Chapter 31: Cruising to Relax

Twilight Sparkle was pretty busy for a teenager. She maintained an A grade average by doing her homework, studying hard for all her tests, and doing extra credit assignments. She was also part of the student council, which planned all the events whether it be pep rallys, dances, and field trips.

She also had chores to do around the house. She kept her room clean, cleaned her bathroom, helped out her parents, and there was also Spike to take care off. While Night Light and Twilight Velvet were proud to have an active and helpful daughter, they couldn't help but wish she'd find more time to relax.

One Sunday morning, Twilight got ready to take Spike for a walk.

"Twilight, are you ready yet?" Spike asked, as he held his leash in his mouth.

"Just a minute, Spike." Twilight told him.

She was just finishing a glass of orange juice. As she attached the leash to Spike's leash, her parents walked downstairs.

"Good morning, Twilight." greeted Night Light.

"Morning, Mom morning Dad."

"Got any plans today?"

"I have to walk Spike, then I'm gonna meet my friends for while, and then I have to work on my science homework."

The couple looked at each other.

"Do you have any other plans?" asked Twilight Velvet.

"Not really."

"Well what are you doing with your friends?" Night Light wanted to know.

"We're going to do a little shopping."

And then she and Spike left the house.

"I wish Twilight would find more time to just relax and have fun." wished Twilight Velvet.

"Me too, dear." Night Light agreed.

As Twilight and Spike walked through the park, they enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine.

"(Sighs), I love taking walks." said Spike.

"So do I, Spike. Now do you have to go before we head to meet my friends?" Twilight wanted to know.

"Well...maybe."

And then Spike went behind a tree to do his business. After he was finished, and Twilight cleaned it up, the two left the park. They went to town, and met up with the rest of the girls.

"Hey, girls." Twilight greeted.

"Hey, Twilight." said Rainbow Dash.

"Hello, Spike." Rarity told.

"Hi, Rarity." Spike said in a dreamy voice.

"So where shall we go first?" asked Fluttershy.

"I say we head to the party store. I need to load up on supplies." Pinkie piped up.

"Let's do it." replied Applejack.

And they all went off.

After shopping, Twilight and Spike parted ways from her friends.

"See you girls at school." Twilight called.

"Bye, Twilight, bye Spike." the other girls called back.

When they got back to the house, Twilight went to her room to start on her homework. She worked on it for a good 45 minutes and then she was finally finished.

"(Sighs), that was very satisfying." Twilight told herself.

"Hey, Twilight can we play a little bit?" Spike wanted to know.

"Well since I'm finished with my homework. We can have a little playtime."

Twilight then got some of Spike's toys and the two began to play.

The next day at school, Twilight was on her way to class.

"Let's see, I have a meeting with the student council after school, then I have to work on my English paper, I have to give Spike a bath, and I need to give my bathroom a cleaning." she told herself, looking at her little planner notebook.

She then went to her first class, and took her seat. School went on as usual, and at lunch she ate with her friends.

"You know Twilight, you should squeeze in some time for relaxing on that schedule of yours." Applejack said.

"I find time to relax. In fact I'm going to watch a movie after I finish cleaning my bathroom." Twilight informed.

"You mean like five hours from now?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"That's a long time." Fluttershy piped up.

"Hey, I have things to do."

"While that may be darling, we all must find time to relax." Rarity told her.

"Guys, I've got it under control. I'm not a complete workaholic." Twilight assured.

The girls just looked at each other.

That evening at her house, Twilight continued to work.

"And my English paper is done. And it only took 30 minutes. Now I better get started with Spike's bath." she told herself.

She gathered up the shampoo, brush, and got the water ready in the bathtub.

"Now where is Spike?"

She went looking for him, but couldn't seem to find him. It turned out that Spike was hiding under the kitchen table.

"You know, Spike, you'll have to get your bath sooner or later." Night Light told him.

"Well I'd rather it be later than sooner." Spike replied.

Then Twilight Velvet's phone rang, and she answered it.

"Hello, oh hi Shining Armor."

As she talked, Twilight came downstairs.

"Hey, Dad have you seen Spike? It's time for his bath."

"Oh I don't know, but he must be around here somewhere."

He then pointed under the table, and Twilight got the idea.

"Okay, I'm gonna go check outside then."

She then pretended to walk away and leave the house, and close the door. Spike then slipped out from under the table, only to be grabbed by Twilight.

"Gotcha!"

"Aw man." complained Spike.

And with that, she took him upstairs to give him his bath.

"You really shouldn't have tried to hide Spike." Twilight said, as she scrubbed him.

"Hey, you can't blame a dog for trying." Spike replied.

"Well you're almost done. Just one more rinse."

After Spike was all cleaned and dried, her parents called her downstairs. The two went downstairs, and saw that her parents looked excited.

"What's going on?"

"Twilight we just got a call from your brother. He and Cadance won a cruise to Bahamas, and they've invited us to join them." Twilight Velvet informed.

"Really, that sounds like fun. When is it?"

"In a few months." Night Light answered.

"Awesome!"

"Yeah that does sound fun." Spike piped up.

Then he looked sad.

"I hope you guys have fun."

"You'll be coming along too Spike." told Twilight Velvet.

"Really?"

"Yes, it's a pet friendly cruise." Night Light explained.

This was going to be great.

Twilight told her friends, they were very happy for her.

"A cruise how divine." said Rarity.

"That's awesome, Twilight." added Rainbow Dash.

"I know, it's gonna be so much fun." Twilight told.

"And maybe you'll finally get to relax." Pinkie mentioned.

"Well I admit, I have been a bit busy lately. So lounging on a cruise ship should be fun." admitted Twilight.

As the weeks went by, Twilight continued her usual work and got ready for her trip. She made a list of things she needed to do before the trip such making sure the assignments she'd been assigned ahead of time got turned in, making sure she had all the necessities, and to go shopping for new clothes.

On the day of the cruise, the family piled into the car with their luggage and drove off to the ports where cruise ship docked in the city. When they got there, Night Light parked the car in a garage, and the family went down to the docks.

They saw Shining Armor, Cadance, and Flurry Heart waiting for them.

"Hey, everyone." Shining Armor called.

"Shining Armor, Cadance." greeted Twilight.

She hugged her brother and sister-in-law.

"And how's my favorite niece?"

She tickled Flurry Heart's cheek and she giggled.

"You all ready for a nice vacation?" Twilight Velvet asked.

"You bet." Cadance replied.

"Then let's go." declared Shining Armor.

"You're not worried about getting seasick again, are you bro?" Shining Armor looked embarrassed while Cadance grinned.

"Please Twily, I grew out of seasickness years ago."

And with that, they all went to their cruise ship. They showed their tickets to one of the workers and boarded.

After getting their directions to their rooms they settled in. Twilight Velvet and Night Light would share a room, Shining Armor, Cadance, and Flurry Heart would share one, and Twilight would a room to herself but Spike would be sleeping there with her.

"Wow, this room is great." Spike observed.

"You got that right Spike." Twilight agreed.

After unpacking her stuff, there was a knock at her door.

"Come in."

Night Light opened the door, and told her it was time for the safety demonstrations.

"Come on, Spike."

Twilight picked him up and she followed her dad.

On one of the decks, workers instructed the passengers on where the lifeboats were located, how to put on a life vest, and how to properly board the life boats. After getting everyone's questions answered the ship was ready to set sail.

Everyone watched as they went further into the ocean.

"Hey this feels..." Shining Armor started to say.

But then he started to turn green, and felt a bit sick.

"It feels like we should be getting back to our rooms." Cadance suggested.

And with that, she took her husband and daughter back to their room.

"Twilight, your father and I are gonna explore a bit. Would you like to come?" asked Twilight Velvet.

"Uh, no thanks Mom."

"Suit yourself, we'll meet up at dinnertime. Stay out of trouble." Night Light told.

As they walked off, Twilight felt slightly uneasy. She had nothing to do and nothing planned.

Back in her room, she just lied on her bed.

"I can't believe this." she said.

"What's wrong, Twilight?" asked Spike.

"I always have everything in my day planned out. And not having a plan is kinda..."

"Scary?"

"Yeah, I mean how am I supposed to know what to do?"

Spike jumped onto the bed, and licked her face.

"It's okay Twilight. This could be a good thing you could learn how to do things differently."

"Perhaps."

"This is a vacation, we're supposed to be having fun."

Twilight looked at Spike, and smiled.

"Yeah, maybe I can make this work."

So the two decided to explore the ship themselves. They saw different stores, pools, rooms for different activities and services.

"Looks like fun here." Spike observed.

"Yes it does. And you know Spike, I think this cruise is gonna be fun." Twilight told.

That evening at dinner, everyone went to one of the dining rooms and went to the buffet. After getting their food they sat down at a table.

"Feeling better Shining Armor?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, that demoral really helped." Shining Armor replied.

"So Twilight, made any plans for the cruise?" asked Night Light.

"Actually, Dad I don't."

Everyone looked at her with shock.

"I know, I know. But we're on vacation. Let's relax and let whatever happens happen." she explained.

Her family still looked surprised, but then smiled at her.

"Well I'm glad to hear that, Twilight." Twilight Velvet told her daughter.

The following day, Twilight lounged by the pool, played some games in the arcade with Shining Armor, played with Spike, and played bingo with her dad. When the ship reached the Bahamas, the family explored the island.

They took pictures, explored the little shops, and even went down to one of the beaches.

"This is amazing." Spike said.

"You got that right." agreed Twilight.

"All right, guys let's head to those statues." told Night Light.

And with that, they all took off.

By the time the family headed back to the ship, they had bags of souvenirs and pictures on their phones.

"That was wonderful." said Twilight Velvet.

"Yes it was. And little Flurry's already asleep." Cadance informed.

It was true, Flurry Heart was fast asleep in her stroller.

"Hey, Mom what do you say we go get a massage in one of the spa rooms?" Twilight suggested.

"That sounds nice." Twilight Velvet replied.

"Would you like to come along too, Cadance?"

"While that sounds nice. But I've got to take care of Flurry."

Shining Armor then stepped in.

"No, I'll take care of Flurry. You go and relax."

Cadance smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks, Shining Armor."

And the ladies went off to the spa suites.

That evening, everyone dressed up nicely to have dinner with the captain.

"This is lovely." said Twilight Velvet, as Night Light pulled the chair out for her.

"You said it, Mom." agreed Shining Armor, pulling out Cadance's chair, and then he pulled out Twilight's.

"Thanks Shining Armor." Twilight replied.

Soon they were all served their appetizer and started eating.

"You know, I have no idea what we're gonna do tomorrow." Twilight piped up.

"And?" asked Night Light.

"Whatever happens will happen." Twilight answered.

That's chapter 31