Family Begins With You

by Jmaster49

Arc XXI Episode V: Sisterly Bonds

“You look amazing, sis!” Sonata squealed as she hopped off the couch and inspected Adagio’s yukata. “These look just like the ones they wear over in the East!”

“Yeah, kinda reminds me of the stuff we used to see over near Mistmane’s village,” Aria commented as she recalled her time living in Equestria. “Of course, it was a bit different since they were only used for special occasions given that ponies didn’t have to wear clothes all the time. Here though, it’s way more common.”

After closing the door behind her, Adagio walked inside and stood in front of the full-body mirror in the hallway, doing a few poses with her hands on her hip and below her chin. “I love how it’s more common. Since clothes are mandatory in this realm, it makes everything that much more special. It’s like a bathrobe but you can wear it anywhere. It’s unexpectedly comfortable.”

“Sweet!” Sonata chirped while eagerly rocking back and forth on her heels, “That means it’ll be our turn to go shopping next, right?”

“Of course,” Adagio replied, “Shimmer was quite helpful with getting me to pick one out. I wonder how she feels about all this as a pony who’s adapted to human culture?”

“She clearly knows about it more than we do,” Aria commented from the couch, “Not much else to it than that. I for one, am hoping we can get to relax for once.”

“For realsies,” Sonata groaned as she flopped back down on the couch. “Dealing with the monster of the week is kinda fun and all, but I’m just really hoping nothing messes this up for us and the humans. They don’t deserve this again, ya know?”

Adagio took a look at her phone. “...Oh yeah. That’s right. Summer vacation begins as soon as the festival starts. The humans are gonna have a lot more free time on their hands…” She sighed as she sat down in a chair adjacent to the couch. “Which means the individuals who seek to abuse magic will too.”

“Goddammit,” Aria rolled her eyes as she folded her arms, “I just wanna experience a new holiday without some malignant evil creature’s bullshit smeared all over it.”

“Bleh,” Sonata stuck out her tongue and quickly retracted it, “That sounds disgusting, Ari! Don’t say things like that!” she yelped while squinting her eyes out of distaste for what her sister had said.

“Well, whatever happens,” Adagio went on, “I’ll be here for you both. You can count on me to keep you safe.”

While touched, Aria responded with a snarky comment to hide her feelings. “Yeah well…just don’t end up getting yourself sick like last time. We don’t want none of that again, do we, Sonata?”

“No way!” Sonata opened her eyes and agreed, “We’re not letting you go it alone this time. Plus, we’ll have all our friends there. And I’m sure the Professor will be there as well. Don’t worry!”

Adagio looked down at the floor and smiled as she realized just how much her sisters cared for her in their own ways. “...I love you both, you know that?”

“Aw, we love you too, Dagi!” Sonata jumped up and tackled her sister, locking her in a tight hug and causing Adagio to yelp--

“Awk!”

“Love ya too, sis,” Aria replied with a smile as she stood up, “I’m gonna go get dinner ready. It’s spaghetti night tonight.”

“You…” Adagio struggled from the hug and spoke up, “Make sure you add garlic powder to mine!”

“Fish sauce for me!” Sonata added.

“Gotcha. Gimme thirty minutes,” Aria said as she went into the kitchen to get everything ready.

---

Meanwhile at the local gym where Celestia and Luna’s therapy was taking place…

The sisters had finished their water therapy and were drying themselves off. Once Luna had gotten dressed in her regular clothes, Stellar Flare approached her.

“You did amazingly out there, hun. How are you feeling?”

“A bit better I believe,” Luna replied as she pulled up her yoga pants. “The strength required to swim against such powerful jetstreams in the water have helped clear my head.”

Stellar looked at her with an interested smile. “Ooh! And what are you thinking of now, Ms. Luna?”

“Well--I was thinking about you,” Luna continued as she pulled her shirt down over her head, “That…mmph!--that you managed to move on despite your husband leaving you behind. Maybe I should do the same and accept that there really probably isn’t anyone out there for me.”

Just like that, Stellar’s invested expression switched to concern on a dime. “What? Oh no, sweetie--you shouldn’t think like that. There might be someone out there for you. You just need to know where to look. Who knows? They could be right under your nose…” she said with a wink.

Luna was dumbfounded for a moment as her heart raced from the kind gesture of the woman. “Oh…thank you, Ms. Flare…”

She chuckled and replied, “No problem. And…you know if you ever need a quick way to relieve stress, I may have just the thing for you. Stop by my place tomorrow and I’ll…give you what you need. For now, I need to get going, but think about it, hm?”

“Oh…I will. Thank you, Ms. Flare,” Luna replied with a stutter as Stellar left the room.

Moments later, Celestia appeared and commented, “Some one-on-one therapy, hm? Interesting. That might be good for you, but I hope you’ve considered all options when it comes to your personal life. At the end of the day, I’ll always be here for you, alright?”

“Of course…thank you, sister,” Luna replied with a nod, “Though I do think I should at least see what she has to offer.”

“Fair enough. But after that,” Celestia put her hands on Luna’s shoulders and giggled, “We’re having a sleepover at my place. It’ll be just like when we were little except with more movies and less awkward games of spin the bottle.”

Luna’s first reaction was to gasp, then she groaned at a painful memory of the aforementioned party game. “Ugh. Don’t remind me. I can’t believe I kissed Platinum on the lips for a dare!”

“But you both loved it--she certainly didn’t mind, did she-?”

“Yes well…thankfully I didn’t either--” Luna quickly changed the subject as she stormed off, “B-but anyway! We should get going. Summer vacation starts alongside the Festival soon. The day is young and I am not.”

Celestia walked after her and muttered under her breath, “...You certainly don’t act like it.”

“I HEARD THAT!” Luna shouted from afar.

“HEEEEGH!” Celestia wheezed.

Comments

[Snowdrifter]

I now have exactly the answer for those pompous Canterlot nobles. Whenever they try wheedling bits from the Treasury, I shall comport myself most regally, breathe in deeply, and "HEEEEGH!" with the Royal Canterlot Voice.