//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten - Hearth's Warming: All I Wanted // Story: The Wooing of Sunset Shimmer // by Rose Quill //------------------------------// “You didn’t have to bring gifts, Sunshine,” the Princess of Friendship said as she saw the floating packages behind the blue-coated unicorn. “We don’t want you to feel obligated.” “It’s no problem. It’s just baked goods.” She brought one to the fore as she trotted up to hug her counterpart. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.” Twilight smiled, accepting the offered package. “Happy Hearth’s Warming,” she returned. She turned to offer me the same. “Enjoying your trip this time?” “Yeah, actually,” I said. “I think I’ll be keeping my mom’s house, and be visiting a little more often.” “That’s great!” she beamed. “Any reason?” “It’s my home,” I said. “Just as much as where I live now. Plus, I don't want to make you keep a room open whenever we decide to drop by.” “Seems fair,” she said. “Go ahead and mingle, I’ll catch up to you later.” The night passed swiftly, great laughs and carols with some of the best ponies I know. And the entire time I couldn’t keep a smile off my face. This was something that I had missed out on for six years solid. I realized that two and a half of those years were by choice. The previous holiday had been spent trying to pick up the battered pieces of my sense of self and dealing with the Anon-A-Miss incident. This was the first time since I left home that I was actually celebrating with friends and not worrying about anything. Pinkie was delighted when she opened the package of cookies Sunshine had made, little gingerbread ponies with pink icing for hair. “Awesolicious!” she shouted as she dove into them. “Told you it was a good idea to decorate the cookies like the ponies you give them to,” I whispered to her as Rarity admired her own gingerbread likeness. “I left some at the house for later,” she said with a sly smile on her face. I smiled back. “Who are you, and what did you do with my marefriend?” She giggled. “Look at you,” she said. “This is the happiest I’ve seen you since I’ve known you, and that counts when you realized that we were getting magic of our own.” She leaned over and touched her horn to mine, not channeling any magic but a warm wave of contentment flowed through our bond. “I’m happy for you.” “It’s just, I don’t know,” I nuzzled her. “This is the first Hearth’s Warming I’ve celebrated since I left here. And your folks, inviting me to Christmas Eve,” I giggled. “It’s like I feel as though I belong, no matter what side of the mirror I'm on." "That's a good thing, you realize." I nodded. "It's a great thing," I said as Rainbow flew past, a strand of lights in her hooves. Ponies were milling arond the castle's foyer, wishing each other joyous greetings and partaking in the eggnog and cider or treats, all served up by the Apples. "But I'm starting to think that maybe we need to come clean to a handful of people." "Like who?" she asked, confused. “Your parents," I said. "They deserve to know, and it would make having to censor my stories a little bit less frustrating." She fidgeted. "I'm not sure how to bring that up," she murmured. "What do I say? 'Hey, Mom, Daddy? Remember that girl you met the other night? Well, she's acutally a magical Unicorn from an alternate world' I'd be surprised if they didn't commit me right then!" I laughed. "You worry too much," I said. "I'll help you break the ice, and it doesn't have to be right away. Because first,” I leaned towards her and kissed her. “We need to go enjoy the rest of the party, then go twirl around at a royal ball tomorrow night so I can introduce you to the Princess’ Celestia and Luna.” She smiled, calming slightly. “I’ve been looking forward to that, actually. And what do you think about inviting them to graduation?” she asked with a toss of her head towards the six counterparts of our friends. “Um, besides the fact that we’d have to somehow explain the sudden appearance of twins?” She rolled her eyes. “I figure that there is enough variance in appearances that we could disguise the similarities, especially with two Rarity’s help.” She looked at me. “The worst that we could do is let Fluttershy through to test the theory.” “Why Fluttershy?” I asked. “Fluttershy is the least likely to cause some sort of incident and is also most likely to get along with her counterpart out of shared interests. Rainbow would try to compete with herself, Pinkie doubled would be a rave waiting to happen, Rarity would insist on shopping, and we’ve already seen my counterpart on that side of the mirror. I’m finally being recognized as me, not her.” “You forgot Applejack,” I said. “No, I didn’t. She was my first choice, but she suggested Fluttershy after I brought it up to her. She seemed a little unnerved by the prospect.” I thought for a moment. "If it can be done without magic, then that's great," I said. "But we should also talk to the Princess about it just in case your plan doesn't work out." “That’s all I wanted.”