//------------------------------// // Chapter X // Story: Family Trip // by TheKing2001 //------------------------------// Cheerilee I leaned against the railing of the boat as Sunset took some pictures on her phone of the Falls. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” I asked as Cherry put a poncho on. I already put mine on a long time ago. “It is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this,” Sunset admitted as she pulled me and Cherry Berry next to her. “Selfie time!” We made various faces, smiling and funny faces as Sunset took multiple pictures and sent them to us both. I smirked as the Falls closer and nudged my older sister as we both pulled the hoods up on our head. Sunset somehow remained oblivious as she posted the pictures and put her phone back in the pocket as she got sprayed and her eyes shot open. “Cold!” Sunset shouted as we all burst out laughing and she shivered. “Oh, I’m so getting you two back. Next time you’re in the shower Mom, I’m flushing the toilet so you got cold water.” “You would seriously risk seeing me without clothes just to get revenge?” I asked with a grin. Inside, I was terrified. Sunset took her revenge pranks seriously, not as much as Vinyl or Rainbow but still, she didn’t mess around. “Yes. I’ve seen you without clothes on before.” I turned bright red as the boat slowly started turning around to go back to the docks. That had been the most embarrassing moment for us both. I was scarred for life, I was just getting out of the shower and boom, Sunset accidentally walked in. At least that’s the only thing she walked in on. Just because I don’t have a partner by choice doesn’t mean I don’t entertain myself. Only when my daughters are gone of course. Who needs a partner when I have a hand and other items? “I got a whistle!” Ruby exclaimed as she held up a wooden whistle and blew it. It sounded similar to the horn of the boat we were on. “Me too,” Scootaloo said with a sheepish smile and held hers up. Apparently, my other sister had gotten us all whistles. I felt mine in my dress pocket and smirked as we all got off the boat. We had already gone to the Theodore Roosevelt Site earlier in the day and were going to the hotel first before we went to the hockey game tonight. We all surprisingly loved the sport, including Diamond Tiara. It may be a violent sport at times with the fighting, but it was entertaining and had something for everyone. I always did admire the people who could skate. I made a mental note to take my daughters skating this December. “Can you believe it’s almost been a year since you adopted me?” Sunset asked as we continued walking to my car. “Crazy to think about.” “Two more weeks and it’ll be a year,” I said and smiled sadly. “Wish I did that years ago. We could have helped each other a lot.” “Hey,” Sunset said and wrapped an arm around my waist. “At least it happened, right? We can go catch a movie and have dinner, the two of us.” “Deal.” I sat down on my bed and untied my shoes, neatly placing them next to each other. Scootaloo, on the other hand just tossed her shoes next to her suitcase. “Sorry,” Scootaloo sighed before I could even voice my disapproval as Scootaloo picked them. We had returned about ten minutes ago from the game and it went surprisingly well. I was perfectly okay if either team won. Benefits of liking both the Red Wings and the Sabres. “So the adoption anniversary of Sunset living with you is coming up I hear. Happy for you two.” “Yeah. It’ll have been a year. Crazy to think about,” I sighed as I placed some pajama pants and top on the bed. “Can you uh, turn away please?” Scootaloo gave a nod and looked away as I stripped dress and bra off, tucking them in the used section of my suitcase. I pulled off my underwear and put a new pair on as I pulled a shirt on followed by my pajama pants. “You can look now, I’m decent,” I called out as the younger girl looked back. “You know, Sunset views you as her hero,” Scootaloo said casually and smirked at me. “I don’t know why,” I admitted as I laid under my blanket. “I’m just a normal woman. Sunset is a element of harmony, fought a bug and saved me from being a slave, saved the school and more.” “Yeah but you saved her life,” Scootaloo pointed out as she folded her arms. “None of that would happened if you didn’t find her in the bush. And you represent an element of harmony too, remember? You represent love I think Sunset said it was.” “Yeah, that’s the one.” “Uh huh. That’s precisely why Sunset views you as her hero. If you think about it, none of Sunset’s friends would be her friend if it wasn’t for you. Lyra wouldn’t, Bon Bon wouldn’t and Derpy wouldn’t be her girlfriend. I wouldn’t have a true family. You’re the starting point of everything,” Scootaloo explained as I yawned quietly. I never thought about it that way. I always viewed Sunset as my hero actually. I also always figured she would have gotten friends on her own too. “So you ready for Sunset graduating in a few months?” Scootaloo asked as I winced. “No, I’m not. I’m not even remotely close to ready to watch her graduate,” I admitted as I wiped my eyes. “Oh great. Didn’t mean to make you cry,” Scootaloo sighed as she shifted on her bed. “Sorry.” “It’s okay. I’m just not ready for that part of her life. It’s scary, really. A part of me knew this day would come but I didn’t anticipate for it to be so soon. I’m super proud of her, of you all really. But I know she has to in order to get into a good college,” I admitted as Scootaloo stood up and walked over to my bed, sliding under the blanket with me. “Can I sleep with you?” I gave a nod as we turned the TV on to finish the toy story movie we started the previous night. I know every mom says she’s the luckiest one, but I think I am the luckiest mom on the planet. I mean, I had four perfect daughters. What more could I want?