Phoradendron Leucarpum
Written By
Inky Shades
It'd gotten to that point in the year where the weather had turned from a pleasant—if slightly cooler than average—breeze and into a chill that numbed the tips of your fingers and made your nose red and runny. However, it was also the time where strings of lights were hung on roofs and woven through tree branches. And if you waited for evening to set, the streets lit up with reds and blues and whites and a kaleidoscope of other colors. It was during these evenings that Sunset found herself enthralled by these lights, and if she were to pick a word to describe the tapestry of color before her, she'd say “magical”. No other word could accurately describe the whimsy that blanketed Canterlot like a quilt during this time of the year.
Honestly, the sights reminded her of home from years past. Well… at least from what she remembered, anyway. It felt like a lifetime since she last stepped foot in her native land. Though, even when she was still living in Equestria, she didn't celebrate the holidays much, and even less when she became Princess Celestia's student. And just like back then, once she came through the portal and into the human world, her mind remained focused on her quest to overthrow Celestia. So she decided to learn what she could about her new world, but only in a way that she could best use to help her find a way to defeat the princess back in Equestria. Naturally, that didn't include researching the new world's holiday customs. Sure she learned about them somewhat in passing, but in the end, they didn't matter.
It wasn't until recent memory where she began to care about holiday celebrations. She had her friends to thank for that. Everything changed in her life the moment she met her friends. Her whole world opened up and she learned about how people celebrated the winter months. So many ways to celebrate, so many beautiful, wonderful ways. And she enjoyed participating in the festivities, and she also couldn't help but be amused at how similar this time of the years was to Equestria. It made her feel just a little closer to home and that was nice.
Sunset exhaled into her palms, rubbing her hands together in a vain attempt to regain some sense of feeling in her fingers. When that didn't work, she resigned herself to letting her fingers freeze. At least she wasn't too far from Twilight's house.
As Twilight's home came into view, she saw the warm light that emitted from the bay window. Sunset walked up the brick path that led to the door and pressed the doorbell off to the side. A holiday jingle rang out, bringing a small grin to her lips. Twilight did say that her mom liked to get in the holiday spirit.
It didn't take long for the door to be answered and for her to be greeted by the merry face of Mr. Sparkle wearing a Santa hat. Clearly Mrs. Sparkle wasn't the only one into the festivities. “Sunset, you made it!” Mr. Sparkle said, opening his arms wide. “Come in, come in! You must be freezing out there.”
“Thanks, Mister Sparkle.” Sunset stepped inside and felt warmer.
“Twilight will be happy to see you. She's been talking about you all week. Can I take your coat?”
“She has?” As Sunset handed him her coat, a heat built within her cheeks.
“Almost nonstop.” He hung the coat on a nearby rack on the wall. “I don't think I've ever seen her so excited for our annual party. It's nice seeing her face all lit up whenever she talks about you. You know, when I last saw her a little while ago, her face looked a lot like yours too.” There was a sly look in his eyes as he spoke.
Knowing that the warmth in her cheeks was visible and that Mr. Sparkle noticed only made them burn hotter. “It's just really cold outside!” she blurted.
“Ah, of course.” Mr. Sparkle nodded. Of course Sunset knew that wasn't the truth. And she knew that he knew that that wasn't the truth by the knowing grin he had on his face. “In that case, why don't you join your friends in the living room? I'm pretty certain they're playing a card game with Shining.”
“The girls are already here? Does that mean I'm late?” She mentally kicked herself.
“No, no. You're fine,” he said. “Though if you hadn't arrived in another five minutes, we'd have sent a search party out for you. You know, in case you ended up frozen to the sidewalk.”
“Very funny,” Sunset said. “Though I think I almost ended up frozen back on Emerald Street.”
“I bet. Go make yourself comfortable. Did you want any hot chocolate?”
“Yes please.”
“I'll go get you some,” he said.
Sunset entered the living room and was immediately greeted by Pinkie throwing herself over the back of the couch. “Happy holidays, Sunset!” Her voice was ever so slightly too loud, but her enthusiasm was infectious.
“You too, Pinkie,” Sunset said with a small wave.
“Did you want a cookie?” Pinkie held a gingerbread man out towards Sunset.
“I'm good.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay!” Pinkie shoved the cookie into her mouth. Flipping herself back to her seat, she pointed to the cushion to her right and said still chewing her food, “You can sit right here!”
Sunset shook her head with an amused smile on her face before taking her seat next to Pinkie. “Hi, guys. What are you playing?” she asked, looking at Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Shining Armor sitting around the coffee table with cards in hand.
Applejack turned her head towards her. “Hey, sugarcube. It's just a friendly game of Uno.”
“Ha! 'Friendly'. Right. Between you and me,” Shining said to Sunset, “I think they're cheating.”
“Ooh those sound like fighting words,” Pinkie said.
“I resent that accusation.” Applejack placed a hand over her chest. “We Apples pride ourselves on our integrity.”
“Don't worry about it, AJ. He's just jealous that he keeps losing!” Rainbow laughed.
“I'm not jealous!”
“See? That sounds like something a jealous person would say,” Rainbow said.
Shining peered in the couch’s direction. “I think we need another player to help balance the odds. Fluttershy?”
“Me?” Fluttershy squeaked. Sunset leaned forward and saw her shrink into the corner of the couch. “I don't think that's a good idea. Why don't you ask Pinkie or Sunset?”
“Yeah, we wouldn't want a repeat of what happened at Rarity's sleepover, would we, AJ?” Rainbow playfully punched Applejack in the arm.
Applejack nodded solemnly.
“Um, am I missing something?” Sunset asked. She glanced at Shining who seemed just as confused as her by Rainbow and Applejack's words. “I don't remember a slumber party at Rarity's where we played Uno.”
“This was a few years back. So you wouldn't have been there,” Applejack said. “But it was definitely… something.”
“Fluttershy got really, really, really into the game,” Pinkie said, holding her arms out for emphasis. “Like super duper into it!”
“It's so embarrassing. I don't like to talk about it.” If Fluttershy could've shrank further into the couch, it looked like she would've.
“Alright. So that's a no from Fluttershy.” Shining turned his attention towards Sunset. “How about it?”
“I think I'll pass. It'll be fun watching them kick your butt.”
“Oh, come on!”
“Trouble in paradise?” Sunset turned her head and saw Mr. Sparkle standing next to her holding a steaming mug. “Here's your hot chocolate,” he said, handing the mug to her. “Careful not to burn yourself.”
“Thanks, Mister Sparkle.” She accepted the drink.
“Dad, you've got to help me out here!” Shining said.
“Son, sometimes you just need to know when to throw in the towel.” Mr. Sparkle leaned over and whispered into Sunset's ear, “Shining's never been good at card games. In fact, I'm pretty sure he'd find a way to lose even if he was the only one playing.”
Sunset covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.
“That's not helpful at all,” Shining said.
“Sorry,” Mr. Sparkle said. “Now, if anyone needs me, I'll be in the kitchen helping my wife finish making the snacks.”
“So, Shining, you wanna go again?” Rainbow asked.
“Of course.”
“That's the spirit!” Applejack said.
Sunset's gaze wandered the room as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. Seeing all her friends here—wait. Where was Twilight and Rarity? “Hey, guys. Where's Twilight and Rarity?”
“I think they went up to her room,” Applejack said.
“Yeah, Twilight was rambling about how Christmas is routed in Pagan tradition or something like that. I don't know. It sounded like boring egg-head stuff. So I didn't pay much attention,” Rainbow said. “Then I told her she'd be better off talking to you about all that stuff.” She glanced at Sunset with a sly smile. “After mentioning your name, she got all flustered and started rambling about what she was wearing. Didn't care to pay attention to that topic either. But she left in a hurry, and Rarity followed behind her to 'offer her assistance' or something like that.”
“They've been gone for a super long time!” Pinkie added.
Her vision followed the garland that snaked around the railing that led upstairs. Before she had time to wonder what was going on up there, Rarity appeared atop the stairs. But Twilight wasn't with her. Sunset's lips turned into a small frown.
“Sorry it took so long,” Rarity said, walking down the stairs. “But we just had to make sure she had the perfect outfit. And we almost did! But then we had to try on another and then another and then—you!” She pointed at Sunset. “Do you have any idea what I've been through because of you? I had to listen to her talk about the history of cotton for an hour while we tried to find an outfit for her to wear.”
“Sorry?” Sunset said.
“Whoa, now! Hold up,” Applejack said. “First of all, you were only gone for about a half hour. Second, if I recall, wasn't it your idea to volunteer in the first place?”
Rarity made a shooing motion with her right hand. “Details, darling.” She sat between Pinkie and Fluttershy.
“So did you find something for her to wear?” Fluttershy asked.
“Oh, of course!” Rarity said, and Sunset heard the excitement in her voice.
“Then how come Twilight's still upstairs?” Rainbow asked.
“The poor dear was still too nervous.”
“Nervous? It's only us.” The hint of peppermint lingered in her mouth as Sunset took another sip of her hot chocolate. She was certain that whatever outfit Twilight had on, she'd look beautiful in it.
“But, darling, it isn't us,” Rarity said. “It's all—oh, good! You decided to come down.”
Sunset's attention was drawn to the stairs and to Twilight who wore a green dress and white and red striped tights. If she hadn't already taken a few sips of her drink, she was quite certain that she'd have spilt some on herself. When their eyes met, Twilight's eyes widened and she stopped for a brief moment, offering a small wave towards Sunset.
“You're... you're here! H-Happy holidays, Sunset,” Twilight said.
“Happy holidays,” Sunset said, staring perhaps a little too intently at her.
“You look fantastic, Twilight!” Pinkie scooted closer to Rarity. “Come sit with us.”
“Thank you,” Twilight said.
“Have a hot date after leaving Santa's workshop?” Shining peered up at his sister.
“N-No!” Her gaze drifted to Sunset before snapping back to her brother. A blush almost as red as the stripes on her tights formed on her cheeks.
“Relax. I'm only teasing you.” Shining's lips curled into a devilish grin. “Now, why don't you sit next to your girlfriend?”
“Shining!” Her voice raised an octave as she settled next to Sunset.
Sunset brought her mug to her lips. To her friends, it'd appear as if she wanted a drink. In actuality, she wanted to hide the smile on her face. Girlfriend. She'd considered the idea before, of Twilight and her dating. She'd considered it quite a lot actually, but she never acted on it. It simply never felt like the right time with how often they had to fight Equestrian magic. Well… that and she always felt a flutter in her stomach whenever she found herself to be in a position to ask.
Shining laughed. “What? Can't you handle—”
“Uno!” Rainbow said.
“Again? How do you keep doing that?”
Rainbow shrugged. “What can I say? I'm just that awesome!”
“Glad to see you're not developing an ego, captain modesty,” Applejack said.
“I can't help it if it's true,” Rainbow said. “So you want to try again? You might get lucky this time.”
“You know”—Shining stood up and sat in a nearby armchair—“I think I'm going to take my dad's advice and throw in the towel.”
“Suit yourself. Anyone else want to join in?”
“Oh, oh! I'll join!” Pinkie hopped over to the coffee table.
Sunset noticed Twilight's rigid posture and her hands clinched in her lap. “Hey, are you al—”
“Hey, I could use another pair of hands!” The voice of Mrs. Sparkle carried from the kitchen.
“Coming!” Twilight rose, and in her opinion, couldn't leave the living room fast enough.
With Twilight acting so strangely, Sunset followed after her. She reached a hand out and touched her arm. “Hey, Twilight. Is something wrong?”
“Wrong? No, no. Nothing's wrong at all.” Twilight laughed, but it sounded forced. “What would make you say something like that?”
“You've been tense since you came downstairs.”
“No, I…” Her words trailed off, and a glow as red as holly covered her face.
“Twilight?” Sunset saw Twilight glance up. So she raised her head and noticed a small plant with white berries dangled from the arch above by a red ribbon.
“Phoradendron leucarpum—” Twilight wrung her hands and shifted in place “—better known as 'eastern mistletoe' or 'oak mistletoe'. Did you know that mistletoe is used in several cultures?”
“That doesn't answer my question. Is something bothering you?”
“Well… not 'bothering' me per se. It's silly really. I mean, it's only you.”
“Me? I make you nervous?”
Twilight clamped her mouth shut, and it looked like she wanted to be anywhere else at this particular moment. It took her a second before she responded. “That's why it's silly. You've been here so many times before, but you've never been here, now, at the holidays. And I just—Did you know that you can tell eastern mistletoe apart from common mistletoe based on how many clusters of berries it has?”
“You just wanted the party to go perfectly, didn't you?”
A nod from Twilight confirmed her suspicions. “It's your first holiday with us, and I just want to make it special, but I keep rambling on and on. It's a terrible habit of mine and I know it drives everyone crazy.”
“How could this evening not be perfect? You're here.” Sunset placed her hands on Twilight's arms and rubbed them with her thumbs. “And you know what? I like your habits.”
“Oh, well, thank you.” A small smile alighted on Twilight's lips as she blushed, adjusting the glasses on the bridge of her nose.
There was a flurry in her stomach caused by the beating of hundreds of tiny wings. Girlfriend. She mused once more. Nothing could give her greater pleasure than being able to say that she was Twilight's girlfriend. Since meeting her at the Friendship Games, Twilight had lit up her world, and she wasn't certain if she'd be able to do the same for her, but she wanted to try.
Sunset smiled at Twilight, cupping her chin with her hand. “Did you know that there are some who believe that the tradition of kissing someone under the mistletoe came from Norse mythology?”
“Y-Yes. That's the death of Baldur, right?”
“Mmhmm.”
“It's a sad story.”
“Not all the time.” Sunset leaned forward ever so slightly.
“O-Oh?”
“You see, there's a version of the legend where after Baldur dies, his mother, Frigg, wept over the arrow made of mistletoe that killed him. Her tears transformed into small white berries which she placed into his wound in a desperate attempt to save him. The berries brought Baldur back to life. In her joy at seeing her beloved son resurrected, Frigg blessed the mistletoe and declared it to be a symbol of love.” Sunset felt Twilight's gentle breath against her face.
“I hadn't heard this version of the story before,” Twilight said, voice barely above a whisper. “When did you learn it?”
“During my studies of holiday traditions. You know, there's a little more to the story if you want to hear it.”
Twilight nodded slowly. “Yes.”
“Well, after Frigg made the mistletoe a symbol of love, she vowed to kiss all who passed under it thus starting the kissing tradition. Or at least so it's believed.”
“I think I like this version better than the one where he doesn't recover.”
“Me too,” Sunset said. “It'd be a shame not to carry on the tradition, don't you think?”
“Mmhmm.”
Sunset closed the remaining distance between them. Their lips met, and a warmth like the gentle rays of the spring sun washed over her cheeks. In all of an instant the furious flutters inside of her died down, transformed into a hum that flowed through her core and veins. And the feeling lingered as she pulled away.
With the hum still inside her from kissing Twilight, Sunset felt emboldened enough to ask the sole question that plagued her mind. “Twilight, will you go on a date with me tomorrow?”
“Wow.” Twilight placed her fingertips to her lips, seemingly in a daze. So Sunset wasn't certain if she even heard her at all.
“Um, Twilight? Did you… did you hear me?”
Twilight smiled and kissed her once more. “Yes,” she said, entwining her fingers with Sunset's.
A loud squeal startled Sunset, and caused both Twilight and her to break apart and turn towards the noise. There they were. All their friends sat piled onto the back of the couch with Rarity covering her mouth with a hand. Sunset rubbed the back of her neck, despite the unpleasant warmth she felt in her face, she couldn't remove the smile from her lips. There was no where else she'd rather be than standing next to Twilight.
