“Look out!”

Sunset had just finished parking her bike against a tree off the side of the Apple farm’s long driveway, and was in the process of stowing her helmet, sleeping bag and pillow crammed under one arm, when Sweetie Belle’s voice jerked her head up. Swearing viciously under her breath, she dove out of the way of Applebloom and Sweetie Belle in some sort of out of control contraption that looked like the ugly love child of a little red wagon, a dog sled, and a go-cart.

“Sorry, Sunset!” Applebloom called as they missed running over her foot by inches.

“Keep that monstrosity away from my bike!” she yelled after them. “I’m not sure my insurance covers ‘devastation by middle school maniacs,’” she grumbled to an apologetic looking Applejack.

“Yeah...sorry ‘bout that. AB an’ Sweetie’ve been at it since the sun came up—‘s drivin’ Rares all kinds o’ crazy...but now they're Granny and Mac’s problem.” The farmer adjusted her hat and offered a hand to take her sleeping bag. “We’re gonna bunk down in the den tonight, since there’s so many o’ us.”

The former unicorn tagged along behind her friend into the large farmhouse. “I’m not the first one here, am I?”

“Nnnnope,” the other girl drawled. “Rares has been here fer a while—her folks went on one o’ them fancy cruises again fer the holidays, so she’n Sweetie spent most o’ break here...an’ Pinkie’s around somewheres on the farm, ‘gettin’ things ready.’” She dumped the sleeping bag in a corner with pillows and other sleeping bags. “Rainbow is on her way—her folks was pickin’ up Scootaloo an’ their friend new friend Gabby.”

Setting the rest of her things down, Sunset chewed on her lip. “So...do I get to know yet what I’m in for tonight?”

Rarity’s voice sounded from the doorway. “Patience, darling!” she encouraged, sweeping in to give Sunset a hug. “Tonight is meant to be fun and special for you, and part of what will make it so is keeping our activities a surprise!” Her face twisted into a quiet frown. “I’m hoping it more than makes up for those dreadful nights you suffered in silence during the Battle of the Bands...”

Sunset’s cheeks darkened. “I...you really don’t need to feel you have to ‘make it up to me,’” she mumbled. “That was a bad week for everyone, not a party.”

“Mebbe not, but we wanna make sure ya get a real idea of what a sleepover with yer friends is truly like, Sunset. Now c’mon...with Mac chasin’ the girls, gonna need some extra hands carrying trays ta the dining room.” Applejack headed for the kitchen with them in tow.

Scents assaulted her nose as she got close to the kitchen, the sharp, crisp smells of fresh veggies mingling with the pervasive and ever present sweetness of fruit and the rich odors of cheeses, and the faint tang of meat that made her nose wrinkle. AJ put a platter in her arms, and her stomach rumbled hungrily at her.

“Veggie tray, with dips. Decided ta do sandwich fixin’s and snack trays since we got so many different tastes here tonight. Dining room’s in there.”

Rarity had taken up a tray filled with fruit. “We made sure that all the deli meats were on a single tray, darling, so you can easily avoid that...and so Rainbow Dash doesn’t accidentally end up with anything green in the monstrosity of calories she’s likely to construct.”

Sunset couldn't help but smile as a feeling suffused her soul, similar to the warmth she'd felt finding out Velvet had gone to the trouble of making a meal specifically tailored to her preferences. It was a little thing, but somehow, knowing the girls had gone to the extra effort, just filled her with a sense of belonging and acceptance, and it meant more to her than she could find the words to explain.

She wasn’t sure why it touched such a deep chord within her. It wasn't like ponies placed any more emphasis on sharing meals than humans did, even if both species did treat eating as a social activity. Maybe it was because of her early experiences in the human world, those months after she first arrived into a living nightmare, homeless and so hungry most days that she thought she was going to die, curled up and shivering in the shack in the woods she’d wintered in that first year. Sunset had come out of that winter a bare shadow of what she’d been before, half feral from terror and horror over what she’d learned about humans and their world, gaunt and hollow enough to feel all her ribs and even the space between the bones in her arms. The first memory she had of human selflessness had been from that time, and had come from a most unusual source...

The tall woman with dark skin and piercing eyes slid a plastic container across the small table to the shrunken form huddled on the floor of the old warehouse. “Here, Red. Get some real food in you before you collapse on us.”

Awkward and stiff fingers tore open the top to reveal a rich salad mix of assorted vegetables, topped with cheese and nuts and with several packets of different dressings. Sunset sniffed it warily, checking for the sharp, tangy scent of meat that humans loved to ruin perfectly good food with, and found herself overwhelmed by the scent of the foods her body and mind desperately craved. She forgot about having hands, about being in the body of an ape, about her fears and worries and the paranoia that cried for her to flee before the human did something to her, diving her face into the meal like an ill-mannered earth pony. She practically wept at the flavors on her tongue—the familiar sweetness of a carrot, the crisp bite of a bell pepper, the juicy wonderfulness of tomato, and for the first time since she’d realized what kind of world she was trapped in, she didn’t feel like her very essence was frozen...

“Sunset? Darling, are you alright?”

Jolting out of the memory, the former unicorn tossed her head. “Sorry...I...got caught up in my thoughts. Thanks...for remembering about the meat. It's...” she fumbled, “really great—I always have to worry about that when I go places, but you girls just...did it.”

Rarity smiled, helping her arrange the veggie tray on the table between the fruit and another piled high with cheeses. “Of course we remembered, Sunset! It’s important to you, and that makes it important to us.” She took a tray piled high with snacks from Applejack, their fingers making contact in the exchange that lingered just a breath longer than friends would allow. “I’ll take that, darling, and you can put the last one in the other corner, as we discussed.”

“Alrigh’. Think Ah heard a car pull up, so either Dash is here with the other two half-pints, ‘r Fluttershy got out early at the shelter.”

The sound of the front door crashing violently open interrupted any response and answered the question, a thundering cacophony of feet and younger voices filled the air and made their way up the stairs. Rainbow’s familiar raspy tones reached them a moment later. “Please tell me there’s cider, AJ? That was the longest five miles of my life!”

The farmer rolled green eyes. “Was five miles, Rainbow, not an eternity.” She tossed a bottle of the chilled cider at her friend.

“Sure felt like it. That Gabby kid talks more than Rarity, and both my parents were in the car too! It was enough to make anyone crazy!” Dash twisted the top off the bottle, ignoring Rarity’s protest as she downed the bubbly beverage. “Who we still waiting on? I figured Pinkie Pie would be here early.”

“I’m right here, silly!”

Dash sucked in half a swallow of cider as she yelped and jumped, ending in her coughing and sputtering to clear her airway, courtesy of Pinkie who had appeared right behind her in the doorway.

“And look who I found!” Pinkie bounced into the room, cheerfully unconcerned about the figure she hopped over.

Fluttershy knelt down by the coughing soccer star, concern etched into her features. “Rainbow, are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine...” she wheezed, then turned towards Pinkie. “You got me that time, Pinkie. How do you do that?”

Summer-sky eyes turned away from a plate of cookies, large and innocent. “Drf rh?” was the response through a mouth full of sweets.

Sunset couldn't help it—the whole thing struck her as ridiculous and she burst into laughter, the feeling of happiness and joy bubbling up inside her and dispelling what nervous anxiety lingered. These were her friends, the same mismatched group she saw nearly every day, not the foals of her younger years who tormented her. Five sets of eyes turned towards her, confused at first, but soon the whole group was laughing until their sides hurt.

Pinkie bounced over to throw her arms around Sunset in a full fledged Pinkie Pie Partytime Bearhug (TM), complete with cookie crumbs. “Alright! This party is off to a great start already! We’ve got so much planned to keep that smile in your heart tonight, Sunset—you’ll remember this party for the rest of your life! Bring it in, ladies! Group hug for Sunset!”

The redhead found herself in the center of the press of bodies, and her heart soared. “Thanks, girls,” she said, hugging back as much as she could. “You really are some of the best friends, anyone could ask for.”

Rainbow Dash gave her a playful punch to the shoulder. “You're pretty awesome yourself, Sunset,” she quipped, her voice still a bit strained from inhaling the cider. “Friendship goes both ways, you know.” She paused, going half cross eyed. “And whose stomach was that? We need to feed them before they decide to eat the rest of us.”

Sheepish, Sunset managed to raise a hand. “I was too excited to eat lunch...but don’t worry, Dash. You’re safe. Those tomatoes and peppers, on the other hand? They are in imminent danger.”

“Well, everyone’s here, and it's dinnertime! So what are we waiting for?! Dibs on the Cool Ranch Doritos!”

Six teenage girls broke apart in a mad scramble for the food.

Twilight Sparkle stared down at her plate, a faint twisting nausea in her stomach making the thought of actually trying to eat the food arranged artfully before her eyes an unpleasant one. She wasn't sure which part of the annual New Years celebration she disliked more: several hours of small talk with relatives she only saw once a year if that while avoiding the even more foreign wealthy ‘friends’ they invited, or this, a dinner of fancy, high priced menu items on expensive china that Twilight was fairly certain no one actually enjoyed the taste of, wearing an outfit far too formal to be comfortable, and condemned to the table with the children and anyone under twenty-five who didn't bring a date.

The dinner wouldn't be so bad, she acknowledged, if it weren't for how much noise there was at a table made mostly of kids and teens, all talking over each other. The volume of it dug into her nerve endings as much as it did her eardrums, making her skin crawl with this omnipresent sensation. And the touching. Twilight loved hugs from her parents, from Cadence and Shining, and especially from Sunset...she could even do okay with her cousin Little Light poking her arm or tugging her sleeve...but the invasive way Glamour Shot kept initiating physical contact, or the way Nightlife kept kicking her under the table during his wildest stories...those things made her desperate to flee back to the safety of her room.

Twilight took a slow, deep breath, trying to get a handle on her rising anxieties. Her parents were all the way across the huge dining room, meaning she was on her own. She had to get herself under control, closing her eyes and visualizing that it was Sunset touching her arm and not her overly pushy cousin. “Deep breaths, Sparky,” her girlfriend murmured in her mind, blue-green eyes focused on Twilight with enough intensity to block out everything else in the room. She could drown in that gaze forever, she really could, even if Sunset’s personality reminded her more of fire than it ever would of water.

Mental-Sunny hugged her, murmuring those soothing, firm instructions in her ears, and Twilight could feel her innards starting to unknot, feel her breath come easier—even if the memories of Sunset’s mouth on her neck ensured that her heart continued to race. A sort of giddy happiness bloomed, her lips unconsciously twitching into a smile, racier thoughts settling into memories of hugs and bedtime cuddles, of warm arms around her and Sunset’s gorgeous body against her, around her, enveloping her with that sense of—

Her hand was accosted by the wrist and the daydream was blown away like dust, her senses abruptly and painfully jolted back to the real world, as Glamour was inspecting her nails critically. “Twi, your hands would just be perfect for a manicure!” There was an excited note to the older girl’s voice, and she pushed back a bit of inky dark hair out of her eyes as she leaned over Twilight’s hand. “They have just the most amazing shape and perfect structure, and your coloration would go so well with so many of the different shades of polish I have!”

She pulled her arm back, curling the appendage close to her to avoid more grabbing. “Um...No thanks,” she managed to respond, wringing her hands nervously. “I’m...good...”

Her cousin pouted at her—an expression that was ridiculous on someone several years her senior, Twilight decided. “I could make them look so amazing though! And if you wanted, I could even do them shorter so they don't interfere with your hobbies!” She winked at Twilight, though why she did so was a mystery, and the dark haired teen felt her stomach twist itself back up.

Some of Twilight's confusion and stress must have shown in her face—either that or Glamour Shot had more to her than Twilight had credited her with, because Glamour abruptly changed tactics, almost as if she was clumsily trying to be helpful. "Twi, it's okay, honest. I promise I'm not going to film you anymore, or you know... do stuff that makes you uncomfortable. I just thought, getting a manicure is really soothing, like, for me anyway, and, everyone else will leave you be while I'm doing that. It's nice, and I'll make your nails look good, and give you a break from... you know." The girl shrugged awkwardly, but gave her a more sincere smile than Twilight was used to seeing from her.

The whole thing took her by surprise, and she found her brain blanked on any kind of response, too busy trying to understand why her cousin was acting so strangely all of a sudden, why she suddenly seemed to care. All she could do was give a dumb sort of nod, unable to do anything else. Glamour winked again, whispering, “Good...then maybe we can both avoid Silver Dollar for a while at the party. Mother mentioned that he was invited again this year, and he’s such a jerk! I didn't know anyone could have that much ego!”

Without meaning to, her arms curled even more defensively in front of her chest, heart stuttering painfully at the mention of Silver Dollar. She’d encountered him already, since his father had been invited to dinner as well, and the incident had been entirely unpleasant. There had been something in the way his eyes had looked her over, something weird in his voice when he’d commented about how ‘Little Twilight was growing up’ that had made her clutch her phone in a death grip, wishing dearly that Sunset was there with her.

Glamour’s eyes narrowed at her, and she shifted even closer. “He didn't?!” she hissed. “That slimy, greasy, sleazoid! Ugh!” Her hands fluttered in a series of awkward motions, like she was about to throw her arms around Twilight in a hug, but stopped herself at the last second. “Just do your best to avoid him tonight, and if you need a rescue, give me a high sign, Twi. He’s a first class creep!”

There were no words to describe how she felt in that moment, confusion, anxiety, and panic warring for supremacy amidst the projections her mind was producing for her in an attempt to understand what was going on around her. Twilight shrank in on herself in her chair, needing Sunset’s warm presence more than ever...

Right! So...Happy Stuff Yourself Stupid Day for those who enjoy a holiday of gluttony!

As a reminder: this is the final chapter that will be posted until after the first of the year. I'm taking December off, in order to manage family stress and other shenanigans without losing my goddamned mind, and to hopefully (in my free time) get a bit further into Arc 2, which is taking a lot more time and turning out to be a lot longer than anticipated. (Never fear, I'm still writing--I've written almost 40K in this month alone, so its not a case of "Fanfic writer falling off the wagon," promise. Its just a lot for the arc, and some of the scenes require some intense precision.)

In December, I'll see about posting my rambling Behind the Scenes blog on pony culture, and I've got this Rarijack short I'm working through as well that I'm...Not quite happy with yet, but its there. It's current working title is "The Best Part of Makin' Up..." We'll see if it keeps that. (It probably will, I live for amusing puns.)

Now...about the chapter directly...

The New Years Shenanigans are happening! On one side, we've got Sunset, who is at a party with friends. On the other...we've got poor Sparky, stuck in rich people land.

*taps chin* Yes. Rarity and Sweetie Belle's parents are kinda scummy. I've been alluding to it since the beginning, but they aren't around much, and Rarity is basically the primary "adult" watching her sister...or she would be, if it weren't for the intervention of the Apple family. This is me drawing mostly from observation of FiM, where we only see Rarity's parents very briefly in like...3 episodes, and only once do they talk....long enough to dump responsibility for her younger sister on her so they can fuck off on a vacation. And then we...never really see them come back. Sweetie just becomes a pretty permanent fixture at Rarity's, with her own room and everything, and their parents are strangely absent during every major milestone or event for the both of them. They aren't there when Sweetie gets her cutie mark (but Rarity is), for example, which everything in the show says is a super important day for a pony. They weren't the ones present for things like birthday parties (we see Sweetie's memories of like her 5th birthday, and its a teenage Rarity throwing the party and managing her sister.)

In the human world, that translates to them being those sort of...scummy trashy parents who have money, and mostly ignore their kids and throw money at them instead. When they are around they're okay, but...they just arent that much. They're self absorbed and not there, busy on cruises and vacations and other indulgences. And the only reason social services hasn't gotten involved is because whenever they leave town for weeks at a time, Granny Smith steps in to get the girls over to the farm.

Hmm....Mysterious figure in a flashback. Who could it be? *wicked grin*

....I have plans for it later, but Sunset's early time in the human world was ugly and rough. There's a good reason that she registers to Shining's radar as a kid who has been on the streets. She arrived during autumn, and was still trying to figure out the human world and its denizens over that first winter. She had no money, and was trying to fly under the radar, and it damn near killed her. Obviously, her fortunes turned around...but...that's another story.

Meanwhile, poor Twilight just wants to go hide under a bed or in a closet, because who really wants to deal with dozens of obnoxiously snooty relatives?

Alright. That's all I've really got today.

Have a happy holiday season you guys! I'll see you in January!