Author's Note

Summary: The four times Starlight kisses him, plus the one Sunburst returns.

Notes: Just a little Valentine's gift for you guys, and to dust off this ficlet collection a bit.

In Which Four Kisses Are Given and One is Returned

Pretend

"Ugh, Sunburst! You're doing it all wrong!"

"Nuh huh, this game is just dumb!" The colt huffs and kicks a loose pebble, which tumbles and rolls away from the playground before settling underneath the shade of an old oak tree, the oldest one in the park. "Can we play something else? Please?"

He looked up at her with big pleading blue eyes and Starlight, sitting on top of the monkey bars, sighed dramatically. "Fine."

Her friend cheered and Starlight's lips wobbled as she tried to hold on to her pout. She liked seeing her friend happy, but she couldn't let him win that easily! Otherwise, she would be stuck playing some boring game! She made a show of climbing down to buy herself some time to formulate her plan, and by the time her hooves met the ground, she knew what to do.

While Sunburst rambled about the game he wanted to play, she approached him from the side and kissed him—if you could call smashing your muzzle to the other's cheek as hard as you can a kiss.

As Sunburst stumbled from the force of the "kiss" Starlight laughed and ran away.

"Sunburst got the cooties!" She singsonged while her friend screamed and ran after her.

First

Starlight's eyes are mesmerizing, and Sunburst can't look away.

His hooves shuffle nervously as he stands on the porch of Twilight's castle. The faint light from inside the castle comforts him; it helps him see her better and softens her features, making the atmosphere warm, hazy, and romantic. His throat is dry with anticipation, his hoof settled on her shoulder. He is ready, but he is also terrified to mess this up somehow.

Kisses are always the pinnacle of a date night—at least, that was what the romance novels he read in preparation had taught him.

But the execution of such a kiss...

"We can go slow, or...if you're not ready—"

"I want to!" Sunburst insists. "I really do. I have to...I'm ok...It'll be ok!"

His voice is too sharp for his ears, even Starlight winces slightly, but she nods and smiles patiently. His gaze softens, and he hovers closer, though hesitates once again. Not because of any second thoughts, but because of the many different scenarios that race through his mind, his imagination on fire.

Sunburst tilts his head back and forth, and he opens his mouth and shuts it again. What was the ideal position for this?!

"Sunburst."

Sunburst pauses. Their gazes catch once more and he melts. This time, however, Starlight carefully snakes a hoof on his chest until it catches on his cape, and she pulls him against her. Carefully, so, so carefully, she presses her body against his front. She kisses him.

Fireworks burst to life in his head and ring relentlessly. A small part of him is upset he couldn't bring himself to go naturally with the flow. The rest is washed away with the silky movements of her lips on his.

Firsts don't have to be perfect, but this was pretty damn close.

Storm

"Ready to go home?" Sunburst asks, popping the umbrella open.

"Of course! I can't wait to grade papers all evening." She says with a roll of her eyes, strapping her saddle bag in place.

While they walked down the sidewalk, the rain was relentless. Sunburst rearranges the umbrella hovering over them with his magic. When he believes he has it in the best position above their heads, a gust of wind blows, and he struggles to rein the umbrella's top back in.

"Curse this wind," Sunburst grumbles, checking to make sure Starlight is not getting wet.

Starlight hums. "Let me hold it."

"It's fine, I got it."

But Starlight plucks the umbrella from his magic with little trouble and twists it around. Quizzically, Sunburst looks at her and wonders why, but he shrugs. Starlight bumps against his side and there's a comfortable silence between them.

Before they continue their journey, Starlight pecks him on the cheek.

Sunburst side-steps into a puddle, his fetlocks are immediately wet and cold, but his face is on fire with giddy embarrassment.

"You were so close to me," Starlight says with a note of mischievous playfulness. "I just couldn't resist."

Tranquil

Sunburst is sitting on his desk, engrossed with a magic book. When he's done he pulls out a notebook and writes down what he learned, jotting down his ideas and theories. He's not one to only take a spell at face value, he's not content with only executing a spell—he needs to analyze it, dissect it, and pull it apart like a machine to see what makes it tick, and how it works. It has led to interesting discoveries in the past, other times, it led to explosions.

He loses track of time when he gets like this, a trance state that he won't break out easily on his own at least. Which is a problem for Starlight.

It's lunchtime and he promised her a date. If she rudely interrupts him it will put him in a sour mood for the rest of the afternoon, but if she lets him be, he will be there, chained to his desk until nightfall.

Starlight hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to approach him, when an idea struck her. She knocks on the door's frame—as expected he doesn't look up, but at least now he couldn't say that she didn't warn him—and walks in with a grin. Once she stands behind him, she wraps her hooves around him in a bear hug and kisses his cheek firmly, lingering for a few seconds to make sure he gets the message, before letting go with a wet smack.

Sunburst blinks, looking confused until he remembers and nods.

"Oh, right, lunchtime."

Dessert

"Wow, Sunburst," Starlight says, mouth filled with spongy dessert goodness. "This cake is amazing!"

Sunburst's body twitches in his chair. She's a vision of pure beauty in her wedding dress, cheeks flushed and hair a mess from dancing the night away. He wants nothing more than to drag her away to the honeymoon suite, but he doesn't, choosing instead to sit in this moment a little longer. After all, happily living the memory of his wedding day was unmistakably precious.

"Now you appreciate Trixie's impeccable taste!" Trixie proclaims loudly. She drags a chair to their table and sets her plate across from them. She stabs a fork into strawberry cream, a star made of frosting and edible glitter on top of her giant piece. "I helped choose it!"

"Sunburst picked the design," Starlight points out, waving her fork in her maid of honor's face.

"Presentation is important, but taste is what sends you over the moon!"

Starlight's cheeks puff out indignantly and Sunburst chuckles. He will not deny that, even after vigorous taste tests, they had given Trixie's opinion on the cake the most weight in their final decision. After all, a shabby cake without flair would not pass the test for her best friend's wedding day.

"Speaking of cake," Starlight gestures her fork at the place in front of Sunburst. "You haven't touched yours yet. What's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing!" Sunburst says, shaking his head with conviction. The cake was easy to forget when he wanted to record Starlight's smiling face in eternal memory. Speaking of Starlight...a crumb of cake lingered on the corner of her mouth.

The DJ said something over the speaker, distracting Trixie long enough to give him an opportunity.

Sunburst pushes his chair closer without Starlight noticing. She turns and Sunburst leans in and wipes his tongue across the crumb on her cheek, before moving over the plush surface of her lips.

When they part, Starlight's eyes are wide. "Sunburst!" She blushes, the cake forgotten.

Sunburst grins. Second-hand cake is the best flavor.

"Trixie is right," he whispers. "It's paradise. I lept over the moon."