Imperfect Strangers

Wind rustled the colt's mane as he waited anxiously at the bottom of the hill. Hat Trick sat next to his kite watching the rest of his class talking and making last minute fixes to their crafts. Most of their parents had already shown up and were going through preflight examinations of their foals’ kites. Hat’s kite was, as expected, radically different from anyone else's there. There were plenty of diamond-shaped ones modeled after the design in the directions but there were also a few A-shaped ones. Most of the uniqueness was in the colors and the streaming tails. Hat’s entry drew much curiosity but also some respectful skepticism about its abilities to fly.

Big sugar-eyed the box quizzically. “Ya say this flew just like a regular kite?”

“Yeah,” replied Hat. “I didn't think it would work either but it did. I guess anything that catches the wind can be a kite if you just make it right.”

“Where did ya get the idea for somethin’ so crazy? Did ya invent it?”

“No, it's a real design that exists. It's called a box kite. My um… my dad's friend showed me how to make it. She's coming to help me fly.” He looked side to side. “I think.”

Just then Starlight appeared in a flash beside him.

“You came,” he exhaled with relief.

“Hey, yeah, sorry I'm a tiny bit late. I got kind of lost. I've never actually been out here before which is weird because when I used to live here I flew kites all the time so you'd think I'd know about a place that was good for flying kites.”

Big Sugar scampered away to Sugar Belle.

Starlight levitated the box kite in the air and examined it briefly. “Looks good and ready to fly.”

“All right everyone called Cheerilee to the group. “Is anyone not ready for takeoff? Everyone looked at each other but no one raised an issue.

“Wonderful,” she chimed. “Then we can start right now.”

Some distance from the base of the hill, every foal lined up with room between, bobbins at the ready in their mouths or floating in the air. Their adult assistants lined up behind them holding up an array of flamboyant looking kites.

Miss Cheerilee looked expectantly down the line of parents who all appeared prepared for launch.

“Adults, raise a hoof if you're ready.”

Everyone looked at her with smiles and hooves raised in the air.

“All right then, get ready. On your marks… Get set… Go!”

On the teacher’s command the line of foals broke into a full gallop toward the hill, strings trailing behind them.

One kite crashed quickly, swooping into the ground where it dragged behind the filly towing it. She frantically stopped and waited for her parent to reacquire the kite for a second attempt at lift off.

When the foals reached the incline of the crest they slowed considerably but as they climbed higher the wind became stronger lifting the kites skyward along with them. It wasn't a race but one wouldn't know it by the desperation of the animated fillies and colts as they ascended the steep levee.

Hat Trick was third to reach the top. He skidded on the grass as he spun around and watched as his peculiar kite continued to climb higher into the air, taken by the breeze. Seeing it go felt just as miraculous and gratifying now as the time before. Not only that but the others could see the miracle too.

As the rest of the foals surmounted the hill, the sky was suddenly populated with dancing colors and shapes. Sixteen kites in all but everyone's eyes were on the strange box that they all questioned. Some fluttered, some jittered about. His hovered in place unnaturally but at the same time it looked so at home in its environment.

Watching the box kite, Starlight felt a profound sense of triumph in that moment. She'd successfully helped Hat in a fun way and shown him something he'd never seen before. Maybe she could really be a parent. She looked down from the sky above and noticed that she was practically alone at the bottom of the hill. Now that the kites had stabilized the other adults were climbing up the levee to be with their kids. That made sense for her to do too, she supposed.

Instead of teleporting she cantered up to meet him. “We did it,” she smiled, cresting the hill. The look on his face was priceless. She sat on her haunches beside him in the grass and looked up the length of the string.

The foals who had stable kites let them unwind and go even higher in the stiff breeze. A hooful of them, including Hat's, went all the way to the end and ran out of string as they became tiny specks in the sky. The two of them laughed at how ridiculous it was. It might have gone all the way to outer space if they had more string. Starlight visored her eyes as she looked up in awe. It was better than even she had conceived. One pegasus parent flew up to survey the highest kites up close.

Sunburst watched the two from hiding at the edge of the woods. He said he was busy, and he was, but he still found two minutes to dip out of school just to see how they were doing and it was so worth it. He would have found a way to show up for him if there were no other options but with Starlight here he didn't want to rob them of the opportunity to have this moment together.

“Allright everypony,” called Cheerilee to the flyers. “Let's reel them in and get ready for awards and the picnic!”

Starlight scratched her head curiously. Oh yeah, she had seen something about that on the paper but it completely went to the back of her mind behind the kite project itself.

The session came to an end and the competition broke up. Checkered blankets unfurled along the base of the Gusty Hill. Starlight sat alone with Hat and they unwrapped sandwiches, chips and drinks provided by the school. It was a strange turn of events that she hadn't planned for but despite this it was pleasant.

Hat was well on his way to finishing his entire bag of potato chips to start when he asked Starlight bluntly. “Do you want to marry my dad?”

Starlight nearly choked on her bite of sandwich at the abruptness of his question. “Um, Yeah, that was kind of a soft launch of an engagement to be engaged kind of thing last night,” she chuckled nervously, eyes watering.

“Didn’t you want to marry him before you ran away?”

“Yeah, I did,” she admitted.

“But he was already with my mom.”

“More or less by that point.” Starlight floated the juice bottle to her lips. She really didn't want to have this conversation with him, especially at a school picnic but if he wanted to know then she thought he should.

“I've never really heard this part of the story before. I knew how they met through you. I didn't really know why you left until now.”

Starlight was wary of vilifying Trixie in front of her son even if it came from simply telling him the objective truth about what happened.

“Would you ever cheat on him?”

Starlight blinked. “No, of course not. I know that anyone you ask is going to say the same thing but I really do mean it. I've been so fond of him for so long I can't even imagine myself hurting him like that.”

“I couldn't imagine my mom doing it,” he sighed, finally unwrapping the brown paper from his sandwich.

Starlight swallowed. “Well… everyone has their shortcomings.” That was by no means an excuse though, she thought. “Your mom and I had lots of things in common but we also had a lot of differences.”

“If you both want to get married then why don't you just get married? it's not like I can even stop you if I wanted to.”

Starlight downed the rest of her juice and sighed. “Well I'd like to be respectful of your mom for one and it's not a question of if you can stop us or not. It's whether or not you'd willingly accept it. Ideally you'd be excited to have me join your family before I did it. You don't want to be stuck with someone you don't like or who doesn't like you.”

“Do you like me?" he asked.

“Yes. I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't, or rather I guess you wouldn't be here right now if I didn't.”

Hat thought about that for a moment before taking another bite. “That's a good point,” he agreed. “I don't know why you do though, after I was mean to you.”

“It wouldn't be fair to judge you based on your attitude during what I assume is the worst time of your life. And everyone deserves a second chance. I know I've benefited from a few.”

“What if it wouldn't be worth it?” he shrugged.

“Well, it was hard at first but we're having a good time together right now, aren't we?”

“Yeah.”

“See? I'm having fun.”

Hat laid down on the blanket having finished his food already. “If my mom was alive she probably wouldn't have done this with me even if she was home at the time. My dad would have had to do it. I miss having someone else even if they weren't really there all the time but if I got another mom I'd want her to be like you.”

Starlight was stunned speechless by his words until a shadow passed over her. Miss Cheerilee came by their blanket with a certificate in her mouth. She sat it down in the grass before them. “Congratulations Hat,” she chimed excitedly. “Your box kite design was hooves down the most unique kite today!”

Hat sat back up again and levitated the paper up so he could read it. The Colt smiled faintly at the acknowledgment of their accomplishment. “Thank you, Miss Cheerilee.”

She turned to the mare with him. “And Starlight, I haven't seen you in years,” she exclaimed. “What a surprise to see you again here of all places. It's so nice that you could be here for Hat today. Did you help him with his kite too?”

“Yeah, I did," she laughed awkwardly.

“Are you just visiting Ponyville?”

“Uh… well actually I'm planning on moving back.”

At the end of the picnic Hat Trick said goodbye to Starlight and returned to school with a lot on his mind. It had been that way for a while now. There was no shortage of mental knots to unravel at any given moment he fell prey to distraction.

When class ended for the day Sunburst was there to meet him with a smile the moment he stepped out the door like a reporter camping outside a courthouse.

“Hey,” his dad greeted excitedly.” Did you have a good day?”

The colt looked up at him from behind his levitating kite. “Yeah,” he answered sincerely. “Can we walk down to the creek before we go home though?”

“Sure.” He turned with his son onto the diverging dirt path that went to the little creek just beyond the edge of the school property. “Did your kite do well? Looks like it survived a second flight.”

“Hold it for me,” Hat ordered without explanation. Sunburst took the box kite with his magic and looked it over as they walked. Hat trick then levitated the certificate from his saddlebag and floated it to him with an almost smug smile.

“Wow, that's so cool,” gasped Sunburst as he scanned the award. “Most unique kite... I bet there weren't any other kites that looked like yours. You did such a great job on this. Was Starlight fun?”

“Yeah. We flew the kite and then we had a picnic together.”

“Wish I could have been there.”

Hat Trick put the paper safely away. “Is Starlight still going to come over when she gets an apartment?”

“Would you like that?”

“Yes,” he admitted.

“Then I bet she'll come over pretty often; I think she likes us.”

“She should come over and keep making us food,” suggested the colt matter-of-factly.

Sunburst laughed. “I think she enjoys doing that so it's a distinct possibility that she will.”

For Sunburst's entire domestic life they'd never had anyone in the house who could be considered a good cook. Stellar Flare was the closest but she didn't live there.

Wispy blades of grass bending over the edges of the path tickled their legs. As they neared the water they could hear the babbling of the creek as it flowed around the half submerged stones and thick exposed tree roots where the soil was washed away.

“When are you going to marry her?”

“I- I don't know,” shrugged the stallion, taken off guard by the direct question.

Hat looked up at him. “But you already decided that you were going to, didn't you?”

“Well, I decided I was going to ask her some time,” he corrected. “Is that okay?”

Hat looked ahead to the place where the ground ended at the meandering water’s edge. “I think so,” he murmured.

When the three of them had dinner together that night it felt like something family adjacent. It was a conclusion to a successful day where each of them played a role in supporting one another in a common goal. They discussed things that they did that day and plans that they had for tomorrow. It was a day that seemed normal after a week that was anything but. Not only that but it felt like there was a future to be had, a light at the end of a tunnel of so much despair. They were puzzle pieces that fit together.

After the fire, Sunburst settled into his bed and closed his eyes but his brain wouldn't rest. He couldn't stop thinking about Starlight. He couldn't believe that he'd never fully appreciated who she was in his life until right now when he needed her most it seemed.

His eyes popped back open when he heard the fizzle of magic in his ears and when he looked he saw the form of Starlight resting beside him as if he'd manifested her out of the aether. It was just bright enough in the room from the intrusive moonlight to see the gentle but impish smile on her face which he couldn't help but return.

“Is it okay if I sleep here?" she whispered. “Just till I get an apartment?”

“Yeah,” he breathed softly. Then reached out a hoof to lay on her side. How was it possible that all of this just felt so right? - - -

Sunburst awakened to the blare of the alarm clock. He hit the button and instinctively levitated his glasses from the nightstand to his face. He felt Starlight stir in the sheets behind him and for a moment he was surprised. It had been a while since he had shared a bed. He rolled over to meet her squinting gaze under disheveled mane.

“Too early for me,” she groaned, having fallen out of a work schedule.

“Not for long,” he mumbled wryly.

She kissed him on the muzzle and then vanished in a flash back to her room just as abruptly as she had appeared last night.

Sunburst rubbed his eyes and smiled as he felt the kiss linger on his lips. He wanted to feel the way he felt in this moment forever and he wanted it to start now. That was when an incredible idea burst into his brain, something he’d just have to do but he'd need to take the day off to do it…

Starlight rolled over in her bed and looked at the clock again. “Ugh,” she grumbled. “Guess I shouldn't sleep any longer if I expect to make it to Canterlot and back today.”

She forced herself to her hooves and teleported to the bathroom to brush her mane out of a tangled mess. She got ready, ate breakfast and caught the first train to Canterlot from Ponyville Station. Although she wanted to bring a few issues of Hat's Red Doctrine collection to entertain her on the trip she decided against it not wanting to risk losing or damaging them. Instead she absconded with another one of Sunburst’s few fiction novels.

In moments where she paused to rest her eyes and look out the window she became aware once more of the thump of the wheels beneath her and the fact that she was all alone again. Somehow it felt strange now.

Only when they were pulling into Canterlot Central did she snap the book shut. She was confident that she'd be able to finish it on the ride back.

Starlight went to a regional bank first to open an account, one that she could access in Ponyville. Then she went to her current bank, the one she'd been saving money in for years now and, after thinking it over for quite a while in line, she transferred everything to her new account. It felt like a significant move, the end of an era. It was everything she had to show for her old life. She left with a chunk of bits in her bag which was good because now she could get a train ticket home. The next thing to do when she got back to Ponyville would be to go apartment hunting.

Six months or a year lease Starlight wondered as she ambled up the cobblestone street toward Canterlot Castle. This was crazy. She was really going all in on this. She knew she would probably move in with them one day and be right back where she was now but when would that be?

Starlight stopped before a vigilant armored guard near the first castle guard house.

“Um, hi,” she began. “I'm Starlight Glimmer. I don't have an appointment but I used to work at the School of Friendship and the princess asked me personally if I would be willing to work there again and I was wondering if it would be possible to just give her my answer while I'm in town.”

The guard nodded in understanding. “Oh yes, Starlight Glimmer, come right in.” He moved aside promptly.

Starlight blinked in surprise as she passed the guard house. That was weird. She'd been gone for so long that there was no way anyone here even knew her name. It was like he just took her story at face value and let her right in without even checking with Twilight. Twilight must have been expecting a visit from her as she anxiously awaited her reply.

Starlight walked all the way to the main gates meeting no resistance or further inquiry. The guards opened the doors for her as she approached as if they were expecting her. They didn't even search her bag.

At the end of the great hall she crossed another pair of guards at the throne room doors. “The princess is in her throne room and will see you now.” Once again the doors before her parted effortlessly. It was almost mind-boggling how simple and quick this process was. She was just dropping in on the Princess of Equestria like she was throwing a block party.

When Starlight walked into the cavernous chamber Twilight was indeed there sitting upon her throne almost as if she'd been there waiting for her. She smiled a wide grin at seeing her former student.

“Starlight,” cheered the princess before teleporting straight to her. “You came to visit me. You haven't left Ponyville have you?”

Starlight last weakly “Just for today. I came into town to do errands and give you my answer about the job.”

“What do you think?” asked the princess.

“I've decided to stay in Ponyville and be the counselor at the school again.”

“That's so great to hear,” gushed Twilight. She reached out to hug her. “It's wonderful to have you back.”

Starlight raised a hoof. “Uh, but one thing. I haven't looked into therapists in Ponyville yet which I suppose I should do now.”

“I can give you some names," assured Twilight dismissively. “We'll work all of this out. I'm just happy you're here. Hey, have you had lunch yet? I know it's kind of late.”

Starlight thought for a moment. “Uh, no, not really. I just had a snack at the train station.”

“Perfect!” Twilight clicked her hoof on the floor in excitement eliciting an echo. “You should stay and eat. Want to have a late lunch in the garden?” She suggested almost bursting with glee.

“That sounds great,” smiled Starlight.

“Alright, hang on,” said the princess, charging her horn. In a flash Starlight appeared in a secluded area of the Canterlot Castle Gardens before an already set table for two but Twilight was nowhere to be seen. She looked over the tops of a few covered dishes to see a familiar orange stallion already seated there.

“Sunburst?” she blurted in disbelief. “I thought you had work today. What are you doing in Canterlot?”

Sunburst grinned back at her. “Oh, I just had a question I wanted to ask you,” he chuckled nervously.

Why am I so nervous, he thought. I've never been more sure of anything in my life.

She stared back at him in abject bewilderment. As he stood up to join her on her side of the table. Her eyes bulged as he levitated a jewelry box in front of her.

She gasped. “I knew something was weird about all of this!” She covered her mouth in shock.

Sunburst cracked open the box to reveal a silver wedding band. “Uh, this may seem kind of sudden,” he began timidly, “but also at the same time not at all. I don't believe in destiny but I do believe this is how it's meant to be if that makes any sense. We can have a ceremony whenever we want but I don't think there's any reason for us to wait to say yes. So will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she squeaked, unable to breathe.

She watched as he floated the ring out of the box and placed it around her horn. Breathlessly she touched the band with one hoof.

“Where the hell did you get a ring?”

“I bought it a couple of hours ago,” he laughed. “I've been sitting here at the table waiting for almost an hour.”

She reached out her forelegs and drew him into a passionate kiss that nearly knocked the glasses from his face.