This was really a sight for sore eyes.
Walking over the familiar little hills, on a familiar dirt road, past familiar trees, and seeing those familiar buildings rising up before her. Yeah, this was nice. Ponyville was just as she remembered it and that was just fine. In fact that was far better than fine. That was perfect. That was what she needed. To be able to return home and see that life carried on just as it always did, that she’d be able to go back to her normal and good life tomorrow morning. That was a thought that really put her mind and heart at east.
Because now that life was going to be even more fulfilling than it ever had been.
She had deigned to not take any trains on the way back, instead walking the whole way. Which actually made her return through Equestria quite long as she stopped at a number of towns along the way, enjoying the friendly atmosphere of her home country day by day. It was certainly nice after the disjointedness of the Undiscovered West.
Amethyst Star was really tired though, it was well into evening by the time she had finally made her way back to Ponyville and most of the town was probably already asleep. She already passed Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy’s cottage, and most of the Everfree, and if she didn’t know any better or couldn’t see the lights on in other buildings she would’ve figured the whole place for a ghost town so far. Fine by her, she didn’t really want to be bothered that much just yet, just getting into her bed was the goal. She knew how alive everywhere would be once morning came around.
She looked up at the sky to see Luna’s moon overhead. Very little of her traveling was done during the night, she realized, and yet now here she was returning home in the darkness with the cool night breeze blowing through her mane. Refreshing. The exact opposite of her loud morning sendoff from Pinkie Pie.
Speaking of Pinkie Pie and that box she had given her, the nearly identical box from Birdseed was still tucked away in her Saddlebag. Amethyst Star never did open it up to see what it was. She wanted to know but knew she’d probably be far better off not knowing.
Her body was in much better condition now than it had been right after that fight. She ended up stopping for a few days in a forest that came after traveling over the rocks where she had fought Coin Flip, sleeping in a bush by a small stream. The injuries to her body healed surprisingly well and quickly, she had to chalk it up to plenty of rest and quiet and the very luscious berries on that bush. As well as that Sonic Rainboom that just made her body feel rejuvenated when it spread out in the sky.
Ever since then she’d been feeling so good. Even the trouble of getting back to Equestria through all the rough terrain did absolutely nothing to dampen her spirits.
“And it feels even better to be back,” Amethyst Star smiled as she she walked over one of the little bridges built over the creek running through Ponyville. Now walking out onto the main street and looking from side to side to take in all the buildings and homes that she knew well, how happy it made her to see them. There were even a couple ponies out at this hour, betraying the idea of Ponyville as a ghost town already.
Golden Harvest was walking outside, Amethyst Star waved hello to her.
The Flower Trio were closing up shop, so Amethyst Star didn’t bother them.
Caramel was just now opening the door to his house, Amethyst Star smiled at him.
Yep. Ponyville was Ponyville. And her life was good.
She walked further into town, down more streets, seeing more ponies and things she recognized even at the later hour. A yawn hit her as she walked around City Hall. Smirking at the doors of the establishment she remembered when she was asked at the last minute to plan Cranky and Matilda’s wedding, boy was that a day. Maybe she should see if anyone around has something like that for her to do again? She did an alright job of it.
Yet another yawn hit her. Not surprising. Show her anyone that wasn’t exhausted after all of this?
Any more sightseeing and reminiscing could be done tomorrow, she had something she wanted to do and then she could go home and go to bed. First thing she would do in the morning was go over to Berry Punch’s and pick Dinky up. And not get roped into talking about her adventure. That could come later, if ever. Maybe Amethyst Star just didn’t feel like going into detail on a lot of what had happened to her out in the Undiscovered West. It was embarrassing enough going through it, telling her close friends about it? She’d die.
But yeah, before any of that she wanted to get to Twilight’s Castle tonight.
Amethyst Star looked over her shoulder at the saddlebag draped over her back, frowning at the thought of Birdseed’s package still inside of it. Whatever it was, Twilight Sparkle would know what to do with it. That was the best bet for keeping it safe and out of the wrong hooves. Amethyst Star was completely washing her hooves of this entire situation, let the package be dealt with by someone capable and knowledgeable. She was just going to walk over to that castle, tell Twilight Sparkle that she had reason to believe there was something dangerous and valuable about this package, and then leave.
Amethyst Star had learned her lessons. No more adventure. No more silliness.
She wasn’t exactly made for it.
The unicorn who was finally back home rounded another house and walked down the dirt road that would eventually take her right to the castle. And paused as the looming structure fully came into view. Looking at the castle she noticed that things were a little different than normal.
Balloons were strung up all along its balconies and towers, streamers and party flags too, piles of confetti littered the grounds around it, all the telltale signs of a Pinkie Pie party. Along with the raucous laughter and excited conversation she could hear coming from it now that she walked a little closer. Were Twilight and her friends in there having a party for some reason? Whatever was going on it was loud despite it starting to get pretty late, there was a lot of energy booming out from that castle.
It made Amethyst Star smile. She decided to turn around and head back into town and to her home. Whatever those friends were doing and celebrating tonight she didn’t want to interrupt, she could come bother Twilight tomorrow morning.
“Whatever, now I can just sleep anyways.”
Amethyst Star walked home with that pleasant thought in her head. The moment she stepped inside and threw herself under the covers she could forget all about her woefully unprepared for adventure and just put it all behind her. Except for the few minor good parts. The bad stuff didn’t bother her as much anymore since she at least felt satisfied with how her journey ended and her newfound outlook on her life, but there was still a whole realm of embarrassment and shame she could do without. Although… it was probably something she should at least keep in mind. A little. So she remembered not to do anything stupid in the future. And so she could appreciate her life in Ponyville even more.
Oh, there her house was. That brought a whole new and even brighter smile to her face.
“I didn’t realize how much I missed it...” Amethyst Star said as she tiredly walked up to the front door.
Unlocked of course, who locked their doors in Ponyville? The lights were all off just like they should be with no one home. Amethyst Star sighed deeply in contentment as she grabbed the door handle with her hoof and pulled it open, walking into her small entry room currently shrouded in darkness. Before heading upstairs she’d drop her saddlebag and stuff on the couch, then finally she could go rest.
Amethyst Star turned to walk into the downstairs living room…
“SURPRISE!”
The lights were suddenly switched on and a bunch of party poppers were popped in Amethyst Star’s face as her friends jumped out at her from the formerly dark living room.
“Gah!” Amethyst Star stumbled back, little bits of confetti and streamers now stuck on her head. “W-What?!”
“Welcome home, Amethyst!” Berry Punch said and wrapped her friend in a big hug. Strawberry Sunrise, Cherry Berry, and Sea Swirl coming right up behind her, all four of them wearing silly party hats.
“Y-You guys!” Amethyst Star let out a breath, pulling away from Berry and holding a hoof to her chest. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”
“Sorry, sorry, we just wanted to give you a warm welcome,” Berry Punch said as she let the unicorn go and set her hooves back on the floor, stepping to the side and gesturing to the living room.
Amethyst Star walked between her friends into the living room, which had been rearranged to make room for a party. The couch pushed against the far wall while her table was dragged to the center of the room with some extra chairs put around it for everyone to sit at. Plates and utensils along with glasses of water were out for everyone while a large pink cake took up the middle of the table. Amethyst Star stepped over to it with her mouth open wide in surprise, seeing the message of “Welcome Home!” written on the cake while a drawing in frosting of her Cutie Mark sat below it.
She couldn’t help the tears from beginning to well up in her eyes.
“Pinkie Pie made it, she told us you were coming back today,” Sea Swirl said as she walked up beside Amethyst and patted her on the shoulder.
“Don’t ask any of us how she knew that,” Cherry Berry said, shaking her head with a slight frown.
“Strawberry frosting at least,” Strawberry Sunrise smirked at Amethyst. “So you know the cake’s gonna be good.”
“T-Thank you… this is… this is just really nice,” Amethyst Star brought her hooves up to wipe away her tears. She was trying to avoid embarrassment and now she was blindsided by a whole different kind from what she was expecting. She turned around to face all of her friends, looking into their smiling faces, how happy they were to see her again. It brought up more warmth from her heart than she was expecting. Being loved like this, and wanted like this, it was just too good.
“Hey! What are you crying for?” Berry Punch ruffled her mane. “We thought you’d be all proud and happy and want to brag about your trip and everything.”
That got an awkward smile from Amethyst Star as the rest nodded. She nervously rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled. “Ehehe… well, to put a long story short let’s just say the adventuring didn’t turn out quite as well as I hoped. And, uh, you were all kind of right. About everything.”
Sea Swirl hugged her. “Well… I don’t think any of us can say we’re surprised to hear that.”
“I did think you’d be back sooner than this though. Lost a few bits on that,” Cherry Berry told her.
“You bet on how long it would be until I came back?” Amethyst Star frowned at her friends.
“More specifically it was on how long until you gave up and came back,” Berry Punch told her, not bothered by how negative that was in regards to Amethyst Star.
“Had to do something to pass the time,” Strawberry Sunrise shrugged. “It was pretty boring without you around.
“Yeah. Thanks,” Amethyst Star rolled her eyes. A thought came to mind and she looked around the room for a second before turning her eyes to Berry Punch. “Is Dinky still with you?
Berry Punch nodded. “Mhm. She’s having a sleepover with my little sis. I figured it was fine to leave them on their own for one night. We were really excited to throw this party for you.”
“Sorry it sounds like your trip didn’t turn out so fun by the way,” Cherry Berry apologetically said with a sad look on her face.
“Yeah, we never wanted you to get down or anything,” Sea Swirl also chimed in.
Amethyst Star paused, her eyes searching up at the ceiling for a second. The way the trip turned out… there was a lot to think about. A lot that had happened to her. A lot that she still didn’t want anyone to hear about. And fun? Well, there were some fun parts. Mostly it was pretty miserable for her. There was never a dull moment but unless she was totally denying reality at the time there were hardly any moments where she could be really positive. But in the end what did she really think about her whole trip and why she went on it? And what it did for her?
“I guess… it was something,” she finally said to the others. “The thing is even though it didn’t turn out how I expected, and even though I didn’t accomplish what I set out to do at all either, I don’t think I regret going on it. I wouldn’t do it again, I did not have fun. Mostly. But let’s just say I got to see the world and my life from a different point of view. I got a lot of perspective. It was a trip that really made me think about things. In the end at least.”
“Well that’s… good?” Berry Punch tilted her head.
“So you’re not all depressed or whatever anymore? I mean, you’re not gonna drag us to dinner tomorrow and start complaining about being overshadowed again?” Sea Swirl asked her.
Amethyst Star actually had to laugh a bit at that. “No, you don’t need to worry about that. Part of that new perspective I gained was a really big appreciation for my life and who I am. So yeah, I guess I need to apologize for all those times I bothered you guys with my ranting and stuff.” A slightly more somber expression passed over her face a she stared off into space. “Because uh, being out there really proved that I’m not as special as I always thought I was.”
“Hey. You’re special to us,” Cherry Berry put a supportive hoof on her shoulder. “You’ve always been our special friend.”
“Mhm,” Strawberry Sunrise winked at her. “Is that good enough now or do you still want more?”
Amethyst Star shook her head. “No, no, that’s definitely more than good enough for me now.”
Sea Swirl smiled and walked around her to pull out a chair at the table. “Great, let’s eat then?”
The feast of a very delicious cake from Pinkie Pie commenced, Amethyst Star easily putting off sleep to spend time with her friends. As Berry Punch cut the cake and gave her a huge slice she didn’t even attempt to be dainty in how she devoured it, absolutely relishing the moment. The others found that pretty funny and couldn’t help giggling at her. But she didn’t mind at all, she really wanted to indulge in this cake, it was the first time she had had something like this since she left on her journey in the first place.
“Gonna save any for the rest of us?” Strawberry Sunrise sarcastically asked.
“Maybe,” Amethyst Star let out through a huge mouthful of cake.
The conversation quickly returned after her brief bout of gluttony though, but instead of them asking about her they decided to tell Amethyst Star about what had recently been happening in Ponyville while she was away. In short—not much. Ponyville was Ponyville and that didn’t surprise Amethyst Star. While occasionally some weird things happened around here, for the most part all the ponies that lived here went about their day to day lives like normal. So while Amethyst Star was going through all sorts of crazy things her friends were actually enjoying some of the most peaceful and ordinary days that they could recall.
Amethyst Star silently listened to them go on, happy to not be the one sharing what she went through currently. Did they know she didn’t want to? They definitely knew how much she would’ve liked to talk and brag about things if they had gone well, so maybe this was them being considerate of her and carrying the conversation for now. Normally she was the biggest talker, and biggest complainer, and biggest arguer. But her four close friends were letting her relax and just eat and listen to them. Not putting her on the spot or begging her for details from her adventure. It was almost certain they were at the least a little curious about what she had gone through and what she had seen out there since hardly anyone from Equestria had been, but they weren’t letting that take precedence over making Amethyst Star feel good.
It was nice to have such good friends.
It was nice to live in a place where you could find good friends like this and see them every day.
A smile tugged on her lips that she didn’t even notice until Berry Punch pointed it out.
“What’s that smile for?” Her berry Cutie Mark friend asked with a smile of her own on her face.
Amethyst Star raised a hoof up to her face to see that she was indeed smiling. “Oh, um, nothing I guess. Just happy to be back and see all of you. It’s nice to hear that things have been normal around here, glad I didn’t miss anything important. It’s kind of reassuring knowing I can just go to bed right now and tomorrow morning I’ll wake up back in my old, simple life. And it’s something I won’t be taking for granted at all.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. “Before leaving I felt like a background character in my own life, and that I’d been replaced. But I’m not and I haven’t been. It’s a small life but it’s my life, and I’m happy with it.”
“I hear that!” Cherry Berry said and raised up her glass of water. “Toast? To welcoming our friend home?”
“Toast!” Sea Swirl agreed and raised her glass.
“Sure, toast!” Strawberry Sunrise giggled and raised hers as well.
Berry Punch looked over at Amethyst Star and raised an eyebrow, tentatively holding up her own glass. “Toast?”
Amethyst Star rolled her eyes and grabbed her glass of water. “And how can I say no to that? Toast!”
The five glasses clinked together.