The night was perfect for stargazing, neither too hot nor too cold, the skies clear of any cloud that might ruin the occasion, all thanks to the pegasi (mostly Rainbow Dash, if he were being honest) that kept the summer clouds at bay for tonight.
He’s finally free from his desk and the way his back pops into place when he stretches makes him wince, but with the paperwork finally out of the way, all that was left to do was to prepare for tonight. The unicorn takes his telescope to the highest point of the castle, gingerly balancing the delicate equipment with his magic as he makes his way up the numerous stairs to the roof.
He wishes he could teleport like some of his friends could, since the fear of tripping and falling lingered in the back of his mind with every step he climbs. But Sunburst does not have the talent nor the power for such a spell, and with everyone gone to the festival there's no one he could ask for help to set things up, so he has to make do with the stairs and hopes for the best.
Finally, he reaches the door to the roof and kicks it open, but when he steps out and the wind hits him in the face he realizes that he might have missed his chance to enjoy such an event with his marefriend. They are always together, here or at school, so sometimes he wishes he could take her on more special dates. Starlight deserves that and more.
From where he’s standing Sunburst can see Ponyville as a colorful light in the distance, the wind carrying whispers of music and laughter to his ears. Though this holiday wasn’t as big as Nightmare Night or Hearts Warming, there were still things they could have enjoyed together, like carnival games and food. He grimaces for a moment at the lost opportunity before he sighs.
Either way, Sunburst gets to work on setting up the telescope so they could witness the celestial show the festival was in honor of, thankful that he was at a point in his life where he could afford to own such a special piece of equipment. Though the light pollution wasn’t bad in Ponyville compared to other cities, it was still considerable, and a telescope like this one was perfect for the occasion.
When he’s done he only has a few minutes to relax before he hears the tell-tell signs of a teleportation spell. He doesn’t have to think too hard to figure out who has the one responsible, and he grins as he turns to greet her.
Starlight Glimmer appears with a flash of turquoise on the far side of the roof, and Sunburst gallops to meet her, his eagerness making his hooves clumsier than usual, almost making him trip halfway, but luckily he catches himself and meets her the rest of the way.
He embraces her with enough force to almost knock her off balance, causing Starlight to shrike and hug him back as they stumble and spin in place. They giggle like mischievous foals for a moment before he lets her go, but not completely, just enough so he can see her properly.
Her cheeks are a little red, and she was panting slightly, as if she had been running. She looks adorable with her mane pinned back in a loose bun, and the star charm dangling from her silver pin jingles merrily as she tilts her head to look at him. The eye shadow accentuated the color of her irises, her lashes darker and fuller, and he spied a hint of lip gloss in her smile.
“Did I make you wait for too long?” Starlight asks, her voice slightly winded, a hint of worry darkening her brow that Sunburst is quick to erase.
“Not at all, you came right on time.” He says quickly. He’s tempted to lean down and steal a kiss, just to taste what flavor she chose this time, but he takes the gentlecolt route and kisses her cheek instead. “In fact, you came just in time for your surprise.”
Starlight pouts playfully and he grins back before letting her go fully, allowing her to look around and spot his telescope.
Starlight gasps. “No way, is that what I think it is?” She approaches the telescope with eagerness and her smile widens when she reads the name engraved on the side. “The Sky-Watcher 3000?! Sunburst, this thing costs a fortune!”
Sunburst fiddles with his glasses, his lips wobbling trying to contain his smug expression. “Well, I had to use that bonus you gave me on something.” He chuckles softly.
But Starlight is only half-listening, too engrossed with the image she sees when she peers into the eyepiece. “The image is so clear! I didn’t think we could see stars like these in Ponyville!”
She manipulates the mechanisms with expertise, and Sunburst is definitely in love with this mare that loves the stars so much.
But the constellations would have to wait, for the firework show was about to start.
It took some coaxing but Starlight finally lets the telescope go with some reluctance, which she quickly puts aside when Sunburst hands her a cold glass of her favorite cider. They approach the railing by the roof's edge and Starlight wastes no time in getting comfortable by Sunburst’s side, snuggling close to him as he puts a foreleg over her withers and pulls her close.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he says and when Starlight turns to look at him, something in him panics and he’s tripping over his words like a colt with his crush. “N-Not that you aren’t beautiful already! Because you always look beautiful! But tonight…yeah…you look nice.” He trails off awkwardly.
She giggles at his blunder. “Thank you, you look handsome as always as well.”
“T-Thank you.” He mumbles and blames the heat on his cheeks on the summer air.
Their attention goes down towards the town and, if Sunburst squints, he could just make out the crowd gathering in the grass to witness the show, and briefly he wonders how the others were doing.
“The girls really wanted me to go with them, but I was too busy,” Starlight says after a sip of her cider, leaning comfortably against his chest. “And it’s not like I didn't want to go, but this week has been so crazy with finals and summer break just around the corner, I just want a break from everything you know?”
Sunburst nods. “Yeah, I don’t like crowds all that much either,” he pauses, remembering his earlier misgivings. “But if we hurry maybe we can catch up and meet them—”
“And give up the best seats in the house? Not a chance!” Starlight says jokingly, nudging him with her elbow, then drops the joking tone after being quiet for a beat too long. “Besides, I really wanted to spend some time with you.”
Sunburst doesn’t have to think too long to know what she meant. Yes, he saw her every day, but only in the hallways, sometimes in her office for a moment if she wasn’t attending to some crisis or other. Yes, they talked every day, but it was mostly about work, not about what they were thinking or feeling. And yes, they shared a bed and slept next to each other every night, but they were too exhausted to do anything else but sleep.
Yes, they were always together, but not together.
He holds her a little tighter, resting his chin over her head. “Yeah, me too.”
There was a whistle, then a bang, and a flash of neon green light painted the sky. The crowd cheered and grew more excited with each new light that appeared. The couple looks up, smiling from ear to ear at the display of colorful gunpowder. It wasn’t the first time they’d seen fireworks together, but something about watching the colors change on Starlight’s cheeks and eyes—from pink to gold to indigo to silver—mesmerizes him more than the fireworks did.
Starlight was right, it indeed was the best seat in the house, being far from the crowds and high enough for them to watch the whole show comfortably. His attention, however, was more taken by the heat on his shoulder, where Starlight’s head rested and it made him wish that this moment would last forever.
Despite his wishes, the show ended all too soon, the last echoes of the fireworks fade away and the lights stop appearing altogether, all that is left is smoke that the wind is quick to blow away. Starlight turns to him and he blushes a little at the way her eyes shine with affection.
He knows that Starlight loves him, she’s told him more times than he can count and has shown him multiple times how she feels about him, but a part of Sunburst still gets a little nervous at such open displays of affection. Like it was something so precious and finite that he was afraid to waste it.
Starlight smiles and stands, and while Sunburst was reluctant to let her go, he wasn’t one to hold her down when she was insistent on moving on.
It doesn’t take long for Starlight to master the telescope, they take turns looking through it, with Starlight doing most of the adjusting and turning towards the stars they want to see with Sunburst offering the occasional commentary. A strange sense of nostalgia washes over him as he looks at the sky, studying stars from a book simply could not compare to the real thing—especially when he’s usually alone in such endeavors.
He checks his pocket watch and takes over the telescope, gently guiding it to where the fireworks were a few minutes ago. “It’s almost time.”
Throwing a picnic blanket on the floor for them to lie on, they settle on the checkered fabric and look at the sky, they don't really need the telescope to watch these particular stars. Usually found on opposite sides of the sky, these two stars had been moving ever closer during the course of the summer and tonight they would be shining together almost as one. As they grew closer, Sunburst could’ve sworn that the stars glowed brighter, probably joyous to be together at last after a long year apart.
Once the Weaver and the Herder were reunited, he turns to Starlight and says, “You know, if it were us, I wouldn’t mind waiting a whole year just for a chance of seeing you again.”
As a colt, the story of the Weaver and the Herder seemed a little silly to him: two lovers, separated by a river as wide as the galaxy, that could only meet once a year on the seventh night of the seventh month. The punishment was too excessive for the crime of loving your spouse and not doing your work, couldn't Weaver's father just…talk to his daughter and son-in-law? Why must he separate them like that? His younger self never really understood, not until much later. As he grew his opinion changed and he learned to feel sorry for the lovers. It seemed cruel and sad to put all that time and effort just for a single night, a night that wasn’t always guaranteed—for if it rained they would have to wait another year. He knew that not many ponies would do it, the logical thing to do was to give up at that point.
Sunburst himself didn’t think that he could do it—until Starlight came crashing down into his life and it was then that he understood. Those love stories felt less foreign when that feeling was so present in his life now.
Starlight raises an eyebrow mockingly. “You think I would let a galaxy get in between us?”
He laughs. He really should know better than to underestimate her, the last thing Starlight would do was cry at the edge of a river waiting for some cranes to take pity on her. “You’re right, just don’t do anything crazy for me,” Sunburst says with a chuckle.
“Ah, yeah, a little too late for that.” The way she awkwardly laughs and looks away makes him want to kick himself.
Though Starlight never blamed him, not once, for the things she has done in the past, he couldn't help but feel guilty for being the catalyst for such events. He didn't mean to bring up painful memories—but before he can curse himself some more, Starlight puts a hoof over his, and the gesture is so sincere and intimate that his heart jumps to his throat.
“But I get it, if there was nothing I could do but wait…then I would gladly do it.”
Sunburst’s anxiety melts away with a smile and he leans in, resting his forehead against hers gently and keeping his hoof around hers.
“Let’s go to the festival together next year,” he says so casually and gently, afraid to pop the bubble of intimacy they build around each other. “Get dressed up, make some wishes, eat tons of junk food, and dance all night…if you want of course.”
“I like watching the stars with you.” She matches his tone and the way her grip tightens around him tells him how much this means to her.
But she doesn't comment about going to the festival, or about eating and dancing and making wishes. She doesn’t press him about going together next year either.
“Oh, speaking about junk food, I made a quick stop at Sugarcube Corner for a little something,” she winks and reaches for her saddlebag.
The smell of sugary baked goods hits him before Starlight could pull out a paper bag with the bakery’s logo. His grin widens when he looks inside and sees an assortment of carnival food: churros, donuts, pretzels, cinnamon buns, and other treats. Now he gets why Starlight seemed so winded when she got here.
“Starlight, you are the best.”
“You only say that because I brought you food,” she rolls her eyes without malice. “Typical male.”
“It’s not only that.”
Her smile turns softer. “I know.”
He sets the bag aside and they go back to cuddling. Starlight’s coat is so soft that Sunburst couldn’t keep his hooves away and she’s more than happy to indulge him. He leans in and nuzzles her, the coarseness of his beard against her soft cheeks makes her giggle but she doesn't pull away, she leans in instead, taking everything in and soaking up his attention like a flower under the sun.
It could be the ambiance and the privacy it offered, or the music they could hear faintly in the distance that was little more than white noise to them, but whatever the reason, Starlight leans forward and presses her lips against his.
She tastes like cotton candy.
“You know what, forget the festival,” Sunburst says when they part, “let’s go to Canterlot and visit the observatory next year, they have a telescope that can show you stars outside of our galaxy.”
“That sounds great, we can wear matching shirts like the tourist do,” Starlight nods, hugging him and resting her head against his chest. “And write our wishes and hang them on the tallest bamboo we can find.”
“Of course, anything you want.”
There’s no doubt in his words, no “if we are still together” or “maybe in the future”, just the security that he will make it happen somehow, and the conviction with which he speaks makes her smile.
As they settle on the picnic blanket and watch the Weaver and the Herder complete their dance, a part of her couldn’t help but mourn the past they could have had: all the missed opportunities, the festivals they didn’t attend, and the experiences they couldn’t share. If things had been different, they could have had many nights like this…but then again, they wouldn’t be the ponies they were today.
Despite all the pain and heartache, she’s grateful to be where she is and happy to be who she is. It led her to Sunburst after all.
Now it’s their time and she’s determined to make the most of it, and there’s a promise of a future together that reassures Starlight enough to let go of the past and focus on the present.
She looks up and meets Sunburst’s eyes, lifting her chin in silent invitation, one that Sunburst takes without hesitation.
His lips taste like cotton candy now.
Author's Note
The story of Tanataba has always been my favorite, so much so that my username it's inspired by the tale, so I'm glad I can finally write something based on the fairy tale with my favorite blorbos. I hope you enjoyed it!
~~and oops my weeaboo is showing how embarrassing don't mind me I'm gonna go and commit seppuku in a bit~~
