Sunset removed the nozzle from the vehicle and replaced it on the pump. She adjusted her sunglasses and turned to Twilight as she approached laden with grocery bags. Twilight was shivering, but smiled at Sunset - frosty breath escaping from between her teeth - as she walked to the side passenger door of the car.
"All done?" Twilight asked as she stowed the bags.
"Yeah." Sunset replied, leaning against the pump. "It's a little pricey, but I've never actually bought diesel before. I never even knew they made cars that take diesel. Always thought that was a truck thing."
"I was surprised too when I was doing my research. Originally, I was planning on getting a hybrid, but they're expensive and as it turns out overhyped in regards to fuel economy and carbon footprint. This thing, though? Fifty miles to the gallon."
Sunset whistled. "So what, you fill up like… once a month?"
"Practically!" Twilight laughed.
"So what did you get?" Sunset gestured at the bags as they climbed back into the car.
"Snacks, drinks, and a crossword puzzle book for when we get bored." Twilight started the engine and rolled out of the gas station parking lot. "I also got some treats for Spike. Are you doing alright back there?"
"Yeah, just keep the door closed! It's cold out there!" he barked.
"It'll warm up in a minute."
Snow fell steadily as they pulled onto the highway. Sunset checked her phone and noted that it was supposed to stop later this afternoon. She hoped it would get warm enough that they wouldn't be delayed by icy roads, but Twilight had planned their trip thoroughly and made sure they left with plenty of time (and tire chains) to spare.
Sunset heard a scuttling of paws as Spike clambered up from the back seat and plopped down on her lap. He was shivering, so Sunset opened her jacket and he climbed inside.
"Aww yeah… Nice and toasty." He sighed and thumped his tail against Sunset's thigh.
Twilight turned the radio on and resumed a podcast she had started earlier. It was something about interstellar bodies and theoretical physics, but Sunset only half-listened as she absent-mindedly scrolled through her phone.
We are just heading out. Hope everyone has a good Christmas! Sunset typed.
The drive passed by in mostly comfortable silence, punctuated by brief conversations about something they heard on the radio or Sunset read on her phone. Hours trickled by, and the floor at her feet became riddled with empty wrappers and plastic bottles. Spike lay sprawled belly-up on Sunset's lap while she reclined in her seat in a half-daze.
"Hey, we're almost there." Twilight prodded her.
"Bleh?" Sunset snorted awake.
Sunset blinked and squinted out the window. The scenery had changed from the empty plains that surrounded them for much of the drive to the familiar cityscape of Canterlot. It was late afternoon, judging by the sun and a quick glance at her phone. She stretched out her arms, at a slightly awkward angle due to the confines of the car, and groaned.
"How… much longer?" Sunset said amidst a yawn.
"About twenty minutes."
"So, how much does your family know about me?"
"They know you're foreign, but I never told them about the whole magic interdimensional unicorn thing."
"Okay, I can work with that."
Sunset looked out the window as the drive continued. The landscape morphed gradually from the strip malls and fresh suburban housing developments to an older part of town. The architecture felt more distinguished. Old, yet well maintained. High fences, trimmed trees, and shoveled driveways adorned two and three story buildings. If a blanket of snow didn't cover everything, then Sunset would have probably seen immaculately manicured lawns.
It reminded her of some of the old money manors back home, but not quite. She had seen pictures of the kind of mansions the human upper class lived in, and these didn't even compare. Sunset scanned the street as they pulled into a driveway. Vehicles that weren't hiding in garages or buried under snow looked nice, maybe a couple years old, but not luxurious.
They exited the car and Sunset stretched her arms out wide. She twisted side to side and her vertebrae crackled like bubble wrap.
"Oww," she groaned.
She bent over, stretching her legs too, and then picked up a patiently waiting Spike.
Luggage in tow, the two girls and dog walked up to the front door. They reached the overhang when it swung open to reveal an older woman with light skin and silver hair with purple highlights. She smiled at the two girls, eyes scrunching with subtle crow's feet, and beckoned them inside.
"Twilight!" She embraced the girl. "Oh, I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too, Mom."
"And you must be Sunset! I'm Velvet. Come on, I've made up the guest room for you."
Sunset shook hands with the older woman. "Thank you for letting me stay here for the break."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all. Any friend of Twilight's is always welcome here. She was always such a shut-in, and I missed the opportunity of hosting gaggles of girls for slumber parties."
"Ugh, mom," Twilight groaned.
"Oh you know it's true, dear," Velvet replied as she led them into the house. "You had those acquaintances from Crystal Prep, but you were never very close with any of them. There was that one girl, Moondancer, but I'm hesitant to call you two friends."
Sunset tilted her head and cocked her eyebrow at Twilight.
"Moondancer was probably the closest person I could have called a friend at Crystal Prep, but our relationship was almost entirely academic. She just… didn't antagonize me like everyone else did. Out of everyone else at Crystal Prep, Moondancer was the only person who could keep up with me."
Sunset nodded. That would need some unpacking later.
Twilight, Sunset, and Velvet made their way into the living room. A fire was crackling softly in the fireplace, and the rich scent of baking was in the air. The usual decorations Sunset had become accustomed to seeing for the human Christmas were not present, however. She did not see a tree decked in ornaments or ribbons of red and green. There were no stockings over the mantle or candy canes or mistletoe, and the scent from the kitchen was definitely not that of gingerbread.
White and blue lights lined the molding of the walls, giving the room a soft and cool glow. Decorations hung and spun from the ceiling, showing what appeared to be six-pointed stars, candelabras and… spinning tops? A candle-holder with nine branches sat in the middle of the dining room table with about half of the holders filled with white and blue candles. The scent that emanated from the kitchen reminded Sunset of carnival fair of all things - fried and greasy. If she focused long enough, she could even hear the sizzle of a frying pan.
"Hey, Twilight…" Sunset started, eyes wandering through the room. "What is all this?"
"Well…" Twilight looked to the side and rubbed her arm. "We're not exactly Christmas people, you could say."
"Then what do you celebrate?"
Twilight reached into one of her bags and pulled out a wrapped package. It bore the same white and blue colors as the other decorations along with the stars. The package was small and rectangular. She handed it to Sunset with a smile.
"Happy Hanukkah, Sunset."
Twilight's father, Night Light, arrived a little while ago, and all four of them were seated at a coffee table. They each had a small spinning top in front of them and a pile of chocolate gold coins. The three of them were chatting quietly about their respective days while Sunset held the top into the light to examine. It had four sides, each with a different symbol from a language she didn't recognize. One side of the coin held the candle holder, which Twilight called a hanukkiah - which was a variation of a menorah, an ancient and priceless artifact from a bygone age. The other side of the coin had the six-pointed star, which Twilight had described as an old coat of arms of some sort.
"Alright, Sunset." Twilight interrupted her musings. "Here are the rules of the game. Each of us has a dozen coins to start with. At the start of the round, everyone puts one coin into the pot. Since we're just starting, I went ahead and put four pieces in from the bag. Then we each take turns spinning the dreidel and, depending on what letter it lands on, we either add to the pot, take all or half of it, or none of it. I'll go ahead and start, and then you'll go."
Twilight picked up her top–her dreidel–and placed it tip-down on the table before giving it a spin. The toy spun for several seconds before developing a wobble. Finally, it landed on the table with a clatter. She groaned, seeing it land on the letter that reminded Sunset of a stylized double-u.
"Drat. It landed on shtel, so now I have to add a piece to the pot."
Twilight slid a coin into the center pile and gestured for Sunset to pick up her dreidel.
"Alright, so which letters do I want?"
"The good ones are either gimmel, which stands for ganz or everything," Night Light pointed to the one that looked like a hoof and then to the one that looked like a door, "or hey, which stands for halb or half. They're pretty self-explanatory. The last one is nun for nitchts or nothing."
Sunset nodded and spun the dreidel. She watched the colors spin in a kaleidoscopic pattern before succumbing to the inevitable forces of entropy and landing on the table with a clack.
The dreidel settled on the hey and the table erupted in cheers. Sunset grinned as she swept in three of the five pieces, making her pile fifteen in total. It felt like Halloween all over again!
"Okay, my turn…" Velvet said as she picked up her dreidel, but she paused when the doorbell chimed through the house.
"I'll get it, sweetie." Night Light set a hand on her shoulder and stood up.
Spin. Clatter. "Nichts! Damn…"
The game was interrupted yet again by happy voices from the entryway. Night Light returned with two other individuals, one of which Sunset recognized. A young man, perhaps in his late-twenties, strode in unbuttoned his coat. He had dark blue hair with a lighter blue highlight going down the side. His frame, even under the thick winter coat, was wide and solid - but not in a bulky way - and he carried himself in such a way that reminded Sunset much of the Royal Guard back home.
"Shiny!" Twilight and Velvet jumped up to greet and hug the man.
"Mom! Twily!" He laughed, hugging one in each arm.
The other person was a woman a bit older than her with pinkish hair, but the first thing Sunset noticed was her very round belly. Dean Cadance, now Principal Cadenza-Armor since Cinch retired, looked remarkably similar to how Sunset remembered Cadance from Equestria. Minus the wings and horn, of course, and this Cadance was much older.
Cadance planted herself in a chair and sighed, rubbing her belly.
"Are those latkes I smell, Velvet?" Cadance called out. "I've been craving those all day!"
"Are you all playing dreidel?!" Shining Armor grinned. "Deal me in!"
Sunset nodded at Cadance, who smiled at her in turn. Two more piles were divided out for Shining and Cadance, and they continued the game.
Twilight set a plate in front of Sunset filled with pastries and other foods that smelled of clogged arteries. She looked over the ensemble and spotted some sort of jelly-filled donut, pancake-like hashbrown-looking things topped with applesauce, and something flaky and powdery that smelled of chocolate. Sunset also saw a large loaf of braided bread, baked and buttered to a golden brown, a dark roast of brisket dripping in gravy, and a steaming baked chicken.
"This is… quite a spread you have here," Sunset marveled.
"Fried and sugary things are a staple of this holiday," Twilight replied as she sat beside her.
"How much longer do you have, Cadance?" Night Light asked.
"Oh, a few weeks I think," Cadance said, rubbing her rotund belly. "She'll be due in January. I can't wait to meet her."
"Me too." Shining grinned and placed a hand of Cadance's. Sunset fought to keep herself from snickering at the couple.
"Don't leave me out of this!" Velvet said after a bite of chicken. "Once all three of you are settled, I expect to have her over here asap!"
"Honey." Night Light interjected. "I know you're excited for grandkids. Heaven knows I am too, but remember this is their first. Don't you remember when Shining was born? We were running ragged!"
"I was running ragged, you mean." Velvet waved her fork at her husband. "You hardly did anything and were all tuckered out! Speaking of grandkids… Twilight, whatever happened to that Timber fellow?"
"Ugh, mom." Twilight rolled her eyes. "I really don't want to talk about him."
"Did something happen, Twily?" Shining turned his attention to his sister.
"Well…" Twilight sighed. "I found out he was flirting with some other campers. It turns out I wasn't the first or the last camper he took a liking to."
"Ov vey… Zay moykhl, Twilight." Velvet reached a hand over and grabbed hers. "He's bupkis. You can do better. Maybe someone closer to your own age. Doesn't your friend Applejack have a brother that's just a couple years older than you?"
"He was nice… but I really want to get my degree done first before I focus on anything like that."
"A mensch tracht un Got lacht." Velvet said dismissively.
"So…" Sunset interrupted, "I hate to say, but I've only heard of this holiday in passing after I moved here. What's it about?"
Twilight turned to her, taking the bait to change the subject. "Well, about twenty-two hundred years ago, our ancestors were annexed by the Greeks. It was fine at first, since they mostly left us to ourselves, but after Alexander the Great died his generals split up his empire. Antiochus the Fourth, or Antiochus Epiphanes as he called himself, eventually came into power over the region our ancestors lived in. He outlawed our culture and religious practices and forced us to become Greek.
"He even desecrated the Temple, and there was a revolt soon afterwards, led by a priest named Mattathias and his son Judah Maccabeus. The Maccabees, as they became known, fought a war against the Greeks for several years and overcame very statistically improbable odds. Hundreds winning against thousands, and such.
"A lot of sources will vary on the details," Twilight continued, diving deeper into her lecturing voice. "The Books of Maccabees disagree on some of the later events, and the writings of Josephus were recorded well after the fact. There is one legend in which after the Maccabees drove out the Greeks and reclaimed the Temple, there was only enough oil to light the Menorah for one night. However, it took eight days to make more. They lit it anyway, and it miraculously lasted until they were able to make more. Thus, Hanukkah - the Festival of Lights - lasts eight days and we light a candle for each one."
"Do you think the legend is true?" Sunset asked, taking a bite of her donut.
"I have no idea." Twilight shrugged. "There are other accounts, where it took eight days to rededicate the Temple and-or the celebration afterwards lasted for eight days. It was so long ago, and there are too many conflicting accounts, no one is ever really sure."
"Regardless." Night Light interrupted. "We light the candles anyway, so that we can remember… and to hope for a good future."
"Speaking of," Shining Armor chimed in, "I think it's about time, isn't it?"
"Not until I finish my latkes." Cadance glared.
The food was pushed aside and the hanukkiah was placed on top of a piece of tin foil. Four branches swept from one side to the other, creating eight candle holders surrounding one in the center. Five candles were arranged from right to left. Velvet dimmed the lights and approached the hanukkiah with a box of matches. She pulled one out, ignited it, and held it in front of the center candle.
"Baruch atah Adonai," she sang. "Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid-shanu b'mitzvotav v'tsivanu l'hadlik ner shel Hanukkah."
"Blessed are You, Adonai our God," the family spoke in unison, "Ruler of the Universe, who makes us holy with your commandments, commanding us to kindle the Hanukkah lights."
She lit the center candle, but instead of lighting the other ones she shook out the match. Velvet then plucked the candle from its holder and began lighting the others from right to left.
"Baruch atah Adonai," she continued. "Eloheinu melech ha-olam, she-asah nisim la-avoteinu vi-imoteinu bayamim haheim bazman hazeh."
"Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who performed wondrous deeds for our ancestors in those ancient days in this season."
Sunset stood silent as the Sparkles recited these… prayers. It felt ritualistic, but Sunset didn't see anything wrong with that. Rituals, and traditions, were important. They helped you remember things–the important things. Prayer, and religion in general, was a strange concept to her. She had read old legends, folk tales really, of ancient pony and gryphon cults that had worshiped nature and the heavenly bodies. Once the Royal Sisters took over, however, those practices were stamped out. They were violent and bloody affairs, from what she read, and once alicorns embodying those same heavenly things walked amongst them there was no need to conduct elaborate rituals to appease unseen forces.
It was hard to justify when you could sit down and have tea with a living goddess, or at least the closest they ever had to one.
It also took a lot of the mysticism out of it, she thought.
These humans though… They didn't have that. They clung to the unseen, striving for a higher and perfect standard that they knew they would never reach, and they found comfort in that. Sunset didn't really understand it, but she could at least admire it.
The glow of the hanukkiah filled the room, bathing them in a soft warm yellow glow. Flames flickered, causing the gold plating on the candelabra to shine comfortingly. Wax trickled down the branches to the foil below.
"You should see it when all nine candles are burning." Twilight said, turning to Sunset. "It's almost a small bonfire."
Sunset faced her. The light of the flames reflected in her eyes, and she looked… at peace. She had seen her friend in many highs and lows before; had comforted her during her nightmares and rare bad grades, and celebrated with her for her accomplishments, but this… This was a side she had not seen. They smiled at each other, and the group trickled out into the other room.
Sunset and Twilight sat next to each other in soft recliners beside the fireplace. Each of them held a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Twilight was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a thick sweater, and her hair was pulled up in a bun. The firelight reflected off her glasses, casting her face in a warm glow.
Sunset hadn't changed yet and still wore the clothes she arrived in, except for the very large fluffy white and blue sweater that was in the gift Twilight gave her. She sipped at her hot chocolate and stared at the flames.
"I didn't expect you to be a religious person, Twilight," Sunset broke the silence. "This is… a side of you I hadn't seen before."
"I… was never super devout," Twilight replied after a long moment. "Spiritual things never made a lot of sense to me, and I was far more focused on the sciences. I went through a period in middle school where I hopped back and forth between agnosticism and atheism, based on whatever article I had read that week."
"What changed?"
"I had an argument with my parents, and Shining stepped in. He challenged me, telling me to prove it without a shadow of a doubt that everything I grew up with was bupkis. I said 'fine' and set out to form a thesis, but…"
"I'm guessing it was easier said than done?"
"That's one way of putting it." She rested her chin on her palm. "I delved deep into all kinds of sources, hypotheses, and theories from both sides. There's a lot of archeological evidence that proves certain things happened, but a lot of things are left unanswered simply because no one there to observe it wrote enough down to verify."
"So what did you do?" Sunset took another sip of her mug.
"Eventually I just… gave up," Twilight sighed.
"You just…" Sunset set her mug down, "... gave up? That doesn't really sound like you."
"Oh, I agree, but I exhausted all my sources. The results were inconclusive. I delved through multiple fields of study from biology to chemistry and astrophysics, but nothing could prove it one way or another. Then I realized something… Sometimes it's not about whether you can prove something or not. Sometimes you simply can't prove something, but sometimes that's not the point… The point is, I think, what these things do for you. Even if none of this happened, even if our ancestors made all this up in a cave somewhere, it still brought us together. These traditions, these stories and rules we live by, they teach us things. You can dig deeper and deeper to understand something… but sometimes you miss the real point along the way."
"I can understand that." Sunset looked at the fire. "Things are… different back home in Equestria. Magic, something humans treat as - by definition - something that can't be explained, is a very real and measurable thing for us, but there are still depths that we either haven't or are unable to delve towards. It's like space or the ocean. You can explore it for all your life but never make a dent in what it has to offer.
"I also want to apologize for something…" Sunset paused.
"What for?" Twilight tilted her head.
"When we first met, at the Friendship Games, I was not very nice to you. I realized I had never actually apologized for how I treated you back then. You were just curious, but I blew up on you. If I had been more patient, or had taken a more productive approach…"
"Sunset…" Twilight interrupted. "What happened wasn't your fault. It was mine. I messed with things I shouldn't have, and I gave in to outside pressure. I violated very basic safety precautions when dealing with unknown science, and I paid the price for that."
"Except you're still paying that price. I know you still have nightmares about her, Twilight… I hear you at night when you're sleeping. She still hasn't gone away, hasn't she?"
Twilight lowered her gaze to her mug.
"I want to give you a couple of things," Sunset said, standing up and walking over to her bags by the wall. "Think of this as an apology for how I acted and a step to make things right."
Sunset pulled out a wrapped package and handed it to Twilight. She felt over the wrapping and immediately identified it as two books based on the shape, size, and weight. Twilight undid the bindings and pulled apart the gift wrapping and gasped at the two leather-bound tomes that sat in her lap.
Both books were bound by old-fashioned leather, or something that looked like leather, and parchment. The first had the image of a unicorn's head on the front with their horn aglow, and its title was written in golden calligraphy that sparkled in the firelight.
The Fundamentals of Unicorn Magic: First Year
"Wow, Sunset. I… I don't know what to say!"
"I know you can't really do much without your geode, but I thought this would at least give you a start on the theory of how our magic works."
Twilight flipped over the first book and looked at the second. This one was far more ornate with binding made of silver thread and small gems, or what Twilight assumed to be glass beads, of blue and purple pressed into the cover. A sigil of a crescent moon stood proudly on the front framed by stars.
"This is a magic journal like the one I use to talk to the other Twilight." Sunset explained. "Except it goes to someone else - someone that, I felt, would be very beneficial for you to talk to and vice versa. She has gone through a very… similar… experience to what you did."
"Thank you Sunset," Twilight grinned and wrapped her arms around Sunset's neck. "This is amazing."
"Happy Hanukkah, Twilight."
