//------------------------------// // #501. Reluctance // Story: Gone in 1800 Seconds // by True Blue Spark //------------------------------// The Prompt: The fourth return. ------ “Hi, Twilight!” For once, Twilight did not jump out of her skin. Was she finally beginning to get used to Pinkie Pie’s dynamic entrances? Perhaps it was an unforeseen bonus that came with being a newly-crowned princess. She leaned her broom against the wall and greeted her friend with a smile. “Hello, Pinkie. Did you forget something?” “Yep!” Pinkie chirped. “I forgot to ask if you needed any more help cleaning up!” Twilight cast her gaze around the library. There were still scattered bits of confetti and discarded paper plates here and there, but on the whole their “Welcome Back to Ponyville Party” hadn’t been a messy affair after all, and everypony had already helped tidy up a little before leaving. “No, I think I can finish up on my own,” she said. “Thank you, though!” Pinkie beamed and nodded, mane bouncing as if it had a life of its own. “Anything for a friend! Okay, see you tomorrow!” She gave Twilight a quick hug and bounded off toward the front door again. Twilight smiled to herself as she returned to the clean-up. Canterlot was certainly a beautiful city. It was her hometown, and she would always love it. And it had been wonderful to spend some time in the castle again, learning from the Princesses—her fellow princesses, now—about her new power, her new duties, her new responsibilities... But by the time the last few days had rolled around, her homesickness had become too much to bear. Canterlot was her hometown, but Ponyville had become her home, and now that she was back, she knew it was where she belonged. “Hey, Twilight!” “Pinkie?” Bumped out of her train of thought, Twilight turned back to Pinkie, brow furrowed. “Is everything alright?” “Yeah, everything’s fine! But I just realized, maybe I forgot my party cannon over here! So I thought I’d better check and make sure!” Twilight tilted her head. “But Pinkie... Don’t you usually keep it, you know... behind your back?” She would never understand how that worked, but it did, and she wasn’t inclined to question it. Pinkie paused, turning to reach behind her back, on the opposite side from Twilight. And when her hooves came back, there was the party cannon, nestled between them. “Aha! There it is!” she giggled. “Thanks, Twi! Always in the last place you look, right?” “Well, yes, because—” Twilight stifled her inner lecturer. “I’m glad I could help. Now, you’d better get back before it gets too dark, right?” “Ehehe, right! See ya!” As Pinkie left again, Twilight gathered up the last of the trash with her magic, dropping it into the trash bag and knotting it up carefully. She’d take it out in the morning, or have Spike do it, whichever worked. Spike... Twilight smiled and glanced up toward the second floor, where she knew her dragon assistant was already fast asleep. He’d missed Ponyville just as much as she had, possibly even more. There had been dozens of letters back and forth, of course, and several visits one way and another, but it just wasn’t the same. It was a relief for both of them to know that the training was done, and now they were home for good. “Oh, Twilight!” Twilight didn’t even turn around this time. “Pinkie, are you sure everything is okay?” “Sure I’m sure! Why wouldn’t it be?” Pinkie bounded around the table to flash her a thousand-watt smile. Wait... Twilight squinted. Was there tension hiding behind that grin? “But I realized I never asked you if the Welcome Back to Ponyville Party went okay! You enjoyed it, right?” “Pinkie Pie, of course I enjoyed it! Why wouldn’t I enjoy one of your parties?” Twilight patted her on the shoulder. “Everything was perfect. Even the pinata that came to life and ran wild.” “Oh, superiffic! It was really tricky getting that enchanted frame to hold still long enough to put the papier mache on. Anyway, just checking!” “Wait, you mean you planned that—” “Bye-bye!” Once Pinkie was gone... again... Twilight shook her head and started up the stairs to her bedroom. “Where was I?” she mumbled to herself. Oh, that was right... Home. It still amazed her sometimes how much she’d come to love Ponyville. Staying was the last thing on her mind when she’d come to oversee the Festival, but things had changed, and quickly, before she’d even realized it. She’d found a sense of belonging she’d never known anywhere else, found too many friends to list for fear of forgetting a few... Pinkie Pie chief among them, of course. Twilight wasn’t even surprised to see her standing in her bedroom. “Are you sure you don’t need any help cleaning—” Twilight stopped her with a hoof. Two was a coincidence, three was a pattern, and four was something she couldn’t ignore. “Pinkie Pie... would you like to stay a little longer?” When Twilight’s hoof left her mouth, Pinkie smiled, but this one was wobbly and her eyes were sad. “Can I?” “Of course you can. We can have a little sleepover. Come here.” Twilight tugged an unresisting Pinkie onto her bed with her, floating the covers over them both. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I just...” Pinkie’s forelegs wound around Twilight’s shoulders, hugging her tight. “I missed you so much. You’ve never been away this long before, and everything felt weird and empty without you, and...” Twilight returned the hug, pulling Pinkie close. “I know. I missed you too, Pinkie. But no matter what, no matter how long I’m gone... I promise, I’ll always come back.”