Amber Waves pressed his eyes shut as a nasty beam of sunlight hit him way too early. He turned around on his bed to get out of the light again and bumped into something warm and soft. That was unexpected but it felt nice and his sleepy mind didn't seem to bother so he snuggled into the warm coat. By the time his mommy wrapped her hooves around him he was already slumbering again.
Half an hour later he felt a more familiar nuzzle as his sister tried to snuggle between him and the warmth, so he peeked one eye open only to find his mommy smiling at him. His surprise only lasted a moment before he remembered last night and how they'd come home and all went to sleep in his parent's bed together. It had been nice being held by mommy and daddy so he smiled back. Then he remembered the day before and his smile vanished. He felt that lump in his throat again and looked away as his eyes burned with tears.
His mommy noticed of course but she didn't say anything. Instead, she only pulled her foals closer and nuzzled Amber's head softly.
He didn't dare to say anything or move to much, afraid that a wrong word would just end up in angry yelling again. In the end, three words slipped out anyways
"I'm sorry..."
His mommy just nodded and smiled
"I know Amber. I know because I'm sorry too. I never meant to be so angry at you."
Amber Waves buried his head against her and his sister whispered beside him
"Are we in trouble now, mommy?"
Opal Waves laughed softly and shook her head as she gently cuddled his sister and him
"No dear. I'm just happy you're both back home and not hurt. But you have to promise me something. Next time you get angry at me, please talk to me first. And if you feel you can't talk to me, go tell your father. Just, don't run away without a word again."
Amber Wave and his sister nodded against their mommy's neck. She held them for a few more minutes, then sat up on the bed
"Let's get some breakfast now. It's a wonderful day, it'd be a shame if we stayed in bed all day long."
Amber heard his tummy grumble and jumped down from the bed, but his sister gasped
"What about school? We're going to be late!"
His mommy laughed again and gently picked up her daughter to set her on the floor
"Don't worry dear. Your father already told your teacher that after all the excitement yesterday, we decided to give you another day off."
Both siblings sighed relieved and followed their mommy to the kitchen. They helped her make some breakfast and sat together as they ate.
His mommy was finished first and watched them eat. Amber Waves noticed her biting her lip and looked at her with his ears flat against his head. She said they weren't in trouble but he expected some scolding anyways.
He blinked surprised when she finally started to talk
"How did you run into Crystal Note?"
He looked at his sister who nodded
"We met her at the cemetery. We thought nopony would expect us to leave from there but she was there and saw us."
His mommy bit her lip again before she asked
"And what did she do?"
"She asked us what we were doing and why we running away."
His sister nodded
"She told us a story. About the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it was great! But when she was finished the sun was almost down."
"We still wanted to leave the city but she told us about the storm and asked if we had enough blankets. We didn't so..."
His mommy tilted her head
"She didn't try to stop you?"
Both siblings looked at each other
"Not really. But she asked a lot of questions to see if we're prepared."
"And when we went home she came with us. She let me ride on her back when I was tired."
Amber noticed his mommy was still biting her lip and he wondered what made her worry so much. Finally, she asked what was troubling her
"Did she cast any spells on you?"
Ocean shook her head right away and Amber tilted his
"Her horn glowed for a moment when she helped Ocean climb on her back."
His mommy looked at him
"She carried you in her magic when you arrived. Didn't you see that?"
Amber shook his head again
"I was really tired when she sang that song for Ocean and Ivory. And then I was with you."
He pondered for a moment
"I felt warm and a little tingly. Was that magic?"
His mommy smiled relieved and nodded
"Probably. You'll have to ask her tonight."
His sister blinked and asked
"Tonight?"
"Yes. Crystal Note will be joining us for dinner tonight. Will you help me prepare?"
Amber and Ocean nodded and jumped up to help their mommy.
-*-
Opal Waves walked through the market place some hours later, browsing through the stands. She was alone right now and tried to focus on finding the last things she needed for dinner. The urge to run home and check on her foals was there, but she forced it away. After she thought she lost them yesterday, she'd want nothing more than to keep them within sight all the time, but she knew that wasn't right.
Amber hadn't trusted her and ran away instead, but now he promised to not leave while she was gone. She would believe in her son and hopefully slowly earn back his trust again.
Opal Waves picked up the last things and decided the take a walk around to calm her nerves. She reached the far side of the market plaza and greeted a few merchants and ponies she knew, but then her ears perked up and she heard music.
She kept walking into the general direction and saw a small group of ponies gathered at one of the fountains. In the middle of them she found Crystal Note playing on a violin. With a smile she joined the group of ponies and noticed a lot of them were unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies as well, most likely some tourists from the south. The small café behind Crystal Note was also filled to the last table and two waitresses worked hard to satisfy all costumers.
Crystal Note didn't seem troubled by her larger audience at all as she played a lively and upbeat tune on the violin in her hooves. The violin case lay open in front of her and a few ponies put some bits in as well. Opal Waves listened for a while and wondered if anypony could live just from street performances when Crystal Note finished her song and ponies applauded.
Crystal Note took a bow and smiled
"Thank you everypony! That's all for today, but maybe we'll see each other again tomorrow. Have a nice day!"
The ponies clapped again and most of the tourists went to Crystal Note to say a few words and donate some more bits. Opal Waves smirked when she saw the blush on the musician's cheek as she thanked each of them.
Opal Waves waited for the last pony to leave before she walked to her as well. Crystal Note put the bits into a small pouch and put away her instrument. She blinked when she saw Opal, then smiled
"Hello Miss. Nice to see you again. How are Amber and Ocean?"
Opal laughed when she realized she hadn't even introduced herself last night. She took care of that and smiled
"They're doing well, thanks to you. That was some nice music. No wonder you got that much of a crowd."
Crystal Note giggled
"Thank you. But as long as I can make just one pony smile, it's all worth it already."
Both mares shared a laugh and Opal Waves noticed a stallion trying to make his way through the crowded café towards them with a tray of two cups. Crystal Note saw him as well and slightly narrowed her eyes. Opal gasped softly as her horn glowed and then the cups floated off the tray over the tables. One floated in front of her surrounded by a turquoise glow, the other was picked up by Crystal Note. She waved to the stallion and called out
"Thank you, Sour Berry!"
The stallion wasn't phased at all by the magic and just grinned and turned towards the next costumer. Crystal Note turned back to Opal Waves with a giggle
"His name is so misleading, he's actually the sweetest stallion you'll meet this side of the crystal mountains. He owns the café."
She took a sip of her tea when Opal Waves finally picked up the cup in her hooves. The glow vanished and she turned the cup around to see if the magic left any traces. She blushed when she saw Crystal Note lowering her head.
She blushed more and whispered
"Is this how you carried Amber last night?"
Crystal Note just nodded but said nothing and just stared into her tea. Opal Waves blushed more and took a sip of her tea
"So, you come here often?"
Crystal Note was thankful for the obvious change of topic and nodded
"Two or three times a week. Sour Berry is a good friend of mine and sometimes I help out serving when things get lively."
Opal Waves tilted her head
"I always thought you were a professional musician. I saw you perform on the crystal fair a few years ago."
Crystal Note smiled and nodded
"Oh, I am. But in between concerts and gigs I don't really have much income and I travel a lot. I love performing on the streets but it only gets you so far, so I do odd jobs here and there to stay afloat."
Opal nodded and glanced a the small pouch of bits on top of the violin case
"I never thought about it that way. It can't be too easy."
Crystal Note shook her head and giggled
"It really sounds worse than it is. I don't need much and I get to meet lots of nice ponies to make up for it."
The two mares ended up chatting more easily for a while, Crystal Note giggling at Opal's stories of her family and Opal curious about all the places Crystal Note had visited.
When they finished their tea, both mares decided to head back home.
They arrived a few minutes later and found Amber and Ocean with Ivory Rose, doing the homework they had missed out on from school. The work was quickly forgotten though when they saw Crystal Note and the three foals immediately flocked around her. Opal Waves sighed but Crystal Note just giggled and winked and promised a story when their homework was finished.
The three foals stormed off into Amber's room again with their books and Opal gave a thankful grin. She started preparations for dinner and Crystal Note helped as much as she could. Opal was surprised that the crystal unicorn used no magic at all but she had learned from earlier and didn't mention it.
Soon Opal shooed her guest out into the sitting room were she was joined by the foals. As she continued cooking she also listened to the story of three fillies trying to get their cutie marks and she understood why Amber and Ivory had been so eager for this story.
She was almost finished with dinner when she heard a knock on the door. Her hooves were full so she called out to enter and heard a familiar voice
"Is Ivory Rose here? It's dinner time."
Opal turned her head and smiled as her neighbour Ivory Lance peeked into the kitchen, still in his guard uniform. He grinned
"Smells good. Special occasion?"
Opal giggled and nodded
"We have a guest tonight. She's in the sitting room with the kids."
Ivory Lance nodded and went through the door while Opal focused back on her cooking. A moment later, she nearly dropped her cooking spoon when she heard a harsh yell from next door
"What are you doing here?"
She hurried into the room and saw Ivory Lance glaring at Crystal Note who had stood up from her chair. The three foals stood between them, Ivory Rose clearly scared of her father at the moment.
Crystal Note stared at the stallion, then blinked and sighed
"I didn't recognize you last night, Corporal Ivory Lance."
The guard pony snorted angrily
"It's Private Ivory Lance, now."
Ivory Rose bit her lip and Amber and Ocean just looked between the ponies in confusion. Opal walked into the room and tried to say as calm as she could
"Why don't you kids go upstairs and play a while in your room?"
Amber stared at her, he noticed the waver in her voice but he nodded and took Ocean's hoof to lead her out of the room. Ivory Rose was about to follow but was stopped by her father
"Ivory Rose, you're going home right now. Tell your mother I'll be there soon."
The white filly nodded and hurried out after Amber and Ocean.
Crystal Note waited until she heard the front door close again, then looked at Ivory Lance and whispered
"I'm sorry..."
Ivory Lance glared and went back to yelling
"You better be! It's your fault after all."
Opal frowned but Crystal Note held Lance' gaze defiantly
"It was your own decision to attack me that day, not mine."
The stallion grew more angry and walked up to Crystal Note, but Opal stepped between him and the mare
"Lance! She got your daughter home safely last night. Shouldn't you be more grateful?"
He now glared at her instead
"Are you really backing her up on this?"
Opal Waves rolled her eyes
"Whatever happened that night, it's been what, almost six years now? Let it go, Lance."
Ivory Lance stomped his hoof angrily on the floor
"Let it go? Do you even realize what kind of creature you invited into your home? Those things, those crystal unicorns, they took away my best friend!"
"I'm well aware. He was my brother after all."
At that, Crystal Note went visibly pale and sunk back on her haunches as her legs gave in under her
"I... I didn't know. I'm sorry."
Ivory Lance' angry glare hit her again and she winced
"Why did you have to come back? You should have stayed cursed away forever."
Opal couldn't believe her ears and shouted while pushing Ivory Lance towards the door
"Lance! Watch your language!"
Ivory Lance tried to push himself past her but was stopped by a hoof on his shoulder. He looked around and saw his old friend had returned as well and gave him a disappointed glare
"Don't do it, Lance."
"You're on her side as well?"
"I'm your friend, Lance. But if you're only going to insult my guest, I need to ask you to leave."
Ivory Lance stared at him and at Opal, then snorted and stormed out. Angry as he was, even he wouldn't breach the old tradition of hospitality.
Opal sighed in relief and Flint shook his head and gave an awkward laugh
"Well, that just happened."
Crystal Note stood up but kept her eyes on the floor and mumbled
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
Opal Waves shook her head and wouldn't let her finish
"Don't blame yourself. He's such a hothead, always been one. I can't tell you how often he got my brother and himself into trouble when they were colts."
Flint nodded and sniffed
"Speaking of hothead, is something burning?"
Opal shrieked and ran back into the kitchen and Flint put a hoof on Crystal Note's shoulder
"Are you okay?"
She nodded and whispered, her eyes still locked on the floor
"I'm sorry about what happened to your brother-in-law."
He sighed and shook his head
"That's not your fault. But thank you for your condolence."
Crystal Note nodded and Flint decided to leave her for now, so he went upstairs to check on Amber and Ocean.
Crystal Note stood up and tried to sneak past the kitchen towards the front door but was stopped by a stern voice
"Don't you dare leave now."
Crystal Note blushed and looked at Opal Waves who had turned around just at the right time. She sighed and gently put a hoof on Crystal Note's shoulder
"Look, I've known Ivory Lance since we were little. He's always been like that, don't think too much about it."
The crystal unicorn lowered her head and whispered
"He has every right to be angry at me. As do you. After what happened to your brother."
Opal Waves took a deep breath in and exhaled
"What happened to him was awful. But it's in the past. I have far more reasons to be thankful at you, and so does Lance."
Crystal Note managed a weak smile
"Thank you, Opal Waves."
The crystal mare smiled and nodded
"You're more than welcome. Now go get a seat, dinner is ready!"
Crystal Note smiled and noticed Amber and Ocean watching her from the stairs. She giggled and winked which made the foals grin and hop down to join her.
Soon the whole family sat down around the table and enjoyed Opal's meal together, chatting and laughing with each other. Everypony was happy but Crystal Note's beaming smile outshined them all that night.