//------------------------------//
// Start of a New Year, and a New Rocket 
// Story: A Christmas to Remember 
// by TwiPON3 
//------------------------------//

On January 1, New Year's Day, Sunset woke up in the living room to the sounds of Seth and Sofia discussing something, Liz and Hong Liu carrying on laughing, and

"Celestia!" Sunset screamed, seeing Arnold next to her, "What are you trying to do!?" she laughed, sitting up and putting a hand on her chest, "Gimmie a heart attack?"

"Ja? Ich think so."

"Well you're doing a good job of it," Sunset said, fully awake now.

"Ich want you zu come outside und hilfe me with die Rakete."

"Let me get some coffee and I'll be right out. Do you want anything?"

"Nein."

"...Seth, I don't think we're closely related to be considered incest."

"I'm with you, Sofia, but it does border this."

"When did your family go to US?"

"I think five or six generations ago. Maybe we'd be fine..."

That conversation put Sunset's mindset on the trail of Get coffee and get the tartarus outta here.

"It would be like Big Bang Theory."

"Yes it would, Leslie Winkle. And this is weird.

"Beyond," Sofia said, closing a laptop as Sunset readied herself to go outside.

Outside, Arnold had his model rocket set up and decorated. It had a hammer and compass, stars, and a sketch of Sunset's cutie mark.

"Ich found your buch und put the sign on the front of meine rackete."

"In Equestria, those are called 'Cutie Marks', and they're on your flank. They symbolize something special about you, whether it be a desire, talent, or your personality."

"Whoa."

"Yours would probably be related to space, your mom's would most likely be a hammer and compass or something symbolizing where she's from, and I'm not sure about your dad."

"Amazing."

"Now," Sunset said, sticking her finger in her mouth for a second, then holding it to the wind, "For a straight up trajectory, accounting for the breeze and temperature, offset the thing five degrees toward me."

"Won't that just machen es go askew?"

"It'll send the rocket on a curve and look amazing when it hits stronger winds."

"Okay," he replied, tilting it ever so slightly.

"Ready to light the fuse?"

"Ja," he said, readying the launch button, "Drei... zwei... ein... GEHEN!"

A second after he hit the button, the rocket was off.

"How high do you think es went?" he said, both looking up, trying to follow the trail of smoke.

"Five hundred feet, maybe?"

A few moments later, the rocket shot back down from the side, almost in a perfect circle from its launchpad.

"That's why I said to tilt it," Sunset said as Arnold picked the rocket up, "so it would come back."

"I'll miss you."

"How would all of you like to come back to America to meet the people who essentially left me homeless?"

"They need zu be taught ein lesson," Arnold said, rather perturbed.

"Let's go back in," Sunset said, helping get the rocket picked up, "I may not have a horn to keep warm, but I still know what frostbite feels like."

"Ja," he said, following her in.