Heading Home For the Holidays
“Okay, Hearth’s Warming lights untangled, check. Halls decked with boughs of holly, check. Phyllis watered…”
Starlight levitated a spray bottle of water over to the office plant, giving her a few good squirts of water to keep her nice and moist. Sunburst had volunteered to keep her watered the rest of the break – among many other duties– but she had wanted to personally give her one last watering before she headed out for vacation.
“And check!” she said, satisfied that the plant had been properly moistened. With a spark of magic, she teleported the bottle back into the cabinet and began to walk out of her office. She paused for a brief moment at the doorway, sighing with a sense of fondness. This had been her first semester as principal at the School of Friendship. It had been exciting, challenging, the exact kind of rewarding experience she had hoped for all her life.
But dear Celestia was she ready for a break.
“Now I just to make sure that the last of the students that wanted to leave have gone home and then we can be on our way,” she said to herself, mostly for the benefit of the mental checklist she had been keeping. With that goal in mind, she turned off the lights, shut the door, and wandered off to do one last look around, her thoughts now turning to the exciting holiday plan that she and Trixie had.
Well, exciting wasn’t exactly the best way to put it. After all, going home to visit her dad for the holidays wasn’t her idea of exciting, but after the craziness of this last semester, a quiet visit home with her best friend beside her was just what she needed. That, and she figured that Trixie was probably starting to reach a breaking point.
While Trixie had been rather understanding that a change in management meant a whole new slew of responsibilities, and therefore less time for the two of them to hang out, Starlight knew that the magician/student counselor was a bit…clingy. The fact she had been willing to work with Discord to fake a ghost haunting to scare the students out and force the two of them to go “ghost busting” on Nightmare Night had been a pretty strong signal of that. It had only been the promise of the two of them hanging out over Hearth’s Warming break that had probably saved the school from further Trixie-inspired pranks. Though, sadly, it also seemed the students had loved the idea enough that they would have to figure out how to incorporate it into every Nightmare Night now. You win some, you lose some, it seemed.
Speaking of clingy, that was also the reason they were going to visit her father. While he had been a lot better about letting her live her life, he had also been sending an exponentially increasing number of letters as the holidays approached asking if she wanted to visit for the holidays. Thank goodness she got her mail through the post office instead of through magical dragon fire like Twilight had. Even Spike would have had serious heartburn dealing with the volume of letters she was getting.
So, that was what had led her to the present situation. Needing to satisfy both Trixie’s and her father’s need for her attention, Starlight had arranged for Trixie to spend the holidays with her and her father, who had eagerly agreed to the idea. It was perfect, really. Her and Trixie would hopefully get a nice road trip out of it (fortunately this was a shorter trip than going to Saddle Arabia), her dad would get to see her for the holidays, and she would get some relief from the constant nagging from the both of them for her attention. A win-win-win situation if there ever was one. All she needed to do to enact this perfect plan to grab Trixie and go.
After checking on the students, of course.
Glancing at a nearby clock, she saw that it was starting to get kind of late. If they were going to hit the road before it got dark, she really needed to speed things up.
“It probably wouldn’t hurt if I just use a quick spell…” she said.
A simple locator spell sweeping the school building would do the trick in making sure all the students who were supposed to be gone were gone. Her horn glowed, and a barely visible magical aura slowly spread out from her location in the halls, almost like sonar. This would all take just a minute and then she could get out of here.
From the looks of it, the school was pretty much abandoned, which was good. There were few students still around, mostly those for whom travelling home would be difficult or had decided to stick around for personal reasons. Sunburst was in his office, as usual, dealing with all the paperwork. She really needed to make sure to get him a thank-you gift for taking up the extra work so her and Trixie could leave early. Speaking of Trixie, it seemed that she was still in the counselor’s office with…
“Oh no.”
They hadn’t even started their trip and already they had a problem.
She raced to the counselor’s office, skidding to a stop and slowly opening the door to spy on the situation. As she did, she could hear the voice of a very familiar hippogriff talking and could see that Trixie was patiently listening with a strained smile.
“So, after I decided that the horseshoe polish would not, in fact, be a good gift for Gallus because claws aren’t horse shoes and he might see it as insulting his personal hygiene skills, I was left without anything to get him for Hearth’s Warming! I want to ask him about how he takes care of his claws, but then he might be aware of what I’m trying to get him and that totally breaks the spirit of secret gift giving. Do you think that I should just get him the same stuff I use for mine?”
“I, uh, guess so? Are hippogriff and griffon claws the same? I mean, you both have ‘griff’ in your name, right?” Trixie replied, obviously reaching for something to respond with.
Starlight felt so much sympathy for the mare. While Silverstream had been a lot better about not using the counselor’s office as a springboard for her thought process, she still had her moments, particularly when she was really anxious. She was going to try and intervene, buuuut it had been some time since she had checked on how Trixie was adjusting to her new role. Just a few minutes longer couldn’t hurt, right?
“Hmm, you know, we do both have griff in our names, don’t we? Griffon, hippogriff. Oooh, I wonder if we’re related!” Silverstream said, scribbling in her notes.
“Maybe, but if you really want to figure out if griffon and hippogriff claws require the same kind of maintenance without asking him, maybe you could check out the library? Sunburst is keeping it open for students who are staying behind…well, more like he’ll be using it so you might as well use it too,” Trixie said. A little sarcastic, and the dig at Sunburst not quite needed, but it was a practical solution. There were plenty of books on biology and books on social customs, so it was likely there was books on grooming among the avian-like species.
“Ooooh, right, the library. Of course!” Silverstream said, gently knocking herself in the forehead. “I completely forgot about the library! I should ask Ocellus if she has any suggestions for books to read. Thanks for the help, Counselor Trixie!”
“No problem, Silverstream. Have a happy Hearth’s Warming holiday,” Trixie replied, the two giving each other a wave as Silverstream began to leave.
Starlight backed up, not wanting to get smacked with the door, and gave Silverstream a wave as she left.
“Enjoy the break, Silverstream,” Starlight said.
“You too, Principal Starlight,” Silverstream replied, her voice dimming as she flew off towards the library.
“Uggh, finally,” Trixie moaned once Silverstream was out of earshot, sliding lazily in her chair.
Starlight giggled.
“Long day?”
“It was mostly okay, but I learned way too much about the complex dynamics of Hearth’s Warming Helper than I ever wanted to know,” Trixie said, slinking off the chair and onto her hooves. “But she was the last of them, so you know what that means,” Trixie said, grinning at a pace that was matched only by Starlight’s own.
“ROAD TRIP!” the two of them yelled in sync.
“Did you remember to pack plenty of snacks?”
“Depends. Did you remember to put most of your magic stuff in storage so I’d have room to put the snacks in?” Starlight asked. The answer was yes, of course, but she wanted to see if Trixie had done anything since packing.
“Yes, everything but the absolutely necessary magical items are in storage,” Trixie said, rolling her eyes as she stepped out of the office.
“Do smoke bombs count as necessary magical items?” Starlight snarked back, turning off the lights and locking the door as she did so.
“They are the most important magical items, thank you very much,” Trixie replied. “How could Trixie possibly make her grand entrances and exit without them?”
“Just make sure they are properly stored so they don’t blow up on us this time,” Starlight said with a playful level of exasperation.
“Oh relax. There’s plenty of room for both our luggage, our hammocks, and even a little standing room. It won’t be as bad as last time,” Trixie replied. “Besides, it’s, like, one night anyway. Once we get to your dad’s house we’ll be staying in there, right?”
“Welllll, do we have to?” Starlight said, tilting her head away from Trixie.
“Come on Starlight, we talked about this. I’m totally fine staying in your dad’s house. Because, let’s be honest, the alternative is way worse. Unless you’ve dealt with that little ‘problem’ of yours?”
“Hey, I’ve totally gotten better about my snoring. Do you still talk in your sleep?” Starlight snipped back.
“Perhaps. Wanna risk it?” Trixie said with a smarmy smile.
“…fine, we’ll stay at my dad’s.” Starlight replied. It was probably for the best. While they could probably survive one night in the wagon together, she had to admit spending the whole holiday in there cramped together would probably drive them both nuts. If it was between being in her embarrassing to look at childhood bedroom versus Trixie’s sleep-talk, she’d pick the former.
“I still don’t get why it’s such a big deal we do that anyway. I thought you had dealt with all your father issues” Trixie said as the two of them finally exited the school building and headed towards where Trixie’s wagon was parked.
“They aren’t ‘father issues’, Trixie,” Starlight said, rolling her eyes. “He’s been a lot better about treating me as an adult, but, well, some things probably are never going to quite change,” she said, weakly laughing. “It’s kind of like my relationship with you. We’re great friends, but we probably shouldn’t be sleeping under the same roof.”
“You know, sometimes I still don’t know if I should be insulted by that or not, but then I remember your snoring is on par with a bear attack, and then I feel better,” Trixie replied, bumping Starlight playfully.
“Alright, watch it, Trixie. Don’t forget you practically do two shows a night in your sleep,” Starlight replied, bumping back.
“Yeah, yeah, point taken,” Trixie said as the two of them finally reached her wagon. “So, why don’t you go ahead and get comfy on the roof while I get some ‘starting on the road’ snacks,” Trixie said, heading towards the door to her wagon.
“No, it’s alright, you go ahead and get yourself harnessed in and I’ll grab the snacks,” Starlight replied, having already been closer to the door and already having her magic on the handle.
“No, no, it’s perfectly fine and DON’T OPEN THAT DOOR,” Trixie said, rushing to try and stop Starlight.
Sadly, she was too late, and Starlight soon found herself staring inside a wagon filled with a lot of stuff that wasn’t supposed to be there.
“Trixie,” Starlight said, face looking flatly ahead as she heard her friend scoot next to her.
“So, perhaps I didn’t put as much stuff in storage as you thought I did,” Trixie said, laughing nervously.
Starlight simply sighed.
“Alright, help me get this stuff into your office.”
An hour later the whole of Trixie’s wagon had been emptied out and reorganized. There was one box in particular that Trixie was adamantly opposed to being taken out, but otherwise Starlight had found that Trixie was surprisingly open to letting everything else be put away. Apparently, Trixie was a lot more comfortable with the idea of it being locked up in her office than in some rental storage lot. That, and Trixie hadn’t wanted to spend the bits.
“So, is there anything else I need to know before we get going?” Starlight replied, shutting the door to Trixie’s wagon as she levitated a bag of chips besides her. After all, she had wanted to get some snacks, so she was going to get some snacks.
“Nope, that was the only surprise I had,” Trixie replied, having now been secured in the harness.
“Alrighty then, lets head out. We’re already behind schedule so we got to pick up the pace a bit,” Starlight replied, jumping onto the top of the roof and getting comfortable.
“Huh, it feels a lot lighter now,” Trixie said as she started to pull the wagon, officially starting the holidays.
“Yes, wagons tend to be lighter without a lot of stuff in it,” Starlight replied.
“Right…”
“So what exactly was your plan anyway?” Starlight said, munching on some chips.
“I figured that once we were in the middle of nowhere and stopped for the night it’d be too late to make me get rid of it all,” Trixie said.
“Really? You didn’t think I’d just toss it to the side of the road?” Starlight replied, having gotten so comfortable at this point that a few stray crumbs were falling out of her mouth.
“Oh I know you wouldn’t,” Trixie replied. “You’re not mean enough to do that, especially because you know all that stuff is part of my livelihood.”
“Well, you do have a great job as a school counselor now,” Starlight replied.
“Eh, that’s more of a side gig for now. Once I get that Las Pegasus show, I am out of there,” Trixie replied. There was a beat, and then the two of them started giggling. “I’m kidding. You know I would never abandon the kids like that,” Trixie said as she caught her breath.
“And that’s why you’re a great school counselor,” Starlight replied, coughing a little as that laughter had lodged some crumbs in her windpipe.
“Unless they offer me a really good paycheck,” Trixie replied, eliciting one last bit of giggles from Starlight, this time lacking chips in her throat.
After that point things quieted down a bit, allowing Starlight to enjoy the view as she idly ate. It was still light out, but the sun was starting to slowly creep down, bathing the area with the warm glow of a winter’s sunset. They were behind schedule, but they’d likely make it to Sire’s Hollow by tomorrow evening. Her dad would probably get pretty anxious, which probably meant some extra hard clinging at first, but it’d all work out fine. They’d hug, she’d explain why they were a bit late, everyone would laugh about it, and everything would be okay. The holidays were not ruined yet!
For now, however, she would just put all thoughts of her dad and home aside, instead taking in the view of the lightly forested path. There had been some gently snowfall earlier, and while the road was fortunately clear, the ground to the side of it had just the lightest layer of snow over it and the trees the lightest of dusting. It was quite the serene scene, really, but she was already starting to tire of the quiet contemplation of nature.
“Wow, another few inches of snow and this would be a regular Hearth’s Warming card,” Starlight said, looking down at Trixie.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I guess,” Trixie said, taking a moment to look around before returning her attention to the road.
“Not sounding very impressed there. Not one for the majesty of nature?” Starlight replied.
“Honestly, most of my Hearth’s Warming memories are more ‘Canterlot’ than ‘countryside, so it doesn’t feel very Hearth’s Warming until there’s a lot of fake candy canes and giant wreaths everywhere,” Trixie replied. “A pastry shop filled with cookies wouldn’t hurt either.”
“Wait, are you from Canterlot?” Starlight said, a little confused.
“Yes, I was raised in Canterlot…and hey, watch the crumbs,” Trixie said, having to stop the wagon and put a hoof up to block the raining of crumbs.
“Sorry,” Starlight said, figuring it was probably time to close up the now half empty bag. “I didn’t know you were from Canterlot.”
“I thought I had mentioned it before,” Trixie replied, stopping to brush off from crumbs before moving onwards.
“No, pretty sure I’d remember it if you mentioned you were from Canterlot,” Starlight said, tapping her chin. “Which, actually, I don’t remember you discussing much at all about where you’re from.”
Trixie was silent for a moment.
“It must have just slipped my mind,” Trixie said. “But, yes, I was born and raised in Canterlot until I saved up enough to buy my first wagon and start touring,”
“Makes sense,” Starlight replied. “Do you still have family in Canterlot?”
“Yep. My mother still lives there. My dad…not so much,” Trixie said, staring ahead and speaking in a flat tone.
“Oh I’m - I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Starlight said, worried that she had hit on something really personal.
“Nothing to be sorry about it,” Trixie said, shrugging. “He was gone before I was born, so I’ve had plenty of time to get over it.”
Starlight winced. Yep, she had really stepped into something personal here with her questions. At the same time, though, she could sympathize with Trixie’s story and reluctance to talk, considering her mother had passed away when she was young, leaving just her and her dad for most of her young life. In retrospect, that probably didn’t help her issues with hating cutie-marks.
And, actually, she wasn’t sure she had even mentioned that to Trixie before…
“Well, if you ever want to talk about it, you know I’m here,” Starlight said. “My mother died when I was young, so I think I know a bit about what you went through.
“I said I’m fine,” Trixie replied, and Starlight could practically hear Trixie’s eyes rolling in that tone. “But, thank you for the offer…and sorry about your mom.”
An awkward moment passed, then Starlight had an idea.
“Oh hey, I know, why don’t we invite your mom to come up and join us for Hearth’s Warming! I bet she’d love it,” Starlight replied, teleporting down to join Trixie’s side. “Sure, it’d probably be pretty snug at my dad’s place, but it’d be great to have the whole family around! You’d meet my dad, I’d meet your mom, it’d be perfect!”
Trixie laughed nervously.
“Yes, that sounds absolutely perfect,” Trixie replied, glancing over at Starlight. “But, you’re just too late. Last time I talked with her she was planning to visit Horsolulu for the holidays. You know, really enjoying that empty nest and all.”
“Do you think it’s too late to cancel this trip and join her there,” Starlight said, chuckling. “I’m joking. I’m glad you’re at least talking with her. It took me ages to finally visit my dad again after all that stuff with my village,” Starlight said. “And I could never imagine him just flying off to Horsolulu. I don’t think he really gets the idea of an ‘empty nest’.”
“Yeah, well, she was always a bit of a free spirit. Once I was on the road, she was too,” Trixie replied. “But, I’ll let her know you offered. Maybe we can visit her some other time.”
“Hmm, we’ll be pretty busy until spring break. Just ask her to keep her schedule clear and we’ll set something up.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Trixie replied. “Now, why don’t you head inside and get stuff ready for dinner?”
“Mmm, I don’t know, I don’t feel all that hungry right now. You sure it isn’t a little early to for dinner?” Starlight replied.
Trixie glanced over at the half empty bag of chips.
“Oh, right,” Starlight replied with a blush, using her magic to teleport the evidence of her snacking back into the wagon. “I’ll just make some salads or something. Just try and hit a few bumps on the way. Really helps mix the ingredients up,” Starlight said.
“Just please try to hurry. I’m practically starving,” Trixie said, glancing down at her stomach.
“Alright Trixie, I’ll make sure you’re fed before you pass out and send the wagon careening off a cliff,” Starlight said, teleporting into the wagon.
Unknown to Starlight, however, once she was gone Trixie would let out a sigh.
“Well, that was a crisis averted.”
Author's Note
I had meant for this fic to come out during the holidays because, well, it's a holiday fic, but real life kept me distracted enough I never got to it. Figuring it better late than never, decided to finally get to work on it in between working on In Somepony's Shadow.
The inspiration of the fic was a combination of loving Trixie and Starlight's relationship (which I'll unlikely get to in In Somepony's Shadow) and having been exposed to an ungodly amount of Hallmark Christmas movies while visiting family for the holidays. Throw in the commonality that Trixie and Starlight appear to have only one parent in their life, and there seemed to be a perfect mixture of things to write a somewhat cheesy holiday fic.
As for the romance tag, yes, I'm trying my hand at writing a bit of romance to this between Trixie and Starlight as the fic progresses. Because you can't have a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie without romance.
