The final bell of the year rang at Canterlot High School, and soon students were pouring outside into the chilly air. The sky above was overcast, and a light dusting of snow was starting to fall.
By the horse statue out front, Sunset Shimmer tried to catch a snowflake on her tongue, until some giggling caught her attention. She blushed when she saw Twilight Sparkle walk up.
“Oh, hey Twi,” Sunset said. “Sorry, I saw Pinkie doing this earlier. She made it look so easy.” She grumbled when a snowflake landed on the tip of her nose and promptly melted.
“That sounds like Pinkie alright,” Twilight said, looking to the sky with a happy sigh.
Sunset noticed and followed her gaze skyward, before looking back at her. “So, uh, what are you doing over Winter Break?”
Twilight’s shoulders slouched. “I… don’t know. I’ve never spent Christmas with anyone but my family before,” she admitted. Her eyes suddenly went wide as her focus turned back to Sunset. “Oh crud! I need to get gifts for our friends still! I completely forgot!”
“You? Forget something?” Sunset asked with a smirk.
“I was so busy with exams, I... forgot to add it to my to-do list,” Twilight said with a sheepish blush. She cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses. “And even then, I don’t know what to get them.”
“Hey, relax. There’s still plenty of time before Christmas,” Sunset said. “Tell you what: meet me at Canterlot Mall tomorrow afternoon and I’ll help you pick some stuff out.”
“That sounds great, but no peeking at your gift,” Twilight pointed out. “I want to pick that myself.”
“Okay, okay,” Sunset said, rubbing the back of her neck. “But no peeking at yours either.”
Canterlot Mall was bustling with activity. People were busy with their last minute Christmas shopping or taking their kids to see Santa before the big day. Christmas music played through most of the mall’s stores, barely heard over the shoppers’ commotion. Festive decorations like garlands and lights were strung up everywhere.
And working their way through the mess were Sunset and Twilight. They managed to break through the crowds and arrive at a store that was largely unoccupied: Western Wares General Store.
“Alright, let’s start here,” Sunset said. “I’m sure Applejack would like… basically anything here. Maybe not a new hat, but anything else should work.”
“Right, let’s split up,” Twilight said.
Sunset made her way to a small book section near the front registers, while Twilight disappeared down one of the aisles. Sunset scanned the various titles but ultimately sighed and shook her head. She decided to go see where Twilight had run off to.
Sunset found Twilight looking through some country music CDs and guitar picks when Sunset walked up. Twilight jumped when she noticed Sunset standing there, quickly turning to her and adjusting her glasses.
“I-I can’t seem to find anything. Are you sure this is the right place?” Twilight asked.
“Applejack likes practical stuff,” Sunset said, looking around. “Ah, there. Boot polish. Perfect.” She quickly went over to retrieve it.
Twilight followed, until she noticed a display of various leather belts. “I guess I could always get her a new belt,” Twilight said with a shrug. “That’s… practical, isn’t it?”
“I’m sure she’d love it,” Sunset said, plucking up a bottle of polish. “Let’s get these and keep going. We’ve still got other friends to shop for.”
They continued to make their way through the mall after checking out. Pets’ Start was an obvious place for Fluttershy. After walking out with a new carrot plush for Angel and a new bird perch, they moved on to Rick’s Sporting Goods.
“Alright, let’s see,” Sunset said. “Rainbow likes sports stuff. Shouldn’t be too hard to find something here.”
“What sort of ‘sports stuff?’” Twilight asked, observing some helmets near the front. One in particular, yellow with red flames, caught her attention.
“Hmm, soccer stuff I guess,” Sunset said. She turned to Twilight, who quickly refocused her attention. Sunset glanced at the helmets with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t think she needs another helmet.”
“R-Right, got it,” Twilight said. “Maybe… new cleats?”
“And an extra soccer ball couldn’t hurt. Good thinking, Twi,” Sunset said.
After checking out there, Sunset and Twilight made their way over to Celebration Central. They were greeted by an extensive Christmas display up front, which they passed to get to the party supplies in the back.
“Pinkie is always so hard to shop for,” Sunset said, stopping to look at some laser light projectors. She glanced at Twilight and rubbed her chin. “Maybe something to help with her baking?”
“Or, how about confetti?”
Sunset turned around. “Huh? Confetti?”
Twilight picked up a large bag of glittery confetti and showed it to Sunset. “Glow-in-the-dark, apparently,” she said. “Think she could use that?”
“Knowing Pinkie, probably,” Sunset said with a chuckle. She walked over next to the confetti and picked up a bag of balloons. “And I’m sure she could use more balloon animals.”
“Feels like we’re just picking up party supplies for her,” Twilight admitted.
“Well, that’s the silver lining with Pinkie: she loves any kind of gift she gets,” Sunset said with a smile.
Their final destination was one of the mall’s many clothing stores, which wasn’t exactly fancy but well within their price range.
“Rarity likes clothing and accessories, but… I’ll admit, she can be a little bit picky about it,” Sunset said. “Maybe just keep an eye out for an accessory.”
“I don’t know Rarity’s size anyway,” Twilight said with a nod.
The two disappeared down separate aisles lined with Christmas-themed clothes and accessories. Sunset picked out a hair barrette that resembled a sprig of holly, while Twilight found a pair of earrings that resembled glittery baubles.
Just as they were each about to head to the register, however, they spotted it. Something that made one think of the other. Each grinned and rifled through the stack until they found a large enough size before tucking it under one arm and heading for the front register.
Coincidentally, this meant they nearly ran smack into one another.
“Oh, sorry. Did you find something?” Sunset asked, shifting her present behind her back.
“Oh, y-yeah. I think she’ll like it,” Twilight said, doing the same.
They stood there for a moment. Neither wanted to expose their gift to the other, so they ended up sidestepping all the way to the front registers, checking out separately and as quickly as they could.
They only breathed sighs of relief when their gift was tucked well out of sight in a bag, quickly leaving the store together.
“After all this shopping, I could use a bite to eat,” Sunset said. “Pretzels?”
“Sounds good,” Twilight said. She smiled at Sunset as they headed for the Food Court. “You know, this has been a lot of fun.”
“Yeah. Gift shopping can be fun, especially when you have good company,” Sunset agreed.
Each subconsciously shifted their gift bags away from one another, blushing softly.
The next day, Sunset was setting out some boxes out on her coffee table when there came a knock on her apartment door. She opened it to find Twilight standing there.
“Hey, Sunset. Just wanted to see what you were up to,” Twilight said.
“Oh, just starting with my Christmas decorating,” Sunset said. “Come on in.”
“Thanks.” Twilight walked in and slipped out of her coat, hanging it on a hook by the door. “I wanted to see what the other girls were up to, but they were all busy. Mind if I give you a hand with the decorating?”
“Sure, the more the merrier,” Sunset said with a chuckle, opening up one of the boxes.
The two quickly got to work. Sunset hung a simple wreath on the front door, while Twilight started working on some garland to hang along the wall. As Sunset returned for some garland herself, she noticed Twilight was humming to herself as she worked.
“Getting into the Christmas spirit?” Sunset asked with a smirk.
“Hm?” Twilight blushed and glanced back at Sunset. “Oh, the humming. It’s just something my mom always does at Christmas.” She finished hanging the end of the garland, nodding in approval. “She always plays Christmas music while we decorate.”
Sunset hummed, before heading upstairs to her bedroom. She came back down with her phone. “Not that loud, but…” She tapped something in, and “The Present Song” started playing.
Twilight giggled. “Good start,” she said.
“Just sounded like a good idea,” Sunset admitted.
The two quickly resumed working, singing along to one Christmas song after another as they decorated.
The next day, Sunset decided to swing by Twilight’s house. She took in the sight of the lights lining the front hedges and the wreath on the door before knocking on the front door. When it opened, she was surprised to see Twilight standing there, her hair tied into a bun and wearing an apron.
“Hey Twi, just thought I’d swing by and see what you were up to,” Sunset said.
“Just home alone,” Twilight said. “My parents and Shining are all out shopping, and they took Spike with them. Come on in.”
She stepped inside and Sunset walked in, slipping out of her warm coat. Much like outside, the inside of Twilight’s house was decorated for the holidays, with garland and wreaths hung here and there.
“Why didn’t you go with them?” Sunset asked, hanging her coat by the door.
Twilight huffed. “I made one too many lists when I was younger, about all the probable gifts for everyone,” she said. “They like to call it ‘Listmageddon.’ They don’t want me to go overboard again, so I just stay home.”
Sunset giggled. “So, what are you up to then?”
“Just getting a jumpstart on the baking,” Twilight said. “Starting with some cookies.”
“Cool. Well, since you helped me decorate, how about I help you?” Sunset offered.
“The more the merrier,” Twilight playfully said.
Sunset followed Twilight into the kitchen, where the latter resumed whisking a bowl full of batter. “These are the sugar cookies, next will be the gingerbread cookies,” Twilight said. “The recipe is there on the counter.”
Sunset plucked up the recipe, which was on a laminated index card, and quickly skimmed through it. She plucked up the necessary measurement instruments and got to work rounding up the ingredients.
As she added some of the drier ingredients into a large bowl and whisked it up, she walked over to Twilight. “You guys are going to eat all these cookies?” she asked.
“Yep, we usually go through them all before the end of the year,” Twilight said, turning to Sunset. She held the whisk up as she spoke. “You’d be surprised how—whoops!”
A large drop of cookie batter splattered Sunset right in the nose. Sunset scrunched, quickly grabbing a towel to wipe it off.
“Sorry about that,” Twilight said with an embarrassed blush.
“Don’t worry about it,” Sunset said, chuckling. “Guess I need my own apron.”
As Sunset finished mixing some of the dry ingredients, she returned to her ingredients, picking up another bowl with butter. She looked around and found a hand mixer, using it to beat the butter until it was smooth and creamy. She added some brown sugar and molasses as Twilight came over to check her progress.
She set a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “Looks good, Sunset—”
Sunset jumped, the hand mixer revving in her hand. Twilight took a step back as a few drops of dark mix splattered her apron.
“Whoops,” Sunset said, stopping the mixer with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Twi.”
“That’s alright,” Twilight said, glancing down at her apron. “That’s what aprons are for. Guess we’re both a little accident-prone today.”
The two shared a giggle. As Twilight returned to her work, Sunset blinked as she remembered something.
“Hey, Twi?” Sunset asked. She kept her back to her as her cheeks heated up. “Before I forget, I was wondering if you could swing by my apartment tomorrow. I got an early Christmas present for you.”
“Really?” Twilight asked.
“Well, I didn’t want to wait and bring it to you on Christmas,” Sunset said, trying to be nonchalant. “I figured you’d be busy with your family.”
“Oh, okay.” Twilight turned to her bowl, whisking furiously as her cheeks darkened. “I, uh, can you bring your gift too then.”
“Sounds good.”
“Yeah.”
The two quickly fell into an awkward silence, broken only by them working away at their respective cookies.
Sunset paced nervously by the door the next day, a gift wrapped bundle in her hands. She jumped when there was a knock at the door and took a few breaths to calm herself. She opened the door, surprised to see Twilight standing there nervously.
“Oh, hey, come on it,” Sunset said, hiding her present behind her back.
Twilight just nodded, stepping inside. She seemed focused on whatever she was thinking that she didn’t even take off her coat as she shut the door behind her.
“So, uh… Merry Christmas,” Sunset said, offering her gift to Twilight.
Twilight blinked in surprise, pulling her own gift out from within her coat. “Merry Christmas,” she said, trading her gift for Sunset’s.
They stood there for a moment, glancing between one another and their respective gifts.
“You can, uh… open it now,” Twilight said.
“Oh, right,” Sunset said. “You can too.”
They quickly tore through the gift wrap, each surprised when they were met by a neatly folded sweater. As the two unfolded them, they smirked and let out an amused snort.
“’Loading Christmas Spirit, Please Wait?’” Sunset read aloud, admiring the pixelated video game characters and controllers accompanying the text.
“’Oh Chemist Tree?’” Twilight read aloud, noting the tree-shaped Periodic Table accompanied by atoms and DNA strands.
“It’s perfect,” they said together, before giggling.
“Thanks, Twi,” Sunset said. “But just be warned: Rarity is going to have a fit if she sees us wearing these. She thinks ugly sweaters are ‘The Most Uncouth Thing Ever.’”
Twilight giggled. “Thanks for the heads up, and the sweater,” she said.
They stood there, their smiles slowly dwindling as they looked at their sweaters. They turned their attention to one another.
“I wanted to ask you something—”
They blinked as they spoke together, a light blush on their cheeks.
“Maybe at the same time?” Sunset offered. Twilight nodded.
Each gulped and took a breath to steady their nerves before they spoke: “Would you want to go out with me sometime?”
Their faces quickly darkened, eyes wide.
“Yeah,” Sunset said quietly.
“Yes,” Twilight said.
An awkward silence fell on them once again. Their eyes soon wandered as they tried to figure out what to say to one another. Twilight’s slid up, until it locked onto something hanging on the wall by the door.
“Huh. I didn’t know you had hung mistletoe there,” Twilight remarked.
Sunset was snapped out of her thoughts and followed Twilight’s gaze. “Huh. Me either. I thought you put that there.”
Twilight gulped. “I, uh… know the tradition, cheesy as it is, but… seems a little early, doesn’t it? I know what we just said and all, but…”
Sunset nodded. “Yeah. Um… maybe on the cheek?” she offered.
Twilight nodded. They hesitantly stepped forward, leaned in, and planted the lightest of pecks on the other’s cheeks. They instantly recoiled, their faces burning to the point that it felt like they’d melt off.
As they stood in silence, Twilight’s eyes widened with realization. “Wait a minute… have we been technically going on dates this whole time?!”
Sunset eyes widened with realization. As the two looked to one another, they broke out into laughter.
“Maybe this’ll be easier than we thought,” Sunset said.
“And maybe next year, we’ll opt for couples’ sweaters,” Twilight playfully remarked.
Author's Note
Date of Creation (D.o.C.): 12/12/24
Merry Jinglemas! The prompt I received was as follows:
An EqG holiday shipfic about Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle (Sci-Twi preferred). Should be light and cutesy, doesn't have to be a comedy but can be.
I was a little slow to start on this, despite being my kind of story. I already went with the trying to find a gift idea a couple of Jinglemases ago. So, in the spirit of the Shadowbolts stories I've done thus far, I decided to include it in with them in, hopefully, a similar style to them. And there may me more #0s to come. 
I hope you like your story, EileenSaysHi!
-yours truly,
The Legendary Bill Cipher, Equestria Enthusiast
