//------------------------------// // Vacation - Part I // Story: Crystal Note - Where life leads us // by TalkingToMyself //------------------------------// The summer sun stood high above the Crystal Empire and flooded the schoolyard in glittering light as the students rushed outside for their lunch break. Happy chattering and giggles filled the air as the fillies and colts gathered in small groups to eat and play. Glass Slipper hugged Sapphire, her best friend, and waved to the others from her class before she made her way to the grade schoolers. The teenage filly smiled when she saw her sisters surrounded by a number of excited foals “It’s so cool you get to see Vanhoover!” “I’m jealous! How did you convince Miss Abacus to let you go early today?” Sweetie Tooth and Velvet Heart grinned and tried their best to answer all questions, but as soon as they saw Glass Slipper, they dashed towards her sister “Come on, sis! We gotta go!” Glass Slipper nodded and exchanged a look with the teacher standing behind them. The mare nodded approvingly and waved as the other foals called out their goodbyes when the three sisters left. Today, instead of afternoon classes, they would go on a trip with their caretaker Crystal Note to Vanhoover in Equestria. Glass Slipper, with one of her sisters at each side, took the street towards the train station in a sharp trot. Sweetie Tooth and Velvet Heart soon had to run to keep up with her, but their excited smiles showed that they didn’t care at all. In front of the station, two ponies were already waiting for them. Sour Berry, the blue-coated stallion, was a friend of Crystal Note and frequently visited the small family, or they would visit his café near the market plaza. Right now, he was loaded with two sets of bags as he helped the mare next to him carry their luggage to the train. Crystal Note next to him only carried one set of saddlebags, but had her guitar strapped on her back as well. Sweetie Tooth squealed and rushed ahead. Crystal Note turned around just in time to catch the filly in a tight hug. Velvet Heart rolled her eyes but both she and Glass Slipper giggled when the crystal mare and Sweetie Tooth exchanged a loving nuzzle. Crystal Note greeted her charges with hugs as well, then they entered the station together. The train stood ready, but they had a few more minutes left, so Sour Berry climbed inside with them and helped store away the bags. Crystal Note had made a reservation, so the four of them had a cabin for themselves. Sweetie Tooth and Velvet Heart immediately started exploring every nook and cranny of the cabin while Glass Slipper secured a spot at the window. Crystal Note watched with a smile and turned to her friend “Thanks for your help, Sour Berry.” “Don’t mention it, Crissy. Always glad to help.” His eyes darted to the three fillies and back to their guardian “Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own? I mean, long trip, with three little fillies and outside of the Empire even.” Crystal Note laughed and gently nudged the stallion with her hoof “You know, despite all the stories you might hear, there are no monsters lurking for you as soon as you leave the Crystal Empire. Maybe one day, you’ll be brave enough to join us on a trip.” Sour Berry frowned at the teasing, but his eyes held a certain softness “Just be careful, okay?” Crystal Note smiled and nodded “Don’t worry. We’ll be back by Sunday night. Have a good weekend!” “You too, Crystal Note. Have a good trip!” They hugged and Sour Berry jumped off the train just before the doors closed. A few minutes later, the train set in motion with a little jolt. Sweetie Tooth, Velvet Heart and Glass Slipper hung at the window and stared as the houses passed by faster and faster while the train picked up speed. Soon, all they could see was the summer tundra with patches of green and fields of shrubbery under a cloudless sky. Crystal Note smiled as she watched the fillies enjoy the view as well as the travelling sensation. They had never been in a train before, but after years of travelling, the gentle wobbling of the car and the whooshing sound were pleasantly familiar to Crystal Note. In some distance to the city, the shrubbery grew less and was replaced by a rocky surface with patches of ice in between, even in summer. Velvet Heart was the first to notice something else that changed. The filly stopped laughing in midway and her eyes went wide. Then her ears perked up and tottered from side to side. Glass Slipper and Sweetie Tooth wondered if her sister had heard something and angled their ears as well, but Crystal Note knew that the lack of something familiar bothered the filly. Glass Slipper was next and when she felt it, her coat lost some of its shine. Her eyes darted to Crystal Note and the understanding smile of the mare was like a balm for her nerves. Velvet Heart left the window and jumped on the seat next to Crystal Note. A comforting hoof wrapped around the filly who buried herself into the mare’s flank. Crystal Note knew that when she sought for closeness, Velvet Heart had to be either very happy or, like now, very scared. She held the filly close, her other hoof doing the same with Sweetie Tooth who by now clung on her side. In a gentle and soothing voice, Crystal Note explained “It’s alright girls. I know it feels very strange the first time.” Sweetie Tooth’s eyes angled up and Glass Slipper stared at her “What is happening? I’ve never felt like this.” Crystal Note’s smile was calm and confident, just like her voice “We are no longer in reach of the crystal heart, so you can’t feel it anymore. We just left the protective barrier around the Crystal Empire.” All three fillies shivered involuntarily. They’ve never been outside the Empire before, neither have any of their friends or even their parents. The twins nudged a little closer to Crystal Note and Glass Slipper joined them. Although she wasn’t shivering like her sisters, her voice was still a little shaky “Can you feel it, too?” The mare nodded with a reassuring smile “Yes, Glass Slipper, but I’m used to it by now. You’ll barely notice something’s missing in a few minutes.” The fillies nodded, but with only little conviction. Crystal Note had seen this before and she knew what to do. Her eyes closed and she started humming a gentle and slow tune. The fillies’ ears perked up again as some of the uneasiness faded away. The tune grew into a melody and Crystal Note’s voice rose from humming into wordless singing. All three fillies smiled and as they listened, the strange sensation of loss faded away for good. Soon, giggling filled the little cabin once more. Crystal Note had changed from her soothing melody into a lively and upbeat song about a rabbit and a turtle, one of the twin’s favourites. They finished the song together and laughed whole-heartily. While Sweetie Tooth stayed snuggled up to Crystal Note, Velvet Heart jumped back to the window and watched with awe as the landscape slowly changed. Glass Slipper sunk back into her seat, far more at ease now. Crystal Note found herself dozing away a little when the cabin was quiet again, just the soft rattling sound from the wheels on the tracks and the slight rocking motion. She only noticed the cabin door had slid open when she heard somepony call out to her “Tickets, please.” Her eyes snapped open and she reached out for her bag while turning to the voice “Of course, I have them right…” Her jaw stopped working in mid-sentence and just hung wide open for a moment. The sisters blinked surprised and glanced at the pony who had entered. She was an earth pony with azure coat and a dark blue mane with stripes of white and purple. She also had a grin that seemed almost too big for her face “Surprise!” Crystal Note finally pulled back together met the mare halfway in a hug “Bonne Voyage! You're here?” The mare giggled and nodded "When I heard you were coming to Vanhoover, I pulled some strings to get this shift." “But how did you know we were on this train?” Bonne Voyage glanced to the three fillies with a grin and winked, trying her best to appear mysterious “Nothing happens on a train without me knowing about it.” The fillies as well as their caretaker blinked surprised, but Bonne Voyage just laughed “You made a reservation, silly. Your name was on the passenger list and a friend of mine told me in advance.” Crystal Note rolled her eyes and joined into the laughter as their hug ended. Bonne Voyage turned to get a good look at the three sisters for the first time “So, these are the three little darlings you told me about. They're simply adorable.” The three fillies blushed and Sweetie Tooth tried to hide behind Crystal Note who just laughed kindly “Girls, meet Bonne Voyage, she's a good friend of mine. Bonne Voyage, these are Glass Slipper, Velvet Heart and Sweetie Tooth.” She pointed at each filly and gently nudged Sweetie Tooth back into sight. The fillies waved shyly and Bonne Voyage just laughed heartily “It's a pleasure to meet you all. Did you know I first met Crystal Note here on a train as well?” And just by that, any shyness vanished and curiosity took its place. The three fillies seemed very eager to learn more about their caretaker's past, especially since they had heard some more stories from Rose Quartz. Bonne Voyage smiled at their undivided attention “It has to be, I don't know, almost ten years by now? The Crystal Empire had just reappeared and there was only one train a week from Canterlot back then and barely anypony even took it.” Crystal Note rolled her eyes and giggled “Bonne Voyage was the train hostess back then when I returned to the Crystal Empire the first time.” Velvet Heart nodded and asked “What does a train hostess do? I've never heard of them before.” Bonne Voyage laughed again and took the seat opposite of Crystal Note, the fillies gathered around her “We do a lot of jobs on train ride, actually. We check if everypony has a ticket and finds a seat and such, and I we make sure everypony has a pleasant ride. Some ponies get motion sickness from the train or get scared by the noise and I make sure they're all taken care of. On long rides, we sometimes also serve drinks and snacks.” The fillies eagerly absorbed all the details when the earth pony continued her story “I remember back then, we got into a snowstorm and had to stop multiple times. We had to travel all through the night and I handed out pillows and blankets when I first saw this one.” She pointed with a hoof towards Crystal Note, ignoring how the mare rolled her eyes again, “She was sitting all by herself and stared out of the window, even though it was dark. She nearly jumped out of her seat when I talked to her. She was so nervous I knew it was her first ride on a train right away, she looked so gloomy with her dark coat in the dark cabin and hiding behind her headscarf.” At Sweetie Tooth's puzzled expression, she giggled again and winked “I didn't know she was a crystal pony back then and she was still hiding her horn as well.” The fillies turned towards the crystal unicorn who simply nodded with a sigh “That was a weird time for me.” “I'll say.” Bonne Voyage chimed in and winked to the girls before the mood would change too much “Imagine how surprised I was when she suddenly went from grey and gloomy to super-sparkly. She was the first crystal pony I met and when I saw her change back then, I just thought 'Whoa. That's awesome.' I practically bullied her into being my pen pal right away.” The fillies and the two mares laughed and Crystal Note gently nudged her friend with her hoof “I never regretted that. Bonne Voyage invited me to Vanhoover during my time in Ponyville and I kept meeting up with her as much as I could while I was travelling.” The earth pony mare grinned and nodded “Never a dull moment with you, Crissy. Each time we met, there was something new. First you got a horn, then you're singing in a band, giving concerts and before I knew it, you're suddenly famous.” Crystal Note blushed and shook her head frantically “I wasn't ever that famous.” The filly glanced at each other in surprise, none of them knew about that. Bonne Voyage just laughed more “That's why I still hear your songs on the radio.” Again, the fillies didn't understand and Crystal Note explained “We don't have a radio station in the Crystal Empire.” Bonne Voyage nodded and asked “Not yet?” to which Crystal Note only shrugged. Velvet Heart gently nudged her older sister and Glass Slipper asked for them “Why did you never tell us about it?” “Would it make a difference?” The fillies and Bonne Voyage seemed confused, so Crystal Note tried to explain “I still write and compose, but fame doesn't last forever, girls. It usually runs out very fast. I still have a few dedicated fans who write letters but other than that, my days of fame are mostly passed. As for why I didn't tell you, there were other things that were more important. I wasn't trying to hide anything on purpose.” Sweetie Tooth and Velvet Heart accepted this with a nod, but Glass Slipper put up a frown, like always when she had doubts. Bonne Voyage wouldn't let that happen though and started telling stories of different cities and towns she had visited, both on her own and with Crystal Note. The train hostess could have gone on for hours, but when Sweetie Tooth checked her bags she found an unexpected surprise from Sour Berry. The stallion had somehow managed to sneak a huge lunch box into their luggage, filled with all kind of snacks and goodies and more than enough for five ponies. The fillies munched on their favourites while they watched the scenery outside change some more. They passed forest with tall trees that went on forever it seemed, only cut in by large rivers or a lake from time to time. Bonne Voyage told them that Vanhoover was located at the coast of the biggest lake in all of Equestria and that they would be there in just a couple of hours. When she offered to show the fillies more of the train, even the engine, Velvet Heart jumped to her hooves right away. Crystal Note didn't need much convincing, especially when Sweetie Tooth joined her twin sister right away. Glass Slipper decided to pass, she was happy watching the scenery pass by. Crystal Note stayed in the cabin with her while the mare then the two fillies made their way to the front. Crystal Note noticed Glass Slipper biting her lip, another clear sign that the teenage filly had something on her mind. She pondered if she should confront the filly about it, but in the end decided against it. Instead, she reached for her guitar. Glass Slipper kept her eyes on the window, but her ears perked up and angled towards her caretaker when she played an easy melody on her instrument. By the time Bonne Voyage and the twins returned, they had almost reached their destination. The fillies and mares picked up their things and were the first ones to jump of the train once they reached Vanhoover.