//------------------------------// // Chapter 50: Christmas // Story: Scars of Our Past // by JWolfSilver //------------------------------// Sunset was rudely awoken by a large weight jumping on to her bed. She tried to ignore it but it incessantly bounced in place. With a grumble, she opened her eyes to see Luna sitting on top of her. Sunset glared at the older woman and shifted so Luna ended up on the floor. When Sunset rolled back over, Luna huffed, “Get up! The faster you’re out of bed the faster we can open presents! It’s already seven o’clock!” “It’s a holiday.” Sunset said into her pillow “It’s Christmas! In this family, you don’t get to sleep in.” Luna informed. Sunset honestly didn’t care what traditions they had, despite knowing it was probably instilled by Luna at a young age, she had no intention on getting up until she was good and ready. Sadly, hers and Luna’s brains were not on the same wavelength. Luna threw the covers off of Sunset and physically yanked her out of bed. “Hey!” Sunset yelled in protest, “What is wrong with you?!” Sunset tried to get free, “Put me down!” “Are you awake?” Luna questioned calmly. “Luna, just put her down.” Celestia said, standing in the doorway. The blue haired woman rolled her eyes but let the girl down. Sunset walked past Celestia, “Control that!” She said pointing to Luna as she walked out of the room and headed to the kitchen. When Sunset was out of ear shot, the sisters looked at each other and giggled before heading down stairs as well. Summer had made a variety of waffles and pancakes along with bacon for everyone but Sunset. The eldest woman got into a conversation with Sunset about the comics she’d borrowed; listing off the ones she’d liked. Luna was more than happy to join into that conversation. Celestia even had a few things to say. After breakfast, Celestia and Sunset helped Summer clean up the kitchen. As soon as they were done, Luna suddenly appeared behind them and plopped red and white hats on their heads. “I swear she has a sixth sense for knowing when we finished cleaning.” Celestia sighed. “I thought you said you left the hats at home?” Summer questioned. “We did.” Sunset and Celestia said in unison. The three went to the living room, Luna and Sun excitedly sitting on the floor by the tree with Chrysalis sitting half asleep on the arm chair. The three women sat on the couch and Luna looked to her father excitedly. “Alright!” Sun said, “The rules are: everyone gets a present and when I say go, we open them at the same time.” Sunset chewed her lip. The entire situation was awkward for her but, for once she prided herself on being able hide her facial expressions. Turns out, the need to hide her emotions didn’t last long. After a couple presents, Sunset felt comfortable and was thankful no one really made a big deal about it. It was just a fun experience between everyone. There was no pressure to thank anyone as no one would say who got who what. “Now, we got one present left for each!” Sun said, “Then if you need to, take a nap.” He looked between Chrysalis and Sunset who too was still drowsy. Sun handed out the final presents and, when he said ‘go’, they all tore into them. Sunset’s breath caught in her throat. Within the red and white paper was the last thing Sunset expected; she carefully lifted it by the neck and placed the acoustic guitar in her lap and strummed at the cords. “Why don’t you play something, sweetie?” Summer said. Sunset gave her a small smile and quickly tuned the guitar. She remembered a song people generally played during the holidays so, she started to play. As she started to play ‘silent night’, Sunset heard humming next to her. Summer and Celestia were in perfect tune with each other as the others just listened. Sunset did mess up a few cords but she didn’t let it phase her. When the song finished: Sun, Chrys and Luna clapped. Sunset tried to hide her blush but to no avail. It didn’t matter though as the applause soon faded into a series of random conversations. Celestia gave her a one-armed hug then fell into a conversation with Summer. After about an hour, Sunset and Chrysalis had both fallen asleep the latter of which had moved to the floor to use Luna’s shoulder as a pillow while Sunset was curled up next to Celestia. “That’s just precious!” Summer said as she snapped a picture of Luna and Chrysalis. “Mom!” Luna whined, “Tia’s the one with the kid!” “Well…” Celestia started. Luna glared, “Don’t.” “You can’t berate her now, Celestia.” Sun warned, “She’s got something on you now too.” He gestured to Sunset. “She fits in quite well.” Summer nodded, “She’s a smart one too.” “Yes, she is.” Celestia said. “She’s going to figure it out for herself eventually, if she hasn’t started already.” Luna said, “She’ll just be too scared to ask.” “She’s right here you know.” Celestia warned. “Please,” Luna scoffed, “You’ve seen her sleep. She reminds me of a rock.” Celestia rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything else. They all sat in the living room until lunch where Celestia and Luna woke up the two sleeping forms then hustled everyone upstairs to get dressed. After everyone was ready they met in the kitchen for lunch. Chrys and Sunset were a lot more awake so, needless to say, it was a very noisy affair. Sunset smiled to herself, I’ve never felt so…a part of something. I’ve been missing so much. After Lunch, everyone gathered their things and loaded the vehicles. “I hope you and Mom have fun in Hawaii.” Celestia said, hugging her father. He chuckled, “Thank you, Sunshine. Please call us if you go through with it.” Celestia rolled her eyes, “Of course, Dad.” She looked around, “Speaking of which, where is Sunset?” “Summer pulled her into the studio a few minutes ago.” Sun told her, “They should be out soon.” Luna came up and draped her arm around her sister, “It’s not fair that she was here for ten minutes and Mom lets her in but still won’t forgive us for something we did as teenagers.” “I’ve come to accept it.” He said, “And you should too.” Luna sighed, “What is taking them so long anyway?” *** “Are you sure about this?” Sunset said, looking at the two bins in her arms, “Haven’t you been collecting this since you were a kid?” Summer waved off her concerns, “They are just collecting dust here, child. I’d rather someone I trust have them.” “You’ve known me for 27 hours.” Sunset protested. Summer let out a laugh, “You carry yourself like Celestia but you’re witty like Luna. Besides, Tia has told me a lot about you since the fall.” “Really?” Sunset gulped, “So you know…” The elderly woman gestured for Sunset to sit then looked her in the eyes, “I had to tell this to my daughters and now I’m going to say the same thing to you. You cannot keep dreading what you did in your past. What you did back then, it is not who you are now. It taught you something, I can see it in your eyes. Whatever happened, it burned you up.” Sunset looked at her feet. “But now,” She continued, “Like a phoenix, you rise from the ashes, a better person than who you were and you burn so much brighter now.” Summer stood and pulled Sunset up with her then wrapped Sunset in a hug. The teen was hesitant but then returned it. “You deserve to be happy, Sunset.” Summer said softly, “You now have a wonderful family and do not need to be alone anymore.” Sunset pulled away and whipped away a stray tear, “Thanks. It’s different hearing it from you than Celestia.” Summer giggled, “Yes, well, it’s a default in a teenager’s brain. Anything your parents say usually goes in one ear and out the other.” Parents? Sunset blinked. “Anyway, Sun and I have a plane to catch so let’s get out of here.” Summer said as Sunset grabbed the two small clear bins and headed out the door. Sunset thanked her and went to Celestia’s SUV to put the bins away. “What took you two so long?” Celestia asked Summer. “Oh, nothing dear. Just something I think she needed to hear from a third party.” Summer flashed a smug smile. “I’m not even going to ask.” Celestia said, giving Summer a goodbye hug. “Good because it is none of your business.” Summer patted her daughter on the back. Celestia wanted to say something, Summer could see it in her daughter’s eyes, but Celestia kept her mouth shut. After another round of goodbyes everyone entered their respective vehicles and headed to their destinations. *** After about an hour of driving, Celestia looked to Sunset, “Is everything OK? You’ve barely said a word since we left my parents.” Sunset jerked her head up from her sketchbook, “Yeah, actually I’m great. They were nice.” “Yes, especially since Luna is pretty sure our Mom trusts you more than us.” Celestia chuckled. Sunset smiled but didn’t say anything else for a moment, “Thanks.” Celestia glanced at Sunset, “Why are you thanking me.” “No reason in particular. Just, thanks for being there.” Sunset said. After the initial shock, Celestia smiled, “Don’t thank me. I’m just glad you are happy and we are lucky you came into our lives.” Sunset scoffed, “More like I’m lucky. Do you know how bad it could have turned out for me if you didn’t try with me? If you never wanted to take me in?” Sunset could feel her eyes brimming with tears, “I realized just how lucky I was on Friday during my mental break down. I was completely on my own until that day you talked to me in your office. It took me until then to realize that I couldn’t do it on my own. I couldn’t do anything if I was always completely on my own. I never knew how much I need. How much I missed.” She trailed off. Celestia chewed her lip, then pulled over, much to Sunset’s confusion. “Why did we stop?” Sunset asked. Celestia didn’t say anything until she typed something on her phone then replaced it on the console. “When we get home, we will unload the cars then Luna and Chrysalis will be going out for a bit. I think we need to have a talk. One that doesn’t start with me finding you in your room crying, OK?” Sunset studied Celestia for any sign that she had said something wrong but all she found was caring eyes. “OK?” Celestia questioned again. Sunset nodded, “Alright.” Celestia gave Sunset a quick hug before they continued on home.