“May I have a word with my child, alone, for a minute?” Lamplight didn’t wait for an answer as she hoisted the crystal ball in her gilt telekineses. Minty and Pinky wordlessly left the room, as far as was visible to the medicine mare, while she rested the ball on its stand in her private study. Flitter Flutter-- as she thought she had heard Du… Twilight-- call the primrose giantess who seemed to stay by her foal’s side. “Alone, please,” the doctor reiterated.
“Flutters, it’s okay.” Twilight patted her friend-- Lamplight assumed-- on the shoulder, and the pegasus slowly walked away, shooting a pleading look back at both unicorns before lamplight heard a door shut out-of-view. Twilight cleared her throat, and then barely managed a weak “Hello.”
“Hello? Hello??” Lamplight fumed, “You drop off the face of the Earth for four years and all you can think to say is ‘hello’!?”
Flitter Flutter was the last to exit the room, brushing a wing against the door on her way out to shut it, eyes fixed firmly on the ground.
One of the other two express concern, and Flutters tells them that Twi ran away from home because of feeling stifled by her mom’s home environment, and being trans probably just compounded that. Pinky interjects that there’s no way Lamplight would have any issue with Twilight being a mare; Lamplight actually was the first magician to successfully perform long-term transmogrifications on ponies. Minty, Pinky, and another who neither of them have the right to name, have been having it done for years. That’s actually half the reason Minty settled down in Ponyville in the first place, the other half being her metaphorical 'other half,' Pinky Pie. Medical Magicians across 'Ponydom' have been practicing this for a year or more at this point, and its surprising that Twilight, as avid a reader as she is, wasn’t aware.
“Though, truth-be-told,” Pinky remarked as she lifted a tome from the tower shelves into her telekineses, “pretty much all of these are really… uhhh…”
“Old?” Minty added.
“More like ancient.” Pinky nodded.
“Well, Twilight has been pretty hesitant to leave whatever house we’ve stayed in since I’ve known her.” Flitter Flutter offered, seeming to piece several things together in her head. “Maybe she was worried somepony would recognize her? Through family resemblance, I-I mean.” She cleared her throat, then continued with a weary smile, “W-well, bearing that in mind, we probably have nothing to worry about.”
“Other than her running away from home, you mean?” Minty asked, with genuine curiosity.
“Minty!” Pinky chided.
“What!?”
“... I’m sorry.” Twilight offered, weakly.
“You had better be!”
Twilight could do little else but offer a wince, as Lamplight took and breath and tried her best to cool her temper.
“I love you very much and I missed you so much, and I am very happy that I at least know you’re okay now, but I was so scared…” Lamplight couldn’t help but choke on those last words, raising a hoof in front of her eyes to block what Twinkle could only assume were tears.
“I-I love you too, mom…” Twilight sniffled, and her own foolishness hurt her heart for not the first time.
“I… I won’t make you talk about it, I know you don’t like to discuss your feelings, but please, come home.”
“W-what?”
“Please, Du-- er-- Twilight. Whatever I did to scare you away, I…” Lamplight paused, seeming to consider her next words carefully, which would be somewhat redundant in her case if not for the circumstances. “However I hurt you, I-I can’t promise I won’t do it again, but I can promise I’ll try to make it right. You’re a brilliant magician, a-and I could really use your help.”
“M-mom, I-I…” Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her mom… needed her help? All those years of pushing her to be the perfect little school ‘colt’ and being told she wasn’t good enough, and NOW she wanted help? Well, what the hay, her girlfriend was a bloodthirsty vampire who regularly maimed her, and that issue seemed to suddenly be under control after years of frantic research-- she still couldn’t believe she hadn’t looked into herbal remedies rather than thaumaturgy-- so what was one more interpersonal trauma to confront?
“My child, p-please… There’s a pony who is very sick, and I’ve been stuck for days.”
“Okay.” Twilight said, resolutely other than her sniffle.
“W-what?” Lamplight’s eyes shone like her namesake.
“I’ll start the journey home today.” Twilight offered a reassuring smile, her confidence returning to her, finally receiving the praise from her mother she had needed for so long. Lamplight’s confusion about her foal’s gender could be resolved with time and a series of heart-to-hearts that were a long time coming anyways.
“Though, mom, I do have a stipulation…”
“Do you two really have to go?” Minty pleaded, looking up at Twilight and Flitter Flutter with her trademark puppy-dog-eyes and droopy ears.
“We do,” Twilight answered, stalwart, “my mother needs my help, and if you and her have similar knowledge of herbs as you say, she can help my…” Twilight blushed, and pulled Flitter Flutter to her side tighter. “M-marefirend, hehe!” She giggled like a smitten schoolfilly for neither the first or last time, as the larger yellow pony nuzzled the side of her head, both of them still very much in the ‘honeymoon’ phase of their blossoming relationship.
“Why don’t we all just go home together with the recall rune?” Minty asked, already dropping her saddlebags to the ground to begin rummaging for it.
“Are you sure it works with all our stuff and not just… ourselves?” Pinky asked, tilting her head to the side in genuine curiosity.
“Oh, I have absolutely no idea!” Minty giggled, losing none of her cheer.
“Well, can we really afford to take that risk, Twilight?” Flitter Flutter asked, somehow only now noticing that Twilight had gone and started gathering her books and alchemical equipment into satchels and loading them into a wagon downstairs that she didn’t know they still had until this very moment.
“Nope!” Twinkle stated with confidence, as if she needed to give any more answer than what she had already done.
“It was a nice try, Mints.” Pinky hugged her from the side for reassurance, even though Minty didn’t seem offended in the slightest. She, of course, returned the gesture anyways-- eliciting an ‘awwwww’ from Flitter Flutter, who began helping her partner pack.
Several hours, lots of packing, and a lunch of daisy sandwiches later, Twinkle and Flutter were hitched to their wagons-- a second was needed for all the books-- and ready to set off.
“Are you sure you don’t want to just use Breezy Blossom instead?” Pinky asked for what felt like the bajillionth time, “Based on that map you showed us, it could take you a week or more to get to Ponyville without that shortcut, whereas it took us only a day and night.”
“I’ve been trying to talk her into it, but Twilight is decided.” Flitter Flutter said, before leaning closer to Pinky and saying much quieter-- with uncharacteristic confidence: “Just between you and me, I think she just wants to spend time with me.~”
“Well, who wouldn’t?” Minty asked as Pinky grinned. “You’re, uh…”
“Hot.” Pinky stated matter-of-factly, Minty nodding sagely in agreement. Flitter Flutter squeaked, and hid her face in her mane, her confidence having been shattered through the affirmation of it. Oh, the duality of mare!
“Alright, girls, it’s almost two o’clock, and we’ve got to get moving. Sorry again we couldn’t introduce you two to the townsfolk, this was just very spontaneous!” Twilight said with a rueful chuckle.
“It’s okay! We’ve got a schedule to keep too.” Pinky said, waving as the two began trotting off in the opposite direction.
“Send a postcard! Or something!” Minty added, and then insisted on sitting there and continuing to wave as the other two disappeared into the woods.