Silver and Gem's Hearths Warming Vacation

Chapter Two: Silver’s Present to Mirror Gem.

"Urgh,” Mirror Gem groaned as she slapped the snooze button on her alarm clock. This was far from normal for her on Saturday mornings. Usually she wouldn’t have gotten up until at least eleven, however today she was meant to meet up with Silver at nine forty five. She didn’t know why Silver wanted her over so early, but it didn’t matter Silver wanted her over so she was happy to oblige. Pulling herself out of bed wearily, she trudged up to her dresser where she had laid out her outfit before. Quick as a flash, she shed her pajamas and dressed, rushed down the stairs, heading towards the kitchen.

The house was still quiet as her younger brother Indigo Rush, who was five years younger than her, had yet to get up. As Mirror made her breakfast, she could hear her older brother Ice Shield was already up and about. Within a few minutes she had some toast and cream-cheese ready on a plate. Sipping her homemade coffee in between bites, she pulled out her phone, scrolling down through her messages.

“Well that’s nice,” she commented to herself dryly, texting furiously. “Now… Let’s see here… Ah, yes. Flaky Dough did say that she’d…” After quickly answering more text messages, Mirror set down her phone and finished eating, placing her plate into the sink and filled it with water. Grabbing her phone and mug of coffee, she went into the living room where her mother, Shimmering Lilac, was curled up on the couch reading a book.

“Hey Mom. I’m going out to Silver’s place for a bit. I’ll be back about eight? Or does Indigo need to be watched before then?”

“Sure. It’s perfect timing anyways. Ice Shield has an appointment at eight forty five anyways and I need to drive him there as I do have few errands to run. Indigo Rush will need to be watched,” Shimmering Lilac agreed.

“Fine. I’ll be home by eight fifteen then.” Mirror then walked to the front door, yanking her boots off of the shoe rack, slipping them on, and walking out of the house.

After living in the Ponyville suburbs for nine months, Mirror had now learned every corner and street in town. Trudging down the sidewalk, her mind wandered. Ever since she moved to Ponyville from Fillydelphia, Mirror had struggled. Not with friends or finding her place in the school, but with her discovering that she was a lesbian. Back in Fillydelphia, the best word anyone could ever describe Mirror to be was a bully. She had teased and cast out a few girls for it at her old school, primarily because it was the “cool thing to do.” So it was nothing but irony that she was ashamed of the fact that secretly she felt similar feelings about girls but would never admit to anyone. Then she found out about the NLAC and her life took a spin. She never thought herself as someone who’d be a nudist, but once she did discover that she was indeed a nudist, she found herself more willing to accept.

Mirror smiled to herself and shook her head, Wow, really? More willing to accept other people; that’s gotta be one of the cheesiest thing I’ve thought in a while.

Mirror’s feet turned left onto Oakwood Drive, the area for all the well-endowed families of Canterlot, and where Silver lived. As she walked up the street, Mirror’s feelings started to bubble up into butterflies. Although she had been dating Silver for nearly over eight months, Mirror always feared being rejected for another. Of course she knew it was irrational. While Silver appeared to be tough and uncaring, the truth was the opposite. This was what drew Mirror to Silver when she first met her. Regardless, she was scared that after she injected so much time, energy, and most importantly her feelings, her trust, and her loyalty, Silver would let her go simply because she wasn’t Canterlot elite.

She turned up to Silver’s driveway and her feelings became cemented. Unlike her family, which lived in a small four bedroom house, Silver lived in a large brick mansion. In fact Mirror figured she could probably fit her house inside of Silver’s living room, it was that big. And every time Mirror looked upon it, her heart sank slightly as she felt completely under classed. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Mirror headed up the driveway. Ignoring the path towards the front door, Mirror went to the side door. Lifting up the door knocker, she let it down twice in quick succession. Waiting patiently for someone to answer the door, she studied the knocker for about the millionth time.

It was a large platinum plated knocker that resembled the face of a lion roaring at some unseen prey. Despite the snow fall and the bitter cold weather of this winter, the metal had not lost any of its polish. After a moment or so, the door opened and the Spoon family’s head butler Colinsworth appeared at the door.

“Ahhh Madam Gem, a pleasure to see you here.” he said as he opened the door and stepped back to allow her entrance, “I trust the walk over here wasn’t too painful?”

“Not at all, thank you Colinsworth,” Mirror replied amiably, “Silver is in her room I’m guessing?”

“Indeed Madam she’s working on some physics homework, allow me to escort you to the foyer.” he nodded.

Mirror followed the butler to the foyer. Much like the rest of the house, the grand foyer was absolutely stunning, built with golden oak wood walls and ice white marble floors and steps. The railings were a nice shade of gold, though they actually were regular metal painted gold. And to top it all off was a large chandelier hanging in the center of the room going from the ceiling to just nine feet above the floor. Moreover, the house was lavish with Hearth’s Warming decorations and there was even a warm heat from a fire burning in the mansion’s fireplace. All in all, it gave the house a very luxurious feel. Colinsworth lead Mirror over to a small chair near the front door, to which she sat down gracefully.

As Mirror waited for Silver, she slipped out her phone from her sweater pocket, selecting the red and white icon. A few minutes later Silver came rushing down the elegant stairs.

“Hey Mirror,” Silver said running up to Mirror. She was dressed in a pair of black sweatpants and a mint green t-shirt, without shoes or socks on, “Glad to see you made it here okay?”

“Yeah, it was a bit chilly but not so bad. So, are we going to the game room?” Mirror swept her hair into a ponytail, tying it with a band that was around her wrist.

Silver chuckled, “Sorry but the staff is cleaning it up. My room is available though.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” agreed Mirror, standing up as she stowed her phone back into her pocket.

Silver smiled and nodded, “Alrighty then, follow me.”

Mirror followed Silver up the stairs and into a hallway that was paneled with wood. Turning right at the split in the hallway, Silver led Mirror to a dead end with only a single door that was painted silver had had Silver’s cutie mark on it. Turning the doorknob the duo stepped into Silver’s room. Compared to Mirror’s room, which had enough room for one comfortably, Silver had an entire floor to herself. The centerpiece was a canopy bed that could fit three people. There was a plasma TV on one wall, while the other three were decorated with posters, pictures, and clippings from past news articles Silver had once wrote for. There were also hooks on the walls that had items such as clothes, paintings, and fancy boxes on them. The fancy boxes were upside down and had a handful of dolls on them as well as little trinkets. There was also shelves and cubbies built into the walls, causing Silver’s room, as big as it is, to feel very cozy in its own way. However, none of it took away from the sheer size of the room. At the far side of the room, was a large window that looked out over the spacious backyard gardens of the Spoon household.

Silver closed the door behind them as they walked in, “Mother’s away at work right now and Father’s in the downstairs study, so we shouldn’t be bothered until dinner time.”

“Okay, do you have the RISK game in here, like we planned?” Mirror sent a questioning look at Silver.

Silver smiled, “I brought it up don’t worry, I’ll leave you to get comfortable while I set up the table. Would you like a window seat?”

“I don’t care as long as the words on the board are facing me. I hate reading upside down words. Oh, and I’m slipping out of my clothes, that alright?”

“I figured you would, since I hoped you’d get comfortable.” Silver giggled walking over to her closet, “You can just leave them by the bed I think Honeywood left a hamper there. I’ll join you in a moment.”

“Alright then.” Mirror shed her clothes and folded them with careful precision and left them at the side of Silver’s bed. By that time, Silver had finished setting up the table by the large window. “I’ll set up,” offered Mirror.

“Thank you kindly,” Silver smiled, “I’m a little hungry you want something to eat?”

Mirror shrugged as she unfolded the board. “Chips and salsa sound good to me. And since it gets you thirsty, perhaps some of that Snapple you keep on talking about?” Grabbing the blue, black and green colored pieces in their clear, plastic boxes, she set them by the window seat.

Silver nodded and walked over to an intercom she had set up near her front door, “Miss Honeywood?”

“Yes dearie?” came the answer.

“Can you bring up a large bowl of chips and some salsa dip with that please?” Silver asked.

“Of course dearie, anything to drink?” Miss Honeywood asked.

“Two glasses of Half and Half please,” Silver answered, “And take care when entering alright?”

“I will ma’am; of course they’ll be up momentarily.” Miss Honeywood answered.

Silver smiled and walked over to her bed. “So you’d get all your homework done?” she asked as she pulled off her shirt.

“No, I still have that English paper to do, but it’s easy, I’ll do it later.” Mirrors took the gray, yellow and red pieces and set it by Silver’s seat, then proceed to divvy up the cards.

Silver slid out of her pants leaving her as naked as the day she was born and walked over to the table, “Yeah but isn’t that due until the week after next?”

“Sure, but I’d rather just be done with the stupid thing. ‘Ten Top Reasons to use a Semicolon’, I mean really!” Sitting down, Mirror started to organize her cards.

Silver sat across from Mirror and began to organize her own cards, “Well I think you needn't worry, what with this nor’easter coming I think school’s gonna be postponed until next February.”

“That’s going to leave a mark,” groaned Mirror. “Extended school days, here we come.”

“Oh honey it won’t be too bad,” Silver said sweetly, “Especially since it is the holidays. As much as I hate snow, I’ll at least be glad that I’ll have a proper vacation finally. Diamond never let me have a free week back when she and I were friends. I’m thinking of going traveling.” Silver then arraigned her pieces in the northern parts of Yakyakistan.

“Pity,” commented Mirror, placing half of her pieces on Canterlot and Manehattan. The other half went into pairs, going all across the globe. “But that sounds awesome! Where would you travel?”

Silver was about to answer when Miss Honeywood walked in holding a large bowl of chips along with a smaller bowl of salsa. She placed them on the table next to the board game and smiled at both girls, “You’re drinks will be up momentarily, are you two girls comfortable?”

Silver nodded, “Yes Miss Honeywood.”

“Thanks,” pipped Mirror. As Miss Honeywood departed, Mirror turned back to Silver and asked, “So? Where would you travel?”

Silver shifted and blushed, “Well I found this nudist resort in Blacksburg, Catawba, which is significantly south of here.”

“That sounds warm,” sighed Mirror, longing evident in her voice. “And does it allow under ages?” Grabbing the three red dice, Mirror pointed from Canterlot to Harmelozan, a main city in Yakkyakkanstan.

“Well yes and no, they do allow families at the resort. But Mother and Father have business in Los Pegasus so I’ll be going alone.” Silver responded reacting accordingly. Once again before someone could respond Miss Honeywood entered with this drinks although this time she said nothing as she placed them for Silver and Mirror respectively before leaving.

“Two off you,” Mirror said casually. “Is that allowed for you to go all alone? Oh and attacking same.”

“Defending,” Silver answered, “And I can get in without a problem, you won’t believe how hard it is to forge credentials these days.”

“Hard or easy,” laughed Mirror. “Split, by the way. Um… Isn’t that in-of-itself illegal? Ya know, to forge the credentials?”

“I believe it is, but that is the benefits of family and friends in power.” Silver sighed. She then took the respective pieces off, “I was wondering though….”

“Wondering about what?” Dipping her chip into the salsa, Mirror took an appreciative bite.

“I know you would like to spend Hearth's warming with your family, but...would you like to come with me?” Silver asked cutely and blushed.

“I mean, I can’t deny it’d be hard being out for Hearth’s Warming, but… Yes, I’d love to! Oh, and two off you.” Mirror took a sip of her Half and Half.

Silver feigned surprise, “Oh damn, looks like you won.” Then she took a bit of a chip, “You sure you wanna come, it is a bit out in the countryside.”

“Sure, I don’t see why not.” Taking three chips, she scooped salsa onto them. “So what’s there exactly,” she mumbled around a full mouth.

“Nice of you to ask, I’ve got a brochure right over here.” Silver smiled and got up to head over to her bed. She leapt onto her bed, a memory foam mattress, and crawled up to the pillows before pulling out a brochure, “come see!”

Walking over to sit on Silver’s bed, Mirror laughed. “You seem really excited about it.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Silver asked as she crawled over to Mirror.

“Well, it’s a bit hard to get you this excited,” giggled Mirror. “What are you looking so much forward to?”

Silver answered by placing her lips onto Mirror’s.

Pulling back after a few seconds, Mirror smiled. “Well that explains it. So, I want to know everything about it!”

Silver smiled, “Well first there's a wonderful hiking trail that takes us through a forest. They’ve also got a very large outdoor pool, a moderately sized indoor pool, and three Jacuzzi’s.”

“That sounds awesome. So when do we go?” Mirror by now had emptied out the chip bowl and was sipping on her Half and Half.

“Well I wasn’t done yet, they also have a basketball, volleyball, and a tennis court for you to play to your heart’s content. Cabins with indoor plumbing, and even a game room.” Silver answered, “I plan on leaving this Monday.”

“Sounds brilliant. I’d love to go swimming the outdoors… So I’m coming, right?”

Silver raised an eyebrow, “Why, think I’ll leave you behind?”

“No, just double checking, you know how I am,” Mirror laughed. “So what’s needed for me to pack? Like, do I need to bring clothes at all besides for going there and coming back?”

“That’ll be up if you want to travel outside the resort.” Silver answered, “But I don’t plan on doing so. Plus I don’t think I’ll be able to forge a driver’s license to rent a car.”

“No, I wouldn’t think so either. So… light packing. That’s good. Oh, are bathing suits required?”

“It is clothing optional, but knowing you…” Silver giggled.

“Why bother? I’m going to pack a bikini; I can’t stand water without a bathing suit. One of my quirks I suppose,” Mirror said.

“Well if that’s the case, I really am not comfortable playing sports without some pants on, so I guess I’ll bring some sports pants.” Silver answered, “As well as my backup glasses.”

“See? Everyone must have one thing where they will always wear clothes for.” Mirror drained the last of her Half and Half, setting down the glass.

Silver took a drink of her own glass of half and half, “By the way, I know Mother and Father will be alright with me going. What about your family?”

Mirror shrugged. “I haven’t told them you know. I guess I’ll just tell them it’s a winter resort and I’m going with you.”

Silver sighed, “Well, I...uh...okay,”

“What’s wrong,” Mirror asked, butterflies bubbling up in her stomach.

Silver sighed, “I….I still haven’t told them yet.”

“About us? It’s fine. I’m your best friend to them,” pointed out Mirror. “Just tell them that I was at a NLAC party and I wanted to come. If they ask about my parents… Well, they won’t check in, would they?”

“I doubt they will, why do you ask?” Silver asked.

“Because then you can just say that you think I told them… I know you don’t like lying but… I’m not ready. Only Ice Shield knows and even then that was an awkward conversation.” Mirror sighed and shook her head. “My parents wouldn’t like that I’m a nudist.”

Silver sighed, “I see, well we needn’t worry, I’m sure they’ll accept your reason. I intend to be out of here by 9 a.m. sharp so don’t be late or I’ll leave you be. And then you won't be able to enjoy all the amenities of this place.”

“Oh please,” Mirror rolled her eyes. “Yes I’ll be here on time. I probably won’t be able to stay asleep anyways.”

“Good,” Silver smiled as she snuggled up to Mirror Gem, “I’m glad you’re coming.”

Mirror replied with a kiss. Then she pulled back and glanced at Silver’s clock. “It’s getting close to six forty five. I’m going to get dressed for dinner.”

Silver pouted, “Stay with me, for a bit longer please? I’ll have Lance drive you home…”

“Sorry sweetheart, but I’ve got to watch Indigo Rush. It’s nearly a half of an hour’s worth of walking. And I would like to eat before I’ve got to watch the squirt.” Mirror’s amber eyes reflected her sadness.

Silver then pulled Mirror Gem into a loving embrace, locking their lips. Mirror felt the warmth of Silver’s body integrate with hers as they lay there making out. Despite all her butterflies, Mirror felt comfortable whenever Silver held her close. Then after a moment, Silver released, “Alright, but I’ll have Lance take you home anyway.”

“Naw, its fine. I’d rather walk anyways. You know burn the weight I’m meant to.” Slipping into her clothes, Mirror glanced at Silver. “Besides, the cold air helps me think. I really need to compose that English essay.”

Silver nodded and kissed Mirror again, “Alright, and get back to me soon about the trip okay?”

“Alright. I’ll text you.” Letting herself out of Silver’s bedroom and down the stairs to the foyer she realized that the RISK game was still upstairs to be cleaned. Then she shook her head. Miss Honeywood would probably clean it up. Colinsworth was dusting the mantle of the fireplace.

“Ah Miss Gem are you on your way out?” he asked.

“Yes, I’ll let myself out,” Mirror asked the butler.

“Very well ma’am, the front entrance is ice free.” He responded with a smile.

“Thank you.” Mirror walked out into the cold and towards home.