The Sun and Stars

Sunburst had to admit, since he had moved to Ponyville, this was the most he was looking forward to visiting home in some time. Since his visit with Starlight over a year ago, he had kept in touch with his mom, Stellar Flare, who still showed some concern over what he was going to do once Flurry Heart got older, but wasn't as in his face about it as she used to be. She was also, reluctantly, starting to get used to his beard.

She was simply ecstatic when he had revealed that he and Starlight had started dating. She wanted to give him all sorts of pointers for maintaining a long distance relationship, and he had accepted a small amount of it, knowing that Firelight was definitely doing the same to Starlight. She was even happier when she had received his letter saying that he was leaving the Crystal Empire and moving to Ponyville, where he had accepted the position of Vice Headstallion for the School of Friendship, Equestria's newest international campuses. With what he was coming to them with today, however, made him want to have a shield spell on standby, in the likely event that his mother would explode from happiness twice.

Sunburst and Starlight had grown up as neighbors together. He never knew the details, but Firelight was a widowed father, and Sunburst's family was always more than happy to babysit when his workload became overwhelming. He never minded; Starlight was a great friend and playmate, and was an excellent spellcaster when they became old enough to start performing magic. When he had gotten his cutie mark before her, however, they had whisked him away to Canterlot. His sheer knowledge of nearly all matters surrounding Aetherius was probably the only reason he managed to pass the entrance exam for Celestia's School of Magic. His written and oral reports had managed to keep his academic performance afloat for six years. But as his class continued delving into the more advanced subjects and applied spellcasting, he was no longer able to keep up. He formally dropped out near the end of his thirteenth semester, and with Celestia's help, he landed a job maintaining the Arcane section at the National Archives in Canterlot.

When the Crystal Empire returned in the far north, he was part of the small team of scholars that had moved up there to study the tomes that had been thought forever lost when the city had disappeared a millennium ago. From there, he had become the Crystaller to the royal daughter Flurry Heart. Being the magic advisor to a natural-born alicorn and her parents provided its own set of challenges, but now that Flurry had gotten older and her magic got much more stable, he had largely been reduced to a ceremonial role. Figuring that this latest chapter of his life was coming to an end, he wondered what was in store for him next. He didn't have to wonder long after he got a letter from Trixie, and Starlight offered him the position of Vice Headstallion at the School of Friendship, though the new Student Counselor wanted to jokingly keep the job listed as Vice Headmare. His mom was thrilled, believing that this was at last, a career defining move.

Their hometown of Sires Hollow was one of Equestria's older villages, nestled in the forests between Bitsburgh and Fillydelphia. It had experienced a population boom when the railroad was built through town on its way northeast towards Manehattan, Bostrot, and Rainbow Falls. The village's economy was largely supported by timber export. Shelterwood cutting methods had ensured that the beautiful forests in the area were carefully maintained. For a few months, their parents had a feud on what direction the town as a whole should take; Stellar Flare wanted to modernize the town to attract business and tourism, and Firelight believed that preserving the town's history was more important. With the help of their children, they set aside their differences and approached both tasks together. Now Firelight's preservation efforts tied into attracting tourists, and Stellar Flare made sure her efforts included maintaining the town's historical architecture.

Sunburst stepped off the train as it stopped at the Sires Hollow platform, and headed towards town. The wrought iron gate was still there, thankfully with the audio welcome system removed. Passing through them into the town square, he took in what had changed since his last visit. The smoothie vendor was still there, but now with a large offering of fresh, unprocessed fruit. The 'Essences of the Hollow' kiosk had been renovated into a full-on beauty parlor that was attracting modest business.

He spotted Firelight and his mom waving him down from the outdoor dining area at the coffee shop next to the bakery, which had also seen incredible improvement after the "original" recipe had been overhauled.

"Hello, dear. How's life in Ponyville?" Stellar asked, getting up for a hug.

"A bit hectic." Sunburst began, returning the hug before he took his own seat across from the two of them. "We're getting everything ready for the next school year, and still getting Twilight's castle re-purposed."

"It's a shame both of you couldn't come down. I'm sure Starlight would have loved to see some of the changes the town has made since she was last here." Firelight added.

"Yeah, I don't think there's going to be many opportunities for both the Headmare and Vice Headstallion to leave the school at the same time." Sunburst said. True, it would make travelling abroad require much more planning, but for their parents it wasn't as big of an issue because of how often they were now making the trip to Ponyville to visit.

"So, what's new son? You said you had something to tell us?" Stellar asked, taking a sip of her tea.

"Well, I'm just here for the day. I'm actually here mostly to talk to Firelight, but I knew I'd never hear the end of it from you if you weren't here for this." Sunburst replied, smirking at his mom. He reached into his teal star-patterned cloak, came back out with a small felt box, and slid it across the table to the stallion, whose eyes had widened already.

"Firelight, I'd like your permission to propose to Starlight. Your daughter is amazing, and I'd like to spend the rest of my life with her." He said, sitting up as straight as he could.

As Sunburst was paying more attention to Firelight opening the box and looking at the diamond engagement ring, he didn't notice his mom very quickly slide around the round table and nearly tackle him in an excited hug.

"Ooh, congratulations, honey!" Stellar told her son.

"Thanks mom." He replied as he struggled to breathe.

"Sunburst," Firelight finally began as Sunburst waited all of three seconds for a reaction. "I'm flattered, but you of course know that you hardly need my permission, right?" Firelight asked as he closed the box and slid it back over to him.

"Well, I've always considered myself something of an old-fashioned stallion, what can I say?" Sunburst replied, returning the small box to his cloak's inside pocket.

"Well, then I suppose I'll humor you. Sunburst, you and Starlight have known each other since you were foals. Your family constantly volunteered to help care for her while I worked to put a roof over her head, because of how well the two of you got along. There was a considerable gap where you lost track of each other, and then you found each other again and your relationship has just become closer and stronger. When it comes to magic, you're the knowledge to her ability. I would be honored to have you as a son-in-law." Firelight said, pressing a hoof to his chest.

Sunburst smiled proudly.

"So any idea of how you're going to go about it?" Stellar asked, returning to her cup of tea.

"Yes, actually, and this idea isn't quite as old fashioned. Do you two think you could get down to Ponyville on Friday night?"