Love's a Roller Coaster Ride

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Chapter 4

Chapter 1

Starlight stroked Sunburst’s beard, giggling at it how soft it felt against her hoof, the way it swayed about like a tiny flag caught in a breeze.

“Oh. W-w-well, I... I um…” Sunburst’s face suddenly flared. He centered his glasses and pushed Starlight’s hoof down. “I’m sorry, Starlight. We can’t do this. As much as I’d like to.”

Regret flashed in Starlight’s eyes. “Why not?”

“Let’s consider the facts. I’m a crystaller and I have important work to do in the Crystal Empire; and now that the Friendship Map is starting to send you on missions, we’ll both be busy.” Sunburst hung his head. “I just don’t see how we could make it work.”

Sighing, Starlight stepped closer and lifted Sunburst’s chin with her hoof so she could look him in the eyes. “Love will find a way.”

Sunbursts’ cheeks flared even brighter, and he went silent for a moment, studying Starlight carefully. “Are you saying you—”

Starlight put her hoof over Sunburst’s mouth, smiling at him as she found herself swimming in the aqua blue of his eyes. Aside from her racing heart, Starlight’s world seemed at once to vanish and go silent as she closed her eyes and brought her face slowly closer to Sunburst’s. It was just the two of them now, and nothing would keep her from this moment.

Nothing except for something solid tapping against her nose.

Starlight’s eyes flew open at this distraction. Sunburst’s glasses had slid down the bridge of his nose as he himself leaned in to reciprocate. Her own cheeks burning, Starlight giggled, grabbed Sunburst’s glasses with her telekinesis and threw them behind her, not once taking her eyes off Sunburst’s.

“Now then, where were we?” she purred.

Both shut their eyes and leaned in again. Starlight sighed through her nose as she met Sunburst’s soft, warm lips. Starlight's heart flew, bliss swirling within her. She didn’t want to be anywhere else, with anypony else, or feel anything else. Rarely had she felt so safe, so happy.

Starlight’s world came back into dizzy coherence after the kiss ended with a smack. Nervous flames burned in her cheeks and she wondered what must be going on in Sunbursts’ mind. His face was redder than his mane.

“Wow. That, um, that was nice,” Sunburst stumbled. “I mean, really nice. I could go into greater detail, but… how did you like it?”

Starlight gave Sunburst a warm smile as she snuggled up next him. She grabbed Sunbursts’ cloak with her magic and draped it around the both of them, then planted another kiss on his lips.

“Does that answer your question?” she asked as she gazed into his eyes. From somewhere underneath the cloak, Sunburst wrapped a foreleg around Starlight, embracing her as they rested their heads on each other’s shoulders.

“It sure does.”

The two shut their eyes, their hearts fluttering as they silently enjoyed each other’s closeness.

“Sunburst?” Starlight finally spoke.

“Yes?”

Starlight opened her mouth to reply, but choked on the words with a nervous laugh. She took a deep breath to work up her courage and tried again. “As for your earlier question, yes I do love you.”

"I love you, too, Starlight."

Happy tears escaped Starlight's eyes. For once, everything was right in her world. Then the warm sensation of closeness faded away. Starlight looked around to find that her world--Sunburst along with it--was melting into a dark, foggy backdrop. Starlight tuned her senses, trying to make sense of the situation.

A familiar voice echoed in Starlight’s ears. “Well, that was certainly a better dream than the last one I visited.”

From a low-hanging fog materialized the regal form of Princess Luna.

It was just a dream.

Starlight drooped her ears, hanging her head with a pang of disappointment. “Right. I should have known this was too perfect.”

“I waited until it was over, as I won’t tread upon an intimate dream.” Luna said. “I trust I’m not intruding?”

“No," Starlight huffed. "I just wish it was that easy in real life.”

Luna regarded Starlight with a gentle smile that carried an air of infinite wisdom. “Something troubles you, Starlight Glimmer. I have come to help.”

Starlight twisted her hoof. “I have a date with Sunburst tomorrow, and I guess I’m a little nervous about it. I care about him and I want to be with him but I just don’t know how to tell him. Or maybe I’m just worried that we might not work out.”

“I can see your dreams, but I cannot see your future,” Luna replied. “What I do know is Sunburst has equal feelings about you.”

“He does?” Starlight looked up at Luna. She smiled at the remark, then the worry returned. “What should I do?”

“Have fun. Enjoy your time together. Appreciate his company and the fact somepony wants to spend time with you. Most importantly, be true to yourself. That is the pony Sunburst likes. I should know, I’ve seen his dreams as well.” Luna shot Starlight a wink that suggested good possibilities.

The notion brought a warm feeling in Starlight's chest, but it quickly turned to a distant pain. "What... what if he leaves me again?" Starlight paused and scratched her head, suddenly feeling the sting of those old wounds. "Oh, great. I thought I was past this. I don't know what to do!"

Luna tilted her head questioningly, raising an eyebrow at Starlight. “Didn't everypony give you a second chance?”

Starlight sighed, Luna’s words hitting her bluntly. “I guess you're right.”

“Forgiveness works both ways, Starlight Glimmer.” Luna turned back to the foggy haze, glancing over her shoulder to offer Starlight one last knowing smile. “Everypony has forgiven you. Perhaps now it is time you forgive somepony else.”

Starlight’s chest heaved with a sigh. “You’re right, Princess. I owe Sunburst another chance.”

Luna nodded sagely, then vanished into the low fog from whence she came.

Chapter 2

Las Pegasus: the city of entertainment. To some ponies, it was one big party; always bustling, always something to see or do. Starlight Glimmer found herself immediately dodging a crowd of earth ponies the moment she got off the hot air balloon. According to the map she’d looked at, the spot where she was supposed to meet Sunburst wasn’t far from the balloon station.

Starlight looked about for a friendly landmark, then smiled. The giant sign “Corrals of Fun” stuck out above the tall surrounding buildings. Only a few blocks away. She trotted out of the station and down the street towards the amusement park, soon finding the entrance lot where she began searching for Sunburst.

Starlight Glimmer couldn’t fight the smile as she spotted her old friend waiting for her in the middle of the lot. “Sunburst!”

Sunburst turned towards the voice. Smiling back, he waved at Starlight. “Hey, Starlight!”

Starlight galloped up to him and they embraced each other. “I miss you more and more every time we leave!”

“I missed you too, Starlight.”

Starlight let go of Sunburst and turned for the main entrance. “Ready to have some fun? This is gonna be so great! I’ve wanted to come here ever since I was a filly.”

“I know!” Sunburst walked side by side with Starlight towards the admission gates. “We always used to talk about coming here when we foals, but we never had a chance since--” He stopped short on the words. “Never mind, no need to bring that up.”

That reference did little to quiet Starlight’s enthusiasm. “That’s okay. We finally get to live our foalhood dream!”

“Absolutely!” Sunburst trumpeted, seeming to feel better that Starlight hadn’t expressed any anger over their past. “I can’t wait.”

The two paid for their admission bracelets at the front gate and trotted inside the huge park. There were the familiar sights and smells of a carnival: game booths, cotton candy stands, the aroma of pizza and funnel cake. There were foals holding balloons and prizes they’d won in the games, screams of excitement and ponies dizzy from the rides.

Jumping up and down in fillyish delight, Starlight let out a squeal. “Ohmygosh, omygosh, omygosh I can’t believe I’m here, Sunburst! What ride should we go on first? Ooh, we got to try some of the games! I want some funnel cake. Let’s check out some of the gift shops, too.”

“Starlight,” Sunburst sad flatly. “Breathe.”

Starlight halted her bouncing and took a deep breath. “Sorry, I went into filly mode again. But I’ve been wanting to come here for years.”

“So have I, but we’ve got all day. No reason to rush.”

Starlight wore a grand smile as she glanced about, struggling to hold in her excitement. Then she pointed to the top of a huge roller coaster track that loomed prominently above the rest of the park.

“Look at that roller coaster!” Starlight said. “Let’s go check it out.”

The two weaved their way around crowds of ponies and the park’s complex walkways until they found the waiting line. Only when she was standing next to it did Starlight realize how massive the coaster really was as she craned her neck up. A nearby sign labelled the roller coaster as “The Plunge”, and Starlight could see why. The ride crawled up a steep incline towards the peak of the tracks, then a plummet of more than 300 feet at an 80 degree angle extracted screams from the ponies riding it.

“Wow!” Starlight shouted, watching the cars blur past above them.

“That certainly looks intense,” Sunburst mused as he adjusted his glasses. “The g-force must be incredible.”

The coaster continued on the track at blinding speed until it came upon a loop, turning the ponies aboard upside down amidst a chorus of screams.

“It goes upside down?!” Starlight nudged Sunburst on the shoulder pleadingly. “That’s it. Sunburst, we have to give that a try!”

“You want to drag me--” Sunburst pointed at the speeding coaster, “--on that? You brought me here to assassinate me, didn’t you? Give me a heart attack, make it look like an accident.”

“Those ponies looked like they were enjoying it. How bad can it be? It looks like fun!”

Visibly trembling at the thought of it, Sunburst let out a defeated sigh. “Well, okay. But I’m only doing it for you.”

Starlight galloped ahead to the waiting line, leaving Sunburst ambling behind in resignation. The coaster screeched to a halt at the loading area, allowing the ponies aboard to get off and the waiting riders to take their places. Each car had two side-by-side seats, Starlight noticed as she sat on the far one to make room for Sunburst. He swallowed a knot in his throat and stepped shaky-legged onto the loading dock.

“You’ll probably want to take off your glasses, sir,” the ride operator said.

“Oh, right. Right, right, right.” Sunburst removed his glasses with a telekinesis spell and placed them in a box designated for the safekeeping of loose articles. He sighed nervously as he took a seat next to Starlight.

Starlight pulled down on the lapbar, the only thing that would keep her from being tossed from her seat. It made several clicks until it snapped firmly in place across her lap.

Sunburst brought his bar down, then lifted up on it several times to be sure it was secure. “Yup. Locked down tight. Not going anywhere. Anywhere.” There was resignation in his voice. Of course, the lapbar would keep him safe, but it also meant he was stuck there until the ride stopped and the locks were released. He had no choice now but to endure.

“Attention, fillies and gentlecolts,” came the voice of the unicorn operating the ride. “We would like to take this time to remind you that, for safety reasons, this roller coaster blocks all outside magic to keep from interfering with the operation of the ride. Please keep your legs, horns, wings and hooves inside the car at all times and remain seated until the ride comes to a complete stop. Now, get ready to take The Plunge!”

There was a loud hiss, a jolt, and the coaster crawled to a start.

“Here we go!” Starlight trumpeted. Her heart raced in anticipation. “This is gonna be great!”

“Oh boy. How did I let you talk me into this?” Sunburst asked. “We just got here and the first thing you want to do is go on their highest and fastest roller coaster.”

"Might as well start big, huh?"

Up the 55 degree incline they went, up and up and up with every moment building the tension, all the while Sunburst sat there shaking. Probably calculating how much every foot in elevation would add to the speed on the way down, Starlight figured. A full minute later, they were still rising but finally nearing the top.

“Wow!” Starlight shouted. “Las Pegasus is already in the clouds, so you can probably see all of Equestria from here!” To look up that high was one thing, but the view from three hundred feet was incredible; the trees looked like toy models and the ponies on the ground were like ants. Starlight could see a grand view of Equestria’s lush green countryside well beyond the towering hotels of Las Pegasus.

Sweat gleaming on his forehead, Sunburst glanced about in a panic, seemingly looking for a last minute escape. “I changed my mind. Starlight, teleport me off this thing. Please.”

“Too late. These seats block all outside magic, remember?”

Sunburst’s chest began to heave. “Oh gosh. Oh gosh. I’m not… I’m not ready for this.”

“Well, you’d better get ready quick. We’re almost there!”

The coaster reached the top the incline and suddenly they plunged, three hundred feet high and falling fast.

“Woo-hooooo!” Starlight screamed as she held her forelegs in the air. The rush was unlike anything she had ever felt in her life. The sinking feeling in her stomach at the sudden change of pressure, the wind in her face, the speed, the ground rushing up at her until they made a sharp upward shift at the next incline.

“That was great!” Starlight looked over at Sunburst, who had his hoof clamped over his mouth, his face a sickly shade of green. “Sunburst, are you okay? Oh, here comes another drop!”

Starlight held her forelegs above her head again, unable to suppress another scream of delight at the sudden rush, while Sunburst looked like he might lose his breakfast at any moment. The coaster barreled on down the track in a mad rush of clack-clacking power as it neared the loop. Starlight licked her lips in anticipation. “Here it comes. Hang on, Sunburst!”

They went uphill and, in almost an instant, Starlight became acutely aware of the pull of gravity and found herself staring at the ground as she squealed a third time above Sunburst screaming for his life. In another instant, they went back upright and continued on down the track. A hairpin turn practically threw Sunburst against Starlight, then another turn in the opposite direction smashed Starlight against Sunburst.

Slowing to a crawl, the coaster inched its way back, seemingly exhausted from its efforts. It stopped with a jolt, the bars lifting as the usher urged them toward the exit dock to make way for the next group of waiting ponies.

“It’s over,” Sunburst breathed out as he worked to find his balance . “Thank Celestia. Get me out of this thing.”

Starlight stepped out onto the exit dock. “That. Was. Awesome!” she shouted, holding one hoof to the air for emphasis. “Let’s do it--”

“Never again,” Sunburst interrupted as he retrieved his glasses and set them back on the bridge of his nose. “Never, ever again.”

Starlight flattened her ears at a twinge of guilt when she noticed Sunburst’s legs were still quivering. Already things were starting to go south. “I’m sorry, Sunburst! If I knew you were going to hate it that much, I wouldn’t have talked you into it.”

Sunburst sighed. “No, that’s okay. I did it for you, after all. Just don’t expect me to do that again. I know you liked it, though, so if you want to go on it a second time, I can just wait here.”

Giggling, Starlight gave Sunburst a wink and a playful push. “You’re not getting away from me that easy. Let’s go find something a little less intense we’ll both enjoy.”

***

Trixie Lulamoon allowed herself a satisfied sigh as she parked her wagon in Corrals of Fun‘s concert grounds. Las Pegasus always turned out a good crowd, and her show tomorrow night was sure to be no exception.

She unhitched herself from the wagon and stretched her aching legs. Trixie’d been pulling that thing since the crack of dawn and the long journey took its toll after pulling such a heavy load. A nap could cure that after she checked in with the park office. The managers were really finicky about unauthorized parking, even from scheduled entertainers. She remembered the earful she’d gotten from the manager when she’d forgot to check in one time. Something about trespassing and the police.

Pulling the wagon all the way to Corrals of Fun worked up an appetite, Trixie’s grumbling stomach reminded her. She could have a little something for brunch after checking in. There wasn’t any sense in putting off getting that important piece of business done. Trixie yawned and headed for the park’s main office.

Chapter 3

Starlight and Sunburst stopped on the paved walkway to observe an odd spectacle.

“Huh. What’s this?” Starlight wondered out loud.

They watched a unicorn stallion slowly being hoisted two hundred feet in the air towards the tops of two parallel poles. The only thing keeping him from falling was a chest harness attached to two pairs of elastic cords which, in turn, were attached to another set of cables running between the tops of the poles.

Starlight read the nearby sign out loud. “‘The High Horse?’”

“High indeed,” Sunburst agreed. “What’s it do, anyway?”

Starlight had her eyes glued to the pony suspended high above the ground. Once he reached the tops of the poles, the pony dropped and screamed in delight as he plummeted towards what seemed to be certain doom.

“WOW! That’s insane!” Starlight shouted.

“Holy Celestia!” Sunburst shielded his eyes as if expecting the worst. The bungee cords held fast, however, and flung the pony forward several yards, then retracted and sent him sailing backwards, swinging him like a pendulum until he at last came to a halt, dangling a few feet above the ground.

“Sunburst!” Starlight yelled with a smile he’d come to recognize all too well.

“No way. No how. Not even once. You’re nuts.” Sunburst shook his head. “Roller coasters are bad enough; I am NOT doing a bungee drop.”

Giggling, Starlight nudged Sunburst playfully. “I was only kidding.”

Sunburst turned away from the High Horse and started down the path away from it. “If unicorns were meant to fly, we’d have been given wings.”

“Actually, there’s a spell for that,” Starlight answered, keeping pace with him. “I’ve mastered it.”

“A flight spell?” Sunburst rubbed his chin in thought as he walked. “Hmmm. I’ve heard of it. Rare, but not impossible. I’m impressed, Starlight.”

Starlight flashed a confident smile as she ran her hoof through her hair. “Well, I always have been something of a natural.”

***

A funnel cake frosted with powdered sugar hovered in front of Trixie as she weaved her way through crowds of ponies on the way back to her wagon. After getting some food in her belly, she could do with a nap.

Halfway back to her portable home, Trixie stopped in midstep at a familiar sight among the swarms of ponies.
Starlight Glimmer was here! What were the odds of that? Trixie's tour had occupied so much of her time that she hadn't taken any of it to write to Starlight in a while. She trotted over to say "hello", but stopped when she saw another familiar pony next to Starlight.

Is that Sunburst with her? Trixie thought. Oh, this is too good to be true! Go for him, Starlight, you sly little mare, you.

Seeing the two of them brought a warm, giddy feeling to the pit of Trixie’s stomach. The nap could wait. This little show was sure to be too good to miss.

***

Starlight and Sunburst came up on a square game booth housing rows of glass bottles arranged in a grid. Several hopeful ponies threw plastic rings at the bottles. It was a simple premise and a familiar carnival game: toss a ring, get it to land on one of the bottles and win a prize.

“Twenty rings for five bits?” She looked up at the large, filly-sized plush animals dangling from the booth’s ceiling. “That’s all you have to do to win one of those?”

“Do the math, Starlight,” Sunburst said. “A low-cost game for a high-cost prize? They have to make a profit, you know.”

“What’s five bits?” Starlight countered with a shrug. “Can’t hurt to try.”

“Sure! Looks like fun.”

Starlight fished five coins from her pouch and placed them on the counter in front of the griffon running the game. “Twenty rings, please.”

The game operator scooped up the bits and replaced them with a box of multi-colored plastic rings. Starlight grabbed one with a telekinesis spell, closing one eye in aim.

“Excuse me.”

Starlight halted, glancing at the sign the game operator was pointing to. It had a picture of a glittering unicorn horn in a circle with a line through it: No magic. Starlight’s ears flattened with embarrassment. “Oops.”

She let the ring drop onto her hoof, took aim and threw it towards the bottles. It clattered off her target, dropping between it and an adjacent one.

“Drat. Missed.”

Starlight took another ring and tossed it. It bounced off a bottle and flew outside the play area.

“Little too much on that one, Starlight,” Sunburst said.

The next five fared no better, all of them ricocheting clumsily off the bottles without making a ringer.

“Wow, this is a lot harder than it looks,” Starlight said.

“You got this, Starlight!” Sunburst cheered.

Starlight nodded with newfound confidence, taking a deep focusing breath. She let the ring fly, only for the thick glass to deflect it back at them. Starlight covered her face on instinct, but the ring flew towards Sunburst and landed perfectly on his horn.

“It’s a ringer!” Starlight said with a chuckle as she watched the ring dangle in front of Sunburst's eyes. “Does that count?”

The griffon shook his head, straight-faced.

“You take your job way too seriously, you know that?” Starlight asked. The griffon tightened his beak in response. “Come on, it was funny! This is a carnival, you really should at least pretend like you’re having a good time.”

“They don’t pay me enough to care,” he grumbled.

Sunburst lowered his head, allowing the ring to slide off his horn and onto his hoof. Tapping it several times with his free hoof, he eyed it closely with a questioning hum. “I understand. It’s the composition of the rings. They’re made out of a very thick and hard plastic so they have no shock absorption. Not to mention the rings aren’t much wider than the necks of those bottles.” He bounced the ring in his hoof, testing it thoroughly. “Then there’s the matter of their weight. So what we have here is an object with too much density and not enough impact absorption to cover its mass. In other words, these rings are designed to bounce. The trick would be to land them on the bottles with almost no force at all, and good luck with that. Your only hope is to get lucky enough to make a ringer off of a bounced throw.”

“That’s a nice speech,” the griffon commented. “Are you saying my game isn’t fair?”

“Actually, for the low cost of the game and prizes like those I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

The griffon shrugged again. Starlight chucked several rings towards the bottles, but the glass rejected every throw until she was left with an empty box of rings.

“Shoot.” Starlight held up a hoof in defeat. “I’m out.”

Sunburst’s horn glittered as he reached into his own pouch. “Here, let me give it a try.”

Starlight grinned and backed off to a spectating position. “Go for it, Sunburst!”

Chapter 5

Trixie craned her head around the carousel she’d been hiding behind, watching Starlight and Sunburst head towards the admission gates at the amusement park's front entrance.

If those two were going for lunch, they’d be sitting down. Talking. It would be the perfect chance to get them to open up to each other. The only problem, Trixie wondered, was how?

Of course, it would depend on where there were going to eat. It hardly seemed ethical to spy on her best friend, but Trixie soothed her conscience by reminding herself she was doing it to make Starlight happy. The end result would make it seem trivial.

“What are you doing?” came a dull voice from behind Trixie.

The magician whirled around, startled at the sudden intrusion. A slate-gray earth pony had snuck up behind Trixie at some point during her distraction.

“Maud Pie?” Trixie asked out loud, as if the mare’s flat hair and blank expression weren’t proof enough.

“Were you expecting Colt Rock?”

A small “eh?” was all Trixie could manage as she cocked her head in confusion.

“It’s a joke,” Maud answered flatly. “He’s my favorite singer.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. As expressionless as Maud was, she might be even weirder than Pinkie Pie.

Maud reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a flat, plain-looking stone. “Boulder thought it was funny.”

“Right,” Trixie answered with a roll of her eyes. “I was just surprised to see you here. Two coincidences in one day? You must be here with Starlight and Sunburst.”

Maud blinked slowly once, her way of expressing surprise. “Starlight and Sunburst are here?”

Trixie’s gaped, unable to form words as she tried to wrap her mind around the odds of her and Maud both being in Las Pegasus at the same time as Starlight and Sunburst with neither group knowing the other was there.

“Are you okay?” Maud asked.

Shaking the confusion out of her head, Trixie forced herself back to reality and pointed towards the pair a few dozen feet away. "Yeah, they're right over there."

Maud’s gaze followed Trixie’s hoof. “If she’s here with Sunburst, I’ll leave them alone. I still feel bad about last time.”

Though her pride kept her from saying it out loud, Trixie felt bad about that incident, too, when Sunburst came to visit Starlight but wound up getting wrapped up in her, Maud and Twilight instead. Starlight had been devastated.

Trixie glanced around in disbelief. The rides. The screams. The crowds. Everything in Corrals of Fun was so fast, so noisy. So… not Maud. “Wait. If you’re not here with them, then why are you here? You don’t seem like the type of pony who enjoys amusement parks.”

Maud held her pet rock a little higher. “I'm in Las Pegasus for a Rocktoral convention, but Boulder likes to come here every time we’re in town.”

“Your rock?” Trixie asked incredulously.

“He rarely acts his age.” Maud stuffed the pebble back into the pocket of her dress. “You were hiding from somepony. Are you spying on Starlight and Sunburst?”

Trixie waved the idea away, suddenly feeling like a rat caught in a trap. “No! Of course not!”

Maud stared silently at Trixie for a moment, those dull eyes seeming to look right through her. Trixie wilted under the weight of Maud’s blank stare; there was never any telling what was going on in the head behind that perpetual stonelike expression. Was she angry? Indifferent?

Trixie dropped her ears, offering a defeated smile. “Yes.”

Maud blinked twice before answering, “Won’t Starlight get mad?”

That gave Trixie a slight pause. She knew how scary Starlight could be when provoked. All the more reason for this to be a tactical espionage mission. “Not if she doesn’t know about it.”

“I’ll come with,” Maud offered.

Trixie stopped, her forehoof raised in midstep as she glanced over her shoulder at Maud. So much for indifference. “You will?”

Maud joined Trixie’s side, her eyes locked on Starlight and Sunburst. “I want to see if they kiss.”

“You’re not gonna blab on me?”

“No.” Maud shook her head and dug her pet rock out again. "Boulder might, though. He’s terrible at keeping secrets.”

"Do you take it, er, I mean him, everywhere?"

"Yes."

“Oh,” Trixie murmured, silently wondering if she should be freaked out about Maud's habit of talking to rocks. She shook her head to put the notion aside and stood up on her rear legs, spreading her cape for dramatic effect. “Don’t worry. For my greatest trick, the Great and Powerful Trixie will make sure they kiss!”

Maud pointed past Trixie with her hoof, towards the entrance to the park. “They’re leaving.”

“Huh?” Trixie whirled around, back on all fours to barely catch a glimpse of Starlight and Sunburst walking past the admission gates. “Gah! Come on, Maud, we’ve got to catch up with them!”

Blankly, Maud returned Boulder to her dress pocket and started after Trixie. “Let’s go, boy.”

Trixie followed them out of the park, still wearing her I.D. lanyard that distinguished her as part of the amusement park’s entertainment rather than a paying guest. The duo stopped at the street corner, forcing Trixie and Maud to hide behind a garbage barrel.

"Ok," Trixie whispered, "let's just see where they're going."

Chapter 6

A neon sign depicting a pair of chopsticks in steaming bowl of noodles hung on one of the buildings across the street. Starlight stopped walking to regard it and the second sign hanging above it that advertised the name of the restaurant.

“Dim Sum’s Noodle Shack?” Starlight asked. Her stomach rumbled in anticipation. “That’s different. How about it, Sunburst?”

“Sure! I’ll try anything once.”

Trixie and Maud watched the unicorns cross the street and enter the restaurant. Once Starlight and Sunburst vanished within, Trixie and Maud trotted across the street. A savory smell of various seasonings greeted Trixie when she pushed open the door to Dim Sum’s. Starlight and Sunburst were already in line at the front counter, preparing to order. Trixie and Maud snuck into a nearby hallway that lead to the restrooms, allowing them to eavesdrop on the two unicorns undetected.

“Hmmm. Should we each get our own bowl?” Starlight asked.

“It might be cheaper to get the large bowl and just share it,” came Sunburst’s voice.

“You and me, sharing the same bowl?” Starlight giggled. “If you say so.”

Trixie rubbed her hooves together. How perfect. All she had to do was use her magic to tie some of the noodles together when the waiter brought out the bowl. One big slurp transitioning into an accidental kiss and they’d see how much they were meant for each other!

This plan is so perfect they should call me the Great and Powerful Matchmaker Trixie thought to herself with a sly smile.

“Excuse me, miss,” said a voice that pulled Trixie from her thoughts. A middle-aged mare stood in front of her with an impatient look on her face.

“Yeah?” Trixie asked.

“Are you waiting or something?”

Trixie tilted her head in confusion as the other pony pointed towards the mare’s restroom door.

“She wants you to move,” Maud said.

“Sorry.” Trixie stepped aside and returned her attention to more pressing issues.

Starlight and Sunburst walked away from the counter, past the dining room tables and out the door in the back that led to the outside dining patio.

“What now?” Maud asked.

“We do the innocent random customer routine. We just need to blend in; act like we belong here.”

Maud nodded her understanding. She and Trixie trotted up to the ordering counter, where a narrow-eyed earth pony mare, her black hair tied in a bun, bowed a greeting.

“Welcome to Dim Sum’s. What can I get for your today?”

Trixie scanned her options in the menu and chuckled at one of the items there. “Noodles with Tartarus sauce?”

“Oh, it no joke,” the hostess said in an accent from the far east. “Tartarus sauce very intense.”

“Then get me a bowl of that.”

“You sure? Only toughest ponies can handle it.”

Trixie put her hoof to her chest, closing her eyes proudly. “The Great and Powerful Trixie goes big or not at all!”

“Ok, then.” The hostess pulled out a piece of paper from somewhere behind the counter. “You sign waiver.”

“For what?” Trixie raised an eyebrow.

“Insurance purposes. You sign, you no sue.”

“It’s really hot,” Maud explained bluntly.

“Phhht. Is that all? Trixie’s not afraid of hot!” She grabbed the pen with her magic and signed next to the x. “Bring it on!”

“You either very brave or very foolish.” The hostess turned her attention to Maud. “And you?”

“I’ll just take a bowl of your classic noodles and a glass of milk.”

“Ok, have seat. Waiter will bring it out to you.”

Trixie and Maud chose the booth next to the patio window that Starlight and Sunburst had their backs to. A few minutes later, an earth pony waiter passed by carrying a large bowl of noodles and pushed open the patio door. Trixie reached out with her telekinesis and tied several strands of the noodles together as the pony walked past.

***

Starlight smiled as the waiter approached their table, carrying a large bowl full of steaming noodles.

“Here you are, one jumbo bowl, cooked to perfection with Dim Sum’s signature seasonings. Let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

The waiter bowed politely, then left the two alone with their meal. Leaning forward, Starlight took a big sniff. It had a hearty, well-seasoned scent that made her mouth water. “Wow, this smells good.”

Sunburst used his magic to grab a fork and dip it into the soup, twisting a lump of noodles around it. Broth dripped from the fork when he lifted it from the bowl. “I’ll bet it tastes good, too! This has been a staple of Neighgasaki cuisine for hundreds of years. They’ve been using garlic since ancient times, at least.” Sunburst blew on the noodles to cool them, then took a big bite. The dimples on his puffy cheeks lifted in a full mouthed smile. He swallowed and licked his lips.

“Good?” Starlight asked.

“Delicious! Great idea coming here, Starlight. You’re a genius.”

“I told you, eating local like this is one of the best parts of travelling.” Starlight scooped up a forkful of noodles and shoved them into her mouth. A warm, salty wave of flavor from the various seasonings danced on her taste buds. “Wow, this is good! These are the most flavorful noodles I’ve ever had.”

“Like I said, part of it’s the garlic,” Sunburst twirled his fork around the pasta. “Did you know that ancient ponies used garlic for medicinal purposes? They used it to treat everything from minor cuts to life-threatening infections.”

Starlight tilted her head, once more intrigued by Sunburst’s vast knowledge. “No, I didn’t know that. Where’d you find that out?”

“In a book I read about ancient pony civilizations.”

Starlight laughed and shot Sunburst a wink. “Oh, and who’s the genius?”

Sunburst swallowed hard, nearly choking on the noodles in the process. He laughed bashfully and waved the notion away. “Oh, I’m no genius. I just read a lot.”

“Sunburst, you’re one of the smartest ponies I know.” Starlight put a hoof on his shoulder to assure him.

Fidgeting with his fork, Sunburst kept his eyes shyly on their bowl. “Okay, maybe I am a little bit of a genius.”

“There you go!” Starlight patted him on the shoulder. “See? You don’t have to be so modest all the time. Have a little faith in yourself. I do.”

Sunburst turned his head, looking Starlight in the face for a silent moment that brought Starlight a smile she couldn’t have fought if she tried.

He returned the smile with one of his own. “Thanks, Starlight.”

There was something about Sunburst that made Starlight feel a peculiar warmth radiating from within as she gazed at him. Unsure what to make of it, she turned her attention back to their meal and dipped her fork back into the bowl, playing with it for a bit, mentally searching for something to take her mind off this strange feeling.

“Hey,” she said, at the formation of an idea. “Let’s have a noodle race.”

“A what?” Sunburst asked, himself only now seeming to come back to reality.

“We each take a forkful of noodles, without spinning them, and whoever reaches the end of theirs first wins.”

Sunburst narrowed his brow and spun his fork in the air. “You know what, Starlight? You’re on!”

Starlight held her own fork aloft, shooting Sunburst a confident glare that said “you’re toast!”

“Alright, on three. Ready?”

Sunburst nodded in confirmation.

“One. Two. Three!”

Starlight scooped up a strand of noodles and brought them to her lips, watching them snake their way into her mouth as she slurped.

In her excitement, Starlight paid little attention to the fact her noodles curved sharply to the right. She twisted her neck to follow and suddenly found herself nose-to-nose with Sunburst.

***

Sunburst sucked up his noodles with a loud slurp, eager to beat Starlight at her own game. Focused on his own efforts, he failed to notice the row of noodles go rigid as they pulled from the opposite side until he felt his nose bump into something soft and warm.

His entire body tingled when he realized he was face to face with Starlight, her nose scrunched up against his. As he stared into her feminine features, his heart began to flutter at the realization that the filly he’d known since they were foals had grown into a lovely young mare.

He hadn’t paid much attention before, so why was he only now aware of a strange, startling feeling in the pit of his stomach?

***

Both opened their eyes wide in surprise, gazing at each other. Starlight’s heart thumped painfully in her chest as she let out a nervous giggle before biting off her noodles and pulling her head back, watching Sunburst’s cheeks flare up. He averted his gaze, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck.

“Heh. We grabbed the same noodles,” Starlight said to break the awkward silence. Her face went hot as she twirled a hoof in her ponytail. “What are the odds?”

“Yeah,” Sunburst mumbled, still unable to look Starlight in the eyes. “One in a million, huh?”

Just a couple more inches, and... Starlight felt her cheeks burn; the tips of her hooves tingle. That was the closest she'd ever come to kissing anypony.

Chapter 7

Trixie facehoofed against the irritation. Starlight and Sunburst had booped noses from her sabotaged noodles, but they still hadn’t kissed. “I can’t believe that didn’t work. That's the oldest accidental kiss trick in the book!”

“So close,” Maud said.

Trixie glanced over at her, but she still wore that same blank expression. “Aren’t you excited?”

“Very.”

Trixie studied Maud a bit closer, but failed to notice any sort of change in expression or posture. She rested her mind on the fact that this odd earth pony was beyond her understanding. “You’d make a great poker player, you know that?”

“That’s another reason I’m here, but don’t tell my sister. She thinks I cheat, but she has more tells than pumice has holes.”

“Right,” Trixie said, scratching her chin. It made sense. “Las Pegasus is famous for its casinos.”

“So what next?” Maud asked.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. Time for a little magic.” Trixie looked up as she summoned glittering magic energy into her horn. “They’re going to stare into each other’s eyes whether they want to or not.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“Hey, Starlight has only herself to blame for teaching me these spells.”

Trixie shut her eyes in concentration and conjured up a spell to force Starlight out of her senses for a moment, then one that held Sunburst’s head fast in place, unable to blink.

“Here we go,” Maud said, turning her attention back to the two unicorns on the other side of the window.

***

Sunburst had hardly noticed the sudden stiffness in his neck. He was transfixed on Starlight, captivated by a feminine sparkle in her blue eyes.

A few moments later, Starlight shook the cobwebs out of her head. “Woah, that was weird. I just zoned out for a second there.”

Even though the spell had faded, Sunburst still gazed at Starlight, causing two red blotches to appear on her cheeks. “Sunburst, are you okay? Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Oh!” Sunburst glanced about, then shook his head to force himself back to reality. “I’m fine, it’s just…” He stopped, choking on the words.

“What is it?” Starlight asked.

Sunburst stared into her eyes for a bit longer, just to be sure he hadn’t imagined the last few seconds. Those blue orbs set above her nose gleamed with all the radiance of a charged soul crystal. “Wow. I never noticed how beautiful your eyes are.” Sunburst felt his heart thumping, his stomach twisting into a nervous knot at his own compliment.

Both their cheeks flaring, Starlight averted her gaze to the table, nervously playing with her hooves while wearing a sheepish grin.

“I, um,” Sunburst gulped. Intriguing, how hard it was to admit something like this. For a moment, he wrestled for the courage, only to stop short on the words. He took a deep breath to steel his nerve. It was time to pony up; if he couldn’t admit this to his oldest friend, he’d never be brave enough to find a mate someday. “You know, Starlight, you, er, you’re really pretty when you smile.” Sunburst’s face grew even hotter. “You should do it more.”

Starlight giggled, giving Sunburst a coy smile of her own. “Well, I think those glasses make you look handsome, Mr. Super Smart Wizard.”

***

Trixie put a hoof over her mouth to cram the squeal down. She nudged Maud on the shoulder with her other hoof. “Maud, did you hear that? That was so sweet!”

“But they didn’t kiss.”

Trixie looked back out the window. The two unicorns had gone back to their meal now, showing no possibility of a smooch.

“Oh, come on! Just kiss already!”

Trixie crammed both hooves over her mouth, cringing as she waited for Starlight and Sunburst to turn around at the sudden outburst and see her and Maud on the other side of the window. They didn’t seem to notice, keeping their attention on their meal. Trixie sighed in relief.

“Your lunch, fillies.”

Twisting her head at the new voice, Trixie saw the waiter had arrived at their table, two bowls of soup on his cart.

“Oh, good. I’m hungry.”

The unicorn waiter grabbed their bowls and drink with his telekinesis and placed them in front of Maud and Trixie, along with a plate of complimentary breadsticks.

“Enjoy. Let me know if you need anything else.”

After the waiter walked away, Trixie twirled a clump of noodles around her fork and opened her mouth wide to bite.

“It’s hot,” Maud bluntly stated.

Trixie hadn’t remembered. A tingling sensation, quickly growing in heat, reminded her of the Tartarus sauce.

Sweat glistened on Trixie’s forehead. Moisture began to trickle its way down the sides of her face. A pained cough forced its way from her throat. The heat… it was unbearable, and only growing worse by the second! Chewed-up noodles flew out of Trixie’s mouth as she spat them back into the bowl. "Ack! My mouth's on fire!"

“Too hot?” Maud asked.

“I think-” Trixie coughed in pain as she wiped the sweat from her brow, “I think I just took a mouthful of molten lava!”

“Felsic or mafic? Mafic has a high concentration of iron and magnesium, while felsic lava is formed at much lower-”

“I don’t care!” Trixie howled. She could swear steam shot out her ears. Her nose went into overdrive, forcing her to desperately grab for a napkin and blow. She panted, hoping it would cool her mouth. It didn’t. "Make it stop!"

Trixie frantically looked around for something to squelch the inferno and spotted Maud’s glass of milk. “Gimme that!” She grabbed the cup and swished some of the milk around in her mouth, finding relief in the sweet, creamy chill.

“You’re welcome,” Maud said.

“Trixie. Almost. Died.” Trixie panted in between each word. The burn came creeping back, prompting her to stuff one of the breadsticks in her mouth to keep it at bay. After that intense wave of fiery Tartarus sauce, however, Trixie couldn’t even taste the breadstick and barely felt it in her mouth.

“Did my tongue melt away?!” Trixie stuck her tongue out to be sure it was still there.

Maud pointed to her bowl. “Are you going to finish that?”

“No!” Trixie snapped, pushing the bowl aside. “That stuff is evil. No wonder they call it Tartarus sauce.”

“I thought you weren’t afraid of hot.”

“I wanted spicy, not an inferno in my mouth. I might be Great and Powerful, but breathing fire is not in my repertoire!”

Maud pulled Boulder from the pocket of her dress and plopped him in the bowl of noodles. “Boulder will finish the rest.”

“Don’t pretend like that rock is-”

Trixie’s jaw froze in amazement. The contents of the bowl were actually shrinking!

“It’s okay. He can’t resist spicy food.”

***

An empty bowl sat in front of Starlight and Sunburst; both of them patting their bellies contentedly.

“Great meal, Starlight,” Sunburst said with a satisfied sigh. “I should listen to you more often.”

“That’s a first,” Starlight replied with a giggle. “Nopony ever tells me that. Usually my ideas are terrible ones that backfire with disastrous consequences.”

“Well this was a good one,” Sunburst assured her. “Next time we take a trip together, I’m leaving the dining plans to you.”

Starlight pulled her head back in mild surprise. Would he really go out with her again after the roller coaster incident? “Is there going to be a ‘next time’?”

“Why not?” Sunburst shrugged. “I’m having a good time.”

Starlight couldn’t fight the smile as she averted her gaze. Maybe he really did enjoy being with her.

“So, what do want to do next, Starlight?” Sunburst asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

“Hmmm. There’s plenty to do in Las Pegasus. Let’s let our food settle for a bit and think on it.” She stood up from her chair, turning for the door. “I have to use the filly’s room. I’ll be right back.”

Sunburst gave an understanding nod. “Go ahead, I’ll wait out here for the check.”

Chapter 8

Starlight pushed open the dining room patio door that was only one table away from the one where Trixie and Maud sat. She continued on, trotting across the dining room floor and into the restroom hallway next to the check in counter.

Once Starlight had passed by, Trixie and Maud faded back into view with a sparkle from Trixie’s horn. Trixie gasped for air, as she’d been holding her breath to avoid detection.

“That was too close, Maud. We gotta get out of here.” Trixie left a waiter’s tip on the table and stood up.

Maud wordlessly stood up from the table, offered a tip herself and placed Boulder back in the pocket of her dress. She glanced around for a moment, then pointed her hoof towards an open doorway on the opposite end of the restaurant from the front counter.

Trixie’s eyes followed Maud’s hoof. That open doorway led to a gift shop. “Good idea, Maud. We’ll just blend in there.” Trixie stood up and followed Maud. “Jeez, those two ponies are as oblivious as a couple of rocks.”

“Rocks have feelings, too,” Maud said.

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”

“You hurt Boulder’s feelings. Apologize.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie would never apologize to an inanimate-” Trixie stopped on the words, feeling the weight of Maud’s blank gaze upon her. She heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes again. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings, Boulder.”

Maud blinked, then answered, “he forgives you.”

There were all sorts of little trinkets and collectibles in Dim Sum’s gift shop, far more so than Trixie had originally imagined. Many of them were distinctively Eastern in design; snake-like dragons, little vases with cherry blossoms painted on them and tiny porcelain ponies; some wearing the classic conical straw hats, others equipped with weapons and armor from the ancient dynasties, and a few stereotypical looking geishas.

An orange glass orb, about the size of a volleyball with seven white stars painted on it nabbed Trixie’s attention. She rubbed its smooth, globular surface, mildly amused at her distorted reflection. “Hey, Maud, there’s a lot of neat stuff in here. What is this, some kind of crystal ball, or-”

“No,” Maud interrupted. Trixie watched the earth pony’s face appear beside her own on the surface of the orb. “It’s glass. Just for decoration.”

Trixie saw her own reflection scoff. “Well, that’s boring. What a letdown.” She turned away from the seven-starred orb and looked around a bit more, noticing something that struck her as unusual. There were cricket-themed merchandise everywhere, in all shapes and sizes. Some made of glass, some out of metal and even a few plush crickets among the various shelves.

“What’s with all the crickets?”

“In the east, crickets are a symbol of good luck and prosperity,” Maud explained.

Trixie turned to her, raising an eyebrow. “Weird. How do you know that?”

“I travelled to Hayjing and Furlong Kong for my Rocktorate. I learned a lot there. A little bit of history. But mostly about rocks.”

“I don’t get it.” Trixie shook her head. “To me, crickets are just noisy pests.” Her gaze rested on a tiny green jeweled cricket attached to a faux silver necklace. “I guess this one’s kind of pretty. Jade cricket, huh?”

Maud moved closer, inspecting it. “It’s not real jade. It’s glass.”

“You’re a real killjoy, you know that?” Trixie said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed one of the necklaces with her magic.

Trixie set the jade cricket down on the gift shop’s checkout counter and did a double take. The glass locking case beneath the counter housed various weapons: Swords, nunchucks, knives and throwing stars. The sight of one of them, a long metal handle attached to an iron ball with spikes protruding from every angle, made Trixie cringe.

“Ouch,” was all Trixie could say of it. Indeed, the thought of taking a blow to the head from that thing was unpleasant.

“Oh, you interested?” the shopkeeper asked. “Give me price, we make deal.”

“Nononono,” Trixie held up a hoof to stifle him. After being corrupted by the alicorn amulet, she wanted nothing to do with things designed to harm ponies. “I might be a great and powerful magician, but juggling knives and swallowing swords aren’t part of my act. Trixie is not interested in your instruments of murder. I just want this necklace.”

As she completed her purchase, Trixie glanced into the dining room to be sure Starlight wasn’t coming back. Her friend nowhere in sight, Trixie heaved a sigh of relief and stuffed the jade cricket in her saddlebag.

“Thank you very much,” the shopkeeper said with a bow, “and come again.”

With her souvenir in tow, Trixie turned her sights back to Maud and her mind to more important matters. “So, how else can we get them to open up to each other about how they really feel? I wonder if we could find a way to get Sunburst to do something for Starlight, but make it seem like it’s his idea. What do you think, Maud?”

“Starlight likes kites.”

“Wha?”

Maud pointed to a rack of brochures for local attractions, one of them having a picture of an airborne kite on it. Trixie grabbed the pamphlet and read it out loud.

“Now open: Las Pegasus Kite Emporium. The largest kite collection within 300 miles. Antiques on display. Come see us on the corner of Mane and 3rd.” Trixie squealed, tapping her front hooves together. “Brilliant, Maud! If we get Sunburst to see this, maybe he’ll take Starlight there. She’ll love him for that!”

“Mm-hm.” Maud nodded.

***

Sunburst tapped his front hooves on the table, his mind trying to sort out the mixed emotions he’d been feeling. Happy. Peaceful. Nervous. Anxious. What did it all mean? He silently cursed himself, for all his vast knowledge of magic and wizardry didn’t hold the answer. All he knew was he felt a strong, profound desire to do something for Starlight, to see her happy.

But what?

Almost as if to answer him, a small pamphlet, the type one would normally see lined up on racks at hotels and popular tourist spots, landed on the table after riding a gentle breeze.

Sunburst clamped a hoof down on the pamphlet to keep it from blowing away again, his face wrinkling in disgust. Jeez, I wish ponies wouldn’t litter so much. Is it really that hard to-

His thoughts were cut short at a sudden burst of inspiration as he looked at the pamphlet under his hoof. The Las Pegasus Kite Emporium? Of course! What a surprise that’ll be. She’ll love it!

Sunburst’s heart thumped with excitement. He couldn’t wait to see Starlight’s smile and watch those beautiful eyes light up with joy when he brought her there.

Chapter 9

Sunburst lead Starlight twenty blocks away from Dim Sum’s Noodle Shack in a seemingly random path. He didn’t mention where they were going, only a promise that the walk would be worth it.

“Sunburst, where are you taking me?” Starlight asked. A dull pain was building up in her tired hooves.

“It’s a surprise. Don’t worry, we’re almost there. It should be just around the next block.”

Sunburst rounded the corner, glancing around. A sudden smile appeared on his face and he pointed his hoof towards a building on the other side of the street. “Aha, here we are.”

Starlight looked at the building across the street. She saw the sign on the front of the store and gasped at a sudden shot of fillyish enthusiasm. “The Las Pegasus Kite Emporium?!”

Sunburst allowed himself a victorious smile. “I figured you’d appreciate this.”

“How did you find this place?”

“A flier for it blew onto our table while you went to use the restroom. I knew it would be the perfect surprise.”

Starlight flashed a huge toothy grin as she threw her front legs around Sunburst’s neck, hugging him tightly.

“Oh, Sunburst, thankyouthankyouthankyou! This is the best surprise ever!” She let him go and rubbed her chin in thought. “Though it was funny luck that flier just happened to blow onto our table.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Into the world of kites!”

Starlight leaned close and gave Sunburst an appreciative kiss on the cheek. She pranced across the street and into the store, leaving Sunburst behind rubbing his face in a daze.

A veritable sea of kites, more than she’d ever seen in her life, awaited Starlight when she stepped through the door. Dozens of displays hung from the ceiling, where fans pushed just enough air for the kites’ tails to dance about with grace, giving the illusion that they were gliding in the breeze. The sight of it all made Starlight’s heart flutter; or perhaps it was the impulsive kiss she gave Sunburst. Starlight couldn’t tell which.

Sunburst appeared beside Starlight with a satisfied look on his face. “What do you think?”

Starlight glanced around at this kite lover’s heaven. “Look at this place, it’s huge. I’ve never seen so many kites in my life! There’s so many I think I might faint.”

Trotting down the first aisle, Starlight fought to control her growing excitement. There were big kites, small kites, classic diamond-shaped kites and 3D kites with an Eastern dragon design. There was even a Celestia kite dangling from the ceiling. The blue, green and pink streamers attached to it flowed as regally as the real Celestia's mane. Standing under it, Starlight dared to think that being in its presence made her feel like a princess herself.

“I wonder if Her Highness has one of those,” Sunburst wondered.

Starlight giggled at the mental image of Celestia admiring a kite modelled in her likeness, then turned her attention to the various kites packaged in the aisle.

Among the kites arranged on the shelf was the rare and aptly named Kite-a-Rang, a spring-loaded kite that spun in an arc and returned to the flier on its own.

“Eee-hee-hee!” Starlight squealed in delight as she pranced in place. “It’s a Kite-a-Rang! I can’t believe I actually found one! Ooh, I gotta get it!” She grabbed one of the packages and continued down the aisle. “I wonder what else they got here? There’s just so much to choose from!”

Starlight wandered into the next aisle and drew a sudden gasp at the sight of a star shaped kite attached to a thin, hollow wheel that allowed the star to spin in midair. She sandwiched her face between her hooves, squishing her cheeks with stars glittering in her eyes. “That’s a Peppy Pinwheel! Sunburst, do you know how hard these are to find?”

“Actually, I don’t,” Sunburst admitted.

“I’ve never even seen one for sale before. I gotta get one of these, too.” Starlight took a packaged Peppy Pinwheel and added it to the Kite-a-Rang while Sunburst ambled off, seemingly looking for something. Starlight hardly noticed, however. Like an excited child, her attention was fully absorbed in the rows of kites until she came across an out of stock hole in one of the shelves.

In the empty spot on the shelf was some sort of brochure with a picture of a magic staff on it. Starlight grabbed the piece of paper with her magic and brought it closer to study it.

Madame Mystic’s’ Antique Wizardry Store. Ancient scrolls, arcane staves, forgotten volumes. Whether you’re an apprenticing wizard or an avid collector, we’ve got something for you. Starlight gasped, unable to believe her luck. This is right up Sunburst’s alley! He’d have a field day there. Looks like it’s not too far from here, either. Since he brought me here, I’ll give him a little surprise of my own!

“Hey, Starlight, come take a look at this!” Sunburst yelled from several aisles over.

Starlight glanced around to make sure Sunburst didn’t see her slip the brochure in her saddlebag, then trotted over to the direction of his voice. She found him at the back wall of the store, next to a glass showcase displaying several kites.

“What is it?” Starlight asked.

“The flier I found said there were antiques on display. These must be them.”

Starlight walked up for a closer look inside the display case. Excitement gave way to awe as she laid her eyes on an absolute relic. A blue kite, shaped somewhat like a bird in mid-flight. Perfectly angled wings. Fan-shaped tail. And the giveaway signature “S.B.” stitched in cursive on the right wing. “That’s an original Windblown Wonder!”

“Original?” Sunburst echoed. He turned his sights to the ceiling, watching several almost identical kites flapping about. “So then the ones dangling from the ceiling are just replicas?”

“Right. But this one in here is an original, crafted by the legendary kite maker, Sirocco Breeze! I can’t believe the owner of this place found one. They say nopony else has been able to replicate Sirocco’s craft. These were made with a stitch pattern almost impossible to rip and a perfect angular design so unique to him that nopony else was able to figure it out. It was his masterpiece, the best kite of its time. Maybe ever.”

“By angular design, I assume you mean the shape was precise enough to maximize its aerodynamic properties by compensating for drag and airflow.”

“Uh-huh. Sirocco achieved it by carefully studying flying birds. He even used hollowed out bamboo for the dowels to mimic a bird’s bones. Windblown Wonders were incredibly balanced kites, favored by competitive kite fliers.”

Starlight put her front hooves against the display case, watching the reflection of her eyes glitter with tears of joy. This was a treasure, a piece of kiting history and they only thing between her and it was a thin sheet of glass. Starlight felt she could kiss Sunburst again for the chance to see a Windblown Wonder. “I can’t believe I’m this close to one. It’s so beautiful.”

She stared at the antique kite for a while longer, trying to envision herself flying it. What an experience that would have been!

“Starlight?” Sunburst prodded her after a minute of silence.

Starlight’s hoof shot up to shush him. “Just give me another minute. I want to remember this moment.”

Starlight knew she could spend all day in the kite emporium and it wouldn’t be enough. She also knew they had other things to do, and she was excited to take Sunburst to the antique wizardry story. With some effort, she forced herself away from the display case and started down another one of the aisles.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Starlight yelled. “Now I’ve got to get one of the replicas, just to remind me, and I’ll probably get one of those Celestia kites, too. And a dragon one!”

Sunburst could only chuckle to himself. He may not have been into kites, but it was worth it just to see Starlight this happy.

Chapter 10

Thirty minutes and ten kites later, Starlight and Sunburst trotted down one of Las Pegasus’ crowded avenues; Sunburst glancing around in confusion.

“Um, Starlight, where are we going? I’m pretty sure the amusement park is back the other way.”

“Just trust me,” Starlight offered. “You’re gonna love this!”

“If you say so, Starlight.”

The pair marched on a couple more blocks, then Starlight smiled as she pointed towards a chain of stores, one of them bearing a sign that read “Madame Mystic’s Antique Wizardry Store,” with a crystal ball in place of the o in the word “store.”

“Oh wow!” Sunburst’s eyes lit up beneath his glasses. “An antique wizardry store!” He reared up and kicked his front legs, letting out an excited whinny before trotting inside.

The shop was dimly lit, as the windows had been covered with old curtains. Smoke rose up from several sticks on the various tables as well as the front counter, filling the store with a heavy perfume of burning incense.

A mare stood behind the counter, dressed in a colorful robe with a turban fit snugly onto her head. Her curly black mane flowed out from the back of the headdress.

“Welcome, friends, to Madame Mystic’s Antique Wizardry store,” she said, rolling her ‘r’s in a peculiar accent. “I am Madame Mystic, enthusiast of relics from eras long past. Feel free to have a look around, but take care with the magical items. Many of them still contain a fair amount of power.”

“I’ll be careful,” Sunburst assured. He then trotted past the counter in search of something of interest.

He gasped and stopped at his first find: a gnarled wooden staff beset with a sapphire gem. The staff hung with several others on a wall-mounted rack behind a glass display case. “Wow, look at this staff. Look at the design. This might even be older than the founding of Equestria!”

“Hey, you’re right,” Starlight agreed. “How much is it?”

Sunburst glanced at the price tag posted beneath the staff, his face turning pale. “A little outside my budget.”

Starlight stepped up to check the tag herself and nearly choked. “100,000 bits?!”

“%100 authentic, used by unicorns during the pre-Equestrian Unicorn Wars,” Madame Mystic explained. “That staff is ancient. I hope you understand why it is so much.”

“Of course,” Sunburst huffed. “It’s a fair price for something that old, I just don’t have that kind of money.”

Disappointment shone in Sunburst’s eyes. Starlight put a hoof on his shoulder to comfort him. “I’m sorry, Sunburst.”

Sunburst looked into her eyes for a moment, then smiled to erase the regret he saw in them. “Are you kidding? I’m just glad I had a chance to see one for myself.” He turned away from the display case and started deeper into the store. “Let’s see if there’s something a little more in my price range.”

The next item Sunburst found was also out of his price range, Starlight knew, but he still had to stop to marvel at another locking case displaying enchanted rings and amulets. His eyes were locked onto one particular gold necklace with intricate runes carved into it.

“Is that an Amulet of Arcaneah?!”

“Keen eye, my friend,” Madame Mystic said. “She was-”

“Starswirl the Bearded’s first pupil,” Sunburst interrupted, wearing a knowing smile.

Madame Mystic drew her head back in surprise. “Your knowledge is impressive, friend. This is, indeed, one of the amulets which she was famous for.”

As Sunburst and Mystic chatted it up about the enchanted artifacts in the display case, Starlight wandered off in search of something Sunburst could both appreciate and afford. She came to stop at the back of the store, where there was a huge bookshelf that covered the entire wall.

“Hey, Sunburst!” Starlight yelled. “Come look at all these books!”

“Books?” Sunburst turned towards her, bringing an end to his conversation. “Coming!”

He trotted over to the bookshelf, his face full of excitement. “Wow! So many old books, I don’t even know where to start looking!” Sunburst drew a sharp gasp and removed a dusty old tome. “The Principles of Pyromancy: Volume 1!” When he opened the cover, Sunburst’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “And it’s not even a reprint, it’s a first edition! I don’t believe it!” He turned around to face Madame Mystic behind the counter. “Ma’am, how much do you want for this book?”

Madame Mystic pointed above the book rack to a sign that read Books: 20 bits each. “All our books are 20 bits.”

“Are you insane? That’s practically stealing. I mean, this is a treasure! Do you know how much some collectors would pay for this book?”

Madame Mystic shrugged. “If you insist, I can raise the price.”

Sunburst wrapped a foreleg around the tome, holding it to his chest protectively. “Nononono, that won’t be necessary.”

“Find something good, Sunburst?” Starlight asked, stepping up for a close look at his new find.

“I sure did! I’ve found every book in the series now, all 1st editions! This’ll complete my collection.”

Starlight’s face brightened to see Sunburst this happy. “That’s great! There’s bound to be more good ones in here.” She scanned through the bookshelf for a moment in hopes of finding something interesting. Her eyes locked onto the spine of one thick volume, the author of it nabbing her attention. “Hey, Starswirl the Bearded wrote this one.”

Sunburst snapped toward Starlight. “What? Let me see.”

Starlight showed the book to Sunburst. He read the title out loud.

“Starswirl’s Theories of Magic!” Sunburst beamed, his aqua blue eyes wide and glittering with joy. That smile alone made it worth taking him here. “I’ve been looking everywhere for this book!”

“You have?” Starlight turned the book around, finding the cover of it very familiar. “Wait a second, Twilight has this one.”

“I know!”

“You do?” Starlight raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “You know she would have loaned you it, right?”

“Oh, I know she would. But to have my very own copy is something completely different. Thanks for bringing me here, Starlight!” In the next moment, before she even knew what was happening, Starlight felt herself being squeezed, her view a mix of orange and red. A few seconds passed before she realized Sunburst had her wrapped in a hug, which she returned with one of her own.

“You’re welcome,” she answered, her heart pounding with anxiety to hold Sunburst this close.

The two held their embrace for a few more seconds, hearts and thoughts flying until Sunburst finally let Starlight go. “Let me look around for a few more minutes, then we’ll go back to the park.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

***

“Nice work,” Maud said to Trixie as they staged their stakeout just around the corner of the block where Madam Mystic’s was located.

“I know!” Trixie stuck her chest out in pride. “I might be great and powerful, but I’m also a genius. Who’d have guessed I’d have found an advertisement for this place? It must be destiny, like we were meant to bring Starlight and Sunburst closer together!”

The door to the shop opened, and the pair in question emerged, Sunburst carrying a small stack of books, both of them smiling.

“Looks like that turned out well,” Trixie observed. “Come on, Maud, let’s follow them. We don’t wanna miss that kiss!

Chapter 11

Sunburst stared across the street with a faraway look in his eyes, his mouth cracked open a bit.

“What’s up?” Starlight asked. Sunburst pointed to a building across the street, and Starlight read the sign out loud. “The Equestria Pinball Museum? What about it?”

Sunburst smiled and gave a quick hop. “I love pinball!”

“You do?” Starlight asked. She didn’t know that about him.

“Of course! Let’s go check it out.”

“Eh, I never was very good at pinball. But I guess if you want--”

Sunburst galloped across the street and pushed open the door to the museum, leaving Starlight with little choice but to follow him. What awaited inside the building surprised even her; rows on rows of neatly arranged pinball machines giving off a sort of dazzling light show. Her ears were assaulted from every angle by the classic bleeps and dings of pinball targets being struck, as well as synthetic voices, music and sound effects as dozens of ponies mashed the flipper buttons.

“Wow, there sure are a lot of them.” Be patient with him, Starlight. Be willing to embrace his likes.

“Yes! There’s got to be at least a hundred different machines in here!” Sunburst glanced around with an excited smile on his face. “Oh, boy, which one should I play first?”

“Do you think we’ll have time?” Starlight asked. We as in, I’m here, too.

“Just a couple games.” Sunburst gasped and pointed to one machine with a marquis of a pony clad in black armor. “Look, they have Dark Pony! And Mad Manticore! There were only fifty of these made. I can’t believe they found one!” Sunburst reached into his pouch and plopped a bit into Mad Manticore’s coin slot. “Ok, going for the high score!”

Starlight looked at the scoring board beneath the marquis of the machine. “Wow, 50,000,00? Think you can do it?”

“Foal’s play.” Sunburst rubbed his front hooves together in anticipation. “Watch and learn, Starlight.”

***

“Well this is an odd little diversion,” Trixie said as she and Maud stepped into the pinball museum. “Trixie can make a better light show than these things. I haven’t played pinball since I was a filly, but we shouldn’t stay here too long. We don’t want to get caught, right, Maud?” There was no answer. Maybe Trixie hadn’t heard Maud’s quiet voice over the noise of all the games. Trixie spun around, finding that Maud had disappeared. “Maud?”

Trixie scanned the rows of machines and found Maud at a game named Hard Rock, with Boulder sitting on the glass of the pinball table.

“What are you doing?”

“This one’s Boulder’s favorite,” Maud said. Trixie’s eyes followed the ball as Maud hit the flipper and sent it spinning up a ramp.

***

After ten minutes and Sunburst still only on his second ball, Starlight surrendered to boredom. She’d have to experience a game herself if she wanted to understand why Sunburst liked pinball so much, so she glanced around and found an artistically detailed machine called “King Sombra’s Castle” that even had a tiny model fortress housed within the glass of the play field. She put a bit into the slot and hit the start button.

A synthetic voice declared, “I am King Sombra! You will never defeat me!” Starlight giggled at this and pulled the plunger, then flipped the ball towards the ramp on the left of the playing field. It hit just off the mouth of the ramp and rebounded down the left drain. Starlight flattened her ears against the irritation-- one ball gone already. Another one plopped into place against the plunger just as Starlight saw Sunburst approach from the corner of her eye.

“75,000,000. I told you I could beat it,” Sunburst said.

“Nice job!” Starlight said. “I’d give you a hoof bump but I’m a bit busy right now.”

“Ah, King Sombra’s Castle. A lot of pinball enthusiasts consider this to be one of the best ever made.”

Starlight hit the flipper, rebounding the ball off the middle timber wolf target. She grumbled as the ball dropped straight between the two flippers, leaving her no chance to catch it. “Wow, you’re a lot better at this than I am. You make it look so easy.”

“It is, once you get the hang of it.” Starburst adjusted his glasses as he looked at the table’s scoreboard. “On ball three already? Are you even trying?”

“I told you I stink at this,” Starlight said. She watched her third and final ball overshoot to the left and drain down the hole between the flippers. Wicked laughter came from King Sombra’s synthesized voice, accompanying a “game over” message.

Starlight flattened her ears and hung her head in embarrassment. “Great. Even the machine’s laughing at how bad I did.”

Sunburst put a hoof on her shoulder. “Hey, It just takes practice, and patience.” He regarded Starlight silently for a moment. “Patience never was your strong suit. Don’t feel bad; I had to feed these machines a lot of bits to get as good as I am now.”

“Practice, huh?” Starlight let out a nervous chuckle as her mind formed a plan to draw him near. “Maybe you can show me. You can stand behind me and we could practice together.”

Sunburst’s face flared as he stepped behind her and placed his hooves over the buttons so that his front legs were practically hugging her. “Y-you mean like this?”

How close he was. Starlight let out an anxious breath. If he was this near, why not take it one step further? “Here, let me take the buttons and put your hooves over mine. That way you can show me how it’s done.”

Shuddering from the awkward closeness, Sunburst let Starlight put her hooves on the buttons, and his hooves over hers. He stepped nearer so they were nearly touching, his face inches from the softness of her mane.

Starlight giggled as she put a bit into the machine and hit the start button. “Sunburst, you’re shivering. Are you nervous? Just think of it as practice.”

“Practice,” Sunburst sighed. “Right.”

They launched the ball into the upper area of the playing field. Sunburst pressed their hooves over the right flipper, halting the ball. “See, if you hold the button down, the flipper will catch the ball and give you time to line up your next shot. Once you familiarize yourself with the angles, you’ll be hitting those ramps every time.”

Sunburst released the button and hit it again at the perfect moment, sending the ball rolling up the left ramp. “See? Piece of cake, right?”

Starlight watched her reflection grinning off the glass, enjoying his touch and the way his hooves communicated with hers. “Yeah. But maybe you can show me some more.”

A synthetic voice called out, “take my castle, if you dare!”

“What’s that?” Starlight asked.

“We started the castle challenge. See the castle in the back corner? Let’s try to hit the drawbridge.”

Starlight gauged the size of the target and frowned. “That’s like two inches, I’m not that accurate!”

“I’ll help you.”

Again, Sunburst caught their ball with the right flipper and flung it at the drawbridge with pinpoint accuracy. The bridge lowered, allowing a path inside the castle.

“Ok, now see if you can hit the ball inside the castle. You’ll destroy it and get a huge bonus to your score.” Sunburst let go of her hooves and backed off a couple steps. “You can do it!”

Starlight nodded, aimed and flipped the ball across the drawbridge and inside the little castle. The entire machine rumbled with an explosion sound effect, then the castle broke into three separate pieces.

“You have defeated me for now, but next time won’t be so easy!” King Sombra said.

Starlight beamed with pride. “I did it! Sunburst, did you see that?”

“Nice shot, Starlight! I knew you could!”

Licking her lips, Starlight narrowed her eyes in focus. “You know what? I think I’m starting to like this game.”

Sunburst regarded Starlight with a smile as he wiped his eyes. “So proud…”

***

Trixie and Maud stepped out into bright daylight from the relative darkness of the pinball museum after Maud finished her game.

“Nice job beating the high score on Hard Rock, Maud,” Trixie said. “You were pretty good. Come on, we don’t want to get caught.”

“Starlight was even better.”

“A better player?” Trixie asked, raising an eyebrow. From the few glances she got of Starlight, it didn’t look like she was faring so well.

“Not at pinball,” Maud corrected.

Trixie rubbed her chin as her mind worked to put the pieces together. “You mean when they--she was--and she got him to--and he showed her…”

Maud nodded a confirmation.

Trixie looked over her shoulder at the entrance to the museum, smiling slyly. “Oh, that was good, Starlight. Real good.”

The warm, fluffy feeling was growing. This was getting better with each stop!

Chapter 12

One hour later, Starlight and Sunburst secured their treasures in a rental locker at Corrals of Fun. Now that they’d returned to the park, Starlight looked about for some more excitement. That Lazy River ride they’d passed over when they rode the train seemed like fun, and it would be hilarious to see Sunburst all wet.

She’d considered asking him if he wanted to go there next, but her nose caught a whiff of something sweet, holding the question in. A funnel cake stand was a few feet away, causing her stomach to growl at the sight of a filly and her mother walking away with one of the pastries.

“You know, Sunburst, all that walking’s made me hungry. I could really go for a funnel cake right about now.”

“Sure! They’re delicious.”

The duo dodged a group of running foals as they made their way to the funnel cake stand. Both purchased one cake topped with powdered sugar, now hovering in front of them.

For her own life, Starlight could never figure out why they called this misshapen lump of fried batter “funnel cake.” The criss-crossing strips of fried dough looked more like hashbrowns than anything funnel shaped and they certainly didn’t resemble cake. One thing was for certain, though: Sunburst was right. They were delicious. She bit in, the outer portion crunching between her teeth. As she chewed, the crunchy outside gave way to the warm, fluffy inside and sweet powdered sugar in a tantalizing mix of flavor and textures.

After finishing her funnel cake, Starlight looked over at Sunburst and giggled, for a light dusting of powdered sugar covered his face.

“What’s so funny?” Sunburst asked after he swallowed his last piece.

“You’re a mess. It’s all over your face!”

Sunburst ran his tongue around his lips to remove what powdered sugar he could reach. A small patch remained on his cheek. Starlight brushed it away and licked it off her hoof.

“Sunburst, you’re delicious!”

“Delicious?” Sunburst repeated. He blushed, his eyes locked on Starlight.

“Yeah, that’s what I-”

Starlight stopped in mid sentence, now noticing Sunburst’s gaze. She stared back, lost in the blue of his eyes, barely aware that she was slowly moving her face closer to his, and his to hers.

A sudden explosion rang in her ears, startling her into jarring forward and slamming her skull into Suburst’s.

“Ow!” Starlight pulled back, but the throbbing in her head was still no match for the pounding of her heart. “What in the world?”

Rubbing his forehead, Sunburst glanced skyward, noting showers of crackling sparks and small puffs of smoke above them. “A fireworks show? That doesn’t make any sense. It’s not nighttime yet.”

Unless somepony was trying to accent the moment. And Starlight knew only one pony who could be responsible. She turned in a full circle, eyes scanning the area for the perpetrator. A plume of smoke rising from behind one of the garbage cans all but confirmed her suspicions.

“What is it?” Sunburst asked.

Squinting her eyes in focus, Starlight glanced around a bit longer, just barely noticing a tingle of blue hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree.

“Wait here, Sunburst. I think I smell a rat.”

“A rat?” Sunburst cocked his head in confusion, but Starlight had already walked away.

Starlight circled the tree in question, gazing up into it. “I know you’re up there, Trixie! Get down here, I need to have a little chat with you!”

There was only silence up in the tree, as its resident had opted not to respond.

“Well, be that way, then! I’m not going anywhere, and I can wait here all night if I have to!” Starlight dropped to her haunches, crossing her front legs across her chest to illustrate her point.

“Go away,” Trixie’s voice answered in a thinly disguised warble. “Away, I say! I am the spirit which haunts this tree, and I command you to leave!”

“Nice try, Trixie,” Starlight answered, lowering her voice to a dangerous tone.

The crack of splintering wood sounded from above, then a shriek of terror. Before she hit the ground, however, Trixie’s cloak snagged itself on a low branch, stopping her descent and leaving her dangling upside down, face-to-face with Starlight. Trixie’s hat succumbed to the pull of gravity and fluttered to the ground, joining the broken branch she’d perched on moments earlier.

“Trixie!” Starlight snapped.

Trixie sheepishly shrugged, then offered Starlight a wave. “Oh, hi, Starlight. Fancy meeting you here, huh?”

If looks could injure, the glare Starlight gave Trixie would have her crying for mercy. “Do you want to tell me what exactly you think you’re doing?”

Trixie glanced up at her tangled cloak, assessing her current situation. “Oh, just hanging around.”

“That’s not funny,” Starlight answered flatly.

Trixie groaned with some effort as she lurched upward, swatting for her caught cloak without success. She then kicked her legs, trying to swing herself enough to get loose, but only got her cape more tangled in the process. She let out a defeated sigh and turned her attention back to Starlight. “Hey, can I get some help here?”

“You can just keep hanging around until you tell me what it is you’re up to.”

Trixie scrunched her nose in irritation. “Ugh, fine. You two are such sticks in the mud that Trixie thought you could use a little push.”

Rolling her eyes, Starlight used her magic to untangle Trixie’s cloak from the branch, allowing Trixie to hit the ground back-first.

“Did she find out?” came a dull voice from a slate gray earth pony who sauntered up to Trixie’s side.

“Maud?!” Starlight glared at the earth pony in disbelief while Trixie picked herself up and dusted herself off. “You were in on it, too?”

Maud pulled Boulder out of her pocket and pointed her free hoof at Trixie. “It was their idea. I was out-voted.”

“Wait a second.” Starlight rubbed her chin as her mind started putting the pieces together. “That was no coincidence our noodles got tangled up back at Dim Sum’s. The way I zoned out, and Sunburst staring at me, that was you, wasn’t it, Trixie?”

Trixie put a hoof to her chest, eyes shut in pride. “Well you did teach me those spells.”

“And the flier for the kite store, it couldn’t have been funny luck that it just happened to land on our table.”

“I found the flier,” Maud admitted.

“And I used my magic to make it look like it landed on the table from a breeze,” Trixie added.

“And the brochure for Madam Mystic’s?” Starlight asked.

“That was us, too,” Maud said.

“You’ve been following us around since lunch!” Starlight facehoofed at this realization, wrestling to keep hold of her anger. “Why? Just… why?”

“Why,” Trixie answered, putting emphasis on the word, “don’t you just tell him?”

“Tell him what?” Starlight asked. She felt a uneasy fluttering in the pit of her stomach at where this conversation was heading.

“Deny it all you want, but you can’t fool me.” Trixie shot Starlight a knowing smirk.

“W-what are you talking about?”

“Somepony’s got a cru-ush!” Mockingly batting her eyelashes, Trixie made the word “crush” come out gooey and sickeningly sweet.

“What?!” Starlight spat. She averted her eyes, face flaring as she wound her hoof in her mane. “That-that’s crazy! I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, come on! It's so obvious. You don’t have to be great and powerful to see that.”

Starlight held up a hoof in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, okay. I do have feelings for Sunburst.” She glanced over her shoulder to be sure he hadn’t joined them, but Sunburst remained at the food court where Starlight told him to wait. “But for now just keep quiet about it. I'm not sure what it means, what he'll think, how he'll react, how I'll react to his reacting, or if I feel I can trust him.”

Trixie trotted closer to put a friendly foreleg around Starlight’s neck. “Trust Trixie; she can see it in his eyes, too. You go together like…” she paused, her eyes searching for a suitable analogy. Trixie smiled as she spotted her hat on the ground and her cloak still stuck on the tree branch. She grabbed them with her magic and put them back on. “Like a cape and a pointy hat! You two were made for each other! You have this wonderful thing that I've never even come close to, and it's right within your grasp. This is a chance of a lifetime, are you just going to let it blow away?”

Starlight’s thoughts flashed back to her dark past, and what had caused it. “Trixie, do I need to remind you what happened between us in the past, the chain of events it sparked? I can't let that happen again.”

“Just tell him how you feel.”

“Drop it, Trixie.”

“Tell him!” Trixie repeated, a bit more forcefully.

“Alright, I'll think about it. Let's see how the evening goes. And I don’t want to see you again tonight.”

Shutting her eyes, Trixie turned up her nose in indignation. “Hmph. Some way to talk to your best friend.”

Starlight’s ears drooped. Trixie really did know how to throw on the guilt. “Sorry, but I need some more time alone with him if I'm going to make any kind of decision. And I haven't forgotten you're my best friend.” Starlight stepped closer and hugged Trixie.

“I'm doing this because you're my best friend and I want to see you happy in the best way possible.”

“I know,” Starlight answered. She let go of Trixie and regarded both her and Maud. “But what are you two even doing here in Las Pegasus anyway?”

“Like you need to ask,” Trixie said. “You know that I’m on tour. I have a show here tomorrow night.”

“I was here for a rocktoral convention,” Maud added. “But Boulder wanted to go to Corrals of Fun before we went back to the hotel.”

“Right,” Starlight said, biting back a sarcastic remark. She’d come to know Maud a bit better, but still wasn’t completely sure about her habit of talking to rocks. “Well, if you two don’t mind, I’d like to spend some time with Sunburst. Alone.”

“Say no more.” Trixie held her head high and started off. Starlight couldn’t tell if Trixie was genuinely hurt or if she was merely hamming it up. “Maud, it looks like our services are no longer needed. Want to help me get set up for tomorrow night’s show?”

“Sure,” Maud answered, and followed after Trixie. “Boulder loves magic shows. He’d kill to get a behind the scenes look.”

Starlight watched the two walk off, making sure they actually left. Once they’d vanished, she returned to Sunburst at the food court.

“Was that Trixie and Maud?” Sunburst asked, his voice a tone of disbelief.

“Yup.”

“Wow. What are the odds both of them came to Las Pegasus the same day as us?”

Starlight giggled despite herself and drew closer to Sunburst. “Forget about them. This day is about us.”

“You’re right, Starlight. I still feel bad about before. You know, that time when I got so focused on them that-”

“Forget about it,” Starlight interrupted him. “I have.”

“Oh. Ok.” Sunburst paused to adjust his glasses. “So what do you want to do next?”

With that question, Starlight’s thoughts returned to the Lazy River ride...

Chapter 13

The Lazy River began at a gradual slope that dipped down into a shallow pool, allowing ponies to enter and exit. There was no current in this entrance area, so the required inner tubes were stored there. Starlight stepped into one, resting her forelegs against the top of it. Once Sunburst removed his cloak and glasses and joined her in his own inner tube, they pushed forward into the river that sparkled in the dying sunlight.

The river was narrow, no more than fifteen feet wide, and looped around in a circle. As soon as Starlight waded in, the gentle current carried her off.

“Well, this is relaxing,” Starlight said with a sigh of pleasure. It sure felt good to get off her hooves as she floated about in her inner tube. She glanced to her side to find Sunburst wince, shivering a bit. “What’s wrong, Sunburst?”

“The water’s just a bit cold, that’s all.”

“It’s not that bad, is it?” Starlight dipped her foreleg deeper to test, wrapping it in a pleasant cool. “I think it feels good.”

Starlight giggled as Sunburst backed away from a sprinkler-like apparatus that sprayed into the river. He was struggling to avoid getting any wetter than he had to. It reminded Starlight of the old days, when they played together as foals. It had been a long time since she stopped to appreciate the simpler things in life, and in being here with him, she hadn’t felt this good, this free in years. Wanting to hold onto that foalhood sense of play, Starlight pulled together a plan of action.

Up ahead, a large pipe stuck above the side of the river, continuously pouring water back in like a small waterfall. With a mischievous smile, Starlight pushed against Sunburst’s inner tube as they passed by, forcing him underneath the pipe and drenching him in the process. Sunburst let out a yelp, then spit some of the water out. Starlight couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

“Starlight!” he yelled, brushing his soaked mane out of his face.

Starlight, however, only laughed harder.

“That water’s cold!”

“You-” Starlight pointed at Sunburst and gasped, for her laughing had squeezed the air from her lungs. His look of horrified disbelief and his soaked mane matted against his face were worth the price of admission by themselves! “You’re all wet!”

Sunburst shivered. “It’s not funny.”

“Did you think you weren’t going to get wet?”

“You pushed me.”

As Starlight’s laughter died out, Sunburst shook some of the water from his head, shivering again. For a moment, Starlight allowed herself to relax and enjoy floating there with the gentle current.

They drew near the same bridge the tour train crossed over. The underpass for the broke off into two sections: A clear flowing section on the right, and on the left, an artificial waterfall pouring from the bottom of the bridge. Sunburst read Starlight’s playful smirk and must have known what kind of trick she was going to pull. As soon as she put her hooves on his inner tube to force him under the waterfall, Sunburst allowed his bottom hooves to scrape against the ground to anchor himself. He grabbed Starlight’s tube and twisted, sending her right for the waterfall. He kicked his hind legs off the ground, redirecting himself towards the drier half of the underpass. Starlight shrieked as the water splashed against her head, chiling it and blurring her vision. Another waterfall on the other side of the underpass struck her shoulders as she tried to gather her bearings, beating upon her with an almost unpleasant cool.

Shivering, her wet mane matted against her face, Starlight looked for Sunburst to emerge from under the bridge.

“That was a dirty trick,” she panted when she brushed her mane out of her face and saw his orange coloration float up beside her.

“That,” Sunburst retorted, “was payback.”

Starlight shook some of the water out of her mane and shuddered. The fact that daylight--and the afternoon heat with it--was beginning to fade into the early evening didn’t help. “You’re right, that water is cold!”

“I thought you said the water was fine.”

“It was until I got drenched with it!” Starlight swung her front leg through the water, splashing Sunburst with it. He shielded his face and tried to create some distance between the two of them, but the river was too narrow for an easy escape. His inner tube bounded off the concrete edge, bouncing him back towards his assailant.

“Knock it off, Starlight!” Sunburst shouted with a chuckle, using his free hoof to splash back.

Starlight’s own offense slowed, as she had to use one leg to block Sunburst’s splashes. “No, you knock it off!” she giggled.

“You started it.”

The two laughed and splashed for a while longer until they returned to start of the river. They stepped out of their inner tubes and back onto dry land.

“Brrrr.” Starlight shivered at a breeze that chilled her soaked fur. Her horn glittered, summoning a swirling aura of magic around the two of them. There was a bright flash and then, both of them were completely dry. “Whew. That’s better.”

“Thanks, Starlight,” Sunburst said as he retrieved his cloak and glasses. “Shall we go see what else there is to do?”

***

Starlight and Sunburst walked through Corral’s of Fun’s paved paths in a random pattern, enjoying the growing lights of the park as the darkness of sunset settled in, appreciating each other’s nearness. There were all sorts of gift and vendor stands all about the park. One of the stands housed a spray paint artist who performed her work on blank hats, robes and other items to take home as souvenirs. An idea suddenly clicked in Starlight's mind, something she could get Sunburst as a gift to remember their trip by. The young mare in the stand met Starlight’s gaze with a welcoming smile, but Starlight pressed on. It shouldn’t be too difficult to surprise Sunburst, she thought. She just had to lure him to the other side of the park where his prying eyes wouldn’t see.

A large map of the park nailed to a wooden post caught Starlight’s attention. She studied it for a moment, trying to come up with the best route.

“Hmm. Let’s see. We’re right about in the middle here,” Starlight said, pointing to their location on the map.

“Hey, you’re right.” Sunburst pointed to the upper right corner of the map. “Looks like this over here is where most of the games are. Should we go check them out?”

Starlight smiled at the idea. Sunburst had just done her work for her. “Sure! Sounds like fun.”

They trotted off down the walkway that led to the gaming sector, just as the map had indicated. There were rows of game stands set up all over the area, prizes dangling about to tempt ponies into testing their skill or luck. One little colt tried to knock over a stack of milk bottles with a ball, but missed. A filly at a nearby game threw darts at a wall of balloons.

“Oh, wow. Look at all these games. I’ll bet I could take home a neat prize or two,” Sunburst mused.

“Yeah, me too!” Starlight replied. She felt a genuine desire to try her own hoof at some of the games, but her mind returned to the spray paint stand. “But first, I have to use the filly’s room again. Mind waiting here, Sunburst?”

“Sure. I’ll just check out some of the games while you’re gone.”

Starlight galloped back down the trail they’d just taken, all the way back to the souvenir stand with the spray paint artist. The young mare, who had a can of spray paint for a cutie mark, smiled at her customer and trotted up to the counter. “Hi! Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I’d like to get a robe spray painted.”

“Sure! What kind of design are you looking for?” The artist held out her hoof, indicating some of her work decorating her stand.

Starlight hesitated, running through several ideas in her mind as she looked at some of the hanging displays. One cap even had a picture of a Changeling devouring a heart, with the caption, “I’m hungry for your love!” Starlight shrugged that one off. Too much, too soon.

“I’m not sure. It’s for my friend. I’m trying to think of the perfect design for him, but nothing here’s jumping out at me.”

“Okay, how about a custom? I can draw almost anything. What does your boyfriend like?”

Starlight felt her cheeks flare up. “No, he’s not my boyfriend, he’s just-” she said, choking on a sheepish chuckle. “Well, he’s the best wizard I know, and he loves pinball. He’s really good at it.”

The painter rubbed her hoof, thinking. “Hmmmm. Pinball… wizard…” Her face lit up with sudden inspiration. “I think I’ve got just the thing! How does ‘World’s Best Pinball Wizard’ sound?”

Starlight beamed. Sunburst would love it! “That’s perfect.”

“Alright, give me ten minutes or so and I’ll have that ready for you.”

“Ten minutes, right.” Starlight nodded her confirmation, then started panning the area at the realization she really did have to use the filly’s room.

Chapter 14

A splash of cool water to the face from the sink in the filly’s room helped Starlight gather her thoughts, but butterflies still fluttered in her stomach. The word “boyfriend” from the spray artist had sent them in a frenzy.

“Hoo!” Starlight heaved. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, staring at her reflection in the mirror, her face a mix of worry and annoyance--worry over how Sunburst might react, and annoyance that she’d let it get this far.

“Ok, you’ve got this, Starlight,” she told the pony in the mirror. “Like Trixie said, just tell Sunburst how you feel. But what should I say? How should I say it? I don’t want to be too forward, but Luna said-”

Starlight paused. Twilight had taught her a lot, but one of the best lessons was to not jump headlong into something without thinking it through. She had to talk it out, or at least pretend to. She glanced around to make sure nopony else was listening, then talked to her reflection as though she were opening up to Sunburst.

“I’ve been thinking. About us. I mean, you and me. Ugh, what I’m trying to say-” Starlight falled short on the words as if all the air had been sucked from her. She exhaled slowly, allowing it to calm her for what little good it did. “If we, you know, hooked up for real or something. It’d scare me a little bit. You know, about losing you again or something. I don’t know how I’d take it after the last time we got separate. Is this really what we want?”

Starlight bit her lip, almost as if expecting her reflection to give an answer she didn’t want to hear, but the only sound she heard was a small voice from her side.

“Who are you talking to, ma’am?” asked a little unicorn filly whom Starlight had overlooked when she entered the room.

“Excuse me,” Starlight said to the intruder, “but this is a private conversation between two confused and obsessive ponies. Didn’t your parents tell you that it’s rude to eavesdrop?”

The filly, however, only giggled at this odd behavior as she skipped out the door to the restroom.

Starlight let out an irritated sigh at the interruption and turned back to her reflection. There, she found newfound courage burning in the eyes staring back at her. She nodded to the pony in the mirror, then trotted out of the restroom.

***

Sunburst couldn’t believe his eyes. A limited edition, still in box action figure of Steelhoof the Barbarian sat on the Ring of Luck, just waiting to be won. It was a simple game consisting of a circle of prizes around a colorful wheel with a small arrow on it that moved through a series of thin vertical notches. All one had to do was spin the wheel and claim whatever prize the arrow stopped on. Naturally, the smaller prizes occupied most of the play area. Sure, the margin of success in winning Steelhoof was only three notches wide out of a hundred or so, but if Sunburst calculated the force of his spin correctly, he could get the Ring to stop right on it.

“Hey there, young, sir! I see you eyeing The Ring of Luck!” the earth stallion running the game yelled out to Sunburst. “Well, you look like a winner. Five bits for one spin, how ‘bout it?”

Sunburst nodded, his eyes locked with determination on Steelhoof. He’d been a fan of the comics since he was a colt. He’d even smuggled his collection into Celestia’s school when he’d been boarded there, despite his mother’s warnings that the comics would rot his mind.

What nonsense. Comics engage a young pony and stimulate their imagination. He reached into his pouch and placed five bits on the counter. “One spin is all I need.”

Moving the wheel slightly with his hoof, Sunburst tested its weight and got a feel for the bearings, measuring the amount of force he’d need to get it to stop at just the right spot. He then gave the wheel a good shove--but not too hard--sending into a wild spin. His eyes saw nothing but the swirling of the colors, his ears heard nothing but the clicking of the notches as the arrow brushed against them.

Shoot! The arrow! Sunburst had failed to account for its effect in slowing down the wheel when it hit the notches. Sunburst chewed on his hoof as the spinning slowed; there was still a chance.

The wheel came to a stop a good twenty notches away from the Steelhoof figure, right on a pink stuffed heart with the words “I” and “you” stitched in red between another heart sewn onto the plush.

Sunburst grumbed lowly to himself. What the hay was he supposed to do with a silly stuffed heart?

“Well, there you go, sir,” the operator said, presenting Sunburst with the heart before he’d even had a chance to object. “You can give that to your ladyfriend, eh?”

It certainly wasn’t what he was aiming for. Yeah, right. That might be a good idea if I even had a-

That fuzzy, alarming sensation came flooding back, stopping his inner complaint.

Starlight! She’d be coming back from the filly’s room soon. Should he give the heart to her? It wasn’t like Sunburst had anypony else to give it to, and nopony else made him feel the things Starlight did... but how would she react to it? Would she think it was something cheap and corny, or would she freak out? Indeed, she was the closest thing he had to a special somepony, and the day they’d had together had helped to sort out his feelings for her. But was it right? They didn’t have the best history, and considering how it broke Starlight when he left for Celestia’s school, was it even a good idea? Sunburst sighed through his nose, wishing he’d read more books on dating as he stared at the heart resting on his hoof, reading its message over and over.

I ‘heart’ you.”

But did the heart honestly tell his true feelings for her?

Sunburst paced back and forth across the center of the gaming area, unable to shake off the twinge of anxiety in his gut as he ran through a dozen scenarios of Starlight’s reaction to the heart. The tension only tightened with each long minute she made him wait.

What’s taking Starlight so long to use the filly’s room? At this rate, I’ll have a panic attack before she gets back.

Sunburst had considered going off to look for her when he found Starlight approaching down one of the paved walkways. The sight of her and the notion of what he was about to do made his heart pound so hard he thought it might crack a rib. He hid the heart behind himself, hoping she wouldn’t see.

Smiling, Starlight trotted up to him with some sort of cloth draped across her back. “Sunburst, I got something for-” she paused, attempting a peek behind Sunburst. “What’s that you’ve got there?”

Sunburst darted his eyes, nerves tingling. This was it. He wrestled for the courage, but it slipped away from his grip. “What's what? I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Nice try,” Starlight giggled. “You're horn's glowing.”

Sunburst fidgeted with his glasses, still averting his eyes from Starlight. “Oh. Right... right right right. Um, I won this at one of the games. I have no use for it, but maybe... ahem!” Twisting his hoof against the ground, Sunburst fought for the courage once more as he showed Starlight the heart, purposely hiding his face behind it. His stomach twisted into such a tight knot he thought he might gag, but he managed to keep hold of his nerve. “Maybe you'd like it?”

From the corner of his eye, Sunburst dared a peek. Starlight looked at the heart for a moment, her face going bright red.

“Sunburst…” Starlight said, her voice trailing off as she held the heart against her chest. “This is the sweetest thing anypony’s ever given me. Thank you.”

Still glancing off to the side, Sunburst scratched the back of his neck, giggling nervously. “Oh, well, you know…”

Starlight lunged forward and wrapped Sunbust in a hug, then let him go.

“Oh, I’ve got something for you, too. Here, I had this made just for you!”

Starlight grabbed the cloth with her magic and unfolded it to show Sunburst. It was a wizard’s robe with a picture of a magic staff spray painted on it. In place of the head of the staff was a pinball bumper.

Sunburst read the caption out loud. “World’s Best Pinball Wizard?”

“Do you like it?” Starlight asked with an eager smile.

Sunburst took a deep breath to ease his nerves, finally feeling them start to calm as he tied the cloak around his shoulders. “It’s perfect, I love it!”

“Great! I knew you would!” Starlight watched him for a moment as he adjusted the cloak to a comfortable position.

Starlight looked at him for a few more seconds, then shifted her gaze back to the plush heart. She smiled, blushing, then suddenly she sighed, drooping her head.

“What’s wrong, Starlight?” Sunburst asked.

Starlight bit her lip, hesitating. “Look, Sunburst, before we let this get too far, I just want to say, about you and me, I just don’t know. I mean, if I lost you again, I don’t know how I’d take it. I can’t stop thinking about what happened last time, when we were foals.”

Sunburst stepped closer and lifted Starlight’s chin. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“I am worried! I can’t help but worry.”

Sunburst went silent for a moment, his mind wandering off to the original plan he’d had before Starlight invited him here. If she knew, then perhaps it would reassure her he wasn’t about to leave her this time. “Starlight, there’s something I think you should know. I was supposed to go a wizards’ group meeting today; we’d had it planned for a couple months now. I missed out on that to be here with you.”

“Really?” Starlight asked. “Was it important?”

“Well, kind of. It focused on memory spells, so I’d been practising and the spells reminded me of when we were foals. Starlight, it really bothered me when I learned how much it hurt you.”

“It did?”

Sunburst nodded. “A lot. I wanted to say something that day we met again in the Crystal Empire, but with everything that was happening, I just-”

Starlight put a hoof against Sunburst’s chest, stopping him. “Sunburst, that wasn’t your fault. I was the one who overreacted.”

“I know! But I was just a foal back then, and I was so excited about going to Celestia’s school that I never stopped to think what leaving you behind meant. I just want to let you know that I’m really sorry and I never want to hurt you like that again.”

For a while, Starlight stared at Sunburst, her eyes glittering. She heaved a sudden sigh and threw her front legs around Sunburst, holding him tight. He held her close in return as both rested their chin on the other’s shoulder, enjoying the warmth and closeness in long silence.

Chapter 15

Even as night fell over Las Pegasus, Corrals of Fun was as busy as ever. Lights in every color of the rainbow lit up the park; the screams and laughter of excited ponies and the clack-clacking of rollercoasters still filled the air with a cacophony of noise.

“So, what should we go on now?” Starlight asked.

“You pick,” Sunburst answered, then quickly added, “as long as it’s not another rollercoaster.”

Starlight giggled, looking around for something appropriate. A ferris wheel towered over most of the other rides except for the tallest coasters. “Hey, how about the ferris wheel? I’d love to see the view at night from that high up.”

“Me, too,” Sunburst agreed. “And it’s nowhere near as bad as a rollercoaster.”

The two trotted over to the ferris wheel and waited for one of the riders to get off. The wheel stopped shortly after they arrived, allowing a young couple exit their car. The pegasus operating the ride motioned for Starlight and Sunburst to take their place.

Starlight and Sunburst sat side by side as the operator locked the security bar back in place above their laps. He went back to his control panel and then, the two unicorns felt themselves moving backwards and being hoisted up towards the top of the wheel.

The wheel halted to allow more riders on, offering Starlight and Sunburst a grand view of not only the park, but much of Las Pegasus from their perch at the top of the wheel. Dazzling arrays of lights stretched out below them as far as they could see, keeping the darkness at bay.

Sunburst glanced over at Starlight, watching the reflection of all those lights in her eyes. There, in that iridescent gleam, the splendor of Las Pegasus’ nightlife was even more beautiful.

“Wow, what a view!” Starlight shouted. She seemed too captivated with the sights below to notice Sunburst’s gaze. “It’s so pretty.”

Sunburst looked at Starlight for a bit longer, marveling at the reflection in her eyes. “It sure is.”

“Hm?” Starlight turned her head, now aware of Sunburst’s stare. “What is it, Sunburst?”

“Oh!” With that face towards him, Sunburst snapped his attention to his other side, looking down at the sprawling neon-lit city. “The, uh, lights. They are really pretty.”

A giggle escaped Starlight’s mouth as she watched Sunburst quickly shift his attention, blushing. Both had their front hooves resting on the security bar above their laps. Starlight scooted a bit closer to Sunburst and inched her right hoof near his left, slowly and subtly. It was enough for him to notice; he stared at her hoof for a moment, silently wondering. Perhaps it was an invitation?

There was only one way to find out. Sunburst lifted his hoof and rested it on top of Starlight’s. She didn’t object. The corner of her mouth lifted in a smile. Red blotches formed on her cheeks, and Sunburst felt his face flare as well. Starlight’s closeness was comforting, the warmth of her hoof soothing.

A quick jolt startled both of them, as they’d been lost in the moment, but they kept their hooves together. The ferris wheel went back into motion, lowering them to the ground, then to the rear of the wheel and back up again.

They looked to each other and smiled, both blushing, then turned their sights back to the brilliant colors of Las Pegasus below.

“I, um, I just wanted to let you know,” Sunburst said, “I had fun today, Glim.”

Starlight suddenly lost her smile as she gaped at Sunburst. “What did you say?”

Stupid move. He shouldn't have called her that. “I said I had fun tonight. I really did.”

“No, what did you just call me?”

Sunburst sighed through his nose, now missing his own smile. He couldn’t lie to Starlight. “I called you ‘Glim.’ I’m sorry. If you didn’t like it, I won’t call you that again.”

The embarrassment forced him to look away from her until she rubbed his hoof. “No, it’s okay. You can call me ‘Glim.’ I think that’s adorable!”

Sunburst’s heart thumped even harder as he met Starlight’s reassuring grin with one of his own. “Alright then. Glim.”

Starlight giggled and scooted nearer. “Now I’ll have to think of one for you.”

Starlight and Sunburst enjoyed the rest of their ride in silence, appreciating the warm closeness of a pony they cared for.

***

Starlight hoped it would last longer; she wanted to savor Sunburst’s nearness, his warmth and the feeling of his hoof on hers, but the ride came to a stop with their car at the bottom. The operator unlocked their security bar and pushed it to the side.

“Ok, ride’s over, lovebirds. Watch your step.”

Starlight felt her cheeks burn at that word, fighting to suppress a giggle as she stepped out of the car and walked away from the ride.

Starlight didn’t say anything, but she ran her mind through various nicknames she could give Sunburst now that he had one for her. Sunny B? Sunny Gun? Sunshine? Bursty?

“Well, that was great,” Starlight said, trying to fill the awkward silence and take her mind off of the growing anxiousness in her gut.

“It sure was,” Sunburst replied, smiling, his voice distant.

“What should we do now?”

“I’m not sure. It’s getting late, they’ll probably be closing soon.”

Starlight and Sunburst came to the park’s center square when a crackling, then a voice, came over the P.A. system.

“Attention, Corrals of Fun guests: this is a friendly reminder that the park will be closing in twenty minutes. We will re-open tomorrow at 8 a.m.. Thank you for visiting us, and come back soon!”

Starlight dropped to her haunches, face-to-face with Sunburst, who sat down as well. “I had fun today, Sunburst. Though I think it went a little better in my dream.”

“Are you kidding? Today was perfect.”

Starlight giggled. “Really? Even though I dragged you on that roller coaster when I knew you didn’t want to, and with Trixie making things awkward?”

“It was perfect enough.”

Starlight blushed and lowered her head with a nervous laugh. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“No, really, it was.”

“I see.” Starlight giggled again, lifting her head to look at Sunburst. “And how’s that?”

Rubbing her chin with his hoof, Sunburst stared into Starlight’s eyes. “Because I got to spend it with you, Glim.”

Sunburst leaned in and gave Starlight a kiss on her lips. Hot circles flared on her cheeks and she saw that Sunburst was blushing as well.

“Wow.” Starlight put her hoof to her mouth, fighting for the right words against the butterflies in her stomach. No, they were more like hornets whose hive had just been hit with a stick. She'd never felt her heart pound so hard. “That was, um, ok…”

Sunburst brushed Starlight’s lock of hair out of her face, smiling warmly at her with stars in his eyes. “You sound like me now. Did you like it?”

Her own eyes glittering, Starlight flashed a coy smile, then scooted closer and gave Sunburst a kiss of her own, savoring the soft warmth of his lips. “How’s that for an answer?”

His face as red as his mane, Sunburst stared at Starlight in an awe she knew they shared, one that resonated with her heart thumping painfully against her ribs.

Could this really be happening, or was it just another dream? Was she falling in love with him, and him with her? Did she even deserve such a thing, with her dark past?

“Are-” Sunburst was the first to break the silence. “Are you okay, Starlight?”

“Yeah,” she sighed, holding a hoof to her chest. “It’s just… wow. I’ve got this crazy feeling in my gut, but at the same time I feel warm, and at peace.”

Sunburst scratched the back of his head. “Huh. I was going to say the same thing. It’s like, I’m nervous but at the same time, I’m calm. Weird, huh? I like it, but I mean, if this is getting awkward for you, maybe we should call it a night.”

Starlight sat by Sunburst’s side, gave him a kiss on the cheek and snuggled up next to him. “Not a chance. If this is what we both want, then what do we have to lose?”

The two sat in silence with their eyes shut to savor the moment and imagine a happy future. A whistle, then a muffled boom filled Starlight’s ears. She opened her eyes to witness fireworks lighting the night sky with glittering rainbow-hued bursts. Starlight smiled, inside and out. Trixie finally got it right.

“A fireworks show. Imagine that,” Starlight said.

“What a surprise.” Sunburst gently laughed and rested a foreleg around Starlight’s neck, wrapping one side of his cloak around her.

For once, just like in her dream, everything felt right in Starlight’s world. She watched the fireworks for a bit, searching within for the strength to admit what she felt in her heart.

“I love you, Sunburst.”

His own heart flying, Sunburst held Starlight ever nearer, resting his head against her shoulder. “I love you, too, Starlight.”

Both savored the warm embrace, bathed in the multi-hued light of the fireworks. For Starlight, this moment, this feeling was worth the pain and heartache from all those years ago. She knew, this time, things would be better.

“Sunshine,” Starlight mumbled.

“What?”

Starlight looked up at him, starry-eyed. “C-can I call you that, Sunshine?”

Smiling, Sunburst nuzzled her, his eyes squeezed shut in bliss. “Starlight, I promise, I will always be your Sunshine. Especially when you need light and warmth.”

Starlight giggled. “Well, that was corny. Same old Sunburst.”

“I try my best.”

And that, Starlight thought, is one of the many things I love about you. The Sunshine that lights my life...

Epilogue

“Very good,” Maud said as she and Trixie watched Starlight and Sunburst cuddled together, bathed in the light of Trixie’s fireworks.

“As if there were any doubt,” Trixie said. “I told you the Great and Powerful Trixie would make sure they kiss before this day was over!”

“Boulder and I know magic, too.”

“You do?” Trixie asked, turning to face Maud. “Show me!”

Maud held Boulder in her hoof and draped a kerchief over him. “Feast your eyes.” She pulled back the kerchief to reveal… Boulder. “Tada.”

“Um, what was that?” Trixie asked.

“He’s sedimentary now.”

Trixie cocked her head. “Eh? Sedi-what?”

“Boulder can do transformation magic. He’s an igneous rock normally.”

“There’s a difference?”

“You’ve got a lot to learn.”

Trixie snorted, “I could say the same about you. If you tried that in front of an audience, they’d boo you off the stage.”

“Not when you realize I’ve taken your cloak and hat.”

Trixie had been so fixated on Boulder that she never noticed her cape and hat were gone; Maud was now wearing them. “When did-” Trixie patted her head to double-check. “Okay, you’re good.”

“Boulder’s a master of distraction.”

***

The last of the fireworks fizzled out, leaving only lingering clouds of smoke above Starlight and Sunburst. A few ponies cheered for the fireworks display.

Starlight unwrapped her leg from Sunburst’s side and stood up. “Ok, Trixie and Maud have to be around here somewhere. No chance those fireworks were just a coincidence.”

Sunburst rose to his hooves as well. “Hmmm. I don’t see them.”

“Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

Her eyes struggling against the growing darkness of night, Starlight wandered around to try and spot them. She found the two near the front gate of the park. Trixie’s eyes met Starlight’s, and the magician ran up to hug her.

"Starlight, that was so sweet! I saw everything!"

“I know,” Starlight answered.

Trixie’s smile grew. “So, are you and Sunburst an item?”

Starlight giggled. “Yes, Trixie, we’re an item.”

“That’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you!” Trixie let go of Starlight and fished around in her bag with her magic. “Here, I got something for you.”

Starlight took a step back in surprise. “For me? Trixie, you shouldn’t have.”

From her bag, Trixie produced a little glass cricket attached to a necklace. “Well, I picked this up as a souvenir in the gift shop at Dim Sum’s, but I want you to have it.”

“Wow. It’s a little green cricket.” Unable to muster her tact, Starlight added, “I don’t get it. Why a cricket?”

“I heard that, in the East, crickets are a symbol of good luck and prosperity. So this is for you. You know, for good luck. Between you and Sunburst.”

Starlight hugged Trixie for the gift after placing the loop around her neck. “Thanks. But remember how I said I didn’t want to see you again tonight?”

Trixie rubbed her chin after Starlight let go. “Oh, you did say that, didn’t you?”

“Yup, and you’re gonna make it up to me.”

“I accented your perfect little moment. Isn’t that enough?”

“Nope.”

“What, then?”

“You’re going to go on the High Horse with me.”

“That ginormous bungee drop?” Trixie waved the idea away. “Get Sunburst to do it. After all, you’re an item now.”

“He’s too chicken.”

Trixie craned her neck, looking up at the High Horse’s poles. She felt her heart sink all the way down to her hooves. “That thing’s, like, a mile high! Are you nuts?”

“I must be,” Starlight answered, giving a sly smirk. “Because I didn’t think the Great and Powerful Trixie would be scared of a little drop.”

Stammering, Trixie took a step back. “What? You – you presume too much of the Great and Powerful Trixie! Fear is not a factor here!”

Starlight narrowed her eyes in challenge. “Prove it.”

“What? Well, I—“ Trixie drooped her ears, trying to come up with both a way to preserve her image and an excuse to get out of this death sentence.

“What’s the matter, Trix?” Starlight asked, still smirking at her.

Trixie groaned, knowing Starlight had her cornered. “Fine! I’ll do it!”

“I’ll go, too,” Maud said, stepping up to the two.

“You will?” Starlight asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “This seems way out of your element, Maud.”

“Boulder wants to try it.”

The threesome made their way over to Sunburst, who was still waiting at the place where he and Starlight had kissed. “Well, isn’t this surprise. Did you have fun spying on us all day?”

“I was just trying to help!” Trixie said.

Sunburst edged closer, scowling at Trixie. “By sticking your nose where it didn’t-”

Starlight stepped between the two. “It’s okay, Sunburst. No good deed goes unpunished, and these two are going to go on the High Horse with me.”

An alarmed expression crossed Sunburst’s face, his eyes wide behind his glasses. “You’re actually going on that thing?! Do you have a death wish?”

Starlight shot Trixie an irritated look. “Maybe it’ll make Trixie think twice before she decides to act like Con Mane again.”

Scoffing, Trixie rolled her eyes. “Please. You don’t even know who that is! You were too busy enslaving villages.”

“I do too!”

“How?” Trixie glared and prodded Starlight in the chest. “When we met, you didn’t even know who the Wonderbolts were!”

“Spike showed me. He’s a big Con Mane fan.”

“Figures.” Trixie scowled at the ground, seemingly irritated that her argument had been shot down.

Sunburst turned to the towering poles of the High Horse as he adjusted his glasses, his eyes scanning them up and down as if to assess the danger. Then he shrugged. “Well, if you want to go on it, I won’t stop you. Where would you like me to send your funeral arrangements?”

Starlight laughed at that while Trixie shuddered.

“Rockdale,” Maud replied. “That’s where they took my great, great grandmother. She fell.”

“You’re not helping!” Trixie hissed.

Starlight trotted ahead towards the High Horse. “Ok, you two, let’s go. They’re closing soon.”

Starlight’s heart raced and Trixie shivered as the operator secured each of them tightly in their chest harnesses, then walked over to his control panel. Maud checked to be sure Boulder was secure.

“Good luck!” Sunburst yelled to them from a spectating position.

The operator pushed a button on his panel and the ponies began to rise.

“Eeeek!” Trixie shrieked, galloping in midair for what good it would do. “I want down, I want down, I want down!”

“Trixie, we haven’t even gotten a meter off the ground yet,” Starlight said. Looking down, she could judge that she’d jumped higher than this before.

Trixie glanced downward and her air-running stopped. “Oh.” In the next moment, she resumed her screaming and futile attempts at escape as the bungee cords drew them ever higher. The further up they went, the more of Las Pegasus’ neon lights became visible beyond Corrals of Fun.

“Get me out of here! Please get me out! I’m not ready to die! I’ve got a show to do tomorrow!”

Starlight forced her attention away from Trixie’s panicking and waved at Sunburst on the ground far below. The orange dot waved back up at them.

The cords finally reached the tops of the poles. Starlight looked down and the height was staggering; they were dangling about two hundred feet in the air. She could see all of Las Pegasus spread out in the darkness beneath her, the city lights twinkling like stars in the sky. Even she felt a quick twinge of unease, for she knew they would be dropped in a matter of seconds.

“Whoa, we’re way up here. Don’t look down, Trix!”

Of course, Trixie did. “Ack! We’re so high up! Starlight, you are nuts! Absolutely insane!”

“Hang on, boy,” Starlight heard Maud mumble.

Trixie held her front hooves together and bowed her head with her eyes squeezed shut as she uttered some semblance of prayer.

The drop came swift and sudden. Starlight’s stomach churned and Trixie shrieked in terror as a rush of wind blasted them in the face, ripping through Starlight’s long mane as she let out a shrill, anxious squeal. The cords held fast just a few yards above the pavement, flinging her up and forwards in an arc. From the corner of her eye, Starlight saw Trixie panting like a dog, pale in the face from fear.

“This was a terrible idea!” Trixie screamed as the bungee cords threw them backwards. “Starlight, I hate you for this!”

“Hey, have you really lived if you don’t go through with a bad idea once a while?”

“There’s bad ideas, and then there’s YOUR ideas!” Trixie snapped back.

“Wee,” Maud said flatly, still wearing her stonelike expression.

Starlight’s hooves still tingled from the adrenaline when her swinging stopped and the operator unbuckled her from her harness. He freed Trixie next, who promptly dropped to her belly and kissed the concrete.

“Oh, sweet, solid ground, Trixie is never leaving you again!”

“Was it really that bad?” Starlight asked.

“Unicorns weren’t meant to fly!”

Starlight giggled at that. “Sunburst said the same thing early today.”

“I thought I was going to die!” Trixie spat. “I am never letting you talk me into anything again!”

“Boulder wants to do it again,” Maud said, now joining them.

“NO!” Trixie screamed, and galloped through the exit gate before they could drag her on it a second time. She dropped to her haunches. “Trixie is staying right here until you two psychos are finished!”

Maud pointed to Boulder. “There’s three of us in here.”

The operator walked up to them, shaking his head. “No time, park’s closing.”

“Darn.” Maud put Boulder back in her pocket.

The two walked out the exit gate to where Trixie and Sunburst were waiting for them.

“You’re alive, it seems,” Sunburst said as he hugged Starlight.

“As far as I can tell,” Starlight quipped.

“Good!” Trixie snapped. “You done?”

Starlight nodded. “Yup. The park’s closing. We gotta go.”

Trixie turned away from the High Horse, holding her nose to the air in indignation. “You’ll get no complaints to me. I want to get as far away from this thing as possible.”

A young unicorn filly stepped up to them just as they started for the entrance and nudged Trixie on the leg, halting her.

“Great and Powerful Trixie! That was so cool!” the filly shouted, staring up at Trixie, her eyes glittering with excitement.

Trixie glanced around, red blotches forming on her face. “You saw that?”

“I did! I’m a big fan, Great and Powerful Trixie! My parents brought me all the way to Las Pegasus to see your show tomorrow!”

That brought Trixie a smile that nearly engulfed her face. “Well, then, I’ll have to put on an extra special performance just for you, won’t I?” She removed her hat from her head and placed it on the filly’s. It sank past her ears and fell over her eyes, far too big for her little skull. That didn’t stop her from adjusting it to a more comfortable position.

“Wow!” the filly exclaimed.

Two adult unicorns, likely her parents, joined her side. She looked up at them, smiled, and grabbed her father’s camera with her magic. “Can I get a picture with you?” the filly asked.

Trixie beamed. “Absolutely, kiddo!”

“Yay!” The little filly kicked her front legs in joy and returned the camera to her dad, still wearing Trixie’s hat. She stood side-by-side with Trixie and smiled for the flash.

“Thanks, Great and Powerful Trixie!” The filly turned to Trixie and offered her the hat back. Trixie waved it back down.

“Keep it!”

The child’s large, innocent eyes grew even wider. “Really?!”

“Sure! I’ve got plenty.”

“You’re the best magician ever!” the filly declared. “And that ride looked so cool! I wanna go on it with you. The way you were screaming, it must be the best ride ever!”

Trixie gave a little gasp, her eyes darting and widening. “Oh! Um, yes, the High Horse is, er, Trixie approved!”

“Can we go on it tomorrow night after your show?”

Trixie fussed with her mane, trying to come up with some way to outthink her little fan. There was a sign next to the gate to the High Horse that read, “you must be this tall to ride the High Horse.” A line drawn on it indicated the required height, and the little filly was several heads beneath it.

“Sorry, kiddo, look at that sign.”

The filly looked to the sign for a moment, then drooped her ears and frowned. “Awwwww. Well, maybe when I’m old enough?”

“How about I just autograph your hat for you?”

That brought a smile back to the filly’s face as Trixie grabbed her hat long enough to scribble her autograph on it and return in to the filly’s head. Her mom laughed and stepped closer to Trixie, beckoning her daughter to move along. “That’ll do, Abra, don’t smother her,” the mom said. She turned to Trixie. “Thank you, Trixie. You just made her night. She wants to be a magician.”

“Abra, huh?” Trixie asked. “With a name like that, I’m sure she’ll make a great magician!” She offered Abra a parting wink, then turned back to her friends.

Starlight regarded Trixie and the ecstatic young fan trotting away behind her. “Trixie, that was sweet. I didn’t know you were so good with foals.”

Trixie shrugged. “Anything for a fan.” She yawned and stretched, the dark circles around her eyes indicating exhaustion. “Well, it’s been a fun day, but I think I’m gonna go back to my wagon and turn in for the night. What are you guys gonna do?”

“I’m going back to my hotel,” Maud said.

“Us, too,” said Starlight.

Trixie let out a mischievous chuckle, grinning slyly at Starlight and Sunburst. “So, are you two, you know, sharing a room?”

Sunburst stepped back, his cheeks bright red.

“Trixie!” Starlight snapped. “We only just committed to each other! No, we have separate rooms.”

Trixie flattened her ears against the embarrassment. “Kidding. See you guys tomorrow, at my show?”

Despite all Trixie had done throughout the day, Starlight hugged her. “Of course!”

“As if you had to ask,” Sunburst said.

“Count Boulder and me in,” Maud added.

Trixie yawned again, covering her mouth with her hoof. “Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Starlight watched Trixie turn back inside the park and head for her wagon. “See you tomorrow, Trix!”

The threesome waved after her until she vanished in the darkness of the park’s dying lights.

“Boulder and I had fun,” Maud said. “We should come to Las Pegasus again sometime. I’ll bring Mud Briar. We could make it a double date.”

Starlight smiled. “I’d like that.”

“Me, too!” Sunburst said.

Maud turned back for the main gate. “‘Okay. I’m going back to my hotel now. Boulder gets craggy if he doesn’t get his shuteye.”

“See you, Maud,” Starlight said, waving after Maud.

With only the two of them left, Starlight and Sunburst walked side-by-side out the admission gates and started down the streets of Las Pegasus.

“Well, this was certainly an exciting day,” Starlight said.

“Sure was,” Sunburst agreed, “and it ended better than I could have hoped.”

Starlight giggled, finding herself hugged by a warm, giddy feeling. “Because we finally became a couple?”

“No. It was just great seeing Trixie falling and freaking out like that.”

“Sunburst!”

“I was kidding. Of course it was being with you that made it so special.”

Unable to form a response for that, Starlight kept walking in silence, smiling inside and out. She thought about everything she and Sunburst had been through together, and one incident from their childhood made her giggle, breaking the quiet.

“Do you remember that time when we were six, and we built that model amusement park in your room? We emptied out your entire toybox and used every building block you had.”

Sunburst laughed. “Yeah, I remember. It took two full Konnektor sets and my Steelhoof the Barbarian trading cards.”

“We worked so hard on it. It took days, and it filled your entire room! I was really proud of what we accomplished together.”

“I kept it up as long as I could, until Mom finally tore it down herself. Did today remind you?”

Starlight stopped and put a hoof under Sunburst’s chin, guiding his face towards hers. “It reminded me how I imagined us in an amusement park just like it, a place where we could be together and leave our troubles behind. A place where were we could be happy. I used to think it was all just fantasy until today.”

Tears welling in his eyes, Sunburst hugged her with the promise of lighter times ahead. After Sunburst let go, Starlight looked down at the jade cricket hanging in front of her chest and smiled at her new good luck charm. She couldn’t wait to find out where she and Sunburst would wind up, what they’d do together in the future and what new experiences they’d share. It was sure to be an exciting roller coaster ride, and she couldn’t wait for it to build momentum.

But for the present, more than anything, she couldn’t wait to tell Twilight what had happened today.

Chapter 4

Starlight and Sunburst walked away from the game booth, a look of mild annoyance on the mare’s face at the fact they were doing so empty-hooved.

“Forty rings and they all missed,” Starlight mumbled.

“I’m not surprised. Like I said, they have to make a profit. If it was that easy, they’d be ruined.”

Thinking back on the game brought a smile to Starlight’s face. “Well, at least we had fun. And getting a ringer on your horn was funny.”

“That was pretty funny, wasn’t it?” Sunburst chuckled. “I mean, the odds of the ring rebounding at that angle were-”

Sunburst’s voice muffled as Starlight put her hoof over his mouth to stifle him. “No math, Sunburst. It makes my head hurt. Besides, we’re here to have fun! What should we do next?”

Sunburst glanced around, noticing the entrance line to a tour train off to his side. They’d seen the tracks stretching across Corrals of Fun; circling the entire park. “How about the train? It’ll give us a tour of the park and we’ll have a better idea of what’s here.”

“That’s more like it! Come on, what are we waiting for?”

The two trotted up to the queue and found their place in the steadily moving line. Their turn came and they took a seat in one of the train cars, waiting for the rest of the passengers to board.

Finally, the pony working the queue line shut the ropes, signaling that the ride was full. The other ponies would have to wait. A loud toot and a jolt signaled the train’s start. It began with a crawl, slowly picking up speed as it went.

“Here we go. I can’t wait!” Starlight shouted.

“Me either,” Sunburst said. “I’ll bet we’ll learn all about the park from the tour guide.”

Muffled crackling came through the speaker attached to the roof of the car, followed by the conductor’s voice. “Good morning, fillies and gentlecolts, and thank you for riding Corrals of Fun’s train tour! I will be your guide this morning. As we get started, I would like to remind our passengers to keep all body parts inside the train cars while the ride is in motion and please remain seated until it comes to a complete stop.”

The ground rushed beneath them now as the train moved at a steady pace.

“Corrals of Fun first opened one hundred and five years ago, created by legendary entrepreneur Ferris Gale, the pegasus who gave us the Ferris Wheel,” the conductor said.

“I didn’t know a Pegasus designed this park, or the Ferris Wheel,” Starlight said. “Thinking of my friends, architecture and entertainment seem more like earth pony specialities.”

“I knew about it,” Sunburst said. “It just proves you can’t assume what a pony’s good at from their race. Ferris was a entrepreneurial mastermind who knew just how to appeal to both foals and adults. I read about him when we were kids and wanting to come here.”

Starlight smiled at Sunburst. Her magical abilities might have impressed him, but his vast knowledge never ceased to amaze her in return. “Of course you did. Same old Sunburst. You always were so smart.”

Hot circles flared on Sunburst’s cheeks as he averted his gaze, playing with his glasses. “Heheh, well, you know…”

The overhead speaker crackled again, followed by the tour guide’s voice. “If you look to your right, you will see the Lumberjack, Corrals of Fun’s first roller coaster. It’s been here since the park opened and is one of the oldest wooden track coasters in Equestria.”

Starlight turned her head to see the coaster speed down a one hundred foot drop that still seemed tame compared to The Plunge. This roller coaster was indeed built out of wood, but held fast and sturdy despite its age. “That thing’s over a hundred years old?”

“Well, the preservation of wood has been an art in Equestria for thousands of years,” Sunburst replied. “Still not sure I’d want to go on that thing, though.”

Rolling her eyes, Starlight giggled. “You never were a glory seeker.”

Sunburst adjusted his glasses and shut his eyes in that typical teacher-like expression. A lecture was inevitable.

“Adrenaline is the body’s natural response to danger or extreme stress. Therefore, willingly subjecting yourself to a thrill for the pleasure of the adrenaline rush, aka being a so-called ‘adrenaline junkie’, is just foolish, if you ask me.”

“I’d rather be an adrenaline junkie than a coward,” Starlight countered

“Well I’d rather be a coward than dead,” Sunburst shot back.

Starlight scoffed, giving Sunburst another playful nudge. “Now who’s overreacting?”

“Am I?” Sunburst challenged.

“If anypony died on these rides, this park would get the horseshoes sued right off their hooves.”

A two-story building made of wood and built in the shape of a castle loomed in the distance, catching Starlight’s attention.

“Hey, what’s that?” she asked, pointing to it.

“Looks like a wooden castle of some sort,” Sunburst answered.

As if in answer, the conductor’s voice came again. “Up ahead you will see Chateaux Foal, one of Equestria’s largest indoor playgrounds. Two stories of slides and rides for foals of all ages will make your kids feel like royalty!”

There were open doorways on both stories that led to battlements on the outside of the castle. Starlight could see foals playing on them from where the train was crossing. Twisting slides from inside the top floor wound all the way to the ground outside.

“Wow, that’s so cool! Why didn’t they have stuff like this when we were foals? That would have been great to play ‘Castle’ in like we used to.”

Starlight gasped suddenly at her own words. The two of them locked eyes for a moment, both silently lost in the past.

“Heh,” Sunburst chuckled, shyly glancing away. “That was always fun, wasn’t it? I was the prince and you were the princess.”

“Yeah,” Starlight sighed, looking away herself. She fidgeted with her hooves, heart fluttering. “Or sometimes you’d be a brave wizard pretending to save me from a dragon or something. Good times, huh?”

They both sat in nervous silence for a moment as the train continued its round, but Starlight could almost feel a sense of comforting warmth radiating from Sunburst. She cracked open her mouth to offer something to break the awkward quiet. The conductor’s voice, however, interrupted her.

“And now we’re about to cross over the Lazy River. Why not hop in, relax and let the current carry all your worries away?”

The train came to a bridge built over an artificial river that looped around in a circle. All the ponies in the water below were riding in inflatable inner tubes.

“By the way, I don’t literally mean jump out of the train when we cross the bridge. Don’t do that.”

A few snickering chuckles followed the quip.

Starlight looked over the side of their car, watching the ponies in the water drift along. “That looks like fun, Sunburst, and it’s certainly no thrill ride.” She shot him a teasing smirk. “Unless you’re afraid of getting wet, too.”

“Says the pony who was afraid of being in charge of festival decorations.”

Starlight giggled. “Touche, Sunburst. Touche.”

Holding his head high, Sunburst shut his eyes and put a hoof to his chest in pride. “I have my moments.”

A warm, tantalizing smell wafted into Starlight’s nostrils as the train moved towards a series of buildings erected in a circle, some of them emitting steam from their smokestacks.

“Do you smell that?” Starlight asked. Her mouth began to water. She took a bigger sniff, closing her eyes to savor it. “It smells like-”

“And here we have the main food court,” the tour guide’s voice rang, “with cuisines from more than ten different parts of Equestria as far as Saddle Arabia. There are also Minotaur, Buffalo and Yakyakistonian restaurants.”

“Food!” Starlight felt her stomach growl with a pang of hunger. Which reminded her; she’d been so nervous about meeting Sunburst that morning that she hadn’t been able to keep down much of a breakfast. “I’m getting pretty hungry, Sunburst. You feeling up for some lunch?”

“I’m hungry as a horse,” Sunburst said. “But I don’t think we should eat here.”

The passed through the center of the circle now, offering a perfect view of all the restaurants. “Why not?” Starlight glanced around at their options. All off them looked and smelled delicious. Choosing one place would be hard. “Just look at all this food!”

“It’s a tourist trap. All these places are going to be terribly overpriced. Let’s look for something outside the park.”

It made sense, Starlight realized. This was the kind of place that would charge a pony 20 bits for a daffodil sandwich. “Good point. You won’t get any complaints from me on that,” Starlight agreed. “Any ideas?”

Sunburst rubbed his chin in thought, abruptly cut off from his concentration by the screeching of steel against steel and the sensation of their world slowing down.

“What’s going on?” Starlight asked

“What do you think?” Sunburst answered. “End of the line.”

The train slowed to a halt at the entrance line from which it left, followed by the conductor’s voice ringing over the speakers one last time. “And that, fillies and gentlecolts, concludes our train tour. Thank you for choosing Corrals of Fun, and enjoy the rest of your visit!”

Starlight and Sunburst stepped out of their train car to the designated exit opposite end of the entrance line.

“So, how about lunch?” Starlight asked again as they walked through the crowd of other ponies getting off the train.

“Well,” Sunburst started. “I did see a Hayburger Patty’s on the way in this morning.”

“Oh, come on!” Starlight gave Sunburst a little push. “There’s Hayburger Patty’s everywhere. Take some risks, try something new!”

Sunburst sheepishly adjusted his glasses, glancing away from Starlight. “Ah, right. How about you choose, then?”

“Well, eating local is one of the best parts of travelling, and this IS Las Pegasus, so there’s bound to be something good around every corner besides a boring old Hayburger.” Starlight stepped ahead, waving for Sunburst to follow. “Let’s go take a walk and see what we can find.”