Comparing Notes

by Rose Quill

Fireworks

Rainbow Dash was on the sofa and was currently playing some racing game on the living room's big screen. She had to pause it and get up to go close the curtains for the west-facing window wall. The sun was getting low but it was in a perfect spot to shine unto the TV screen and kill her victory streak. As she pulled the curtains closed, she called over to Adagio, who was in the kitchen.

"Dinner ready yet, babe? I'm starving!"

Adagio didn't even miss a beat as she seasoned the meal on the stove. "If you ask one more time, it'll be my fist instead of food in your mouth."

Sunset shook her head but smiled slightly. The dynamic between Adagio and Rainbow was as old as their marriage but just as toothless in regards to the threats. She could see Dashie grin at the remark as she sat back down to her game. The group was once again at the villa, including Rainbow and Adagio. The kitchen was not, however, cramped since it was as big as any other room in the villa. Two members were not even in it at the moment. Twilight and Rainbow had been hesitant and uninterested, respectively in that order.

"I can help," Twilight finally suggested from the other side of the kitchen counter.

"Better not, hun," Sunset gently put it. "We don't want to have to transform to fight off an evil tofu monster...again."

"It was one time!" the bespectacled woman complained.

I looked up from where I was chopping vegetables, my magic floating them into a pot as they were sliced.

"A tofu monster?" I asked. "Do I even want to know?"

"Sounds like my sister Glory's cooking," Sunny smirked, and I laughed. Morning Glory had a habit of testing new recipe ideas without considering the consequences. Not all of the ones I had been present for had been pleasant.

A shared laugh tittered around the kitchen as I looked at Dash and Adagio out of the corner of my eye. They were different from our two, and the relationship dynamic wasnt as odd now that I saw them together. Adagio's gruffness and Dash's cockyness were like looking back in time and the future all at once.

The door to the villla opened and a voice spoke into the silence.

"I smell teriyaki sauce," Midnight sang out, pushing her sunglasses up onto her forehead.

"Twilight botched a tofu recipe she wanted to try and then tried to fix it by powering into her Midnight form," Sunset responded with a chuckle at the recollection. "The burnt tofu may or may not have gained sapience and attempted to take over the silverware drawer."

Sunlight was right behind Midnight and, in turn, closely followed by Aurora. They all looked as hungry as Rainbow Dash obviously was. The boy, however, eagerly hopped to the kitchen with his usual offer of help.

"Anything I can do, ma?" he asked.

"Get some plates," Sunset ordered and then came up to Adagio to check on her veggie burger cooking on the adjacent stovetop. All done. Perfect.

I smiled and leaned into my daughters as they came up and hugged me, Middy stealing a bit of carrot from the pieces that hadn't made it into the sauce just yet.

"You all have fun?" I asked, noting the damp clothing and hair.

"I'd say so," Middy said around the carrot. "Saw a sea turtle laying some eggs in one of the smaller coves."

"I also thought I saw some sort of monkey while we were hiking back along the trail we trained on," Sunlight said as he set the table. "I didn't think there were any sort of mammals on the island."

I may have been working on a vegetable teriyaki, but I caught the nervous cough from my twin and the glance shared between Dash and Adagio.

"Hey!" the other Sunset said quickly. Too quickly, if she was anything like my Sunny. "They're setting up for the fireworks!"

Something tells me that there is a story there, I heard in my mind as my author came up behind me.

This whole trip has been an interesting story so far, and it's only the first day! I replied, checking the taste of the vegetables. Al dente, cooked enough to blend with the sauce well, but not so the nutrients were completely cooked out. I lowered the heat just in time for Adagio to pull a plate over and start to settle the veggie burgers in place on it.

"All right," she said, setting it on the counter next to the other foods, including a potato salad my Sunny had made and hand cut fries by the other one. "Serve yourselves, and Dash, let the girls go first."

"Curse you, sirenbutt," Rainbow stuck her tongue out and continued her game reluctantly in waiting.

Sunset didn't want to think of how Evil George, the monkey spawned by her wife, had managed to hitch a ride onto the island. So she got seated at the nearby dining table after grabbing her own veggie burger straight off the skillet. As the kids got their servings at the counter and the adults followed, she took to the new conversation.

"I was thinking we'd see the fireworks at the resort village," she suggested. A nod of agreement came from her wife. "Besides, I'm sure Oxy can't handle the twins forever, right?"

Adagio's brows flatlined. "They've eaten her alive by now, I'm sure."

"Hey," Rainbow defended their decision to let their kids stay with Oxygen Rush to enjoy a few diving sessions. She finally got her turn to select some fresh food. "They don't bite! Anymore..."

"Isn't DJ Pon-3 going to be playing the pre and post-show music?" Other Sunset asked after taking her spot at the table.

"Only the sickest of beats," Sunlight chuckled as he recalled one of the DJ's favorite lines.

I perked up at the mention of twins and of one of my close friends. I had helped plan the wedding reception for the dj and Octavia.

"Twins?" Sunset asked before popping a fry into her mouth.

"My own little terrors," Dash said, taking a huge bite from her burger.

Well, if nothing else, the appetite is the same. Sunset thought.

"How long untill the show? " Aurora asked. I noted that she and Middy had seated themselves to either side of the son of our doubles.

Interesting...

"Ten o' clock," Adagio answered. "They do it at the same time every year. It's always dark enough by then. It'll be best if we get there by 8:30 though, since the good spots start to go after that and they turn out the village lights for better viewing."

Sunlight was a mile ahead, however. He was well over half done and already thinking about what desserts to have at the village grounds. They would doubtless be selling all sorts of cold treats for the warm night, including snowcones, ice cream, and fruit pops. He thought of asking his companions on either side if they liked any such things, but he lost his chance since he had to chew and swallow first.

Sunset was deep into enjoying her meal, while Twilight turned her attention to the children of her opposite version. "Have you girls seen a fireworks show here before?"

Middy shook her head. "We usually come here earlier in the year," she said. "Mother normally gets called for in-service days in July."

"Cost of being assistant dean of the department," I lamented in mock sorrow. I was proud of my accomplishments.

"But we were here one Christmas," Rory spoke up. "The village was filled with lights and decorations that would have made Aunt Rarity swoon. Oh, and the food!"

"Luna's Moon, yes," Midnight moaned. "The funnel cakes, or the roasted honey coated walnuts." The girl closed her eyes with a sigh before turning to the lad sitting there.

"That reminds me," she said, glancing to my twin. "We should tell you something else that happened while we were out before we split up for the trip." She pulled her phone out.

"Or, rather," she amended. "He should tell you."

"Oh?" Twilight turned her attention to her son across the table. "Do tell, Lighty."

He swallowed properly before answering in a sheepish manner. "Well...yeah. When we were out, this thing happened. We were sort of in a group hug, I guess."

Sunset stopped her own meal and turned her eyes to her son as well. Group hug? In the swimming suits?

"I may have kind of sort of ponied up just a little like you can...just a bit..." Sunset almost squeaked it out. He knew how his mothers might react to such a thing and tried to downplay it. After all, he really did only get the horn and a facial mark. He hadn't even been able to use any magic.

"WHAT?!" Twilight stood up from her chair like lightning.

Sunset dropped her burger on her plate with wide eyes.

Midnight held up her phone so Twilight could see the picture she took.

"It was not much and I didn't get to use rainbow lasers or anything. It went away pretty fast," Sunlight held up his hands in defense while Sunset came around to see the image as well.

"Not bad," Sunset gave a much calmer response and a sly grin. His look in the picture seemed a lot like her own form as Daylight. It appeared he took after her, or at least that part of it. And she could only transform with Twilight via their powerful connection. It immediately came to mind that he likely transformed via physical contact with these girls, whom he might have some special connection to.

I looked at Midnight as she tucked her phone away and she caught my gaze, shrinking slightly.

"Midnight..." I started, only to have Sunset put her handd on my shoulder.

"They couldnt force it," she said. "They may have been the instigator, but the magic was his. Remember how I got my wings? The whole thing with the Tree?"

I sighed, remembering the seedling Tree of Harmony in the crystal cave at Camp Everfree. Until we had introduced existing magic to it, it hadnt done much. The girls attended the camp one year and we went to see the tree, finding it almost as majestic as it's Equestrian counterpart.

"The real question is'" she continued, her face taking on the 'Royal Look' as the girls caled it.

"Who did it?"

"I did," Midnight explained without reserve. "I thought I'd try connecting like I can with you two and Rory. He was nervous, so I figured that was the best way."

"Hmm," Twilight shifted her lips about and reseated herself. "I suppose it won't happen unexpectedly if it's triggered in such a manner," she thought out loud and poked at her food. "But this means so much regardless."

Sunset hugged her son from behind as she went back to her own seat to resume eating. "Proud of you," she remarked as she did so.

Sunlight rolled his eyes but knew that his transformation meant a lot to her. She always hoped he could do something with magic and he knew very well how much it tied into her unicorn origins.

"Actually," I said, setting my fork down. "Perhaps not. This is an intermingling of magics of two diverse kinds. Your magic hasnt been seen much after the Games, if I understand correctly, whereas ours has been in almost constant flux. We used to have to do something that embodied our true nature to pony up, now we can at will."

Sunny did so to emphasize the point, and I continued as her wing draped around me.

"Also, our experience at Camp Everfree exposed more powers that we were unaware of," I said, giving the condensed version of the events. "But now we barely need the geodes to access those powers." I levitated my wineglass in demonstration. "It's also why Midnight wears sunglasses as much as she does, her night sight is magically boosted, too much sunlight causes headaches."

"There's also the fact the he replicated parts of the Daydream form," Sunset said, dismissing her wings. "It means that for some reason, it holds a deep connection with him."

I saw Middy twist uncomfortably in her chair, her nervousness about having triggered this written on her face.

"But," I said, glancing at tbe clock. "We only have thirty seven minutes before we must leave. The trip can be accomplished in six and a half minutes, but I would like to sample that snow cone stand we saw when we got here before the show."

I smiled at my eldest and the closest thing I had to a son. "Celestia willing, it'll be ok."

The sun's rays were fading out as the horizon overtook them. Although the sun was setting, it would take some moments thereafter for the afterglow to die down and for the moon to take on the central stage. For now, the shops and streetlights that occupied the Hello Tropics resort village were on to provide necessary lighting to the dying sun. People were all about, getting in the last round of snacks and purchases before grabbing a spot on the beach to watch the show. A thunder of drum and bass vibrated the air as the DJ played a pre-show mix down on the beach.

Thankfully, there was still enough time so that the snow cones stands hadn't gotten their last minute rushes yet. Other Twilight had a complete selection to choose from. Every flavor imaginable was available. Even some less common flavors like mango and kiwi. Rainbow pulled on her wife's hand to drag her in front of the one next to the booth Other Twilight was inspecting.

"Look! Look, Dagi!" the rainbow-haired woman hopped on her sandaled feet. "One of the flavors is rainbow!"

Adagio groaned. "I swear, you do this every single time. They have that flavor every year!"

Ignoring the back and forth, Sunset stood in line at that booth to get a strawberry tangerine for herself. Twilight decided to try something new as well and told her wife to get her the coconut cyclone.

"Hmmm," Sunlight hummed to himself alongside the two girls. They hadn't gotten in a line yet. "I'm thinking of going for one of those real fruit popsicles..."

As he said it, a cheering roar of a crowd could be heard in the distance. Doubtless some sideshow had excited an audience. Until 8:30pm, all the shows and attractions would remain going.

Midnight and I had walked together most of the trip, and I could tell something was eating at her.

"You wanna talk about it?" I asked, pulling her back for a second.

"I can't," she replied. "I got to figure out what it is myself first."

Sunlight stepped away with a popsicle that looked to be a blend of lemon and pomegranate. Rory followed soon after wih a snowcone that matched her hair colors, a look of delight on her face as she tasted the fruity concoction.

"You and Mom ever wonder?" she asked suddenly. "Wonder which side you belonged to? Which form was the real you?"

I looked at her. Goddess, when had she gotten so tall?

"It's always on my mind," she continued. "Equestria. I swear I feel more at home there than here sometimes."

"Your mom is the same way," I said, pulling her into a hug. "She slips into those wings and the crown happily, because to her, it's home. But this is too, the house and the three of us. Anyone else would have made a choice, would believe that they had to make a decision on which side to live in. Sunny didn't. She chose to embrace both worlds, because she decided that she belonged where the ones she loved were."

"We'll always love and support you, my starry night," I said, using a nickname I hadn't in years. "No matter where you decide to stay. Or with whom."

I could tell she was turning those words over in her head as she stepped up to the snack stand.

"Let me get that one right there," she said, pointing to a yellow and pink colored wrapper.

"Badum!" shouted a young girl's voice, which was getting noticeably close to their group. "Beach shark eats you whole!"

"Gaaaah!" an equally young boy's voice responded as he ran from the girl chasing him, her teeth chomping dramatically. "Moooooom!"

Adagio turned with a sigh and instantly braced herself for her son to slam into her in hopes that she would protect him from his twin sister. Bam! Like clockwork.

A woman with a special Hello Tropics staff vest came up behind the kids in a jog. She had clearly been keeping pace with them and, if it had been anyone else, they might have been out of breath. Oxygen Rush was by no means out of shape, though. Her body matched her highly active life at the resort.

"Rar! Rar!" Trance, the female of the twins kept biting at air as Adagio's hand gripped her forehead to keep her at a distance from her terrorized brother.

"Thank you so much for looking after them for a while, Oxy," Adagio said with a heartfelt sincereity she used rarely and only when she really meant it.

"No sweat," Oxygen Rush shrugged, indeed without a bead of sweat on her. The exotic accent of her voice carried with command over the hum-drum of background crowd noise. "Slow day anyways with all the season hires dealing with the summer rush."

"Grrr," Trance growled like a tiger, clearly unconcerned with the fact that sharks did no such thing.

"Cut it out, Trance," Adagio ordered firmly, locking eyes with her daughter.

"Ugh," the girl groaned and rolled her eyes. "Fine," she relented and Adagio released her forehead.

"I win!" Prism Cloud, the male of the twins, exclaimed. He released his mother and hopped to the next dessert booth. "We get something too, right?"

Rainbow assured him with arms cross. "Desserts for everyone, bud!"

"Yeah!" both kids exclaimed in triumph.

The kids, in their obliviousness, clearly hadn't yet noticed the second pair of Shimmers.

Oxygen Rush had moved over to greet the Shimmers but found herself confused, seeing two sets of them. Since Adagio was her co-worker, she felt obliged she come back over to her and explain. At the end of it, Oxygen comically asked and was answered to her relief that there were not currently a second set of Trance and Prism Cloud running about.

Seeing the curiosity of the girls with him, Sunlight felt he might as well introuce them. "Hey, T! C!" he called them over.

Prism Cloud took a moment to pull himself from the dessert menus to come over, but Trance practically teleported to Sunlight.

"Midnight and Aurora," Sunlight began, "meet Trance and Prism Cloud. Aunt Dashie and Dagi's kids."

Without even waiting for a return introduction to know who the two girls were, Prism Cloud greeted and hugged both of them. Any self-awareness on his part was completely absent. In contrast, his sister stuck out her lips and sidled up to Sunlight.

"And who are you again? School transfers?" Trance asked cooly with arms crossed.

"We're just visiting," Rory said. "Our parents know each other so we decided to catch up while here."

That girl can spin a tale quickly, I thought.

I think she gets that from me, Sunny thought back. You know anything about Middy's mood?

I glanced once again at the strange choice in desserts Midnight had chosen.

Some. I thought. Existential stuff, wondering where she belongs, portal wise. And a few other things, but we'll talk about it later tonight.

"Well, you be careful," Trance replied firmly to Aurora. "I've got my eye on you. Both of you. Can't trust nobody 'round these parts."

"Wh-" Midnight started to speak up but Adagio called over to them, thus breaking the line of thought.

"Trance! Cloud!" Adagio shouted. "You're helping me get some things from the ship. Come on!"

Cloud gave a polite "see you later" while Trance gave a knowing look, as if there was some understanding between her and the older girls.

Sunlight felt the need to explain and took Rainbow's signal to follow down to the beach. Since they had their desserts in hand, it seemed the best option. "Sorry about Trance. She's going through this thing where she thinks she's my spyrate bodyguard or something. For a couple of third-graders they both still have a super active imagination," he ended with a giggle.

Twilight grabbed her wife's hand and walked alongside her, shoulders touching as they made a leisurely stroll down to the beach area designated for the fireworks show. They had made it in time for plenty of seating options to be available. Rainbow Dash raced around across the pale sand and between sparse residents to find what she believed to be the best vantage point. The rest of them knew she had accomplished her task when she let the heavy bags under each of her arms drop onto the sand.

The spot was plenty high enough not to get soaked by the gentle waves of the bay upon the shore, but not high enough to be against the village and provide an awkward view. Sunset and Twilight came up to the bags and helped Rainbow unpack them. Setup was easy and, in short order, they had a couple of large beach blankets stretched out along with some camp chairs. Adagio could be seen in the distance, coming back with her kids and the extra throw pillows and various supplies from the Hydro Star.

Perhaps the most important thing was the cooler Adagio was rolling behind herself. It was packed with ice cold water and a few other beverages of choice to keep them hydrated in the warm sea air. Prism Cloud, who had already finished his treat even before the fireworks started, was first to grab a water bottle from it.

Sunlight chose a comfortable spot on the first massive blanket, enjoying the plush cover it gave over the raw sand. Trance threw him a couple pillows and hoarded the rest for herself until Rainbow stole one and started a pillow fight with her daughter. The village lights were starting to dim, however, and DJ Pon-3's mix turned calmer.

I wrapped my arm around Sunset's waist and snuggled in to watch the fireworks. Whoever had rigged them sure knew their stuff, the bursts of light not just blossoming into spheres of light, but some other shapes flew into the night sky as well.

About ten minutes in, a pebble hit me on the shin, and after judging it's trajectory, I saw Aurora's madly grining face looking at me. She tossed her head to the side and I followed her gaze. It took me a moment to puzzle out what had her grinning so widely. She was sitting a little ways away from us and her sister...and Sunlight, oddly enough. Then I smiled as I looked at the two. As the lights flared and burst overhead, I couldn't help but notice that Middy had twined two of her fingers with the boy, the two leaning slightly towards each other as they watched the show.

He had been intimidated by her when they met but, ever since she had "connected" them together, the feeling had been lost. He had never felt anything like that before since even his own magical parents did not have that particular ability. It was as if his heart had been given a familiar understanding of her and thus he saw her more for who she was.
There was something else, though. She twined a few of her fingers with his and he liked the feeling. It was...peaceful. Pleasant. He leaned a bit towards her and she did the same. As the fireworks blossomed and thundered in the sky, he couldn't help but glance sideways to her face everytime an explosion began to die. The fading of the varied colors upon her face, illuminated in the darkness, was beautiful.

Author's Note:

Written to fall on the Fourth of July. We got a little carried away, though. Sorry!

Comments

[The end is nigh]

MidnightxSunlight. ( i ship it )
.....
Tbh the ship in it self sounds like Twi² x Sunset XD
Tho in hindsight it kinda is? but adding another sunset. lol
Great chapter btw. Love this story and can't wait for more chapters!