Sunburst squinted and peered a little closer at his reflection. A hoof tugged his cape into place, prompting the stallion to smile faintly.
“Wow this fits perfectly,” he murmured to himself. “I really should have trusted Rarity to make me something sooner.”
Using his magic, he lifted the fabric, inspecting its reflection.
“Never thought purple would work so well with my coat but I probably should have seen that one coming, given everything,” he added.
“Sunburst!” Shouted a distant voice that Sunburst immediately recognized as his partner.
“Coming Starlight!” Sunburst yelled back.
Dropping his cape, Sunburst trotted down to the first floor of their modest two-bedroom house to find that Starlight was in the same spot he’d left her. Sprawled out on the couch, used tissues spilling over the lip of the garbage can tucked tight against the plush piece of furniture.
“I just remembered,” Starlight exclaimed. “I had something I wanted to do uptown.”
“Oh I can take care of that,” Sunburst dismissed. “I wanted to thank Rarity for the cape anyway.”
“You wouldn't mind? I would do it myself but…” Starlight trailed off, glancing down at her matted fur, ruined mane, and snotty nose.
“That cold sure is a doozy,” Sunburst remarked.
“It feels like my head is full, and my nose won't stop leaking. It's so gross,” whined the mare.
“Well whatever you need doing, I got you covered. Then when I get back I’ll whip up some of my grandmother’s chicken feather soup,” Sunburst proclaimed.
“Oh, would you? I’d appreciate that.”
“Don't worry about it, your partner, Sunburst is on the case,” Sunburst stated, pride worming into his voice.
“I don't think I’ll ever get over that,” Starlight wistfully added. “This last year has been a dream.”
“I concur. Now,” Sunburst lit his horn and pulled the blanket back up around Starlight’s neck. “You just tell me what I need to do and then you can take a nap.”
“That does sound nice,” Starlight murmured. “And you just need to make an appointment at town half for the dance class.”
“Dance class?” Sunburst muttered.
“Well, I thought since it's nearly our one-year anniversary, we’d do what we did on our first date,” Starlight offered.
“What a nightmare that was,” Sunburst exhaled. “I can't believe every restaurant was booked, and every movie was sold out. I was honestly grasping at straws by that point.”
“Hey we made it work didn't we?” Starlight prompted. “Despite Cadance accidentally love bombing the entire town and starting a baby boom the likes of which Ponyville has never seen before.”
“Despite her majesty’s… eccentricities, we did indeed make it work as you said. Those dance lessons did prove to be surprisingly romantic,” Sunburst admitted, turning to the door. “Okay, I’ll go sign us up. You just relax and focus on feeling better.”
“Oh and get a loaf of bread on the way home. And if they have eggs, get a dozen!” Starlight shouted.
“Got it!”
“Hmm, I wonder why she wanted a dozen loaves of bread,” Sunburst murmured, glancing at his bulging saddle bags. “And what did that have to do with them having eggs?”
Shaking off the bit of strangeness, Sunburst trotted up the steps and entered town hall. Approaching the desk, the stallion was greeted by the usual sight; A young, bored-looking mare who perked up the moment she saw him.
“Sunburst, right?”
“Ahh yes, and you are?”
“Pen Point, remember?”
“Pen Point?” Sunburst muttered, pausing to scratch his chin. “Oh yes, now I remember. You were the one to recommend dance lessons as a date idea.”
“One in the same,” Pen Point replied. “Here for another lesson?”
“Oh yes, Starlight sent me ahead to make sure we signed up early,” Sunburst exclaimed.
“What class are you signing up for? Breakdancing, or salsa?” Pen Point pressed.
“Breakdancing or Salsa?” Sunburst murmured.
I don't think she would send me here to sign us up for a cooking class so it can't be salsa. I don't know what breakdancing is but it's got dancing in the name, so it has to be that one, right? Sunburst thought.
“Sunburst?”
“Oh uh excuse me, I was just lost in thought,” Sunburst exclaimed. “Two for breakdancing, please.”
“Are you sure, that's an advanced class you know.”
But it's the only class actually about dancing! Sunburst thought to himself.
“It will be fine,” dismissed the stallion.
“Okay then. See you in a week.”
“Oh I’m so excited,” Starlight proclaimed, the mare prancing excitedly beside her partner. “This is going to be absolutely wonderful.”
“I never thought you’d end up being the dancing type,” Sunburst prodded.
“That makes two of us,” Starlight remarked with a chuckle. “I’ve got four left hooves, and the coordination of a drunk but once that music starts everything changes.”
“I know what you mean. Once I hear Fred Karlin or Run DMC I can't help but feel a little jitter in my bones,” Sunburst replied.
“Run DMC? I’ve never heard of that uh… band?” Starlight muttered.
“Just something from my youth, don't worry about.”
“Okay…”
“Oh look, we’re here,” Sunburst remarked.
The pair approached the small dance studio a stone’s throw from town hall. There they saw that a sign had been posted on the window, one with the words ‘Class in Session, quiet please’ written on it.
“Looks like they started without us. We better hurry,” Starlight remarked.
“Good idea.”
“Oh, I’m so excited. I’ve always wanted to learn how to salsa,” Starlight proclaimed before trotting inside.
“Wait, salsa?” Sunburst muttered.
Following his date inside, Sunburst was greeted with the sound of quiet EDM, the heady aroma of deodorant that had names like ‘gun metal’ and ‘super extreme sport’. There was also a small crowd of mostly younger stallions standing in a loose circle around an older mare with a wide cocky grin on her face. Starlight stood awkwardly just outside the circle, glancing from Sunburst to the apparent teacher.
Before she had a chance to get a word in edgewise, the older mare stomped her hoof.
“Good, our last two are here which means we can do more than stand around listening to music and dicking around,” she remarked, her voice carrying a strange accent that Starlight couldn't quite place.
“I uh think I-” Starlight began to sputter.
“Quiet, newbie. Can't you see I’m talking here?” The teacher shot back. “Now then where was I? Right, you two can call me Queens, and for the next ninety minutes you will not speak unless spoken to, got it?”
Starlight and Sunburst both nodded.
“Good, now where were we?” Queens muttered, glancing about the crowd. “Right, Skiff was gonna show us a routine he was working on. Go ahead, Skiff.”
“Yes!” Exclaimed an eager young earth pony with yellow fur and a bright red mane.
“Have you ever break danced before?” Starlight whispered.
“No, but this is all starting to feel strangely familiar,” Sunburst muttered.
A new record was added to the player and all of a sudden the room was filled with what sounded like sped-up jazz music with a drum beat over top. A few seconds later, and the younger colt was in the middle of the circle, smiling excitedly.
Starlight expected him to launch into some kind of dance routine, but instead, he seemed to be just walking around with a slight hop to his step.
“What is he doing?” Starlight whispered.
“Top rock,” Sunburst replied.
“What?”
“He's warming up.”
“Let the kid focus, damn it,” spat the teacher.
Starlight bit her tongue and watched as the young colt launched into the strangest dance routine the mare had ever seen. Remaining close to the ground, he did a bunch of odd steps followed by what could only be described as several back-to-back minor acrobatic feats. Freezing with his back legs in the air, then folding into a roll which transitioned into a spin, the kid was obviously good at whatever this all was.
“Nice moves Skiff,” Queens declared, after the colt finally stopped and stood straight up. “I especially liked your helicopter. It's a great transitional move and mastering that will help make the rest of your routine much more fluid.”
“Fuck yeah, thanks teach,” Skiff exclaimed.
“Hey watch your fuckin mouth. Only I’m allowed to swear here,” Queens retorted, much to the amusement of the class. “With that outta the way let's get one of the newbies into the ring. So, which one of you is it going to be?”
“I think there's been a misunderstanding,” Starlight began. “We really don't-”
“I got this hun, don't worry about it,” Sunburst interrupted, stepping forward.
“Wait, you know how to break dance?” Starlight exclaimed.
“Yeah, but it wasn't called that back in my day,” Sunburst answered. “Here, hold on to my glasses and cape.”
Starlight stood there, too confused to do anything but mutely accept her partner’s things.
“Ooh, the old timer is stepping up.” Someone whispered.
“Don't break a hip.” Added another.
“Five bits says he biffs it.” Remarked a third.
“Hey, shut it. Give the stallion a chance,” Queens interrupted, stopping the whispering in an instant. “What are we listening to, dude?”
“I’ll take the song… ‘It's like that’,” Sunburst replied, rolling his shoulders.
“A classic, I can dig it.”
Sunburst stood in the center, of the room, waiting for the music to change. The moment it did, he did a few quick warm-up steps before immediately launching into his routine. Unlike the previous dancer, only one or two of Sunburst’s hooves ever seemed to touch the ground at the same time. Not only that, but he added to the routine by launching small fireworks from his horn or causing jets of fake magical fire to shoot out of the ground on either side of him.
“Woah.”
“Holy crap.”
“This guy’s amazing.”
Starlight stood there, jaw hanging open as her meek, mild-mannered partner performed what could only be described as floor acrobatics. Not only did he accompany his every move with a flashy show of magic but he never seemed to repeat the same move more than once. He seemed to defy gravity itself at several points, hanging in the air at impressive angles as if daring Equestria to pull him back down to the ground.
“Who is this guy?” whispered a voice.
Starlight looked over to find the stunned face of Queens, their teacher looking back at her.
“Uh, his name’s Sunburst,” Starlight replied meekly.
“Wait, the Sunburst? The firestarter?” Queens exclaimed.
“Uh, I guess so?” Starlight muttered.
A flash of light caused Starlight to turn back to the center of the circle where Sunburst was spinning faster and faster. Up from three hooves to two, and finally, one, all while building some kind of powerful spell at the tip of his horn. Then, just as he reached the pinnacle of his move, he launched the magical orb into the air while performing a sudden front flip and landing on all four hooves.
The moment he hit the ground, the ball exploded, bathing him and a good chunk of the crowd in a wash of harmless white sparks. The reaction was immediate and intense, with the various young ponies erupting with thunderous applause. In the center of it, all was a grinning, but completely out-of-breath Sunburst, who was dabbing at his scalp with his cape while putting his glasses back on his face.
“Holy shit. We are in the presence of a legend,” Queens declared, wrapping a hoof around Sunburst’s shoulders. “This right here is the Firestarter. One of the best B-Boys to ever come out of Canterlot and the single greatest unicorn breaker in history.”
“Wait they still call me Firestarter? I only started a single fire, and no one got hurt,” Sunburst whined. “I hadn't figured out how to remove the heat element of that particular spell yet.”
“Wait just a second,” Starlight exclaimed, stepping up into the circle. “Since when can you breakdance? Less than ten minutes ago you said you didn't know how!”
“Oh yeah I don't know how to breakdance,” Sunburst began, a smirk crossing his face. “But I do know how to B-Boy.”
“The difference being?” Starlight retorted.
“None!” Queens exclaimed with a chuckle. “The name just changed over the years.”
“What did you call that move at the end!” Someone from the crowd yelled.
“The burst of sun,” Sunburst answered, only to blush. “It's a bit self-indulgent but I think its fitting.”
“Can I get your autograph!” Shouted another.
“We’ll save that for later. Besides, he's gotta give me an autograph first,” Queens shot back, chuckling to herself.
Starlight yanked Sunburst out of Queen’s grasp and pulled him in close.
“Alright, spill. Why are you so good at this?” Starlight demanded.
“Oh uh it's a bit of a funny story really,” Sunburst dismissed. “I had a rather unorthodox magic teacher who always made me do physically demanding things while I was spell casting. Said that it helped stretch my magic.”
“Uh huh,” Starlight murmured.
“It started with just holding heavy objects but as I got better she continued to push me until before I knew it I was doing… that,” Sunburst concluded with an awkward chuckle. “I hope you can forgive me for not signing up for the right course.”
“I…” Starlight began.
The mare paused and glanced out over the crowd of excited young ponies chatting amongst themselves. Their smiles were contagious and soon Starlight was grinning as well, her irritation washed away by the joy in the air.
“If we had gone to the salsa course I wouldn't have discovered this side of you,” Starlight concluded. “So, no I am not mad at you.”
“Oh good. I was starting to worry there,” Sunburst exhaled.
“Just don't expect me to do a headspin,” Starlight retorted.
“We’ll save that one for another day,” Sunburst replied.
“Hmm maybe. For now, what do you say we sit at the back and watch the others,” Starlight offered.
“Oh thank the stars you said that,” Sunburst murmured, the stallion visibly deflating. “Because I didn't know if I could do that a second time.”
“You are lucky I love you,” Starlight remarked.
“Hmm, what did you say?” Sunburst replied after putting on his glasses.
“I said you are lucky you are so cute,” Starlight shot back with a smirk.
“Not as cute as you are.”
“True.”
Author's Note
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