//------------------------------//
// Ch. 37 Till Dusk 
// Story: The Gaps in F r i e n d s h i p 
// by Arcanum -Phantasy 
//------------------------------//

Sunset smiled as she watched ponies start taking things down for the evening portion of the festival. In addition to clearing out stalls and bringing down decorations, ponies were hammering down long silver rods around their homes. The latter earned confused looks from Sunset's friends.
"Their setting up noise canceling barriers," she explained casually as they walked. "The night part of the festival tends to get a little rowdy."
As if to demonstrate, one of the homes they walked past was surrounded by a lightly glowing golden dome, the rods standing around it letting out a similarly colored light as strange symbols pulsed across them. The Terrans in her group looked at the display in fascination while Sunset and Twilight gave the barrier an appreciative nod. A light sigh from the present Princess earned her a few concerned looks.
"You okay?" Lyra asked.
"Yeah," she groaned. "Just bracing myself for what happens every year."
"That's not ominous at all," Octavia grimaced.
"What happens?" Bonbon asked, nervously looking around.
"Nothing dangerous, I hope," Derpy frowned, pulling Sunset closer to her side with a wing.
Twilight chuckled ruefully at that and said, "No, nothing like that. Let's just say, I wish I had a normal kind of normal life sometimes."
A pair of hoof steps caught the group's attention as the last two members of their party walked towards them.
"Good evening everypony," Equestrian Fluttershy smiled.
Her marefriend wore a matching smile as she nodded to her friends in greeting, a bit of fang peeking past the Thestral's lips.
"I'm glad you could both make it," Twilight smiled. "I think Flutterbat will really like what's coming."
Equestrian Fluttershy giggled at the use of her marefriend's alias while said Thestral grimaced and rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure she will," the Pegasus smiled, nuzzling her double's cheek. 
Flutterbat let out a startled squeak, before humming happily as she leaned into the nuzzle.
"I'm still not used to seeing that," Lyra chuckled. 
"Eh," Vinyl shrugged. "If their happy, then it's all good in my book."
The rest of the visiting ponies in the group nodded their agreement.
A light ringing filled the air, making the whole group's ears twitch as it washed over them and through the town. While a minor detail to most of the group, it got a more substantial reaction out of Twilight, Sunset, and Flutterbat. Sunset sported an excited smile as she looked around, while Twilight let out a resolute sigh. Flutterbat's body went ridged as an unknown sensation ran through her. It was as if a new part of her had woken up for the first time, but it was different from the time she marked her double. Instead of being blinded by a wild surge of rage and paranoia, she felt like she had just drank ten shots of espresso and told she could adopt an entire ten litter of kittens. Her wings shifted restlessly at her sides and her tail lashed out as she struggled to keep her new instinct under control, but it was quickly becoming a loosing battle. A wide smile spread across her muzzle as a thick wave of excitement ran over her. Then, with her heart pounding like a jackhammer, she shot into the air and let out an excited high-pitched screech into the night sky. It was followed by dozens more as several other Thestrals seemed to magically appear in the skies above ponyville. On cue, homes suddenly appeared in previously vacant lots throughout the whole village by the dozens, dark coated ponies with slitted pupils and fangs filled the streets. Lycan foals and elders howled like wolves as they charged through the streets while their Cheshire counterparts mewled with grace and poise. 
The golden sun effigies that previously decorated the light posts throughout Ponyville turned into silver crescent moons that glowed dimly in place. Several night ponies occupied abandoned stalls for whatever service they reserved them for for the evening. Fireworks lit up the sky with bright flashes of blue, purple, and other dark tones that could be seen in the evening sky. All in all, Sunset's party watched a quiet and empty scene turn into a stampede of activity in less then a second. A fact that took the foreign ponies a moment to process as they looked around at all of the activity with wide eyes and slack jaws. 
Vinyl was the first to recover as she let out a loud howl of approval.
"Now THAT'S how you start a party!" she beamed.
Her friends quickly recollected themselves, smiling as they nodded in agreement. Flutterbat landed a second later next to her double, panting and sporting a blushing wide smile as her red eyes darted to each member of her party rapidly.
"S-Sorry about that," she giggled. "I just couldn't help it!"
"No problem," Sunset laughed, closing the gap between them and placing a reassuring hoof onto her shoulder. "That kind of thing happens every year."
"Huh?" said all of the Terrans in unison.
"Do you see those decorations?" she asked, pointing at the glowing crescent moons.
They nodded.
"They are enchanted to let out a small signal to all of the Night Tribes in town that it's their turn to party. Since their magic is largely instinct triggered, it gives them a bit of a caffeine rush for a few seconds. Don't worry about it Fluttershy."
"Okay," she whispered sheepishly, a small blush coloring her cheeks as she fidgeted in place. 
Equestrian Fluttershy smiled sweetly and draped a wing over her double's back in an attempt to comfort her. Flutterbat smiled appreciatively at her as she leaned into her side. Everybody chuckled good naturedly at the cute display while Lightning deliberately tried to not stare. A series of happy cries dragged their attention away from the odd couple towards a large herd of foals smiling widely at the local Princess in the group. Twilight smiled back, but Sunset's party could see the way her ears wilted slightly and the nervous sweat forming on her brow. Sunset raised a brow at the reaction, but the next second told her everything she needed to know.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle!" the youths cried in joy as they charged, glomping the Alicorn everywhere they could.
The result was a Princess trapped in a cocoon of hugging Night Tribe foals looking at Sunset with wide pleading eyes. Sunset and Derpy looked on with sympathetic smiles while Lightning and Vinyl tried and failed to stop laughing as they rolled around on the ground.
"When did Dinky multiply?" Lyra whispered to Bonbon behind a hoof.
Bonbon snorted at that and shrugged.
"I fear I may need a dentist if things like this keep happening," Octavia smiled. "Oh how I wish I had a camera."
"Alright, alright," Sunset laughed, turning towards her friends. "How about you all go check things out while I help Twilight deal with this? Sound good?"
They all nodded, Vinyl and Lightning finally regaining enough control of themselves to get back onto their hooves.
"Great!" she nodded with a smile. "Let's meet back here in a couple hours for dinner. We should have Twilight's fan club taken care of by then."
With a few nods and a "See ya," from Lightning, the group left to enjoy the festival. Most of the group at least.
"Ready to back you up Captain," Derpy smiled from Sunset's left as the Unicorn turned to face her trapped friend.
"Glad to have you Lieutenant," Sunset chuckled.


***


The night half of the festival had a little something for everypony in attendance. This included a few bars and open air pubs. At one of these establishments, a red hooded mare was nursing a mug of cider as she took in everything around her. While Tattle had given her the basic rundown on how the night tribes operated, it still floored her how much of a cultural difference there was between the nocturnal ponies and their diurnal counterparts. There were a lot more bars and clubs set up then there were earlier that day. The food the venders were selling smelled just as amazing as what was on display earlier with the key difference being the inclusion of fish in a vast majority of the dishes. It was because of that Pinkie found herself sitting in a corner booth in a dimly lit pub munching on a forkful of lobster risotto as she took in the feel of her surroundings.
All around her, ponies were smiling, drinking, and filling the air with laughter. It brought a wistful smile to her muzzle as she took a pull from a large mug of rosé cider. One of the things she missed after so many days in hiding was the sound of a crowd. To finally hear something like it again made her situation a little less difficult for her, even if it meant being surrounded by possible enemies. 
She leaned into her seat with a happy sigh as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the familiar chaos that surrounded her.
"Are you okay?" Tattle asked.
She nodded, eyes still closed as she listened to the noise.
"Just tired," she whispered. "My double really put me through the ringer today."
"Indeed," he said, a slight chuckle catching the end of his comment. 
For a moment she stayed like that, the clatter of plates and random chatter almost lulling her to sleep. It felt so much like home that she could almost feel her fingers flex. A familiar longing tugged at her heart as her mind continued to drift towards home. Her sisters, friends, and Sunset drifted through her thoughts, the desire to see them again turning her happiness into bitter melancholy as her eyes slowly cracked open.
Stop it Pinkie, she thought, picking up her fork and digging into her food. There's nothing you can do about all of that right now. You just need to be patient and get stronger.
She nodded to herself and took a swig of her drink to brighten her mood. It worked, for a moment before her optimism wilted in the face of her situation. She had been in Equestria for two weeks and while she had gotten much better at controlling her powers, she still wasn't even close to powerful enough to open a gap home. A dent-covered wall in the dungeons of her shelter could attest to how much this frustrated her. If it wasn't for her anxiety potions, there would be more damage to that section of the castle then there was already.
If I just knew where the portal was, she mused, then snorted bitterly as she thought, Or what the portal looked like on this side at least.
Some movement from her left pulled her attention away from food and teeth-grinding thoughts. A large group of ponies started sitting at the table by her. They were all mares and with the exception of a pale-yellow Thestral with a long faded pink mane and tail, they were all day tribe ponies. She didn't think much of them at first, but something about the group made her do a quick double-take. Nuzzling into the Thestral's side was what appeared to be a Pegasus version of the mare. Pinkie blinked and rubbed her eyes, sure she was seeing things only to see that the scene remained unchanged.  With her curiosity piqued, she gave the group a more critical look over. She counted two Earth Ponies, two Unicorns, and two Pegasi including the one snuggling up with the Thestral mare. Each were eerily familiar to her, a feeling that grew especially strong in regards to the teal Pegasus and white Unicorn in particular. She could feel Tattle shift a little in her mind, like he was tilting his head in confusion as she felt him share her sight.
"Curious," he mused.
"What?" she whispered, taking a light sip of her drink as she stared at the group.
"They're magic is similar to yours."
"What do you mean?" she blinked. "Are they Gap Walkers too?"
"No," he said with an audible frown. "It isn't the same kind of magic that you wield, but it dose seem to come from the same source."
Her eyes widened at that as she started to piece together why these mares seemed so familiar. She leaned forward to further hide her eyes in the shadow of her hood as she shifted her ears towards the group of mares, actively tuning out the noise around her to better make out what they were saying. All the while, Sunset's friends sat comfortably in their seats as they admired the pub's atmosphere.
"So this is where you two had your first date?" Lightning asked, giving the place an impressed once-over.
Flutterbat nodded, face heating up and fidgeting in her seat as she remembered everything that happened that night.
"I-It was Fluttershy's idea," she stammered, giving the shy Pegasus a small smile as she gave her a few quick glances out of the corner of her eye. "Sh-She found it while she was out shopping and w-we wanted to try it."
"Looks like it went well," Octavia said, eyes half-lidded as she gave the couple a knowing smile.
"It was...nice," Equestrian Fluttershy smiled, a small blush coloring her cheeks.
"I bet it was," Vinyl chuckled. "Applejack says hi by the way."
For a moment, it looked like the two shys had replaced their heads with tomatoes. They nervously bit their lips as they suddenly became very interested in the tablecloth. 
"What does Applejack have to do with anything?" Bonbon asked, raising a brow.
"I'll tell you later," the DJ chuckled, then sighed as her smile shifted into a tired frown before she added, "Looks like Sunset'll finally be able to put all of that Anon-a-Miss crap behind her soon."
"God willing," Lyra sighed as she looked over the pub's menu. "I really want to see all of this crap just end already."
"You are not the only one, love," Octavia frowned. "It broke my heart to see Rarity in such a state. Even if they don't become friends again, hopefully this will give them some sense of closure."
"Yeah," Bonbon sighed. "I know what you mean. Applejack was a total mess the last time I saw her."
"Rainbow wasn't much better," Lightning grimaced. "Has anyone gotten in touch with Pinkie lately?"
The rest of the ponies in the group shook their heads in the negative, Vinyl letting out an irritate growl while all the color seemed to drain out of Flutterbat's face. Equestrian Fluttershy noticed and pulled her closer to herself with a wing as the white Unicorn huffed bitterly.
"If we just had a lead," she growled, crossing her forelegs. "Her sisters could use some good news these days."
"It would be a start," Octavia nodded. "Perhaps Sunset could talk Derpy into working her magic again."
"Sh-She doesn't need to," Flutterbat stammered, her body trembling like a leaf and eyes wide with dread.
"Why?" Lightning asked, a mug of soda placed in front of her.
"I asked Derpy to see if she could find out what happened to her," the Thestral said softly, eyes still locked onto the table.
"What did she find out?" Lyra asked nervously, taking a sip from her own mug.
She gulped thickly, then said, "She was on Canter Creek Bridge the night she disappeared."
Vinyl's magic grip on her mug vanished as a look of pure terror graced her face, while Lightning choked and spat her mouthful of soda all over Lyra. The Unicorn barely reacted as she paled in her seat, eyes wide as she numbly wiped her face with a napkin. The rest of the party wore matching looks of horror as they all struggled to process what they were told. Equestrian Fluttershy gave them all nervous looks as she pulled her trembling marefriend tighter to her side with her wing.
"Wh-What's wrong with the bridge?" the Pegasus asked.
The Terrans fidgeted in their seats as they tried to find the right way to explain what they knew to the shy Pegasus.
"I-It's a suicide bridge," Flutterbat whispered, her voice chilled with dread.
As a heavy weight filled the air at the table, the hooded mare sitting in the table next to them frowned deeply in the face of what she just learned. 
I need to get back home. Now!
She took a long pull of her drink as she started to weigh her options. At the same time, one of Flutterbat's ears flicked and she went ridged for a second. When her double gave her a concerned frown, she gave a reassuring smile and nuzzled into her neck. As the two mares snuggled, the Thestral of the pair gave the mare sat at the next table over a curious frown. A frown that grew deeper on the Thestral's face as her ear flicked once more.


***


As it turns out, Sunset's understanding of how the lunar effigies effected night ponies was largely understated. While what she said was true in regards to adults, it was a completely different story when it came to foals. The herd of twelve foals were a force of wild energy as they bolted and flew around the mares. Luckily, her girlfriend had plenty of experience when it came to dealing with rowdy children.
In a matter of seconds, the gray Pegasus had the foals corralled into a single cluster as they chased her around the middle of town square. Sunset chuckled merrily as she watched her girlfriend work, a bedraggled Princess sitting next to her with a weary smile.
"Thanks again," Twilight sighed.
"No problem," she smiled as she continued to enjoy the show. "I guess it's not easy being a Princess, huh?"
"Huh?" Twilight asked, turning her head towards her friend.
Sunset's smile widened a little as she nodded towards the herd of foals trying to corner her girlfriend. Twilight followed Sunset's line of sight, then let out a light chuckle.
"No. When I said that stuff like this happens to me every year, I meant that it has always happened to me."
"What?" Sunset laughed incredulously.
Twilight sighed and said, "For as long as I can remember, Night Ponies would always act really friendly around my family and me. My brother kept having Night Guardsmares make moves on him all through out basic training. I even remember a pair of Thestral foals snuck into my room one night when I was five to play with me."
"That must've been fun," she smiled.
"Not really," Twilight grimaced, a tiny blush coloring her cheeks. "I-I'd never seen a Thestral or any other Night Pony before at the time. So, I thought they were monsters and ran screaming into my parent's room. It took me a week to feel comfortable enough to sleep in my room again after that."
Sunset cringed at that, then gave her an understanding smile before shifting her attention back to her girlfriend.
"That makes some sense. If I didn't know that a certain pony tribe existed and found one hovering over me in the middle of the night, I'd probably do the same thing."
For a moment, the two let a comfortable silence settle between them as they watched Derpy handle the small herd. A sly smile crept across Twilight's muzzle as she gave her friend a sideways glance.
"She's pretty good with foals, isn't she?"
Sunset nodded.
"You know, if you wanted to know the Fertility Spell, you could've asked me to teach you."
Sunset blinked dumbly for a couple seconds, then leveled a confused balk at her fellow High Royal.
"Wh-What the heck?"
Twilight gave her an understanding smile, a hint of mischief hovering beneath the surface as she added, "You don't need to be so shy about it. We're grown mares here. Besides, if Derpy's okay with it, I have no problem helping the two of you have foals."
Sunset sputtered incoherent nonsense for a few seconds as her frazzled brain struggled to form a proper sentence.
"W-We're not trying to have kids yet!" she stammered, her face turned redder then parts of her mane.
"Kids?" Twilight asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Foals," Sunset corrected, taking a deep breath that dimmed her blush. "We're not trying to have foals."
The confusion on the young Princess' face shrank slightly upon the clarification, but the rest of it became clear with her next question.
"Then why was Time Turner asking me about-"
"He's worried that I'll...use it on his daughter," she grumbled. "Even though I've made it clear that I don't intend to do that anytime soon."
"Oh," Twilight said, leaning back sheepishly. "Sorry."
"It's okay," she sighed. "It's my fault for mentioning it to him."
Another moment of silence fell over them as they let the awkwardness of the moment bleed out of the air. In time, Sunset took a deep breath and with a small smile on her muzzle broke the silence.
"You know, now that things have started to look up for me, I've started thinking about what I want to do with myself in the future."
"Really?" Twilight smiled. "Like what?"
"I think...I'd like to be a teacher," she smiled sheepishly.
"That's great!" Twilight exclaimed. "You'd make a great teacher."
"Maybe," Sunset chuckled. "It's just a thought right now. I've still got a lot of time to work something out."
"Well," Twilight smiled. "If you need help, don't hesitate to let me or Princess Celestia know. You're not alone anymore. Remember that."
"Thanks," she smiled, then turned her head towards a struggling Derpy trapped under a pony-pile. "Now I think I have a girlfriend that needs saving."
As she said that, she rose to her hooves and made her way towards the giggling pinned pony. As she watched Derpy play with the foals, she couldn't stop the warm smile slowly growing on her muzzle. While she wasn't ready to have any foals yet, she couldn't say she wouldn't be against the idea later down the line. Especially if Derpy was at her side in that chapter of her life.


***


The night sky was rich with merriment as Night Ponies enjoyed their portion of the festival. At the same time, any ponies that managed to fight against the need for sleep started to make their way back to their homes in defeat. Among these ponies was a group led by Equestria's youngest Princess, all happy and weary from a night of celebration. At the same time, a pony wearing a red-hooded trench coat tailed them from the shadows.
So far so good, she thought, peeking around the corner of a building at the group.
As it stood, the plan was simple. Stay out of sight and follow the group to where the portal was being kept. Granted, the inclusion of Twilight in the group complicated matters a bit, but it was something she was more than prepared to deal with if the need came. She had just enough magic to gap walk away if she needed to and if that didn't work she could ask Tattle to keep track of her while she ran for her life. If that didn't work, well, she had a hard pair of hooves and she didn't need to know all that much to use them in a pinch. The way she saw it, one princess probably wants her dead anyway. What's one more at this point?
A small smile crept onto her face as she watched the ponies congregate around Sunset, an amicable expression decorating her face as she talked to them all. She looked so much more animated then she did a few days ago on Terra. Her smile turned impish when she saw a gray pegasus mare put a wing across the orange Unicorn's back and pulled her close.
Looks like someone made a special friend, she thought with a muted giggle. Good for her. At least one good thing came out of that mess.
Her eyes trailed across the other ponies in the herd as she tried to identify them. Vinyl Scratch and Lightning Dust were pretty easy to recognize thanks to the shades and the time they crossed paths in the bathroom respectively, but the others were a little harder to ID. It was as she was trying to place who the dark gray Earth Pony in the herd reminded her of that she noticed that something was missing about the group. She tried to put her hoof on what it was when the sound of someone clearing their throat could be heard behind her. 
She froze, the softness of the small cough giving her a vague hint as to who had found her. Her blood slowly turned into ice as she slowly turned to face the pony behind her. Standing before her was a pale yellow Thestral mare with a long faded pink mane and tail. Her red, cat-like, eyes shined in the dim light of the alley with curious caution as they seemed to be searching her for something.
"Pinkie?" the Thestral asked, a hint of hope present in her soft voice.
No way... she thought numbly, eyes wide under her hood's shadow. Fluttershy?
Thinking fast, she laughed and said, "Pinkie? Who's that? Sorry, I think you've got me confused for someone else."
As she said that, she started to turn around to leave, but only got about half way through the attempt before a yellow hoof on her shoulder made her stop.
"Don't you mean "somepony"?" Flutterbat asked, a small cheeky smile gracing her muzzle.
Pinkie's heart sank into her gut as she realized her error, a wide variety of swears filling her head like a swarm of angry bees. She sighed in defeat as she turned back fully towards her former friend and fell to her haunches. Flutterbat did the same as she gave the cloaked pony a concerned once over. 
"Hey Fluttershy," Pinkie said meekly. "What's up?"
Flutterbat gave Pinkie an incredulous look, then said, "What's up? That's what you have to say after disappearing for two weeks? Pinkie, everyone's worried about you! Your sister's are making themselves sick with worry! I thought...I..."
Tears started to trickle down the Thestral's face as she trembled, whether it was in anger or relief was beyond her ability to decide. Pinkie fought back her own tears as she pulled the weeping mare into a gentle embrace.
"I'm sorry," the pink pony sighed, stroking Flutterbat's back as she let her former friend cry. "I...I didn't want any of that to happen. I swear that none of this is my idea. Like, super duper promise."
"Wh-What do you mean?" she asked, gently pulling herself out of Pinkie's embrace.
The hooded mare looked around cautiously, then sighed as she looked back at her and said, "Not here. Follow me."
As she said that, she stared at the wall to her left and summoned a gap. Flutterbat gave her a confused look as she watched her walk directly towards what looked like a solid wall to her. Her jaw hit the floor when Pinkie phased through the wall as if it was made of water. She jumped when Pinkie's head popped out of the wall a second later, telling her it was perfectly safe before pulling back in. With an audible gulp, she closed her eyes and walked forward. She felt a brief rush of wind and a small push before all of the party sounds around her abruptly ceased. Slowly, she opened her eyes and was greeted by what looked like a bedroom. The walls were made up of aged gray stone bricks with a simple square hole in one wall passing for a window facing out into a seemingly endless snow-covered forest. A large bed furnished with white and lavender silk sheets dominated one corner of the room while an antique wardrobe and vanity mirror took up space on the opposite side of the room.
She watched as Pinkie took her coat off and hung it on the mirror of the vanity, giving Flutterbat a more detailed look at her missing friend. Unlike most of the ponies she had seen, Pinkie had a much more lithe build. It was a build that brought to mind speed and agility, but most importantly it was a sign that the Terran was taking care of herself. That wasn't the only thing she noticed as she walked towards the nervous Thestral. 
"Um, hi," Pinkie said with a sheepish smile.
Flutterbat nodded in greeting, her eyes piercing the near darkness like a flaming sword as she struggled to piece together what it was about her that was so different. Well, aside from the obvious of course. After a few minutes of awkward silence, she finally figured out what it was.
"Your hair," the thestral whispered.
"What about it?" Pinkie asked, worriedly running her hooves through her long locks.
"You straightened it," she added, then tilted her head in confusion as she asked, "Why?"
Pinkie laughed hollowly as she slowly ran her hooves through her mane, pausing when they came to the curled tips before she let it fall loosely to her shoulders.
"I didn't,"she sighed, staring at the ground. "It just ended up that way when I got here."
"I see," Flutterbat said simply, her tone as somber as the room they sat in.
The pink pony leveled a tired smile at her guest and said, "But I guess you don't want to talk about hair right now, huh?"
Flutterbat nodded.
Pinkie sighed before she settled down to her haunches.
"Go ahead," she nodded. "Ask away."
"Well," Flutterbat started. "I guess the first thing I want to know is why did you come here?"
Pinkie shrugged, then said, "It puts a roof over my head."
Flutterbat blinked at that for a second, then frowned as she said, "No, I meant Equestria. Why did you come to Equestria?"
It was Pinkie's turn to blink in confusion before her gaze shifted towards the ground.
"I didn't have a choice. I fell through a gap here and I don't know how to get back."
"A gap?" Flutterbat asked, head tilted in confusion.
"The portal we walked through to get here," Pinkie explained, eyes still locked onto the ground. "I was on Canter Bridge a few weeks ago after the assembly. I...I wanted to see what Sunset saw the day she tried to kill herself, put myself in her shoes for a minute, you know? I...fell off."
Flutterbat gasped, her hooves flying to her muzzle as she stared at her former friend in shock. Pinkie started to tremble as she continued.
"I...I was so scared. Everything was so cold. I couldn't breath. I remember everything turning black as I...started to...I was drowning. It hurt so much!"
At that point, she started bawling where she sat as flashes of what she remembered of that night came to the front of her mind. Flutterbat wasted no time coming to the mare's side, pulling her into a full embrace with her forelegs and wings as she whispered reassurances. It took time, but soon Pinkie managed to regain control of herself. With a shaky smile, she thanked the Thestral and continued her story.
"A-At some point, I opened a gap and wound up in Equestria. A lot of stuff's happened and I've been living here ever sense."
"Can't you just do it again?" Flutterbat asked gently, still holding her close.
She shook her head.
"Tattle says that last time was a fluke and I should consider myself lucky that I survived it."
"Tattle?" she blinked.
"My magical Dream Cat boyfriend that lives in my head," she explained with a giggle.
Flutterbat could only blink dumbly at her as she briefly wondered if her former friend might've eaten something strange in her isolated state. She was more than aware that certain mushrooms could have interesting effects on a person's mind when ingested.
"Anyway," she continued, tone a bit more chipper then it was a second ago. "At my current level, I can only manage portals that take me to places I'm more or less familiar with in Equestria. Anything more powerful than that could either drain me dry or outright kill me if I'm not careful."
"K-Kill you?" she gasped.
Pinkie nodded, her smile shifting into a solemn frown.
"It takes a ton of magic to open a gap between worlds, way more than I have right now. If I practice long enough, I should be able to get back home someday. Till then, I'm stuck here."
Flutterbat gave her a harsh glare as she sternly stated, "That won't work. You need to get back home now."
"I know," she frowned. "That's what I was trying to do earlier. If I can get to the portal, I can get back home without having to open a gap. I was going to track you guys to get some kind of idea where and what the portal was on this side."
"It's a mirror with a bunch of machines attached to it in Twilight's castle," Flutterbat said without missing a beat, a trace of hope flaring up in her heart that this would be resolved quickly.
That hope died a miserable death when a look of pure terror formed on Pinkie's face. It slowly shifted into a rueful smile as she stared at the ground.
"Figures," she snorted bitterly. "The way home is guarded by someone who hates my guts."
"Pinkie," she gasped. "Twilight doesn't hate you. She might be disappointed in you, but she doesn't hate you."
"Maybe," Pinkie sighed. "But Princess Celestia definitely does and I'm pretty sure Twilight has her on speed dial."
"Pinkie-"
"I can't do it Fluttershy!" she exclaimed, voice trembling. "Just the thought of being near an Alicorn..."
As she let that statement hang in the air, she held up a trembling hoof.
"I...I can't stop shaking. Even Twilight has more than enough magic to tear me apart and that scares me Fluttershy!"
Flutterbat quickly pulled the panicking mare into another full embrace as she helped her ride out her fear. In time, Pinkie's cries turned into sniffles as the Thestral gently rocked her back and forth.
"Twilight would never do that. You know that," she whispered softly.
"Do I?" Pinkie sniffled. "I...I don't think I do."
"Oh Pinkie," Flutterbat sighed, rubbing the poor Terran's back comfortingly as she held her.
The two stayed like that for a long moment, both mares desperate to find their words as they let the silence grow in weight. As fate would have it, it was the Night Pony that found her voice first.
"You need to come back home. You know that, right?"
Pinkie nodded, face buried in Flutterbat's shoulder.
"Please, come back home with us," she all but pleaded.
"I-I-I want to Flutters, I really do," Pinkie smiled. "B-But I can't. N-Not this time anyway."
Flutterbat pulled out of the hug enough to look the Terran in the eye, her red orbs filled with confusion as she asked, "Why?"
Pinkie frowned at the ground, her bangs hiding all but a trembling frown as she said, "I...have enough magic to send you back to the castle. I...don't want to go their without my gap walking to fall back on. I'm too scared to do it without a plan B."
"Oh," Flutterbat sighed, a bit of disappointment settling into her gut.
"But," Pinkie added, a small smile gracing her lips as she stared up at her guest with sad eyes. "I should be able to do it tomorrow night."
"Really?" she asked, her hope coming back in force.
Pinkie nodded.
"I should have all of my magic back by tomorrow night. I'll wait until everyone is asleep in the castle and go through the portal."
Flutterbat frowned a bit at that. While she wasn't happy with the method Pinkie was planning to employ, she couldn't deny that it would get results. All things considered, the Thestral couldn't afford to be particularly picky. All the same, it didn't hurt to have a bit of insurance.
"I want a promise," Flutterbat frowned.
Pinkie gave her a confused blink, then smiled weakly as she nodded.
"Cross my heart. Hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye. I will go through the portal tomorrow night."