Dank-smelling plants flooded the forest, creeping alive under looming shadows. The dense evergreen above did not yield to the pegasi’s snow, yet the two unicorns each wore a single scarf as they traversed the Everfree.
"And here's some riginra," said Starlight as she pulled a wagon of boxes. She plucked a little flower out of its stem then watched it instantly grow back the missing petals. "You should tell them that it's still dependent on magic for its rather limited regeneration, but if you can transfer that property to conventional materials, that'll prove more than useful."
Affirming her, Sunset then levitated a hoofful of the flowers into her backpack. The sizzling of a cauldron made her look. "Ah, and Zecora's here, just as expected."
~~~
In her hut, Zecora had been testy about getting a lot of offers from Earth, but at least she could do something for her friend, so she said; the bits, she'd rather give to someone else.
"Actually, Sunset," Starlight began as Zecora mixed a batch, "this box here is that surprise I've been preparing for the school. It was Trixie's surprise, too, but... tours." With her magic, she opened it up. "The plan is to package Ponyville's Trivia Trot into something more appropriate for the students."
Sunset could only chuckle as she poked her head in. "Seriously? Your surprise is to give your students more quizzes?"
"In the spirit of fun! I grill them on last semester's subjects, and those who've maintained that knowledge the best get prizes. Consider it a very late Hearth's Warming gift."
Out of her box floated a variety of trinkets that Starlight enchanted right away: exotic hybrid plants, one-of-a-kind from the Everfree; toys and puzzles thaumaturgically empowered to change its own rules and behavior; ingredients for potions of all kinds, restricted to benign and cosmetic effects. Even a replica of the Staff of Sameness had been custom-made for her perusal ("No, there's literally no magic in here; Trixie just said it'd look cool.")
Sunset sat on a stool, beholding the magic tinkling on and off for each of the items: the buttons, the magic glow, the sound of them, the feel of the unique auras and lines and signatures that each spell or relic or artifact could muster, inhaling once more the herbs and spices that seeped into every nook of Zecora's home.
The zebra herself walked up to Sunset after half an hour of playtime, ready to finalize the deal with her start-up.
~~~
"Thanks for the help, Starlight." Both unicorns had taken on the task of pulling a spare wagon of rare magic supplies, dodging thorns and briars.
"No problem!" Quicksand was coming up; Starlight helped turn all wheels to the left. "So, what do you plan to do after the fair?"
"At least hang out more with Applejack. I mean, there was an attempt before the Pears got to her, but outside of Yuletide, it's been months. Busy with her farm work, with family... our schedules barely align. Not like before, not even during college, even if it meant picking apples with her from time to time."
"Speaking of schedules and college," Starlight cut in, "what were you doing before? Like, before the whole start-up consulting thing?"
Wheels halted in the wet evergreen grass. "Got back to making sushi then went to manage the people making sushi for a few months. I then tried to get Earthbound jobs with companies that were very open to using magic, but I technically dropped out of my magical education, and that's never a good look. I did graduate from colleg, of course, with Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack... most of them."
"What about the others? Outside your main circle?"
"I still talk with Flash, if that’s what you mean, but he's also moved. Okay, did I ever tell you that he moved to the same city Twilight's in?"
"Hah. Moved on, huh? Still, what's everyone else doing? Juniper's finally gotten up in the world, I've heard—"
"Wallflower's got her own flower shop up on the other side of the state, and Vignette... got off lightly, for sure. Last I heard, she was trying to negotiate some exclusivity deal for 'Equestrian hashtags'. Tourism industry, probably."
"The sirens?"
"Semi-famous. Humans flock to them precisely because they've got dark and edgy backstories."
"Makes sense. What about more of your high school friends? Except for Applejack, they can't have all just left the city..."
Sunset's muzzle stayed frozen.
Starlight took off her harness, detached her friend from hers. "Alright, what's going on?"
Sunset lifted her head; a nearby creek babbled, and birds she couldn't see chirped. "Introducing magic to Earth was a big thing, much more so when the princesses just said, 'Hey, Earth, you've got some magic problems, so here we are. We come in peace and friendship.' I thought, Earth was lacking. It had all these weird sci-fi gizmos, but there was no magic. It felt empty, and I thought they should all embrace the magic like my friends did. Then, Princess Twilight came over, and she helped open it all. You start feeling the magic come back to you..."
Her hooves twiddled, her breathing quickened. "I had a stupid grin on my face the whole time. I wanted to help. A lot. I didn't know much, certainly not as skilled as you, but I had connections to big names, access to restricted sections, Princess Celestia's acquaintanceship..."
She cracked a grin. "I just... I guess I caught up in the whirlwind, huh? The friends I made had lots of magic, but now they're off..."
Starlight floated one of the boxes down from the wagon. Under the shadow of the tree, she opened one up, mindlessly turning a self-glowing leaf around.
"What do you say to that, Miss Principal?"
"Hmph. Witty even in contemplation, aren't you?"
She gripped Sunset tight, pulling her in, wrapping precious pink forelegs around her. A pat on her back, her mane falling onto her withers—in her mind and her veins, her heart exploded.
Parties and feasts, coming and going back in Yuletide. Before Starlight, Twilight had been in front of her, hands not hooves. Then two hands had become four, then six, then eight, then many more in the fading light of home. A bastion against the heartless winter just starting, of a torrent of holiday music killing her ears and mountains of gift boxes assaulting her eyes.
"Sunset... maybe I've got a plan. But that's not what you need now, right?"
So in a warmth that could melt a blizzard and all of winter, Sunset hugged her friend back, her own eyes blindingly hot, burning her cheeks then jaw then hooves by one unbreakable stream.