The Equestria Girls in a Christmas Carol

by Catlovingmermaid

The Present

The school was conversing silently among themselves, discussing what they had just saw, obviously Sunset Shimmer had had a tough life in her own world, and had had no one that she could turn to. No wonder she didn't think twice about jumping through the portal to their world.

"That is just so said," Pinkie insisted, blowing her nose loudly, "She probably was jealous of our friendship when she came here."

"That must be why she broke us up," Applejack agreed.

"But she claims that she's changed," Rainbow Dash pointed out, "Yet she is still acting all scroogy."

"Change is a hard thing to under go," a new, strange voice explained, "And just because you change doesn't mean that the world changes, or your circumstances."

Everyone turned around looking before to see where the source of the voice was coming from. On the stage stood a powerful looking stallion with a stopwatch on it's flank.

"I am the Spirit of Hearthwarming Present," He announced, "I will show you what the Season of Hearthwarming, or Christmas as you call it, is like for Sunset Shimmer."

---

Sunset Shimmer shivered as she entered through the back door of the soup kitchen, leaning against the door with a sigh of relief.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" a voice asked as a pale skined male with blue hair stepped out of the shadows.

"I'm ditching," Sunset said with a shrug, "All I'm missing is the Holiday Assembly, and I don't see the point of it."

"So," the man said, glancing at the girl as she walked over to the large sink and started to watch her hands, "I take it that school hasn't improved."

Sunset shook her head, "Most of the kids are horrible to me," she insisted, "I get ambushed on the way to school, they steal my homework, and I'm still getting those death threats shoved in my locker."

"What does Principal Celestia says about this?" the man asked as he hefted a twenty pound bag of potatoes onto a large table.

"Nothing," Sunset said, drying her hands on a towel and grabbing an apron from one of the hooks, "She doesn't know."

The man gave Sunset a look, "You know, you should tell her, I might be a Crystal Prep Alumni, but I happen to be dating Celestia's niece, she doesn't put up with bullying."

"That's easy for you to say Shining Armor, you weren't voted Biggest Meanie three years in a row," Sunset grumbled, slumping down at the table, and grabbing a peeler and potato.

"Teenagers can be cruel," Shining Armor insisted, picking up a potato and peeler as well, "But the important thing is you are trying to change."

"Not that they give me much of a chance," Sunset muttered, swiping the peeler angrily across the potato, "Even my so called friends keep throwing my past into my face," she sighed, "and they wonder why I don't open up to them, as if I'm going to give them more ammunition."

Shining Armor sat his peeled potato down and reached for another, "Have you talked to them about how you feel when they bring up you past mistakes?"

Sunset snorted, "No, besides it doesn't matter, today was my last day of school anyways."

"So you really are dropping out," Shining Armor asked, "I really hoped that I talked you out of that."

"I have that job offer at the factory," Sunset pointed out, "Benefits, enough in a paycheck to actually get a place of my own, I won't have to rely on soup kitchens and food banks to survive anymore."

"But you're throwing away your future."

"I threw my future away a long time ago," Sunset insisted, with a shrug as she picked up another potato.

The two fell silent as they made their way through the bag of potatoes.

"You know," Shining Armor said at last, "I have a sister around your age, attends Crystal Prep, but she doesn't have many friends, maybe I can introduce you?"

Sunset smiled softly while she shook her head, "I don't have many good experience with friends, it's less painful not to have any."

"How so?" Shining Armor asked as he got up to get a large pot, a couple of cutting boards and knives.

"If I don't have any then I don't have to worry about being left behind again," Sunset shrugged, setting down the last potato, "I guess I'm just so use on being on my own, having no one I could trust that I can't bring myself to trust others."

Shining Armor placed the pot of potatoes on the stove, "Well we'll miss you," he insisted, "you're our most reliable volunteer that we have."

Sunset smiled, "I'll still make time to come volunteer," she promised, as she grabbed a small box with her name on it, "Uh," she said as she removed her apron and grabbed her jacket, "Happy Hearthwarming, or Merry Christmas, or whatever," she said, rolling her eyes, before heading out the door again before she could hear Shining Armor reply.

---

"I thought she didn't celebrate Christmas or anything," Pinkie exclaimed looking around, "But she willingly wished that man a happy holiday."

"Pinkie, Darling, she celebrates Hearthwarming, not Christmas," Rarity pointed out.

"She seems more relaxed there than she does at school," Fluttershy said.

"No wonder if what she said to Shining Armor was true," Principal Celestia said, "I assure you, once this is done, I'm going to investigate that."

"Maybe I shouldn't tease her about becoming a raging she demon," Rainbow said blushing deeply at that.

"If you are quite done we can keep going," the spirit of Hearthwarming Present interupted

---

As the scene settled around the students and staff of CHS, they could see that they were at the mall late at night as snow fell heavily from the sky. The door closest to them opened and Sunset Shimmer stepped outside pulling her ragged jacket closer to her body as she hurried across the parking lot.

If it wasn't for the magic that bound the invisible observers and Sunset together they would have lost her in the snow as she walked briskly for twenty blocks, every once in a while dodging into an alleyway to allow someone to drive or walk past without spotting her. After a while she raced across the tracks to the poorer section of town. Here she really worked hard not to be spotted, walking through alleyways, using backstreets, and double backing a bit, until finally she arrived at an old abandoned warehouse. In the dim light of the moon which had broke through the cloud cover at that moment the students could see a sign saying that the building was scheduled to be removed three years ago. Obviously everyone had simply forgot about it.

Sunset slipped through a gap in the fence, running through the gravel pit, and up to a small side door which for some reason was not bolted shut. She glanced around, and not seeing anyone, slipped inside soundlessly, the onlookers following.

Once inside the building, Sunset headed upstairs into what had obviously been the main office and let herself in. It was obvious that someone lived there, there was a pile of blankets in lieu of a bed in the corner and there was an electric heater and microwave sitting next to an extension cord.

Sunset carefully blew into her hands, stomping her feet to get feeling into them and glanced wistfully at the electric heater, the room was chilly, but either she plugged in her heater or her microwave, and she hadn't eaten anything yet today, she was starving.

With a heavy sigh she plugged in the microwave, and opened a cardboard box that looked suspiciously like the one she took out of the soup kitchen, pulled out a cup of noodles and a waterbottle. She prepared the noodle cup with the water and stuck it in the microwave to cook.

As it cooked she walked over to her bed, and grabbed the top most blanket, it wasn't nearly as thread bear as some of the others, and only had one hole in it. She wrapped it carefully around her. She needed to shower, but that would have to wait until the morning when the truck stop by the high way opens.

Finally the microwave dinged, alerting her that her food was ready she walked over, unplugged the microwave, plugged the electric heater in, and turned it on. She sat close to the heater as she ate to stay room, and soon found herself nodding off. Which made sense it was almost midnight and she had gotten up at six that morning.

Before she knew what was happening she feel asleep, wrapped in an old quilt next to an electric heater.

---

The room faded into darkness and when light once more was introduced, the students found them back in the auditorium.

"This just will not do," Rarity pretty much snarled, causing anyone near her to turn to look at her, "Her living conditions are deplorable!" she insisted, "There has to be something we can do."

"There is," Celestia said, "If she had just came to me or my sister, there are several programs we could have gotten her involved in."

"Applejack?" Apple Bloom called out, working her way through the crowd to her sister, her friends close behind her, "You don't think the Spirit of Hearthwarming Future is as scary as the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come right?"

"We'll find out soon enough," Rainbow said, pulling Scootaloo into a hug, "He's next."

Comments

[Skyblazer9]

Poor Sunset, I feel very sorry for her having live like that while the rest of the school have an actual home that provides warmth and shelter from the elements while she barely makes it through.

I look forward to seeing what the Spirit of Hearthswarming Future will show to the school and I've got a good feeling it's not going to be very pretty.

[GoldenStateBallers]

Keep it up

It’s a great story

[alluringming]

Another good chapter andlook forward to next one.

Does anyone else wonder how sunset is able to live by herself in the human world? I mean renting out a house or apartment can be expensive. Sure she living by herself where the others have family

[RainbowTheTankEngine]

Calling it now. The electric heater is defective and starts a fire which burns the warehouse down. This is what the ghost of the future will show.

[Featherfury]

Great, I had to be right about that too. So, how does it feel knowing you gave a destitute girl crap for having nothing to give to charity, Applejack?

I’m actually asking since I noticed Applejack wasn’t beating herself up for giving Sunset a hard time about not giving anything to the food drive when she literally couldn’t afford it.

"This just will not do," Rarity pretty much snarled, causing anyone near her to turn to look at her, "Her living conditions are deployable!" she insisted, "There has to be something we can do."

Also, just pointing it out: I think you meant to spell deplorable.