GOOD LORD, this took so long to make. At least four times longer than the other ones thanks to the complicated relationship dynamic and five children.

:star: Why didn’t it work out with TwiBurst?

Twilight and Sunburst grew close after their shared antiquing occurrence when Starlight first brought him to Ponyville. They quickly became penpals and grew close over the years. When she became Equestria’s head princess, and had significantly less time to see her friends, Twilight grew lonesome and found herself reaching out to Sunburst more and more even though he too lived far away. Despite their better judgement, they were eventually honest about their feelings and he began to visit as often as possible, however he was unable to move being that he has committed to being Flurry Hearts magical advisor. Nonetheless, they tried to make it work. After all, they were so busy that even if they lived in the same place, they’d probably see just as little of each other—— at least that’s what they told themselves. Twilight eventually found out that she was pregnant which further complicated things. Both of them wanted the baby, but were hopelessly uncertain on what to do about raising one together. Closer to the due date, Cadence and Shining Armor gave Sunburst leave for several months so that he and Twilight could decide on some things. They were overjoyed with the birth of their son Apollo and felt closer than ever for a time. But as the first months passed, a rift became noticeable between them. They knew that things could not remain this way. With heavy hearts, they elected to share custody long distance. Twilight kept their son in Canterlot with her, while Sunburst continued to visit whenever possible. Disappointed by the complication this caused and the unfulfilled yearning it lead to between them, they finally agree to separate. It was just too hard. Once Apollo was older, he begins spending each summer with his father.

Offspring: Twilight and Sunburst

• Apollo: The single son of Twilight and Sunburst. Both parents were equally shocked when he was born a pegasus being that they both come from predominantly unicorn lines, so it is speculated that Twilight’s genes changed when she acquired wings. They love him nonetheless although he grows up troubled and rough around the edges, reckless and self destructive at times. He has many injuries from botched/premature attempts at flying, even an amputated forelimb. He resents his parents for their clumsy attempt at raising him from separate kingdoms claiming that they were basically divorced since he was born. His mother was always busy and could not teach him magic even though he was sure she wanted to, whereas his father was wrapped up in raising someone else’s child who actually could learn magic. Similarly, he also greatly resents himself as a pegasus for that exact reason. These feelings drastically increase later on with the birth of his half siblings on either side. All four of them are unicorns. All four of them are raised by loving pairs of parents in the same locations. To add insult to injury, both Twilight and Starry Eyes have wings yet both of their children came out as unicorns. The perfect royal prodigee. Oblivious to this, all of his younger siblings want to spend as much time with him as possible being that he is the older sibling who they look up to, particularly Winter Solstice, but he pushes them away constantly. His own shame in himself bars him from understanding the adoration that anyone would feel towards him. It takes a long time for him to come to terms with himself and his place in the world. The change sparks when he realizes that he doesn’t actually want to rule or learn magic. He wants to be treated as a normal pony, not a royal son. He joins a delivery service farther away in Manehatten where he is less recognized which allows him to be himself and grow on his own terms. He loves interacting with other ponies through deliveries. When he is much older and on better terms with himself and his family, he completely re-imagines the royal post operation, establishing a much more organized and personal department of couriers. He assumes for a long time that his siblings, all of whom went on to become doctors, police officers, or scientists, probably think less of him for being a mere delivery pony, but he could not be more wrong. In truth, they envy him in many ways, particularly Orion and Polaris who grew up with more schooling and less freedom.

:star: How Twilight and Starry Eyes met: Surprising no one, Twilight has always been the busiest out of all of the Mane Six being Equestria’s head princess and a habitual multi-tasker. As per her usual forte, she is not great and taking breaks although being a mother helped her to draw the line more often. But after one especially time consuming and stressful spring full of meetings, travel, correspondence, community projects, royal gatherings, and a multitude of other things, Cadence encourages her to take a break and entrusts Spike to make sure that she actually does it. With Apollo leaving for the summer to be with his father, she gratefully concedes. After a nice slow week of reading and relaxing in a way she didn’t think she was capable of, she begins to socialize more by catching up with friends/family and focusing on her hobbies which… she’s fallen out of touch with. What were they again…?

Well, if anything, she loves learning new things and looks up a couple of local events that she can attend. One that catches her eye is a Stargazing Night hosted by the local Astronomy Society in one of the museums. She notices that one of the guest speakers is a celebrated professor from Manehatten and looks forward to what he has to say.

Not wanting to draw attention away from anyone, she makes sure to go in disguise, transforming herself into a normal sized unicorn and wearing a hooded cloak. As the discussion starts however, she quickly ends up recognizing the guest speaking professor as one of her Ponyville acquaintances from over a decade before. They had always talked at the local library and he would sometimes even borrow books from her, however she had never asked his name. The more times they met and she didn’t ask, the more awkward it felt to ask the next time. Then one day, she realized that she hadn’t seen him for a while eventually hearing from someone else that he had moved.

She listens intently to everything he says, constantly fighting the urge to ask questions at the risk of outing herself, but the struggle is too great. She begins raising her hoof time and time again to ask detailed questions about some of the more obscure topics he covers. Amused and flattered by her enthusiasm, the Astronomy professor, Starry Eyes, answers every inquiry patiently. When the hood of her cloak slips exposing her true identity, a very embarrassed pony-sized Twilight hastily excuses herself and teleports way in a snap.

The following day, Starry Eyes arrives at the castle and humbly asks Spike if she would be willing to see him. He had recognized her voice and mannerisms immediately the night before. Much to his delight, a princess sized, very flustered but excited Twilight then gives him a tour of the castle and treats him to tea. The two spend a lot of time together whereupon she finds out that he is in the process of moving to Canterlot. They reminisce about the bizarre shenanigans that had occurred over the years when they were both living in Ponyville, what’s changed while he was away, places they’ve traveled to, etc.

Things develop comfortably from there.

Their Relationship: Dorky. They are both easily excitable when it comes to science and magic—- let alone the science of magic—- and they are very encouraging of each other’s interests (except antiquing—- he doesn’t fully get that one). Starry Eyes is extremely patient and very captivating to listen to which makes him a good teacher. He gets along well with her friends and they all seem to like him. Rarity especially finds his demeanor very charming and suitable for an academic like Twilight.