The sun shone brightly over Ponyville in the afternoon sky, crisp wisps of cloud only partially obscuring the brilliant blue above on this delightful Summer day. The farmer's market had ponies scattered throughout Main Street, chattering pleasantly about the items for sale, some in retrospect after purchasing, and others in excited anticipation for something new that drew their interest. The pleasant scents of vendors' tasty wares wafted through the air on the cool breeze, and a certain purple alicorn took in a deep whiff.

"Mmm, that smells good," said Twilight, her eyes momentarily closing in sublime contentment.

The stallion at her side gave a small smile. "If you'd like I could get you something. My treat."

"Aww, Sunburst, you don't have to do that," Twilight replied, smiling.

"No, really," he insisted. "Anything you'd like. How about those apple fritters over there?" he finished, pointing a hoof towards Applejack's stand across the street. The earth pony's fold-out shelves simply overflowing with baked goods.

"Well," Twilight said in a half-laugh, "sure. Why not?"

"Okay!" With that, Sunburst led the way, a subtle skip in his step. "Two of your finest apple fritters, Applejack!" he said, levitating a few bits onto the wood counter. "And two cups of apple juice in paper cups too," he added with a wink.

"Heh." Applejack took the bits into her hooves and returned his wink. "You've got it!"

While Applejack set about preparing the requested items, Twilight spoke, "Thanks, Sunburst. That was really nice of you."

"Not at all!" Sunburst replied, beaming. "In fact, I should be thanking you. You're the one who always let's me stay in the castle whenever I come visit in Ponyville."

"Naa." Twilight waved a hoof dismissively. "I have all those rooms just sitting there! I'm not letting you get a room at some inn when you could be staying with Starlight, Spike and I. Besides, it's the least I can do for a friend."

Sunburst smiled weakly. A friend, he thought.

"Here's yer fritters and apple juice!" Applejack said jovially, sliding the items over to her customers' side of the counter.

"T-Thank you, um.. Applejack," Sunburst replied, somewhat startled. He and Twilight took one of each respective treat into their magical grasps.

"Ya'll have a great day now!" Applejack told them, smiling brightly as she gave them a wave.

"Thanks!" Twilight called back over her shoulder as she and Sunburst walked away. "Mmm," the alicorn said with her mouth full. "It's a shlame that Stlarlight cooldn't come." She swallowed. "Delicious!"

"Heh heh... yeah," Sunburst laughed awkwardly. "What are the chances she'd get called away on a friendship mission with Fluttershy right when I came out to visit?"

"I would've had Spike join us," Twilight mused, "but he and Big Mac had a guys' thing planned. Maybe I should've asked him if you'd have liked to join them? I'm not sure what they were going to do, but I bet you'd find it more interesting than wandering around in Ponyville with me."

"No, no!" Sunburst said quickly. "I like this. Really! Back in the Crystal Empire I always have a pretty full day taking care of Flurry Heart, so it's nice to just wander around without any real aim apart from... well, just enjoying the moment. It's nice, especially with you." He grinned sheepishly.

"Oh," Twilight remarked, blinking. "Well, I'm glad you think so. I actually like this too. I spend way too much time in my library---Not that you can spend too much time a library, I mean! There's just so much to learn and... Well a pony shouldn't—I mean..." She trailed off, blushing as she cleared her throat. She took another bite of her apple fritter, pretending to focus on something else while grinning sheepishly.

Sunburst smiled a lop-sided smile. He always felt so awkward when he lost his train of thought, but whenever Twilight did, she just seemed... cute. Adorable, even. And she was just so thoughtful, always concerned about how others were feeling - like the time when Starlight felt like she and he didn't have much in common with him anymore. As soon as Twilight found out, she set about doing all she could to make things right between him and their mutual friend, and it had worked too! Not only was Twilight caring, but she was really smart, and... wise. They had so many interests in common; Old Ponish, antiques... He also appreciated how good a leader she was, keeping a cool head in even the most harrowing of situations. And she was a truly beautiful mare to boot, with her big purple eyes and that winning smile. The way she laughed and how she'd get all excited whenever she learned something new! That was another thing they had in common - a passion for accumulating knowledge. She was the whole package! If only...

"Sunburst?"

The stallion was snapped from his reverie and he quickly turned his attention to his companion. "Y-Yes, Twilight?"

She laughed. "What were you thinking about? You seemed so far away."

"Oh. Uh..." He looked around, having just been unconsciously following Twilight. It appears they were quite a ways from Main Street now, on a grassy, hilly area near an Oak tree. "Just... our friendship," he said hastily, grinning a bit too broadly.

"Hmm?" Twilight raised an eyebrow, casting the papery waste from the edibles she'd consumed into a nearby trash can. "Is something wrong, Sunburst? You've sort of been... I don't know, on edge of late? Is something bothering you?"

Sunburst looked down at his hooves. The sound of foals laughing rang in the distance, and kites soared in the sky just a short ways off. But there weren't very many ponies in the park, and none of them seemed to be paying the princess and crystaller any mind. They were out of earshot, so... he could talk here. It was just him and Twilight, after all.

Just him and Twilight.

Sunburst took a deep breath and leveled his gaze towards the purple pony. Her lavender eyes were big, concerned... A soft breeze blowing through her long mane. He sighed tiredly and looked away. What if this ruined everything? What if he lost her friendship just because he wanted something more?

"Sunburst," Twilight gently pressed, "you know, I can't help you if you don't talk to me. If you don't want to, that's fine, but... It might help you to get it off your chest."

The stallion's eyes softened and smiled back at her warmly. He set his paper-protected apple treats down on the grass nearby and took in a cleansing breath. After a moment, he spoke, "Twilight," he said, raising a hoof to her shoulder, "how do you see me?"

The alicorn blinked, somewhat taken aback by the unexpected question. "See you? Well..." She thought for a moment. "You're a nice pony... responsible, caring, and intelligent. You're a good friend."

He closed his eyes and let out a breath, lifting his head back up to face her as he continued, "Twilight... What if...?"

C'mon, Sunburst, you can do it! he thought.

"What if, what?" Twilight asked him, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"What if...?" Sunburst sighed pointedly. "What if I told you I wanted to be more than that?"

Twilight looked unsure. "...More how?" she asked.

Sunburst stomped a hoof, suddenly, but not so forcefully as to startle her. "More to you!" he blurted out.

There was a pointed silence, and with a flash of recognition Twilight's eyes widened in realization. She stared back at him with her mouth silently opening and closing, unable to find the words to reply to something so unexpected. Sunburst lowered his head defeatedly. "I know," he moaned. "You could never see me that way. I'm just your niece's crystaller and a... friend," he finished sadly. "If you'll even let me be that after this," he added regretfully.

Unbeknownst to him, Twilight's lips curved into a knowing smirk and she looked to him with warmth in her eyes. Suddenly, she laughed, not harshly or scornfully, mind you. But softly, sweetly, and without a hint malice. Sunburst's ears perked up at the sound, his eyes pried awide as he lifted his gaze to see her. She had a hoof to her muzzle and she just couldn't stop giggling.

"Twilight?" he said in confusion. "Why are you laughing?"

"B-Because—" She laughed even harder. "I-I'm sorry," she said, grinning through her guffawing. Seeing Sunburst's perplexed expression, she did her best to subdue her mirth and regain her composure after her outburst. Her giggles largely silenced, she wiped a tear from her eye and looked to the stallion with an understanding expression. "Sunburst," she said, quietly, "I laughed because you said exactly what I was thinking!"

"Oh," he said, sadly, his head lowering.

"No, no!" Twilight put in hurriedly, dancing briefly in place out of desperation. "That's not what I meant!"

He lifted his head. "Oh?"

Twilight swallowed. "What I meant was, that I, in your place, would've thought the same thing. I did think the same thing, but not in real life... I mean, yes, in real life... just not for real."

Sunburst raised an eyebrow. Her explanation really wasn't making things any clearer for him.

Twilight laughed again. "Oh, Sunburst! I meant that I feel the same way about you! I was just afraid you wouldn't return my feelings and that it would ruin our friendship!"

His mouth dropped open in shock.

"I like you, Sunburst," she said, smiling. "I really like you. You're warm and caring and clever and... and I'm so happy you like me too."

The corners of Sunburst's mouth shot up just as high as they could go. "Really!?" he asked, hardly believing his ears. "I mean, really!?"

Twilight nodded, smiling broadly.

"T-Twilight, that's... that's wonderful!" He laughed. "Really that's wonderful! I'm so... I'm just so happy!" He crossed the short distance to her and wrapped her in his forelegs, hugging her warmly.

Twilight sniffled into his shoulder despite herself. "I'm sorry, Sunburst. I should've just told you how I felt in the first place. It was silly of me to get all anxious and let fear get in the way of what I feeling."

"That's alright, Twilight," he said gently. "I was all of that too. Besides!—" He chuckled. "—If you had told me first I would've felt just as silly as you do now! You kind of saved me all that," he finished, grinning sheepishly.

Twilight chuckled. "Oh, you!" She pulled away from him, grinning. "So? Um... You gonna finish that apple fritter?"

Sunburst waved a hoof and gave an exaggerated bow. "'Tis yours for the taking, milady."

Twilight giggled. "No, I meant it's getting cold and you should probably eat it now."

"And why, pray tell, do you care so much about the temperature of my apple fritter?" he asked, putting on a British accent and waggling his eyebrows.

"W-Why are you acting so goofy?" she asked, chuckling.

"I guess I'm just happy," he replied, smiling. Sunburst took his treats back into his magical grasp and the two began their leisurely stroll towards the castle.

"Um... Twilight?" he said suddenly.

"Yes?" she replied, looking to him as he walked beside her.

Sunburst quickly leaned in and gave Twilight a peck on the cheek, blushing deep red as he did so.

Twilight stopped walking, her eyes awide and her face turning pink as her mouth opened and closed - completely speechless.

"Did I do something wrong?" Sunburst asked worriedly, his hooves starting to move in an increasingly frantic pattern. "I didn't mean to upset you or anything, it's just that I thought that—"

Twilight suddenly pressed her muzzle against his, effectively silencing him. At first his eyes shot awide in shock, but after a second or so, he smiled and returned the kiss. The wind blew through the mighty Oak's leafy canopy above them, and the distant sounds of birds singing carried through the air. The sun continued to shine brightly over Ponyville... but perhaps, just a little bit brighter for the two ponies on that hill... on that gloriously bright and vibrant Summer day.

Author's Notes:

I was inspired to write this after reading Summer Dancer's "Call Me Twilight" story. I never saw these two as couple before then, but after reading her fic, I realized they actually don't make too bad a match!

Oh, and I'd be grateful if you'd direct your grammar and spelling corrections to PM. Pretty please and thank you.