//------------------------------//
// Returning for the Holidays 
// Story: Sunset's Hearth's Warming 
// by ThomasZoey3000 
//------------------------------//


My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Sunset's Hearth's Warming
Written by: ThomasZoey3000

Chapter 1: Returning for the Holidays


Cloudsdale had just dropped a pile of snow all along the route in between Ponyville and Canterlot, covering everything in thick blankets of white. It made it look like there was nothing there. That was the case until the steam locomotive on the front of the Friendship Express came into view and charged at the snow, with help from it's plow at the front. In the cab, the engineer was keeping the train at a good speed while the firepony kept placing coal into the firebox.

In spite of the snow on the ground, the train was making perfect time and would soon reach Canterlot in no time. For one pony on board the train, the destination couldn't come soon enough. She looked out the window and sighed happily, "won't be long now," she thought to herself.


In Canterlot, at a small two story house, one stallion; Moon Crest Shimmer was shovelling a pathway from the front door to the sidewalk. Nearby in the doorway was his wife; Sunrise Shimmer, and like always, she was worried.

"Moon, slow it down, you're overdoing it again," she said to him.

"Well somepony's got to clear a pathway, and as the male of the house, it is my job to make sure of that."

"Yes I know Moon, I know. But you're not as young as you used to be, you could do real harm to yourself or worse. Just slow it down as you shovel, okay?"

Moon Crest gave in, "very well honey, I'll slow it down."

At that moment, a small gust of wind blew at the front of the house. Moon Crest was fine as he was wearing winter gear, but Sunrise shivered, "okay I think that's enough standing around out here for me, I'm going back inside to continue with decorating for the holidays."

"Okay honey."

"By the way, would you like some cocoa for when you're done?"

A sly grin came to Moon Crest's face, "Sunrise, we've been married for many years. I think you would know the answer to that question."

Sunrise giggled, "yes I do. You always want hot cocoa for when you're done, and it'll be ready for that time." And with that, she went back inside to work on the cocoa.

Inside the Shimmer family home was an undecorated tree in the middle of the living room, and nearby were several boxes, all filled to the top with Hearth's Warming decorations. Hearth's Warming was a wonderful time of the year when ponies come together to remember the day when the three pony tribes came together to form Equestria. Homes get decorated, presents would get exchanged and the best part; family and friends get together.

Coming down the stairs was little Sunny Rays Shimmer, the little unicorn was beaming with a big smile on her face.

"Wuh-Oh, Sunny Rays is smiling brightly again, I wonder why," said Sunrise cheerfully. She already knew, but pretended like she didn't, "let me guess, is it because she wants to make a snowpony?"

"Nopie," Sunny Rays said while shaking her head.

"Could it be because she wants to clean the floors in the kitchen?"

"No," Sunny Rays giggled.

"Two strikes so far. Hmm, could it be because she wants to decorate the tree this year?"

"Yeppers," she cheered and jumped into the air.

"Okay Sunny Rays, you get started on the bottom of the tree and I'll lend a hoof after I make cocoa for your daddy." Sunrise went into the kitchen and went to work. A short while later, she returned and found that Sunny Rays had only put up two decorations on the tree. "Sunny Rays, I thought you would've added more than two by now."

Sunny Rays didn't say anything.

Sunrise was confused, until she saw the reason why. One of the decorations was a sun, which looked very much like the cutie mark of the oldest daughter of the family; Sunset Shimmer. Sunrise knew how much Sunny Rays loved her big sister, and that she's missed her dreadfully ever since she went back to the human world.

"I wish she could join us for Hearth's Warming," sighed Sunny Rays.

"I wish she was here too." Sunrise walked up to Sunny Rays and wrapped a hoof around her, "but your sister's probably too busy to see us right now, or maybe celebrating whatever holiday they have. Maybe one day she'll join us for Hearth's Warming."

"Yeah, but I wish it was this year's Hearth's Warming."


At the train station, the stationmaster was waiting on the platform. He checked his watch as he heard a whistle in the distance, "three minutes early today. Not bad guys, not bad."

The Enginner brought the locomotive's speed down and applied the brakes. It drew up alongside the platform, and wheesed steam upon stopping. The doors opened and many ponies stepped out. One of the last ones to step off was an orange pony, wearing a thick winter coat with a hood covering up most of her face. She had her saddlebags on her back, and from the looks of it, they were both full.

Wind blew aganist the passengers on the platform.

"Darn, and I thought the winter's back home were cold," groaned the pony.

"Yeah it tends to be really cold at this time of the year, you'll get used to it after a couple of days," said the stationmaster.

"That's good, since I'll be here over the next week and a half with my family. I wouldn't want to shiver the entire time I'm here."

With two toots of the whistle, the Friendship Express departed Canterlot Station, and the ponies left for the town of Canterlot. It was like the inside of a magic snow globe, with snow covering mostly everything and decorations hanging on the outside of buildings.

"Ahh, it's good to be back," sighed the orange pony.

She walked down several streets until at last, she reached a familar street. Up ahead, she could see a lone pony shovelling out the pathway to the sidewalk. The lone pony was Moon Crest as he was finishing his work.

"Whew, I could really use some hot cocoa right about now," he said to himself.

He was about to turn back towards the house when he noticed the hooded pony. At first, he didn't recognize her, but after a moment, a smile came to his face, "will Sunny Rays ever be happy to see you again."


Inside the family home, Sunny Rays had finally gotten to work in decorating the tree. Sunrise had finished the hot cocoa and was now waiting for her husband to come in.

"I hope he hasn't gotten frozen hooves again," she thought to herself.

The front door opened, and in walked Moon Crest. Sunrise was surprised though to see another pony walk in behind him. Moon Crest winked at his wife, then called out to Sunny Rays.

"Sunny Rays, there's a little surprise here for you."

"Don't worry I won't look," she said. "I know not to look until Hearth's Warming day."

There came a little giggle from behind Moon Crest, "well that'll be a little hard for you to do since I'll be walking around the house during the holidays."

Sunny Rays gasped as she recognized the voice. She turned round, and her father stepped aside. The hooded pony pulled the hood down, revealing the red and yellow colors of her mane. It was of course none other than Sunset Shimmer herself.

"Sunset!" cried Sunny Rays and ran up to her big sister. She gave her the biggest hug she could give.

"Hello Sunny Rays, I'm happy to see you too," and she gave her little sister a hug. After the hug, she hugged her father and then her mother, "I'm happy to see all of you again. I know it's only been a few moons, but it feels like years."

"It sure does sweetheart," smiled Sunrise. "But the waiting period has been worth it to see you again."

Sunset smiled just hearing that.

"Does this mean you're moving back to Equestria?" Sunny Rays asked hopefully.

Sunset shook her head, "sorry Sunny Rays, but I'm not moving back to Equestria. After all, I can't just leave my friends back home." Sunny Rays looked down unhappily. Sunset placed a hoof under her face and lifted her head up a little bit, "the reason I came back though was to be with you guys for Hearth's Warming."

"So you're going to be here for the entire holiday season?" Sunrise asked in surprise.

"That's correct Mom, I'm here for the holidays."

Sunrise looked to her husband, "did you know about this?"

Moon Crest shook his head, "I was just as surprised as you when I saw her coming down the street."

"But, doesn't your world have a holiday of it's own?" Sunrise asked, "What about that one?"

"Yes my world does have a holiday of it's own at this time of year, it's called Christmas, and it's alot like Hearth's Warming. At first, I didn't think I would be able to come back to Equestria, but thanks to my friends, I got the grand chance."

Before Sunset began to tell the story, Sunrise went into the kitchen and brought over four mugs of cocoa, one was cooled down for little Sunny Rays since her mother didn't want her to burn her lips or tounge. After drinking a bit of cocoa, the ponies listened as Sunset began to tell them everything.


Three days before, Sunset was at the grocery store because she was running low on food in her apartment. All around her, she could hear Christmas music, and could see smiles on people's faces. There was even one moment when someone got a surprise from a family member they hadn't seen in a long time.

"Howdy Sunset!" called another voice.

Sunset looked behind her and saw that the voice belonged to the human version of Applejack, "hey Applejack, what brings you here today?"

"Granny Smith asked me to pick up some things for our upcoming Christmas party. It's going to great, all the Apple family members will be there, even Babs Seed, who we haven't seen since that adventure with the two Sweetie Belles."

"That sounds nice, at least you get to spend time with your family."

Applejack's smile quickly vanished, "uh, is everything alright Sugarcube? If you want, we can invite you to come along."

"No, it's alright Applejack, I just..." she sighed and paused for a moment. "It's just at this time of year, I can't stop thinking about my own family."

"You mean, your mother, father and little sister?"

"Yes," Sunset nodded. "More than anything, I would love to see them again, and maybe join them for our world's holiday; Hearth's Warming. Sadly that's just wishful thinking, I can't go."

"Why? You don't need a passport to go back to Equestria."

Sunset chuckled, "no I don't need one, you're right about that. But I can't just leave you guys, not at this time of the year. After all, we're suppose to meet up for parties, sleepovers and of course, just to hang out. Oh well, maybe someday." And Sunset walked off to continue her shopping.

As Applejack watched her leave, a thought came to her and a smile appeared on her face once more, "or sooner than you think."

She pulled out her cellphone and texted everyone of her friends, except Sunset, to meet her outside Sweet Apple Acres.


She soon reached her farmhouse where she found her five friends, plus Spike, waiting for her.

"Thanks for meeting up with me guys, this is really important. It's about Sunset," and she told her friends about Sunset's dream of going home for the holidays.

"That is so sweet of her to think about us," said Rarity and wiped a small tear from her right eye. "But she should be with her family."

Rainbow Dash nodded, "she sees us all the time, but she's only seen her family for a week and a half."

"You got that right RD," said Applejack. "That's why I've come up with an idea. Why not give Sunset an early Christmas? That way she can spend time with us, then she can go back to Equestria and be with her family."

"What a wonderful idea Darling," smiled Rarity. "Should we invite her over for a sleepover and give her the surprise then?"

Applejack shook her head, "nope, I was thinking of decorating her apartment and surprise her first thing in the morning."

"And how do you propose we do that? None of us have a key to her apartment. The only one with a key to her apartment is Sunset, and if we ask, she'll get suspicious."

Once again, Applejack shook her head. She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a set of keys. One of which was the key to Sunset's apartment.

"Don't forget, Sunset gave me this key the last time she went to Equestria."

Rarity smacked her forehead, "right, how could I forget that?"

After bringing in the groceries, Applejack and her friends all started their planning on how they would give Sunset the perfect Christmas surprise.


For the rest of the afternoon, they all went their seperate ways. Pinkie Pie, as one might expect, got the decorations. Applejack got a small tree from the farm. Rainbow Dash got some music together and burned them onto CDs. Fluttershy got her some presents, as did Rarity, although the two girls shopped at different stores. And human Twilight got some food together, with a little help from Cadance and Shining Armor.

At five the next morning, the girls arrived at Sunset's apartment. Their friend was asleep in her bed, and dreaming about her family.

"Okay girls, quietly now, we don't want to wake her up just yet," whispered Applejack. "You got that Pinkie?"

Pinkie Pie nodded and gave a thumbs up.

The girls worked hard within two hours, somehow managing to decorate the entire apartment and small tree. Before long, all was ready.

At seven, Sunset's alarm clock went off and she shut it off with a sigh, "alarm clocks can be so annoying," she thought to herself. She got up, slipped her feet into her slippers and walked out to the main parts of her apartment. She flicked on the lights and...

"SURPRISE!"

Sunset jumped in surprise as her friends popped out of hiding. She then stared in amazement at her apartment, "What's all this for?" she asked.

"Well Applejack told us you wanted to be with your family for the holidays," said human Twilight, "so we all decided to give you an early Christmas, then you'll be able to go back."

"You guys did all this for me?"

All her friends nodded. "Wow guys, I don't know what to say." Some tears appeared in her eyes, but they were happy tears, and after some silence, she finally found the perfect words to say; "thank you."

After that, the girls and one dog spent the day opening up presents, listening to music and talking about the good times, and some of the adventures they've had over the previous year. Sunset had enjoyed herself greatly, and felt very lucky to have such wonderful friends.


"After that, I took care of some other things, said good bye to my friends and promised to be back for new years, then I went through the portal and here I am now," Sunset concluded.

Sunrise smiled, "you're right, you do have such wonderful friends."

"So you're not going to be here for new years?" Sunny Rays asked sadly.

"Sorry no. But hey I'm here for the holidays, and that's the important thing right?"

"Right," Sunny Rays nodded as her smile returned to her face.

Before heading upstairs, Sunset lifted some presents out of her saddlebags with her magic and placed them underneath the tree. There was one for the other three ponies, including a big box for Sunny Rays. After that, she followed her father up the stairwell to her bedroom, where once again, they found her door closed.

"Darn it, I forgot not to close it last time we cleaned up in there," groaned Moon Crest.

Like the last time Sunset arrived, Moon Crest had to bang on the door a few times with his shoulder, until at last the door opened. He groaned at the slight pain, "we really need to replace that door," he muttered.

Sunset smiled as she looked around. The room looked just the same as it did the day she went back to the human world.

"Your mother and I just dusted everything off in here, nothing drastic or anything like that."

"Thanks Dad." As she looked back to her father though, she showed a slight look of worry.

Her father knew why. The last time Sunset had arrived in Canterlot, he kicked her out of the family for an accident that occured years before. He did welcome her back in after learning it truely was an accident, but still, he knew Sunset would be worried that it could happen again. He walked up to his oldest daughter and gave her a hug.

"Don't worry kiddo, I'm not going to kick you out of the family just because of what happened years before. Believe me, I've learned my lesson."

Sunset looked up to her father's eyes, and could see that he was serious. This brought about a sigh of relief to Sunset, "thanks Dad, I'm glad to hear it." After a few more seconds of hugging, the duo let go and Sunset began to unpack everything.

"So besides just seeing us, is there anypony you're going to see?"

"Well I'm hoping to run into my old friends again," Sunset answered. "I'm not sure if Octivia is in town, but hopefully the others will be." The smile faded when she said, "and I hope to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa again."

Moon Crest froze when he heard that. Ever since welcoming Sunset back into the family, his mother had been showing nothing but angry looks towards him and the rest of his family. She was a pony that firmly believed in the thought that there is only one side of the story, and had a feeling his mother's meeting with Sunset Shimmer might not go so well.

"Maybe save that one for a time when we can all go together," Moon Crest suggested.

"Yeah good idea Dad," Sunset nodded.

Moon Crest nodded back and went off to drink more of his cocoa, since he was still feeling a little cold from all the shovelling. Sunset sighed as she looked around the room, and a big smile came to her face, "it's good to be back again." She pulled a photo out of her saddlebag and placed it on her dresser. It showed herself and all her friends in front of Canterlot High, just after the Friendship Games, "thanks again guys, I owe you big time for this."