A Follow Up Report

by Fattymagee1

Rating: mature
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Starlight Glimmer, Romance, Sunburst, Sex
Length: 8857

As her next task, Twilight has Starlight Glimmer return to the Crystal Empire in order to discuss and record the events of her first hectic visit with Sunburst, but is there more going on here than what meets the eye?

Two weeks after the nearly disastrous events that unfolded in the Crystal Empire in relation to the royal Crystalling, Starlight Glimmer is sent back by Twilight. In the Princess of Friendship's words, Starlight's task is to create an official "friendship report" detailing "what happened between her and Sunburst" during their friendship rekindling on her first visit to the Empire. Sounds simple enough, but is that the real reason she's there?

Published 2016-04-29 17:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-04-29 17:50:01 UTC

True Friendship Never Dies

A Follow Up Report

by Fattymagee1

Starlight Glimmer stared through the train window at the seemingly endless expanse of ice sheet. Other than a few mountains here and there, this region of northern Equestria was known for constantly being covered in snow due to swirling black storm clouds that were present most of the year.

The weather was almost always so bad in fact, Starlight pondered why ponies well over a thousand years ago had even chosen to build an entire empire around here.

She gazed at an icy mountain in the distance, which could only be discerned as an actual mountain instead of a big pile of snow due to a few streaks of black barren rocks on the side. She recalled hearing during a visit from Pinkie Pie’s sister Maud a little while back that the mountains around this area were mostly composed of granite and quartzite. I know they’re protected by the magic of the crystal heart, but why would ponies decide to build their city in a gloomy place like this to begin with?

An interesting question indeed, one the unicorn could maybe ask Princess Twilight another time. There must’ve been a good rationale at the city’s genesis over a thousand years ago. For now, however, Starlight needed to focus on her current task at hoof.

She watched as two exuberant foals pranced by her seat on the train car. One was a dark azure-coated filly with a lighter blue mane and tail, the other a colt sporting beige fur and a short brown mane and tail. The colt raced directly behind the filly, mere inches from her tail.

“I bet you can’t catch me by the end of the train!” the filly chuckled as she looked back over her shoulder before racing off towards the train door.

“You’re on,” the colt answered as he chased his friend, remaining on her tail as they entered the next car down. As they galloped past other mostly older adult ponies quietly lounging in their seats, some candidly smiled at the innocent antics. Others gave angry or annoyed looks, and a few simply pretended they weren’t there.

Starlight grinned a little as she turned her attention back towards the snowy landscape outside. Pleasant thoughts of her fillyhood days with Sunburst seeped into her mind. She remembered the things they would use to do together many years ago as best friends. The games they would play, the books they would read, the sleepovers they had, all the special and innocent friendship moments they use to share that meant so much to her. Even those contemptible thoughts that occasionally crept up. Things she was not currently in the right position or had the proper clout to rationally consider at this time. All until…

The train of thought ended there. Starlight closed her eyes and shook her head before gazing down at the floor. That doesn’t matter anymore. Thanks to Princess Twilight and her friends, Sunburst and I are friends again and that’s all that matters now in the end.

Starlight wondered though. Maybe this is all some kind of test. Maybe Princess Twilight made me rekindle our friendship for something other than just friendship… maybe there’s something more to it. I mean, as the Princess of Friendship’s new pupil… would it be so farfetched to think this is something like that? She does love tests after all, so I’ve heard…

That thought came to a sudden halt when the unicorn watched as the train came to a sudden halt, and heard a familiar albeit enthusiastic voice emanate from the conductor. “Final stop! Cryyyyystal Empire!”

Those thoughts would need to wait for another time, as Starlight quickly rose and tried to make her way towards the exit, trying to remain discreet. After all, being somepony with a direct tie to somepony as important as the Princess of Friendship does carry its own weight anywhere in Equestrian society. If she were going to get up places and be worthy of being Twilight’s pupil, she needed to consider these things. Even in a place like the Crystal Empire that was so recently saved from an anti-harmony ideological tyrant such as King Sombra by Twilight and her friends. And then again from a royal alicorn foal and her crazy magic and the perilous weather conditions looming just outside. Thanks to Sunburst.

Starlight again shuddered at that thought, and let it go.

Starlight finally made her way to the exit, promptly retrieved her saddlebag from the storage, trotted through the station and gazed out at the empire and all its sparkling flamboyant glory beyond. Celestia’s late afternoon sun shone brightly as always and weather warm and pleasant as long as the Crystal Heart was present, and the buildings and castle were more shimmery than ever.

Ah. Looks exactly the way I left it. Thankfully not covered in ice and snow and destroyed. Thanks again to Sunburst…

The reasons as to why Twilight had sent Starlight to the Crystal Empire by herself were a bit ambiguous, to say the least. The princess stated, in her ever enlightening words, it was “an official follow-up to what happened between you and Sunburst.” In other words, Twilight apparently desired essentially an official “friendship report” transcript or whatever she called it summarizing what she had learned about friendship from that event.

Starlight was given two whole days and nights to do so, and apparently Twilight did not inform Sunburst or Princess Cadence and Shining Armor of her arrival. There weren’t even any specific instructions on the mode in which Starlight was supposed to compose the report, though she assumed a letter from what she already knew about the princess. The assignment was also so sudden, there was no time to inform Sunburst herself of her impending visit via the regular mail service. She was told of her assignment, Twilight and Spike immediately left for Canterlot on "royal business," and a few hours later she was on a train headed for the Crystal Empire.

That was it. Or so it seemed. Seemed funny.

It couldn’t really be that simple. This is the Princess of Friendship I’m talking about. Nothing is that simple with her. The unicorn smiled and tried to act as inconspicuous as possible as she passed many Crystal citizens, many sporting rather eccentric manestyles and mustaches and the like that Crystal Empire culture was known for. The fairly easily distinguishable Starlight with her offbeat purple-neon green manestyle and whatnot didn’t want to attract any unnecessary attention to herself that would just make her mission here harder. After all, with what happened so recently, couldn’t anypony assume she was some type of celebrity figure in this place like Twilight and her friends? Anyhow, rather arbitrary things such as that for the simple purpose of making her life easier was not her primary concern at the moment. Just a side thought.

She wouldn’t have sent me here for something as elementary as mere data collection. As her pupil this must be some kind of test. Twilight loves tests.

Twilight and Spike were currently on their way to Canterlot for the evening on some kind of “royal business” as they put it, and Starlight didn’t know what the other ponies representative of the Elements of Harmony were doing at the moment. It wasn’t really Starlight’s business to ask or pry into these things too much considering her… recent exploits in life. Not yet at least. Trust and true friendship needed to be earned over time. It’s just the way things were in Equestria.

It had only been two weeks since what had happened in the Crystal Empire with Flurry Heart and that whole crisis. There hadn’t been any new friendship lessons, yet. Twilight had been quite busy with certain “royal duties” as she called it, only really making Starlight help out with certain seemingly wacky science projects. One of which involved growing some rather eccentric flowers with a filly named Apple Bloom. Starlight had a vague knowledge of her and the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the recent events that led to their acquiring of cutie marks, but there was still much to be learned at a later point. Other than that Twilight simply had her pupil reading many different books on the magic of friendship and harmony, like a true librarian. For obvious reasons Starlight needed to be… refreshed on the friendship-harmony related ideology of Equestria.

This was the first real meaningful task Twilight had put Starlight in charge of since what happened two weeks prior. On paper, it seemed like all Starlight needed to do was knock on Sunburst’s door, speak to him about what happened two weeks earlier in the context of the rekindling of their old friendship, and probably write a simple report on it.

The realities of something like that were anything but ‘simple’, and the unicorn knew it. As Starlight approached Sunburst’s humble abode on a quaint street not far from the Crystal Castle, that all too familiar pang of anxiety made itself known in the pupil’s stomach. Couldn’t I have just done this in Ponyville via a letter without speaking to him directly again?

Even if they had rekindled their friendship, they had to do so under the veil of a massive crisis that so often seems to seek out Princess Twilight and her friends; the odds of so many life-altering and societal changing experiences happening to a group of six friends, plus a dragon, in such a short period of time was interesting indeed… but again those were thoughts worth pondering another time.

There were still so many personal things for her and Sunburst to talk about. Things they simply did not have the time to do so last time in this locale for obvious reasons. Things the mare deep down really wanted to talk about and get off her chest. Now she had the chance to actually have this conversation… and yet here she was, all worried.

Starlight looked around at the blue and green buildings around her, making sure nopony else was around before mumbling to herself. “This is my chance to really impress Twilight… Spike isn’t here to keep me in check, maybe this is some kind of follow up test to help prove to her my heart is in the right place?”

Whatever the case, the unicorn couldn’t help but feel that anxious tension, whether rational or not such is the way of emotions. Though not as bad as last time, part of her again wanted to simply walk in the opposite direction, back onto the train, and make up some elaborate lie regarding how Sunburst wasn’t home or something and was off doing some important task as the Empire’s new Crystaller. A very important position indeed, and maybe such a lie might be a possible sell to Princess Twilight. Though somepony as intelligent as Twilight probably would have been smart enough to poke holes in a story like that... plus that’s something the old manipulative Starlight Glimmer would have done; she was changed, and there was a task at hoof that needed to be done for her new mentor. It was unequivocally not worth that kind of trouble just to avoid some potential minor awkwardness and reliving of bad memories. This needed to be done.

Starlight liked to believe this wouldn’t take a long time, and it would simply be a little chit-chat between Sunburst and soon after would write her report and return to Ponyville and that was that. Maybe some more catching up on their old friendship, and perhaps some more rationalizing to Sunburst why she was in the position she currently was now.

The unicorn dropped her head and gazed at the cold azure somewhat luminescent style typical of a Crystal Empire street, and kicked a tiny crystal rock with her hoof. That’s what makes this hard, and I’m sure Twilight knows that.

Starlight rounded another corner, and there it was. Before the unicorn at the end of the street stood Sunburst’s humble abode. It looked almost exactly like any other dwelling in the Empire architecturally. It was blue-green in color, and its window patterns were essentially the same as any other buildings’. The only real rather striking things about his home was the double-doors and the sun-type pattern on bestowed on it, and the green roof adorned in the shape of a wizard’s hat.

Starlight glimmer chuckled a little. She hadn’t noticed or thought about it before, perhaps for the same reasons as now. Anxiety.

“That’s quite fitting for Sunburst considering his name and his cutie mark. Probably no accident.” Starlight mumbled again.

As she approached the entrance, Starlight halted and thought about her task at hoof in the most objective way possible. She was hesitant to knock on the door, still somewhat hoping maybe he would not be there. Maybe this really is just data collection on an important friendship for Equestria that Twilight wants for her studies.

Starlight gulped as she positioned her hoof on the door. Nothing to be worried about. Sunburst is your friend again now. That’s why you’re here. This isn’t like last time, he understands your past now and is okay with it. No looming crises either. All I need to do is ask him a few questions about my first visit here...

Before the dreaded knocking, the unicorn cracked a smile. I guess this time it really is a question of whether I should ‘highlight the importance of the meeting’. Does my whole future depend on this moment? Starlight shook her head and peered down at the ground. Probably not. Hey at least I’m doing this without Spike or somepony looking over my shoulder with some checklist. That’s a step in the right direction in itself.

Just like last time, Starlight gently knocked three times and proceeded to wait. Apart of her really wished for him not to be home… but the rational part of her did.

After only about five seconds, the right door slowly creaked open.

There Sunburst was, unsurprisingly appearing the same as he did two weeks earlier, decked out in the same blue-green wizard cloak with its star emblems. He sported the same glasses and orange manecut and goatee, and had a box of books and scrolls in one of his hooves.

The two stared at one another for a couple seconds, perhaps in slight shock, before Sunburst broke the awkward silence with a tiny smile.

“St-Starlight Glimmer. What a pleasant surprise. What brings you back to the Crystal Empire so soon?”

Before Starlight could respond, Sunburst levitated the pile of books onto the floor and motioned for her to come in. “Please, come in. I was just about to make some crystal hazelnut tea.”

Starlight could feel herself tense up with all the same anxieties as their first encounter not long prior. “H-Hi Sunburst. Thanks, I know this is kinda sudden… but Princess Twilight sent me here on official business as her pupil. I have some important things to discuss regarding my last visit here. I’d love to talk about this over some tea if you aren’t,” she looked down at the box, “too busy or anything. It’ll probably only take a few minutes.”

“Well…,” Sunburst gazed down at the pile of box full of books briefly before making eye contact with the mare in front of him again, “of course not. I’m just surprised nopony informed me about your visit beforehoof. Come on in.”

Starlight nodded as the pupil followed the stallion into his home and proceeded to take a seat on one of the stools by his small table just like last time, placing her saddlebag on the floor next to her. Sunburst’s home looked pretty similar to the last visit, with its very ornate crystal architecture and the walls containing several bookshelves with various spell tomes and magical history volumes in addition to several vials of liquid and magic scrolls. The only major difference was a lack of books within some of the shelves, presumably being held within the respective boxes at their base. Sunburst picked up the box he was carrying and placed it next to the other books, then trotted over to the kettle on the stove which had begun to boil and whistle.

The wizard turned his head to gaze back at Starlight, who was staring at one of the strange looking vials of purple liquid on a shelf to her right. “Would you like any spices in your tea? Cinnamon? Ginger?”

The mare rapidly spun her head in the direction of her friend, eliciting a sheepish grin and brushing a stray strand of her mane out of her face. “Oh, um, no thank you that’s okay.”

The Crystaller smiled and nodded, levitating the teapot and pouring the scorching liquid into two small cups. He sprinkled a little cinnamon into his, before making his way to the table. Starlight grinned as he levitated the cup meant for her onto the table in front of her. Immediately she placed it between her two hooves. Don’t want to appear ungrateful. He’s taking probably valuable time out of his busy day to speak to you.

“It-it’s very hot,” Sunburst inquired in his usual quick tone, “probably best to wait a minute or two before taking a sip. Unless you want me to cast a spell—”

The mare shook her head, smiling sheepishly again as she released the cup. “Oh, riggggght. And no that’s fine. I can just wait.”

A couple rather awkward moments passed of staring at one another before Starlight had an amazing idea to break the silence. We are friends again. This shouldn’t be so hard.

“So… how have things been since I last saw you? I’m sure you’ve been very busy as the Empire’s new Crystaller,” Starlight inquired with as much confidence as she could muster up.

Sunburst levitated his cup near his lips. “Oh, w-well, yes. Sort of. I’ve mostly been doing a lot of studying this week while Princess Cadence and Shining Armor and their baby are off in Yakyakistan for a feast thrown there in celebration of Flurry Heart’s birth. There’s actually only been one Crystalling since the nearly calamitous royal Crystalling during your last visit. A small private event last week involving a cute little filly. A first born foal actually. Crystallings aren’t quite as common as I thought they would be though.”

Starlight chuckled a little, feeling a little relieved to have started a conversation.

“Oh wow, I think I heard Yakyakistan and Equestria recently solidified diplomatic relations. And I assume that was nothing like Flurry Heart’s Crystalling?”

The stallion blew on the cup and took a minuscule sip before also chuckling. “Nope, no crystal heart to repair this time thankfully. Let’s hope all of them are nothing like the first.”

The two shared a brief couple moments of laughter before Starlight spoke again.

“Let’s definitely hope so.” The mare gazed to her left at the boxes on the floor. “Say, before we get down to business here, I was just curious,” Starlight pointed a hoof at the boxes, “what are you doing with those books and scrolls over there? ”

Sunburst grinned, put down the cup, and levitated one of the boxes onto the table in front of him. “Oh, well that’s actually what I was going to tell you next.”

He levitated one of the scrolls out of the box, and unraveled it for Starlight to see.

“Remember this spell, Fledgling's Forbearance? I gave this one to Princess Cadence and Shining Armor to help curb their foal’s eccentric power fluctuations during her Crystalling.”

Starlight grinned. “Oh yeah, it worked like a charm too if I recall. It’s too bad Twilight and her friends didn’t come to you first. Maybe that whole near-disaster could have been avoided with your incredible knowledge of magic.”

A slight blush appeared on Sunburst’s cheeks at the compliment. “Oh, w-well, thank you. T-that means alot coming from you. Though nopony could possibly have predicted Princess Cadence and Shining Armor’s foal would be an alicorn that possessed more sheer magical power than most wizards.”

“Still, I’m glad Twilight had me rekindle our friendship. Or we might be sitting under a hundred feet of snow right now.” Starlight answered with a grin.

“I suppose that’s true. Anyhow, these boxes are here because I’m starting to pack up everything. As the Empire’s new official Crystaller, Princess Cadence offered me a new place to stay in the castle, right next to the castle library. I’m expected to be moved in by next week. How could I refuse?”

The mare could swear she saw a couple stars in her friend’s eyes for a split second whilst his large prideful smile gleamed, before levitating her own cup up near her lips.

“Wow Sunburst, that’s great news! Like I said when we last spoke, I really can’t think of anypony more qualified for the job than you. All those years of studying magic—Yowww!”

As the liquid made contact with the mare’s lips and tongue, she did not expect it to still be as blazing hot as it was. In shock Starlight fortuitously released the cup from her magical grip, and gravity showed no mercy. She watched in horror as it crashed onto the table, fracturing into at least a dozen small pieces as the tea splashed all over the wood surface of the table and dribbled onto the floor.

Both Starlight and Sunburst jumped backwards from their stools, Sunburst instantaneously levitating his cup, the scroll, and the box into the air in a mostly vain attempt to keep them from getting soaked. A large swath of the Fledgling's Forbearance scroll and box of books dripped with the hot black liquid, and much of it also dripped down onto Starlight’s saddlebag. Fortunately almost no tea fell directly onto either of their coats.

The two stared at the abrupt messy scene in front of them for a few moments, before making eye contact once again. For several very awkward moments nopony muttered a single word, Starlight’s tongue still in some amount of pain from the singeing.

That was not the first thing on her mind, however. The most striking feeling now was overwhelming sense of dread and anger towards herself.

Now you’ve really done it, and that was going so well. How could I be so shortsighted. Why didn’t I just let him cool it down with magic first…

“Sunburst…,” Starlight pleaded, “I’m so so sorry, I-I’ll clean this up, I promise. I thought it had been enough time since you took a sip. How could I have been so foolish… I should have let you cool it down—”

The stallion waited a couple more awkward moments before levitating his cup, the scroll, and the box placing them in a dry spot several feet away before responding.

“Oh, uh, that’s okay Starlight. Don’t worry about it. Mistakes happen, and besides there are many more copies of this scroll and these books in the castle library. No harm done.” Sunburst turned to his right and began trotting towards a bookcase. “Besides, for whatever reason my tongue has a strong tolerance to heat, probably from drinking so much tea. You couldn’t have known.”

“Still, please let me help you clean this up. It was my fault and it’s only fair. Plus I broke your cup.”

Starlight glanced at broken pieces of the cup scattered across the table, before finally noticing that some of the tea was dripping onto her saddleback, and quickly levitated it away. She hoped the parchment and quill for her report wasn’t soaked, but that was something to worry about a little later.

Sunburst trotted over to one of the bookshelves that still contained books, before pulling out a large green spellbook and levitating it in front of his face.

“Oh that won’t really be necessary. Fortunately one of the things Princess Cadence and Shining Armor have also tasked me in doing recently is studying and practicing certain other spells a Crystaller might need to know.” the Stallion quickly flipped through the pages of the book before settling on a page. “Ah, here it is. The Sanititatus Calidarius spell. This is one of the relatively rudimentary spells I needed to learn in case of certain… complications during a Crystalling ceremony. Foals as y-you probably know are usually not exactly potty trained so to say.”

Starlight nodded and remained silent, still in a bit of shock. She watched as her friend approached the messy scene at the table again.

Sunburst placed the open spellbook onto another smaller side-table nearby, then focused his attention on the table.

“This spell won’t undo any damage it may have caused to a surface, but it will remove any warm or hot liquid from it. As for the cup, I already know a basic spell to repair it. I’ve drank tea almost everyday of my life for years now since going to magic school, and I’ve broken those cups multiple times for various reasons. Fixing it is no problem either."

The stallion then gazed at Starlight’s somewhat wet saddlebag. “Oh, I’ll cast the spell on your saddlebag too. H-Hopefully none the tea seeped through.”

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Starlight answered sheepishly as she levitated it to an open dry spot on the floor within Sunburst’s view.

“Alright, here it goes.”

Starlight stepped back as she watched the stallion’s horn light up in a green aura, with the table, box of books, scroll, parts of the floor, and her saddlebag following suit in the same aura. After a couple seconds the tea seemed to vanish. The green aura disappeared, and the aura around Sunburst’s horn changed to yellow. He shot a yellow magical beam at the table, and in a single moment the broken shards on the table reassembled into the cup once again, appearing as good as new.

Sunburst gently levitated the cup onto the table, then ceased his magic. Whilst attempting to catch his breathe, the stallion’s glasses fell down to the end of his snout. He quickly corrected them with a hoof.

Starlight cracked a tiny smile. Say the right thing. Don’t embarrass yourself further.

“Wow, S-Sunburst, it’s pretty amazing you can do something like that just on a whim,” Starlight slowly ambled over to her now dry saddlebag, “I wish I had studied magic like you did as a foal…”

Sunburst gazed over at the mare, making eye contact again. “Oh, why thank you Starlight. It was nothing though, really. Nothing compared to the caliber of magic you’ve achieved before. I could never cast some of the spells you have, like those related to time-travel. And like I said no harm done.”

Though still a little embarrassed, Starlight felt considerably more relieved. She also could feel her cheeks blushing slightly at the compliment, despite the obviously dubious reasons as to why she cast the time spells. She knew from her last visit in the Crystal Empire Sunburst understood why it happened. To some extent.

I guess maybe I still haven’t screwed this up too bad. Yet.

“T-thanks Sunburst. Again it means a lot to me that you see it that way,” the mare levitated her saddlebag, hoping against hope her parchment and quill weren’t destroyed, “I guess maybe we can both agree that we know a lot about magic.”

The stallion smiled and nodded as Starlight turned her attention towards and opened the saddlebag, only to discover to her utter chagrin a large portion of the parchment inside was all crinkled and useless. Certainly unacceptable for a report to Princess Twilight. The quill and ink had survived unscathed, however. A small bag of bits she brought along did as well.

Sunburst immediately took notice to the sudden change in the mare’s demeanor.

“What’s wrong, Starlight?”

The mare glanced towards the stallion and make eye contact. “Oh it’s nothing really. The parchment I was supposed to use to write Twilight’s friendship report is pretty, well, unusable now.”

Starlight spun around to face the door and started walking. “I’ll just have to go into town and buy another scroll of parchment somewhere. I’m sure it can’t be too hard to find, it’s probably on almost any street corner shop or stand. I’ll be right ba—”

“You won’t be able to find any at this hour,” Sunburst interjected, gazing at the clock on the wall, “nearly all shops here close by seven, and it’s quarter to eight. I’d give you some spare parchment to use, but unfortunately I know I used the last of mine up two days ago taking notes on some luminescent spells. I myself was actually planning on getting some more tomorrow.”

The mare turned around and gazed for a moment at her friend, before turning her head in the direction of a clock on the wall. “Oh.”

That sense of dread returned to Starlight’s gut, as she immediately realized it was necessary to come back again tomorrow. It hadn’t even occurred to the mare that this may have taken long enough to elicit the need to stay in the Empire overnight, and thus had not made sleeping arrangements either. There was no way she could have anyway given the time constraints earlier in Ponyville. Obviously the Crystal Castle was off limits for the moment since the royal family was currently in a neighboring country.

Great, not only have I made a fool of myself in front of Sunburst and wasted his time today, but I have to again tomorrow. Nice going, Starlight. Why didn’t you catch the earlier train today?

Starlight turned and trotted towards towards the front door again, levitating the saddlebag onto her back. She pushed one door open with a hoof. “Well, thanks anyway for taking the time to talk to me Sunburst, even if I did make a fool of myself. It’s always nice to catch up with a good friend. I guess I’ll have to find a place to sleep around here somewhere. Do you know any hote—”

“You could stay here with me!” Sunburst blurted.

Starlight turned her head in his direction, surprised at the volume of the statement and upon noticing the stallion’s golden cheeks turning a deep shade of crimson as they made eye contact.

“I-I mean, it’s getting late. It’ll be hard for you to find an inn with vacancy at this hour here with all the tourists,” Sunburst gazed to his right, “you can sleep on my sofa for the night, only if y-you want that is.”

The mare just stood there, in slight shock. She briefly looked in the direction of the tan sofa to her left, sitting parallel to the wall adjacent to the front door, before resuming eye contact with the stallion.

Did he just ask me what I think he did?

Another few awkward moments of silence followed.

“S-Sunburst, I wouldn’t want to impose in any way, especially—”

“You wouldn’t be. I don’t have anything else planned for the night other than moving a few books, which can definitely wait until tomorrow, s-so you’re welcome to stay. The shops will be open again at first light in the morning.”

Starlight Glimmer was dumbfounded. She wanted to scream yes, but something held her back at first. They had barely rekindled their friendship after no contact with one another for years just two weeks prior, and now here he was asking her to stay the night. In his home. Just the two of them.

Maybe this is just what friends do. Really good friends… That is what we used to be, afterall. None of Twilight’s friendship books mentioned anything like this kind of scenario, though…

The mare couldn’t think too long about potential implications, she needed an answer.

Starlight backed away from the door, a slight blush appearing on her face as well. “A-Alright, Sunburst. Thank you again for your kindness and hospitality. J-Just like when you were a colt.”

Sunburst appeared to breathe a sigh of relief, smiling whilst trotting over closer to the mare. Without protest, Starlight allowed the stallion to levitate her saddlebag onto the sofa.

Sunburst turned to face his friend again with a large grin. “Great! I guess maybe it can be like old times, remember the sleepovers we used to have?”

Starlight smiled and nodded. “How could I forget the best times I had with my very best friend?”

Both ponies blushed again, but Sunburst quickly broke the silence.

“I’ll start making us some dinner, do you still like hay fries? With the move soon that’s about all I have on the menu at the moment.” the stallion inquired as he trotted off in the direction of the kitchen.

Starlight chuckled. “Obviously, that would be great. But only if you let me help you make them.”

Sunburst halted. “W-Well alright. But only if you wear oven mittens this time.”

The mare rolled her eyes with a smile, trotting in her friend’s direction. “It’s a deal.”

The two shared laughter as they trotted side-by-side through the doorway of the kitchen.

“Where did you learn to cook so well?”

The two ponies were seated side by side on the sofa, both eagerly digging into their respective dinner plates as they openly conversed and caught up on various subjects with their conversation taking on an increasingly casual and more comfortable tone. Sunburst devoured his stack of hay fries with ketchup dip on the side, Starlight chose to munch down the ubiquitous Equestrian dish plain. Sunburst had removed his wizard cloak, which he had left on on the counter in the kitchen.

The stallion swallowed the large mass of chewy goodness before retorting, “w-what do you mean? You helped make them.”

“Don’t be so modest,” Starlight asserted as she eyed some particularly savory looking fries on her plate, “I only mixed together the spices while you did most of the actual work preparing these.”

Sunburst’s cheeks once again changed to a slight rosy shade of red as he fixed his glasses that once again found itself at the end of his snout . “Well, thanks Starlight. I’m just making them the same way my mother always did when we were foals. She let us help her a few times if you remember.”

The mare chuckled as she made eye contact, gobbling up another couple of hay fries. “I tho-ght this syle of hy fry cu-sine t-sted,” Starlight quickly swallowed her food and smiled sheepishly, “excuse me. I thought this style of hay fry cuisine tasted familiar. Your mom always did make the best hay fries and other stuff during our sleepovers at your house. It’s neat you’ve carried on her cooking legacies all these years later.”

“Well, magic books weren’t the only thing I studied as a colt, you know?”

The two equines shared a few moments of laughter before a thought materialized in Starlight’s head. Now is your chance.

“S-say Sunburst, sorry to change the subject so suddenly, but I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while now.”

The stallion finished his last hay fry, then levitated his empty plate onto a side table next to the sofa. “Yes, Starlight?”

“It’s about your time at Princess Celestia’s magic school for unicorns.”

A few seconds of silence followed as Starlight noticed her friend’s smile disappear.

“Oh.”

The mare instantly regretted the question as her heart sank into her stomach.

Way to make things awkward again…

“I… I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to—”

“No no… It’s okay. I never really told you many details about what my time at magic school was actually like. If we’re going to be good friends again, it’s only fair to be h-honest with one another about our pasts. P-Please ask whatever you wish.”

The mare breathed slightly in relief as the pit in her stomach receded, happy to have not alienated her friend again.

“Are you sure Sunburst? I don't want to get ahead of myself here. If you want to take this slo—”

The mare ceased abruptly, almost inadvertently placing her hoof over her mouth in shock. She could not believe the impudent words that just left her tongue and lips as that familiar feeling in the mare’s stomach once again reared its ugly face. What are you doing? That was NOT appropriate. I am only his friend and he’s just letting me stay here to help me like any good friend would. You’re looking into this too much...

Once again, the two locked eye contact as some very awkward silence hovered over them.

Sunburst eventually broke the reticence. “I-I’m sure Starlight. Please, ask away. It’s fine, really.”

Still in some amount of shock with all sorts of confusing feelings pulsating through her body, the mare attempted to smile and pretend as if nothing happened. She knew she was probably failing miserably, however.

“A-Alright then… I was just curious as to your time at magic school. Even if it didn’t go like you had hoped, a stallion as smart and handsome as you must have had many friends mares there. What made you want to move to the Crystal Empire?”

Starlight gulped as she watched the stallion blink a few times, probably formulating his thoughts. At the same time she levitated her half-eaten plate onto the side-table at her end of the sofa. He did say ask away…

“Well, uh, y-you see,” Sunburst visibly gulped as well, “I wasn’t exactly the most popular colt at the school. I had some acquaintances here and there through the years, but nopony really to call my, well, f-friend. Certainly no mares. My knowledge of magic was able to carry me through most exams, but as you know I could barely do any of it.”

The stallion gazed down at the stone floor, visibly uncomfortable. “Knowledge of magic only carries you so far there, so I barely passed most classes, and graduated from the school by an even thinner margin. That doesn’t look very good on most résumés, you know. I couldn’t go back to our village achieving so little after their such high expectations of me… That’s why I moved here soon after I heard this place had returned after being gone for a thousand years. I figured maybe I could, w-well, continue my studies and start over in a new place where I couldn’t possibly know anypony I guess.”

A shocked expression appeared on Starlight’s face, for that was not the answer she was expecting at all. She placed a hoof on the stallion’s shoulder.

“Sunburst… I know you said magic school wasn’t a great experience, but I’m just surprised again. You still did graduate from the prestigious school… not everypony can say that so I’m still proud of you, I don’t care what anypony else says.”

The stallion continued to just look down at the floor, taking a few heavy breaths.

“T-thanks Starlight. Maybe I was a little harsh on myself at the time. I-I was just lonely, you know? The other students would sometimes make fun of me for not being able to cast a lot of spells…” Sunburst paused, raising his head and making eye contact again, “I thought about you a lot.”

Silence again filled the room, neither pony really knowing how to respond. Starlight gazed into her friend’s eyes, her shock now amplified to the point where internal thought was nearly impossible. The mare could feel her cheeks blushing deep crimson. “R-Really?”

Sunburst nodded, fixing his glasses with a hoof. Starlight could make out a very noticeable blush on his cheeks as well. “W-Well, y-yeah. I know we lost touch, and I’m sorry again. I at first got caught up in all the potential and hysteria of going to the most prestigious magic school in Equestria. B-But if you want to know the honest truth, I’ve always, well, I’ve always really liked you. You had meant so much to me… I couldn’t really look at any other mares the same way. It felt wrong, s-so I’ve never been with a mare before. I was always just too shy to tell you though, especially after so insensitively leaving you without saying goodbye…”

Starlight was flabbergasted, and did not know what to think at first. Apart of her almost wanted to be angry, as this information could have changed everything in regards to her emotional suffering and what happened in the past. Then again, if she had known this information she probably wouldn’t be in her current position as Princess Twilight’s new pupil. Either way, this was a life-altering revelation.

After a few moments, Starlight came to her senses. That was exactly what she wanted to hear. The mare could feel certain places on her body begin to tingle as she shifted closer to the stallion, their flanks nearly making contact.

“Sunburst, I—,” Starlight muttered as she attempted to formulate the right words, “you already know how much you mean to me… I, well, kinda stole the cutie marks from an entire village and later nearly destroyed Equestria because I was so heartbroken and bitter after you left,” the mare placed her hoof around Sunbursts back, her snout now just mere inches from his, “I thought maybe a whole village of cutie mark-less ponies far away could help me move past you… but I was wrong. I-I’ve always felt the same way about you too, and I’ve never been with another pony either. I just couldn’t be. As foals you were always there for me; almost every night after you left I’d lay in bed and think about what could have been... I was just too afraid to tell you.”

The mare sighed. “I just thought you’d think I was some silly or icky pigtailed filly if I told you how I felt. I didn’t want to jeopardize our friendship either.”

Sunburst shook his head. “Of course not. I know we were so young, but if only we had both been honest with each other...”

The two made eye contact again, neither muttering another word. Both of their cheeks displayed a deep shade of crimson. As if propelled by some mysterious unexplainable force Starlight found herself leaning closer and closer, the warm breath of the stallion quite perceptible on the mare’s lips.

Starlight closed her eyes as their lips met, further wrapping both forehooves around Sunburst. The stallion, though a little shocked and wide-eyed at the sudden advance at first, quickly returned the kiss and followed suit.

Starlight pushed against the stallion harder as he rolled onto his back, the mare lying on top of him as they continued to make out with increasing intensity. In the process Sunburst’s glasses fell onto the floor, however neither pony even bothered to notice or care. Each other was the only thing that mattered right now.

Starlight pressed her tongue into the awaiting stallion’s lips, begging for entrance. Sunburst happily obliged as he opened his mouth and parted his teeth. Their tongues met, competing for dominance and pushing against one another and twisting in a sort of haphazard dance.

For several minutes this continued, both pony’s minds descending into a primeval state as they fully embraced one another’s passion. Years of pent up emotions and desires flooded out all at once as the two were locked together in a deep grasp. Eventually, Starlight began to notice something rather pointy poking into her stomach.

After a couple more minutes, the mare was forced to break the kiss in order to breathe, as she was on the verge of near suffocation almost without realizing it. Both ponies stared into one another’s eyes, breathing heavily. Starlight gazed down towards their hips, quick to notice what exactly that pointy something was. Sunburst’s orange member was now fully erect, nearly a foot total in length. A pretty decent length for a stallion. Their gazes then met again and the mare smiled with an almost devious look.

“S-Starlight, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it, almost no stallion can in this situation. We can just keep making o—”

“Shh...” countered the mare, moving a strand of her now rather messy purple mane out of her face with a hoof and placing her other on the stallion’s lips, “I’ve waited far too long and fantasized about this moment far too many times to not take this a step further while I have the chance.”

Starlight blushed furiously as she positioned her now almost dripping marehood over Sunburst’s cock. She could feel her wet entrance almost begging to let the stallion’s length in. Never before had the mare felt this aroused, only even coming remotely close in the past with her hoof and only thoughts of what her grown-up friend may have looked like to work with.

“Just... be gentle with me at first. This is my first time.”

The stallion, once again shocked and wide-eyed at the turn of events, simply nodded as she slowly pushed her hips down.

“Mine too.”

Both ponies gasped as Sunburst entered Starlight’s outer lips.

A wave of elation and pleasure like nothing he had ever felt overtook Sunburst as he felt his member slowly inch its way deeper into his lover’s marehood. Starlight, on the other hoof, winced in both pain and pleasure as she felt herself involuntarily stretch and contract around his cock. She vaguely remembered reading somewhere before that a female’s first time can often be painful at first, and apparently she was no exception.

Starlight kept going though, feeling Sunburst’s medial ring enter her. It hurt, but it felt incredibly amazing at the same time as she began to feel increasingly full and with it a very satisfied content feeling. That feeling only become more pleasurable as the end of the stallion’s cock bottomed out against her cervix about ten inches deep. The two stared at one another for a couple seconds before the mare lifted her rump.

Sunburst was unnerved to see some blood covering his member as Starlight lifted herself up until only about an inch was inside the mare.

“S-Starlight! Are you—”

“I’m fine. T-This is normal for a m-mare’s first time, y-you just broke my hymen. It hurts a little, but it’ll get better. L-lets keep going.”

The stallion only nodded as she thrust his penis into her again, this time a little faster. This time around was considerably more pleasurable, eliciting a soft moan from the mare as she felt that amazing feeling of being full and content again much stronger this time around.

Sunburst could only gasp again as intense waves of pleasure shot out from his member to all over his body. “Oh Celestia; you feel so amazing Starlight.”

The mare grinned as she began to pick up the pace, any pain she felt earlier fairly quickly vanishing and converting to all pleasure. Starlight began to moan with increasing volume as intense passion and primal instincts started to take ahold of the mare. Nothing else mattered anymore for the time being, only Sunburst.

Similarly her stallion began to elicit the occasional moan as well, proceeding to instinctually buck his hips in sync with his mare’s thrusts. He wanted, no needed to be as deep inside her as possible.

Starlight leaned forward to kiss Sunburst again, the stallion happily accepting as the two continued their rhythmic pelvic motions. The mare continued to moan quite audibly as the two made out again.

Before long, Starlight could feel a distinct pressure building in her loins. She broke the kiss and hovered her face inches above his.

“Sunburst… oh don’t stop. I’m so close!” Starlight nearly screamed as she now bucked up and down as fast her muscles would allow.

Lost in passion himself, Sunburst was only too happy to oblige. He bucked up and down as fast as he could, nearing his own climax. No thoughts about any potential consequences even crossed either pony’s mind as they neared their respective orgasms, rational thought of any kind was completely out the window at this point.

“Oh! Yes! Sunburst!”

Starlight was the first to go over the edge, her back arching and her walls contracting and squeezing Sunburst’s cock for all it was worth. Waves of almost electric shock-like pleasure like nothing the mare had ever remotely experienced rippled out from her marehood as her mind went completely blank and her tongue hung out of her mouth to the side. She released her pussy juice all over his member and out onto the sofa, which promptly sent Sunburst over the edge.

As the mare’s orgasm subsided slightly for a few seconds the stallion looked up at the ceiling, groaning and bucking up hard as he could feel himself flare and pulse, shooting burst after burst of hot seed into the deepest sections of Starlight’s vagina and womb. Never before had Sunburst felt such pleasure either, as wave after wave of intense ecstasy emanated from his stallionhood.

Starlight could feel his pulsating cock, abruptly sending her over the edge once again, releasing another burst of marecum as her sex once again squeezed and milked Sunburst’s member for all it was worth. The two ponies’ lovejuice mixed and poured out of Starlight’s entrance as the two rode out their intense orgasms together.

After a few seconds of pure ecstasy, their climaxes eventually died down. Starlight continued to sit on Sunburst’s cock inside her, as both ponies attempted to catch their breaths.

Eventually, Sunburst averted his gaze from the ceiling, still riding his emotional high from what just occurred. His now mostly flaccid penis slid out of the mare’s entrance, releasing more sticky fluid onto the sofa.

“Starlight, that was—”

The Crystaller was dumbfounded to discover that Starlight had passed out, probably from overexertion, and now was leaning to the side against the sofa cushion gently snoring.

Without much thought, Sunburst could only smile as he carefully levitated the sleeping mare into the air off of him. He left the now wet-sticky couch, slowly tip-toeing as he levitated Starlight through the kitchen and into the bedroom. He then gently placed the mare onto one side of bed. The stallion promptly climbed onto the other side, levitating a blanket from the corner of the room onto both of them as he grinned once again.

Dear Princess Twilight,

I write this first friendship report to you today as your humble pupil. For the past couple days you sent me to the Crystal Empire to record the rekindling of Sunburst and mine’s friendship the first time I was there. I admit, just like the first time, the second time I felt a bit flustered in facing Sunburst. However, just like the first time, Sunburst and I were able to sort out many of our past issues. This resulted in once again a greater strengthening of our friendship.

I know you said I only needed to make a report on my first visit with Sunburst two weeks ago. That visit was no doubt important, for if we had not rekindled our friendship, we might be sitting under a hundred feet of snow currently with the rest of the Empire. It was a good starting point.

For me personally, however, I’ve learned considerably more about friendship on this second visit to Sunburst’s home. I’ve learned that old friendships can be a wonderful and valuable thing, and should never be discounted or forgotten. Even long periods of time being away from one another is never enough to break apart a true friendship. Even if it seems all hope is lost, one should never give up hope that one day an amazing friendship from their past may be rekindled and strengthened. It can happen to anypony. It may be difficult at first, but it’s always worth it in the end for a true friendship. Who knows, maybe it could even turn into something more than friendship.

Thank you for having confidence enough to believe I could handle this task on my own.

Your enlightened pupil,

Starlight Glimmer

P.S. I don’t know if Princess Cadence or Shining Armor may have already told you, but did you hear that they invited Sunburst to move into the Crystal Castle? Apparently with his new position as Crystaller that’s more convenient for everypony. Very exciting.

Starlight trotted into the Castle of Friendship throne room levitating a scroll, happy to see Twilight and Rainbow Dash sitting at their respective thrones around the map table in casual conversation. As Starlight gleefully trotted towards the Princess’s throne, Rainbow Dash ceased talking and averted her sight towards the door as she took notice of the pupil.

“Hey, Starlight! What’s up? Back from your trip already?”

Twilight spun her head around to gaze at the mare. “Hi Starlight! You’re back early. We weren’t expecting you back until later this evening," the Princess noticed the scroll Starlight levitated to the side, "did you get that report done?”

Starlight halted next to Twilight’s throne, making eye contact and grinning towards Rainbow, then the Princess.

“You betcha.”

Starlight gave Princess Twilight a wink before spinning around and exiting the same way she entered.

The two mares once again looked at one another, confused looks plastered on their faces.