Shimmer sighed in bliss, cuddling deeper into her warm blanket. She wasn't sure how long she had been awake already. That would require her to turn around to see the clock on the nightstand, and she was just too comfortable in her position to even consider doing that.
Several days had passed since the day of the assembly and the sleepover with Twilight, and Shimmer already saw those days as some of the best she ever had. Nearly every moment had been spent with Sunset and her family, who had invited her to stay with them over the holidays, and she was grateful for their hospitality. Just the thought of returning to her small apartment to spend the holidays alone crushed her inside; while she never minded all those years before, that was before she learned about friendship and how much better it was not to be alone.
This Christmas Eve by itself had been worlds better than every year she had spent alone combined, and she was sure she had never been so full after the dinner Northern had prepared. Afterwards, they watched a few movies together that Shimmer never had the opportunity, or interest, to watch before turning in for the night.
Northern Star had been kind enough to warn her in advance that she would most likely be woken up way earlier than expected. Apparently, Sunset had come to the conclusion as a child that sleeping in on Christmas morning was a mortal sin, so she would make sure to wake everyone up as soon as she woke up, and she repeated the ritual every year. Desert was even convinced she would do it long after moving out and celebrating away from them.
Sure enough, the familiar sound of feet running on the wooden floor outside the guest room was the first and only warning she got for the coming assault. Taking a deep breath, Shimmer steeled herself, convinced that she was prepared for what was to come.
She was not.
The door flew open, and Sunset ran in, a pillow in her tight grip. Before Shimmer could react, Sunset had jumped onto the bed and began beating Shimmer with the fluffy weapon.
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Sunset yelled with each swing. "It's Christmas! No time to sleep!"
Shimmer did her best to defend herself, but she was at a major disadvantage. "I give, I give!" she yelled back between swings, her arms crossed over her head to avoid her face getting hit. "You win, I'm awake!"
"Finally," Sunset said as she stopped her assault and got off the bed. "Breakfast is ready, so hurry up." Her part done, Sunset turned and left the room, humming happily.
Shimmer watched her go while catching her breath. 'Hard to believe we are essentially the same person,' she thought before getting up herself.
~*~
Breakfast was, as expected after such a wakening, a quick affair, and soon enough, the home’s occupants gathered in the living room.
Shimmer watched as the family shared presents with each other, content to sit by and watch. It was a sad truth that she was broke, having bought presents for her former friends, and was unable to get anything for Sunset, Desert or Northern. Thankfully, they had assured her that they understood and that she had already done enough for them.
While she watched as Sunset unwrapped a new gaming console, her thoughts wandered back to earlier and how Sunset has woken her up. It wasn't the first time that Shimmer noticed a child-like glee in her double’s behavior over the past few days. Northern told her upon asking that Sunset is always like that at home but puts on a more serious façade when in public or around visitors. It made Shimmer happy that her friend was comfortable enough around her to drop that mask.
It was one of the biggest differences between the two girls, and it made Shimmer wonder if she would have been just like her if her parents’ fate had been different so many years ago.
Shimmer got pulled out of her thoughts by someone placing a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Sunset sitting beside her.
"Earth to Shimmer, are you still with us?" she asked, a smile on her face.
"Yeah, I was just a bit lost in my thoughts," Shimmer replied, her own smile on her face.
"Well, if you can manage to stay with us for a bit, there is something you have to do," the other girl said cheerfully before she revealed a small present from behind her back and placed it in Shimmer’s lap. "Open your present!"
Shimmer stared dumbfounded at the little box in her lap, her mouth hanging open. "You got me a present?" she asked, looking up at the grinning girl. "But... I got nothing for you."
"I know—you already said so before—but that doesn't mean I can't get something for you," Sunset said, still smiling. "Now open it up! I hope you like it."
Shimmer smiled. Deciding not to wait any longer, she shifted her attention back to the present. In just a few moments, the wrapping paper was gone, revealing a small box that she opened just as fast. Inside the box rested a pendant of a two-toned sun, the same as her cutie mark, attached to a thin cord.
"It's beautiful," Shimmer said in wonder as she took the pendant out of its box to examine it more closely.
"I'm glad you think so," Sunset said from beside her. "Finding a sun pendant was easy, but it took a bit more effort to find someone who could rework it in time. But it was worth it."
Shimmer looked over the pendant a moment longer before she unclasped the lock and put it around her neck, letting the sun fall in place. "Thanks. I really love it," she said while she pulled her double into a side hug.
Sunset returned the hug before rising from her place. She walked towards the presents she received and grabbed the gaming console. “So, what do you say? Wanna get back to my room and get this little beauty running?"
Shimmer smirked. "Sounds like a plan to me, but don't expect me to go easy on you." Shimmer rose from her spot to follow Sunset, who was already at the living room door, but Desert clearing his throat stopped her.
"Actually, there is something we’d like to talk with you about, Shimmer," he said calmly. He glanced at his daughter briefly before continuing, "In private."
Shimmer looked at the adults in confusion. "Sure, I guess." She turned to her friend, who was looking back with a smile. "Go ahead. I’ll be there in a bit."
Sunset nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. Shimmer walked over towards the couch opposite Desert and Northern and sat down. Even though she was sure that everything was alright, a part of her worried that something had happened or that she had done something wrong over the past few days. A worry which apparently was written on her face.
"Don’t worry, Sunset," Northern assured her with a smile. "There's nothing wrong. We just want to talk with you about something. But before we begin..."
Shimmer watched in confusion as Northern bent down and pulled one of her slippers off her foot. Before Shimmer had a chance to ask what she was doing, Northern threw the slipper across the room, where it hit the door. A cry of surprise sounded from the other side, muffled by the wood.
"We asked for privacy, sweetie!" Northern called.
For a moment, there was silence, but soon enough Shimmer heard a very quiet, "Sorry," from the other side of the door, causing Shimmer to chuckle good-naturedly at her friend's misfortune.
"Sorry about that. Our dear daughter is very curious and has a bad habit of listening in on other people's conversations sometimes," Northern said, shaking her head. Moments later, she smirked. "Maybe something you can relate to?"
Now it was Shimmer's time to avoid the woman’s gaze as she looked at a random spot on the wall, blushing slightly. "...Maybe?"
Northern giggled, but before she could say more, Desert spoke up. "Nonetheless, her curiosity is why we are here." Upon seeing that he now held Shimmer’s attention, he continued, "Last Friday, Sunset overheard your conversation with Princess Twilight about what you’re going to do now. I want to assure you that she meant no harm, and she only told us about it because she wanted to help you but didn't know how."
"No, it's alright," Shimmer said after thinking it over for a moment. "We should have known that someone might hear us; we weren’t really being quiet and never asked for privacy. And honestly, I'm probably the last who has the right to get mad at her for listening in on us."
Desert smiled. "I'm glad you see it that way, but may I ask if you’ve made a decision?"
Shimmer looked down at her folded hands in her lap. "No, not really. It's not an easy decision to make. I mean, I could go back and forth between our worlds whenever I want, but I think it would be very taxing after a while. Not even speaking about the danger of leaving the portal open all the time whenever Twilight or anyone else isn't around to open and close it for me."
"Yes, I can understand that," Desert said calmly. "Just because nothing happened so far whenever the portal was open doesn't mean no one might ever accidentally fall through it."
"Exactly," Shimmer said before sighing. "So, if I don't want to move through the portal on a near-daily basis, I’m either staying here or in Equestria, and I don't know which I should choose. There are arguments for both sides, but if Sunset told you about my talk with Twilight, you probably know them."
"Indeed, we do," Desert said before he looked to the side at his wife, who smiled and nodded. Desert took a deep breath before continuing, "And we wish to help you with one of them. Sunset, would you like to stay with us, as part of our family?"
Shimmer stared at the two adults sitting on the couch in surprise, her mouth hanging open. Of everything that she could have been thinking of for this talk, this was not what she expected.
"You... You want to adopt me?"
Both adults nodded. "We do," Desert said. "We’ve already done some research about what would be necessary and asked Principal Celestia for help and advice. This way, you would never be alone again and could continue school together with our daughter."
"But we understand that you have been independent for so long and that you might not want to give it up now," Northern added. "In that case, we want to at least take over any payments necessary for your education."
"I... I don't know what to say," Shimmer stammered. "This is so sudden and way more than unexpected."
"You don’t have to make any decision yet," Desert said calmly, smiling at her. "Take all the time you need; there’s no expiration date on our offer. And should you decide against it now but change your mind at a later time, you can always come to us. We will wait for you."
"And of course, no matter what you decide on, you will always be welcome in our home," Northern added.
Shimmer remained silent as she tried to wrap her head around the very generous offer. Having a family was something she had wanted for most of her life, but now that this opportunity showed itself, she was unsure about what she wanted. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.
"I'm not sure what to say, and I will think about it, but..." she began with a little smile, which dropped soon after as she continued, "but why would you do so much for me?"
Desert shared a glance with his wife before he spoke up. "Before we answer, please do not think we are trying to egg you into staying with us. If you’d prefer to live in this world but that we leave you alone, we would accept it but still insist on helping you financially."
Shimmer stared at Desert with wide eyes. "I would never—"
"I know, Sunset," Desert said quickly, interrupting her. "It was just an example. My point is that we want to make sure you can live the life you want to live. Hearing that you might want to stay in this world but can't do so because of financial issues bothers us greatly, so we want to help you."
"And for the 'why', I think it's obvious," Northern said quietly while rising from her seat. She walked around the table and took the seat beside Shimmer. She clasped her hands around Shimmer’s, and Shimmer looked deep into Northern’s eyes, the cyan color identical to her own. "What you did for us is something we will never be able to thank you enough for," Northern began, tears slowly beginning to form in her eyes. "Without you, we would not be here, celebrating the holidays. At best, we would be at the hospital by our daughter's bedside, and at worst, we’d..." Northern swallowed the lump in her throat, unable to finish the thought. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she continued, "You saved our daughter's life, and we will be forever grateful. Helping you live the life you want is the least we can do, be it with us here or somewhere else."
Sunset was at a loss of words at all the gratitude from the woman. "I-I only did what was right," she stammered. "It was nothing special."
Sunset felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned to look at Desert’s fatherly smile. "Maybe not for you, but for us, it is," he said, squeezing Sunset’s shoulder reassuringly. "Just think about it for a while, and know that we have your back, no matter what you decide."
"I... I will," Shimmer said, smiling. "Thanks for everything. It means a lot to me."
"It's our pleasure," Northern said before she, together with her husband, returned to the other couch. "That was all we wanted to talk about, so you can go back to Sunset’s room if you want. I'm sure she’s waiting for you. And feel free to talk with her about it. She actually knew about all of this."
Shimmer nodded and rose from the couch. She took a couple steps towards the door before she slowed to a stop.
"Is something wrong, Sunset?" Northern asked.
Shimmer turned back around and looked at the two of them. "No, I just thought about something I wanted to ask you.
"As you know, I grew up knowing nothing about my parents and family. I wondered if you could tell me more about any other relatives you have. I still hope that there’s someone related to me in Equestria, but without anything to go by, it's useless to look. With some names, I could try to see if those also exist in Equestria and finally—hopefully—be able to find someone of my family."
Desert and Northern smiled at each other before turning back to Sunset. "We’d love to help," Desert said.
"I’ll see if I can find our photo album to show you some pictures," Northern said as she rose. “It would help you put faces to names.”
Smiling, Shimmer walked back to her spot on the couch and sat down, excited that she finally might get some clues about her family.