Lunabrony's Holiday Specials

by lunabrony

Thanksgiving 2014 (The Crusaders)

Years had passed since the last publicized misadventures of the most recent carriers of the Elements of Harmony, and the six had since gone their separate ways, although still communicated rather frequently. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had all grown as well, and one by one life had called them in different directions.

Sweetie Belle had moved to Canterlot to pursue a career singing in popular clubs and auditoriums. Scootaloo, having never quite overcome her flying disability, had not for a moment let it stop her and became one of the top flying instructors in Cloudsdale. She was in charge of the written portion of the examinations, but nonetheless, under the guidance of Rainbow Dash, become an intimidating rite of passage in the eyes of hopeful young flyers.

Apple Bloom had stayed in the area, although there wasn't much for her at Sweet Apple Acres anymore. Granny had moved on peacefully many years previously, and Big Macintosh had settled in a new place in the nearby country to begin a family with Cheerilee. Applejack remained at the farm with a hoof-full of hired help, and frequently was seen with Pinkie Pie, who now ran the bakery in Ponyville.

This year, Bloom was having Thanksgiving with her old Crusading friends at her apartment in Ponyville, which had expanded only slightly over the years, but remained primarily the same. She had promised to drop by Sweet Apple Acres for at least an hour during the holiday to see her family, and had wound up staying all of Wednesday into Thursday morning. She'd gotten home just in time to begin cooking preparations, and had barely begun when she heard the unmistakable clattering of chariot wheels outside her door. She hurried to open the front door just in time to see an admittedly slim and muscularly toned Scootaloo emerging from it, who tipped the driver.

"Scootaloo!" Bloom called.

"Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo called.

The two rushed to each other like magnets and collided with the force of gravitated space debris that would one day form a new star. There was excited laughter and squealing from the two of them, each rapidly trying to tell their own life story of the last year over top of the other one.

Apple Bloom was just putting an enormous pumpkin lasagna in the oven, her own take on the festive holiday. Every family did it a little differently, and not a single one of them used turkey for obvious reasons. Should anypony bring up the concept of cooking and eating turkey, they would have likely been sent straight off to the nuthouse. Potatoes and carrots were simmering on the stove in one pot, cranberries in another. Scootaloo reached for a plate of gorgeously decorated chocolate and marshmallow cookies, but Bloom whacked her hoof with a spoon. "Those are not for now," she scolded.

They talked for about half an hour, enjoying cold drinks, but conversation was brought to an abrupt halt with the screech of wheels and crunch of snow outside. They exchanged a wild grin, and both ponies rushed out the door. Sweetie Belle, with her hair elegantly falling down her neck, was emerging from a wildly elaborate carriage, a string of sapphires around her neck. A present from her sister at one time, no doubt.

"Apple Bloom!"

"Sweetie Belle!"

"Scootaloo!"

The wild screaming and hugging that had occurred only an hour earlier repeated itself once more, this time with three participants instead of two. There was gales of merry laughter as the carriage pulled away, the three making progress inside out of the snow. Sweetie Belle's horn lit up and she produced a large pan with iced gingerbread squares within it, the pan floating effortlessly off the ground. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom marveled over it.

"I worked all afternoon on these," Sweetie Belle boasted.

"Right," Scootaloo said, the pan hovering in the air just high enough for her to read '5 BITS' on a sticker underneath it. "I'm sure the Canterlot Marketplace greatly enjoyed watching your attempts," she grinned.

"I made them at home!" Sweetie insisted, turning bright red only when Apple Bloom pointed out the sticker to her. Both mares erupted in giggling fits, and Sweetie Belle, though trying her best to look horrified, eventually joined them.

With dinner soon ready with the three of them helping, well two really, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had expert practice at making sure Sweetie Belle thought she was helping when all she was doing was stirring sauce or keeping an eye on the timer. She was the only one either of them knew who could manage to burn soup, and although the unicorn had many talents, culinary skills were not among them.

With the table set and layered with delicious delights, the three grown Crusaders sat around the table with plates heaped with food and oversized mugs filled with fermented cider, all three mugs of which were raised in joyous occasion.

"To friends," Apple Bloom said. "And the seasons which bring us together, wherever we go."

"To family," Sweetie Belle said. "To sisters, to parents, and everypony in between."

"To celebrations," Scootaloo said. "Celebrating the past, and preparing for the future."

All three mares knew that their travels would distance them from each other again, but they took every opportunity possible to reunite. Friendship was stronger than magic, after all, and far less easily broken. The dinner lasted over an hour, only a small part of their reunion, and the three ate until they could eat no more. Scootaloo showed off some of her balancing skills by twirling one of Apple Bloom's plates flawlessly on a fork, to her error and yet mild amusement.

They had only begun the act of exchanging childhood stories when the buzzer blared its shrill cry.

"Are you expecting someone else?" Scootaloo asked. Apple Bloom shook her head, and opened the door, mystified.

Outside in the falling snow stood Diamond Tiara, in the ugliest sweater any of them had ever seen. She had been less fortunate, having to get a job at a young age when her father lost almost every single one of his bits after being investigated and found guilty of shady business practices. Diamond had been dealt a swift kick in the face by reality after that, and had thusly become less of a... well, they knew.

"May I come in?" She asked, and held up a fruitcake. None of them liked fruitcake, but it was the gesture that really counted, and it was the season of sharing, after all. Not a single one of the ex-Crusaders hesitated in welcoming her into the warmth of the apartment, and the door closed behind her, sealing off the gently falling snow.

Comments

[SudokuBrony]

Sweet story. Happy Flanksgiving (Thanksgiving)!

[Neko Majin C]

Years had passed since the last publicized misadventures of the most recent carrieres of the Elements of Harmony, and the six had since gone their separate ways, although still communicated rather frequently.

"Carriers."

Scootaloo, having never quite overcome her flying disability, had not for a moment 1.)let stop her and 2A.)become one of the top flying instructors in Cloudsdale. She was in charge of the written portion of the examinations, but 3A.)nonetheless under the guidance of Rainbow 2B.)3B.)Dash become an intimidating rite of passage in the eyes of hopeful young flyers.

Oh, my. Okay.
1.) Missing "it."
2AB.) "Became."
3AB.) You need commas between the emboldened word pairs.

There was a excited laughter and squealing from the two of them, each rapidly trying to tell their own life story of the last year over top of the other one.

Just one? Joking aside, the "a" is superfluous. And bad grammar since it comes before a vowel sound.

With the table set and layered with delicious delights, the three grown Crusaders sat around the table with plates heaped with food and oversized mugs filled with fermented cider, all three mugs of which were raised in joyous occasion.

Extra space.

Diamond had been dealt a swift kick in the face by reality after that, and had thusly become less of a... well. They knew.

That "well" is not part of the sentence before it. It is part of the sentence fragment that follows it.

It is jarring to see nicknames outside of dialogue. The narrator calls Apple Bloom "Bloom" several times and it makes it hard to immerse myself into the story.

I am sorry if this comment comes off as a little curt. It is well past midnight and I am tired and surly. This story is sweet and heartwarming and I would like to see more. You have earned a favorite and a like.

KBO.

[lunabrony]

5314152 Going in to fix everything right now, I really failed apparently D: