“Are you sure that’s okay?”
“Oh, come on. Don’t be a scaredy-pony. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Glass Slipper continued to push the family couch to the side of the room while Sapphire watched nervously. She was Glass Slipper’s best friend since they were both old enough to talk and she had stuck with her through thick and thin. Of course, she had been with Glass Slipper in the time after her parents’ death and also later when the fillies had chosen Crystal Note as their guardian.
Sapphire was a loyal friend but by nature not the bravest of ponies. She had learned with worry that Glass Slipper and her sisters now lived in the old haunted mansion she only knew of ghost stories. Glass Slipper had also let her in on the secret that the mansion was the same where Crystal Note grew up in as a filly. That knowledge didn’t really help Sapphire like this place more, she was still a bit wary of the crystal unicorn despite all she had seen or heard recently.
Now, she was standing in the same scary mansion and Glass Slipper was browsing through some foreign records that belonged to the crystal unicorn
“The worst? Crystal Note could find us and get mad at us and lock us in the torture room in the cellar.”
Glass Slipper laughed as she set one of the records in the strange device and grinned at her friend
“First, there’s no cellar and therefore no torture room. Second, Crystal Note doesn’t get mad that easily. Third, she gave me permission to play her records, so there’s no way we’ll get into trouble for that!”
“Did she allow you to move the furniture and take all this stuff out of her room as well?”
Glass Slipper blinked and hesitated for a second
“Technically not. But she’ll be gone for a couple more hours, so we can put everything back in place before she’ll ever find out about it.”
Not convinced, Sapphire threw a wary glance at the fellow teenager and watched as she adjusted something at the machine that she called a record player. The big black disk began to spin.
Both fillies smiled as a loud song filled the room. Sapphire never heard any song like that before, but the fast beat had her head bop in time and the lively tune made her hooves itch.
Glass Slipper grinned and walked into the now open space in the middle of the living room
“Ready?”
Sapphire walked next to her and mimicked her stance
“Ready!”
The both tapped their left hoof on the floor in rhythm with the song, then they started to sway and spin following the music.
Along with being the same age and going to the same class, the teenage fillies also shared a love for dancing. Even if Sapphire didn’t have a dancing-related cutie mark like Glass Slipper, she was as enthusiastic about it as her best friend. Together, they had spent days and weeks to make up new dance moves and practice them to perfection.
With Crystal Note’s record collection, Glass Slipper now had access to a completely new world of songs and tunes from outside the Crystal Empire. She’d found a lot of songs she enjoyed and today, she was to share them with her best friend.
The song went on and the fillies danced through the empty room. They picked up their pace quickly and their hooves clicked against the crystal floor as they moved through a series for fast steps and twirls in near perfect sync.
The song was much faster than the ones they had danced to before and by the end of it, both fillies were panting a little, but with beaming smiles on their faces. All of Sapphire’s nervousness was gone and she eagerly asked Glass Slipper to put up another record.
The next song was even faster and the fillies had a blast. They didn’t make up any new moves but instead mixed together the ones they already knew to match this new kind of music and the fast beats.
They danced through a couple of songs before they had to take a short break. Lounged in front of the record played, they browsed through some more songs and agreed on a few they had to try out next. Glass Slipper noticed that quite a few had the trio or musical notes printed on their cover, Crystal Note’s cutie mark.
The hours just flew by as the danced and laughed and discussed their moves whenever they took a break. Unnoticed by the fillies, the sun sunk down outside the window.
Glass Slipper and Sapphire worked through a complicated set of steps and spins and didn’t hear the front door opening. They also didn’t notice three ponies, a mare and two young fillies, poke their heads from the foyer into the living room. Sweetie Tooth grinned and Velvet Heart supressed her giggling behind her hoof.
Sapphire and Glass Slipper finally lost their concentration when they suddenly heard a voice. Caught by surprise, they fell out of sync and bumped together, which left them both landing on their flanks.
Sapphire was close to a panic attack until she realized the voice she heard matched the song perfectly. She looked up and saw Crystal Note standing in the doorway. The mare’s eyes were closed as she sung the next few lines
Oh come on, let me get to know you
Just another chance so that I can show
That I won't let you down, oh no
No, I won't let you down, oh no
'Cause I could be the one
I could be the one
Glass Slipper jumped towards the record played and stopped the music, but Crystal Note just kept singing for a little longer before she joined the twins in giggling
“It’s been a while since I heard that song. How do you like it, Sapphire?”
The mare smiled warmly at the clearly flustered teenager who desperately tried not to stare at the crystal unicorn
“Yes! I mean, I like it! It’s, um, very…”
She trailed off blushing as the fillies laughed even more, even Glass Slipper was snickering next to her. Crystal Note just kept smiling
“Those were some impressive moves you two pulled off. How long have you been practicing?”
Glass Slipper and Sapphire looked at each other and smiled
“We’ve been dancing ever since. Sapphire was around when I got my cutie mark, even.”
Sapphire smiled and nodded, but then something caught her attention. With a shriek, she backed away when she saw what it was.
Crystal Note’s horn was glowing. She was using her magic. Sapphire’s instincts kicked in and she jumped on her hooves, her eyes roaming to find the nearest exit. She froze as soon as she noticed Sweetie Tooth and Velvet Heart giggle at her.
Her panic faded and she saw Glass Slipper and Crystal Note were browsing through the records again, talking about which ones they liked best. A few covers were floating in the air, surrounded by the strange turquoise glow. Glass Slipper, totally unconcerned, pointed at one in particular and Crystal Note smiled, not even looking as the other records floated away and stacked up neatly.
“You get used to seeing that. It’s not a big deal, you know?”
Velvet Heart was standing next to her and grinned at the older filly. Sapphire’s cheeks burnt up again when she realized that even the foals weren’t afraid of magic, but she nearly jumped out of her coat
“Are you going to stay for dinner, Sapphire?”
The soft voice of Crystal Note pulled her out of her mulling and Sapphire needed a moment to catch up
“Oh. Um. Thanks, but I don’t want to intrude so…”
“Nonsense, dear. You’re not intruding at all, we’d all be happy to have you join us, right girls?”
The twins nodded enthusiastically and Glass Slipper grinned. For a moment, Sapphire couldn’t help but wonder if her mother would ever invite Glass Slipper in such a way. She nodded and mumbled a shy ‘Thank you’, to which the unicorn mare just smiled
“Alright, I’ll best start cooking then. Sweetie Tooth, do you want to help me?”
The filly nodded and scampered ahead to the kitchen.
Velvet Heart used the chance to lean towards Sapphire
“Don’t worry, if Sweetie Tooth is in there we know it’ll be edible at least. If not, we still have some cake left.”
“I can hear you, Velvet.”
The filly snickered and cowered playfully under Crystal Note’s glare-smile. The mare turned to her oldest charge
“Glass Slipper, why don’t you put on that record for us? Oh, and it would be delightful if the furniture was back in place before dinner.”
There was a soft chiding in Crystal Note’s voice. Glass Slipper looked up and met her caretaker’s eyes. Like Sapphire, she could only see a mild disapproval in the caring gaze, mostly because they didn’t ask permission first probably. Glass Slipper nodded, but then added with a rebellious smile
“Fine, Mom. I’ll do it.”
Sapphire glanced at the mare with some worry, but the three others just giggled. Crystal Note followed Sweetie Tooth to the kitchen and Glass Slipper set up the record player again. Another song filled the house, this one slow and relaxed compared to the ones the teenagers had danced to before.
Sapphire helped Glass Slipper and her little sister to get the dining table back to its spot and heard soft singing from the kitchen, along with some cooking noises. She blushed and turned towards the other two
“Your Mom is really nice. I know my mother would have been angry if I had made a mess of the house.”
“She’s not our mom!”
Velvet Heart replied almost immediately in a shout, although with blushing cheeks. Glass Slipper gently nudged her little sister to make her giggle, before she turned back to Sapphire
“She kinda is, but not really. It’s just like a running joke between us.”
Sapphire blinked surprised, but neither of the sisters seemed willing to go deeper into it. Accompanied by the record player and the singing from the kitchen, they three fillies put everything back in its place and then set the table for five ponies.
Very soon after, Crystal Note and Sweetie Tooth joined them at the table. Sweetie Tooth carried a pot with tea and Crystal Note levitated a still sizzling pan into the middle of the table. Sapphire stared at what supposedly had to be dinner and Crystal Note just laughed at her perplexed expression
“Something easy and fast, dear. Egg-fried rice with steamed vegetables. Dig in!”
The three sisters eagerly filled their plates and when Sapphire hesitated, Crystal Note leaned over to whisper
“Don’t worry, darling. Have a taste and if you don’t like it, there really is cake for later.”
Sapphire blushed but with a timid smile helped herself to a small serving. The fillies just kept eating but everypony watched from the corner of their eyes as Sapphire took a first small bite, quickly followed by another, larger one
“Wow! This is good.”
Crystal Note laughed melodiously and poured tea into five cups
“Thank you, Sapphire. It’s an easy dish, something even I can’t mess up.”
There was even more laughter around the table and Sapphire took another bite. The food looked strange but tasted delicious. She recognized most of the vegetables but couldn’t quite place all of the flavours
“It tastes different than anything I’ve ever eaten.”
Glass Slipper nodded and Crystal Note smiled
“It’s a traditional dish from the far east, Sapphire. There’s some spices in it that you can’t get in the Crystal Empire, I brought them with me from Canterlot.”
As soon as this sunk in, Sapphire couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. She spent the whole day listening to foreign music, had seen foreign magic and now she was eating foreign food. Crystal Note was so easy-going with everything and even though everything was strange and new, it wasn’t scary at all. Again, in her mind she compared the crystal unicorn with her own parents who were always strict and traditional. They never had said anything loud, but Sapphire knew they didn’t approve that a crystal unicorn who had spent most of her life outside the Crystal Empire was put in charge of three fillies. Still, Glass Slipper and her little sisters didn’t seem unhappy at all. In fact, they seemed just as happy as they had been when they were with their passed parents and from the happy chatting they shared, Sweetie Tooth and Velvet Heart seemed to be thriving to find their special talents just like any other filly of their age.
She didn’t follow that train of thought as dinner was soon finished and Crystal Note brought in a slice of cake for each of them. Sweetie Tooth beamed in pride as everypony praised her cake, which made her sisters poke and tickle her for being cocky.
Crystal Note watched with a caring smile and patiently intervened with her gentle voice. Sapphire realized her father would have been shouting already.
They sat together for a while longer, sipping tea and talking about this and that. When it was getting late, Crystal Note stood up from her seat and fixed Glass Slipper with a soft sternness
“Dishes”, was all she said and Glass Slipper groaned but gathered up everything from the table.
Crystal Note nodded and turned to the twins next, with a far more gentle smile
“Bath time for you, then it’s off to bed. You all have classes tomorrow, after all.”
Sweetie Tooth hopped towards the stairs but Velvet Heart wasn’t having it
“NOOO!”
Sapphire shrieked and jumped out of the way, as the small filly dashed past her towards the front door. Long before she reached it, she suddenly was surrounded by a turquoise light. Sapphire stared with unbelieving eyes as the filly lifted off the floor and floated in the air. She heard giggling and turned her head to see Glass Slipper and Sweetie Tooth snickering at her sister. She also saw that the magic horn on Crystal Note’s head was glowing again, but it still took her a minute to connect the dots.
Her head snapped back to Velvet Heart who floated past her in the same glow. The filly didn’t seem to mind at all, in fact she was smiling brightly and even waved to Sapphire as she was carried up the stairs behind Sweetie Tooth and Crystal Note.
“You still hungry or are you trying to catch bugs?”
Sapphire turned back towards her best friend and only now realized that she had her mouth hanging wide open the entire time. She clamped her mouth shut and Glass Slipper giggled some more
“It’s just a game they play almost every night. If you ask me, Velvet is just too lazy to walk up the stairs.”
Sapphire glanced towards the stairs and she could hear faint laughter from upstairs
“It’s not hurting her?”
“What? Not at all! It’s kinda nice, it almost feels like a hug, but different.”
The filly’s eyes went wide
“She used it on you, too?”
Glass Slipper just nodded
“A few times. Hey, you mind helping me with those dishes? I had to do them all week all by myself.”
Sapphire shook her head as if the shake away the remains of her confusion, then helped Glass Slipper carry the dishes back to the kitchen
“All week and all by yourself?”
Glass Slipper groaned playfully and nodded. She explained while the two fillies worked and by the time they were finished, it was time for Sapphire to go home.
Glass Slipper hugged her as she left and Crystal Note joined her at the door with a smile before she returned to the twins.
As Sapphire walked home through the city, she couldn’t help but think about everything she had seen today and wonder.
What started out with one invitation to dinner turned into a common ritual for Glass Slipper and Sapphire. At least once a week, they would meet at the mansion to practice their dancing. At first, they picked days when Crystal Note and the twins were elsewhere, but after a while, they didn't mind the audience anymore.
Sapphire would stay for dinner more regularly and after the twins went to bed, Crystal Note joined the two teenagers when they were doing their homework together or just to talk. Sapphire heard of foreign towns, different ponies and big cities the mare had seen during her years on the road, first as a travelling musician and later on concerts as a professional performer. Some nights, Crystal Note would even sing for the fillies or show them the songs she was working on currently. Those nights, Sapphire always returned home with a smile on her face.
Of course, her parents noticed this. Each of those nights, when Sapphire returned home barely before her curfew, she quickly vanished into her bedroom. She knew her father would most likely scold her for 'wasting time on silly hopping instead of doing some productive', while her mother would act all concerned on what kind of bad influence the crystal unicorn would have on her daughter.
Sapphire tried to dodge any questions as much as she could, but eventually, her parents called her down from her bedroom for a long talk.