a bit jovial to hide his crippling nervousness.

It was Starlight’s turn to make the :/ face, staring at the stallion oddly. “Well, I guess that works. I’m gonna be really angry if you don’t write me soon though. Don’t wait fifteen years again. You nerd.” She then went back to hugging her boyfriend, nuzzling him and sighing softly.

“Hey, I’m a busy guy, you know.” He explained, whining softly. “I’ve got a whole library to run, an apartment to pay for, which is not cheap in Canterlot I might add, and a whole lot of romantic tension from Event to ignore. That’s a bunch of stuff on my plate.” He return nuzzled Starlight, sighing gently. “I’ll get to it soon though. I can promise you that.”

“You better.” Starlight warned. “Otherwise I’ll cry and you’ll have the Elements to deal with. And I’ll probably swat your muzzle too. You don’t want that, do you?”

Sunburst pouted, bringing a free hoof to his muzzle. “Not my snooter!” He said in faux distress. “I need that to smell things, and stuff.” He then went back to huggling her. “But yeah, I’ll write you within the end of the month. I promise. And this time, I really really mean it.”

Despite the fact that Starlight was about to respond, but yet another interruption reared its head in the form of the train conductor who was taping a hindhoof as he stared at his pocket watch. “All aboard!” The blue stallion loudly cried, as he tended to enjoy to.

Starlight finally pulled back from the hug, grimacing as she knew time was short. “Looks like I gotta go.” She told Sunburst, despite that being the most obvious thing at the moment. “Twilight’s waiting for me, you know?” She moved in to nuzzle him for a brief moment. “Take care of yourself. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t.” Sunburst assured her, nuzzling her back. “Still, let me walk you to the train at least.”

Starlight gave a big, heaving sigh. “Fiiiiiiiiiiine.” She then gestured for him to walk.

And so he did, and she trailed not too far behind. It wasn’t far, as Canterlot ponies can’t be forced to walk more than a few feet without complaining to whoever was important. Still, they made the most of their time.

As they approached, the train conductor eyed them a bit strangely. Still, he said nothing. He was used to Canterlot ponies wasting time anyway. He enjoyed staring at them as they romanced, as it filled the void in his heart. Or he was just a very strange stallion.

Sunburst stood in front train door thing. There has to be a better word for that. Anyway, Sunburst, train door thing. He looked down at Starlight and smiled softly, reassuringly, before gently placing a hoof under her chin. He tilted her head up, gazing into her eyes for a short moment, then pressed his lips gently against hers, though pulling back after a few moments so as to not make the conductor wait any longer.

“I’ll see you soon, alright?” Sunburst said as he brushed some of her mane away from her face. “I may have to delegate a few things to Event, but I’ll make it when I can.”

“You better.” Starlight warned once again. “Anyway, I, uh…” She scratched at the wooden floor with a hoof, “I don’t really know what to say here, honestly. ‘I love you’, I guess?”

Sunburst recoiled jokingly, taking a step back with a huff. “You guess?” He exclaimed with a grin, “And here I thought those kisses meant something.” After a beat of silence, Starlight started to panic and retract her words. That lasted just a moment, Sunburst wanting to have a bit of fun, before the stallion chuckled softly. “I love you too, Lighter. Now off with you. We both have lives to live.”

Starlight pouted, huffing loudly as she stomped a hoof. “Well fine. Be like that.” She pursed her lips, then leaned up to nuzzle Sunburst. “See ya, you big meanie.” And, without another word, she sauntered onto the train after flashing her ticket at the conductor.

This left Sunburst alone as said conductor boarded the train behind Starlight. The orange stallion sighed, looking up at the windows of the train car in hopes that he’d see her one last time. Sadly, Starlight had thought that through and scored a seat on the other side, just so she could gush about how cute he was to herself while blushing all the while.

Sunburst couldn’t help but sigh as the train finally pulled out of the station, his sensitive ears ringing slightly as the loud train noises assaulted his ears. Already he felt a small emptiness in him that was slowly building up inside him. It was odd and felt strangely familiar, but painful still.

Then his tum rumbled, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten that morning and that wizard needs food badly. With a tired chuckle, he spun around to walk out of the train station alone, figuring that maybe Event would want to split a meal with him on his break.

Author's Notes:

Happy half-year anniversary to my longest running story.