You groan and roll over in your sheets to catch a glimpse of your clock. You wince when you see it presenting a solid ten thirty-six. A groan escapes your lips and you sink back into the comforter, cursing the universe for not hurrying the day up. Your first instinct is to take a nap, but you look down at your hands to find little, colorful dots and stickiness from frosting and sprinkles. A deep breath reminds you of the stench of adhesive from the last minute presents, and the excited giggles and yells of your girls tell you that you probably won't be able to fall asleep anyway.
This Christmas is going to be hectic now that Sonata is old enough to really enjoy it. Just a few minutes before the chaos begins won't be that bad, right?
Your eyelids don't get much of a chance to rest. Just before your body can fully relax and your head sinks into the pillow, you get a gentle nudge on the shoulder that jerks you back to life.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" a feminine voice asks you with playfulness in her tone.
A smile crosses your face at those red and yellow streaks flowing off her shoulders and that beautiful smile, even if it was accompanied by a raised eyebrow.
"Caught me that quick, huh?"
Sunset nudges you again. "You're not getting away that easily. I need you to wrangle Aria before she manages to find a way to reach the cookies."
"Adagio will talk her out of it," you say, throwing your head back into the pillow.
"I already gave them a taste of the dough; I think Adagio might be in on this one."
You smile and shake your head, trying to ignore the growing fatigue in your body. "Those were some good cookies. I might have to get in on it too."
Sunset rolls her eyes and throws herself down onto the mattress, her beautiful teal eyes staring up into yours as she sets her chin on your chest. "When my enforcer joins in on the crimes the whole house is going to fall apart. Now come on, we've still got things to do," she says with a playful push towards the edge of the bed.
"Five more minutes," you say, closing your eyes and looking away in a fake nap.
Sunset's fingers tap against your stomach and her smile turns slightly more sly. "We'll have plenty of time with this bed tonight when you get your present."
"Oh yeah?"
Her eyes turn a bit more pointed now that she has your attention. "Yeah, but only if you get up."
"Fine, fine... You know, you're working harder on this than Pinkie did on the prom afterparty," you say as you finally force yourself to sit upright.
A kiss finds itself on your cheek, followed by a flood of warmth and affection in your gut as you meet your wife's gaze. "It'll be worth it. Now that Sonata's finally old enough to understand the word Christmas I want to make it special."
You gaze out the window, remembering how many hours you put into the light show in the front yard. "Did it have to be this special? I basically had to take an electrical engineering course online to wire up everything."
Sunset rolls her eyes again and leans up against you. "Oh, you'll survive. Besides, think of how jealous the neighbors are going to be. With Twilight's schematics we'll have tons of people wanting to watch the show. Think of all the envious glances from the other dads at the next barbecue."
You give her a quick laugh. "I think I get enough of those already."
"Well you do have the sexiest wife this side of the portal. Not to mention the best daughters in the world," she says, planting her chin on your cheek.
"Self esteem certainly doesn't have any issues, does it?" you say, grinning even wider at her.
Sunset taps you on the nose. "I believe those were your words, mister."
"They probably were."
Her hands wrap around your arm and give them a light tug. "Now come on, I've got some more cookies that need making before the girls eat all the dough and I need you to take them outside to build that snowman."
You playfully roll your head backwards again. "I'm really going to need a nap for that one, Sunny."
"We'll nap together tonight. Right now the girls need to spend some time with their dad so their mom can get a break." Sunset leans in a little closer to whisper in your ear. "If you're good, I'll tell the girls they can't get out of bed at all tonight or else they'll scare Santa away. We'll have the whole night to... enjoy your present."
You adopt your own sly grin and lean over to give Sunset a loving kiss. "Well how can I say no now?"
"You can't," she says with a wink. "That's the idea. Now get up already."
You put your hands up and roll over to the side of the bed. "Alright, alright. I'm going."
"Hey, get up!" she says again.
You raise an eyebrow at her as you get to your feet. "On my way?"
"Dad, get up! Come on!"
You take in a quick gasp as your eyes shoot open. You have to blink a few times to get your bearings once you realize you're lying down back in your bed. The bed beside you is disappointingly empty and you have to do your best to fight away that sadness after another light shove from your daughter.
"Dad... dad!"
"Alright, alright. I'm up, kiddo." You blink the blurriness out of your eyes to see Rarity standing behind Adagio, her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.
"I'm quite surprised Adagio had to let me in. Forgetting something?"
You rub your eyes and pull yourself upright. "Yeah... yeah, that thing"
It's Adagio's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Did you guys need to do something? It's Christmas Eve; You're not going to leave us here, are you?"
Rarity leans down to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Oh, of course not, dear. Your father and I just have something we need to talk about and then we're going to spend the entire day together. Christmas is nothing without family, of course."
You rub your eyes and finally sit up completely before smiling at your daughter. "Hey, if Aria and Sonata aren't up yet, why don't you get started on making the cookies? I'll let you have first dibs on the batter."
Adagio's face lights up with excitement. "Really?"
"Yeah, really. Just leave some for the cookies, alright? Now get after it, honey."
Adagio doesn't even hesitate to sprint out of the room and race downstairs. You let out a little chuckle as you felt a warmth of love for her. No matter how old she gets, some things never change at least. You can only hope your little girl gets this excited about cookie dough after high school too.
Rarity taps her foot impatiently to draw your attention back to her. You clear your throat as you rock yourself up to your feet, standing up to your full height a few inches above hers. "So, did you want to talk about something more than the presents?"
She looks away for a moment, her expression shooting a pang of worry into your gut. "I did, actually. Would it be much of a trouble to do this outside? May not be appropriate for the girls to hear, if they do."
"Uh... is it something serious, Rares?" you ask, putting a comforting hand on her lower back.
She gives you a tired smile and shakes her head. "No, no... nothing like that. I'd rather not get any odd questions from Aria or Sonata, if I can help it."
"Sure, let's go," you say, trying to keep the uneasiness out of your voice.
You take a little time to get on something other than a t-shirt and underwear, listening to Rarity's giggles in the background at your fashion choices with some playful banter. Through your usual playful conversation you notice a tinge of concern in her voice. Definitely seems like she has something on her mind, and things get quiet as you both head out the front door together into the chill of the winter sunrise.
A long, deep breath of the cold air fills your lungs as you make your way over to her sleek black car. You slap a hand on the trunk before looking back up to Rarity with a grin. "I hope Aria didn't find these."
"She did not, as far as I can tell. I still don't quite get why you had to hide them at the boutique though," she says, cautiously adopting your grin as well.
"Rarity, if you had to deal with her the last two Christmases you'd know exactly why. As soon as she caught me handling 'early' presents from Santa she's been raiding every part of the house she could find to get to them early."
Rarity lets off an amused grimace at the thought. "Ah, now I certainly can see why."
"I'm still finding bits of wallpaper she tore up in the living room. She's a little sneakier about it now but I don't think I would've hidden it from her otherwise."
A soft nod is Rarity's only response as she traces your hand down to the trunk of her car. You can tell she's uneasy as she holds her hands together in front of her and sways slightly. You take in a long, deep breath, hoping this isn't something serious. Judging by her pursing lips and nervous glances, it's not going to be a fun conversation. Time to bite the bullet; you clear your throat to get her attention and start.
"So, what's on your mind, Rares?"
She gives you a soft smile for a moment at the nickname before her eyes trace back down to the concrete. "Well... my parents won't be spending the holidays in town."
You raise an eyebrow. "You know you're always welcome to come by tomorrow after... you know, anyone else you need to spend it with."
"Sweetie Belle has her own plans and I don't really want to intrude on anyone else's," she says, uneasiness still on her face.
"What's the issue? You can come over here early if you really want." You look her over for a moment, wondering what exactly is eating at her as she still nervously sways in place.
She takes in a deep breath of her own and lets it out with a sigh. "How long have we been dating now?"
"Uh..." you look up into the sky, counting the wonderful dates you've been on so far. "Five or six weeks, I'd guess. What's that got to do with Christmas?"
Rarity almost lets out a little huff of frustration, but looks back into your eyes with an almost pleading look. "And it's been a wonderful time, darling, please don't get me wrong, but..."
"But?" you ask, taking a step closer to her.
"Buuut... we've yet to... I've yet to... you know." She leans in close to give you an exaggerated whisper. "Stay the night."
Your breath catches in your throat at the realization. You have to look away from those concerned diamond eyes for a moment to try to handle the sudden pit in your stomach as well. Your mouth opens and closes a few times to try to give her an explanation, but none of the convenient ones seem to want to come out anymore.
"Is... is there something wrong with me?" Rarity asks, a deep sadness in her eyes. "I know I'm not exactly model material any longer but I thought we'd, well you know... that things wouldn't be so slow with us being together."
You clench your eyes shut and shake your head, finally managing to look Rarity in the eye. "Please, don't think that. You're the most beautiful woman in the state, the country, the world even... by far."
Rarity takes a step forward, letting her hips rest up against your as her hands find their way to your back and she gives you those big, puppy dog eyes she had to have picked up from Fluttershy. "Then what could it be? Is this not working out for you?"
"No, no, it's nothing like that."
She gives you a light squeeze as your eyes drift away to jerk your attention back. "Then what is it, darling? I can respect the deep, mysterious act but eventually our lives have to be more connected than they are now."
You give her a shallow nod. You try to push the memory of Cheerilee out of your mind, but the sting from that night still somehow left a wound that didn't seem to want to heal. Even as you let your arms fall around Rarity's torso, something still feels wrong inside you. As much as you want to give her everything she wants, something inside you flooded you with guilt and apprehension every time this topic would come up.
You finally snap yourself out of it and look back down to her before you leave her waiting too long. "I will, Rarity. I just... Let's just..."
"Daaaad!" you hear Aria yell from the front door. Both of you wince and instinctively take a step back from each other before facing her. "Adagio won't share the cookie dough! She told me you said I wasn't allowed to have any yet but I know she's lying!"
You let out a soft chuckle and shake your head. "I'll be right there, honey. Just wait on the stool until I get back alright?"
Aria lets out a frustrated groan, then stomps back inside once she doesn't immediately get her way. Rarity crosses her arms over her chest with an amused grin. "Never a dull moment with that one, is there?"
"You know better than most now," you say, doing your best to share her smile. An awkward silence hangs in the air for a moment, both of you knowing you had to resolve things before you could move. With a sudden burst of bravery, you push past the apprehension building up in your gut and pull Rarity into a light hug. "Tonight."
"Hmm?" she lets off as she nuzzles herself into your shoulder.
"You should stay over tonight," you say as you lean back to look down into her eyes. You can't help but smile as you see the excitement light up her face.
"Really? Tonight? Oh, that's wonderful!" In her excitement, Rarity leans up to steal a kiss, but you instinctively pull away and look back over to the door. Once you see it's all clear, you lean down to plant that kiss on Rarity's lips, though you can feel the passion immediately dry out and it's only you that's doing the kissing. You lean back to see an angered glare pointed up at you. "That's something we need to talk about as well."
"Look, I'm sorry, but..."
"You haven't told your daughters yet," she says with a deadpan expression before rolling her eyes. "You can't keep this a secret forever, especially if I end up staying the night."
"I know, I know. I mean, Adagio knows at least. She's smart enough to see through anything I give her, but..."
Rarity shakes her head and lets out a sigh. "Aria has enough problems as it is, dear. Do you really think her not being able to trust you once she finds out is something else you need to add to the list?"
Your breath catches in your throat and suddenly you can't bring yourself to look Rarity in the eye. This definitely wouldn't be the worst lie you've told her. You gulp and do your best to steel your resolve before looking back over to her. "Look, she's just... well you know what happened with Cheerilee. Aria isn't going to take it well and I don't want to make things harder for her."
"Your misguided—agh..." Rarity takes a step away from you, doing her best to temper her frustrations with a shake of your head and a clench of her fists. "We can deal with this after Christmas, I suppose, but I can't sneak around with you about this. I'd like to be a proper part of your family if we're going to get more serious," she says with an overdramatic stance and crossing her arms over her chest. You almost want to laugh, considering how normal that is for her, but now's definitely not the time.
"I'd like that too. We'll deal with it soon, I promise."
"Well I certainly hope so." She taps her foot a few times on the concrete before finally letting go of her stern expression. She nods her head over to the front door as she uncrosses her arms. "Let's get back inside before we face a fully-fledged cookie crisis."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."
"Hey! Why are you messing with my ornaments?" you hear Aria scold from the living room. Sonata gives her a quick glare before returning to her self-appointed job of straightening the ornaments you told Aria to put up.
You let out a tired sigh and lean up against the wall between the kitchen and the living room, crossing your arms and waiting for the show. Playing referee is as good as an excuse as any to get out of cooking with Rarity and Adagio. With the dough and flour caking your hands and the batter splashed up against your apron, you have plenty of evidence that it has gone on for too long already.
Aria clenches her fists and grimaces at Sonata before starting again. "So? Why are you messing up my hard work?"
"Cause you didn't do it right," Sonata says matter-of-factly before turning back to adjust another ornament.
"What? I did everything fine. Dad said it looked good."
"Well daddy didn't look hard enough."
Aria's eye twitches in frustration, but glances over to you before she acts on it. "They look fine to me."
"They're all crooked! You just threw them in the tree without hanging them on the branches. Look, the gold part is supposed to face upwards and the little toys need to be this way up!"
Aria crosses her arms and scrunches her face. "That's always how I've done it. Nobody complained about it before, so just leave them alone, doofus."
"No you're the doofus! Miss Rari is going to be mad if she sees the tree all messed up. We need to make it better!" Sonata shot back with a glare of her own.
The tamed arguing of your girls slowly fades into the background as you feel a hand slide its way across your shoulder. You look over to see Rarity in the same mess you left her in—little bits of batter clung to her cheeks and splattered against her apron, but at least she tied her hair up before there were any disasters there.
"Anything urgent, dear?" she asks with a loving smile as she leans up against you.
You shrug and look back over to the girls as they exchange their frustrations. "Nothing too serious yet. Sonata seems like she wants to impress you."
"I will admit the tree looks a lot less... disorganized now. Maybe we should've put Aria on a less delicate job."
"She asks to do it every year. Her and Sunset always put the ornaments on the tree while I handled Sonata, so I don't want to be the one to tell her no," you say.
Rarity puts a hand over her mouth and looks over at Aria to adopt a more sympathetic expression. "Oh... oh that poor dear. I suppose it's a good thing then. I can't imagine what it must be like spending the holiday without her like this if they spent so much time together."
Your eyes trace down to the floor. "Yeah... Sunset always had a way with her that kept her out of trouble. She's the only one that could ever brighten her mood to the point where she's actually nice to Sonata once in a while."
Rarity leans in closer to you, letting her hand slip off your shoulder and loop under your arm with a sweet snuggle. "Hopefully we can make this year just as good for them." A moment of silence hangs in the air before you feel Rarity nudge you. You look over to see a curious look in her eye. "Have you ever considered therapy for them? I know Adagio is handling it well, but maybe Aria's behavioral problems from dealing with her mother's death could be rectified by a more professional touch?"
Your breath catches in your throat at that. You want to tell her that you haven't broken that news yet, but all that your mouth can manage is opening and closing a few times. Rarity gives you a raised eyebrow at the sudden silence, but thankfully Sonata comes in to save the day by running over to Rarity with her arms outstretched.
"Rari! Rari! Can I put this ornament on the tree?" she says, a little, painted piece of cardboard in her hands. A flash of panic sparks in your gut when you look over to see the glued construction paper and glitter all over it and you can't help but wince at the thought of what her room looks like now.
"Oh...? Why are you asking me instead of your father, darling?" Rarity's shocked expression softens into a surprised smile as she leans down to get closer to your daughter.
"Cause daddy isn't good with colors like you are," Sonata says, not a hint of awareness in her voice.
Rarity breaks away to give you a quick smirk before looking back down to her. "Well that's very thoughtful, dear, but I'm not sure if I'm the one to tell you if you can or not."
Sonata's face scrunches up in confusion for a moment. "Huh? But you're our new mommy aren't you?"
Rarity has to blink a few times at that one. You want to let out a quick chuckle of amusement, but out of the corner of your eye you catch Aria's hair flying through the air as she jerks her head over. Your heart sinks once you see the look on her face. She wasn't far enough away to miss what Sonata said, so her expression immediately turns to an intense anger at her sister, but when she glances over to Rarity, that anger suddenly turns to fear. You almost go over and hug her right there as the gentle sadness seizes her and she looks more and more scared and confused. Before you can manage to do anything about it, Aria jogs out of the room and up the stairs, creating another problem you've been trying to avoid for months.
"Oh... well, that certainly is what I'd like to be if I can. You know what? Absolutely, darling. You put that ornament wherever you'd like."
Sonata's face immediately lights up like you just gave her a plate full of cookies. "Yay! It's gonna look super good where I want to put it, I promise!" she says as she lunges forward to give Rarity a heartfelt hug. Rarity blinks a few times yet again in surprise before she wraps her arms around your daughter as well, nuzzling in to return the sweet gesture.
"I haven't a doubt in my mind, Sonata."
Sonata scurries off over to the tree, her excitement knowing no bounds. You, however, didn't feel so upbeat. You tap your foot on the ground and grind your teeth as you think about how you're going to handle all this with Aria. Your first thought is to tell her that's not what's going on, but more lies aren't going to help if Rarity is going to keep being around as much as she is. You let out a frustrated sigh and shake your head.
Rarity on the other hand doesn't seem so worried. You can't help but smile at the sappy grin on her face as she lovingly gazes over to Sonata. As she puts her hand over her mouth, you can almost see tears starting to well up in her eyes.
"You alright?" you ask.
Rarity gives a quick clear of her throat before looking over to you. "Um... yes, yes of course. I just... I, well... I never really thought I'd get to feel that. You spend so much time focusing on one thing and you forget the beauty in a life like this."
You do your best to keep the negative emotions with Aria away for a moment to let her enjoy this. As much as you don't want to worry your girls with a new relationship, you can't help but want more and more moments like these. A pang of guilt hits you at the thought though and you have to clear your throat right back.
"Yeah... well, I'd definitely want you to have more of this... if you'd like. We can, uh... we'll figure it out." You let an awkward silence hang in the air for a moment before looking back over to her. "Why don't you help Sonata with the organizing? I'll help Adagio finish up in the kitchen."
Rarity only gives you a nod before barely containing an excited skip over to your daughter. You do your best to smile for both of them, but it can't manage to stay on your face very long. As much as you want the girls to grow up with a loving mother in their lives, you can't shake the sinking feeling you get when you see them interact like that. You have to clench your eyes shut for a moment and fight with yourself against the irrational sensation, but it really doesn't seem to want to go away. Your eyes trace down to the floor; you know exactly what this is about, but the last thing you want to do is make Christmas depressing for everyone else as well. With a quick huff you turn and make your way into the kitchen.
The wonderful smell of freshly-baked snickerdoodles fills the air and the sight of Adagio happily kneading at more of the dough managed to lift your spirits. You do her the favor of checking the ones still in the oven, then lean over on the counter, pensively glance over at her as you try to formulate your words.
"Something up, dad?" Adagio asks, snapping you out of your trance as she looks over at you with a raised eyebrow. You let off a smile; not getting anything past her.
"Yeah, something is kind of up. I know I haven't really been up front with you about things, but I figure you're old enough at this point that you kind of know."
Her expression grows a little more apprehensive and she tilts her head. "About what?"
"That Rarity and I are—"
"Dating?" she finishes for you. She gives you a knowing smile. "Yeah, I figured that one out pretty quick. You know I can see you two kissing in the driveway, right?"
You have to blink a few times in shock at that one. Apparently you weren't as sneaky as you thought. "Well, couldn't hide it forever..." you let the air grow tense with silence for a moment as your expression hardens. "Are you going to be alright with that?"
Adagio casts a glance down to the floor for a moment before looking back up to you with a pensive nod. "I... I think so. I mean if someone was going to replace mom, it might as well be her best friend, right?"
"No one is replacing her," you say, both you and Adagio wincing at how intensely you said that. "I mean, that's not what I'm trying to do, but... you're just thirteen, Adagio; you can't be what Sunset was for our family."
Adagio's eyes trace around the room for a moment, her expression turning somber. She finally looks up to you with apprehension in her eyes. "So someone needs to be?"
"Maybe. I don't want you to spend your youth having to help me raise your sisters, Adagio, but I also don't want you spending it hating whoever else becomes a part of the family."
Adagio raises an eyebrow. "So... it might not be Rarity?"
You shake your head. "Of course it's Rarity. I'm just making things clear. She's going to be staying the night to night and I'd rather not have any of those shenanigans you pulled with Cheerilee."
Adagio adopts an amused smile and puts her hands in the air innocently. "Alright, I promise. I mean, I've known for a while and... well, I think it's okay as long as it's Aunt Rarity."
"Good."
Adagio clears her throat and taps her finger on the cutting board a few times. "This is... uh... weird Christmas conversation, don't you think?"
You take in a deep breath before adopting your stern expression again. "I'm also going to need your help."
"Oh? With what?"
"If Rarity is over here more, I have to tell Aria what happened with your mother," you say, your tone dropping low and serious.
Adagio looks away again, biting her lip as her mind seemingly plays out how that one is going to go. "I... I'm not sure if I can help with that one."
"I'll be the one to tell her. I just need you to help me make sure she... well, make sure she doesn't freak out too badly. Just do what you can to make sure she has someone there for her. I'm sure she's not going to be the happiest with me for a while."
Adagio gives you a solemn nod before looking back to the dough before her. You do your best to change the mood with a bright smile as you turn around and grab the oven door. "Well, enough of that—let's get back to these cookies."
The shower of blisteringly-cold shards sprays across your face. You can barely see as the force from the impact knocks you back and you have to stumble behind one of the lawn chairs. Blinking barely clears your vision enough to see Adagio cowering behind a nearby chair as well.
"This is going well," she says, trying to brush off some of the snow clinging to her blue jacket.
You wipe the rest from your face with a grimace as the melted snow clings to your face in little freezing droplets. "I assume we're not winning."
A blast of snow sprays across the top of the chair Adagio is hiding behind, making her wince and duck down even further. "Yeah I think that'd be a safe assumption to make."
You dare to peak out of your hiding spot and toss a snowball of your own at your aggressors. To your dismay, the projectile only glances off of Aria's jacket before she can lob another one directly at you. You only barely manage to duck back behind the chair as another snowball crashes against the back and sprays you with snow as well.
As much as you're getting thrashed, you can't help but let a warm feeling fill your chest. Every time you dare to look over the top you can see the wide smile on Aria's face as she grabs more ammo from Sonata. Gleeful violence isn't exactly your first choice for family activities, but seeing Aria and Sonata working together and having this much fun with each other makes you feel like things are actually going to be alright. Just have to find the right activities and they can act like they actually like each other.
You wince as another peak earns you a quick blast of snow down your neck. Maybe not the best time for fatherly appreciation. "I think we may need a different strategy," you tell Adagio as you tug on your collar to try to shake out the frozen specs.
Adagio ducks, just barely avoiding another spray of snow. "You think?"
"Got any ideas?"
Adagio purses her lips for a moment before thoughtfully shooting glares between Aria and the snow beneath her. "I think I have one. I saw it in a movie once." Her hands shoot up to her zipper and she pulls off her jacket, leaving you with a raised eyebrow. Before you can ask any questions, she hands it over to you. "Here, take this. When I give the signal, toss it up into the air and let's both run out to the right," she says as her hands move down to scrape up some more snow to build your arsenal.
"You really think that'll work?"
Adagio shrugs. "Maybe. I saw it in a movie once and it worked pretty well for them."
Before you can question her about the kind of movies she's been watching, she hands you a half dozen packed balls of snow and gives you an expectant look. You give her a nod in return, then ready her jacket for throwing. With a sharp "now!" Adagio readies a snowball. You toss her jacket into the air and watch as Aria's eyes reflexively move toward it, her hand following with another harsh blast of snow. Out of the corner of your eye you see the jacket get nailed—Aria's throwing arm is a force to be reckoned with—but your daughters don't stand a chance as you both run off in the other direction, pelting them with snow as you go.
Aria can barely manage to get a hand up before her entire front half is coated in white powder. Sonata lets out a mighty shriek and quickly abandons her sister in the torrent, like a frightened sailor jumping ship at the beginning of an attack. Without her loader, Aria is left defenseless as she scrambles to ball up some snow before she gets buried completely.
Just as you think you've finally gotten the upper hand, Sonata runs in from the side and shovels an armful of snow she scooped up directly at Adagio. The distraction gives Aria enough time to bolster her reserves, and you pay for looking away with a light smack of snow exploding on your chest. Chaos erupts on the battlefield as you all scramble out in the open for more snowballs and toss them at each other, so much so you don't even notice when Rarity opens the door to call out to everyone.
"The last of the cookies are ready if you'd like to—" her eyes go wide as the errant snowball you threw a little too hard splatters against her bare chest. Even though she brought a massive fur coat this morning, her top now left her chest a little more open. You have to wince for her sake as you see her instinctively bring both her hands up to try to wipe away the freezing drops before they melt down her bra. The girls don't seem to share your grimace as Rarity does her little dance, especially Aria who is cracking up at the sight.
"Let's go ahead and get inside before we have any more incidents," you say, still grimacing as you walk over to Rarity to assess the damage.
Aria lets out another chuckle. "That one's on you, dad."
You nod and put a hand on Aria's back to lead her inside. "It is, so let's go inside before I get in any more trouble."
You usher the girls inside and can't help but wince as Rarity gives you a harsh glare. A laugh manages to make it through your lips as she turns her attention back to her freezing chest. "Come on, it's not that cold."
"Do not presume that I'll forget about this, dear. I'll have you know I picked up a thing or two from Rainbow and Pinkie and their incessant pranking," she says, point a stern finger at you.
You rub the back of your neck with a sheepish grin. "Well, how about I plan something special for New Years and we leave the pranks for April?"
"Hmm... I suppose I can take a bribe," she says, wiping her chest off one last time with a shiver.
"Well good. You alright at least?"
She gives you a wave of her hand and ushers you back inside yourself, trading the harsh cold for the warm indoors. "I suppose. Just a little... perkier than usual. Are you ready to open presents with the girls?"
You do one last shake in the doorway to get the snow off of you, then slip out of your jacket as you shut the door behind you. "Yeah. Did you want to give them something tonight too?"
A warm smile comes over Rarity's face. "Oh, of course. Though, I'm still not certain why you do it like this. Our family just did everything on Christmas day."
"Well, Sunset and I didn't want the holiday to be nothing but opening presents from Santa, so we make sure everyone's giving something at least, even if the things the girls give each other aren't always... the best."
Rarity's face quickly turns half-amused and half-horrified. "Should I even ask?"
"Well the least concerning present was a dead mouse Aria gave me two years ago. Might be better to leave it at that."
Rarity shakes her head. "Yes, lets. I'll get the hot chocolate, darling."
You finally shake off the cold and settle in on the couch, doing your best not to laugh as Aria and Sonata shake their gifts and guess their contents. Adagio is settled in beside you, but you can see her eyeing the two boxes for her under the tree as well. Twice as many this year thanks to Rarity, and you can see already that the girls are more excited because of it. Your eyes trace over to the pile of gifts the girls had made. A couple of pieces of paper and a handful of tiny boxes sat on the fireplace, and you're thankful none of them look big enough to contain any pranks this year, at least you hoped so.
Rarity walks back into the room with a smile and five steaming cups of cocoa. Adagio happily takes hers, but since Rarity can't manage to break Aria and Sonata out of their guessing match she just sets the cups on the fireplace beside them. Once she's settled in beside you sipping on her own mug, you snap the girls back to attention so you can actually start.
"Why don't you guys exchange gifts first?" you say, nodding over to the pile of things on the fireplace.
Adagio leaps up and picks up hers first, handing a fabric bow her and Rarity made over to Sonata and a pair of fingerless biker gloves to her sister, no doubt something they'd play with later. Aria reluctantly hands over some cardboard weapons she made out of an old box, and Sonata was quick to hand out her drawings to her sisters. You give them the go-ahead to tear into their own presents and sit back with Rarity to enjoy the smiles and surprises. Before they ran off upstairs though, you stopped them and reminded them they had to give back to both of you as well.
Rarity raises an eyebrow at that. "Oh, us as well then?"
"Yeah, it's about giving to all of your family, right girls?" Sonata and Adagio give you a nod, but Aria looks away with a huff.
Some nice necklaces from Sonata and a couple of interesting books Adagio picked out of the discount bin later, Aria hands you a whittled little spear that elicits a bit of concern as to how she managed to sharpen it and what she might've done with her wooden shank had she not given it to you, but something more concerning comes up. Instead of handing anything to Rarity, she turns away and crosses her arms. You furrow your brow immediately as you can feel some attitude coming on.
"Aria? Did you make something for Rarity too?" you say, your voice getting a little sterner.
Aria gives you a harsh glance before looking away again. "No..."
"And why not?"
She gives you another huff before taking a step away. "This is supposed to be for family! She's not family."
Rarity has to blink a few times in surprise at that, making you a little bit angrier. "Aria, she's been a big part of this family for a long time. I know you remember how often she was there with your mother before."
Aria's huffs turn into a growl. "And she's not mom! She's not gonna be our mom. When mom comes back what is she gonna think about her being around so much? She's gonna think you're replacing her! She's not family and she shouldn't be here!"
"Aria!" you say, raising your voice high enough to make the other girls wince.
Rarity wraps both of her hands around your arm to cool you down, earning an even harsher scowl from Aria. "Dear, it's quite alright. If she doesn't want to partake that's certainly fine by me."
You open your mouth to start laying down the law, but Rarity squeezes your arm again and you let out a sigh instead. "Alright. We can deal with this later."
Aria lets out another grunt and instead of accepting her victory, she decides to storm off up to her room instead. You have to blink a few times in surprise as well, knowing that she just left all of her presents down here. You feel a pang of guilt hit you before you can let out your own frustrated grunt. You look over to Rarity, whose expression is oscillating between concern and a tinge of shock as she looks you over and processes what she just heard. The guilt just grows worse as the mess you made piles on and you can finally feel just how much it's affecting Aria. You grind your teeth for a moment as you try to think through the silence of your living room.
Rarity cuts through the silence and finally looks away from you to put a smile on her face for the girls. Both of your daughters are still uneasy at the display, but the tension finally eases once Rarity moves over to them. "So, girls. Would you like to put some cookies out for Santa? I have a few left over for you as well if you'd like."
Sonata's face immediately lights up and she completely forgets about the display as she shoots her arms into the air and yells her glee into the room. Adagio is a little slower to ease up and you both exchange a few concerned looks. Once Rarity gets up off the couch though, they both follow her into the kitchen and things seem to go back to normal, at least for now.
Your head hits the pillow and you immediately close your eyes. This was one of the most exhausting Christmas Eve's you've had so far and for all the wrong reasons. You take a little delight in the cookies sitting in your stomach and the decent memories you made today, but a sinking feeling refuses to let go of your stomach. You open your eyes again to see Rarity walking out of your bathroom in one of her silk bathrobes, looking confused and concerned all at the same time. Not exactly how you want to end the night.
Finally her eyes focus on you, and you can already tell what this is about from the slight irritation in her gaze. "So... I suppose I must ask why exactly you haven't told Aria where her mother is. As I recall you brought her to the funeral, did you not?"
You let out a disappointed sigh and let your eyes fall away from her. "I did, but... her and Sonata were too young to understand. When they asked I just told them that it was a kind of... going away party, I guess. I never had the heart to tell them," you say, awkwardly fidgeting your hands together and avoiding her gaze.
Her eyebrows furrow. "Darling, it's been over four years now. You can't hide the truth from them forever."
"I know, alright," you say, a little more frustration in your voice than you would've liked. Rarity takes a step back, looking hurt for a moment before she steels her gaze and walks over to the bed.
"With all the trouble that poor girl is going through, don't you think it might be because she thinks her mother abandoned her? That she might be acting out because of a void she's never processed?" Rarity says, her voice stern.
You sit upright in the bed and turn towards the wall. Another sigh escapes your lips and you shake your head, trying to ignore the growing pang of guilt at that possibility. "I don't know. She's always been kind of... difficult. I guess it's gotten worse since then but..." you look back over at Rarity. "How am I supposed to tell her that her mom's never coming back? How am I supposed to put that hurt on her and feel okay about everything?"
Rarity's expression becomes even more irritated. "I'm quite surprised that you feel okay about this at all. You've lied to her and Sonata for years now. How is that okay?"
You just shake your head and look away. "I don't know," you let out in a defeated tone.
The sudden silence sends a spike of anxiety through your system and you almost expect her to start yelling at you. Instead, Rarity eases herself down onto the bed beside you and runs a comforting hand up your shoulder, her eyes softening into concern.
"She deserves to know, don't you think? The poor girl won't get anywhere until she can start grieving and accepting things properly. Put yourself in her shoes, dear. How would you feel if you thought Sunset just disappeared one day without a trace?"
You have to blink a few times at the prospect. Your heart sinks just imagining her disappearing one day without a trace, never telling you where she went or if she was coming back. Your stomach twists at the imagined emotion and guilt overwhelms you as you realize what you're actually doing to your daughter.
"I... I... I just..." you let out a frustrated grunt and let your forehead fall into your hand. "I didn't want her to have to feel the pain I felt. The pain we felt. Losing her... it almost broke me. I couldn't put that on her knowing what she'd feel like."
You feel a gentle kiss on your shoulder before Rarity rests her cheek up against you. The warm gesture eases the growing pain and guilt building inside you, but not by much. "You know, I may not have experienced her loss quite in the same way as you, but I know the hurt just the same." She settles against you and lets out a slow sigh. "I suppose I can understand, but Aria is going to have to go through this eventually, don't you think? How long could you really hide this from her?"
You shake your head. "You're definitely right. I should've done this a long time ago. I'm just... I don't know. I don't want to see how badly it would go, but each day I wait it just seems to get worse." You pinch the bridge of your nose and let out a frustrated sigh. "Probably shouldn't have dug this hole for myself in the first place, huh?"
"You probably shouldn't have, no. The only thing you can do now is the right thing, darling. Soon."
You give her a solemn nod. "Yeah. Before her birthday for sure."
You almost have to laugh once you look over and see that cross look and her glaring eyes. You put your hands up with a quick chuckle instead. "Alright, alright. Soon, I promise."
Rarity lets out a quick huff and shakes her head. "Well, it's a small reassurance at the very least. I know it'll be for the best. Now..."
Before you know what's going on, Rarity shifts onto her knees, her hands sliding down to the knot holding her bathrobe closed. "Why don't we do away with the more serious conversation and enjoy Christmas ourselves, hmm?"
You smile and lean in until your lips are just barely touching, enjoying the sudden warmth that being so close affords. "I thought you'd never ask."