"Stop staring at her butt. Stop staring at her butt. Stop staring at her butt," Sunset repeatedly whispered to herself, wincing at every other step across the lobby of Sugarcube Corner. "Stop staring at her adorably cute perky lavender virgin butt." She reawoke to the moment at hand, her right side peripheral being entirely and beautifully filled with velvet and pigeon toes. "Whewwwwwwwww... stop whispering to yourself. Stop whispering to yourself. Stop whispering to yourself..."
"Hmmm?" Shaking the cold off her shoulders, Twilight removed her earmuffs and blinked innocently up at Sunset in mid-step. "What was that?"
"Uhm..." Sunset gulped, cracking a smile. "You're all bundled up like a winter elf!"
"Oh... uhm... th-thanks?" Twilight tittered.
"Er... not like Will Ferrel in a Christmas movie elf, but more like Link in Breath of the Wild elf... or maybe even like Level Seventy Druid in Northrend elf!"
"... ... ...?" Twilight merely gaped at her.
"Ha-HA! Alright...!" Sunset clenched her teeth, looking aside. "Don't talk about video games. Don't talk about video games. Don't talk about video games..."
At long last, Pinkie Pie guided the two to a lone booth at the far end of the eatery. It was seated by a window that overlooked the heart of downtown. In the distance, storefronts glittered with holiday mirth. Families and shoppers shuffled across the street. Even further—the remote treetops and mountains flickered with the last kiss of the sunset, winking the shadow of evening into a soft collapse. Inside Sugarcube Corner, the air was warm and toasty, and the speakers overhead crackled with easy-listening romantic ballads from the past four decades—skipping the last ten years, of course.
"Here ya goooo!" Pinkie Pie pointed at the booth with sparkles in her eyes. "Reserved just for you two!"
Sunset nodded. "Thank you, Pac-Man—ER—" She winced. "Pinkie Pie!"
"Yes..." Twilight Sparkle nodded, her voice remarkably tranquil despite her settling shivers. "Thank you so very much."
"You're welcome so very much!" Pinkie gestured. "I'll fetch you some menus!" She skipped off across the eatery, grinning. "Wakka wakka wakka...!"
Sunset was about to sit down—when she froze. She looked up to see Twilight fumbling with the thick overcoat that Rarity had gifted her. There was a brief moment of fidgeting, and then—"Here..." She stepped graciously forward, hands extended. "Allow me."
"Hmm? Oh!" Twilight let out a breath and relaxed her limbs. "Why, thank you..."
"No problem." Sunset fulfilled the gesture, removing the heavy article from Twilight's petite frame. "It's my pleasure—!" Her eyes bugged out as soon as she held the coat loose in her hands.
Beneath the winter gear, Twilight Sparkle had been garbed in a glittery purple shoulder-less cocktail dress. The skirt was long, trimmed with sequins at the end, and evidently filled with flattering—and undoubtedly warming—dark black petticoats underneath. It gave the entire constellatory ensemble a full, confident look, like a violet comet forever shooting upwards, capped off by Twilight's angelic visage.
"You look nice tonight," spoke the cherub in question, punctuating it with an adorable push of her glasses up her cream-lavender nose.
Sunset Shimmer stood dead in her drab hoodie and jeans. "Uhh... Totally! Thanks!" She turned around, pretending to hang the velvety overcoat over the back of the booth, when in fact she was whimpering under her breath:
"Ohmyfriggin'goddessshe'ssoperfectIshouldjustkillmyself..."
Twilight scooted into her seat, murmuring away from Sunset:
"TheearthistheonlyworldknownsofartoharborlifeThereisnowhereelseatleastinthenearfuture..."
At last, both sat down, heads whipping towards each other and settling on plastic grins.
Sunset Shimmer stared.
Twilight Sparkle stared.
A breath.
A twitch.
Sunset held her finger up and prepared to say something—
"Here ya go!" THAP! A pair of menus landed loudly in the middle of the table, making both girls jump. Pinkie Pie stood beside the booth, whipping out a notepad. "Hellooooooo, ladies! My name's Pinkie Pie! I'll be your server for this evening! Server?! I hardly even know her!" She giggle-snorted, giggle-snorted again, then cleared her throat. "Soooooooo... while you both think about what you'll be wanting to EAT tonight..."
Sunset gulped.
Twilight squirmed in her seat.
"...what can I get ya to drink?" She leaned forward, twirling a pen in her fingers. "Hmmmmmmm?"
"Uhhhhm..." Twilight slipped off one mitten after another. "Oh!" She perked up. "I would like some Dr. Pepper!"
"The doctor... is in...!" Pinkie Pie scribbled on her sheet. "Check!" She looked over at Sunset. "How about you, Red?"
"Got any vodka?"
"Nopereeno!"
Sunset Shimmer smiled. "I'll have a Dr. Pepper too."
"Whew!" Pinkie Pie scribbled and scribbled. "Must be a bug going around, what with all these prescriptions! Okie-dokie-lokie!" She stuck the notepad into a pocket and the pen behind her ear. "You just wait right here and Auntie Pinkie Pie will be back with those whistle-wetters!"
"Thank you kindly, Pinkie," Twilight said softly.
"It's my pleasure!" Pinkie smiled. Pinkie blinked. Finally—she burst—and performed a little jig in place. "Ohmygosh! You'rebothsocute! You'rebothsocute! You'rebothsocute!"
"Pinkiiiiie!" the unmistakable voice of Mrs. Cake warbled from a distance. "We need your help behind the counter!"
"Coming!" Pinkie giggled and skipped away, leaving the two ladies alone...
...with only their breaths and eyeballs.