Sunset Shimmer doesn't live in Equestria. She hasn't for a long time. But she's been visiting, more and more, having found herself drawn closer and closer to the alicorn princess who once saved her from herself, and having also found her affections were reciprocated.

Now, Sunset's been invited to spend Hearth's Warming in Ponyville, together with Twilight in her castle. There's no doubt that Sunset's happy to do so, and every moment Twilight's there makes that clear. But as she looks out upon the snow-capped small town decorated in its bright lights, she finds herself still at a perpetual distance from the world she once belonged to, both in spirit and in body.

It's not a sentiment she'd expect Twilight to relate to. But there might be more in common there than she thinks.

Written for AFanaticRabbit for Jinglemas 2023!

Pre-read by Avery Day, Dewdrops on the Grass, and The Sleepless Beholder. Featured on 12/25/23.

SFX Attribution:

Horse Hooves Slow by alexyquest42 -- https://freesound.org/s/630454/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

Link to Fic: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/548021/the-light-and-the-solid