“Gah!” The honk of a car pulling up behind her snapped Sunset out of her familiar walk to her door. She spun around and felt her eyes narrowing at the first thing they identified – a huge, very distinctive mound of yellow-streaked ginger hair.

But then she took in more details, and knew her jaw had gone slack.

There was Adagio Dazzle, yes, but she wasn’t driving. She was riding shotgun. Behind the wheel was none other than Twilight Sparkle. And lounging in the back, easy to see with the convertible’s roof down, were a grinning Trixie and …Starlight Glimmer?!

Lazily, Adagio grinned. “Get in, loser, we’re going shopping!”

Twilight waved enthusiastically, then, a moment later, seemingly caught herself and gave a much more laid back chin lift. Starlight’s smile was genuine and friendly, while Trixie drawled a ‘hey girlfriend.’

Sunset raised an eyebrow at Adagio. “We are?” Term had ended the day before and Hearth’s Warming festivities were still a few days off, so up until that point Sunset’s plan for the day had been a walk around the block and then a lazy day bingeing something on Netflanks.

Trixie called from the back before Adagio could respond, “Of course we are, come on, get in!”

Not saying anything, Adagio just watched her.

“Why?”

Adagio shrugged. “It’s Friday.” She glanced over her shoulder at those in the back seats, then back to Sunset. “Now, which seat can you take?”

“It’s fine,” Starlight broke in, “I’ll scooch up.” She slid over into the middle seat, with a slightly awkward and apologetic look in Trixie’s direction.

That Adagio appeared to be the driving force behind the whole thing still gave Sunset pause, but if the others were there… Twilight, who sometimes didn’t get social cues, Starlight, a foreign visitor in a strange new world, and Trixie, with a specific history of being manipulated by Adagio. Hmmmm.

“Ok, and what are we shopping for?” Sunset jammed her hands into her back pockets to keep herself from folding her arms.

“Hearth’s Warming!” came the unison response from Trixie, Starlight and even Twilight. Then they all broke into separate, barely-discernible babbles. Twilight was talking about getting things for her family, Trixie said something about stage costumes, Starlight brought up the significance of gifts to show friends that you cared and even Adagio mentioned still having to get something for Sonata.

Sunset said nothing for a moment, a little taken aback and unsure who to reply to first, but Twilight spoke up again before a response came to mind. “Have you ever been to a Hearth’s Warming street market, Sunset? My parents took me a couple of times and they’re so picturesque and festive.”

That did sound very Equestrian, didn’t it? The sort of jolly thing that had to be embraced whenever encountered in the human world, because, for all Sunset loved her new home, from time to time she did miss the whole magicalness of Equestria. And the imagined scenario of eating churros in the fading light of the late afternoon beneath all the coloured lights, while shopping for gifts, definitely fit the bill.

“Ok, I’m in.”

“Isn’t it a little cold to have the top down? It’s December!” Between the wind whipping past and the surprisingly aggressive glitchy music Twilight had chosen, Sunset almost had to shout to be heard.

“I have just the thing for that!” Starlight clapped her on the shoulder then reached under her seat in a way that did not inspire confidence. “Vodka!”

Sunset didn’t really know what she’d been expecting as a response, but that wasn’t it.

But by that point, Starlight was unscrewing a bottle and Trixie was chanting, “Shots! Shots! Shots!” and pulling shot glasses out of her hat, so clearly that was the route things were going.

“So where is this Hearth’s Warming market?” Sunset asked. They’d passed both of Canterlot’s malls already and had now been on the freeway for a good 15 minutes.

Before anyone could answer, a purple hand appeared around the driver’s seat. Twilight’s hand, Sunset quickly realised, but everyone still seemed too perplexed to say anything. After a couple of seconds, Twilight’s fingers clapped together in a ‘gimme gimme’ gesture.

“Oh come on,” Starlight protested, “that didn’t count!”

Twilight said nothing, but her hand clapped more insistently.

Sunset didn’t know what was going on, but she was intrigued to see how it played out.

From the passenger seat, Adagio turned her head, swept her eyes across each of them in turn, blew a bubble of bright pink gum and then turned back. “The deciding vote is mine?” She paused as if for an answer, but her tone said she couldn’t imagine receiving one. Adagio having the deciding vote on anything was probably something she’d take as a basic principle of the universe. “The question was implied. It counts.”

“Fine.” Starlight pulled out a wallet from her pocket, tugged out a few dollar bills and stuffed them into Twilight’s waiting hand.

Although by that point Sunset could probably piece it together, somebody deserved the embarrassment of explaining it aloud. “Dare I ask?”

“We had a bet on who’d be the first to ask if we were there yet.”

Hm. Perhaps expecting a former cult leader to show remorse over something as trivial as a bet between friends was asking a bit much.

“Don’t look at me,” Starlight said, reaching for the bottle again, “I said Trixie.”

By leaning inwards a little, Sunset was able to find Twilight’s eyes in the rearview mirror. But Twilight, who had obviously bet against her, kept her focus purely on the road.

“Alas, the Great and Powerful Trixie is forever being underestimated,” Trixie said, pointedly eyeing Starlight until the latter poured a shot for her too.

Starlight rolled her eyes but did as prompted. “Yeah, I certainly know a Trixie very well, but maybe not this one.”

From the front, Twilight raised her voice, and Sunset saw her eyes on Starlight in the mirror. “Where’d you get the dollars from?”

“I brought a bag of bits with me from Equestria. When I arrived, I had that wallet instead.” She sighed happily. “I love magic.”

Trixie grunted, perhaps because loving magic was her thing. “Hope you got a good exchange rate.”

“Ok,” Sunset broke in, “if ‘are we there yet?’ is out, then how about, ‘is it far?’“

Adagio tapped a finger on her lips, obviously thinking for a moment. Then she turned to Sunset. “It is quite far, yes.”

Sunset narrowed her eyes, but Adagio was already facing forwards again. “How many kilometers?”

Wordlessly, Adagio turned to Twilight, hair swinging as she did.

Behind her glasses, Twilight squinted at nothing in particular, clearly running numbers in her head. “About thirteen thousand.”

In the dumbstruck confusion that followed, Sunset noticed they were taking an exit ramp. One marked, ‘Canterlot Airport.’

“I don’t have a passport.” Sunset ground her teeth. This whole stupid situation could have been avoided so easily if anyone had just told her what was going on. “Not, ‘I don’t have my passport with me,’ no, I don’t have a passport at all. Because I’m not from this world and my legal identity and status here is a bit of a question mark.”

People arguing back usually made Sunset angry, but sometimes a sea of blank or confused faces made her even angrier. “So, no international flights for me,” she said, then reiterated for a final time, “I don’t have a passport.”

With a bemused smile, Adagio pulled a brown envelope from her handbag and handed it to Sunset. “You do now.”

As they strolled in a V through the main concourse of Canterlot Airport, Sunset surreptitiously fished out the contents of the envelope. In spite of herself, her heart quickened at the sight. There it was, actual proof of her as a human and belonging to this world! On some level she knew it was fake, but still, the effect of seeing her name and picture in that setting was electrifying. “I can’t believe you got me a counterfeit passport,” she murmured.

Adagio waved it away absently. “Starlight and I needed them anyway.” Then she spoke louder, addressing the whole group. “Ok, Twilight checked us in online earlier – thank you – so, security, immigration, then drinks in the departure lounge.”

Starlight, meanwhile, was studying the big board displaying flight times. “Is our plane on there?” Sunset heard her ask Twilight.

“There,” Twilight said after a moment, indicating with a nod, “flight EK407, 13:11. No gate yet, of course.”

“Unless Trixie is misreading this,” Trixie said as she studied her ticket, “it’s even on-time.”

“Hm.” Adagio quirked an eyebrow. “The wonders never cease. Cocktails are on me.”

“So, how’s everything in your life at the moment, Twilight?”

An hour into the flight, and it was the first chance Sunset really got to quietly chat with Twilight. Adagio was watching a movie with headphones on, Trixie was taking a nap and Starlight was gazing out of the window at the world passing below.

Setting aside her complementary in-flight travel magazine, Twilight said, “It’s a little hard to think of the longer term when in the middle of such a whirlwind day.” She sat still for a moment, eyes wandering. “But I’d say everything’s settled down and looking good to me. I’ve been spending a lot of time with Aria Blaze. Limestone is taking me to my first gig next month, so that’ll be exciting. And in a couple of weeks Maud and I are going to have a day mixing concrete together.”

Sunset had to ponder that one for a few moments. “Is that a euphemism?”

“Uh, not that I know of, but it can be difficult to be certain with her.” Twilight peered at nothing in particular, then shook her head. “No, it’s a project we said we’d try together. I know it sounds dull, but I think it could be fun. Anyway, how about you?”

‘Life’ was what happened in the spaces between monster attacks and incidents of rampant Equestrian magic, Sunset supposed. The times when all she really wanted was to keep things low-key. “I guess I’ve just been hanging out with Trixie a lot, really.” Nothing momentous, nothing specific. It was just nice. “She’s getting better at co-op. We only die about half the time now.” Trying to keep it appearing casual, Sunset glanced in Adagio’s direction, then turned back to Twilight. “Why Melbarn?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“Well, uh,” Sunset found shifted in her seat, “we were going shopping, and now we’re on a transcontinental flight. To Melbarn.” Presumably everyone else had known the destination in advance, given the lack of reaction? “After the mention of Hearth’s Warming markets, I’d have understood Prance, but…”

“Oh! Right, yeah.” Twilight chuckled apologetically, adjusting her glasses. “Sorry, I was at their house when Adagio first thought of the idea, so I was taking its context for granted.”

Sunset filed that little red flag away but made no comment on it.

After taking a breath, Twilight began. “Adagio said she was sick of the cold and gloom. So the destination had to be somewhere south of the equator for the season reversal. After that decision and following that logic, Adagio said Melbarn was the nicest place in the Southern Hemisphere. And, from what I’m reading” – Twilight lifted the travel magazine, flashing Sunset an open page – “I think she may have been right.”

That did sound believable as something Adagio would do, where most people might just bump up the central heating a little higher. “Ok, I get that. I can see where she’s coming from.” Sunset fought the urge to scratch the top of her head. Adagio sometimes gave her so much to ponder that the crown of her scalp could end up sore. “Why us, though?”

Twilight gave a small grin and rubbed her neck. “I think she just wanted an entourage.”

Turning it over made no difference in Sunset’s mind. On the one hand, so very Adagio, but on the other, it made no sense. “And she picked us?” A moment too late, Sunset remembered to keep her voice down. But no one reacted, so hopefully she got away with it.

It was certainly a few seconds before Twilight responded, with a glance to check the coast was clear and then keeping her voice to almost a whisper. “She has her sisters, but I doubt she honestly has many friends. And, you know, somehow I think that’s a deliberate choice and she’s just fine with it, and it doesn’t keep her up at night. But I guess when you’re trying to plan a spontaneous sunny getaway, you might miss it.”

However plausible Twilight made it sound, that was a side of Adagio that Sunset didn’t think she’d ever be able to believe until she’d seen it herself. “But then why not just take her sisters?”

Twilight snorted, then looked guilty. “Well, what do you think she’s really so eager to get away from?”

“You know, when you said ‘Hearth’s Warming shopping,’ I really wasn’t picturing swimwear.”

“From what I know of you, Sunset,” Adagio said from the next clothes rack over, “you’d be less happy without it.”

“Yes, obviously I–”

“–And you really don’t want to miss the beaches here,” Trixie interrupted, holding a swimsuit in each hand and alternating between which one she held against her to see how it looked. “Trixie saw them as we were flying in, and they looked a-ma-zing.”

Sunset kept her mouth shut and just looked at Trixie for a couple of seconds. She didn’t glare – not quite, anyway – but the purpose was similar. In the end, she sufficed herself to focus her attention on Trixie’s garment choices, which she was still switching between. “Not the green one.”

With a last, appraising look at it, Trixie nodded glumly.

“Try this,” Adagio said, thrusting a silver tankini on a hanger in Trixie’s direction without looking up. “Now, Twilight,” Adagio turned, “we really must get you into something a little bolder.”

Twilight almost jumped at the mention of her name, so plainly on-edge was she in the swimwear shop. Sunset kept sifting through the racks of bikinis, but kept a covert eye on Twilight as Adagio swanned over to her, and stood ready to intervene if necessary.

“B-bolder?” Twilight clutched her hands together in front of her chest. “How much bolder?”

But then, just as Sunset was preparing to step in, Twilight visibly took a deep breath, and pushed her arms back down to her sides, looking Adagio resolutely in the eye.

“I know I should,” Twilight said. Then, a little lower, “I’m just, frankly, terrified.” She blushed, eyes dipping. “Which is silly, I guess. Objectively, it’s not actually dangerous…”

“Fear is irrational.” Adagio idly thumbed through a rack of beach skirts while she spoke, rather than focusing on Twilight. “Overcoming it is easier said than done.”

“How do you do it?” Twilight leaned in closer, her voice breathy. “How come you’re not afraid?”

At that, Adagio snorted and faced Twilight again. “You’re making some assumptions there.”

Within Sunset, the urge to sneak closer to safeguard Twilight was now backed up by curiosity about Adagio, but fighting against it was the risk of being noticed and disrupting this revealing moment. Respect for Adagio’s privacy was in there somewhere as well, but not really.

“In truth,” Adagio continued, “it doesn’t matter if I’m frightened or not, I won’t let it control my actions. Now” – she set her fists on her hips – “I could march you out of here in the skimpiest thing in the shop, you could lie on the beach all day in it, and, guess what, you wouldn’t die.”

Although Twilight recoiled, Sunset hung back, because it sounded like there was more coming.

Adagio turned to an adjacent countertop and started picking up various pairs of sunglasses in turn. “But I think you wouldn’t stop being uncomfortable, and you’d have a miserable day.” She tried on a pair of sunglasses and looked herself over in the mirror. “And I don’t think it would lead to some new burst of body confidence afterwards. You wouldn’t be thinking, ‘hey, I wore that and got away with it,’ you’d just remember how awkward you felt, and would then avoid things like that even more so going forwards.” She set the sunglasses down on the counter and turned to Twilight again. “So, what’s your limit?”

Even from a few metres away, Sunset saw Twilight’s eyes nervously flick to the rack of one-pieces hanging up beside her.

“Ok,” Adagio said, “we can work with that.” Twilight’s slump and audible sigh was buttoned straight back up when Adagio added, “But we’re doing it in pink.”

“Pink?! I-I was thinking black…” Twilight rifled through the rack in question, pausing on several black designs and running her hand over them.

Adagio tapped her foot, giving no ground. “Yes, I wonder whose influence that is.” She reached into her handbag and retrieved her bubblegum packet, popping a piece into her mouth. “Look, there are two routes to feeling confident in an outfit. One is to be indifferent to how you’re perceived. That’s how Aria does it, and, to be blunt, that is just never happening to you. You’re far too much of a people-pleaser.”

The shock and hurt Sunset expected never appeared on Twilight’s face. Instead she took a moment, then nodded in nonplussed agreement. Maybe her new cohorts were having a deeper influence on her.

“The other route,” Adagio said, speaking more softly and now looking herself through the rack Twilight had been at moments before, “is to feel attractive. And the first step towards that, for you right now, is feeling feminine.” She eyed Twilight sideways from where she stood. “So yes –” she slid the two rows of hangers apart, revealing a one-piece swimsuit the colour of Pinkie Pie’s hair “– Pink.”

Before Twilight could react, a gasp came from behind Sunset, who spun around to see Trixie standing by the changing rooms, dressed in the silver tankini from earlier, wide-eyed and gaping at something beyond Sunset’s view. But the answer became obvious as Starlight strode into view, barefoot on the shop floor.

Starlight was wearing three small triangles of material and a few lengths of string, the same shade of turquoise as the streaks in her hair, in an arrangement that might have been called a bikini if the world’s fabric supplies had been going through a severe famine. There was nothing technically indecent about it, but Sunset had seen thicker straps on the average lanyard. And there was something strange about Starlight’s hat being the most full-coverage thing she had on.

“I am loving this!” Starlight turned this way and that in the middle of the room, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “This is the most comfortable I’ve felt in my own skin since Equestria. Can I get this one?”

“B-E-A-utiful,” Adagio said, clapping her hands. “Of course this one.” Sunset struggled to take her eyes off Starlight, but she did catch a peripheral glance of Adagio turning to Twilight. “You could learn a lot from her. Maybe we all could.”

At that point the store manager, a stylish woman in her forties, glided in and asked if she could be of any help.

“I think we’re all done,” Adagio said after a look around.

“Very good,” the manager smiled. Then she looked to the sales counter. “Petal Blossom? Starsnatch?” The two shop assistants scurried over, each carrying a large, empty basket.

“Lovely,” Adagio said, then began indicating to various rails and shelves. “We’ll take the sky blue sling swimsuit in an 85, the slimline one-piece in heartstone pink in 82, the tankini and the micro you see so enthusiastically modelled here, the white lace beach kimono to go with the latter, half a dozen pairs of thongs…”

“Deuce!” Sunset shouted, catching the ball from a panting Trixie and getting into position for her next serve.

The beach, both that morning and after their swimsuit shopping the afternoon before, was everything Sunset might have dreamed of. The sun was hot enough to make her forget winter was even a thing back home, but not so hot she suffered or feared being burned through her sunscreen. The water was an azure straight out of a travel guide, and paradoxically both tranquil and providing an environment for surfers. The sky was perfectly blue, the clouds fluffy and white, and the sands were the most beautifully pristine gold she’d ever seen.

She was also, it turned out, not half bad at beach volleyball. Her serve hit the ball with a satisfying smack, sending it hurtling over the net. This was her fourth set with Trixie, and she’d won two of those that came before.

Alas, on this occasion Trixie returned the serve, and not only did Sunset fail to reach the ball in time to counter, in diving for it she also ended up faceplanting into the sand.

As she stood up and brushed herself off, she spotted two figures emerging from the water and heading up the beach towards them. That Twilight was the second, breathless and lagging behind, soon became obvious, but it wasn’t until only a few metres away that Sunset realised the other girl was Adagio. With her wet hair hanging loose down her back, Adagio looked like a completely different person.

“Please don’t stop on our account,” Adagio said as she drew up, with Twilight a few moments later.

So Sunset shrugged and tossed the ball to Trixie with a declaration of “Match Point.” And then, once again, she missed and failed, and that was that. “Good game,” she called to Trixie, silently kicking herself.

At a beckoning wave from Adagio, Starlight sat up from her beach towel, got to her feet and wandered over to join them. Sunset still didn’t quite know where to look, but at least tan lines ought not to be an issue for Starlight.

Picking up a folded white towel from her nearby sun lounger, Adagio began wrapping the towel and her hair into an intricate turban in front of them. “I was thinking it might be a good afternoon for Hearth’s Warming shopping,” she said as she worked. “A few hours of window shopping and then back to the beach for sundown.”

Finally! Not that Sunset had been bored for a moment or resented having to wait around in the prettiest location she’d ever seen outside of Equestria itself, but come on, the Hearth’s Warming shopping was the whole reason she’d signed up in the first place, and it had been a long time coming.

“Woo!” was Trixie’s response, a sentiment everyone seemed to agree with.

“It’s gone noon,” Starlight said, “do we want to eat first?”

“That’s a good thought,” Adagio said, finishing up with her turban. “I need to go and do my hair, since saltwater is terrible for it. An irony that, as a siren, I find personally offensive. So why don’t you get some burgers from the barbecue stall over there and I’ll meet you back here in an hour?”

Another hour, when they’d been so close? Sunset nodded, because there wasn’t much else she could do. In fairness, she could well believe that even the most perfunctory washing of Adagio’s hair took an hour, given its volume. And the barbecue, whose fried onions she’d been catching occasional whiffs of through the morning, did sound a really good idea. Maybe she ought to go change too, rather than going shopping in swimwear and covered in sand?

Adagio draped her beach kimono around her shoulders and slipped on her sandals, then turned to leave.

Sheepishly, Twilight leaned in towards the others. “I’m gonna trust the haircare expert and go wash mine as well.” She, too, gathered up her stuff, then bustled off after Adagio.

“Oh, and Sunset?” Adagio called back, interrupting Sunset worrying about how responsible it was to leave Twilight unaccompanied, but figuring she couldn’t reasonably do much about it. “Mine’s a chilli burger, please.”

“I… I guess I’ll have a beer then, please?”

The bartender nodded, handed a bottle over and took Sunset’s money without a word. Or even really a smile.

“It’s ok,” Twilight said, falling in beside Sunset as they turned away from the street bar, “public drunkenness is no longer a criminal offence in Melbarn, as of November last year.”

“Nicest place in the Southern Hemisphere,” Adagio announced to no one in particular, sipping her mimosa and giving off a generally victorious vibe.

“I’m just glad they had mulled wine,” said Twilight. “It may not look like Hearth’s Warming as we know it, or feel it in this heat, but it’s still going to taste like it.”

“Ooh!” Trixie cut across them, rushing to a shop window, “Look at this cape!”

They filed into that shop, splitting up to drift aimlessly around sampling the wares. Trixie tried on the cape, of course, but it didn’t fit.

By the next establishment, Sunset had spotted various things she liked the look of, too.

“D’you think these would suit Rarity?” she asked, picking out a set of earrings from a tray. The stones were mostly nondescript but the design was pretty.

“Hmmm, Trixie does think those colours would suit her. But suspects Rarity would be very picky about that sort of thing.”

Sunset grunted. Trixie was probably entirely correct on that score. Maybe earrings would be a good gift for Fluttershy instead. Not those particular earrings, of course, but the shop had them in no small supply.

Two shops later and Rarity’s gift was in the bag, literally – an embroidered pencil skirt Sunset could absolutely see her in, and the others had agreed too. Ok, it might not be wearable for half a year, since the local fashion trends were in summer mode and the weather back home was anything but, but it would keep.

“Sunset,” Trixie beckoned from a few shelves away, “how about this for Pinkie Pie?” She held out a small bag with a shoulder strap, shaped like a smiling muffin.

“I think she’d love it,” Sunset smiled, keeping a tight leash on her eyebrows. The idea of Trixie thinking of others was as encouraging as it was foreign, but Sunset wasn’t going to risk it by letting her surprise be spotted. “You should definitely get it for her.”

“Me? Oh, no, that’s ok, I wasn’t going to get her anything, we’ve never done gifts before.”

“Yeah, but there’s always a first time.” She turned the bag this way and that in her hands, admiring it. Pinkie really would like it.

“I think it’d just be awkward,” Trixie chuckled. “I mean, of all people, can you imagine how Pinkie Pie would react if someone got her a gift and she hadn’t got them one in return? You’d hear the screams on the far side of Canterlot.”

Sunset took a moment to picture it, and then decided it was better not to. “I wish I could disagree with that assessment.”

“You should get it for her, though.” Trixie said it almost offhand, already back looking through goods on nearby shelves.

But Sunset couldn’t shake the idea that it represented a bit of a turning point for Trixie. Like continuing that recent friendship and making a point of setting a good example around her was finally starting to pay off. “Thanks, I think I will.”

“Nope, none of these are quite right,” Sunset muttered to herself, casting a last eye over the table of indulgent bath soaks before moving on, Fluttershy’s name remaining a tricky sticking point on her mental present list.

Behind her, she heard Twilight talking with Adagio. “I was wondering about getting these for Sonata.”

“For Sonata?” Adagio replied, and Sunset could practically hear her quizzical eyebrow. “You don’t need to do that.”

“I think I should. She’s made me dinner a few times.”

Sunset really hadn’t realised Twilight had been spending quite that much time at the siren house. It probably wasn’t a cause for concern, not really, but still, it wasn’t comfortable. She kept her back to them, but if she’d still had pony ears they would have well and truly turned to point behind her.

“Well, not those, at any rate,” Adagio said. “Her shoe taste leans towards the very expensive.”

Given that the shoes Adagio was wearing at that very moment were from a recognisable designer whose cheapest pair Sunset knew to cost more than she spent on food in a month, the criticism seemed a little hypocritical.

“Ah.” Twilight coughed, and Sunset imagined she was blushing. “Ok, not these then.”

“Get her the plushie crocodile from the previous store. She’s always loved them.”

After what was likely a moment’s surprise at the idea of anyone, let alone a former sea monster, loving crocodiles, Twilight said, “Ok, I’ll do that!”

Sunset was rapidly running out of shelves to peruse while listening in, so needed to find a new plan soon. Not to mention that none of the scented candles she’d been looking over were right for Fluttershy either.

“What are you going to get her?” Twilight asked. That was Twilight making casual conversation, from the sound of it. When had she grown the confidence to do that, and to sound so relaxed doing so?

Adagio sighed. “I’m not sure yet. Nothing’s quite been right so far.”

“That’s a shame. What about Aria?”

“Oh, that’s all in hand,” Adagio said. “I’m sorting out quite the thoughtful gift for her.” There was a dark sort of twist to her words, like layers of meaning unspoken.

“Ooh, what did you get her?” Twilight sounded curious where Sunset definitely would have been suspicious.

“Never you mind.” There came a tapping sound, which Sunset quickly narrowed down to manicured nails drumming on a countertop. “Right, I think I’ve exhausted the possibilities here, I’m going to try a few of the shops back that way.”

“Sure, I’ll come with you,” Twilight said, accompanied by the sound of her scrambling to pick up her shopping bags.

“No no, you stay with Sunset, we don’t want her getting bored. She’s been reading the label on that same candle for a good few minutes now.”

Sunset froze. Putting the candle back or turning around would have been admitting to being caught in the act and would appear even worse, so all she could think of to do was stand still and pretend not to have heard.

Not that she had to for long. In seconds, the clack of Adagio’s boots on the wooden floor disappeared out of the shop door and off into the street. Slowly Sunset turned around, not quite ready to meet Twilight’s eyes

Thankfully, whatever awkwardness might have ensued was thoroughly interrupted by Trixie rushing across the shop floor. “Look at this spectacular little hat!” She leaned over the glass counter, peering at the hat from all angles.

Sunset and Twilight wandered over to join her. Starlight appeared too. It was, indeed, a cute hat, styled like that of a witch but white rather than black, with some kind of silver braiding around the edge. It looked leather, though the display sign beside it said it was some kind of imitation material.

It was also, clearly, sized for children. And if Trixie had had children – and Sunset was very, very grateful that she didn’t – then there was no doubt as to what headwear they’d have soon been dressed in. Sunset had no doubt they would have looked adorable, too.

“Why can’t they do cool things in adult sizes too?” Trixie pouted, gazing longingly at the hat. “Kids get all the best stuff.”

“Come on, Trixie,” Sunset said, herding her towards the door, “let’s go back via that street bar and get you another mulled cider.”

They filed out into the street, setting off back up the way they had come. “Sunset,” Starlight said quietly, drawing her aside, “can you give me a hand with something?”

“Sure, what’s up?” Sunset waved the other two to go on without her.

Starlight frowned. “How small are Equestrian ponies compared to us now?”

It was rare to actually see humans and ponies side by side, but, thinking of common elements, it wasn’t too hard to work out. “About half our height, I’d say. As a human I’m probably about the same height as Princess Celestia back there.”

“Hmmm. Let’s hope the portal doesn’t mess with that then.”

“What do you mean?” In response to a blank stare, Sunset added, “Why do you ask?”

Starlight’s eyes flicked to Trixie and Twilight walking away down the street. “No reason.” Then she turned and headed straight back in the door of the shop they’d just left.

“Now this is more like it!” Sunset had a bounce in her walk as they strolled down the avenue of little wooden huts. Clearly just set up for the season, they clustered and hemmed shoppers in, creating narrow, winding paths and alleyways through what was presumably an open town square for the rest of the year. One or two sold roasted chestnuts, the smell of which wafted through the rest of the market. The twinkling coloured lights adorning each hut and the plastic icicles they illuminated did all they could to make Sunset almost feel like she was in some frosty village where people huddled together and sang carols to ward off the early nights.

Almost. Because there was no denying that she was still in beachwear beneath Melbarn’s summer sun, which hung high in the sky despite it being nearly dinnertime. Her tasselled tie-dye sarong could not have been further from a winter coat.

But it seemed the others shared the same feeling. Adagio was still off shopping elsewhere, but Twilight almost skipped along as she flitted from hut to hut, and Starlight was humming the familiar melody of the Heart Carol, even if she did so while licking an ice cream cone.

“Here we are,” Sunset cooed, “the perfect gift for Fluttershy.” Body butter not only scented of jasmine and honeysuckle, but even held in a bottle decorated with squirrels and birds.

Starlight, beside her, nodded approvingly.

A few stalls down, Sunset found bottles of locally-produced apple cider, complete with sales pitches extolling the unique virtues of the crop from the nearby valleys, so that was Applejack’s present all sorted too.

Then, one hut beyond, she fell in love. “Oh my goodness, look at this jacket!” It was black leather like her old one, but full length, and unadorned apart from shiny black buttons on one side. The leather, though, seemed to reflect the sunlight with an almost iridescent sheen, suggesting a rainbow of pink and turquoise hues like those on the surface of oil. She walked around the mannequin, admiring it on all sides. The back even had shiny black lacing, like a corset!

“You should try it on,” Starlight prodded her.

Ordinarily Sunset wouldn’t have, she had no intention to buy it and she didn’t want to waste the stall proprietor’s time. But they seemed enthusiastic, and Starlight piled on further encouragement, and ultimately Sunset didn’t need that much persuading, so she eagerly slipped it on and let the shopkeeper tighten the laces until the fit felt just right.

In the mirror on the side of the hut, Sunset looked herself over, and, wow, yes, this was a good jacket! It sparkled as it caught the light, flattered her figure, and made her hair glow like fire. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

Starlight, soon joined by Trixie too, were very much in agreement.

Sunset turned this way and that in front of the mirror in the awesome coat while her friends practically cheered her on, and Sunset realised she was having the time of her life. This was what shopping with friends was supposed to be like!

Alas, far too soon: “So, would you like it?”

“I would love it,” Sunset said, far more wistfully than she’d have liked, holding her arms out in front of her and admiring the sleeves, then letting them fall. “But I can’t buy it. I’m here shopping for Hearth’s Warming gifts for others, and if I open the door to shopping for myself as well then I’ll be here til gone New Year.” Before the shopkeeper could get in with a counter, Sunset added, “Besides, I’m afraid I don’t really have the budget for it at the moment.”

Because she’d turned to face the proprietor, Sunset didn’t realise anyone had come up behind her until the hand dropped onto her shoulder.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie will buy this for you, Sunset.” Her stage voice dropped away. “I wasn’t sure what to get you for Hearth’s Warming anyway, so this works out well.”

“Trixie, I… you don’t need…” Since complicated words about feelings were apparently escaping Sunset, she concentrated on the practical instead. “Have you seen the price?”

Perhaps that was too blunt, but it was too late to take it back. Even with the leather jacket and the afternoon sun, Sunset’s cheeks felt hotter than moments before.

“...Trixie had not.” But after only a second, she perked right up again. “However, if she were to split the present three or four ways?” She looked invitingly to Starlight and Twilight.

“Sure, sounds great with me,” Starlight said.

“Absolutely,” Twilight echoed. Neither had shown the slightest hesitation.

Starlight added, “I can’t see Adagio going for it, but a three-way split works with me.”

The spluttered protests Sunset tried to offer made no difference, and very soon the four of them were walking away from the stall with a new coat. Soon she’d take it off and roll it up in a bag, to be carried and later wrapped up, but just for now she was eager for a few more minutes wearing it.

“Trixie,” Starlight said, with a sly edge in her voice, “did you just solve a problem with friendship?”

“Pffft! The Great and Powerful Trixie is an expert when it comes to magic. And I have it on very good authority that friendship is magic. So Trixie must be an expert at that too.”

They were all still giggling together when Starlight spotted Adagio a few stalls ahead. They called, she turned, and only after heading towards each other did the crowds part enough to see what Adagio was wearing.

“Wait,” Starlight said, “isn’t that…?”

Sunset looked back to the coat stall, where a second bare mannequin stood beside the first. Then back to Adagio, who stood frozen, with eyes the size of dinner plates.

Then Adagio fled.

“Could you pass the butter please, Twilight?”

It was a difficult thing to judge and correctly pitch, Sunset found, the act of pretending nothing embarrassing happened the night before. Anywhere between normal and too brash, and Adagio might feel they were laughing at her. Too soft, and they might be coddling her. Neither way was likely to have a pretty ending.

Needless to say, breakfast conversation was quiet and well-mannered. And Adagio had gone for a mimosa where on previous days she’d had tea or coffee.

But after a wordless few minutes from her, Adagio set down her glass, cleared her throat and addressed the table. “I haven’t actually been able to find a suitable gift for Sonata yet, so I was considering staying a bit longer and trying again. Would anyone else be interested in staying a bit longer too?”

There might have been a moment’s surprise around the table, but it was quickly snuffed by eager nods and words of assent. Starlight seemed delighted by the prospect, Twilight’s smile was polite, and Trixie’s was somewhere in between.

Sunset nodded and gave the same quiet murmurs of ‘of course’ and similar, but, since no one else was going to ask the crucial question, decided she had to. “How much longer are you thinking?”

Adagio blinked, gave her head a tiny shake and looked at Sunset again. “Oh, I don’t know,” she chuckled in a self-depreciating way. And she blushed lightly, too, which was a whole new look for her. “A couple of weeks maybe?”

A couple of weeks?! That would take them right the way through Hearth’s Warming, past the New Year celebrations and almost through to the end of the holidays entirely!

The reception of this suggestion around the table was a lot more strained, but still no one reacted with less than a tight smile. Starlight was openly beaming at the thought and Twilight’s face was frozen in the way Sunset guessed her own was too.

But it was Trixie who spoke first, eyes darting between Adagio, the rest of them, and then back to Adagio. “Oh, uh…sure? I mean, ok. Yeah.” She coughed, then lifted her chin. “Yes, Trixie would be delighted to stay.” There was a brief pause, after which Sunset opened her mouth to speak, but Trixie piped up again before anyone else got a word out. “Thank you for inviting us.”

“Yeah,” Sunset heard herself saying, eyes mostly on the white table cloth, “that’s very generous of you.”

Starlight, who was actively grinning ear to ear, went one further, hopping up from her seat, rushing over to Adagio and throwing her arms around Adagio’s neck. “Thank you! This is going to be so much fun!”

They were all nodding by that point, even Twilight, who had probably been planning to spend Hearth’s Warming itself with her family.

But Starlight, who was no doubt completely sincere in her joy, was still hugging Adagio, and Adagio was leaning into it and smiling in a way that might even be called bashful. “Aww, you guys…” was all Adagio said, and that was really the end of that.

Then, of course, everyone had to partake in mimosas to celebrate, and Starlight even gave a toast. By the time the glasses were empty, most had made peace with it, and the enthusiasm and good vibes that followed were genuine.

They were lounging around the table a while later, having looked up other Melbarn Hearth’s Warming markets and made laid back plans for the day, when Trixie turned to Starlight. “Do you need to send a message back to Equestria to let other-me know you’ll be away for longer?”

Sunset hadn’t thought about that, and had left her house so unexpectedly that the magic diary was still back in Canterlot.

“Nope,” Starlight waved it off, “actually, she’s off on a grand Hearth’s Warming tour of Equestria this year.” Starlight sounded so proud. “That’s the whole reason I was available and eager to do something over the season to begin with.”

“She’s touring? Trixie’s not jealous.”

Mostly now recovered from her earlier reticence, Twilight said, “You didn’t go with her?”

Starlight rubbed her neck, but she still smiled. “I’m afraid I can only spend so many nights a year sleeping in a wagon.”

They all laughed together, picked at the remaining breakfast items on the table until they’d eaten far more than they should have, and shared a cheeky final breakfast drink.

“Right then, girls,” Adagio said, pushing herself to her feet, “I believe there’s a beach spot outside with our names on it.”

Author's Note

Happy Hearth's Warming, everypony.