Starlight's Weekend Off

Chapters

Deep Breaths
Ready, Set, ...Go?
Fries, Gifts, and Wind
The Sun and Stars
Bed Then Breakfast
Soaring
Who I Used To Be
Take Two and Call Me In The Morning
Epilogue

Deep Breaths

'I've really forgotten how nice this scenery is. I should do this more often.'

Starlight leaned back in her seat as the Crystal Empire Express chugged along the track headed north. The scenery was helping her relax, which was fortunate for her, because nothing else was.

'Is this weekend going to be it? Will we have the night that ends up being... The night?'

She and Sunburst had been dating for a month, and things had been going great. Their first weekend had been down in Ponyville, during a weekend off for the royal family. It had ended with one of the most amazing dinners they ever had. The following week seemed to take forever to pass. By then, she had created a transportation rune that would take her to Sunburst's room, and vice versa. Travel between the two locations became instantaneous. Sunburst learned a valuable lesson when Flurry Heart had accidentally used the rune. Luckily, Starlight had been in her room, and she was back in the Crystaller's room within two minutes. After that and a good laugh, Starlight made sure to attune the rune to Sunburst's horn only.

The second weekend in the Crystal Empire had been just as fun. Sunburst took charge and took her to his favorite restaurants in the city, as well as cooking together for breakfast. By the time the third week had rolled around back to Ponyville, Starlight was overly worried that it had started to feel routine, and that maybe it was time to take the next step in their relationship... Not that they hadn't accidentally tried already. Sunburst naively misread Starlight's intentions when they spent the first night sleeping together, and a bottle of their hometown's finest wine had made Starlight a little loose the second night at dinner, and she had made the offer, which Sunburst politely turned down. He said he wanted clear heads when that decision was made, and for it to be as memorable as they could make it.

That was the primary reason for the train ride this morning. Starlight needed something her runes took away: Time.

Time to think. Plan. Make sure she was really ready before she told Sunburst she was.

'So... Am I?' She asked herself.

She was pretty sure she was. She had been thinking about it all week. The trek from the castle library to her room carrying 'Aphrodisiacs, Contraceptives, and 148 Other Spectacularly Spicy Spells' at three in the morning was probably the stealthiest she had ever been. She was relieved to have found the book she needed, but at the same time she wondered what in Celestia's name a book like that was doing in Twilight's castle library. She felt it would be infinitely better to be prepared rather than come down after one of these weekends and have to do something along the lines of "abortion-cadabra" or something like that. Sure enough, after a week of practicing in her room at night, she had 'et oblinito cuniculum' down to a T. It was ready if she was. And if any part of it slipped her mind, well, the book was tucked securely into the back corner of her saddlebags.

'Deep breaths, Starlight.' The unicorn told herself.

She breathed in, held it for barely a moment, then exhaled.

Yes. Yes she was ready. If he was. But... What if he wasn't...? What if his naivety on the first night sent him reeling back and afraid to re-approach the subject? Both of them wanted to move way too fast on the first date, but how fast was too fast, and just as importantly, how slow was too slow?

Starlight started to mentally kick herself. Dancing around the situation like this wasn't going to do her any favors. The simplest way of dealing with this was just to tell her special somepony that she was ready, and then the ball was in his court.

The train whistle gave out three long blows, announcing their proximity to the Crystal Empire platform.

When the butterflies in her stomach wouldn't settle, she began to wonder if this is how Sunburst felt on the train ride down, and as he made his way up the stairs to her room to confess how he felt about her. It worked out, so she just had to go with her gut and believe this would work out too.

The train slowed to a stop at the platform, and Starlight got to her hooves as the doors opened, the binding of the spell book bumped against her side, making sure those stomach butterflies were nice and fluttery as she walked towards the exit. She got off with around a dozen other visitors to the Crystal Empire and didn't have to search for Sunburst for long. She spotted him waving at the other end of the platform, and he immediately started trotting towards his marefriend, the two of them coming in for a hug and a kiss.

"Feels like a month has gone by..." Sunburst said, releasing his date. Starlight cleared her throat, her cheeks already having a spot of pink on them.

"Sunburst, I get the feeling that this is a lot like how you felt at the start of our first weekend together, so I have to get this out in the open now. I'm looking forward to whatever you have planned for us this weekend, but I just want to let you know..." Starlight paused, her face flushing red.

"If you want to take that next step... In our relationship, I just want you to know... I'm ready."

Princess Twilight Sparkle pushed her rolling library ladder down the row of shelves, clipboard firmly in her magic grasp, quill furiously checking off boxes as her eyes darted up the shelves level by level, making sure all books were accounted for before she began Reshelving Day. She figured it would be the perfect time with Starlight away for the weekend. So far, everything was in order. She went down one more row, and her eyes caught an irregularity; a missing book; the other eight books on that shelf were leaning to the right with space for one more.

"Spike! Missing book!" Twilight called out, and her dragon assistant came running.

"Just give me the title and I'll go check the studies."

Twilight flipped several pages on her clipboard, and looked down to the list of books that were supposed to be in this section, and quickly cross referenced all nine of them.

"Title... Aphrodesiaaaaaa-you know what, never mind I know what I did with that book I'll get it later sorry you can go back to whatever you were doing thanks!" Twilight said rather hurriedly and pushed her ladder onward without a second look to the dragon. Spike just shrugged and walked back out of the library, wondering what in Equestria an Afro Daisy was.

Ready, Set, ...Go?

Sunburst's cheeks flared red as he helped his marefriend with her luggage, after hearing that she was ready for that next step.

"A-A-Are you sure?" Sunburst asked as they stepped off the platform and made their way into town.

"Yes. That's why I took the train this morning. I needed time to think. But only if you're ready too, Sunburst. Don't push yourself to do something you don't think you're ready for just because I'm ready. I'm willing to wait for you to be comfortable with it."

They turned left at the next intersection and walked down the main street towards the castle.

"Well of course I've thought about it time and again this past month, I mean what stallion wouldn't?"

"So you're ready, too?"

"I don't think ponies can ever be 100% ready for something like this. No matter how long we wait, we're always going to have to fight through the nerves that come from getting that close to somepony else for the first time. So yeah, if you're ready to take that plunge with me, so am I. I've also got some other stuff planned. I know you were a bit concerned that last weekend in Ponyville felt too much like the first weekend, so no worries. This weekend will be a fresh experience."

Starlight smiled in response.

"And just to set your mind at ease," Sunburst continued. "I don't mind doing the same thing with you. Even if it's every other weekend. It's not always what we do, it's that we do it together."

The Crystal Castle was by far the tallest structure in the city. Four arches supported the mass of the structure which started 50 feet above. In the center of the arches was one of three receptacles for the Crystal Heart, the artifact responsible for maintaining the Empire's protection from the fatal weather of the Frozen North. Aside from the various crystalline formations and farms around the city, the Empire was surrounded by arctic tundra. The taiga and treeline didn't start to appear until one got 15 miles south of the city. It was the northernmost settlement in Equestria, and the second-most northern populated area on the continent; only Yakyakistan was farther up in the mountains of the Frozen North.

A pair of guards stood watch at the entrance to the castle built into the northern support between the northwest and northeast arches. They saluted when Sunburst came within ten feet of the doors.

"Welcome back, Crystaller Sunburst. Princess Cadance is with Flurry Heart in her quarters." The guard on the left informed him.

"Much appreciated, gentlecolts." Sunburst replied as the doors were opened for him and Starlight. Inside was a wide, spiral staircase up to the castle's first floor.

"Is Cadance expecting you for something?" Starlight asked.

"I just need to give her a general itinerary of where we'll be this weekend. We've figured out a system that gives me much more freedom around the city." Sunburst said, briefly bring a hoof to his teal brooch on the front of his mage's cloak.

"She enchanted my brooch to alert me if I'm needed. It works anywhere within city limits."

"Convenient." Starlight replied as they reached the top of the stairs.

"But I'll show you to my room so you can get settled in while I go see her. Then we can go get lunch."

"Sounds like a plan, show the way!"

Starlight had been here a few times before, but not often enough yet to know her way around. The castle was thirty stories tall in some sections, and there were living quarters all around the castle. The throne room and just about all of the common areas were on the first floor, the barracks for the castle's contingent of guards took up the entire second floor, and the royal residence was on the third. As one continued up, there were offices and living spaces for various dignitaries and caretakers of the castle.

Sunburst's room was on the third floor, right next to Flurry Heart's nursery. During their second weekend together, Sunburst had offered Starlight the closest guest room on the third floor, but retracted it after he noticed how she had hesitated in answering. That was where her concerns started, how Sunburst had backtracked after misreading her intentions of sleeping in the same bed together. She wanted to snuggle, and he naively thought that they were going to get to second or third bale that night. Thinking back, it was an honest mistake. Neither of them had any romantic experience to speak of. To the two of them, it could be nerve-racking at times.

To Princess Cadance, it was adorable.

Sunburst opened the door to his personal quarters, and showed her inside.

The first thing she noticed was the nightstands had been moved out from the bed a good two feet on each side.

"Planning ahead?" Starlight asked.

"Yeah, I know last time was a bit cramped, so I got it ready for you to cast Capitulum quintum like you did for yours. Make yourself at home, and I'll be right back." Sunburst told her, heading back out into the hallway.

Shining Armor's and Cadance's personal quarters was three doors down. While he didn't really need to give Cadance an itinerary for his and Starlight's activities this weekend, he still found it a believable excuse for getting a moment away to talk to Cadance. Sunburst knocked three times, announcing his presence, and was greeted with a "Come in!" from Cadance's voice coming through the door. He opened it, and saw the Crystal Princess finishing up a diaper change of Flurry, who babbled happily on the changing table.

"Hello there, Sunburst. Starlight get here alright?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about for a moment." Sunburst said, closing the door to the hallway.

"What can I do for you?" The Princess asked as Sunburst stepped closer, face getting redder.

"Well, as the Princess of Love, I was hoping that you might have something that could help me and Starlight... Um... Well..." Sunburst got tangled up in his words. By the stars, was she really going to wait for him to say it?

"You're perhaps looking for something that could help you take that next step, in case one of you is ready and the other isn't?" Cadance asked.

Sunburst's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened for just a moment, before his face went quickly from bewilderment to surprised anger.

"P-Princess!" He said at a raised whisper. "How could you even think that I would try something like-"

Princess Cadance raised a hoof, and Sunburst held his tongue.

"Just the reaction I was hoping for. Apologies, Sunburst. I meant no offense. It's just that when dealing with powers like mine, I have to be very, very careful when I give aid like that to another pony." Cadance explained.

Sunburst quickly got himself composed, and cleared his throat.

"Thank you, Your Highness. I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't absolutely sure of both of our intentions. Starlight told me she's ready, and I think I am too. I just don't want nerves to get the best of us. Neither of us has ever done anything like this before. It would be different if we saw each other every day, but since we don't, I want to make it special. I told her when we do reach this point, I want it to be as memorable as the dinner we had at her old village."

Cadance nodded in understanding.

"Let me see..." She began, her horn beginning to glow after she placed Flurry among her plushies and blocks. The notches in her horn glowed brighter, and there was a flash of light. Then, in the grasp of her magic, among sparkling motes of light, was a corked glass vial, with two crimson red pearls inside. She levitated this over to Sunburst, who took it in his horn's grasp.

"Listen carefully. If you two are absolutely ready, then drop those into your drinks beforehand; any liquid will do. Tasteless and odorless, so as to not ruin whatever you're having. They'll dissolve in under two seconds. These will lower your inhibitions... Considerably... As well as give you both enough stamina for, shall we say, more than one trip around the block. Now I trust I don't need to remind you two to be careful. I'm certain she has a contraception spell ready, unless you two were planning something different."

Sunburst blushed as he tucked the vial safely inside his cloak. Princess of Love or not, she was still his charge's mother, and he would never get used to conversations like this.

"I'm sure she does, and I'll be sure to ask in advance. Th-thank you, Your Highness." Sunburst said, bowing before turning and heading back out into the hallway.

His walk was very slow, hoping to give his face enough time to return to it's natural color before returning to Starlight.

Fries, Gifts, and Wind

"The Crystal ponies sure do have their salts up here, how do you not lick the walls?" Starlight commented as they sampled ten different kinds of the Crystal Empire's salt seasonings on hay fries for lunch in the Crystal Castle's dining hall.

"I recall reading a tome of ancient Crystal Empire history awhile back. I do believe that was a problem at one time. and that's why the structures of the city are now made of the most flavorless crystals."

This bit of information made Starlight chuckle as she took her last bite of hay fries.

"Mm. So, what's up first now that I'm settled in your room and we've eaten?" She asked, finishing up her glass of apple juice and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"For that, we go out back." Sunburst told her, as he took their dishes to the dish cart before departing the dining hall. The pair of ponies made their way down to the rear of the castle. A set of double doors opened to an elevated walkway that took them down three flights of stairs directly to the stadium behind the castle. Empty seating for hundreds of ponies surrounded a running track and grass field with a small pond in the middle.

The two of them walked out into the middle of the field, where a large, ten foot by ten foot gift box was waiting.

"Wow, you go big, I'll give you that." Starlight commented, looking at the box that was more than twice as long as she was and half as tall.

"I'll admit, I had help with this, but when Pinkie gave me the idea last weekend, I knew I had to do it."

"Say, Sunburst. Your first monthiversary with Starlight is coming up. Got anything in mind?"

"Uh, um, no. I wasn't aware that we had to celebrate a 'monthiversary.'"

"Well of course you do silly. There are twelve opportunities in a year to do it!"

As a resident of Ponyville, Starlight was probably much more familiar with Pinkie's celebration antics than he could hope to be. Each one of their weekends had been special, but would she be expecting something extra special for the one-month mark?

"I'm certainly open to any suggestions, Pinkie." Sunburst said.

"Yay!" Pinkie exclaimed, squeeing. "Here's a great idea." She said, coming up to him, leaning in close to his ear.

"Whisper whisper whisper."

Sunburst shot her a confused look.

"Um, that's your idea? All you said was 'whisper whisper whisper.'"

"Well duh. We can't clue the readers into what we're planning. Don't worry. I'll tell you everything you need to know once the flashback ends."

"Wha...?"

"Pinkie certainly has her... Peculiarities... But I can't wait to see what you think. Her idea was great, and once I took it to some others, it got even better."

Starlight smiled and turned her attention to the large box with the red bow wrapped around it. Her horn lit up, and she gently untied it, then took a hold of the lid, and lifted it off, letting the high sun shine down on the gift inside. When she realized what it was, she let out a gasp, and tears immediately started to prick her eyelids as she brought a hoof up to cover her agape mouth.

Inside the box was an eight-foot long diamond kite. The material was a glittering lavender silk. On the left side, her cutie mark had been expertly embroidered, with Sunburst's on the right.

"It's got an Armorweave enchantment. It won't tear if it hits anything." Sunburst explained as the stunned unicorn looked over the incredible gift.

"It looks almost too big to fly alone." She finally said, noticing that she had never flown one this big before.

Sunburst smiled, his horn lighting up.

"That's because it is. This one is meant for two," he began, slowly lifting the large kite up out of the box, revealing two string spools attached, as well as an identical kite half the size underneath. Starlight's smile couldn't get any bigger. She looked over at him, and dove into him, throwing her hooves around his neck as she sniffled. Sunburst returned the hug, thrilled that his gift had gone over so well.

"Well, what are we waiting for, let's take it for a spin!" Sunburst said, parting from the hug and lifting the large kite entirely out of the box.

Starlight wiped her eyes, and magically grabbed the spool on the right side as it unfurled as Sunburst continued to raise it up, taking the left spool as they made their way over to the track. Once it was up twenty five feet, Sunburst turned to his date.

"Ready?" He asked her. She nodded excitedly.

They started to gallop next to each other clockwise around the track, and Sunburst released the kite from his grasp, and it was pulled behind them. All they needed was a good gust.

Standing up at the stadium entrance, Princess Cadance craned her neck up, raised a hoof, and made a circling motion three times. That was the cue. Two hundred feet up, hovered the director of the Crystal Empire's weather team, his head barely poking out below the cloud cover. He gave the princess a salute, then went up above the clouds and gave the signal to the six pegasi waiting on the clouds above the stadium. All together, they started flapping their wings. Not enough to fly or change altitude, but just enough wing power to give the duo below the wind they needed.

Sunburst and Starlight had completed one lap around the track, when they felt the gust of wind behind them. Suddenly, the kite that had been pulled behind them lurched ahead. It had taken flight. They skidded to a halt just off the grass field, and Starlight pulled her spool back towards her and grabbed it with her two front hooves as she sat down. The wind down by them was barely a breeze, but fifty feet up in the air where the kite was flying was another matter entirely. It caught another gust, and Starlight was pulled up to her back hooves as she took a two steps into the grass to avoid falling over. Sunburst wondered for a moment why she was using her hooves and not her magic to hold the kite, but assumed that that's what made it fun.

"Whoo!" Starlight yelled joyfully as the kite caught another gust and she was pulled another two steps forward, Sunburst keeping step with her. Both pairs of eyes were glued on the maneuvers the kite was making up in the sky. Sunburst felt a particularly strong gust of wind blow between them and make it's way upward. Sure enough, two seconds later, the kite lurched again.

"Whoa..." Starlight said, chuckling as she kept an iron grip on both handles of her spool. The wind wouldn't give though, and physics took over as the kite lifted Starlight off the ground and sent her forward ten feet in midair.

"Wahoo!!!" She cried out in glee.

"Starlight look out!" Sunburst yelled out to her when he realized all too late where her trajectory was going to take her.

The airborne unicorn began to arc down as the kite began to give in to her weight, and Starlight landed in the pond with a splash.

Sunburst ran forward, stepping into the shallow pond to make sure Starlight was okay, remembering to magically grab her new kite so it wouldn't take off in the wind, and started to pull it back down to the ground.

He looked down at his drenched marefriend, who was laughing hysterically as she got to her hooves. Water dripping from her horn, mane, coat, and tail, she jumped forward and kissed him.

"Lesson learned, keep an eye on your surroundings near water." She said, getting her laughter under control. She shook herself off while Sunburst re-spooled the string and boxed the kite back up.

"Thank you so much. I can't wait to take that flying with Maud. She's one of the strongest ponies I know, and Rainbow could definitely whip us up some gusty winds.' She said, coming in for another hug.

"I'm so glad you love it, and you can take the smaller one out for when everypony else is busy."

"So since that was short and sweet, what next?"

"Well, let's get you dried off, and get this box back to Ponyville. There's enough space for it to pass through the rune, right?" Sunburst asked. Starlight nodded.

"Yep, I just cleaned, there's definitely enough space on the floor."

The door to Starlight's room glowed, swung open, and Twilight walked in.

"Mm. Well at least she's keeping it nice and tidy. Now where would she keep that book? It has to be in here..." She said to herself.

She walked down her desk, eyeing the small stack of books next to the quill and parchment, and after not finding anything there, went over to the shelf on the back wall.

"Nope, not here either."

With that, she made her way to the other side of the room, where her bed was.

"Was this always this big? Could've sworn it was a twin..."

The Princess checked under the bed, under the pillows, and at last, between the mattress and box spring. Come on, where was it? The very last thing she wanted to do was to actually have to ask her newly graduated student where her book of sex spells went.

"Huh?" Twilight said, turning away from the bed, her attention having been grabbed by a glowing circle with symbols around it on the center of her bedroom floor. She recognized those... That was a transportation rune. But why would she be coming back already when it was barely two o'clock on Saturday?

There was a sizzle, a flash, and a pop. While Twilight didn't find the book she was missing, what she did find was herself under a rather large gift box that had materialized out of thin air.

The Sun and Stars

"That was the best carrot dog I've had... Actually that's the first carrot dog I've had." Starlight commented, as she and Sunburst stepped out of the Crystal Gardens restaurant. Each of them had tried the slow-boiled carrot in a split-top bun, topped with diced cucumbers and celery that had been boiled in the same seasoned liquid over six hours. It was melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

It had taken them fifteen minutes to get the box with the pair of kites through the castle up to Sunburst's room and through Starlight's transportation rune. After that, they went to the market to shop for breakfast ingredients tomorrow. Then, magically carrying six baskets of groceries, they stopped into the Crystal Gardens to try something new. A couple weeks ago Starlight was focused on not just sticking with favorite foods, but branching out to try new ones. So far, it hadn't disappointed.

Sunburst looked over to the setting sun, and then back to his marefriend.

"Well, it's getting late. Do you want to head back?" He asked her.

"Mm," she affirmed, nodding. "And... If you don't want to wait until tomorrow night, I'm ready if you are."

Sunburst's cheeks tinted red. They really hadn't discussed it after he got back from Cadance, and the vial with the pair of pearls was still in the inside pocket of his cloak. There wasn't really any reason to wait until tomorrow night, other than attempting to save the best for last. Seeing how this was going to be the first time for both of them, "best" wasn't a guarantee. But they were going to have to start somewhere.

Together, with the rays of the setting sun casting all sorts of colors across the skies of the Empire, they trotted back to the castle with their baskets of food in tow. They wouldn't have gotten so many, but they wanted to cook for Cadance, Shining Armor, and Flurry tomorrow morning. Carrying twenty pounds worth of ingredients meant going over to the side entrance, almost next to the rear stadium doors, with a flight of stairs right up to the kitchen on the second floor, where food deliveries were made.

"Alright, no sense in beating around the bush," Sunburst began as they set their baskets on the center prep table. "I'm ready. I trust you have a spell to ensure that, well... You know, we don't accidentally...?" He trailed off. Starlight nodded.

"In my bags in your room." She replied.

"Well, you go do whatever you need to, and I'll put everything away here and be there in a jiffy." Sunburst told her. She nodded with a smile, and departed out into the dining hall.

As the Royal Crystaller went about putting away their fresh ingredients, he also began brewing a pot of chamomile tea, preparing a silver platter, two ceramic cups, and of course the teapot. A few minutes later, he had a steaming teapot and was heading down the hall towards his room. He had to concentrate to keep his magical hold firm on the platter, because he was currently anticipating what would happen once they were finished drinking the tea.

He rounded the corner and walked up to his closed bedroom door, and took a deep breath.

Starlight was currently trying to keep calm as she began to truly wonder what she had gotten herself into. She was flipping through the 'A' section of 'Aphrodisiacs, Contraceptives, and 148 Other Spectacularly Spicy Spells', and at the end of every single one was the fine print 'Your results may vary'. No, she wasn't going to take the chance of ruining being this close to somepony for the first time tonight. Experimenting could come later, when she was on fewer pins and needles. She flipped to the 'C' section, to a page she had all but memorized.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and mentally recited the incantation, "et oblinito cuniculum". Her horn glowed briefly, and instead of a spell shooting out, it went back, travelling down her horn, across the top of her head, down her mane, through her spine, and down past her tail to her nether regions, where it settled, and she felt a brief tingling sensation. It faded after a few moments, and she mentally checked to confirm it was still there. She had read many times that she wouldn't feel any different past that initial tingle, and she would be 'protected' for twelve hours. Her task complete, she got onto the bed, and waited for the door to open, half-wondering if she should adopt some kind of sultry pose.

Sunburst was nearly shaking.

As he balanced the steaming hot teacups on the silver platter with one hoof, he magically reached into his cloak's inner pocket, and retrieved the vial he had received from Cadance. He uncorked it, took the two red glowing pearls out, levitated them centimeters above the teacups...

...And hesitated.

Was he sure he wanted to do it this way? Suddenly, he wasn't sure if their first time being enhanced with spells and potions was the best idea. What would that make the second time, third time, and onward? Would they always need things like that? They were quivering, they were beyond nervous... But they were themselves. He looked to the closed door to his personal quarters. She was in there, waiting for him. He had to decide quickly.

After a few more tense moments of internal debate, he returned the pearls to the vial, corked it, and carefully put it back inside his cloak. This was going to be their first time, he wanted her, and only her, not some uninhibited version that the pearl would create. If they decided to up the ante later, they'd talk about it then, but for now, he wanted this new experience to be pure.

He continued his steps down to his door, and opened it. Finding Starlight on the bed as he walked into his room.

"Smells delicious." Starlight commented as Sunburst came in and shut the door. Starlight's horn glowed, and another spell was fired off; this one made the surrounding walls and door glow momentarily.

"Soundproofing?" Sunburst asked. Starlight nodded.

"Can never be too careful." She mused.

Sunburst carefully set the platter on the nightstand, poured two cups of tea, put a couple sugar cubes next to the cups, and levitated one over to Starlight, who dropped the cube into the steaming liquid, and began to sip from it as he sat down next to her on the bed.

"Mmm. It's perfect." She complimented as the hot liquid warmed her throat and stomach, and seemed to calm her nerves just a bit.

There were no topics of conversation as the pair of ponies drank their tea. The nervous tension hung like moss between them. His cheeks burning red, Sunburst set his teacup down on the nightstand, brought a hoof to his brooch, and unfastened his cloak, grabbing it with his magic and carefully draping it over the chair at his desk. To Starlight, and residents of towns like Ponyville, where clothing wasn't prevalent, and saved for mostly formal occasions, being bare wasn't a big deal, but Sunburst had long been accustomed to having his cloak on among other ponies, so being undressed in front of his marefriend felt more significant to him.

"So... Um... Uh... Where to start...? He nervously asked her, swallowing a lump in his throat.

"Look, I know how nervous we both are... So..." Starlight trailed off, bring her front hooves up, and gently pushing Sunburst back onto the bed. "One of us has to make the first move."

She climbed up on top of him, and kissed him. As their lips connected, she felt his stallionhood grow longer, hotter, and harder underneath her, pressing against her lower abdomen. This feeling caused her to notice a wet heat under her tail. She broke the kiss, looked into his eyes, and started to make her way down, his goatee tickling her chin as she leaned down to kiss his neck. Sunburst's breath's came slower and deeper to the stallion as he let the mare take control.

Starlight made her way down his chest, kissing and sucking tufts of his fur, and before she knew it, the head of Sunburst's member bumped her chin, and the smell made her marehood even slicker. She went down further, stuck her tongue out, and gave it a long, slow lick from base to tip, and Sunburst shuddered in response, his phallus twitching. She came back up over him, and looked back, trying her best to line herself up. Feeling his tip poke at her folds, she pressed back gently, and he slid in. They both took a shuddering gasp at this new sensation.

"Starlight..." Sunburst whispered.

Starlight responded by taking another inch inside. Then another, and another. Before she knew it, three-quarters of his length had disappeared inside her by the time she felt full to the brim. She started to push up with her back legs, then back down. Her second push up accidentally went too far, and Sunburst exited completely, strands of her arousal briefly connecting the two organs. She magically took hold of it with her magic and line it back up with her entrance, and slid it back in. For Sunburst, the tingling sensation of magic surrounding his stallionhood was nearly too much to take as he started to flare. Starlight judged the length better, and her pace started to increase.

"Ssssstarlight... Starlight!" Sunburst hissed, and he gave a short buck up.

Starlight fought through the fog of arousal that surrounded her and felt something hot and gooey erupt inside her from Sunburst's tip. The feeling of the globs spattering her insides nearly sent her over the edge herself, but it wasn't enough. It didn't last as long as she thought it would, and as Sunburst began to soften, and she lifted off of him, she looked over at the antique clock on his night stand.

It had barely been a minute.

"Sorry, Starlight..." Sunburst whispered, catching his breath, his chest heaving.

"It's... It's alright. We can try again, right?" She replied, laying down next to him. He smiled at her.

"Yeah... Yeah. Let's just catch our breath for a few minutes." Sunburst told her, snuggling into her and wrapping his legs around her.

"Sounds like a plan..." She said, as the tea began to make her feel drowsy.

She shut her eyes, deciding to rest for just a few minutes. The night was young, and there were plenty of hours left, after all...

Author's Note

I hate my brain sometimes.

This would have been finished early last night when I decided to hammer this chapter out, but no, my brain was all like "yeah, we could do that, or... Here's 1000+ words of a future chapter. You gonna let that just slip away?"

FanfictionProblems

Bed Then Breakfast

Starlight woke up to the morning sun hitting her face. Which of course made her realize that they had slept through the night. She gave a disappointed groan, alerting Sunburst to the fact that she had awakened. He had been combing his mane over by his desk.

"Good morning, Starlight. I was just about to get you up, if we want to make it down to the dining hall to start breakfast."

Starlight rubbed her eyes, looked over at the clock, and realized they only had five minutes to get down to the kitchen before Shining, Cadance, and Flurry would be down for breakfast. She fired off a quick sanitation spell at her and Sunburst, although, in her opinion, they hadn't been at it nearly long enough to have any suspicious scent about them. But it was quicker than a shower, and it would barely keep them on schedule.

"Thanks, hun. Wouldn't want to smell like that in the kitchen." Sunburst said, hooking his cloak back on while Starlight quickly combed her mane. With that, the two of them left the room and quickly trotted down to the royal dining hall. They got there five seconds before a yawning Cadance and Shining came in with their daughter.

"Yikes, we don't have long." Sunburst whispered to Starlight.

"Pot of Earl Neigh tea would probably buy us some time." She said as they stepped into the kitchen after giving the royal family a wave.

Sunburst nodded, knowing exactly where the teapots and cups were from last night. As he set the kettle on the range to bring to a boil, he looked over at Starlight as she began prepping the teabags.

"Listen Starlight, might as well get this out of the way right now so I'm not dancing around it for the rest of the day. I'm... I'm sorry about last night." Sunburst apologized as he began to set up the silver platter.

Starlight looked at him quizzically.

"For what? Sunburst, it's alright. I hardly expected last night to be perfect."

"But I'm sure we both expected to last more than two minutes."

"Sunburst, to be perfectly honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect. It's not like you didn't wake me up on purpose; we both fell asleep thanks to that tea." Starlight told him, bringing a ceramic cup of sugar cubes to the platter.

"I'm just saying, it wouldn't have been a problem if I had just used Cadance's pearls." The stallion said, bringing the cups and teabags over to the platter to join the sugar.

"What are you talking about? What pearls?" Starlight asked.

Sunburst glanced over to the kettle, and saw that the water wasn't quite ready to come off the burner, so he lit up his horn, and took out the vial with the pair of crimson pearls inside.

"Cadance gave me these right after we arrived at the castle yesterday. She said it would help with energy and endurance, and... You know, having more than one go at it. We just add it to any liquid, and it works within moments." He told his marefriend.

"So... So why didn't you?" Starlight asked, not accusingly, just with honest curiosity.

Sunburst looked her in the eyes.

"Because I wanted it to be us. Just us. I wanted our first time to be no magic or potions or enhancements to aid us. I wanted just you."

Starlight looked stunned for just a moment, but then smiled, came forward and kissed him.

"That... Is the best answer I could ever hope for."

Sunburst smiled.

"If it's any consolation, I tried holding back, I really did. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't, because that's how absolutely amazing you felt."

The compliment made Starlight blush.

"And even though it was barely a minute, I just want you to know that it was one of the best minutes of my life. I really mean it. We're going to get better at it." She told him.

Their conversation was brought to a pause when the kettle on the stove began to whistle. Sunburst immediately removed it, and poured the nearly-boiling water into the ceramic teapot, and brought it over to the platter. Lastly, staying true to Sunburst's suggestion a month ago, Starlight's horn lit up, gathered a few ingredients, and in a flash, had fresh cream cheese ready to go next to sliced bagels. Lastly, a bottle of warm milk and fresh ground apples joined the platter for Flurry. They sent the two platters to the expediting window, where a server was ready and waiting to take it over to the royal family.

Next up was the main course. Sunburst began cracking eggs and putting them into a glass mixing bowl, and heating a pair of cast iron skillets, while Starlight went about dicing vegetables.

"Now then..." Starlight began, as she started removing seeds from a few red chili peppers. "Cadance told me that if we can use our magic to strengthen our relationship, then we absolutely should."

Sunburst nodded, getting out a whisk to begin scrambling the eight eggs he had cracked open in the bowl.

"I'm not saying our relationship isn't strong enough. But the stronger a long-distance relationship is, the better. Because I know you're going to be Flurry Heart's Crystaller for years to come, and even though I formally graduated a couple weeks ago, I still consider myself Twilight's student with a lot to learn, and I'm not ready to leave Ponyville. I have a feeling once we get better at it, we'll be using that transportation rune a lot more than once a week." Starlight told him, getting a blush in return.

"So what do you say we use those tonight, and see what the Princess of Love's magic can do to us?"

Sunburst nearly dropped the whisk he was using to scramble the eggs, his cheeks reddening further. He composed himself, and resumed stirring with his implement of choice while the skillets continued to heat up.

"I'd say that sounds like a plan. But I've also got more planned for today, so let's get this breakfast made, because I can't wait to see what you think."

Soaring

The afternoon sun continued it's slow journey towards the western horizon as Sunburst led a blindfolded Starlight through one of the outer boroughs of the Crystal Empire. Out here, buildings were fewer, crystal formations dotted the landscape, and it was mostly open farmland.

"What's wrong? Couldn't put it in a box this time?" Starlight teased him, smirking. Sunburst chuckled.

"I just know how clever you are, and I didn't want to spoil the surprise." He replied.

Up ahead was a passenger wagon, pulled by two of the Crystal Empire's Equestria Games competitors.

"Everything good to go?" Sunburst asked them, the pair stepping up to the rear of the wagon.

"We're all set. Just have to strap in." The stallion on the left told him.

Underneath her blindfold, Starlight raised an eyebrow. Strap in?

Sunburst carefully helped his currently visually-challenged marefriend into the back of the wagon, and helped her step over a folded and rolled tarp. He sat her down at the simple wooden bench that had been built into the front half of the wagon.

"Alright, hold your front legs out." Sunburst told her, his horn lighting up.

Starlight did as she was told, and felt a leather harness being strapped and fastened around her torso. A minute later, she was set, and then Sunburst took a seat next to her, and did the same for his harness. He double checked everything, and gave the nod to the stallions in the wagon harnesses, and they were off.

Once they were at a good trotting pace, Sunburst began to undo Starlight's blindfold.

"Alright, don't look behind you." He told her, and she nodded. Her blindfold came undone, and Sunburst pocketed it inside his cloak. Starlight looked down slightly to look at the harness she was in as the wagon continued to pick up speed.

"So what are these for, so we don't fall out?" She asked.

"Not exactly..." He replied at a louder volume to speak over the speed of the wheels and hooves hitting the ground.

Thirty seconds later, the stallions were at a full gallop, and the wind was whipping at their manes.

"Alright, we're at top speed! Whenever you're ready, pull!" The stallion runner on the right yelled back to Sunburst.

"Pull...?" Starlight wondered. In her peripheral vision, she saw Sunburst lean down and pull a rope, and she heard the tarp behind them unfurl. Starlight heard nothing but wind hitting fabric as she was positively yanked out of her seat on the bench, and she let out a scream as she looked behind her to prepare to hit the ground.

But she didn't. She felt herself continue to be pulled up, up, and up. She looked over at Sunburst, right next to her, gripping his harness, and he motioned for her to look up. She craned her neck up, and saw a massive parasail above them carry them higher and higher. They peaked at 500 feet, and she let out a gasp as the took in the breathtaking aerial view of the Crystal Empire below them. They were even higher than the highest tip of the Crystal Castle in the distance. As she looked beyond the boundaries of the Empire to the north, she saw the peak of Mount Everhoof, the highest peak on the continent, as well as several peaks of the Yaket Range to the east. The view was indescribable, and it made her feel immeasurably small.

"Whoo!!!" She screamed out as the wagon hundreds of feet below made a slight turn to the left, resulting in something of a lurch to the right all the way up here.

"I thought you might like to see what it feels like to be the kite!" Sunburst shouted to her from over the wind. He looked over, and saw the absolute happiness and bliss on her face, her mane and tail whipping in the wind. Likewise, Starlight looked over and saw Sunburst's cloak flapping wildly.

The stallions pulling the wagon on the ground below were able to keep their pace for an impressive fifteen minutes, enough time to get around nearly a third of the outer farm roads of the Empire. Once they slowed, the duo's para-sail began to steadily descend. Forty-five seconds later, they hit the ground running, and skidded to a halt along with the wagon. As soon as the pair were out of their harnesses, Starlight threw her arms around Sunburst, hugging him tightly.

"That was... So amazing! Thank you so much!" She enthusiastically thanked him for one of the best thrill rides of her life.

"I'm so happy you enjoyed it." Sunburst replied, hugging her back.

The two of them assisted the two wagon runners in gathering up, folding, and rolling the para-sail for transport, and got it all under the tarp which sat on the back of the wagon. When everything was set, Sunburst happily tipped the duo, and they made their way back towards the downtown area of the Empire. By the time they neared the castle, the sun was nearly touching the westernmost peaks of the Crystal Mountains, the range that separated the Crystal Empire from the forests of northern Equestria.

"I don't know about you, but I'm famished. I take it you've got something in mind for dinner?" Starlight asked.

"Oh, do I ever." He replied as they walked in the main entrance, once again making their way up the stairs. They returned to Sunburst's personal quarters, where they both ran combs through their manes, and got into evening wear; Starlight had brought her favorite dress; the black silk gown that Rarity had made for her, and Sunburst made sure his cloak was in order.

"Shall we?" Sunburst asked, offering her his hoof. She smiled, and together, they walked down the hall, and Starlight was surprised when they passed the dining hall.

"Still haven't found your way around here? I can relate to that." She teased.

"No, it's not that. I just arranged for a place with a better view tonight."

With that, they came to a set of double doors, and Sunburst opened them to reveal the south balcony, overlooking the city. It was here where they had carried out Flurry's crystalling. Except now, a small table for two had been set up near the railing.

Starlight had a feeling this was going to be quite the meal...

Who I Used To Be

After Starlight took her last bite of their main course, she poured a third glass of wine from one of the Crystal Winery's finest bottles.

"I think I have to not take as much nutritional advice from Twilight. Because quesadillas are delicious." She told Sunburst, whom sat across from her.

"Especially when their prettied up for fine dining." Sunburst replied, chuckling, also refilling his glass, taking a sip.

"Listen, Starlight... There's been something I've been meaning to ask you, I just didn't know the right time to bring it up." Sunburst said, running a hoof around the rim of his glass.

"You can ask me anything, Sunburst."

Sunburst cleared his throat, figuring the right words in his mind, because he was fairly certain it was a touchy subject.

"Well... You were there when I got my cutie mark. It was the last we saw of each other for years. I guess I'm just wondering... What happened when you got yours?"

Starlight's expression turned sorrowful as she averted her gaze to her plate of crumbs.

"I'm sorry, I really don't mean to pry..."

"No no, it's alright." Starlight began, not wanting him to think he'd offended her. "With how close we've become, there's nothing wrong with being as curious as you are, and I'd want to know too if I were you. It's just... There's no preparing you for what I had become."

"You're here now. You are who you are now." Sunburst encouraged her, reminding her that she'd be telling a portion of her story that had long since ended.

"Yes, here I am now, a mare one thousand times better than I used to be. Still..."

'It was about a year after you left. I woke up one morning and it was practicing spells one afternoon and it was there. I didn't know what it meant and I didn't care.'

The filly heliotrope unicorn trotted into her bedroom. She had the house to herself, as she did most of the time due to the hours her dad worked. Her breathing was heavy as she ran into her room and slammed the door, looking down at her flank, which was now adorned with a purple and white star, with two glimmering streams coming off of it.

A cutie mark. What, was it her turn to leave home now too? It's not like she had anyone to say goodbye to.

She tried to grab at it with her magic, but all she managed to do was knock herself against the closed door. Getting up into a sitting position, she clawed at her flank, seeing if she could rub it off of her coat, but manged to do nothing of the sort.

What... What would her dad think when he saw it? Would he send her away so some magic school now too?

No. No, she wasn't ready to leave. She walked over to her dresser, and took out her makeup kit. She dug around furiously, finding the color that matched her coat perfectly, took the brush, and covered the mark on both sides.

'I was able to keep my mark hidden for another year, while I continued studying magic. From then on, I started to focus on the magic behind the cutie mark. Very little research had been done on it, even though it was apparently a staple of our society. About two years after that, I started to hear my dad talk with his friends how it was strange that I hadn't gotten mine yet, I knew I didn't have long...

The nearly-teenage Starlight sat at her desk, magically gripping a piece of parchment and a pair of scissors. More and more she had heard Hoofington residents talk about how she rarely ventured outside, and how she hadn't gotten her mark yet. So if she was to keep up this charade until she finished school, it was going to need one more step.

Having made the proper measurements and marks on the parchment sheet, she cut out a small square section that could be easily pressed against her flank, then out of that piece, cut out two identical rectangle pieces, creating a stencil of an equals sign. She touched up her "blank" spot, then took the black powder, and applied it using the stencil.

"Perfect." She said, looking at it in the mirror.

She returned to her desk, and looked down at a titled, but otherwise blank, piece of parchment.

Equality: A Manifesto

"I graduated from school at 15, and didn't wait at all to skip town. I traveled to libraries all over; Canterlot, Las Pegasus, Manehattan, Fillydelphia... Anywhere I could find more bits of information on the magic of the cutie marks. Then, I set stakes down in the mountain valley. My village... I had convinced myself that I could cut out my own little corner of Equestria, free from one of the staples of our species. If these ponies gave up their cutie marks, then they wouldn't leave me. Over the years, more and more ponies came, for all kinds of reasons. I was harsh... If they set one hoof out of line, I isolated them for days at a time. My philosophy demanded complete uniformity... Except it wasn't. There was one unequal; me. My cottage was center, everypony else's was parallel. Earths couldn't do anything beyond the most basic farming and cooking, pegasi couldn't get more than twenty feet off the ground, and unicorns only had the most base form of telekinesis. That was it. It was the most unexceptional village in Equestria. That's what my life was like for years. Then... Then Twilight and her friends came."

Sunburst continued to listen silently.

"All it took was two days. Two days to upend everything I had spent years building. They revealed my real cutie mark, and the entire village rebelled. For the second time, cutie marks had stripped me bare and left me with nothing. After that I spent months plotting my revenge. I watched Twilight from afar, figuring out how to take everything from her as she took everything from me. When everything was ready, I met her in her castle, and I used a modified ancient spell of Star Swirl to send us back in time. My plan was foolproof. No matter what she did, it always returned us to the same point. After enough tries, she dragged me back with her, to show me how much worse the alternate timelines were getting. In the end, we were evenly matched, and the only thing I could do was destroy the scroll to make it permanent. And I almost did... But I couldn't get the image of that wasteland out of my head. I decided to give her a chance. She had to have been doing something right. She had to have something that I was missing." Her voice started to quiver as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Friendship." Sunburst said. Starlight didn't look up, nodding.

"She had every right to put me in chains and imprison me for the rest of my life. But she didn't. She took me in as a student. One of the first things we did was return to the village I had founded. I was beside myself. I couldn't believe that they had stayed. But I suppose they were right; they came to me because they felt they were missing something, and they found it in each other. More shocking still... They forgave me. I had ruined their lives... Corrupted and twisted their spirits... And they forgave me." Starlight's voice shook more.

"Even more than that, they invited me to their Sunset Festival a few months later. They asked me about my studies with Princess Twilight, and how long I'd be staying... They actually wanted my input and feedback on their celebration. Even with how uncomfortable I was, it was a good thing they did because it was the only thing that saved me from the Changeling invasion. And then you experienced firsthoof the amazing and beautiful dinner they put together for us..."

Starlight finally looked up to see Sunburst, with tears running down his cheeks.

"What are you crying for? This isn't your fault." She asked him, with a hint of frustration in her quivering voice.

"I told you during our first weekend together, part of it is. I forgot all about you, my oldest and best friend. All in the name of going to Celestia's school and being the most unexceptional student there."

Starlight sniffled, wiping her eyes, only for more tears to replace them.

"You said they forgave you." Sunburst continued. "I don't think they would have done that just because you said you were sorry; not with what you just told me. I think while they probably didn't believe what you did to them was justified, they did sympathize with what happened to you after I left. Your parents were hardly ever there. I was all you had, and I was too young to realize that. They forgave you... But have you forgiven yourself?" Sunburst asked.

The teary-eyed Starlight looked at Sunburst, for a moment, and shook her head.

"No. It's hard because there's nothing I can do to make up for what I took away from them. I still have the occasional nightmare. What I did to them is going to haunt me for a very long time. Probably for the rest of my life."

"And how I abandoned you is going to haunt me, too," Sunburst began, getting up from his seat and walking over to Starlight's chair, sitting down on the floor next to her. "Seeing your face when you saw my kite, and when you saw the Empire from 500 feet up... I saw such a filly-like bliss in your eyes. I can't make-up for the time I spent away from you, but I can spend the rest of my life seeing that joy again and again and again... Moving forward as best we can and letting our pasts bother us as little as possible is the best anypony could hope for the two of us, wouldn't you say?"

Starlight looked up from the table over to his eyes, and threw her hooves around him as she tried to sniffle the last of her tears away. She broke the embrace, and looked into his teary eyes.

"I'd say... That we go and see what Cadance's pearls have in store."

Take Two and Call Me In The Morning

Starlight stood in Sunburst's room again, feeling a familiar tingling under her tail after just casting "et oblinito cuniculum". Instead of feeling a sense of deja vu, she was getting nervous all over again, knowing that tonight would be different. After taking a deep breath, she heard the door open, and saw Sunburst come in with a familiar silver platter, with a teapot and two teacups. New on the platter tonight, was the glass vial with the two crimson pearls. All day, in the back of her mind, she had kept wondering what the pearls would do to them. She knew Sunburst said what Cadance had; more energy, enough stamina for multiple times, but she was interested in the finer details. How it would actually feel. Well, she was confident they'd both know in a matter of minutes.

Sunburst took the teapot and poured two cups of steaming hot water and immediately dipped a teabag in each.

"Different tea?" Starlight asked, getting a hint of the scent coming from the teabag.

"Basil. Figure it wouldn't put us to sleep as fast as the chamomile did last night." Sunburst said, stirring the cups with the spoons before magically taking the vial and removing the cork. The two pearls floated up in his magical grasp, and he held them above the cups of piping hot tea.

"So, are you ready?" He asked his marefriend, who simply responded with a kiss. Smiling gently, he slowly lowered the pearls into the cups. Less than a second later, the pearls dissolved into the tea, and a pink mist now sat above the liquid in the cups like a morning fog.

"Ooooh." Starlight said, fascinated at the display. Sunburst magically offered her one of the cups, while he took the other. They clinked them together, and sipped from them. As they sipped, they breathed in the pink mist through their nostrils.

Neither of them were sure what they were supposed to feel at first. It just tasted like regular basil tea. But Starlight found that as she continued to sip at the hot steaming beverage, her nerves began to settle. The heat from the beverage seemed to travel down her throat through her stomach and down to her marehood. She tipped the cup up and downed the rest of the fluid. She didn't want to assume too much of what Cadance's power would do to her, but for now, she was guessing it wasn't going to fog her brain and turn her into a bucking machine for the rest of the night. No, because her senses were becoming heightened and somewhat entangled. She could almost smell the desire between the two of them.

"One more thing..." She said, setting her empty teacup down. Her horn lit up, and the tip expelled a wave of blue energy out to the walls of the room, effectively soundproofing the room again.

With that, not a second passed after Sunburst setting his cup down when Starlight leaned forward and pulled him into a heated kiss. Sunburst kept just enough of his concentration to magically remove his glasses, setting them aside next to his teacup, and unclipped his brooch, letting his cloak fall to the floor as Starlight pulled them both completely onto the bed, and the mare noticed that he was already unsheathed. Not wanting to waste anytime, she rolled over onto her stomach from under him, and perched herself up on her rear legs,effectively presenting, had Sunburst not already been on top of her. She felt his warm member press against her stomach.

"Take me, Sunburst..." She whispered, flicking her tail between his legs.

For Sunburst, the pearls had worked just as fast. What amazed him most was that his nerves weren't a jumbled mess anymore; everything seemed to be in a smooth flow now instead of frazzled and figuring out which way to go. And right now, everything pointed down at the mare who had effectively pinned herself underneath him. Sure, he could do as she asked, but why not take her for an unexpected ride?

He shifted his weight to his front right leg, brought his front left hoof under her neck, and lifted her head up towards his.

"All in good time..." He whispered back at her, before sticking his tongue out and pressed it to the base of her horn, and slowly licked up.

Starlight gasped, drawing in a breath at the unexpected sensation. Unicorn horns were very sensitive, but if they were treated carefully in the right way... By Luna's moon!

Sunburst slowly drew his tongue to the top, then taking care to open his mouth a bit more to widen the gap between his rows of teeth, began to take Starlight's horn into his mouth. While he slowly lowered his mouth onto her, he made sure to keep a soft but firm hold on her neck, so any jolts of pleasure didn't accidentally make her jerk and injure either of them. He couldn't help but notice how she shuddered at how she was being dominantly held right now.

His tongue worked her horn from all sides as he descended centimeter by centimeter. Not wanting to give her a single area to focus on, he made sure to move his back half against hers, pressing his erect stallionhood against her belly. Keeping the rhythm just unpredictable enough, her mind went to and fro, shooting back and forth between her forehead and under her tail. It was intoxicating.

"Ssssweet Celestia, Sunburst..." Starlight hissed.

Finally, after thirty seconds, his lips touched her forehead, and he drew his cheeks in and sucked, hard. Starlight's body went rigid for a split second before she attempted to press up further against his mouth, but his hold on her neck was firm, and that just made the experience richer. He kept his lips firmly pressed to the base of her horn as he sucked and licked. After ten seconds, he would slowly draw his mouth up, then go just as slowly back down, taking note of how the notches of her horn were beginning to glow. After two minutes of repeating the up and down motions, he noticed his tongue tingled whenever it made contact with her horn, which was glowing brightly enough to even show through his cheeks.

"Sunburst... Sunburst... I'm... Ah!"

Sunburst pulled himself off of her horn just in time to see the tip sizzle as hundreds of tiny motes of light shot away and harmlessly impacted the walls and ceiling, as she gasped and shuddered in pleasure in his grasp. After ten seconds, it died down to just a faint glow at the very tip of her horn, as she panted lightly.

"You put on quite the light show, love." He told her, making her blush at the cheeks. She didn't have time to dwell on the teasing comment, as she felt him shift his back half again, and this time, lined up his tip with her entrance, and slowly slid inside. She took him in inch by inch, and recalling last night, stopped at the three-quarters mark, knowing she couldn't take much more than that without hurting herself. Being new to this position, he slowly pulled nearly all the way out, then slowly back in, judging the distance. The pace was maddening to Starlight, who right now wanted nothing more than to be rutted silly, still feeling traces of his saliva on her horn. She whimpered with every slow thrust he made inside, letting him know in no uncertain terms that she wanted more. His pace became slowly faster as he became more and more confident. She felt his weight shift again as he brought his front hooves in and wrapped them around her barrel. He couldn't go at a full pace because he wasn't completely used to this position, but the noises Starlight was making drove him to go as fast as he comfortably could.

"Ooooh, oh! Ah! Oh! Please, Sunburst... More..."

Starlight was closer than she had gotten than she had last night; in no small part due to the attention her horn had just received, and also due to whatever Cadance's magic was doing to her. Sunburst hadn't even been going at his current pace for a minute before she felt his tip flare inside of her. Her breathing quickened as she was ready for what was inevitably going to happen.

"Yes... Yes, Sunburst, do it!" She begged, feeling herself teetering on the edge. It was only ten more seconds before Sunburst's thrusts became erratic, and he pressed himself as deep as he could go without pushing against her cervix.

"Star... Starlight!" He called out, his front hooves squeezing around her barrel as he erupted inside her. It felt much more powerful than last night. Heavier, and more pronounced.

For Starlight, feeling Sunburst release inside her was all she needed to fall into her own orgasmic bliss.

"Ssssuuunburrrrst!!" She cried out, her back legs shaking and nearly giving out. They rode their peaks as long as they could, and the results of both joined and began dripping out around Sunburst's buried length onto the blanket below.

It was like nothing they had experienced before. What had ended in murky tiredness last night had stayed in complete clarity, even as they came down from their peaks. Sunburst pulled out, still plenty hard, and was stunned when the wave of exhaustion that normally accompanied the afterglow lasted not even a second.

"Sweet Celestia..." He gasped, realizing one of the major perks of the pearls.

He felt himself go weightless as he found himself grabbed by Starlight's magic, and flipped over and placed on his back on the bed, Starlight quickly taking her place on top. He couldn't help but wonder what she was up to when she didn't release her magical grasp on his body once both of them were in place on the bed.

"Now, let's see how you like it..." Starlight said.

Sunburst felt his body lean up and arc forward as Starlight began to position herself like she had last night. She was positively dripping with arousal, and didn't take long to descend on his stallionhood again. It went in with almost no effort, and then she carefully arced his body so she could lean forward and take his horn in her mouth. Then, sucking on his horn lightly, she positioned her legs and hooves carefully so she could effectively rock herself between taking his horn and taking his cock.

For his part, Sunburst now understood why Starlight shuddered so in his grasp before; not being able to lean his head in more, or thrust into her was... Liberating. Not to mention the euphoric moans she made around his horn. As her mouth moved up and began to leave his horn, she leaned back and his shaft entered her marehood. It was ingenious, and the way it drove his mind into trying to focus on both ends of his body was the perfect payback for how he had first treated Starlight a few minutes before.

That, and being completely restrained in Starlight's magical grasp was so... Hot.

Finally, being so ready for a second round so soon was the biggest assault on his mind. It hadn't even been three minutes since he first released into her, the evidence of which was still dripping from her down onto his shaft, and yet he felt like he was nearly ready to give out an even more powerful wave. But with the equal attention she was giving both ends, he couldn't figure out which one was going to go over the edge first. He wasn't sure if it was because of the pearls, or because his horn had never been touched like that before, but his horn's peak came faster than he could register and give Starlight a warning.

"Ah... Ah!" He cried out, and Starlight's mouth went aglow with the consequences. Light went shooting down her throat and a few motes of light came floating out of her nostrils. While her mouth began tingling all over, she put renewed focus on her back half, and rocked harder back and forth, feeling him flare again. She felt him shudder, and she rocked back a final time, pushing just a little past her three-quarter limit, just in time for him to explode into her again.

For Sunburst, his eyes nearly rolled up into his head. This release was indeed more potent, as he flinched within Starlight's magical grasp, not from any pain, but from the unexpectedly forceful release as he gave her insides a fresh coat of his seed. Starlight's second peak hit her as well, and it was so strong that it caused her magic to falter and release Sunburst from her grasp as he flopped down onto the bed and she nearly melted into him as her hooves failed to support her through this climax. With a final squirt, Sunburst slipped out of her as her chin came to rest on a tuft of fur on his chest, tongue nearly hanging out of her mouth, feeling like she had swallowed a bucket's worth of popping candy.

"W...Whoa... Wow... I can't even begin to describe..." Starlight lisped.

This wave of exhaustion was a bit longer, at 10 seconds, but sure enough, that was all the time it took for their energy and potency to return full force. As soon as she felt his shaft stiffen up again, she rolled off of him onto the bed, and rotated ninety degrees, so that her neck was dangling off the side. She grabbed him entirely with her magic again.

"Whoa!" He said as he was lifted off the bed and rolled upright. He was floated over to the edge of the bed, and set down so his back hooves were on the floor, his front hooves were on both sides of Starlight, and so the mare was directly under him again. He only had to wonder what she had in mind for a split second as he felt her mouth on the tip of his shaft. Suddenly, her magic was focused down to just his pelvis and back hooves, as she magically forced a thrust into her waiting mouth, and as Sunburst found himself going much, much farther in than he had expected to go, he suddenly realized why Starlight had chosen such a position; the way she had hung her neck off the edge of the bed and angled her head, he now had a straight, uninterrupted trajectory right down her throat. He was held there for a couple seconds as he felt the amazing sensation of her gag reflex on his shaft for a moment, then he was allowed to back off as he heard her let out a gasp of air.

"You alright?" He asked, concern filling his voice.

"Yeah..." Starlight said, swallowing as his tip poked her snout. "Just needed to make sure I could do that..." Was all she said before taking him back into her waiting mouth. She worked the tip with her tongue from all sides, and that was all the motivation he needed to dig his front hooves into the sheets and begin lightly thrusting into her mouth. While he wanted to begin comparing the sensations to those that her other end provided, it wasn't quite the same; there were perks to this too, namely he had the full range of his thrusts now, as long as he didn't keep himself hilted in her throat for more than a couple seconds, and he had to admit the muffled noises she made with her mouth full were incredibly erotic. She was enjoying herself just as much as he was as she brought her front legs up and wrapped them around his chest, holding him close.

At first, he limited his deep thrusts to once every 15 or 20 seconds, afraid it would be too much for her, but after realizing that she absolutely had the power to safely stop if anything went too far, he started to increase the frequency. After a few minutes, he was going fully in and out on almost every thrust, as her front legs squeezed, keeping him close, and her muffled whimpers driving him wild. He wasn't going to be able to hold back much longer, and he wondered how powerful this one was going to be. He felt his shaft twitch, and that was the only warning he was going to get.

"D-Deep breath, Starlight...!" He said between his clenched teeth, and not a moment after he heard her inhale sharply through her nostrils, he hilted one last time down her throat, and to his surprise, he felt her horn light up and magically keep him as absolutely deep as he would possibly go as his flared tip spewed another deluge of his hot spunk down her esophagus. One load. Then a second. A third, fourth, and fifth. He lost track as Starlight's front legs kept an iron grip on his middle as he emptied himself yet again inside her. He felt her gag reflex milk him for every last drop, and although he tried to pull out when he felt her body tense up and start to demand air, her magic held, keeping him firmly buried down her throat. Only once he had given her every last drop did her magic dissipate and he pulled out, hearing a rasping gasp as she coughed for air as tears pricked the corners of her eyes, and he shakily and unsteadily got off the bed to make sure she was alright.

"By Luna's Moon, Starlight..." He said, their manes beginning to dampen with sweat. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to chastise her or thank her for pushing herself that far.

The exhaustion on both sides began to set in again, this time for nearly two minutes, and Starlight spent the entire time replenishing her body's air supply, neck still dangling off the side of Sunburst's bed. When they thought for sure that the pearls were beginning to wear off, and sleep seemed inevitable, the fog of lethargy lifted once more. By then, the two of them had snuggled up on the bed in a spooning position, when Starlight felt Sunburst stiffen yet again.

"Just how many rounds are those things going to give us?" Sunburst asked.

"Mmm, not sure, but I'm pretty comfortable right here. So how about we keep it simple this time?" Starlight asked, shifting a bit in his embrace, her back pressed against his barrel and stomach, positioning his tip at her entrance, which was still practically soaked. Saying nothing, Sunburst began to nuzzle her lovingly as he entered her again.

His thrusts were slow and methodical this time, and it seemed his body seemed to know that they were beginning to wind down, as he felt no urge to quicken his pace. He nibbled at her left ear as she squirmed in delight ever so slightly, wishing she could melt into him. Nothing else mattered in this moment; not the squeaking of the mattress or bedposts, not how wet and sticky the sheets were, and not how sweaty and messy their manes had gotten. All that mattered in this single moment was each other. Sunburst felt himself approach the point of no return for the fourth time tonight, but still kept his pace steady. The only hint that Starlight ever got that he was close was how he tensed up in the last half-second, and held himself at three quarters in at the last thrust, and flooded her for a fourth and final time.

Their final peaks weren't intense crescendos, or staggered seconds apart this time. Rather, Starlight hit hers at the exact same time that Sunburst began to shoot his first volley, and a warmth enveloped them both. It was a perfect moment in time. They closed their eyes, and never felt themselves descend from that final peak, as Luna's dream realm enshrouded them simultaneously.

Epilogue

With a groan, Starlight slowly returned to the waking world. But she had never felt like this before. It was like if Monday had an evil twin.

"Sunburst?" She called out groggily, her vision still blurry.

"Morning, Starlight. Or should I say... Afternoon?" She heard her coltfriend say. She rubbed her eyes, and with her vision clear enough, she glanced over at his nightstand and indeed saw that it was half-past noon. Her vision continued it's path to the left, and she saw Sunburst on wobbily legs, grabbing his cloak off of the ground where he had dropped it last night, likely waking up barely a minute before she had. He stepped over to his desk and draped it on his chair, then grabbed his glasses and put them on.

He looked like he had slept for a month. Then she saw herself in the full length mirror and realized that she looked no better. Her mane was matted, her coat was sticky, and her back legs felt like rubber noodles.

"This is the best kind of sore I've ever felt..." Starlight moaned, as she began to recall last night.

"You said it. But I think we both need a shower before either of us sets hoof out of this room. I'll get one started." He said, stepping into his private bathroom and started the tub faucet. Starlight slowly sat up and got her bearings, rubbing her eyes. After giving herself about half a minute, she uneasily got to her hooves and followed Sunburst into the bathroom, the steam already starting to wake her up. After they stepped in, the fatigue immediately began to wash down with the water. After ten minutes, they were refreshed, and sopping wet. When they both stepped out of the shower, Starlight tried to magically take a hold of one of the towels hanging next to the door, but couldn't due to yet another realization; they were extremely famished.

"But we can't go down to the dining hall like this..." Starlight mused, the tip of her sopping wet tail dragging on the floor, while Sunburst peaked out the door.

"I don't think that'll be a problem." He said, opening the door the rest of the way and pulling in a food cart that had been sitting outside his door. On it, was a platter of fruits, vegetables, muffins, and orange juice. A folded piece of parchment was set next to the fruit. Sunburst closed the door, unfolded the letter, and read it aloud.

"I felt my pearls release their energy last night. Thought you two might need this, it's only fair since you made us breakfast. Hope you had fun.
-Cadance"

Starlight giggled, as she took a muffin in her left hoof and immediately began devouring it, and Sunburst likewise did the same with an apple.

"Did we ever." Starlight said, her mouth full.

It only took a few bites to get enough energy built up for minimal levels of telekinesis, and the rest of the meal was much easier. Over the next twenty minutes, they cuddled together and ate the entire platter, and downed the entire pitcher of juice.

"I don't think I've ever eaten that much..." Sunburst moaned after his final bite.

"You got that right. We need to figure out how to pay Cadance back, big time. I don't think I'll ever be able to put last night into words, and I think working our way up to something even remotely close to that without her magic is quite the challenge. You up for it?"

"Absolutely, and I'll ask Shining Armor about some of her favorite things, because yes, we definitely need to show her how much we appreciated her help last night." Sunburst agreed.

Starlight ran a comb through her mane to get it halfway decent, and checked her saddlebags to make sure everything was set to go.

"I really hate to eat and run, but..."

"Don't be ridiculous. I didn't think we'd sleep past noon. Oh, wait. There is one more thing..." Sunburst said, lighting his horn up. Out from under the bed, in the grasp of his magic, was another gift box. This one much, much smaller than the giant one in the stadium.

"I told myself one gift per day, and that includes Monday." Sunburst said, levitating the box over to her, where she took it in her magic.

Starlight undid the bow, lifted the lid, and upon seeing what was inside, she gasped. How in Equestria did he find something like this? Moving the tissue paper aside, she lifted out the boxed up board game.

Dragon Pit: First Edition

"How...?"

"I swung by the antique store last weekend before I left town. I knew you had to have it. It'll be great to have to play next weekend, yeah?" He asked with a wink.

Starlight set the game back in the gift box and leaned in and kissed him deep.

"Thank you so much. And don't be so sure... I may not wait until next weekend." She said, pecking him on the lips once more.

She lit up her horn, and fired a spell at the floor in the center of the room, and her transportation rune to Ponyville lit up. They stood up, embraced, held each other for a few moments, and parted with another kiss.

"Love you. See you soon... Wizard." Starlight said, walking backwards into the rune, never taking her eyes off of him.

Sunburst's room disappeared with a flash of light, and was immediately replaced by the surroundings of her bedroom in Twilight's castle. She took a quick look around to make sure everything was in order, as the glow of the rune faded under her hooves. The gigantic gift box containing the kites had been set against the far wall, and she noticed a note on the back of her closed bedroom door. She set her saddlebags next to her desk, and read it.

Starlight,

Spike and I are running errands in town today, be back in time for dinner. Hope you had a fun weekend.

That being said, I have a check-out clipboard in the library for a reason. Where is my book?

Sincerely,
Twilight

Starlight snorted briefly, and broke into a hysterical fit of laughter.

Best weekend ever.

Author's Note

Well, would you look at that. This one didn't take nine months to finish.

Hope you all enjoyed. Thanks for reading!