October 5^th, 2019
Friday
Rainy

Morning

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Starlight debated on using today to test the waters of her other outfit, but opted against it, choosing instead to wear her usual attire today. She wasn’t exactly trying to entice any of the other students today. She was here on a mission.

Get close to the Student Body President.

As she walked to school, her thoughts went to Rarity. She still remembered the odd response that her heart had when Starlight reached out to her. She seemed almost antagonistic toward Starlight. Was that how she really felt about her?

No, that didn’t make sense. She had asked Starlight herself to join the student council because she wanted to get to know her better. If Applejack was to believed, this was Rarity’s idea, too. So why did Rarity’s heart seem to be rejecting Starlight?

Especially if she already had a Dungeon.

“Hey, did you hear the news about the Diamond Dogs?”

Huh? Starlight looked up ahead of her and heard two girls from school gossiping.

“You mean that gang that caused trouble last year?” her friend asked.

“Some of their members were spotted around town yesterday. They said they were looking at the school, too.”

Her friend gasped, “You don’t think they’ll attack the school, do you?”

“I don’t think we have to worry. Miss President and the Defense Committee will keep us safe,” the girl who started the topic said right before the bell rang. Starlight had heard a bit about the Diamond Dogs, but since she didn’t follow the media, she didn’t know much. Maybe Rarity could fill in the blanks.

Daytime

Whatever the current lecture was got lost once Bulk Biceps started talking about famous poetry in the 16^th century. He surprised Starlight by asking her a question about one of the poets of that time. Starlight didn’t know the answer, but based on what he was talking about, she took a guess and surprisingly got it right.

She felt significantly more intelligent after answering that question.

After School

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash decided to go to the arcade together, so Starlight only had Trixie to escort her to the Student Council office. Which was perfect, since she still needed to fill her in on some of her suspicions concerning Rarity.

“That does sound serious,” Trixie said thoughtfully as they walked down the hall, “My heart wasn’t that antagonistic toward you, was it?”

Starlight shook her head, and explained to Trixie how her heart was crying for help even before Starlight broke the ice between then. That seemed to be the norm, honestly.

“Huh. You know, thinking back on it, something within me did want to reach out to you when I met you,” Trixie said folding her arms and looking down, “Like, part of me wanted you to give me a reason not to leave that first day.”

That matched up with what Trixie’s heart said to her the second time. She begged Starlight to stop her. She wished that she had said something back then, knowing what she knows now.

“Speaking of, Blueblood hasn’t harassed you since last time, has he?” Starlight asked.

“Not at all,” Trixie said, “Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I hear he’s still being rough on the football team, though.”

“Remember, if any of them approach you, come to me, okay?” Starlight requested, “I promised to keep you safe, after all.”

“R-right,” Trixie said blushing a bit, “Thanks, Starlight,” she lowered her hat over her eyes, “I… um, I was wondering… if some time this weekend… we could go shopping together? I wanted to get a few props for my magic show, and… there was one store that I was hoping to try walking into together…”

Starlight had a feeling that she knew what store she was talking about, but she didn’t want to put Trixie on the spot. Being seen in that place with Trixie would probably do wonders for her courage.

“Sounds fun,” Starlight said, opting to not openly ask her where they were going, “We can go tomorrow.”

“Really? Great!” Trixie said enthusiastically before catching herself, “Right, so tomorrow is our day. J-just you and me, alright? I’m… not sure I’m ready to go in with anyone else.”

“No worries,” Starlight said rubbing Trixie’s arm comfortingly, “This will be just the two of us.”

“Thanks Starlight,” Trixie said, shocking Starlight by hugging her, “I feel so much safer when it’s just us.”

Trixie was being kind of weird today. Was she…

“I’ll see you back at the dorm,” Trixie said, giving Starlight her best confident smile before walking off. Maybe Starlight did have a chance with Trixie.

For another time though. Today, Starlight had a job to do.

end song

Starlight took a deep breath, and opened the door to the Student Council room. It was just as neat as Starlight remembered it being. There were a few students here and there, but two immediately caught Starlight’s eye. One was a boy with kind of spiky green hair wearing a purple jacket, black t-shirt, blue jeans, and black and white sneakers. Hadn’t she’d seen him around the football team?

The other one made Starlight’s heart leap out of her chest.

A boy with short orange and yellow hair that was somewhat unkempt, thick glasses, wearing a white suit shirt, red necktie that was partially undone, blue pants, and black dress shoes. He hadn’t looked up from his book yet, so he didn’t notice Starlight, but she certainly noticed him, and seeing him made her tremble uncontrollably.

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Why…?

Why is he here…?!

Rarity and Applejack were talking in the back of the room, but Rarity noticed Starlight and smiled, “Oh wonderful! You came!”

“H-huh?” Starlight was snapped out of her daze as Rarity ran over to her and took her hand smiling brilliantly.

“You came to join us, yes?” she asked hopefully. Starlight was again taken aback by the powerful aura of this girl. Like this, she didn’t seem like the sort who would push Starlight away. In fact, it seemed she was almost clinging to her.

Starlight nodded wordlessly, still reeling from both Rarity’s entire presence, and also from who was sitting across from her in the room.

“Splendid,” Rarity pulled Starlight into the middle of the room and then clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention, “Everyone, I have an announcement! Starting today, a new member has joined the Student Council as my secretary!”

Everyone save for the student that Starlight recognized looked up at her.

“Wait, isn’t that the goth chick who transferred in the beginning of the year?” the green haired boy asked.

“Why yes, Spike. That’s exactly who this is,” Rarity said, “Everyone, this is Starlight Glimmer, the newest member of our team!”

That made the boy sitting off to the side flinch suddenly. He looked up slowly at Starlight and swallowed nervously, also trembling a bit.

“S-Starlight…?” he asked in disbelief. Starlight looked at him, breathing heavily. She almost felt like she was going to have a panic attack.

Why do you have to be here…?

Why now of all times?!

“You already know the Head of the Defense Committee, Applejack,” Rarity pointed to Applejack still sitting on a desk in the back.

“Glad ya could join us,” Applejack said tipping her hat.

“This is Spike, our Treasurer, Pip over there is our Fundraising Officer, and the young man surrounded by all the books is my Vice-President, Sunburst.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Pip said in a thick British accent.

“You might have seen me on the football team as well,” Spike said with a smile, “Don’t worry. I hate Blueblood just as much as you do.”

“T-thanks,” Starlight said nervously, “Good to know…” her eyes turned to Sunburst, who just looked away biting his lip nervously. He remembered.

“I have a few things to discuss with Applejack, so for the time being, I’d like it if someone could help Starlight get acquainted here. Sunburst, could I count on you for that?” Rarity asked Sunburst.

“M-me? Um, Miss President, are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked nervously.

“You’re the best person for this, since you’re my Vice-President,” Rarity said with the most adorable pout, “Also, you’ve been more or less my secretary up until now, so this means she’ll be taking a lot of your responsibilities.”

“Don’t even try to decline that look, Sunburst!” Spike teased, “She could get me to jump into traffic with that pout!”

“That’s because you have a monster crush on her, and know you don’t have a shot in hell,” Pip sighed.

“H-hey! I’m not that pathetic!” Spike defended.

“Exactly,” Rarity said, “Spike’s actually quite the dashing young man when he wants to be.”

“Wait, so I do have a shot?” Spike asked hopefully.

“I didn’t say that,” Rarity said shooting him down immediately.

“That’ll teach me to get my hopes up,” Spike sighed.

“I guess there’s no avoiding this, huh?” Sunburst said walking up to Starlight, “I’ll um… walk you through everything, Starlight.”

“T-thanks…” Starlight said, averting her eyes somberly. Sunburst guided her to his desk away from everyone else, which made Starlight a bit nervous. She didn’t want to be alone with him.

“So um… h-how have you been?” Sunburst asked nervously, “Do you still want to… be…”

“I don’t need to want it anymore,” Starlight said presenting her Channeling Ring, “Because I am a witch now.”

Sunburst’s eyes widened a bit at that, “O-oh. Wow, um, that’s something. Good for you,” he smiled a bit.

“Don’t,” Starlight said shooting him down immediately, “I know you think I’m crazy.”

“Starlight, I…” Sunburst turned away, “I guess you’re still upset about… that.”

Starlight folded her arms and turned away, groaning in frustration. She was way beyond upset at him. She thought he understood her. She thought they had the same dream. Now knowing that magic was real, and being a witch herself now, it only made that day hurt even more.

“Can we… talk after this?” Sunburst urged, “Please, I… I want to know how you’ve been.”

“So now you care?” Starlight asked, tearing up a bit, “When I needed you the most, you weren’t there, but now you-” she was blindsided by a sudden embrace from Sunburst, and an influx of powerful emotions.

Starlight, I… I didn’t mean to hurt you…

“I’m so sorry,” Sunburst said after a second, “This is why I wanted to talk. I… I need to explain what happened. Please let me explain.”

She didn’t want him to explain. She wanted to keep being angry at him. It still hurt, knowing that he didn’t believe in magic, and that he wasn’t there for her when… when her Mother passed away.

But… his heart was reaching out to her… and he said…

“My pupil, let’s hear him out.”

Starlight looked up a bit, and saw Morgana floating before their desk. She looked more ghostly, so Starlight knew that she was the only one who could see her currently. She mentally asked Morgana why she should give Sunburst this chance.

“Because at one point, he WAS our friend.”

Morgana was right. Truth was, she did miss him. She wanted answers, that way she could make the pain ebb away a bit.

“Fine, we’ll talk,” Starlight said curtly. She could almost feel the relief wash over Sunburst.

“Thank you,” Sunburst said releasing Starlight, “After that, you can hate me all you want. I just want a chance to explain my side of things a bit.”

That was fair, Starlight supposed. The two of them went back to work in the meantime. Sadly, Starlight didn’t get a chance to really talk to Rarity this time, but at least she broke the ice a bit. Thankfully her job wasn’t too involved, and she’d probably be significantly close to Rarity.

It might take a bit, but she’d get something so Twilight could track down her Dungeon.

end song

After finishing the meeting, the two of them went to the Kami no Tabemono ramen shop. Starlight was tempted to order the Nine Tailed Kitsune Udon, but opted against it since she had other reasons to be here.

“So, I take it you have questions,” Sunburst said as the female twin, Izumi, brought their orders to the table.

“Why did you say those things to me?” Starlight asked, “You have no idea how much you hurt me that day.”

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“I’m sorry, Starlight,” Sunburst sighed, “In truth, I hated myself for saying those things. See, my Dad was getting on my case about my school work.”

“You weren’t failing, from what I remember,” Starlight said, starting on her ramen.

“No, I wasn’t. But getting As and Bs wasn’t enough for him,” Sunburst said, “He wanted me to be the best. He was actually setting me up to become a Teacher, like him.”

“That’s why you started focusing so much on your studies,” Starlight reasoned.

“He kept telling me that magic wasn’t real, and that I was wasting my time fantasizing about becoming a wizard,” Sunburst said, eating a bit of his ramen, “He was all I had, though, and we didn’t have as close of a relationship like you had with your Mother, so to earn his favor, I sort of… pushed you away.”

Starlight averted her eyes pained. She understood now, but it still hurt immensely.

“I’m not trying to defend myself, Starlight,” Sunburst said after a second, “Like I said, if you want to still hate me, you can. I… hate myself. Especially considering I didn’t make the cut anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Starlight asked looking at him again.

“My Dad enrolled me into this really prestigious school across the state called Crystal Prep,” Sunburst explained, “It’s also a boarding school, but it’s way more strict that Canterlot High. Over there, you don’t get freedom to express yourself. The subjects are also really hard, almost college level courses,” he sighed in defeat, “I didn’t even last the semester.”

Starlight’s eyes widened as she saw Sunburst go back to his ramen. Sunburst… dropped out?

“That was around the time your Mother died,” Sunburst continued after a bit, “Because I was across the state, I didn’t hear about it right away. I even asked my father why he didn’t tell me, and of course his response was something like “I didn’t want you distracted by that girl’s problems,” Sunburst scowled, “Never mind that girl was my best friend…”

Starlight couldn’t believe it. He… still considered her to be his best friend?

“I wanted to get in touch with you, but I didn’t know how,” Sunburst continued, “By the time I did, you were already in the hospital, and I didn’t know which one. No one else knew either, so I…” he closed his eyes, and Starlight saw a single tear fall, “I know I’m a terrible friend, Starlight. You have every right to hate me.”

Starlight looked down and pondered this. Knowing everything that happened didn’t make it right, but it… did put things into perspective. She remembered that his Dad really didn’t care for her. Hell, even her mother hated the guy, and she loved just about everyone.

“Sunburst, I… I don’t hate you,” Starlight said after a minute, “I’m just hurt. The truth is… Mom’s death was my fault…”

“Your fault? I don’t understand,” Sunburst said.

Starlight explained the argument she and her mother had to Sunburst. She also went into the ritual she cast shortly afterward in their old ritual grounds, and how her mother was in a car crash shortly afterward. She didn’t go into how she met Igor and Victor, but she did tell him that she attempted suicide shortly after, and that for better or for worse, the ritual worked.

But… at the cost of everything she held dear.

“Oh Starlight…” Sunburst said, drinking the broth of his ramen, “I… I’m sorry.”

“Go on, tell me I made a mistake!” Starlight cried, “Tell me that I’m a terrible person, and that I should have listened to you and put more focus on my studies! Tell me that I killed my Mother!”

As Starlight broke down, Sunburst rose from his seat, sat down beside Starlight, and wrapped his arms around her.

“I would never tell you those things,” Sunburst said softly, “I’m sorry that Mrs. Glimmer passed away, and if that ritual was connected to it, I’m sorry that it happened the way that it did. But, you say that it worked, and you are a witch now, right?” Starlight nodded, “Have you decided what you’ll do with this power?”

“I… I swore that I’d only use my magic to help people,” Starlight said quietly, “I’ve already helped a few people with my powers.”

“Then I’d like to think that in the end, Mrs. Glimmer is happy to know your magic is being used for a good purpose,” Sunburst lifted Starlight’s chin, “She wouldn’t want you to tear yourself down like this, and neither do I. Let me make up for all the time I missed by being there for you now.”

“You… want to be my friend…? Despite everything?” Starlight asked hopefully.

“Well, outside of the Student Council, I don’t have any friends in school. Besides, we made a promise to always lift each other up, right?”

Starlight’s eyes widened in surprise. He remembered…

In that moment, she felt as though a faint bond formed between her and Sunburst.

play song

Starlight stayed with Sunburst for the rest of the night until it was close to curfew, and then went back to the dorm to prepare for her date with Trixie. Now she could go into this feeling much better.

Fool – Seekers of Light: 5/10
Magician – Trixie Lulamoon: 5/10
Priestess – Diamond Tiara: 5/10
The Empress – Ms. Tia: 3/10
The Lovers - Pinkamena Diane Pie: 1/10
Chariot – Rainbow Dash: 2/10
The Devil – Silver Spoon: 2/10
Hermit – Sunburst: 1/10 Established!!!!

Special thanks to the following Patreon supporters!
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You guys are all wonderful! Thank you so much for aiding me in my campaign for world domination~