//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Canterlot High Christmas Tales // by Indefintehiatus //------------------------------// Sunset Shimmer began to awake, having gotten the best night sleep she'd had in quite a while. Her blurry vision was slowly coming into focus as she checked her phone to see what the time was. It was only Nine o'clock in the morning, as she looked around the beautifully decorated room surrounding her. The faint but recognizable sounds of 'A Christmas Carol' on the plasma-screen TV behind her could be heard as she looked down to see Spike sniffing and nuzzling her hand. "Oh, hi Spike." Sunset yawned, petting him behind the ears. "Good morning Sunset." Twilight Velvet greeted, walking into the room wearing a red & white apron and a Santa hat,"did you have a good night's sleep?" "Yeah, it was lovely." Sunset stretched, "Thank you again for letting me stay over today." "It's fine, Merry Christmas." Velvet smiled. "Thanks, Merry Christmas to you too." Sunset replied kindly, "so, is Twilight awake yet?" "IT'S CHRISTMAS!" her friends' familiar voice could be heard yelling cheerfully from up the stairs. "Does that answer your question?" Velvet chuckled, as Twilight Sparkle ran down the stairs like a heard of elephants, before Spike rushed happily into her arms and was greeted with an immediate hug. "Merry Christmas honey." Velvet smiled, watching her daughter chuckling with delight while Spike started excitedly licking her face. "Merry Christmas Mom!" Twilight beamed, letting Spike go before wrapping her arms around her mother and squeezing tightly. Sunset started to remove the soft blanket and climb out of bed to greet her enthusiastic friend. Then the feelings returned, she thought Twilight had never looked so precious . "Sunset!" Twilight turned happily, launching into her friend with another hug. A small blush arose upon Sunsets face, which Twilight was thankfully to obliviously joyous to notice, as she began to hug her back and the two wished each-other a Merry Christmas. Shining Armour then walked down the stairs with a severe case of bed hair, followed by Cadence and his father, Night Light, as Twilight eventually greeted them all with enthusiastic hugs. The family soon changed from their pajamas and dressing gowns into brand new more seasonal Christmas sweaters, even Sunset was able to join in when Night Light found an older one of Twilight's that she could wear. It was green with a Christmas tree, comically consisting of many Math and Scientific terms. It was very Twilight to say the least. A few hours later and Twilight had been asked to help her mother out in the kitchen with the Christmas dinner, along with the assistance of Cadence and even Sunset. Their biggest challenge was attempting to stop Spike from stealing any of the Turkey or Vegetables, a trick he tried almost every year. Whilst Shining and Night Light were in charge of setting the table, Sunset was helping prepare the drinks. Both the parents, Shining and Cadence had small glasses of wine while Twilight and Sunset both had some soda instead. Eventually, the jobs were all done as Sunset and the family all sat down for Christmas dinner. It was the fairly traditional feast of a Christmas Turkey with both roasted & mashed potatoes and multiple types of vegetables. There was also Gravy, Cranberry sauce, pigs in blankets, and Yorkshire puddings. They were about to start their meals when Shining Armour decided he wanted to make an announcement, as he gently tapped a fork against his glass to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, I would like to make a toast!" He began, "Now I understand that this year, our Christmas day is a little bit different due to some new guests to the household. Firstly, we have the lovely Sunset Shimmer, a very kind and supportive friend of our very own Twilight Sparkle! Who, despite a recent break-up, is still as lively, charming and amazing as ever. Secondly, we would like to congratulate my father Night Light on his recent promotion, Congratulations to you Dad! And finally, we have another very special guest here today. I would like to introduce you to beautiful Cadence Amore, Principal of Crystal prep academy.....and my fiance!" At that moment, Twilight Velvet covered her mouth in shock as tears of joy started to stream down her face like a waterfall. Cadence erupted into a beaming grin as she showed of the diamond ring on her finger. Despite knowing in advance, Twilight Sparkle displayed supportive cheers as Night Light gave his son a very proud hug. Sunset also decided to applaud, as Cadence went over and gave a hug to her teary-eyed soon to be mother-in-law. They announced the wedding was in February, which while seeming like quite short notice was actually planned and arranged months in advance, and that Sunset and all of Twilight's friends were not only invited, but Cadence wanted them to be her bridesmaids. Sunset knew that especially Rarity would be ecstatic at the offer and would probably want to designed some new dresses for the girls to wear. After many congratulations and tears, everyone returned to their delicious meals. Even Spike got a little plate of his own with some of the leftover turkey, potato and carrots. After a very filling meal, Sunset thanked them for the meal as they everyone made their way into the lounge. They decided to open some of the presents underneath the tree while they waited for their meal to digest before they could get desserts. Cadence and Sunset sat back on the largest couch together as the rest of the family dove for the gifts and began to take turns opening one each. Twilight adored all of her presents, which mostly consisted of scientific equipment and fictitious novels. Shining Armour received gifts such as comic books and a beautiful framed collage from Cadence of their relationship. Velvet and Night Light got each-other the regular married couple gifts of aftershave and socks for dad and jewelry and perfume for mom. Afterwards, everyone returned to the dining room for dessert and while not as much variety as the one Pinkie Pie's party, the options on the table looked exquisite. There were multiple flavors of Ice cream, Christmas pudding, trifle, cheesecake and dozens of mince pies along small canisters of whipped cream. Twilight grabbed herself another soda before she sat down and took a mince pie. She was about to squirt some whipped cream into the bowl, when her brother began to give her a look she recognized all too well. She knew what he wanted as her parents started to replicate the same face and Shining started whispering his plan into Cadences ear, who let out a small giggle at the concept. "Really, do I have too?" Twilight sighed. "Pwease Sis, It's Cwismas." Shining pouted, as Sunset began to have a pretty good idea at what he was referring to. Twilight decided she couldn't avoid it much longer and went through with what everyone wanted her to. None of them had mentioned it aloud but she knew them all too well. She grabbed the canister of whipped cream at and began to spray it all around her mouth, cheeks and chins. She now had a white Santa-like beard around her face made entirely out of whip cream, just like what she mentioned at the party. "Ho, Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!" She spoke in an attempted deep voice, as Sunset and the family all laughed hysterically. It was every bit as hilarious as Twilight had described it and was probably the highlight of Sunset's day at the time. Eventually, Twilight couldn't help but join in with her adorkable laugh as Spike jumped up onto the table and began to lick the whipped cream beard of her face. Sunset and the family eventually returned to eating their desserts, which were every bit as mouthwatering as the dinner, if not more. As she finished off her Mince Pie with Vanilla ice cream, Sunset began to wonder how the rest of her friends were enjoying their Christmas day? After clearing everything up with her parents the previous day, Rainbow Dash was having a much better Christmas day than anticipated. Her parents had decided to remain in their Santa and Mrs Claus costumes for the day but Dash was more hesitant to return to her Rudolph outfit, though she did agree to maybe just wear the antlers and red nose for any pictures they want to take. She did tell her parents about Fluttershy's personal gift she received at the Christmas Party, which they adored and mantled above the fireplace next to the picture from Christmas eve. She also revealed her autograph from A.K Yearling and told them more about the fun times at the party. However, she didn't mention her kiss with Zephyr. Only her best friends saw it happen and she was prepared to die with the secret. She loved all the gifts her parents brought for her, she figured perhaps their obsession with her had it's perks. Applejack had a great time reuniting with some of her family back in Appaloosa. They had walked to Braeburn's house from their nearby hotel, expecting the place to be the five of them and couple other kin. But much to their surprise, the whole Apple Family had shown up. Apple Bloom certainly enjoyed seeing her favorite cousin Babs Seed once again and Granny Smith was happy to see older relatives such as Apple Strudel, Goldie Delicious and Aunt Applesauce after such a long time. They even received an unexpected Christmas card from Grand Pear, a distant relative from their mothers family who wanted to come visit at some point in the new year. After a huge and of course apple themed Christmas dinner, everyone sat around reminiscing of old times and playing country songs. Big Mac remembered a touching tale of a Christmas times with his parents, Bright Mac and Pear Butter, which managed to jerk a few tears among the family members who remembered the deceased couple. In response, Applejack decided to grab her base and play a rendition of a Christmas song her mother used to sing her over the holidays know as 'Days Gone By'. Once the song was finished, the whole family loved it and said her mother would be so proud. Pinkie Pie had invited her sisters Maud, Marble and Limestone to spend Christmas Day at her house that year. She'd also invited her parents to come stay but unfortunately, they were unable to make it. Pinkie's sisters were very different from her. Maud being much more monotone, Marble being more anxious than Fluttershy and Limestone being very aggressive. Despite their differences, they were able to give Pinkie an amazing day. Maud gave her some festively colored red & green confetti for her party cannon as a present and even completed her goal from earlier in the week by buying a gift for her pet rock Boulder by giving him a rock-pouch. Instead of the regular Christmas dinner, the food that mainly consisted of Soup and Candy. But Pinkie didn't mind, she loved Christmas and her sisters no matter what. Fluttershy was just about to have Christmas dinner with her family after she finished feeding her pet Angel Bunny. The day so far had been full of the pleasant atmosphere usual present in the Shy household, as Zephyr helped lay the table while his mother cooked their meal. Since they were a mostly vegan family, they didn't have a turkey like most of Fluttershy's friends. Instead, what they had to eat were cauliflower fritters with herb dipping sauce, along with the regular roasted potato, vegetables and some specially prepared gravy. The four of them tucked into there meals and enjoyed them immensely. However, Zephyr couldn't help feeling distracted by the drastic change to his sisters hair. Her parents were both incredibly proud of her for the charity hair donation and Fluttershy was feeling very proud of herself too. Her father was the first to find out, having picked her up from the hairdressers, and he said it was a very kind and honorable thing to do. Her mother said pretty much the same, as well as noting that the new hair made her look sweeter than ever. Rarity was still sadly suffering from her winter cold, but had thankfully shown signs of improving due to Applejack's gift. However, she still managed to have an enjoyable day with her sister and even her parents, Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles, had come down to stay with her. Usually, the two of them would travel a lot and often take the sisters somewhere exotic to spend Christmas. However this year, they decided to stay in Canterlot to help take care of their eldest daughter. Her father claimed it made for a nice change of pace, as her mother cooked them a Christmas dinner that was easier for Rarity to consume. The sisters also got some very nice gifts. Rarity's favorite being a brand new silver dress her parents brought on their last vacation that she promised she'd were it as soon as she was better, worried she may get snot all over the divine patterns if she wore it now. Flash was spending a rather regular Christmas at his house with his mom and brother. Though he couldn't go five minutes without texting his girlfriend Sonata. She had decided to bring the Christmas spirit into her apartment, much to her sisters' misery. She and Flash had come across a last minute decoration store on the street that previous night and Sonata had practically brought home half the department with her. The evening came as Sunset decided to lay down on the couch and watch some TV with Twilight's family, scanning to the channels to see whatever movies or specials they could find. Another mild snowfall began outside the windows as Sunset noticed that Twilight couldn't stop staring at her magic journal, almost like she was waiting for it to do something. Sunset was about to ask when the journal began to glow. Sunset grabbed the book as her and Twilight made their way into a separate room before opening it, as Sunset read the message aloud. Dear Sunset I don't know if you've been made aware of this yet, but the other Twilight wrote to me last night. She told me about how you're spending today at her house with her family, I really hope you're having a great time. I don't know a lot about Christmas but i'm assuming it's a lot like Hearths Warming. So it's about celebrating the friends and family and ponies or people in our lives that make it special. Our hearths warming hasn't exactly been as calm as I would've hoped, This year, me and the other elements decided to invite all our families to spend Hearths warming together in the castle to help celebrate how many different types of ponies banded together on this holiday. It didn't go according to plan. In fact, I think Discord could've caused less chaos. However, I'm happy to say that everything worked out in the end and I really hope yours is less eventful. I'd love to hear about it when you have the time. You're a really great person Sunset and all your friends at Canterlot High are incredibly lucky to have you. I would really like if we could see each-other again sometime. Maybe I'll come to you or you can come to Equestria, who knows? For now, have a happy Hearths-Warming and Have a great Christmas time. Your friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Sunset closed the book as a huge beaming smile began to fill up her face. She placed the book down and looked at Twilight. "Sunset, are you okay?" Twilight asked, as Sunset's lip began to quiver. Before anything else could be said, Sunset ran towards Twilight and engulfed her in a grateful hug. "Thank you Twilight!" She sniffled, "This has been the best Christmas I've ever had!" "You're welcome." Twilight smiled, continuing to hug Sunset as the snow peacefully persisted outside the window.