>>29390
>Sunburst sniffs the air and groans
>"Goodness. Like you rolled around in the gutter." He mutters
>Sunburst holds you out at leg's length and puts on a comforting smile
>"How about we head home?"
>Your ear swivels to catch the faint sound of curtains moving, and you nod enthusiastically, earning a chuckle from Sunburst
>He sets you down to apologize to the store clerk and finish checking out
>Your eyes are glued to the shimmering aura of his horn and the books as they glide into his saddlebag
-=-
"I think so." You say suddenly, breaking the silence of the walk home
>Sunburst looks at you
>"You think what?"
"I never answered you. At breakfast. I think, I wanna see what this whole...'magic' thing is about."
>Sunburst's eyes widen
>"I thought magic wasn't real?"
>You cast your lazy gaze across the busy street, glancing at the occasional passerby
"It's not."
>"Right. Let's get you home and cleaned up, then. So I can tell you more about the whole...'magic' thing."
>You nod in acknowledgement
>The two of you return to comfortable silence
>You watch as a squad of mares in armor hoof it down the street in the direction of the bookstore
>How's that pegasus doing?
-=-=-
>You step out of the steamy bathroom, rubbing your jaw as you do
>You've gotten into a nasty habit of pushing your tongue into the place your tooth had been
>You've gotten into an even worse habit of pushing too far and making the pain worse
>"All done, Anonymous?" Sunburst calls from another part of the house
>You follow his voice past the kitchen and around the foyer into a large living room
>You'd only gotten glimpses of it until now and took a moment to soak it in
>The only room in the house devoid of any homey decorations, the walls instead hidden behind floor-to-ceiling bookshelves overflowing with books of every color and size
>Your ears fold back from how reminiscent it is of the bookstore
>In the center of the room, as smily as ever, is Sunburst
>He's seated at a low, cherrywood table, the sort that uses pillows as chairs
>Sunburst gestures for you to sit
>"So," Sunburst starts as soon as you oblige, "You want to learn magic."