My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

An Equestria Girls Kind of Christmas

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! I had kind of hoped to have this done by Thanksgiving, but I didn't quite make it. Oh well, it's really more for Christmas anyway. It takes place between the second and third movies. The Christmas story in last year's Equestria Girls Annual comic is not canon to my verse. Only the movies are.

It wasn't often that Twilight Sparkle was able to visit the human world just for fun. But Sunset Shimmer had extended an invitation to her to drop by during Hearth's Warming season, with a knowing smile of "You'll see why," and Twilight was intrigued by the mystery.

She was also intrigued and fascinated when she and Spike came through the portal and found it decorated with colorful, lighted garland. Bell-shaped lights were hanging from the corner of the school building and a snowman had been fashioned out of some of the copious amounts of snow on the ground.

"Wow," she exclaimed, after she and Spike and the other girls had all had their happy greetings. "You celebrate Hearth's Warming here, too?"

"It really looks awesome!" Spike exclaimed in delight.

"Hearth's Warming?" Applejack blinked in surprise. "What's that?"

"We've got everything decorated up for Christmas!" Pinkie Pie squealed. "Even though it isn't even Thanksgiving yet." She blinked in confusion for a moment but quickly recovered. "Oh well, that just means more time to party!"

"I still don't understand," Twilight said slowly. "You have two holidays?"

Sunset smiled. "Hearth's Warming is actually like Christmas and Thanksgiving put together, in some ways." She looked to the confused naturally human girls. "Hearth's Warming is a holiday where Twilight and I and Spike come from."

That brought an instant chorus of understanding "Ohh!"

"So what's it like?" Rainbow Dash immediately demanded. "Do you get lots of awesome presents?"

"Do you eat a lot of delicious home-cooked food?" Applejack asked.

"Do you have beautiful seasonally-appropriate outfits?!" Rarity cried.

"Do you PARTY?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she bounced in the air.

"Yes, yes, yes, and yes," Twilight chuckled. "And there's a lot more to the holiday too; it's very important and special regarding how the different Pony tribes came to be united."

"There's different Pony tribes?" Fluttershy said softly in fascination, brushing a lock of hair away from her face.

"That's right," Sunset said. She glanced at Twilight. "There's a lot to explain all around."

"Well," Twilight smiled, admiring the Christmas decorations, "I'm up for it."

The next hours were a whirlwind of celebration as the human world residents took Twilight and Spike to the mall and showed them a decorations store, made snow creatures in Pinkie Pie's yard, and baked holiday cookies inside, all while talking and laughing and explaining about their holidays and teaching native carols to each other. When the others went to bed, leaving Twilight and Sunset at the fireplace with hot chocolate, Twilight's mind was awhirl with all the fascinating things she had seen and experienced.

"This has really been great," she smiled. "I had no idea there were Earth holidays kind of like our holidays back home."

"I was surprised too, when I first came here and saw it," Sunset said. She hesitated. "But it's nice."

"It is," Twilight said enthusiastically. "It's like another piece of home in an unfamiliar land."

Sunset smiled a bit. "It kind of is." She looked down at her mug. "The story they told, of how Christmas started . . . what do you think of that?"

Twilight blinked in surprise. "It's a pretty amazing story," she said. "The idea of a God coming down to Earth to live as a mortal being because He loves the people of Earth so much and wants to make sure they can have a path back to Him. . . ." She set her mug aside. "Of course, I don't know if I really believe a story like that, but it's a great legend."

"Yeah." Sunset spoke quieter, setting her mug aside too.

Twilight looked to her. "I could be wrong," she said awkwardly. "It wouldn't be the first time. . . . Do you believe in it?"

"I don't know. I've studied about it and I kind of want to believe, but . . ." Sunset took her mug again. "I'm not from this world or even a human, really, and this God is for humans here. Even if I wanted to join the religion, would that be acceptable? I mean, the people wouldn't know what I really am, but I'd know, and this God would know. Maybe He wouldn't want me."

Twilight thought about that. "You said He's for all the people of Earth. Well, maybe you weren't born human, but you chose to stay here when you came. You want to be human and you want to be a resident of Earth. And if He's really a just God, I can't imagine He would turn anyone away who actually wants to believe in Him and follow His teachings."

Sunset smiled more. "That's true."

"And also, it seems like a God over the whole Earth would have to care about everything on it. The animals and plants too," Twilight said.

Sunset nodded, looking thoughtful. "Maybe you're right. There's still more I'd like to learn, but maybe then I will become an official believer."

"I think you should, if that's what you really want," Twilight said kindly.

Sunset fully relaxed. "Thanks, Twilight. I was hoping that talking to you would give me some perspective."

"I'm happy to help," Twilight said in all sincerity. "But have you talked about this with the girls here too?"

"No," Sunset admitted. "I thought I should talk to you first, since we're both from Equestria."

"I'm sure the girls here would be happy to talk with you about this too," Twilight said. "But I think they'd give you the same advice I just did."

"I think so too," Sunset said with a half-smile. "But I'll talk to them anyway."

Twilight nodded in approval. "I'm really happy to see how close you're getting with them."

Sunset nodded too. "Things have gotten a lot better for me ever since The Battle of the Bands," she said. "People at school finally realize I actually have changed."

"I've noticed you seem a lot happier," Twilight said. "It's great that you've found your place here."

"I know," said Sunset. "I really am happier. While there's things I miss about Equestria, the things that make me happy here outweigh them. I never thought I'd be happy in a world where magic doesn't govern how most things work, but you were right about friendship being the greatest magic of all." She looked a bit awkward, but she pressed on, saying, "I want to thank you for introducing me to that truth."

Twilight smiled. "I may have extended friendship to you at first, but it's mainly the girls here who taught you about it."

Sunset relaxed. "I hope I can pay it forward someday. I know there's a lot of people out there who need to learn about friendship as much as I did."

Twilight nodded. "And I'm sure you'll get the chance to share it with some of them," she said.

"You know, something else I've been wondering about is about the me in this world," Sunset said suddenly. "All the Ponies are supposed to have a counterpart here, right? Pinkie Pie has even mentioned seeing yours around town. So where's mine?" She looked down. "And if she ever shows up, will I have to leave?"

Twilight bit her lip. "Those are good questions," she said. "I'm afraid I don't have the answers. We just don't know enough about how things work in this world. But maybe she doesn't even live in town. You've been here quite a while and no one seems to have heard anything about her."

"Well, that's the thing." Sunset hesitated, then looked up at her friend. "I think the house I'm living in . . . might be hers."

"What?!" Twilight's eyes widened. "Why?!"

"Because I was allowed to just move in, no strings attached," Sunset told her. "It's not like it is in Equestria, where at least in the small towns Ponies can just have a house if they're in need. You have to pay for your homes here. I didn't know how I was going to get anything, especially since in this world I'm not legally an adult yet. But I went to this realty anyway, hoping I could convince someone I was, and the realtor acted like he knew who I was. Apparently the house is paid off, free and clear, and I haven't had any payments on it."

"That is weird," Twilight frowned. "Almost like it was being held for this other Sunset Shimmer."

"Yeah. That's kind of what he said. Apparently she's gone missing or something. I can't find out anything about her on the Internet." Sunset sighed. "And I keep worrying that she'll show up and want her house and her life back someday. I know I'm the intruder here, but . . . I don't want to go." Her voice had grown very soft.

Twilight reached out, laying her hands over Sunset's. "I know the girls here wouldn't want you to go, either," she said kindly. "They'll help you figure out something else if you have to leave your house."

Sunset smiled a bit. "Thanks, but it's not just that. I mean, what if both she and I can't share the same world indefinitely without . . . I don't know, a hole ripping open in the space-time continuum or something?"

"Well," Twilight said slowly, "since we really don't know how that kind of thing works, there's no way to really figure out anything to do at this point. I'll see what I can find out in Equestria, if anything, but that might not help over here."

"It's a start, anyway," Sunset said. "And I'll keep trying to find out everything I can here."

Twilight gave an encouraging nod. "That's pretty much all we can do right now. Oh, and maybe talking to the realtor would help?"

"I know that's a logical move," Sunset sighed, "but I haven't figured out how to talk to him without sounding weird and giving away that I'm not who he thinks I am."

Twilight winced. "I can see how that could be a problem, alright."

Sunset managed a smile. "Don't worry about it; I'll figure it out." She fell silent again. "And what if she comes back but nothing goes wrong and I can stay? It seems like it would get pretty confusing with two of us around. I don't know how we'd even get along." She took on a wry look. "It kind of gives a whole new meaning to the idea of becoming friends with yourself."

Twilight chuckled softly. "I'm sure that it will work out one way or another," she said. "The other Sunset Shimmer would like you."

"You can't really know that," Sunset objected.

"No, but I've seen that the human counterparts of my Equestria friends are pretty much exactly the same in personality," Twilight said. "If they ever meet up, I think they'd have a great time hanging out with themselves. Wow, that really does sound weird," she said, making a face.

Sunset was amused. "Maybe you're right," she said. "But I kind of hope I won't have to find out what my counterpart would do for a while. Or maybe that's because I just keep thinking the worst and want to put off the inevitable for as long as possible."

"Maybe," Twilight agreed, "but I'm sure you don't have to worry."

"It's strange that there's nothing about the other me anywhere, though," Sunset said. "It's like she disappeared off the face of the planet and everyone except the realtor is trying to erase all traces of her existence."

"If it wasn't for how the realtor acted, I'd say maybe the other you is dead," Twilight said carefully.

"I know. I've thought of that." Sunset shivered. "I even tried checking the local cemeteries. Now that was morbid."

"You went there all by yourself?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Well . . . yeah," Sunset replied. "I didn't really feel ready to bring up stuff like this with the girls here." She sighed. "I'm still pretty new to the whole friendship thing and I guess I just wasn't ready to open up like that yet. They don't pry, which is nice, but I'm sure they're curious about what my life was like in Equestria."

Twilight reached for her mug again. "I think you should tell them about all of this—the house, the other you, your worries. . . . I know it's hard to think of opening up that much, especially when you haven't had friends before at all, but they'd really like to be there for you if you need it. I'm sure they could help you with this whole mystery. Maybe you could even solve it together."

"I like that idea," Sunset said. "And you're probably right, as usual." She smirked a bit, then sobered. "It's kind of weird that I feel the most like opening up to you, after we got off to such a rocky start." She paused, mulling it over. "But you were the one who showed me that there was another path to what I wanted. And you were the first one to offer me forgiveness and friendship. I guess I really took all of that to heart."

"I'm glad you did," Twilight said sincerely. "And I'm really happy to be here for you whenever I can. But the other girls would want the same thing."

Sunset nodded thoughtfully. "I'll have to try bringing it up with them. It really would be nice if we could all get to the bottom of it . . . and if it could turn out happy for everyone."

"I hope it will," Twilight told her.

"And I also kind of hope that if something does go wrong, it'll wait until after Christmas," Sunset added wryly. "I've had other Christmases here, but this is the first one I've really enjoyed. I thought it was stupid before, but mainly I was bitter because I was all alone. Now I want to experience everything!"

"I understand completely," Twilight declared. "I want the same thing. I kind of wish the other girls from back home could see all this. They'd love it!"

Sunset smiled. "Take some of it back to them," she suggested. "Some decorations, a book about Christmas traditions, maybe some recipes . . ."

"I like that idea!" Twilight beamed. "I'm sure Spike wouldn't want to leave without bringing a little Christmas back with us anyway."

"And I think you're leaving a little of Hearth's Warming here," Sunset mused. "The girls here were really fascinated by the story we told about it."

"That's great!" Twilight was still enthusiastic. Sobering, she added, "I hope you'll keep Hearth's Warming alive here. It's still a part of your history and your heritage, even if you do want to stay here for the rest of your life."

"I won't forget my roots," Sunset promised. "I've been thinking I should probably go back to Equestria for a visit sometime. I really need to apologize to Princess Celestia for everything that went wrong there."

"I know she'd be really happy to see you," Twilight said sincerely. "When I see her, she asks if I've heard from you and how you're doing." She didn't say that the reason why she had Princess Celestia's magic book was because Celestia had felt that Twilight had succeeded where she had failed and she should be the one to have the book and correspond with Sunset Shimmer. Sunset felt terrible enough for her past without knowing how Celestia blamed herself.

Sunset nodded. "That's a loose thread I really need to try to fix. And . . ." She sighed. "I should probably see my father, too."

"I didn't stop to realize that you probably have family in Equestria," Twilight said in surprised dismay. "I guess I figured you were probably alone or you wouldn't want to live so far away."

"We never really got along. He always pushed me to be the best. Only I got off-track about what 'the best' was." Sunset sighed.

"I'm sure he'd be proud of you now," Twilight said quietly.

"I hope so. Although I'm not sure he'd understand why I want to live here," Sunset added with a wry smirk.

Twilight chuckled. "I'm not sure I could ever adjust as much as you have. But if something ever went wrong and I ended up stuck here, I'd know it would be alright. Any place where there's friendship is a place that I could get used to . . . eventually."

"Then you could get used to almost anywhere," Sunset remarked.

"Yeah," Twilight realized. "I think I really could. Still, I'm glad that I can go home to Equestria."

"I am too," Sunset said. "And I'm glad that I can stay here, at least for now."

"Hopefully you'll always be able to live where you want to," Twilight said firmly.

A snowflake floated past the window and both girls turned to look. When it was followed by another and another, Sunset started to smile. "Here's something else that's the same in both worlds: the magic of a holiday snow."

Twilight nodded in agreement, smiling as well. "Yeah."

For a while they sat and watched the peacefully drifting snowflakes, just enjoying a moment where childlike innocence returned and all seemed right with the world.