Canterlot Holiday

by Rose Quill

Gelato

“Hey, Sunshine?” I heard Twilight call from the bathroom.

“Yeah?” I called back, stirring some loose leaf Equestrian tea into the pot of boiling water. I had learned the rule that Sunset had learned for loose leaf tea - one for the pot and one for each person drinking - and added an extra scoop to bring it to the strong, bracing taste that I had come to enjoy as a morning drink over coffee. I set the pot aside to steep and went over to the bathroom door. “Everything ok?”

“Can I borrow some clothes? Mine are smelling a little ripe.”

“Well, you have been wearing them every time you come through,” I said. “I don’t imagine the portal cleans them between trips.” I turned and glanced at the boxes I had brought over containing clothes. “I’ll see what I have, hold on.”

A short search turned up a skirt and a white blouse that fit relatively well but had been a bit long on me. Since the Princess was a little taller than I was, they were probably a better fit for her.

She came out later, fussing with the buttons, her fingers fumbling with the small fasteners. I gave her a hand and then pulled on a denim jacket over the tank top I was wearing.

“Well,” I said, handing her a mug of the tea. “How’s the fit?”

She took a sip of the tea, murmuring in appreciation of the taste. “It’s a little snug around the shoulders, but comfortable,” she said, doing up the last buttons. She glanced down at the skirt. “This, however,” she said, reaching down with one hand to adjust it slightly. “This is a little loose.”

“It’s supposed to be worn with a belt,” I said, nudging a box with my stocking foot. “They’re in there with shoes. I’ll dig them out after we finish breakfast.”

Twilight sipped her tea again and sighed. “This is heavenly,” she said. “I can’t quite put my finger on where I’ve tasted this before, though.”

“I would hope you would recognize it,” I said, smiling.

“It is Princess Celestia’s favorite blend.”

---

I pulled into the parking lot of the doughnut shop. It was mostly empty this time of day, only a few scattered people dropping in for a quick cup of coffee. The interior was much as I remember it, slightly dingy, but in that welcoming way. It reminded me of the comforter on my bed at my parent’s house, a comforting warmth despite its worn edges.

“Welcome to Joe’s,” a voice called out as we entered. “What can we get for you two fine young ladies today?”

I rolled my eyes at the flattery. “An eclair for me, please,” I said, glancing at my counterpart.

“The same, please.”

We sat down after receiving our delicacies and proceeded to enjoy them with some light banter.

“So Sunset tells me you’re interested in learning spells of your own,” she said in a hushed voice. “I don’t know much about the magic on this side of the portal, but you’re welcome to visit the castle any time for lessons. You’ve got the potential for some pretty neat spells, but I can’t teach them here.”

I nodded. “I figured as much,” I sighed. “Even after gaining those powers at the camp, I haven’t been able to learn anything new through self-study.” At least relevant to learning new spells.

“I sense you’re not telling me the full truth,” Twilight said with a smile. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to, now.”

I blushed. Of course she could tell when I was being evasive.

“While we were on the cruise, Sunset and I discovered a, well,” I hesitated, searching for the right word. “Intimate change in the bond that we share.”

“The one where you can sense each other’s emotions?” the princess across from me asked.

“Yes,” I said. “We can share thoughts and mental images. Sometimes without meaning to.”

“That’s interesting,” Twilight said. “I’ve heard of some spells that let ponies link thoughts for a short while, and from our talks with Thorax, we know the Changelings share a minor form of a hive mind. But I’ve never heard of anything like that spontaneously forming.”

“It could be because of how our bond formed,” I said. “It was rather…unconventional.”

“I never heard the whole story,” my counterpart said.

“You heard about my device,” I said nervously. “The one I built to track magical energy?”

“That also absorbed magical energy?”

“The same,” I said. “The first time it absorbed energy from Sunset, it was through the portal. Shortly after that, the portal stopped working. I never did find out why.”

“That may be on my end,” Twilight said. “About the time the Games were going on here I was having an all out duel with Starlight with her tampering with the temporal fabric of Equestria. Multiple times I returned to the present and my castle was gone, only the map table remained.” She tapped her fingers together. “I think at those times neither the mirror nor the book that Sunset and I used to communicate existed.”

I sighed with relief. “I was always worried it was something I’d done,” I said, popping the last of my eclair into my mouth.

Twilight smiled. “When it was my fault for not reaching out to Starlight the right way first. I tried out-magicking her instead of talking to her.”

I chuckled. “Sunset had to wait till I was distracted by Spike to overpower my Midnight form,” I said. “We were pretty evenly matched till then.”

“What made you give up? I remember Sunset when she transformed and the power of the Elements had taken over.”

“It was what she said,” I said, remembering the words, the indecision. “All she said was ‘Take my hand, Twilight. Let me show you there’s another way. Like someone once did for me.’ You had that deep of an effect on her.”

Any reply Twilight would have offered was interrupted by a buzzing sound from my oversized bag. I dug the journal out to find a message from Sunset, telling me that she and her sisters would be coming through the portal in about four hours, allowing time for Glory to sober up a bit.

“Anything you want to do before then?” I asked.

“I hear there are botanical gardens around here. Fancy a stroll?”

I nodded. “And there is a nice gelato stand that works the area. Ever had it?”

She shook her head.

I smiled.

“You’re in for a treat then,” I said.

---

Sitting on a stone block, we enjoyed the gelato we had gotten.

“It’s interesting,” Twilight said. “It’s dense, more dense than even Equestrian ice cream. Incredibly flavorful, too.”

I licked the butterscotch scoop I had, savoring the richness of the treat.

“It’s made with less aeration than traditional ice cream,” I said. “It makes it thicker.”

“Excuse the question,” she said between licks of her own strawberry cone. “But how is it you know all these foods?”

“I tend to seek things like this out now that I have friends,” I said, finished with the gelato and left with the waffle cone. “I want to share things like this with them. And the magic energy tending to burn the calories off isn’t a bad side effect.”

“I wondered why I was always hungrier on this side,” Twilight mused.

“Yeah, ever since the Games we’ve all had healthier than normal appetites.” I smiled. “And now that we all seem to be pairing up, we’re all setting down roots. AJ is helping Dash train for her tryouts, ‘Shy models for Rarity willingly, and Sunset has gotten me into reading more than just research material, even proofing her own stories!”

“I’m having a hard time believing some of those girls are even together,” Twilight said. “I always figured AJ and Rarity would have a closer bond since they have similar backgrounds.”

“Maybe your AJ and Rarity,” I said, smiling. “I tend to forget there are differences between the two at times too. The gowns your Rarity make are more refined, a precise hand, drawn from experience. My Rarity is learning that precision now, and maybe when you all come over for the wedding they can swap tips.”

Twilight smiled at the thought, then sat up. “Are we running late?” she asked.

I glanced at my watch. “No, we’ve still got a half hour to get there.” I stood up, stretching slightly. “We can be there just a little ahead of them if we leave now. I know a shortcut.”

As we walked, I shared the rest of the details about the mental link Sunny and I shared, including the fact she could create dreamscapes, lucid dreams that we could share, though we both had to go into them willingly. We hadn’t just slipped into each other’s dreams by accident.

I also left out some of the activities we shared in those dreams, though it did slip out that we had spent time flying as Pegasi or Alicorns.

“I know what you probably looked like,” She said. “How did she look?”

“My opinion is a little biased, you know,” I said, feeling a blush trying to creep up my neck.

“Humor me,” the Princess of Friendship said.

“Regal,” I said. “It made me feel a little…I don’t know, smaller. But every time I gave her those wings, as soon as she could she cast them off again like they repulsed her somehow.”

“That’s odd,” Twilight said as we approached the school. “She seemed to resent me when she first came in to steal my crown because of the wings.”

“Did she ever tell you why she was so afraid to face Celestia?” I asked quietly.

“No,” she said. “We always tended to avoid the subject.”

“She has a lot of guilt, even now,” I remembered the few times when we first started dating the sleepless nights from wrestling with those inner demons. “I caught a hint of one just after we got back. One of the last things she said to the Princess was a demand that she be made a princess, to stand next to her as an equal.” I looked at her, locking eyes with my twin. “If not her better.”

Twilight’s face twisted with sympathy. “I never knew,” she whispered.

“Don't tell her I told you,” I said. “She’s embarrassed to admit to her doubts even to me, and she doesn’t know I know what she said to the princess.”

“It’s safe with me, Sunshine,” she murmured, patting me on the shoulder.

We rounded the corner to the statue, seeing Sunset standing there with two unknown women with familiar haircuts. The one with purple hair was shrieking.

“What…what is going on?” Glory cried, staring at her hands.

“I know that feeling,” Twilight murmured as we closed in.

“Well,” I said a little louder. “You’re early.”

Sunset turned to me a smiled as we closed the distance.

“You two look nice,” she said. “Did I interrupt a date?”

Author's Note:

And the circle is now closed, linking back up with There's More That's Out There and all that's left now is to link Raison d'Etre up and I think that'll account for all the clues I need to lay.

Comments

[MySisterBroughtMeHere]

Awww! This chapter, and the story, is just so adorable. I especially love it when human Twilight talks a little about her relationship with Sunset.

[BenRG]

I think that Twilight is being unnecessary self-censorious here. Starlight wasn't ready to listen at first; she wouldn't have listened to a word Twilight said because she had already assumed that it was lies or stupidity intended to keep her from the path that she was convinced would make her and everypony else happy. She wasn't ready to even consider listening until she saw the Wasteland.

FWIW, I think that it would have been a nice touch if Twilight had said at that point: "Look around you, Starlight. Look at a world where everypony is equal."

I suspect that the thought- and feeling-sharing might be Sunset's powers. Traditionally in fiction, telepathic characters often form bonds with their loves to the point where there is a little bleed over and merging between the two minds. It strikes me that Sunset might have unconsciously locked onto Sci-Twi, given how important she is to her.

[Rose Quill]

7988918

I agree with you if SciTwi had pushed for more info about Starlight. The portal not working during the Games was the focus of the discussion. I may have a one-off where Starlight has a dream about the wasteland.

Sunset's latent telepathic powers may have linked to SciTwi due to proximity during awakening, but I still like the thought that siphoning Sunset's magic through the portal made it happen sooner.

[ClosetBrony]

I meant to mention in Cruising and am reminded now...

...including the fact she could create dreamscapes, lucid dreams that we could share...

Sunset is a Cylon!

“It is Princess Celestia’s favorite blend.”

images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91UzpMyUUEL._SL1500_.jpg

Kidding aside, I'm guessing English Breakfast or Earl Grey.

Excellent little story. Now I wonder if I should wait for Chaos Theory to complete. I guess I could use On Valentine's Day as mind bleach if needed.

[Tchernobog]

“I always figured AJ and Rarity would have a closer bond since they have similar backgrounds.”

Hisssss!

[NicLove]

What's with the blue dog, and which spike is on her ?

[Nyperold]

8134083 Ember's counterpart, maybe?

[FanOfMostEverything]

Given how the spectrocapacitor was spitting out portals of its own afterwards, I'm fairly certain Sunshine had a hand it the statue getting sealed.

In any case, nice bit of world-building and interaction.

[Rose Quill]

8030741
How did I just now notice this comment?

I'll have you know that my entry to your contest is part of this cannon. No need to hiss.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

“I’m having a hard time believing some of those girls are even together,” Twilight said. “I always figured AJ and Rarity would have a closer bond since they have similar backgrounds.”

That didn't happen in eqg later in which caught me by surprise, especially what happened in rollercoaster of friendship.