//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer // Story: Just You and Me Under the Hearths Warming Tree // by garatheauthor //------------------------------// It was the night before Hearths Warming and Twilight Sparkle was within her study. Everypony else in the castle was already fast asleep, resting for tomorrow’s festivities. Meanwhile, she was attempting to power through some work. This was the unfortunate burden of being a Princess. Sometimes you had to sacrifice sleep on Hearths Warming Eve in order to make sure you had time on Hearths Warming to spend with those closest to you. At the thought of that she stared wantingly at the magic mirror, sighing. Well most of the ponies closest to her anyways. She looked back to the parchment in front of her, scribbling away another intricate insult. She then forged Queen Ember’s signature and sealed it away in an envelope for delivery to Princess Celestia. Any further progress on her scheme would have to wait until after the holiday season, when the post office re-opened. A whooshing noise erupted from the portal and Twilight looked to it once more. There was a beam of harsh blue light radiating off of it as the glass turned malleable and bulged outwards. A split second later the glass birthed a figure who lunged forward upon two hooves. It then snapped back, taking the form of a completely normal mirror. As the light died away, Twilight saw the ever so beautiful Sunset Shimmer standing in front of her. Twilight rushed to her hooves, prancing over. “Sunset!” she beamed. Sunset placed all four hooves upon the ground and galloped over. “Hey beautiful,” she said. “Happy Hearths Warming” The two of them embraced and kissed in the middle of the room. “You too. I’m so happy you could make it,” Twilight said. “Like I was going to miss spending time with my favourite mare in the world.” Twilight grinned and pulled away. This is when she noticed that Sunset was in the equine equivalent of her sushi uniform. It looked at least twice as cute in this dimension. “Just got off work?” Twilight asked. Sunset nodded. “Yeah, they had me stay overtime. Tonight was intense.” “Do people really eat out during the holidays in your world?” “Like you wouldn’t believe.” That was an interesting little difference between worlds. Twilight couldn’t think of a single pony who’d go to a restaurant tonight. Nor could she honestly think of a single place that’d even be open. Twilight noticed Sunset shiver. “Where are my manners?” she said. “You must be freezing. Can I get you something to drink? I have…” Her gaze drifted to a nearby coffee maker. “…coffee…” Sunset cocked an eyebrow. “Twilight, it’s nearly midnight, why are you still drinking coffee?” “Look, Nebula the Patrician once claimed that a mind on caffeine was the most effective.” “Yeah? Well Sunset the Redeemed says that Twilight the Late Sleeper really needs to get her sleep schedule in check.” “Those aren’t real epithets,” Twilight muttered. Sunset stuck out her tongue before opening the flap of her saddlebag and fishing around for something inside. “I brought you a gift,” she said. Twilight winced. Thankfully Sunset wasn’t looking. She really hoped Sunset hadn’t spent money on her. Sunset finally managed to find what she was looking for, pulling out a plastic boat filled with various kinds of sushi. Oh thank gods, she had only grabbed some leftovers from work. Twilight smiled and took the gift, opening its lid. All her favourite kinds were there. Avocado rolls, cucumber rolls, red pepper sashimi, pretty much every vegetarian option on Sunset’s menu. She popped a piece into her mouth and chewed. “Thank you.” “Hey, no problem.” Sunset paused and looked around the room. “Where’s your fire?” “Fire? Why would I have a fire?” Sunset blushed. “Oh, it’s uh… it’s nothing.” Twilight walked over and nuzzled Sunset’s neck. “Come on, tell me what’s up.” “It’s nothing, really.” “Sunsetttt.” “Fine, it’s just when I was growing up Princess Celestia always had a fire going at this time of the year. It’s just kind of weird being in a palace without one. You know what I mean?” “Well I don’t really need a fire because the palace is heated by geothermal gemstones, which…” She looked at Sunset, seeing an expression which didn’t look even remotely interested in a scientific lesson. “Do you want me to start a fire?” Twilight asked. “Do you even have any firewood?” “I can improvise.” Twilight walked over to her fireplace, examining it. It was spotless, having not been used even a single time within her entire residency. Now what was she going to do? Obviously, she had no wood to burn nor would she dare desecrate any of her precious books. What to do? What to do? Then the idea hit her. She rushed towards the hallway. “I’ll be right back.” Sunset shot her an amused smirk. “Sure thing, Princess.” Once in the hall she travelled a few rooms over to her alchemy chamber. Inside was a wide range of equipment which rode the fine line between scientific and mystic. Upon one of the workbenches was a small chest which she opened. Inside were various veils and bags containing exotic substances. She was looking for two items in question. One was a medium sized bag with the label of ‘dragon eggs’, the other was a vial of blueish liquid labeled, ‘extract of ambrosia’. It took a few minutes but eventually she found both. With her materials collected she made her way back to Sunset. Upon returning, she noticed that Sunset had settled down near the fireplace. She had shed her saddlebag and uniform, setting them off to the side. In front of her was a textbook which couldn’t possibly belong to this world. Sunset turned and looked at Twilight as she entered. “Any luck?” she asked. Twilight show off the twin components. “I think this should work,” “What do you have in mind?” “Well I’ve been doing a little research into alchemy. You know, for fun.” Sunset grinned but nodded along. “As normal ponies do.” Twilight stuck out her tongue. “And I read somewhere that dragon eggs can sustain a magical reaction for pretty lengthy periods of time.” “Wait, dragon eggs? Is that ethical?” “Don’t worry, it’s just a name. Really, they’re rubies from Northern Equestria which acquire magical properties through natural means. They actually get their name from…” Sunset cocked an eyebrow. Twilight chuckled nervously. “Nevermind. All you need to know is that by combining them with this liquid they should act as a very effective kindling for a magically fueled fire.” Twilight opened the sack and produced a couple of medium sized rubies. She then carefully opened the veil and began to drizzle a small amount of liquid onto one of the stones. Once it was well lubricated she placed it in the firepit. The next stone was then given the same treatment, and the next, until all of the rubies were prepped and in place. She concentrated her magic upon the largest of the rubies, generating an increasingly dense wave of heat around it. “Then with a little magic…” The ruby erupted into a beautiful green flame which leapt across to its siblings. It might be a little unorthodox but Twilight had just started a fire. “How’s that?” Twilight asked. “As good as Princess Celestia’s?” Sunset watched the smokeless fire burn. “Better” Twilight settled down next to Sunset, cuddling up to her. She had to admit that the heat from the fire was nice. However, it wasn’t perfect yet. Something was missing. She scanned the room and spotted it. Draped over her favourite reclining chair was a rainbow coloured throw blanket. She scooped it up with magic, placing it over top of them. Sunset kissed Twilight on the cheek. “This is nice.” Twilight nodded. “Mhm.” “So, what were you working on?” “Ohhhh things.” “What kinda things?” “Really you wouldn’t be too interested in it. Just boring diplomatic stuff.” “Oh really? You know Princess, you’re only making me more suspicious that you’re up to something.” “I’m not up to anything.” Sunset pecked her on the cheek. “Liar.” Twilight huffed. “How about you? Are you excited for university?” “Incredibly. Me and Twi already picked out our majors.” “Oh?” “Yeah, I’m going into geography and she’s taking physics.” “Oh nice! I’m sure you two will do great. Have you picked out a new place yet?” “We’re just going to stay at my apartment. It’s close enough to campus and pretty well connected to the public transit system.” “Public transit? Are you giving up your bike?” “Oh gods no, I just can’t afford parking on campus is all. Plus, Twi and me are probably going to have pretty different schedules. So, she’ll need a way to and from class when I’m busy.”. “Fair enough.” “So, you have any big plans tomorrow?” “Well I’m pretty sure Spike will wake us up nice and early. Besides that? I think Rainbow’s stopping by for a bit.” “How are things going with her?” Twilight contently grinned. “Really good. Thanks for asking.” “Hey no problem. I’m just happy you finally took the leap and asked her out.” Sunset reached towards her saddlebag, popping it open again. “I got you something else,” she said. Twilight forced a smile. Not that she wasn’t happy to get a gift. It’s just, Sunset was on a tight enough budget as is and, as mentioned, she really didn’t like it when she spent money on her. Sunset seemed to sense this. “Don’t worry Princess. I didn’t blow all my ramen money on you.” A suspiciously book-shaped, though kinda large, present was pulled from Sunset’s bag. It was neatly wrapped in a lime green paper with a golden bow right in the centre. Sunset placed it down in front of Twilight. She looked at it for a moment and then ever so carefully peeled away the tape, trying her best to preserve the paper. Just like her mother taught her. Sunset snorted. “Come on Princess, you can afford to buy new wrapping paper. Just open it already.” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fineee.” She removed the paper in one swift motion, tossing the balled up remains into a nearby trashcan. Before her was a red scrapbook with the title, “The Memories You’ve Helped Create”, spelled out in golden stickers. Underneath it was a picture of Sunset Shimmer and the other human girls in front of Canterlot High. Twilight slowly flipped through the book. It consisted primarily of photos showing the girls having fun together, spliced with stories talking about the adventures they’ve had. All of the girls contributed several pages, with each section being radically different from the last. Rainbow Dash liked photos while Fluttershy wrote pages of details. Rarity showed off designs she’d made for the girls while Pinkie promoted recipes they had baked together. Tears began to sting her eyes as she delved deeper. The point of the book was easy to figure out. This was physical proof of the magic that she had breathed into their lives. Each picture and story was deeply and intimately connected to her. These couple dozen pages did wonders for showing Twilight how exactly her actions had shaped these seven lives for the better. It made her feel…proud. She blushed and wiped away tears with her fetlock. Sunset must have noticed her cry because she could feel a hoof draped over her withers, tenderly squeezing her. “I love it,” Twilight finally croaked. Stupid scrapbook, filling her with emotions. “I thought you would,” Sunset said. “And…and I love you, Sunset.” Sunset grinned. “I love you too, Princess.” Twilight turned and stared into Sunset’s eyes. As they kissed she found herself lost within that aqua gaze. This was the best Hearths Warming present a Princess could ask for.