Being able to receive such a highly commemorative gift, Aurora was deeply moved, and even her heart, bound by invisible shackles, seemed to loosen a little.
To be born as a pony, she was very grateful.
"It's my turn."
Aurora rubbed her hooves together like a fly; after waiting for so long, the grand finale had finally arrived.
Everyone focused their eyes on the last gift box in Sunset Shimmer's hand, noting how thick and luxurious the packaging was. Should one say it was worthy of being designed by Iris? The outer packaging alone gave the ponies a sense that something big was coming.
"Uh... you can't blame me for this; I can only say that a designer's aesthetic taste is always more discerning than other ponies'."
Aurora quickly added a remark to distance herself from the responsibility.
After commenting on the overly luxurious outer packaging, Sunset Shimmer slowly opened the gift box, only to see a black leather jacket neatly folded inside, with rivet designs on the collar and cuffs, looking flamboyant and aggressive.
"A piece of clothing? I didn't expect that."
"Put it on and try it! See if it fits? If it doesn't, I'll take it to the shop to have it altered next time."
Under Aurora's urging, Sunset Shimmer put on the jacket, made some adjustments in front of the mirror, and then came before them, tossing her mane as she asked.
"How is it?"
"Awesome! This is exactly what I wanted to see!"
No longer able to suppress her excitement, Aurora stared wide-eyed at the Sunset Shimmer in front of her, her hooves clapping so fast they left afterimages.
She hated that there were no smartphones in this world; if she ever had the chance, she would definitely get one.
"Wow! Sunset, you look so cool right now!"
Twilight Sparkle's reaction seemed much more normal compared to Aurora's; she simply felt that Sunset Shimmer looked very fitting in this jacket, which matched her temperament well, giving off a sharp, edgy vibe.
Sunset Shimmer felt pretty good about herself too; why hadn't she realized before that she was so well-suited to wearing a black leather jacket?
She looked back at herself in the mirror and then said to Aurora, "Thank you, Flying Light, I love this."
"Mm-hmm, I like it too!"
Aurora's words left Sunset Shimmer puzzled for a moment. She meant she liked the jacket, right?
The gifts had basically all been shared; now only the final grand finale remained.
Not long after arriving, Twilight Sparkle had noticed a very conspicuous large object in the room covered by a cloth, but hadn't found a chance to ask. Now it seemed this was the Hearths Warming Eve gift that Sunset Shimmer had prepared for Aurora.
"The time for the reveal has finally arrived; let us unveil its mysterious veil."
Although she had already deduced from its size and position that it was a bookshelf, she still had to see it with her own eyes to know what it was really like, especially since it was a gift from the Senior Sister who combined wisdom and beauty.
"Why do you feel weird today? Are you a bit too hyper?"
She didn't know if she was imagining it, but Sunset Shimmer always felt that Aurora was a bit 'crazy' today, as if her mental state wasn't very good.
Aurora just turned back and smiled slightly at her: "I'm just a little too... too energetic today; after all, today is Hearths Warming Eve."
As she spoke, Aurora pulled off the cloth covering her new bookshelf.
This big thing was even better than expected; the material seemed to be made of pine, and if one smelled carefully, one could still catch a faint pine scent. It had also been treated to be rot-proof, moisture-proof, and insect-proof, and even had custom glass cabinet doors installed.
"I also applied a layer of fireproof paint on its surface, so even if Spike accidentally breathes fire, there's no need to worry about any accidents."
Sunset Shimmer was also very satisfied with this bookshelf herself; otherwise, she wouldn't have given it to Aurora as a Hearths Warming Eve gift.
"...You mean, you made this bookshelf yourself?"
"That's right."
Sunset Shimmer lifted her head proudly, admiring Aurora's stunned expression as she hadn't yet reacted, feeling that the half-month of secret hard work to get this bookshelf done was worth it.
She had been preparing for months to get those materials, and only started making it after all the materials were ready.
"So the notes you took back in Ponyville were for this day?!"
Twilight Sparkle remembered when Sunset Shimmer said she was reading a craft skills book back then; so that was what it was for, and she had actually been planning all this from so long ago.
"So the reason I haven't seen you often during this time is because..."
"Uh-huh."
Aurora walked silently to Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer didn't understand what she meant at first, but seeing her expression, she quickly realized.
Sunset Shimmer sighed, then somewhat awkwardly opened her arms to welcome the hug from Flying Light.
"Senior Sister, I really love you to death!"
"Got it, got it, only this once, okay."
"...Then can I treasure this bookshelf?"
"Just use it normally!"
Several months had passed since the old bookshelf was burned down. During this time, Aurora had successively received the new books returned by Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle, which had already filled two whole boxes, just waiting to be put on the new bookshelf once it was bought.
"How about we tidy up this bookshelf together after coming back from Hearths Warming Eve? Let's put the books you gave me on it."
"So, 'Bookshelf Tidy-up Day'? Yay! I'll definitely be there!"
Whenever books were mentioned, Twilight Sparkle was naturally the most enthusiastic. And in this small house, the shared memories belonging to the three of them were becoming more and more numerous.
I really hope days like this can last forever.
"We must be together like this next year too!"
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