Author's Note

Well, this is it guys, thank you for joining me on this strange but short journey, and as a reward, there's some explicit content ahead. Enjoy!

5. Will You Listen?

Sunburst had always been driven when it came to living up to his title of Royal Crystaller, it was a responsibility he undoubtedly took seriously, but his dedication and motivation this time around might have been motivated by outside factors. Just a little bit, 50/50. Ok, maybe it was 25/75, since the more he thought about Starlight, the more the scales tilted. He always missed her when they were apart, which unfortunately seemed to be happening more often the older they got, except Sunburst was going to make sure that this was the last time. They could always be split as partners, but he’d be damned if anything other than work was going to separate them.

This drove him to an efficiency that went above and beyond anyone expected, and after all the ceremonies were done, he found himself on the train home a day earlier than anticipated. He tried to sleep, knowing that exhaustion would take him eventually, but it was impossible since Sunburst was overwhelmed with the task of not rehearsing and rewriting the conversation in his head. He made one plan and he was sticking to it. That’s why it wasn’t a relief to get in at midnight, to ease himself into the silent castle without hope of getting a conscious word out of her, let alone a romantic moment.

He shuffled down the hallway and felt his heart drop at the sight of the open bedroom door. Starlight never slept with her door open and he started moving towards it without realizing, just barely keeping himself from crashing into the frame. Her bed was empty, sheets perfectly tucked as neat as possible.

“No,” he whispered. She’s gone. She made a decision. She lied—

“Sunburst?”

This time he did bump into the frame, her sleepy voice jerking him back from tumbling over the edge of panic. Sunburst turned and took the few steps separating his room from hers to find her curled up in his bed, her sleepy head just raised off the pillow as she blinked drowsily in the moonlight.

“Hey,” he barely breathed out.

“You’re back early,” she murmured before looking at the clock. “Oh, it’s really early.” A desperate little snort left his lips as she curled back into the bed. “Go take a shower and come to bed.”

“Yes ma’am,” he managed to chuckle as she grunted her annoyance back at him. There were a few more laughs to be had at his expense as he plodded to the bathroom to follow orders. There was still that lingering fear of losing her, the image of an empty bed seared into his brain, but he let the water wash them away, confident in the knowledge that she was waiting for him. Only the necessary time was allotted, not even lingering for a second to straighten the slight mess he made of the bathroom before he was stumbling back into his room in the darkness.

It was a relief to find her there, her hoof tangled in the sheets and pulled tight under her chin. I wonder if she knows how beautiful she is to me, especially like this. He ditched the towel, not bothering to put anything else on, and eased himself behind her. Her breath was gentle and slow, making him think that all they would do was sleep next to each other. Instead, as he climbed under the sheets, Starlight scooted backward, her back settling against his chest and leaving him no choice but to throw a foreleg around her.

“How was it?” Her murmur was still filled with sleep, but her hoof was searching for his. She found it and brought it to her chest, holding it there.

“Fine.” There was nothing to stop him but her so he risked it, raising his head so he could press his lips to the crux of her neck. He was rewarded with a soft sigh from her lips which only spurred him on to nuzzle along her jaw. “I'm glad you’re here.”

“I told you, I wasn’t going anywhere.” He was sure he’d toed too far over the line since she raised her head as she said that, but to his surprise she was simply clearing away her hair, leaving her neck completely unobstructed for him.

Sunburst smiled before testing another kiss on her neck. “I meant in my bed.”

She laughed softly but her hoof squeezed his, spelling out a different message than the sound implied. “I was afraid you wouldn’t wake me up when you got home.”

He paused his gentle kisses, letting his whisper fall to her ear instead. “Did you want me to?”

“A little.” Her voice sounded so small that his heart lurched.

Sunburst searched for her, tangling more than just their hooves but feeling her body, feeling her heart pick up speed as he held her. “Do you want me to do anything else?” She was silent and he could feel the air between them trembling, humming with her thoughts. “Starlight?” he prodded, though he was sure it was hopeless.

She let him go, leaving his hoof hovering above her chest. “Will you touch me?”

That came with an involuntary swallow, his heart already fluttering in his chest. “Are you sure?”

She sighed, “More than anything.”

Sunburst brought his hoof to her shoulder, his nail pressed gently against her fur as he started a slow drift down the line of her body. He was pushing the sheet away as he went, his eyes following the reveal of skin underneath. Even with the need that was building, the way it ached when his hoof moved from her side to the dip at her waist, Sunburst brought his lips to her ear again. “We said we were going to talk.”

“After, I promise,” she sounded breathless. The goosebumps rose under his hoof as he snaked his foreleg lower, tracing the soft fur of her belly, just underneath her belly button.

“I need…” he stuttered for a moment, his grip tightening around her. “I need one thing from you first.”

“What is it?” There was less desire and more concern in her voice, her hoof momentarily coming over his.

He took a deep breath, trying to slow the frantic beat of his heart. “I need to know if you love me.”

She squeezed his hoof, her voice no longer anything close to a whisper. “Of course I do.”

All of his doubt seemed foolish in the face of her bold reply, the way she spat it back as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe. “I love you.” The words pushed his heart into overdrive, the heat coming to his face as if he had something to be embarrassed about. But the best of all was the relief in her sigh and the way her body relax further into him. “Starlight, I really do,” he added before he pressed his lips to her neck again.

“Then show me.” There was a giddiness in her voice that he couldn’t resist, and while a part of him wanted to taste it off her lips, he was more intent on following orders. The hoof on her stomach quickly slipped to her side against the bed, angling her more onto his chest so he could snake his other foreleg underneath her. She gasped at the shift, the way he pulled her to lay practically on top of him so that he could grip her flanks tightly, reducing the space between them to zero.

His teeth grazed her ear as he spoke. “This time, let it go.”

“Yes,” she panted as his hooves caressed her hips.

“I like the sound of that,” he smiled before pressing his lips to her neck again. Now that his need was no longer tempered by doubt or distracted by coming up with strategies and plans, Sunburst realized he'd never been this hungry for her before. All that was left was to satisfy her, to give her whatever she wanted, and fulfill any request.

Starlight shimmied downward, searching blindly for something as Sunburst continued licking and kissing her neck, his hips surged forward on instinct and Starlight moaned, feeling his rapidly hardening erection against her slit. She ground her hips against him and Sunburst followed her lead, making sure his medial ring bumped and rubbed against her winking clit. “Yes,” she moaned again, and Sunburst wondered if she was doing it on purpose but decided that it didn’t matter, it was driving him crazy either way.

He let Starlight sit up and put her full weight on his pelvis, he still kept a grip on her flanks, keeping her steady as she rolled her hips against his shaft. His hoof came down to rub on her clit, timing his grinding with the roll of his hoof. “Sunburst!” He couldn’t decide what was better, the sound of his name or her spontaneous cries of consent that pushed him forward, sampling each one over and over again. His hips stopped his thrusting, leaving her tail shaking.

“Grab a condom,” he murmured.

Starlight’s hooves searched weakly for his nightstand as he slid off from underneath her. He sat behind her and grabbed the soft flesh of her ass just as she took hold of the cardboard box. He couldn’t resist, the smell of her arousal, and he leaned forward and licked her opening; she squealed and almost dropped the box as she was trying to rip the plastic open. Starlight raised her tail even further, and she would’ve fallen over the edge if Sunburst weren't keeping her steady as he pleased her. In the end, Sunburst was forced to slow down when she handed him the wrapper.

“Should I—?” She started to turn, but his hoof came firmly back to her hip, keeping her in place.

“Stay right there,” he murmured while he fiddled with the latex, letting it glide over his aching erection with a hiss. This would be a tangle of limbs, he realized, but anything was worth trying if it meant pleasing her.

He scooted backward, gliding further until he was sitting in the middle of the mattress. Starlight followed him, and once she had more room to sit comfortably, he slipped inside of her. Just like the first time, both gasped at the sensation as he buried himself in her. It wasn’t a position meant for thrusting since he had very little leverage to pound away, but he hoped he could get her to feel both the stroke and the rubbing of his hoof. “Try moving your hips.”

Starlight tested it out, not a full range of her motions, but a tempting grind that brought another moan to her lips. “Is that ok?”

“Perfect.” He planted a kiss on her shoulder before he wrapped his forelegs around her middle, one hoof sliding down her barrel, past her tits, and to her pearl. As soon as his nail touched her clit, she was groaning, flutters of breath breaking past her lips. He exhaled hotly against her neck as he started to apply pressure, gliding his hoof in slow, tight circles. “I just want to make you happy,” he murmured helplessly as he got lost in the sway of her hips.

Starlight’s hoof came up, caressing his mane. She turned her head enough to press her cheek against his scruffy one, searching for some kind of anchor as the world started to unravel. He didn’t have to urge her on, to try and persuade her to anything more than what his hoof and her hips were doing—because there was no longer any battle to fight. She wasn’t resisting him anymore, just letting herself go entirely as she let out a satisfied whine, throwing her head back to the ceiling as her body curved against him, grinding her backside against his pelvis as he held her. All he could do was continue to trail kisses along her neck as he waited for her to catch her breath.

“That was the best,” she grinned as she turned her head just enough to catch his lips.

“Not done yet.”

It was a wonderful sort of agony to slide out of her, and though he was eager to get back in, he took his time to lay her gently on the bed, rolling on top of her with the same amount of care. Sunburst desperately wanted the warmth and feeling of her lips on his, but more than that he wanted to take his time. Savoring this moment was his priority since that first night had moved in a blur for him. Starlight’s hooves made blazing trails up and down his back, kneading his muscles as his tongue played against hers.

Sunburst broke the kiss with a sweet sigh as she wrapped her legs around his waist, letting him rub back against her slick center. He teased her for a few more strokes before she grasped him, angling him to the point of no return. There wasn’t anything he wanted more anyway, so he thrust forward, eliciting a little hiccupped gasp from her mouth, her face wrinkling in what he thought was pain. He came to his senses almost immediately, his hoof suddenly moving to smooth over her hair to clear it from her eyes. “Too much?”

“No, go ahead,” she replied with a smile before lifting her head and catching his lips.

He needed that, all of it, from her soft, reassuring touch to the willingness in her lips and finally the lock of her legs that kept pulling him back in. This time there was no need to wait, letting Sunburst set a steady rhythm as he rocked in and out of her. He wished kissing her felt like an option but as his strokes began to reach a frantic pace, he could only breathe across her lips. She felt heavenly, tasted even sweeter than he imagined, and her moans and sighs a song he wished he could play on repeat, he tried to keep his own moaning in check but he found himself joining her the closer he got to the peak. It was with one last aching groan that he felt all of it overcome him, driving into her hips one last time and staying there, his legs becoming useless beneath him as he let the euphoria take him.

“Now, that was the best,” he murmured breathlessly as he pulled away.

Starlight was already reaching for him, “Where are you going?”

“Give me a second, I just want to clean up.” Sunburst was true to his word, rushing out of the room and only disappearing momentarily. As he walked back in his heart skipped a beat, finding her still lying uncovered, one hoof running along her collarbone as the other sat flat on her stomach. “You're beautiful,” he made sure that was nowhere near a murmur as he slipped back in bed next to her.

“You don’t have to say that.”

He hated the weak smile on her lips so he kissed them, hoping to either wipe it away or strengthen it back to the intensity of before. “Have to and want to are two different things.” He said as he pulled away, running his hoof through her hair, brushing it aside. “I mean it just as much as when I said I love you.”

Starlight let out a warbling breath, “I guess both take getting used to.”

“Do you think you can?” Sunburst propped up on his elbow so he could stare and let those indigo eyes see through him. “When I left, I thought maybe you were…maybe it was too much.”

“I was afraid of a lot of things.” Her hoof ran up his foreleg until it came to rest at the base of his neck, playing with the fine hairs there. “I wasn’t sure where your want was going to stop.”

He tilted into her touch as his eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

Starlight sucked in air, trying to gather as much strength as she could for the words that needed to be said. “What do you want from this, Sunburst? If you just want to sleep with me—”

“No,” he shot at her, making sure to smash that thought into pieces before it even came to life. “I want…I want us to keep moving forward. To be closer, if that’s even possible, and…to have that future together.”

The tears felt inevitable no matter how hard she fought against them and Starlight preemptively brought her other hoof to her cheek, waiting to catch the moisture. “But what happens if it doesn’t work out? We both said we can’t stand the idea of losing each other…”

“Would you believe me if I told you it has to work out?” He tried on a glum smile that barely fit his features.

Another shaky breath and Starlight pulled him in, her lips trying to brush away the smile that didn’t suit him. “I believe everything you tell me.”

He laughed sharply. “Really?”

“At this point, I assume you know better than to lie to me,” she muttered as she pulled far enough away to watch the amusement flutter behind his glasses and over his blue eyes. “So, we’re going to…date?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged but the grin pulling at the corners of his mouth betrayed him. “Because the alternative? Going back to pretending we don’t feel this way just to save our friendship sounds miserable.”

“It does,” Starlight murmured.

“And the idea that I could never kiss you again kills me.” Kissing wasn’t the only thing he was thinking about as he ran his hoof along her side.

“It does feel nice.” For some reason, the admission still brought a blush to her cheeks and it fed his smirk.

Sunburst had a million playful things to tease her with, but instead, he brought his lips back to hers, a tender brush that he was certain felt more than just nice. “But you’re sure now? That we can try this out, you and me?”

Starlight slid towards him and pushed Sunburst onto his back so she would lay her head on his chest, letting her body cling tightly to his as she tried to erase another line. “We’re not trying, Sunburst. We are. It’s you and me.”

His legs wrapped around her, anchoring her to him. “And you love me?”

“I love you,” she answered. “That’s the last thing you should worry about.”

Sunburst sighed as the weight of the week (or maybe it was of the years) finally slipped away. “Yeah, well, maybe it’s just nice to hear you say it.”

Starlight tucked that away, a reminder she’d now set that he would need the reassurance, maybe some soft whispers in his ear at different points during the day, along with some kisses to go along with them. It gave her a new sort of excitement, planning how to love him rather than how to squirrel it away. It was a relief, beautiful and complete. As she sunk into him, pressing his heartbeat next to her ear, Starlight murmured, “When did you know you loved me?”

He grunted, “What kind of question is that?”

“An easy one,” Starlight snapped back. “There’s a moment, isn’t there?”

“Was there for you?” He shot back playfully.

“I asked you first,” she objected.

A sigh slipped from his lips before he used them to plant a kiss on her hairline. “I’m not sure. I think I figured there was more to what I was feeling for you on my first visit to Ponyville when I got along with your friends more than you. Seeing you so upset made me feel terrible, and the thought of you no longer being my friend made me feel even worse. I spent a lot of time after that thinking about how I’d never be able to fill that part of my life if we were to part again. Even though we didn’t have much in common, to me, you were irreplaceable. I just knew that I wanted you in my life and that was that.” His next breath was more thoughtful and trailed into amusement. “But you know what? It was something simpler than that.”

“So, there was a moment?” Starlight wanted to lift her head but he was holding her too tightly, keeping her trapped.

“Kind of…” he let a short laugh rumble beneath her ear. “You probably don’t remember. We were in the library, you were building a kite, a really complicated one, and I could see you working from the corner of my eye as I read. Then you yelped and I was out of my seat before I realized it, running over to check on you and I grabbed your hoof to inspect the damage. You jumped and, hay, I jumped too because since when did I took liberties with touching you? But you smiled and didn’t pull away, letting me bandage the paper cut.”

“And right then I knew how much I wanted to do that. Not just at that moment, but to be your comfort for as long as you would have me. I wasn’t just looking out for you because I was your friend, but because I wanted you to be safe and happy no matter what. And in a short-lived moment of confidence, I was convinced that you’d let me touch you because you were sure I could do it, that I gave you that feeling.” Sunburst finally released his stranglehold and Starlight raised her head, seeing none of that old confidence shining back at her.

“You’re not sure of that now?” She murmured.

“Told you, short-lived,” he laughed humorlessly.

“It shouldn’t be,” she shook her head firmly. “You always do that. Another reason why I always believe you. If you tell me that it’s alright, then it has to be because you make it feel that way.”

“Huh.” That smile was back, a little wonder added to the corner of his lips as what she said sunk in. “Ok, your turn.”

A fresh blush colored her cheeks as she settled her forelegs across his chest, so she could rest her chin without digging into him. “It wasn’t just one moment…”

“Cheater,” he prodded her side, eliciting a laugh from her.

“Alright, alright,” she giggled, then her expression turned somber. “When I was trapped in the catacombs. I was terrified, wondering if this was it and I would never see the light of day again, much less your face. I sat there thinking about all the things I never told you, all the things we never did, all the years that I wasted by being an angry, bitter mare. I spent the whole time being miserable, thinking how unfair it was that I would die just as I got my life back on track…just as I got you by my side again.”

True to his nature, Sunburst hoof fell to her cheek, ready to catch the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes, but more just to rub comfort into her skin.

“But we were saved…” she let out the sweetest sigh even though a few tears ran down her cheeks. “And you walked so purposefully towards me and grabbed me without a word. That hug, the way you held me so tightly like we were both waking from a nightmare…I didn’t want anything else and when you didn’t stop, it gave me hope that maybe you felt something for me besides friendship.”

Sunburst smiled. “It did feel like a nightmare, the way the world was falling apart and you weren’t there, not knowing if you were…” he cleared his throat, unable to finish that horrible thought, much less voice it. “That’s why that hug lasted so long…I just couldn’t bring myself to let you go. I knew I was pushing the envelope, but I wanted that just as much as you did.”

Starlight shimmied closer and he happily helped her, his hooves leaving her face to explore down her bare side. Their lips met, another soft and slow exploration as the rush of the freedom of their words started to settle. She finally separated them, Sunburst giving a lovelorn sigh in reply. “I was wrong, Sunburst.”

“Hm?” His hooves were still on a move, memorizing the feeling of her fur and the warmth of her body, so when his eyes fluttered back open, they were hazy with love.

“I want this, too,” she pressed her forehead to his, nuzzling his nose. “This is me saying yes.”