Twilight Sparkle carefully stepped out of the statue base onto the snow. She looked down at herself and noted with satisfaction that, as expected, the blue sweater, mittens, hat and beige scarf she wore had transformed to fit her human body. She remembered how during her first trip here her saddlebags had similarly turned into a backpack.

Good thing I remembered to wear these. It’s still pretty cold tonight.

Canterlot High was accustomed to having a higher than average number of transferees and exchange students, so most of those who could not afford private housing arrangements were entitled to affordable rooms at a boarding house located not far from the main building. The boarding “house” was in fact a complex of six dormitories, separating students by gender and general age group. The place was largely quiet during the holidays except for the few boarders who elected not to return home to their families.

Twilight found her way to the second floor of a large brick apartment building with a giant letter ‘A’ printed on a metal sign on the side. She opened the door to find a communal living area with sofas, bean bags, a television, magazines and vending machines. A wall lamp bathed the room in a warm yellow light, while rock music played at a low volume from a smartphone hooked up to a small pair of speakers. In the back of the living area, a corridor led to a series of rooms, now darkened by the approaching evening. Off to one side, dressed in a simple t-shirt and comfortable shorts, Sunset Shimmer was bending over a stove in a small kitchen area flanked by dining tables.

“Hey, Twilight.” Sunset didn’t look upset, but didn’t smile either. She walked over and gave her friend a hug. “Hope you like carbonara, ‘cuz that’s what we’re having.”

“Hello Sunset! That sounds lovely. Thanks for making dinner for me, by the way. I’m starving.”

It was good to get out of the cold again. The living area had a central heating system which Sunset Shimmer was happy to turn on despite being the only resident of the floor who remained during the holidays. Nevertheless, because of how empty the place was, the room felt just a little too cold - even if still bearably so. Twilight removed her cold-weather clothing layer and folded the woolly garments neatly into a pile on the table before taking a look around the dormitory.

The first room door had a little plastic sign with Sunset’s cutie-mark printed on it. It had been left open, so Twilight looked in. It was immediately obvious that Sunset had much more space than other boarders. The room was densely furnished with cheap-looking furniture, neatly kept and cleaned except for a large wooden table at the far end of the room strewn with all manner of scientific and electrical equipment. One entire wall was filled with bookshelves packed to capacity, covering mostly scientific and mathematical subjects – it looked like Sunset had more than a passing interest in advanced physics. Next to her small standard-sized bed was a clothing cupboard built into the wall. On it hung a black leather jacket.

“Your room sure is big compared to the others.”

“I kinda blackmailed the administrative staff into letting me have it a long time ago. That room would normally be reserved for visiting teachers or paid tenants. Rainbow Dash gives me flak for keeping it, but I’ve grown attached to my space. She and Fluttershy room together four doors down, by the way. When they’re not away for the holidays, I mean.”

Twilight looked into their room. Unsurprisingly, it was messily filled with empty animal cages and sports equipment. They shared a double-decker bed and the room was so much smaller there was barely enough space to walk around in. No wonder Rainbow Dash felt unhappy about Sunset’s larger living area.

Twilight returned to the dining area and took a seat on the chair nearest the stove.

“Are you here all by yourself right now?”

Sunset Shimmer gently stirred her pot of store-bought creamy vegetarian carbonara sauce. At the same time she was keeping an eye on another larger and flatter pot, containing sticks of spaghetti already softening into the boiling water.

“Mushrooms?” she asked.

“What?”

“Do you want mushrooms? I usually add some mushrooms to the sauce but we can skip that if you don’t like them.”

“Oh! Uh, yes, I’d like those in my pasta.”

“Great.” Sunset proceeded to dump the contents of a cutting board full of already-sliced mushrooms into the sauce. Opening the fridge, she took out a bag of parmesan cheese and sprinkled it liberally over the mixture. Sunset slowly stirred it all together for a few minutes and then tasted it off the wooden spoon. Frowning, she picked up a shaker and added more salt.

Twilight watched curiously at the process.

Does she cook all her own food? I can’t even boil eggs. I think I’d starve if I didn’t have Spike to cook for me.

She made a mental note to give Spike a few extra gems for Hearth’s Warming.

After about fifteen minutes, Sunset Shimmer declared that the food was ready with a casual, “It’s done.” She drained the water from the pasta and separated the noodles onto a pair of plates. Then she gave the sauce a last few stirs and scooped it onto the spaghetti before dumping the pots in the sink and grabbing a pair of metal sporks to begin eating. She handed one to Twilight.

Twilight picked up the spork and tasted the pasta. It was pretty good for a home-cooked meal. She’d eaten at Equestrian state dinners prepared by the finest palace chefs, so it wasn’t even close to the best meal she ever had, but it was still delicious and filling and she found herself enjoying her food immensely.

Sunset Shimmer was eating much more slowly. She watched as Twilight hungrily devoured her spaghetti, but ate quietly herself until she stood up and walked to the fridge.

“Do you want something to drink? There’s some cola or orange soda in here.”

“Oh, uh. A glass of water will be fine.”

Sunset took a can of orange soda from the fridge and poured out a glass of water. She sat back down and took a sip from the can.

“So how’ve the past couple of days been for you?”

“Well… I’ve been really busy. Lots of paperwork, heh.”

Twilight told Sunset about the unicorn petition that had annoyed her so. Sunset listened intently, smirking slightly when she heard about the rumors the nobles were spreading about Twilight.

“Y’know, if you don’t want to sign that petition and also don’t want to reject it, you could just get the Palace civil service to put it to a committee.”

“What? Why would that help?”

Sunset Shimmer grinned as she finished munching on a slice of mushroom. She seemed more animated now, and better resembled her usual self. “The Palace civil service will happily form a committee to research the long term effects of that petition. What’s important is that they’ll take years to finish their report, if ever, and by the time they do, everyone who matters will probably have forgotten about it and moved on. In the meantime you don’t have to sign it and the nobles can’t accuse you of siding against them because putting it to committee looks like you’re doing something about it.”

“That… that’s actually a great idea!”

Sunset Shimmer sucked up another spaghetti noodle, chewing thoughtfully. Then she frowned and said, “That’s not all. Whoever sent you that petition is probably looking to damage you politically. It’s pretty obvious that you’d rather lose face than sign it. So just watch out for whoever’s name is on the envelope that it came in.”

Twilight had not even considered that possibility.

“Gosh, you’re really good at this.”

***

I really should tell her about everything. She’s putting a lot of effort into spending time with me.

Sunset Shimmer sighed silently. Putting up walls was a very hard habit to break.

I can’t. Opening up is so hard. It felt worse than anything else in the world when the whole school saw me crying like a baby. It took me months to recover my confidence and people still don’t really respect me. I want to talk about all my problems so much but I just can’t bring myself to do it. And the fact that it’s Twilight Sparkle just makes it doubly difficult.

Anyway, I don’t need a pity party.

“Gosh, you’re really good at this.”

The compliment made Sunset Shimmer feel a little better. Twilight was a brilliant academic, especially in the magical sciences, not to mention years ahead in understanding friendship, but she still lacked experience in social manipulation and politics. It was one area of expertise that Sunset Shimmer confidently felt her competence exceeded Twilight’s.

Quit moping and thank her for the compliment.

“Thanks.”

Twilight returned the smile.

“So uh… have you been living here all this while?”

“Well... when I first got here I lived on the streets and in homes for runaways. Then Vice-Principal Luna found out about me and arranged for me to stay here while attending CHS’s middle school section. This has pretty much been my home ever since.”

The answer surprised Twilight. She knew Sunset Shimmer had left Equestria at a very young age, but Twilight had never quite connected the dots that it would have meant that Sunset had arrived as a young girl alone in an alien world with only the clothes on her back.

Gosh, she was a little filly with nothing at all and become queen of the school.

“Wait, CHS has a middle school section?”

“Haven’t you noticed all the younger students around? I think Applejack’s and Rarity’s sisters are still attending that level, though I don’t talk to them much. I did spend Hearth’s Warming Eve with all of them last year, though.”

“What about Vice-Principal Luna? Didn't you say she got you a place in this school? Are you two close?”

Sunset Shimmer went quiet. She seemed to be struggling internally with herself for a moment, and then finally replied, “We used to talk a lot. We actually have a lot in common. I think she saw a little bit of herself in me when I was younger – probably still does, really. She’s honestly the person who’s helped me the most since I first got here. I’m pretty sure if it weren’t for her, I probably would have been expelled after… you know.”

“Oh.” Twilight wasn’t sure how to respond. The Luna she knew was a lonely pony Princess who had recently learned to cherish her subjects, but the Luna of this world couldn’t possibly have spent a thousand years banished on the moon.

“What’s she like?”

Sunset sighed. “Well… a lot of what I know about her was told to me in confidence, so I don’t think I should gossip."

"I see. Any harmless secrets?"

"I’ll tell you what I can. Did you know she went through a really long goth phase when she was in her teens?"

Twilight was surprised at first, but then remembered what Nightmare Moon had been like.

"That... actually makes a strange kind of sense."

"Heh, I guess. Anyway... not many people know that she’s Principal Celestia’s sister – and the two of them didn’t get along at all for a long time. When I first enrolled, we were both in a pretty dark place in our lives, and we sorta bonded. She let me get away with a lot of misbehaviour back in the day, but about two years ago I think she and Principal Celestia hashed out their problems, and their relationship’s improved. Which was great for her, but she stopped letting me get away with things and tried counselling me. I… didn’t take it well. I argued with her a lot, and stopped talking to her. I think I started acting out a lot more after that - I mean, with the bullying. Luna was kind of the only confidant I had since I came into this world, and it felt like I had lost my only friend.”

“That must have been really hard… no wonder you were so angry when we first met.”

Sunset smiled sadly. “It wasn’t so bad. You guys really helped me. And it wasn’t the worst friendship problem I ever had to deal with.”

“Gosh, what was?”

“Well… you remember what happened around this time last year?”

“Oh.” Twilight wasn’t sure how to phrase her answer. “I only knew what you wrote to me about, but the girls told me you uh…”

“…Broke down crying in the hallways?”

“…yeah.”

Sunset Shimmer sighed and picked at her food with her spork. “Everyone in the school still hated me, and they honestly had good reason to. Everywhere I went, people would yell at me and some of them said some really nasty things. I remember people telling me to my face that they wished I was dead. I could have handled all that, but what hurt most of all was that the girls, my best friends, wouldn’t believe me when I said I wasn’t the one posting all those awful things about them, and that they didn’t want anything to do with me anymore. I – I couldn’t take it. I honestly thought I had lost everything again.”

Twilight Sparkle took hold of Sunset’s hand and gave it a little squeeze. “I… I think I know how you feel. At my brother’s wedding, a changeling queen named Chrysalis replaced Princess Cadance. I figured out something was wrong and I tried to tell everyone but no one believed me. All my friends told me I was overreacting. And when I tried to expose her, everyone – all my friends, Princess Celestia, even my brother, they snubbed me and yelled at me for ruining her wedding.”

Twilight drooped a little. That memory still stung. “And then before that, when we were fighting Discord, he turned all of us against each other. All the girls kept fighting for so long that we all decided we’d never talk again. I’d spent so long not knowing how important friendship was and then all of a sudden I thought I’d lost them all.”

Sunset gave her friend a slight smile and Twilight returned it. It felt good to be able to share those experiences. Twilight had avoided discussing it with her friends because she didn't want them to blame themselves. She'd long forgiven them, but being reminded of that sense of abandonment, betrayal and self-doubt helped her sympathize with Sunset's own ordeals.

Sunset Shimmer glanced downward and then looked up again, as if remembering something important. “You saved me a second time, you know. It was your advice that led me to talk to the girls and convince them that it wasn’t me. I guess I kind of forgot to tell you then, but… thanks. And not just for the advice. For everything.”

“Haha, it’s no problem, really. Y-you’re welcome.”

***

Twilight’s blushing.

Sunset was glad that they were opening up to each other, but the blush still felt out of place.

She’s been doing that a lot lately. That’s odd - Twilight isn’t the shy or nervous type. Or is she just blushing around me?

Hmmmmm. Let’s test that out.

Sunset locked eyes with Twilight, feigned a look of concern, and leaned in so that their foreheads were only about an inch apart.

“Are you okay? Your face is really red.”

Twilight pulled back in surprise. She began staring at the floor and her blush instantly spread to the rest of her face.

“N-nothing’s wrong! It’s just a little warm in here, haha. Th-the heater must be turned up too high.”

Sunset Shimmer leaned back in her chair, barely managing to suppress a smirk.

Twilight Sparkle has a crush on me!

She tried to process this.

Doesn’t she have a crush on Flash Sentry? No, wait. That doesn’t mean she can’t also have a crush on me. How do I feel about this? I mean, I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately, but I’m not sure if it’s because I see her that way. Gah, I don’t know what to think.

Twilight was being very quiet, finishing the last of her dinner still red as a beetroot. Her gaze remained glued to the table, as if deliberately avoiding eye contact. Suddenly, out of sheer impulse, an idea formed in Sunset Shimmer’s head.

“Hey Twilight, you wanna watch a movie?”

Author's Note

Sunset Shimmer mentions the Anon-a-miss incident during the previous Hearth's Warming Eve - this references IDW's Equestria Girls Holiday Special.

For those who haven't read it:
(Spoiler warning: plot to the EQG Holiday Special follows)
The girls invite Sunset Shimmer to spend the days leading up to Hearth's Warming with them. Stuff starts appearing on social media from an "Anon-a-miss" regarding things that only Sunset and the girls reveal to each other during those sleepovers. The girls suspect Sunset is doing it to embarrass them, especially since a bunch of photos that were taken with Sunset's phone get posted. They break off their friendship with her and "Anon-a-miss" starts posting secrets from the whole school. Everybody ostracizes Sunset Shimmer. In the end they find out the human Cutie Mark Crusaders framed her because Apple Bloom was jealous that Sunset was spending so much time with Applejack. Everyone forgives them, they all spend Hearth's Warming together, The End.