Pinkie decided that, interesting as the Ursa incident was, she would really rather it didn’t happen again. Even while she laughed with ponies at the library party, the gears in her head spun in their webbed cycles as she contemplated on how to avoid a repeat of her goriest death yet.
First, she needed to figure out what the deal was with the looping. Part of her wanted to angst about the unfairness of it all, but she had done that plenty of times by this point, and it would ultimately get her nowhere. No party was less fun than a pity party. To figure things out, she needed to find resources on time, on chronomancy, on anything that might have even the slightest connection to strange and unexplained phenomena. And to do that, she’d need to venture beyond the Ponyville-Everfree area.
“I must admit, I didn’t quite expect this would be anypony’s request, let alone yours.” Celestia’s eyes twinkled in the afternoon sunlight as their chariot drew nearer to Canterlot. “Still, I’m always happy to help my little ponies learn and grow.”
“Sister, your voice is a comfort to me, but your platitudes are less agreeable.” Luna puffed out her chest. “Do you not agree, Pinkamena? Or has she led you all carefully down to such indignities?”
Pinkie looked deep into Luna’s face. Luna looked back, expectant, and Pinkie realized that it was impossible to tell whether she was joking or not. “Um … It must be nice to be with your sister again?”
Mercifully, Luna took the bait. “Verily, ‘tis utter bliss after the long emptiness I experienced on the moon. To escape at long last from the immobile inertia, and pull myself away from the midst of the vast space between the stars … well, my sister’s company is leagues above those prior experiences.”
“I’ve waited so long for this day, Luna.” Celestia nuzzled her sister, who rested her head underneath Celestia’s chin. How she managed to avoid skewering herself on Luna’s horn was a mystery. “Watched and waited, missing you … I still haven’t forgiven myself for banishing you so severely.”
“Cease your self-disparaging! In my madness, I gave no thought to the creeping chill that would be eternal night’s foremost consequence. ‘Twas folly, for how can anypony be loved if there is nopony to love her? If I had been rational so long ago, events might have turned out differently. In any case, it is I, not you, who must take the blame.”
“There is blame enough for all,” Celestia conceded. Her gaze fell upon Pinkie. “All who were involved so long ago, that is. But it’s in the past now, and I hope we can move on from that.”
“I share such sentiment, dear sister. But how shall we proceed?”
Pinkie’s ears stood erect as an idea struck her. “I know! When you’re feeling all the way better, we can throw a ‘Welcome-Back-To-Equestria’ party! I’m sure ponies would love to see a long-lost princess, and I’m just as sure you’d love to see them loving you.”
“Ah! That would be grand, Pinkamena. Though I fear I must spend some time readjusting to this modern era — there is much to learn of the strange new ways that envelop Equestria.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard. My friends and I can get you into the fun in no time!”
“Is that so? And what, may I ask, is this ‘fun’ you speak of?”
“I …” Pinkie stopped, mouth half-open. “Well, it’s like … it’s fun, y’know?”
Luna tilted her head quizzically.
Celestia giggled. “There will be time enough and more. For now, we approach Canterlot. Are you ready?”
Her sister nodded, gazing at the city’s gleaming spires. As for Pinkie, she looked back at the distant collection of houses that formed Ponyville, trying to ignore the heaviness in her gut.
The Star Swirl the Bearded Wing was smaller than she’d been expecting. Not that that was saying much — she’d been picturing a vast, cavernous maw of forbidden knowledge, so even the spacious maze of bookshelves she now stood in was a step down, despite the wall of domed glass at the far end, which would allow patrons to look over the city. Still, all this material would give her plenty to do. Now, where to start …
Tentatively, she pulled out one of the books closest to the door. A quick look through its pages revealed several flashes of the word “time,” so she flipped back toward the beginning and started reading from there. Within seconds, though, her eyes glazed over as a parade of eight-syllable words marched across the page, expositing on some ancient theory or other.
“What does this even mean?” she thought aloud. “How is a myth about ‘quantum physics’ supposed to help? This doesn’t so much as hint at what it is.”
That was one book down, then. But from there, the books seemed to fan out in every direction, each whispering for her attention. There had to be thousands of books in here, maybe even tens of thousands. Steeling herself, she pressed forward, taking care not to stand next to anything too heavy or unsteady.
The first letter came three days later, as Pinkie, taking a break, was considering the circumstances. So far, she had spent most of her time in the library, stopping only to eat and sleep. While she hadn’t seen much of the castle, she didn’t particularly mind. There was quite enough to do as it was.
But everything had been strangely quiet. No towering statues fell, no chandeliers collapsed, and she didn’t so much as choke on the dust from the lonely books. She was alive through no particular effort of her own, and that strange fact was enough to make her uneasy. She'd never set hoof in Canterlot before, and she knew nothing of the little dangers that lurked at every step ... so how could she have managed not to die?
A flash of green and a popping noise startled her from the comfortable rut of worry. Of course! Her friends would still be in touch with her, regardless of distance. Somepony must have figured out how Spike could deliver dragon-fire messages to other recipients.
"I hope everything's all right," she said to herself, cracking a smile at her name written tidily on the letter's surface. She sat back and unrolled it, with one ear flopped to the side. "But why wouldn't it be? Twilight's smart, Fluttershy's magical, and they're all competent in general. It'll be fun seeing how they do!"
So saying, she perused the first of many letters.