To think that all this time, as she grew up to cultivate her many skills, all she really desired was Sunstone’s approval. When in truth, it was the opposite: He had wanted her approval all along. Sunstone had been sneaky about it, his ego doing a magnificent job at blurring the line between his true self and the rest of the Sparkles, but after meeting with him and suffering the whiplash of his explosive reactions? It became as clear as crystal. That cutie mark in front of her was the memento of a realization she should’ve had years ago. Before Sunstone had enough, before he became embittered, before he wrote about his... well, his voluntary exile, apparently.