//------------------------------//
// Night of Their Lives, Part 2 
// Story: The Chronicle of the Return 
// by DracoUnis 
//------------------------------//

I see her there, silhouetted in front of the doors, making this meeting seem unreal.
She's changed. Her hair's grown out a little from the severe pixie cut she favors, but not much. The light reflects off of her now silver-white curls, a drastic change from the inky black they were back then. Eyes that were once brown now shine a bright sky blue in the shadowy night.
But she's still a tiny thing, barely five foot tall and built like a willow branch. People have called her 'petite' before but they were just being generous. Despite that she always holds herself like she can take on the world all by herself. I can recognize that moxie anywhere.
"Karol?"
She smiles and leaps at me, enveloping me in a tight hug and almost knocking me over in the process.
"Oh my god, it is you!" she says into my shoulder. Her grip tightens around me like I could vanish at any moment.
"It is me," I brilliantly observe, "and it's you. I mean, you're here."
The hug suddenly ends and Karol drives her fist into my upper arm. "You're damn right I'm here! I just spent the last month being sheltered by a pair of stuck-up, high-class, pastel-coated, miniature unicorns! That can talk! And did you know that the cows talk, donkeys talk, and apparently mules too and I don't really want to think about that too much because of the things that are implied just by their existence. The longest, most interesting conversation I've had since I've got here was with my 'host family's' guard dog. Pat, what the hell is this place?"
"Another world," I reply, rubbing my abused bicep.
"Care to elaborate there, Sherlock?"
"Later, it's a very long story and I'm too happy to actually see you again to really get into it." To spare my arm another beating I take her hands in mine. Just like that she relaxes, the tension flowing out of her body and one of those smiles graces her face. You know the one, the kind a girl gives you when she thinks you're being cheesy and sweet at the same time.
"Well, I'm happy to see you to," she admits. "And wow, look at you being all swanky. I've got to say, the cape's a nice touch, makes you look all dramatic and swashbuckley."
"And you look…" My voice falters now that I've finally noticed what she's wearing. "Goood…" Oh my god, a pink silk dress with a metric ton of lace at the neck. A pouffy skirt with a bustle on the back and… A bow. A big pink and red bow tied at the small of her back. "T- I'm sorry, I can't finish that with a straight face," I snicker, trying my very hardest not to break out laughing at her dress.
"I know right?" Karol steps back and gives a little twirl to give me a good look at the pink monstrosity. "If you think this is bad, you should have seen some of the other stuff Upper Crust tried to force me into. Fun fact; saddles are not made with comfort or human posture in mind."
"What are designers thinking these days?"
"Oh, it gets better." She pulls up the skirt a bit and kicks out a ratty blue sneaker from the pink lacy curtain. "Social event of the year and I walk down the red carpet in my trusty ol' Converse. That'll make the society page."
A warm silence overtakes the garden as we grin at each other. All this time missing her, and now we're here together snarking and sharing laughs like nothing had happened. It can be intoxicating, being with somebody you love. Come to think of it, she's getting closer. I lean in and she reaches up…
Right on cue the sound of an opening door breaks the mood as a unicorn waitress pokes her head out. "Excuse me, but the seating has begun for the banquet." She is either oblivious of what she just interrupted or was actually trying to ruin the moment. "It is traditional for the guests of honor to be seated first."  
Karol and I are blushing like teenagers at prom and awkwardly clearing our throats at the sudden intrusion. Karol even takes a step away from me in an attempt to appear more innocent. "Thank you, we'll be right in," I say tensely. The waitress nods and closes the door, waiting for us just on the other side of the glass.

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Rigidly aligned tables fill the dining area, arranged in lines below a dais that elevates the Princess's table. The waitress leads the two of us up to our seats, just on Celestia's right. Tabitha and Ironsides are seated on the opposite side, left of Luna. While I sit down I can feel the jealous glares of one hundred of Equestria's politicians as they try weigh me up. I feel uneasy under so much scrutiny.
Luckily the closest table is filled with friends. Twilight, AJ, and Mac are sitting with Shining Armor and Cadence, while Rarity and Fluttershy are chatting up Fancy Pants on the table's other end. Dash and Pinkie take up the middle. The blue pegasus is chatting with an aquamarine pegasus with a yellow mane and tail, while the pink earth pony is rambling to a white unicorn and grey earth pony with music-related Cutie Marks.
The entire hall goes quiet as Celestia stands and speaks. "Good evening everypony. Tonight we celebrate a very auspicious occasion."
Luna stands as well, picking up the speech as Celestia drops it. "After thousands of years in a self-imposed exile from our world, Humanity is now making their return. Many of you do not know of these people. Few but the most dedicated of scholars know of the ancient stories of their time here."
"Indeed, and even those have been considered little more than myths for centuries," Celestia continues. "In light of this Return, my sister and I have decided to offer sanctuary, and citizenship, to all humans within the Principalities of Equestria."
The Princesses' announcement causes a torrent of murmuring to break out among the nobleponies, and I can see a few less elaborately dressed equines jotting down notes in pocket notebooks or on cocktail napkins. Another hush descends when Luna clears her throat.
"Humanity has much to teach us, but before they can do that they must understand themselves. For a few years they will be lost, unsure. We must help the men and women who will walk among us find their place in this world." Luna finishes by extending a wing behind Tabitha and Ironsides, while Celestia does the same with Karol and I.
"The four sitting at this table are only the first to accept Equestria as their new home. I urge you to welcome them warmly and treat them with the same respect you would any pony." The elder sister casts a knowing look around the room, likely to give any troublemakers present something to think about.
"Now, let the banquet begin," the Princesses finish in unison, flaring their wings. On cue the doors open and an army of platter-bearing waiters march in with the first course. Platters of salad are set on the table and a selection of dressings is presented. Wine is poured, napkins are tucked and soon the hall is filled with the sounds of cutlery and talk.
I still don't feel completely at ease, so I turn to Karol to hopefully distract myself from the crowd below. "So, how has your stay been so far?"
She pulls the fork out of her salad and uses it as a pointer. "You see those two yuppie unicorns over there?" I spot what looks like a high-class couple, a grey stallion and a dull yellow mare, chatting up a table of other aristocrats. Occasionally one or the other will shoot a nervous glance towards our table. "They're my 'hosts', Jet Set and Upper Crust."
"They sound, um, wealthy?"
"Oh, they're wealthy all right. Rich enough to keep me under lock and key for the last two weeks." Her grumbling is punctuated by stabbing her fork deep into the helpless, hapless salad.
"What?" My tone makes Celestia's ear rotate towards me.
"Oh, it was 'for my own good' they said," the ceramic plate tinks as the silverware punctures its vegetative armor. "To 'give me time to adjust', and 'learn about Equestria'. Do you know what they taught me?" Another stab. "Etiquette!" Stab. "Politics!" Stab, stab. "Any time I wanted some fresh air I had to sneak out. It was like I was a teenager living with a pair of overbearing parents. It seriously pisses me off." She then bites the salad off her overloaded fork and chews with all the pent-up frustration she can muster. My own salad remains untouched as I am too busy trying to figure out how to set the stallion's tail on fire and make it look like an accident.
The sudden appearance of a griffin startles me out of my train of thought, mostly because he is somehow sporting a whiplash mustache on his beak. "Bonjour, I am Gustav leGrand, Chef and baker extraordinaire!" Gustav bows to our table, sweeping one wing over his chest. "By ze Princesses' commission I have prepared a selection of, ahem, special dishes for your main course."
With a flourish, Gustav presents four small menus in his other wing. One of the unicorn staff levitates them into our hands. A casual perusal reveals some pretty weird things. "Chimera steaks, Leviathan fillet, haggis?"
"Most of these animals are myths where we come from and you get hung up on haggis?" Karol whispers.
"It's gross," I whisper back. What, it's a sheep's stomach! I know the carnivore's creed in Equestria is 'waste not want not' but, ew.
Twilight tilts her head towards the table. "What is it?"
"You don't want to know," Karol and I answer in unison. 
"How rare are these?" Ironsides pipes up from the other side of the table.
Gustav grins at the question, "Ah, you are a gourmet I see. Quite a few of these dishes were very hard for the hunters, led by my very own nephew, to acquire. But if you would like something a little more hard to find, we might be able to locate something on short notice, oui." The griffin puffs his chest out and fiddles with his mustache in pride.
Ironsides gives the chef a bemused look. "Actually, I was asking how they are cooked."
A very disconcerting look of surprise pops onto Gustav's face. "Cooked?"
Karol drops her menu.
"Ah, yes of course that is what you meant," the griffin says nervously as he frantically tries to salvage his reputation. "Why, uh, that very much varies with the dish, but I and my staff will certainly prepare it to your order."
Ironsides gives me a mischievous glance, to which I respond with a grin and a nod. "If that's the case, I would like a Chimera steak. Medium well, please."
"Might as well give those ribs a try," the ex-SAS man grunts. "Medium rare if ya please."
Our mustachioed chef nods eagerly. I can already see the wheels turning in his head as he turns his attention to Karol. "Anything for you, mademoiselle?"
"I'm good, thanks."
"Can I have some chicken nuggets?" Tabitha asks innocently. Gustav stands there poleaxed, trying to decide if he should be insulted or confused.
Luna leans over towards the girl and whispers, "I believe it would be best to stick to the menu."

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After a decent — if haphazardly cooked — steak, three more courses and another speech by the Princesses, the event returns to its former atmosphere, meaning that everybody breaks up into murmuring little cliques and disperses into the halls and sitting rooms of the palace.
Consequently, I can gladly surround myself with familiar faces instead of the curious eyes of strangers. The Ponyvillians have all gathered in one of the larger rooms, with the addition of Cadence, Shining Armor, Karol, and a lone Fancy Pants. I introduce Karol to everybody and she is immediately cornered by Rarity, who takes it upon herself to console the woman about her incredibly unflattering dress. "Pink," Rarity says, "simply is not your color."
"Poor girl didn't stand a chance," AJ chuckles.
"Eyup," her big brother agrees.
Meanwhile, another sibling pair is having a far more in-depth conversation, one that I can't help overhearing because of Twilight's nearly panicked babbling.
"You're really okay with me dating Macintosh? Are you sure you're not going to get overprotective and try to chase him away or…"
"It's fine, Twily. Mac seems like a decent guy and it looks like you two really like each other. What kind of brother would I be if I got in the way of that?" Shining says, causing his sister to sweep him up in a grateful hug.
The sudden screech of feedback shatters the room's privacy, and it is not long before the culprit's amplified voice follows. "Good evening everypony! My name is Pinkie Pie, and do I have a very special evening planned for you all! At the request of the Princesses I have arranged a super extraordinary, post-banquet, Welcome to Equestria After-party! Anypony who wants to attend, please gather in the ballroom and be prepared to have a ton of fun~!"
Having used the distraction to escape the conversational grip of Rarity, Karol sidles up to me. "Thank god, I thought I might never get away from her." Seeing my grin she gives me a bit of a glare.
"I didn't say anything," I say in a mock innocent tone.
"Somebody should have warned me beforehand."
"I have no idea who you mean."
"Uh huh," she gives me a playful look before continuing. "So what's the deal with this whole after party thing? I didn't think stuff like that happened at the Castle."
"Actually," Twilight pipes up, "Princess Celestia has been holding events in the castle for years. They've been pretty exclusive to high society for the most part, but if Pinkie's handling this one it should be open to everypony."
AJ senses Karol's confusion and elaborates. "Pinkie's a friend of ours, and the best party planner from here to Las Pegasus."
"No joke," Cadence says, hooking a hoof around Shining's and pulling her husband close. "Our wedding reception was a hit thanks to her."
"One does not simply miss a Pinkie Pie party," Rarity states smugly.
"Sounds good, I could use some time to unwind." I'm not surprised at Karol's eagerness, back on Earth she used to be a real party animal. She spent a lot of nights trolling downtown clubs, crashing house parties, and seeking out new venues. It has always been something she loved to do, she told me a few months before I was pulled here by the Return.
"Let's not wait waste any time, if we're late then we won't get any cake," I say.
"Ooh, cake," Karol says with two hands on her stomach and a hungry gleam in her eyes.
The ponies take the lead as we all head for the ballroom. Cadence takes up the rear of the little herd, and after taking a quick peek at us bipeds she spreads her wings and picks up the pace. The others all start walking faster in response but give the Princess a confused look.
"Err, I really want to get there before the cake is gone," she says in excuse.
I don't know if it is the sight of Cadence's open wings or the notion of hurrying or a combination both, but Rainbow gets a gleam in her eye and a wicked grin on her face. "Well, if you want to get there so badly, we can just fly there and leave these ground-bound slowpokes in the dust." Cadence is clearly taken by surprise and the blue pegasus uses the opportunity to carry on. "Although, you don't have to. If your wings have gotten weak from sitting on a cushion all day it's not really your fault."
Cadence instantly goes from uncertain to sly, "Oh, I might be a little rusty, but I can still keep up with you, Miss Dash."
Still grinning broadly, the rainbow-maned pegasus gets aggressively close to the taller alicorn, "Only if I take it easy on you, Princess."
"On three?" the princess challenges with one raised eyebrow.
The racer grins evilly and takes a ready stance facing down the hallway. "One."
Cadence takes a stance beside her. "Two."
The rest of us gather around the impromptu starting line; Twilight has her face in her hoof as if she wants to vanish from this entire situation, Shining's reaction is somewhere between confusion and amusement, Big Mac has picked up a tiny blue flag with Rainbow's cutie mark somehow, AJ is just shaking her head in bemusement, Fancy Pants seems to be anticipating the beginning of the wing-race, Rarity's mouth and eyes are open wide as she struggles between being scandalized and incredulous, and Fluttershy just stands awkwardly to one side.
"Three!" A pair of blurs head off down the high-ceilinged palace halls leaving the rest of us standing windswept in the middle of a hallway.
Rainbow even completes the moment by shouting a taunt back at us, "Hurry up you guys! If you're lucky there might be some crumbs left by the time you get there!" As they turn a sharp corner I hear Cadence's joyful laughter echoing down the hall.
The first of us to move is Fluttershy, who removes her outfit's headdress and hands it to Rarity. This is enough to snap the white unicorn out of whatever state she was in and turn her attention to her pegasus friend. "Fluttershy?"
"I'm sorry," the yellow pony apologizes as she hovers up gently, "but I think I saw the Cakes roll out the MMM." And with that she floats gracefully towards the party.
"MMM?" Rarity gasps, her eyes sparkling. Fancy walks up next to the mare, who immediately starts stuttering, "Can you believe… I-I mean really, l-losing all sense of decorum… O-over something as s-s-simple as a cake. A scrumptious, one-of-a-kind, masterpiece of sugary perfection masquerading as a humble cake…" The unicorn stares down the hallway wistfully for a full second before tossing the headdress in her hoof over her shoulder and galloping after the others. "Oh, who am I kidding? I swear if there is nothing left of that cake before I get there you are in such trouble! Rainbow Daaaaash!"
"That's the spirit Rarity! Tally-ho!" Fancy rears and takes off himself. 
AJ trots up beside Shining Armor. "Well partner, there they go. Looks like we're fallin' behind."
"Yeah, looks like we don't have a lot of time." Shining turns his head towards us and salutes. "Sorry guys, but it's every pony for themselves at this point." Before Twilight or Mac can react, their siblings motor down the hallway without looking back.
Twilight shakes her head, "Not even two minutes pass and everypony is already acting like they're schoolfoals again."
"It's one of Pinkie's parties all right," Mac states, nodding.
Suddenly, Karol begins giggling, bending over and putting a hand on her mouth to try and keep it all in. After a few seconds she can't hold it anymore and bursts out into a full belly laugh.
"Hahahaha, t-that was , ahahahahaha!" Karol gasps as she tries to squeeze a sentence between her fits of laughter. "The best thing, hahahahahaha, I've seen, heehehehehehee, all, hah, week. I need to hang out with you guys more often."
"Well, you're welcome to come to Ponyville any time you like," Twilight says with a friendly smile.
"I think I'd like that." Karol says.
"C'mon big guy," the unicorn bumps her big stallion on the shoulder, "we should go keep everypony out of trouble."
"Eyup." Mac starts following her down the hallway, before turning his head towards us. "Y'all can take your time catchin' up now." He says with a wink.
Karol quickly turns away and puts a hand over her mouth to muffle another fit of laughter. "Looks like somebody has a wingman."
"He's doing a better job than David ever did," I remark dryly.
The woman next to me grins and nods as we start walking again. "Yeah, I remember that whole incident at the…" A pair of unicorns cut off our conversation at the same time as they cut off our route to the ballroom. I recognize them as Jet Set and Upper Crust.
"Oh, Karol dear, there you are," the mare (I don't know which one's which) intones in a bored manner. "Let us leave the palace before we witness that country mare absolutely ruin the night with that dreadful party of hers."
"Indeed," the stallion says, already miles away in his head.
Karol narrows her eyes but puts on a friendly smile. "Actually guys, I think I'll stay for the party. It sounds like a really good time. I'll catch up to you two at the house, all right." Her response sets off the yellowish unicorn.
"Young lady, if you think we are just going to let you attend that barbaric excuse for a social event then you have another thing coming!" The pony steps close to the woman, getting as far into her personal space as possible without touching her. "We've spent weeks teaching you the skills you need to make it in Canterlot, and I for one won't see you waste them by spending time with low-class louts like those ponies from Ponyville."
Now the husband decides to speak up. "If you wish to destroy the reputation we so graciously built for you, then go right ahead. Just keep in mind that if you do so, then there may not be a place for you in our home anymore."
Blueblood has already eroded much of my patience for arrogant jerks tonight, and these two are quickly using up my remaining supply. Luckily Karol snaps before I turn the married morons into entitled unicorn flambe.
"Okay, I have had it with you!" Karol leans over to place herself right in the wife's face, causing her to back up in surprise and fear. "Let's get something clear right now. I am a grown woman, a physical, mental and legal adult who is capable of making my own goddamn decisions!" Her shout is amplified and accompanied by a suspicious gust of wind. "What I am not, is your teenage daughter. So I am going to that party, I am going to dance and sing and make a total idiot of myself! Hell, if there's booze then I'll even get drunk! Why? Because I can and there's not a damn thing you can do about it!"
Between the shouting, threatening language and howling winds Jet Set and Upper Crust have been forced into a corner by a human who is probably less than half their total mass. Both are very frightened and windblown, holding on to each other for dear life as Karol begins to wind down. "Now, I'm going to go to a party with my long lost friend, have a good time, and get back to the house so late that I'll have to get Franklin to let me in. We will discuss my future living arrangements tomorrow." The woman puts her bushy skirts to good use as she flounces off towards the party, but not before shooting one last insult over her shoulder. "Y'know it's just sad when your house guests can rely on your dog more than you."
I place my fist in my palm and bow to the shell-shocked couple. "Have a good evening," I say before taking my leave and heading towards the ballroom myself.
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When I enter the ballroom I find Karol whispering with Rarity while the others gather around some of the many round tables scattered across the room. Shining Armor and Applejack are sitting on opposite sides of the table, a large pitcher of water and a plate of cubed salt between them. Rainbow stands by as if she's officiating some kind of contest between the soldier and the farmer, which is probably true considering her personality. Twilight and Mac are watching their siblings with the kind of tired resignation that can only be born from watching family members make stubborn fools of themselves one too many times. At a nearby table Pinkie is chatting away with Cadence and Fluttershy, while Spike and Fancy Pants are grooving away on the dance floor to the tunes of the blue-haired unicorn DJ performing on the stage. 
A surprising amount of ponies dance, eat, and laugh under the flashing lights and booming music. The joy and revelry in the atmosphere is infectious. This is the first time I've attended one of Pinkie's large-scale parties and I have to admit that the mare's talents seem to know no bounds. 
I approach the mare and woman whispering in the corner. "And what are you two plotting I wonder?"
Rarity immediately turns her head away and pretends to look innocent. Karol, however, doesn't even bother. "Sorry, no time to talk," she blurts before grabbing the unicorn and running off towards the stage. I quickly lose sight of them in the motion and noise of the party and decide to turn my attention to the table that the Apple and Sparkle siblings have claimed.
We soon became embroiled in AJ and Shining's salt-licking contest as the white cubes steadily vanished and Rainbow excitedly counted off each pony's score. Every so often one would pause and empty a glass of water to ease the intoxication that was building up in their system, allowing the other to build a momentary lead.
"If this goes on much longer we'll have to carry these two back to the train station," Twilight remarked dryly as Shining downed his fifth cube of salt.
At that moment the music suddenly cut, bringing a chorus of confused and disappointed shouts from the crowded dance floor. Lights dimmed, allowing a quartet of traveling spotlights to draw everyone's attention towards the stage. Each spotlight settles on an earth pony musician standing or sitting in front of an instrument. A final spotlight turns on, revealing Karol standing with a microphone in hand. 
Her dress looks like she had taken a pair of scissors to it with a vengeance, the lace cut away and the skirt transformed into a ragged edge that still manages to be aesthetically pleasing. The bustle and bow have been done away with entirely and the sleeves appear to have been torn off at the shoulders. The look is definitely more in line with her personality.
"Good evening, Canterlot! Sorry about jacking the stage, but I thought you might want to hear some music from the world humans used to live in." Karol's announcement causes some curious muttering among the ponies in the room. "Some of you might be wondering why I'm doing this, so I'll just say that I love music. The right song at the right time can make you laugh, or cry, or get angry, or inspire you to get up and do something. So tonight I want to share that with all of you, to thank you for this warm welcome to your country. Tonight, I will make your hearts soar!"
She turns and nods at the stallion sitting at the piano bench, who nods back and begins playing his instrument. The tune is vaguely familiar, but I can't place it. At least, not until the woman begins singing.
"Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going anywhere..."
The ponies grow quiet as the song goes on, absorbing the lyrics and melodies of Earth Karol brings to them through her performance. Her passion grows throughout the performance, causing her to run and jump across the stage as she sings. By the end of the song she is breathless and the crowd before the stage is silent. 
The silence stretches across minutes.
Then Pinkie leaps out of the sea of ponies and onto the stage, shouting, "That was fantastic! Oh, oh, do another one! Do another one!" Her last sentence is punctuated with a gleeful squeaky sound.
Karol looks out across the ballroom, meeting my eyes. I give her a smile and an encouraging nod, and am immediately rewarded when a heartfelt smile spreads across her face. "What do you say ponies," she challenges her audience, "do you want some more?"
Their response rattles the windows of the ballroom in their frames.
"YEAH!"
"Okay then, here's a little something written by a man named Freddie Mercury!"
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"That was amazing! No performance I've ever done has been like that!" Karol is gushing as I lead her out into the gardens again. She's practically jumping with every step she takes, making it difficult to keep up with her.
"I just can't believe you were able to keep up with Pinkie of all ponies," I chuckle. Noting that our destination has been reached, I pull us to a stop and turn my gaze up towards the sky. Faint glimpses of the starry sky can be seen through the thick winter clouds over the city.
The lady at my side joins in my stargazing, still radiating energy and joy like a little light bulb. "I have no idea how I knew the words to that song, but once I got into it was just so natural." She gives a short laugh at the memory, "For weeks I've been hearing so much casual talk about how magical this world is, but I never really believed it before now."
"It kinda sneaks up on you, doesn't it? I guess they just treat it all so casually because a lot of magic is so everyday here." A rainbow blur catches my attention as it descends from the sky. "Speaking of which…"
A fluffy white cloud comes to a sudden stop in front of our terrace, its pilot reclining on its wispy surface. "Did somepony order a cumulus?" Rainbow grins smugly while polishing one hoof casually against the top of her dress.
Karol's eyes widen as she takes in the sight of the pegasus relaxing on the mass of vapor. "Wow. So that's how you guys control the weather." She steps up and extends one finger, probably debating whether or not to poke it. "Looks really soft. It's probably really comfortable," she says with longing jealousy.
"What are you waiting for then? Have a seat." She cocks an eyebrow at me in disbelief at my suggestion. "Call it a hunch." I say with a grin and a shrug.
"Don't worry, I'm here for back up. Even if you do fall through," Rainbow pauses when I give her a little glare, "which you won't; I'll catch you before your feet can make it all the way through the cloud."
The pegasus' boast seems to give Karol a little bit of confidence, as the woman puts on a determined face and places a hand on the cloud with a little more certainty. She's surprised when the vaporous surface yields slightly under the pressure of her hand. Slowly, she places her other hand on the cloud and gets a good grip, kicking one leg forward to sink the toe of a blue Converse into the white fluff and form a foothold. With a grunt she begins to haul herself up to the top.
The speed with which she rises surprises her, causing her to roll head over heels to the middle of the cloud with a bit of a squeak. Rainbow hovers up from her perch to get out of Karol's way. Once the white-haired woman recovers, shaking away some wisps that cling to her head, she curls her legs into a meditative position. A smile slowly grows on her face as her wonder builds. 
Karol bounces up and down curiously, the cloud remaining in position but reacting with a springy compression like a well-used mattress. "This is so cool!" Her next experiment is to pull a tuft off of the main mass and bat it upwards. The three of us watch as the tiny white cloud slowly drifts upwards to rejoin its fellows in the upper atmosphere. "Patrick you've got to try this."
Trying not to put a damper on the woman's enthusiasm, I chuckle nervously and put my hands up. "Clouds aren't really my thing."
Rainbow lands next to Karol and says, "Yeah, he just gets to shoot fireballs and stuff like that."
Karol gives me a questioning look and I shrug "I'll explain that later." I'd really rather not explain to Karol how I figured out how to firebend right now. She'd never let me live it down.
Luckily I get bailed out by the ballroom door opening, revealing Twilight leading the ponies out with a sleepy Spike on her back. "Oh, there you are. I really hate to break this up, but we need to get going. It's late and we have to make sure those two goofballs get to the train station okay." She points to indicate AJ and Shining, the orange mare draped over Mac's back and the unicorn leaning heavily on Cadence as he struggles to walk in a strait line. Both are giggling like little kids, Er, foals.
"S-so then, Twiliy hid in her room while Mom tried to get our neighbor's cart out of the roof," Shining says, his words slurring slightly. "All the while the filly was panicking about 'being kicked out of magic school' and 'Princess Celestia forbidding her from studying magic forever and ever.'" The two intoxicated ponies burst out laughing. In front of me Twilight blushes in embarrassment.
"Go on ahead, I'll catch up in a bit," I say, ignoring the two inebriated ponies still chuckling behind her.
Applejack stops laughing long enough to say, "Hey, have I told y'all about the time Granny caught Big Macintosh playin' with dolls behind the barn?"
"And that's our cue," Cadence says nervously, quickly pulling her husband along with the rest of them as the ponies walk (or in Pinkie's case, bounce) towards the Castle gates.
"We'll be waiting for you at the entrance, darling. Feel free to take your time," Rarity calls over her shoulder as she departs. Rainbow gives me a sly wink and flies off after our friends.
Now it's just me and her. An awkward silence stretches itself across the garden terrace before we both try to fill it. After a few fumbling false starts I finally clear my throat and say, "Well, I guess I should get going."
Karol fidgets around on the cloud a little before answering. "Yeah. I should probably, uh, head back too."
Another few seconds of quiet descends on us.
"You should come down to Ponyville sometime. I could show you around and explain this whole magic business a little better." I give her a hopeful smile.
Much to my relief, she smiles back. "That would be nice."
I can't think of anything else to say, so I mumble, "So I guess I'll be seeing you," and turn to make my way home.
"Hey."
When I turn back I am suddenly hit with all ninety-two pounds of Karol. Her arms wrap around my neck and she uses the momentum of her leap to hit me with a deep, heated kiss.
For a few wonderful seconds, my brain shuts itself off.
After she releases the kiss and lowers herself back to the ground, she puts her hands on either side of my face. "You've been owing me that for three months." She lets go of my head and steps back. "I'll be coming down to Ponyville next week, so you'd better have the grand tour and a big, greasy cheeseburger ready for me when I get there."
With that said, she runs off into the castle and out of sight. As for me, I walk towards the gates in a happy daze. When I catch up with the ponies my dopey smile earns me a congratulatory jab in the arm from Rainbow and a round of the 'K-I-S-S-I-N-G' song courtesy of Pinkie.
Snow falls on the quiet streets of Canterlot as we make out way towards the station to catch the last train to Ponyville. The peace and quiet has lulled Spike to sleep and AJ looks like she's having trouble keeping her eyes open. We arrive at the platform and pack ourselves into the car, and I'm looking forward to lighting my fireplace back home and getting some shut-eye.
Fluttershy settles herself onto the seat next to mine, asking softly, "Did you tell Karol about her Mark?"
It had appeared during the impromptu concert. The Duty Mark stood out against the pink fabric of her dress, adorning her back with a pair of white wings that spread themselves upwards and outwards, the inner curves of the wings subtly outlining the shape of a heart.
"She'll find it herself." The train whistles and lurches into motion, taking us home.