Author's Note

I figured a Christmas special type of story would be good for this time of year, even if said Christmas special won't play a huge role in the main story. It will be mainly confined to the first few chapters and act as a catalyst to Sunset's journey. Word of warning, some adults may seem a bit manipulative at points which may cause them to seem OOC, but they are doing the best with what the have and know with what little time they have to do it in. The aren't acting maliciously, well for most of them, but there is one adult who I will be amping up her natural attitude making her look bad. I haven't decided if I will redeem her when she crosses a line, but she also isn't really a main character. More of a side character really, so would it really matter?

As for the WInx Club, forget everything that you know for the most part. All of the characters from WInx will be there except for Bloom as Sunset is obviously taking her place. I haven't seen every single episode of Winx, so don't expect this to completely Winx accurate and there will be no canon really when it comes to Winx. I may recreate a few scenes such as the one in this chapter, but the will either have different outcomes or happen if different way.

Hope you enjoy the story, and Merry Christmas!

Chapter 1

So far Sunset had counted herself lucky as it seemed to stay warmer than longer even as the nights seemed to come quicker and quicker. Unfortunately, her luck couldn’t last forever as the forecast was calling for pretty frigid weather come nightfall and unlike the weeks following Thanksgiving, she no longer had a warm place to retire to for the night to seek shelter in. Her, what could barely could be called home, was finally tore down after finally being bought leaving her homeless. It may not have been the best, warmest or safest place to stay, but the old condemned house was her home.

Thankfully, after Applejack learned that Sunset spent Thanksgiving alone she called their friends together and planned out slumber parties at each of their homes that would lead into the Christmas Party at the farm the week before the Hearth Warming variant holiday. And the best part was that after the slumber party, Sunset would be spending the rest of the week staying with each host. At first the parties were a blast, the most fun Sunset could truly ever remember having as she truly started to feel as if she finally belonged somewhere. Even after the Battle of the Bands a part of her still didn’t feel like she fit in with the girls, but with the sleepovers she felt as if they were all family.

Family, something Sunset had never truly had yet yearned for more than anything and it was taken away from her yet again by somebody with a grudge. She considered herself stupid for relaxing her guard as she should have known not everyone had forgiven her for her part as not only a bully, but the nightmare of Canterlot High School that people had taken to calling Sunset Satan. A moment in time that she regrets more than anything and would take back if she could.

Turning down the path as she walked through the ornate gateway into the city park, the sidewalk turning to a fancy brick walkway at the cast iron bars twisting and intertwining as it created an archway with metal flowers woven into the fake vines the metal seemed to imitate. She wasn’t sure why she was choosing the park at the moment as there was no place to seek shelter from the incoming cold as the wind was already picking up making the girl pull her leather jacket tighter around herself as not for the first time she wished the zipper actually worked.

“Great, and now this.” Sunset sighed heavily, looking up as a snowflake gently landed on her forehead melting instantly as a few more followed lazily behind. She had to at least admit it was better than an all out snow storm as a light snow at worst wouldn’t be that bad. She dreaded what she would do in a short time when light snow gave way to heavy snowfall and possible blizzards.

Shoving her hands in her pockets and hunching down in her jacket she began walking again passing by the fountain in the center of the park as she debated which way to go seeing as she didn’t really have a destination in mind to begin with. Looking down the few branching paths that laid before her, the decision was made with a girls scream coming from the direction of the hiking and bike trails winding through the plot of trees that gave the park its greenery other than the small garden area the opposite direction.

Of course she froze for a moment as she debated just what she could be getting into. Maybe it would be better to run back to the road and see if there was a police car nearby and flag them down for help as what use would she actually be rushing into a situation that could get both the girl screaming and Sunset both hurt with nobody to get help for them. Seeing the flashes of light steeled her decision as she could feel the magic in the air. It felt different than her Equestrian magic, yet it felt familiar to her in a way that called to an inner part deep inside herself that she couldn’t explain.

“Sunset Shimmer, you are an idiot.” Sunset cursed herself as she ran down the hiking path towards what sounded like a struggle as a gruff voice was saying something while sounding out of breath while the girl’s voice sounded defiant, yet scared until Sunset burst onto the scene shocking both a blonde haired girl who was pulling on a weird looking staff while what she could only describe as an overgrown Minion from that strange animated movie Fluttershy had them watch was growling at the girl.

“Who are you?” The blonde asked, struggling to pull the staff free from the creature’s grip.

“Give it to me!” The Minion growled out trying to pull the staff free of the blonde’s grip.

“Leave her alone!” Sunset demanded, the thing finally wrestling the staff free of the girl’s grip while knocking the blonde down in the process before turning it’s attention on Sunset.

“I can’t leave any local witnesses.” The creature growled as it stomped toward Sunset making the fiery haired girl throw her hands up as she felt heat building up in them and managed to throw a fireball at the thing and knocked him in the air and over the three line to land in the lake if the splash was any indication.

“Wow girl, you have some major power!” The blonde haired girl said as she must have got up while Sunset was staring at her hands in disbelief as she had just cast a spell. And not just any spell, a fire based spell that was her favorite back in Equestria. Just how could she do that though? She didn’t have her horn and she wasn’t ponied up. Looking up she noticed the blonde picking up the discarded staff the thing must have dropped when Sunset blasted it through the air.

“Power?” Sunset asked, dropping her hands as the adrenaline was starting to wear off.

“Yeah girl, power! You know…magic! You must be the fairy Mistress Faragonda asked me to come talk to and invite to Alfea for the coming school year!” The blonde cried out happily before trying to hug her savior only for the fiery haired girl to sidestep.

“So…you know about magic?” Sunset asked warily. This couldn’t be a coincidence so close to the Battle of the Bands and the Fall Formal before that. Was this somebody else seeking out Equestrian magic to steal, or something else?

“Of course I do silly, I am Stella, Fairy of the Shining Sun!” Stella cried excitedly, “It’s so awesome meeting a new fairy! I love your outfit by the way, gives off rebel vibes while still being cute!”

“Maybe you should, I don’t know, tone it down a bit. Not everyone here knows about magic, and even less believe in it.” Sunset said sternly as she crossed her arms and looked around to make sure nobody was listening. She really didn’t need anyone overhearing this and use it against her with a claim of Sunset Satan returning or something.

“Sorry, Headmistress Faragonda did mention something about that.” Stella said sheepishly while scanning the area. “Maybe we should go before that ogre decides to crawl out of wherever he landed.”

“You can go, I’m not interested in your little school or you.” Sunset snapped, “Besides, I already have a school. Canterlot High may not be the best place right now, but it’s all I have and I have a responsibility to it.”

“What kind of responsibility is greater than learning to control your power for the greater good?” Stella asked in confusion.

“Making up for my past, even if nobody believes me.” Sunset sighed as she turned to go.

“Please, at least talk to me about it. Please!” Stella begged as she lunged forward and grabbed Sunset’s hand preventing the girl from escaping.

“Don’t. Touch. ME!” Sunset snarled as she yanked her arm away from the blonde before storming away while cursing under her breath making the blonde blush brightly.

“Well, that went splendidly.” Stella huffed, crossing her arms and watching the other girl leave as her staff shrunk into her ring. She was confused, she could sense the light magic that made up the signature power all fairies wield in the retreating girl and yet the girl’s attitude reminded her of a witch. “Maybe she really is a witch?”

Ignoring the reservations about the girl, along with the urge to follow, Stella decided it would be best to report home and hopefully get a little help from her friends on this. The Headmistress had told her that it was extremely important to get this girl to return to Alfea without the deputy Headmistress or anyone else other than her father finding out about it. Surely she would allow help though when the situation was explained though. The older woman had admitted that she wasn’t sure why other than a very old friend of hers who was some kind of seer gave Faragonda a warning that it was imperative for the fire haired fairy found on this planet to return to Magix if the girl was to survive. She couldn’t force the girl to return with her though, could she? Even if it would save the prickly girl’s life?

Despite the confusion and anger the whole confrontation brought out in Sunset, she couldn’t help feel giddy as she stormed out of the park without stopping until she reached an alley where nobody would bother her. Looking at her hands she could feel a rush of excitement as she will sparks of flame into existence to twirl and dance around her outspread fingers as she watched in awe. She wasn’t sure of the how or why, but she had her magic back. Not the fleeting taste when she ponied up, but her actual full fledged magic.

Deciding on climbing behind the dumpster that was too close to the wall of the building, she opened the lids which propped up against the building providing a makeshift roof. Arranging a couple empty cardboard boxes that was cut flat on the ground she made herself as comfortable as possible. While her makeshift sanctuary provided some protection from the wind, the chill was still there. Smirking a bit, Sunset created a fireball and let it over between her hands. She felt as if she could maintain it for hours with no drain, though she realized she wouldn’t be able to sleep.

“Guess that’s what study hall is for.” Sunset mumbled as the situation wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing.

“I’m back, Daddy!” Stella called out as she made her way into her father’s study only to freeze on realization of who was there.

“Welcome back, Stella. Did you find the fire haired fairy?” Headmistress Faragonda asked with worry making the blonde feel guilty at her failure.

“About that…well, yeah. She doesn’t want anything to do with me though. I was hoping maybe Musa or Flora could help with her.” Stella explained.

“This isn’t good, I was hoping she would be more willing to comply easily.” Faragonda said pinching the bridge of her nose. “Unlike their school, we have a few weeks left since our school starts with the new year. Unfotunately, Flora won’t be able to help as she has plans with her family. I wouldn’t be opposed to Musa though, and maybe take Tecna too. Desperate times calls for desperate measures, after all. Have Tecna set you three up with an identity for their world as their technology is extremely primitive compared to most of the Magix realms. See if you three can’t convince her to join us before orientation.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t just grab her and bring her here?” Radius asked, earning a glare from Faragonda.

“As much as I agree that it would be easier to get her here, it would also make it harder to get her to trust us.” Faragonda explained.

“I still don’t understand what all the fuss is about over one girl from a backwater world.” Radius huffed.

“I wish I knew, all I got was the bare minimum. If we don’t get the fairy here, the fairy will either die or go dark in such a way an entire realm may be wiped out of existence. And on top of that, this girl will supposedly play a vital role in protecting Magix over the coming year.” Faragonda explained, “Stella, you can not tell your friends about this, just that we are trying to recruit her.”

“I understand, Headmistress.” Stella said, feeling guilty as she would have to lie to her friends as well as this new girl. She just didn’t understand why she couldn’t explain everything and be done with it. It would be quicker and likely much smoother. She absolutely hated this covert stuff, it felt to manipulative to her and made her uneasy.