Crystal Note - Where life leads us

by TalkingToMyself

Vacation - Part II

Vanhoover was amazing! Sweetie Tooth's eyes nearly fell out of her head from all the things to see. Everywhere she looked, she saw either beautiful old buildings, green parks or the large lake shimmering through the gaps between the houses. Oddly enough, the houses were made of stone and wood and nothing looked like crystal.

Most of all though, there were so many ponies!

She had seen the big market in the Crystal Empire and she had seen the crystal faire when lots of visitors had swarmed the city. However, the number of ponies she just saw outside the train station was easily two or three times as many. She had asked Bonne Voyage if Vanhoover had a festival like the crystal faire as well, but the mare had just laughed and told her that this was in fact a quiet day. Tomorrow, during the weekend, there would be far more ponies in the city.

Sweetie Tooth felt overwhelmed.

She stayed closed to Crystal Note as they made their way through the crowds and streets. Bonne Voyage had decided on the scenic route to her home where they would stay for the weekend. Even though Crystal Note had mentioned an inn she knew, Bonne Voyage wouldn't hear any of it and simply walked ahead, with Velvet Heart close behind.

Her sisters listened as the earth pony told them about the history of monuments and sites they passed, but Sweetie Tooth missed most of it and just stared. She tried to take in as much as she could, but everywhere was bustling, noise, and voices of ponies.

Even the skies were busy with pegasus ponies who flew around either on their own or in small groups.

Sweetie Tooth noticed a number of pegasi pushing clouds around in the sky. When she asked about it, Bonne Voyage called them the 'weather patrol'. They were clearing the sky so tomorrow would be a sunny day. Sweetie Tooth had never heard of ponies making the weather and by the looks of it, neither had Velvet Heart or Glass Slipper.

Only Crystal Note seemed to know what it meant and when Bonne Voyage mentioned her sister-in-law was helping the weather ponies, Sweetie Tooth got excited about meeting a real pegasus pony. So far, she had only seen Flash Sentry of the crystal guard from afar.

As far as she could tell, unicorns and earth ponies seemed equally matched in the city, although the closer they got to Bonne Voyage’s home, the more pegasus ponies she saw as well. Which made sense, even pegasi couldn’t fly all day and had to rest at home.

She saw a lot of colts and fillies as well when they passed a large number of buildings. Bonne Voyage told them that was one the biggest schools in Vanhoover. Although classes were over, many foals of Sweetie Tooth’s age had gathered at the large playground next to the school. Unicorns, earth ponies and pegasus ponies played together and nopony seemed to even care.

Soon enough, they left the centre of the city and made their way closer to the lake. Sweetie Tooth tried to get a better look at it and barely noticed the buildings around her change, until Bonne Voyage pointed ahead and told them they’d finally arrived.

Again, the fillies’ eyes went wide in awe.

They stood in front of one of the strangest houses they had ever seen. First of all, it was four stories tall. In the Crystal Empire, barely any building had more than one upper floor, expect the palace and some of the really old mansions.

The lower two floors were made almost entirely of stone, but the higher they got, more and more wood was used. The highest floor had very large windows compared to the others, bigger than a pony even and soon Sweetie Tooth knew why.

One of the large windows opened and a pony waved down at them, before she just jumped out. Velvet Heart shrieked when she saw the mare fall down, but long before the ground she spread out her pair of wings. The fillies watched as the pegasus mare leaned to her right and glided down in a few easy loops before she landed softly in front of Bonne Voyage. They hugged and soon enough, Crystal Note was drawn into a hug as well by the young pegasus.

Sweetie Tooth noticed that the pegasus mare had to be older than Glass Slipper by a couple of years only. She had the same azure coat as Bonne Voyage, but instead of purple and white, her mane had shades of green

“Sis, come meet our guests! Girls, this is my baby sister, Haute Nuage.”

The pegasus laughed and playfully swatted at her older sister with her wing

“You need to stop introducing me like that, sis. Maybe it was cute when I was a filly, but now it’s embarrassing!”

She laughed more when Bonne Voyage hugged her again and ruffled her mane

“Aw, I know you’re all grown up now, but you’ll always be my cute baby sister to me!”

The three sisters giggled and Sweetie Tooth’s smile stayed. Even though Bonne Voyage was way older than her sister and didn’t have wings, they were as close as her own sisters. She liked that.

Haute Nuage smiled to the fillies as Crystal Note introduced them and winked to Sweetie Tooth when she noticed the filly watched every little motion of her wings. She seemed more than happy to stretch them and show off a little for the fillies. She easily picked up the bags from Crystal Note and the sisters, instead of using the door she flapped her wings and flew up to the large window again to get inside the house.

Crystal Note explained that those windows were designed especially for pegasi ponies, just like Sweetie Tooth had guessed.

She didn’t get to see any more of the house though, since Haute Nuage rushed outside again like a whirlwind and excited like a schoolfilly

“Come on, now it’s no time to sit at home! If we hurry, we can still watch the sunset on the lake.”

Velvet Heart and Sweetie Tooth both squealed happily and Glass Slipper’s eyes shined at the suggestion. Crystal Note, who had kept only her guitar with her, nodded along with Bonne Voyage and so they followed the pegasus mare down the road.

Haute Nuage flexed her wings but stayed on the ground, mostly because she suddenly had a curious twin on each side who kept asking questions about flying, wings and herself. Glass Slipper stayed close by to listen and they learned that Haute Nuage was seventeen and had finished high school in Vanhoover last year. Now, after a year in flight academy in Cloudsdale, the big pegasus city in the sky, she’d decided to return to her home town and join the weather patrol as soon as she could.

Crystal Note and Bonne Voyage trailed behind and giggled as Haute Nuage tried to explain how weather worked in Equestria and how clouds were made. However, everything she said only lured out more questions from the fillies who had never heard of things like rainbow factories or cloud busting, which lead to even more giggles from the two adults behind her.

Lucky for her, they had reached the lake by now. All questions forgotten, the fillies tried to take in as much as they could. Sweetie Tooth let her eyes trail around the nearly endless sea of water, she had never seen so much at once. There were even ponies swimming in the water and Haute Nuage told them that tomorrow, they’d most likely see boats as well.

Velvet Heart spotted some foals playing in the sand near the water and turned to Crystal Note with a pleading look on her face. The crystal mare just giggled and gave her approval, so the twins dashed towards the group and see if they could join in. Glass Slipper followed more slowly with Haute Nuage, from what Crystal Note could pick up they were discussing important teenage things like manestyles and colts. Bonne Voyage grinned when her sister once again tried to brag with knowledge on the topic and quickly ended up flustered.

Crystal Note and her friend found a nice spot a little up the shore where they had a good view on the lake and the slowly setting sun but could also watch the group of playing foals in some distance. Crystal Note smiled at how quickly the twins had overcome their initial nervousness and now played along with the others.

Bonne Voyage sat next to her with the same smile

“Looks like they’re having much fun.”

Crystal Note nodded

“I’m glad. They deserve all the fun and happiness they can get after all they’ve been through.”

The earth pony giggled and gently nudged her

“Just look at you, already a perfect loving mama for your little darlings.”

Crystal Note felt her cheeks flush and she batted towards her friend when the giggling wouldn’t stop

“Oh, quiet you! Get some foals of your own first before you start teasing me!”

They both laughed heartily and kept watching the group of foals

“You know, I always knew you’d make a wonderful mama someday.”
“I still have a long way ahead of me for that.”

Bonne Voyaged turned to look at her friend when she heard the sighed response

“You love them, don’t you?”

“I do, with all my heart. But sometimes, I think it’s not enough. Velvet Heart is still so distant at times and wary of me. And Glass Slipper… I think she appreciates that I take care of things like shopping and cleaning, but other than that… I just wish I could do more.”

“And Sweetie Tooth?”

Another deep sigh before Bonne Voyage got an answer

“Sweetie Tooth is holding back because she doesn’t want to hurt her sisters. As much as I want to give her all the affection she longs for, I don’t want to risk accidentally pushing them apart. The only have each other left in this world.”

Bonne Voyage remained silent for a minute before she shook her head

“That’s not true. They have you now as well. You love them, right?”

“I do, but…”
“Then it will work out.”

That simple statement quickly doused Crystal Note’s doubts.

Bonne Voyage knew her friend well enough to know no further words were necessary. Instead, she kept silent to give them a chance to sink in. When Crystal Note reached out for her guitar, she knew she had achieved something at least. Crystal Note always played her music when she needed to sort out her feelings.

A wave of laughter from the foals reached them and Crystal Note’s heart glowed brightly when she saw the beaming smiles of the twins. Just a little further, Glass Slipper sat next to Haute Nuage, talking passionately about something. Like this, she didn’t look like the responsible big sister she always tried to be, but like the carefree teenager Crystal Note wished for her to be more often.

She was already idly strumming a few notes on her guitar but with those happy images, they quickly grew into a gentle melody. As the sun set down further, she expanded the simple melody into a full song and already hummed along. Bonne Voyage leaned a little closer to understand the words, but Crystal Note didn’t feel ready to sing yet. Music, just like love, sometimes just happened, but far more often, it needed time to grow. And just like Bonne Voyage had said, if she kept trying it would work out in the end.

As the sun sunk down towards the lake, more ponies gathered around them to watch the beautiful scenery. Many of them tried to get a spot where they could also listen to Crystal Note’s guitar play as well. She kept strumming and playing around with her melody until she saw Sweetie Tooth and Velvet Heart running up towards her. Most of the foals from their playgroup had left with their parents it seemed and so the fillies returned to their caretaker as well.

Crystal Note smiled when she noticed their shining eyes and happy expressions. As soon as she had her guitar strapped on her back again, Sweetie Tooth snuggled into the spot between her forehooves. Crystal Note gently hugged the filly against her so they could watch the sunset together.

Velvet Heart sat down to her right side, but then the filly scooted closer and nuzzled in against her flank. Crystal Note’s smile only grew wider and when she flicked her tail to curl around the filly, she managed to lure a happy sigh from Velvet Heart.

By now, Haute Nuage and Glass Slipper had returned as well. The last of the crystal fillies slipped in between the two mares and leaned against Crystal Note so she could rest her head on the mare’s shoulder while watching the sun almost touch the surface of the lake by now. Crystal Note welcomed the oldest of her charges with a soft nuzzle of her head. Literally covered by her fillies from every side, Crystal Note simply ignored the snickering from the other two. She also completely missed the beautiful sunset right in front of her. There was nothing but the warm feeling and the happy little sounds of her fillies right now.

Far too soon, the sun vanished and the fillies got up again as the ponies headed home, although the warmth Crystal Note had felt stayed with her even hours after.