Christmastime is Here
Sunset had finished the song, but Twilight kept watching as she continued playing instrumentally, weaving soothing melodies that helped further relieve Twilight's stress. After a few minutes, she noticed Sunset was definitely playing a real song, but she didn't recognize it.
"What's that you're playing?"
"Honestly, I don't know the name of it. It's an instrumental Hearth's Warming melody I used to hear a lot growing up. It never meant much to me growing up; the holiday itself never meant much to me, either. But something about tonight really brought it back to me." She stopped playing and looked up. "I'm so glad I can be here, Twilight. Putting everything else about what's going on in our lives and what we've been talking about aside... I've just missed you. So much."
"Me too, Sunset."
Sunset stood up and put her guitar back in the case, laying it on top of the bed. She stopped for a moment. "Bright gave permission for me to use their bed, right?"
"Yeah."
"Can I..." She grabbed the leg of the bed and pulled; it barely budged. "Hmmph. Any chance you can levitate this?"
"To be next to mine? I can try, but uh, my gem's been pretty weak too, lately. The best I can manage is a couple seconds, and usually not for anything big."
"Ummmm... here, let me hold your arm. Maybe if you have a direct connection to another gem it'll strengthen yours." She strode over to the side of Bright's bed as Twilight stood up, picked up a few items in the way and walked to her. Sunset grasped her arm and, as Twilight began to use the gem's power, she could feel it was stronger than she'd become used to. Bright's bed rose an inch and shifted slightly towards them to avoid colliding with the dresser, then gently floated across the room. Twilight was able to set it down next to her own, still misaligned slightly out of necessity, just before she started to lose control. She then lifted her own bed and moved it to match the other's position.
"I got it!"
"That's amazing!"
"Just don't let me forget we need to move it back before we leave. I won't be able to do it alone later."
"Sure thing." They walked over and plopped down onto now much larger bed space. "How much longer did you want to stay up?"
"Ummmmm..." Twilight looked over at her clock. "It's only just past 11. I can probably stay up an hour or two if you want."
"Excellent. I've got the perfect thing to end the night on a good note. Well, sorta." Sunset walked over to one of her bags and started to rummage through it. "It's my Christmas present for Rainbow Dash, but I thought you'd really appreciate this too, so you're getting a sneak peek."
"Ooooooohh... what could it be?" Twilight asked with wonder.
"Ta-da!" Sunset shouted as she unveiled a videotape. "It's a bootleg copy of The Daring Do Christmas Special!"
Twilight looked perplexed. "Daring Do Christmas special? I don't remember a Daring Do Christmas special."
"That's because the powers that be don't want you to remember it! It was the last-ditch effort by the production company that made the old Daring Do serials to keep the film rights to the character from being reclaimed by the Yearling family, and it was such an embarrassment that they only aired it a single time and it now only exists as bootleg tapes you can find at fan conventions!"
Twilight gasped. "Oh, I have heard of this! I didn’t think it was real! This is that thing where they spend half the special focusing on an ape family and there aren't any subtitles!"
"Yep, and it only gets weirder from there! It's the reason that, when A.K. Yearling took over the book series, she was so protective of it that they could only make that first movie we were in with her stringent oversight. There was a Daring Do fan event on campus a few weeks ago and I found a stand that had a couple of these to sell -- I couldn't believe it, but I made sure to grab it! Rainbow's gonna love having this for her collection..."
"I'm sure, but... how are we gonna watch it? I don't have a tape player in here."
"Oh don't worry, I only pulled out the tape for show. I snooped around the A/V department and got some help making a digital copy of the tape. I can just cast it to your TV!"
"I'll make the popcorn, there's a kitchen down the hall," Twilight said as she stood up. "How long is it?"
"About 90 minutes."
"Bed afterwards?"
"Sure thing, I'm a little tired but I do really want to see this for myself."
"Definitely."
The two of them spent the rest of the evening alternating between uproarious laughter or quiet, abject horror as they watched the monstrosity of The Daring Do Christmas Special unfold before them, with each making sure to steal a few smooches along the way. As the questionably-cast version of Daring Do restored the gem that gave Santa his magic before breaking into a baffling musical number, they turned and smiled goofily at each other before sharing a passionate kiss.
During the last of the special's numerous commercial breaks filled with vintage cheesy goodness, Sunset looked over and noticed Twilight struggling to stay awake. "There's not much left," she whispered. "If you need to go to bed, go to bed."
"Yeah, I think I will." She kissed Sunset on the cheek. "Good night." She changed clothes and crawled under her covers as the ape family ended the special with a bizarre physical comedy routine.
Sunset shut off the TV and looked over at Twilight, who was already asleep and snoring quietly. She crept over to her bag, took out some pajamas and quietly went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she came back, Twilight had rolled over onto her side, facing the other bed. Sunset got under her covers and smiled as she watched the sleeping girl.
"Good night, Twilight. Sweet dreams."
Twilight slowly opened her eyes and blinked. It was just past 8 in the morning; light was creeping in through the blinds. She was still on her side and, directly across from her, Sunset was still asleep, facedown in her pillow, sawing like a log, with undignified drool staining the pillowcase around her. She stifled a laugh at the sight. I'm definitely going to have to wash that before we leave.
She rolled over onto her back and let herself get lost in thought for a few minutes before she heard the noise start to fade, eventually dropping to a small whisper. "Twi?"
"I'm up. Kinda."
"How'd you sleep?"
"Pretty good, really. Better than I have since finals started. It seemed like you were sleeping okay, too!"
"Yeah, no, I had a really nice dream. Still getting used to those. I can't remember it very well, though. You were in it."
"Well, no wonder it was so nice." Twilight smirked.
"Ugh," Sunset groaned, "I thought I was supposed to be the corny one."
"Oh, I'm not even halfway into your league."
"Too bad this isn't one of the timelines where you made your 'deja v-you' joke at the Starswirl Festival so I can hold that one over you forever."
"You've been doing that anyway. And I still say you made it up, I'd never say anything as ridiculous as that."
Sunset lifted up the covers and crawled over to Twilight's bed. "Are you calling me a liar?" she asked, priming her fingers for a severe tickling.
"No! Nononono please don't, I'm sorry! I need to go to the bathroom, don't!"
"Alright, I'll let you off the hook this time." She sat back and watched as Twilight got up and darted to the back, closing the door behind her.
When Twilight returned, Sunset was sitting calmly on the bed, a warm smile on her face. "So..." Twilight began to ask as she stepped back over and sat, facing her. "Was there anything special you had in mind for our one full day here?"
"Well..." Sunset smiled warmly. "I'm not sure if you remember, but... today is the 6-month anniversary of our first date."
"What?! No way!"
"Are you surprised it's been six months, or that it's only been six months?"
"I'll get back to you on that."
"Uh huh. Anyway..." Sunset stood up and crouched, pulling something out from the bed. "In honor of the occasion, I decided to give you your Christmas presents early."
"Sunset, you don't have to... wait, presents plural? As in more than one?"
"You'll see."
"Well, now I'm just gonna look inadequate on Christmas. Especially when you already kinda gave me Rainbow Dash's present already. You better not give me anything for my birthday next month..."
"No promises. Here, open this," Sunset said, handing her a box wrapped in shining green paper with a bow on top. Twilight tore it open and pulled up the flaps on the cardboard box, revealing...
"Is this a music box? Did you make this?"
"I told you I was doing a shop class, right? Well, this was one of our projects, and I decided to hold on to this one. It’s not very ornate or anything, but it’s functional."
"Does it have a song?"
"Open it up!"
Twilight opened the lid and saw the mechanisms inside go to work. A familiar voice started to sing alongside a piano background.
"Nothing stays the same for long,
But when it changes doesn't mean it's gone,
Time will always get away
As it leaves behind another day"
As Fluttershy's lyrics took over, Twilight paused, closing the lid. "I know that’s ‘Friendship Through the Ages’, but… that wasn't the Princess singing just now. That was you!"
Sunset nodded. "Rainbow Dash helped me re-record the part over video chat. It doesn't mix very well with the professionally-recorded stuff they did if you listen to it on clean audio, but it sounds good enough for this. I did ask for Princess Twilight's permission before doing it, and she was happy to say yes. I honestly wasn't sure how quickly you'd notice, we have weirdly similar singing voices."
"What? No you don't! I have the exact same voice as her, and I don't sound like you when I sing!"
"That's because I've normally been pitching my singing voice lower on purpose ever since my first performance with the Rainbooms. It got too uncanny otherwise."
"That's ridiculous... but thank you. Thank you so much, this is amazing."
Sunset went on. "No problem, Twilight. But anyway, the Princess and I were chatting for a little while after I asked her about that and she came up with the idea for another thing I could give you. So really, this is her present to you." She pulled out the second, unwrapped item from under the bed and handed it to Twilight.
"Sunset... this is your two-way interdimensional communication journal!"
"It is. And when we get back to Canterlot, she's going to drop one off just like it at the portal, for you. It'll give you the ability to talk to her, her Spike, Starlight Glimmer... you can talk to them casually, of course, but you'll also have all the resources of the School of Friendship at your disposal. I hadn't meant it specifically for that purpose -- I was thinking more about your scientific and magic-science pursuits -- but I can't deny just how fortunate the timing is after last night. And if you want to bring me into the conversation, there's a new mechanism for connecting to my journal that she'll explain."
Twilight gasped and threw her arms around Sunset. "That's amazing! 24/7 access to another world and its knowledge?! I can't thank you enough! Or her enough! Or... aaaaaaahhh!" She squeezed Sunset tightly.
"Twi... can't breathe..."
Twilight's grip relaxed. "Oops, sorry. I just... wow. Thank you. I'll put it to good use."
"I know you will." She leaned forward and they kissed for a moment.
"We should probably, y'know, brush our teeth and stuff," Twilight giggled.
"Hey!"
"I said we!"
"Yeah yeah..." Sunset stepped over to the window and opened the blinds. "Wow."
Twilight stepped beside her. There had been some more snow during the night; it looked gorgeous. "It's all supposed to melt tonight, right?"
"I hope so, otherwise it's gonna be a rough drive back to Canterlot."
“Ooooof. I hope not. I love having this extra time with you, but I do really want to go back tomorrow and see everyone. And apologize in person to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy for how I was on the chat. I shouldn’t have let Rarity and Pinkie leaving to be with other friends get to me the way that I did.”
“Hey, it’ll be fine. If anyone gets having nerves, it’s Fluttershy. They’ll all understand.”
"You’re probably right, but I still want to. Also, I hope you don't mind, but I was still gonna save my present for you for Christmas Day. Partly because it's not, y'know, wrapped at all."
"That's perfectly fine, Twi. I can wait."
"I was thinking, after we shower and stuff, we could walk over to the Sugarcube Coffee Spot?"
"Yeah, wouldn't want to miss out on that amazing deal," Sunset said as she violently rolled her eyes.
"Sunset..."
"Of course we can go, Twi." She turned and smiled. "Merry Christmas, Twilight Sparkle."
"Merry Christmas, Sunset Shimmer."
And the two of them embraced as they stared out the window into the beautiful, snowcapped campus outside.
Stats
Page generated in 0.014 seconds
Total duration
1,136 users online
1,969,592 hits today, 2,364,530 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Yup, still cute. Thanks for the little slice of adorable to round out the year.
Damn. That's quite the story.
Yeah, those were great imo.
Cool, the song is friendship through the ages.
That's because both your singing voices as from the same person.
11095522
Yeah, the Daring Do special bit was mostly based on The Star Wars Holiday Special (obviously) but the backstory I came up with was inspired by the 2015 debacle over a cheaply produced pilot for The Wheel of Time (not affiliated with the current Amazon series) that was made for basically that exact reason. Link Here
11095653
I see thx.
Now I want to hear Friendship Through the Ages with Sunset singing instead of Twilight. I know same singing voice, but still!
There's not much that I like more than a cute SciSet story. Thanks for writing!
11097430
Thanks! Stick around, I had an idea for an epilogue chapter I’ll be writing and posting in a few days.
Snowed in together is a good way to be. Happy New Year.