Parent Trap

by PhantomBulwark

Progress

“Well,” Crispin said glumly, “this has not gone according to plan at all.”

“Gee you think?” Cortland was draped sideways across his bed. His feet were slowly knocking against the wooden bed frame and consequently driving his brother crazy.

“Neither of them will admit how they really feel! It’s like they can’t fathom being happy.” He turned to glare at Cortland’s boots as they once again rapped against the bed frame. “If you don’t stop that I’m going to smother you.”

“Try it, pretty boy. Maybe this time I should make the plan. You’re last few didn’t go so well.”

“OH! You think you can do better do you?”

Cortland shrugged and stared off into space, “maybe… maybe we should just leave them alone. Ma says we only get till your flight this weekend. We’ve given it all we can but… they just aren’t ready. We should spend what time we can with everyone before they slit us up again.”

Crispin thumped down next to him on the bed with a soft sigh, “you’re right… I’m actually going to miss you a little.”

“I guess I might miss you too.”

The next morning, the boys beg, and plead, and badger until AJ’s patience breaks and she consents to a family outing in Canterlot city proper. So, with a bit of arguing, bargaining, and debate, everyone loads up in the farm truck and Rarity’s rental car. At the twins insistence the rest of their friends are invited along, Dash and co. decline the invite but Sunset and Twilight agree to meet them at the Sweet Shoppe.

The little café was almost exactly as Rarity remembered it, the same worn booths although some of the tables looked newer. And the same smiling face behind the counter. “Hello there Apple clan,” Mr. Cake, sporting a little more salt and pepper to his orange hair greets them cheerfully. “And Ms. Rarity, why I haven’t seen you in years, is this your other boy?”

“It’s good to see you too sir,” Rarity smiles, “yes, this is Crispin.”

The older man beams at them, “take a seat and I’ll be with you in a moment.” As they claim the largest corner booth and a nearby table for good measure Mr. Cake can be heard shouting into the kitchen for his wife. “Cupcake! You’ll never guess who just wandered in with the Apples!”

Mrs. Cake waits on them immediately and greets Rarity as brightly as her husband. Once their orders are in and an argument about where they should go next begins the older woman flounces away. As she goes she shoots Rarity a peculiar look and a wink.

“Mother, tell my brother that the spa would be good for him.” Crispin whines.

“I’m afraid darling, that if he’s anything like his Mom that’ll be a lost cause. Why, the last time I tried to take AJ to the spa she ended fixing their plumbing instead of enjoying the massage.”

Applejack snorted, “Their pipes were leakin’. What, was I supposed to just let them go till they burst or came loose completely?”

“Generally people hire a plumber to do such things Applejack, you were a paying customer. It wasn’t your job to fix it.” Everyone at the table quieted down to watch the verbal sparring match.

“Well excuse me for being helpful. I don’t remember ya’ll being all that annoyed when I was making you a dressin’ room.” She smiled triumphantly at Rarity’s red face. “In fact, I remember you were very grateful.”

“Applejack Apple!” She snapped, “That is not an appropriate topic for a public place!”

She laughed a hearty, full belly laugh. It was a laugh no one at the table had heard in years. “You care too much what people might think. Ya always have.” With a smug grin she raised her voice a little, “hey, ya’ll” the few other patrons turned to look at their table. “Rarity here once let me take her out to the barn after a bonfire and-”

Rarity jolted from her seat with a shriek and reached across the table to clamp her hand over Applejack’s mouth. “Don’t tell people that!” She was blushing from the tips of her ears all the way down her neck. As another laugh bubbled from AJ’s chest Rarity finally let go of her mouth to box her around the ears with her own hat. “You are an absolute louse! A louse I say.”

“So is that a definite no on the spa then?” asked a giggling Crispin.

“What about the mall?” Twilight offered from her position, perched in Sunset’s lap at the table adjacent to their booth.

“I suppose I could use a few things for the next few days.” Crispin agreed, “Cortland let me borrower some stuff of his but… his clothes are not so much fashionable as they are functional.” He plucked at the plain blue t-shirt he was sporting with a frown.

“Yeah well, not everybody goes to dinner parties every week,” his brother snarked back, “suits aren’t really useful on a farm.”

“I will have you know-” and with that, another argument began.

“So, the mall then?” Sugar Belle snickered, “Now, I wonder where the boys could have learned to argue like that?” Rarity's face, which had almost returned to it's normal shade, promptly reddened again. Applejack pointedly pulled her hat down to hide her eyes.

They stayed at the cafe for a while. Sunset regaled the twins with tales of exotic places she had taken photographs for the magazine she used to work for. Twilight, likewise, told them some of the cool projects she had worked on when she wasn’t busy teaching. They ate their pastries, drank some freshly made coffee and enjoyed the shop's atmosphere for a while before they finally got restless enough to leave.

The rest of the day was spent floating around different significant sights. They took the opportunity to show Crispin what Canterlot had to offer. By extension, they also got to show Rarity what had changed. They moved around the mall for a few hours, Crispin doing most of actually the shopping, and even ran into a few classmates that Rarity had lost touch with.

It became pretty hard as the day passed, not to have hope, especially as the twins watched their mothers being almost playful. The two women had apparently broken the tension with their banter at the café. They spent the rest of the outing exchanging playful barbs and embarrassing stories.

Comments

[Rarijack_is_life]

I love the different atmosphere this chapter has compared to the others, it's a good change of pace

[PhantomBulwark]

11210518
the Knight's Tale AU is out now and anyone who's interested can read it here

[PhantomBulwark]

11258831
They are similar to the pony colorations, just as they appear in the Equestria Girls Series. My approximation for the twins appearance is the art used for the cover image.