Chapter 16: Fourth of July Family Barbecue
Chapter 16: Fourth of July Family Barbecue
In the hotel room that Aaron and his aunt lived in, Aaron and Smolder were watching the movie, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, in the living room. Smolder was in her dragon form.
"Wow," Smolder said. "That is some game they were trapped in. Although, that one character was pretty cool. Especially his name."
"Why? Because his nickname is the same name as your real name?" Aaron asked. Smolder smirked.
"Alright, kids," Marissa said. "Dinner time." Then the two of them got off the couch and headed for the table. On the table was spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread and green beans.
"Huh," Smolder said. "Guess I'm gonna have to get used to these kinds of meals." She then used a pasta server to get some spaghetti. "I miss the gemstones of Equestria."
"Too bad real gemstones are very hard to find on Earth," Aaron said. Then there was a knocking on the door. Smolder quickly changed back into her human form.
Marissa then walked towards the door and opened it up. Outside the door was a big package. She then said, "Oh, good. It's here. Just in time, too."
Smolder looked at the package bringing right towards them and she asked, "What is that?"
The package was actually a box for a suitcase. Marissa then said, "It's a suitcase. For you."
"Why would I need a suitcase?" Smolder asked.
"Every July, we go up to Washington DC for our family 4th of July Family Barbecue at Grandma and Grandpa's house," Aaron said. "For the past few years, we could barely come home with any souvenirs on aunt Marissa's paychecks."
"Kara purposely makes us work overtime with no extra pay," Marissa said. She then sighed. "Well, now that I now own my own business, we can now afford proper souvenirs."
"And, why did you buy me a suitcase?" Smolder asked.
"We can't leave you here all alone," Marissa said. "You're coming with us."
"Seriously?" Smolder asked.
"It wouldn't be wise to go there and leave you behind," Aaron said. "And hopefully while we're there, we might have to have a talk with the President."
"The President?" Smolder asked. "The President of what?"
"The President of the United States," Marissa responded. "For some... official record for you."
"I need official records?" Smolder asked. "Why?"
"To make you an official citizen of this country," Marissa answered. "Unless you want to go back to Equestria."
Smolder thought about it. She then sighed and said, "Well, maybe being here might not be such a bad thing. That is of course..." She then changed back into her dragon form. "I'd have to keep hiding my true form from most of the people of this world."
"Yeah, that's true," Aaron said.
"As soon as we're done with dinner, you two need to pack up," Marissa said. "We'll be gone for an entire week."
"A week, huh?" Smolder asked. "Well, at least I'll be able to see more of this place. More than just Orlando that is."
"Well, I also got you... one of these," Marissa said, pulling something out. She then tossed it to Smolder who caught it. And she was confused on what she grabbed.
"What is this?" Smolder asked.
"Since there's a pandemic, you're most likely to catch it," Marissa said. "And these masks are to protect us from catching it."
Smolder then took a look at the image on the front of the mask and asked, "Is that my snout?! Is that what it really looks like?"
"Luckily, I found it in time before we headed on the trip," Marissa said. "Now, eat up and then go pack up. Our transport to the airport will be here at 6 in the morning to pick us up."
"Six AM?" Smolder asked. "Why so early?"
"Our plane leaves for Washington DC at 8 in the morning, and we need to get through a security check," Marissa said. "And usually, the lines are long at that part of the airport."
"I... guess that makes sense," Smolder said. Then they all kept eating their food.
Back in Equestria, Star Swirl was in his personal studies, working on something. Then Twilight and Spike walked into the room, looking around on the projects he was working on.
"Wow," Twilight said. "You've been busy."
"Of course I have," Star Swirl said. "I needed to get this stuff done."
"Okay," Twilight said. She then looked around. "So, which one of these projects is the one to get Smolder back here?"
"None of them," Star Swirl replied, making Twilight and Spike freeze in shock.
"WHAT?!" Twilight and Spike asked in unison.
"Why aren't you working on that?" Twilight asked.
"If I open a portal to Aaron's world, Ragnarok will awake and will destroy Equestria within that time," Star Swirl said. "For all of Equestria to be safe from his wrath, Smolder must remain in Aaron's world. Permanently." Twilight was shocked at Star Swirl's words. But then she got really angry. She fired a laser right by Star Swirl's head as a warning shot. "Hey! What was that for?!"
"You're forgetting that Smolder has family here in Equestria," Twilight said, walking towards Star Swirl. "Garble keeps coming up here every Saturday since then to see if Smolder was brought back yet. If you had family stuck in another world you've sent them there to keep them safe, would you forget about them?"
"Only for their own safety," Star Swirl said. He then thought about what he said and said back, "Wait. That didn't come out right."
"None of that came out right!" Twilight said. "You've been focused on saving Equestria that you overlook the consequences of who or what would be affected. Like Stygian for example. He brought you and the Pillars together, and you didn't appreciate his work. Star Swirl... you leave me no choice. I'm forcing you to retire from your duties."
"WHAT?!" Star Swirl asked.
"Eventually, Smolder has to come home," Spike said. He then pulled out a book from his backside. "And well, we did create this communication book. Instead of messaging the other by writing, it makes the two open books see and hear whoever they're communicating with. Kinda like a video phone like from the world Sunset is living now."
"That... sounds... useful," Star Swirl said. He then sighed. "Just for a few seconds. I'll open the portal to Aaron's world, and we'll send one of the books to them. Hopefully, they're alright." Star Swirl then opened a portal to Aaron's world. Spike then took the book he had and threw it into the portal." Then the portal closed. Star Swirl then sighed and said, "I'll... star packing... first thing in the morning."
Back at Aaron's home, Aaron and Smolder were getting ready for bed. Smolder was wearing a night gown in her dragon form. Aaron shook his head and sighed.
"I still don't understand why you cut wing holes in that night gown of yours," Aaron said.
"Meh, it gives my wings some breathing room," Smolder said. "Sometimes, when I sleep, my wings try to flap open. Just be glad it doesn't happen to you."
"Good point," Aaron said. Just then, there was a pound coming from the closet. Aaron and Smolder looked at each other and Aaron asked, "What was that?"
"I don't know," Smolder said.
Aaron then opened the closet and saw something that wasn't there before. It was a book with an emblem on it. The emblem was of two dragon heads in front of a six pointed magenta star. And the dragon heads looked like Aaron and Smolder's heads.
"A communication book?" Aaron asked.
"Just like the one Sunset Shimmer uses?" Smolder asked.
"Looks like it," Aaron said. "I hope it works." He was about to open it but then Aaron's aunt called out.
"Aaron, did you set your alarm for 5 AM?"
Aaron groaned and said, "I'm about to, aunt Marissa!"
"Alright," Marissa said. "Head straight for bed."
Aaron and Smolder sighed, and Smolder said, "Looks like we're gonna have to wait until morning to find out if this thing works."
"Yeah, it's probably for the best at the time," Aaron said. He then pulled out his phone. "Hey, Siri." Then the phone responded by humming. "Set an alarm for 5 in the morning."
"Your alarm has been set for 5 AM," the phone responded.
"We should go to bed," Smolder said.
"Yeah, we got to get up early tomorrow," Aaron said. "Good night, Smolder."
"Good night," Smolder said, getting into her bed. Then Aaron turned off the light and then headed to his bed, and they both drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Aaron, Smolder and Marissa were at the airport. They were currently going through airport security. Smolder was the last one of the three to step through the metal detector.
"Enjoy your flight, young lady," the security guard said. Smolder then proceeded to follow Aaron and Marissa. The three then headed towards where a bunch of restaurants stood.
"Alright, kids," Marissa said. "We got half an hour until our flight leaves, so we have time to get some breakfast. Let's go find something to eat."
Smolder then started sniffing around and said, "I smell cinnamon." Then they looked over towards the source of the smell and saw a Cinnabon. They basically got some cinnamon rolls and ate them before they got on the flight to Washington DC. Smolder had a window seat and was looking out the window, seeing that they were high in the sky.
"Whoa!" Smolder said, covering her ears because of the noise coming from the jets. "Is it always this loud?!"
"Pretty much," Aaron said. "But don't worry. It'll just be for a couple hours."
Time passed as the airplane landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Smolder was trying to pick the noise from her ears.
"Maybe we should get her some earplugs to put in before the next flight," Aaron said.
"WHAT?!" Smolder asked, loudly. "I CAN'T HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!"
"This is gonna be a long day," Marissa said. "Let's go get our bags. Aaron, could you help her?"
"On it," Aaron said. He then grabbed Smolder's hand and the two of them followed Marissa over to the bag claiming area. The three of them grabbed their bags and headed out to a Subway right outside of the airport.
"What is that?" Smolder asked, getting her hearing back.
"It's a subway station," Aaron said. "It's like a train that takes you across certain close areas. Not long distance ones."
"Cool," Smolder said. "So, where are we going?"
"We'll be taking it to a station that's near the hotel we're going to stay at for the week," Marissa said. They basically got onto the subway, and reached the subway station near the hotel they were going to stay at for the week. They arrived at the hotel and eventually got into the hotel room they'll be staying in. "Alright, kids. Since this hotel doesn't allow rollaway beds, you two are going to have to share the couch."
"I'm okay with that," Smolder said. She then lifted her suitcase onto the couch, opened it, and pulled out the book.
"What is that?" Marissa asked.
"It's a book similar to the one Sunset Shimmer uses," Aaron said. "Let's see if it works." Smolder then opened the book. But when she opened it, it was just a big black spot where there should be room for writing.
"There's no room to write!" Smolder said. "It's just a rip..." She was then cut off when something came from the black spot. It then showed Twilight Sparkle in the book.
"They opened it! Finally!" Twilight's voice came out of the book. "Whoa! Guess the transformation spell worked on both of you fully."
"Not exactly," Aaron responded. Then both him and Smolder changed into their dragon forms.
"Whoa!" Twilight said. "Guess that's what happens when two creatures go into a portal with a transformation spell that's enough for one."
"You called it," Smolder said, looking towards Aaron.
Twilight looked through the communication book, looking at the hotel room. She then asked, "Is this where you live, Aaron? Nice place."
"No, it's not where I live," Aaron said.
"But I could've sworn you said..." Twilight tried to say before being cut off.
"What he means is this is a hotel, but it's not the one he lives in," Smolder said. "His aunt took both of us here for their family barbecue on the 4th of July."
"Wow," Twilight said. "I have to ask, what's so special about that day?"
"It's to celebrate the United States of America officially being founded in 1776," Aaron said. "Although, I read online that the document that made the United States officially its own country, the Declaration of Independence, was actually signed August 2nd of that same year."
"Wow," Twilight said. "So, I'm guessing Smolder being transformed part human affected her food diet?"
"Actually, it did," Smolder said. "On my first week here, I tried avoiding eating the meat here. But when I started feeling sick. I was feeling tired... and weak."
"Well, according to Sunset, humans need meat to survive, and now that you're part human, your body must need meat to survive," Twilight said. "And I don't think Sunset has a human's taste buds even though she's currently human in the other world."
"I guess that makes sense," Smolder said.
"Alright, kids," Marissa said. "Get back to your human selves. We've got to get to my Mom and Dad's place. But first, we better get some fireworks."
"Fireworks?" Smolder asked. "Why do we need fireworks?"
"It's a part of the celebration," Aaron said. "Gotta go, Twilight. Try not to call us within the next few hours. We'll call you."
"Alright, but there's one thing you should know," Twilight said. "Your friends told me before going on their summer breaks to tell you that they hope you both are doing alright in that world. And Garble is coming every weekend to see if Smolder is back here."
"Tell Garble that I'm fine," Smolder said. "I hope he's doing fine. Gotta go." She then closed the book. She then changed back into a human, along with Aaron. "Hopefully they'll be okay with me gone."
"I'm sure they're fine," Aaron said. "After all, they're on Summer Vacation."
"Yeah, that's true," Smolder said. "Let's get going. Hopefully, your family will understand why I'm here."
"Which is why they're not going to find out who you really are," Marissa said. "You'll be going as Samantha Drake. You're posing as the daughter of an old friend of mine who lives in Orlando, and wanted me to take care of you while your parents are out of the country for business."
"Really?" Smolder asked. "A cover story?"
"Smolder is more of a nickname here," Aaron said. "Like in the Jumanji movie."
"Good point," Smolder said. "Guess I'll get used to it. But really? Samantha? Is that the best you can come up with?"
"Samantha is the closest name to your name," Aaron said. "Now, we should get going. Hide the book." Smolder then put the book into her suitcase. Then the three of them left the room, heading out to their next destination.
A van pulled up to a house in Washington, DC. Aaron, Smolder and Marissa got out of the car and they had some TNT Brand Fireworks. Smolder was struggling to carry the bags in her hands.
"Why are these things so heavy?" Smolder asked. "I know I can lift more than this." The car started driving away as the three were heading towards the house on foot. "Silverstream and I could lift Yona for crying out loud."
"While you were a dragon," Aaron said. "Actually, when I was a dragon, I actually felt stronger."
"I guess that makes sense," Smolder said.
"Alright, Smolder," Marissa said. "Behave yourself when we're here. And don't do anything... you know."
"Nothing dragon like," Smolder said. "I got it." Then they all headed towards the front door. Marissa knocked on the door. The door opened, revealing an elderly woman.
"Hey, mom," Marissa said.
"Hey, grandma," Aaron said.
"Glad to see you both are here," Aaron's grandma said. She then noticed Smolder. "Who's that?"
"This is Samantha," Marissa said. "She's the daughter of an old college friend who's out of the country for business. She asked me to watch over her until she comes back from there. Which might be a while." Smolder smiled nervously at the statement.
"Well, welcome to our home, Samantha," Aaron's grandma said. "Come in, all of you." She then noticed the fireworks in their hands. "Oh, good. You've brought more fireworks."
"Just like old times," Marissa said. They then headed inside. Inside, Aaron's family was inside preparing some food. Hot dogs, burgers, chips, watermelons, potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cobs, vegetables for the burgers and condiments. There was an old man, Aaron's grandfather, a woman, Aaron's aunt Zoe, a man, Aaron's uncle and Zoe's husband, Jerry, and Aaron's cousin, Reggie.
"Whoa," Smolder said. "Nice kitchen."
"Why thank you," Aaron's grandpa said. "I had to do some remodeling here whenever I'm not working at the restaurant. I'm guessing you're the guest that's staying with Marissa and Aaron?"
"Yes, sir," Smolder said.
"Wait, Marissa told you?" Aaron's grandma asked. "How come she didn't tell me?"
"She told us last night," Aaron's grandpa responded. "You were too exhausted last night to get the full details."
"Oh, that's right," Aaron's grandma said.
Aaron walked towards the kitchen to see the rest of the family. He then said, "Hey, everyone."
"There he is," Aaron's uncle Jerry said. "How's it going?"
"Pretty good, uncle Jerry," Aaron said. "How's your construction company doing in New York?"
"Pretty good," Jerry responded. "Business has been in dire need there since we moved there three years ago."
"I still hate living in New York," came Reggie's voice. They all looked towards Reggie as he said, "The other kids there always have the best stuff there while I get not even a decent piece of tech from this decade."
"Is Reggie still complaining about that?" Aaron asked. "Dude, you've got to chillax. I'm sure that one day you'll get something good." He then whispered into Smolder's ear. "Probably something that's not mine. He tried to take my computer that I got on my birthday."
Smolder sighed and shook her head. Just then, her stomach growled and she blushed.
"Looks like someone's getting hungry," Zoe said. "Well, we should get the barbecue started?" The rest of the family nodded as they prepared the barbecue. They all headed into the backyard to get the barbecue started.
Later that night, Aaron, his family, and Smolder were all in seats in the front yard, watching some fireworks that were over the Smithsonian Plaza. They all watched as so many fireworks were shot up into the sky.
Smolder was impressed by the display and quietly said, "They look so much better from a distance than up close."
"What do you...?" Aaron silently asked before he remembered one episode. "Oh, right. The play." Smolder nodded. "Well, at least this is so much better."
"Yeah," Smolder said. She then leaned her head on Aaron's shoulder, still looking up at the fireworks. She then started getting sleepy and yawned.
Marissa noticed that and said, "Alright, you two. Let's get back to the hotel."
"See you around, Marissa," Zoe said as she and the rest of the family waved goodbye to the three. Marissa then pulled out her phone to get something on an app. It was at least 30 seconds later that a car pulled up, and it had a sticker with the word, LYFT, on the back. The three got in and the car drove off.
Eventually, they made it back to the hotel. Marissa walked in and prepared to open up the couch into a bed. Smolder then changed back into her dragon form after closing the door. She was too tired to do anything else and just got into the bed. Aaron then joined her after getting on his pajamas. Smolder then held on to him in her sleep, making him wince in pain after her claws nearly dug into his skin. He then changed into his dragon form, decreasing the pain. Smolder then snuggled in closer to Aaron.
Marissa watched as the two sleeping dragons were in bed. Aaron eventually fell asleep as Marissa said, "That is something that I'll have to get used to." She then turned off the lights and prepared for bed by going into the bathroom, and would prepare for what's coming next.
VOTING TIME!!!
Aaron and Smolder will be competing on an old game show renewed for the current time, just like the original show, but this time, they will have to compete against other kids around their ages. Which team will they be on?
Option 1:
Red Jaguars
Option 2:
Blue Barracudas
Option 3:
Green Monkeys
Option 4:
Orange Iguanas
Option 5:
Purple Parrots
Option 6:
Silver Snakes
The most voted team will be the chosen team for Aaron and Smolder to be on, and the others will be who will be taken out of the competition throughout the game show. And remember, everyone gets just one choice.
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Option 2.
Option 4.
Option 4
option 4
Option 5
Option 4
Option 4
Option 4
Wait, Aaron didn't told Smolder or anyone in Equestria that there's a pandemic happening in his world until Marissa mentions it now?!
Also I pick option 4
1
4
Orange Iguanas, seems the right one also I remember when they did the parody of that on The Loud House too.
2 is my fav color…
Nice to see twilight in the story again!!!
Keep up the work!!!~
Option 6.
Silver Snakes for life.
Option 4 because it is closest to representing an orange/brown dragon.
Option 4
6 myself
6 myself