"Alright class," Miss Feather Bloom announced, "that's our time today. See you all tomorrow."
As soon as she had made the announcement, her students had started to pack up. Although nowhere as enthusiastic as they would be on a Friday, the young ponies were still somewhat excited.
Most of them anyways.
While she had gotten faster in order to keep the Cake twins from waiting, Twilight Sparkle was always a bit slow when it came to packing up and leaving. More so when she had something on her mind, like the fact that her mom might be taking her away from Ponyville and her friends, and this very well might be the last time that she sees Miss Feather Bloom, Ponyville Elementary, or her friends ever again.
No. No. That last part was not true. She would be allowed to visit Ponyville sometimes. She would be able to see Pound and Pumpkin then. There was also a chance that they would be allowed to come to Canterlot and visit her. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo had even gotten the chance to go for class a few weeks ago.
But it would only be for a few days at a time if that, and maybe longer during the summer. Would that be enough? They would be spending most their time around other ponies, not seeing each other. With Pinkie Pie around, Pumpkin and Pound would definitely make more friends. Twilight started to wonder: what if they became too busy to hang out with her? That they could not come to Canterlot or see her when she was in Ponyville because they had other things to do? What if they simply stopped hanging out with her? And the, they forgot her completely?
"Twilight?" Pound asked, tapping his chin. "Who's Twilight? I don't remember a pony named Twilight."
"Me neither," Pumpkin said. "Although, something about the purple seems familiar." She then waved a hoof. "Well it hardly matters now. We are much too busy with grown up pony things to worry about some silly mare we don't recall."
"Indeed," Pound agreed. "Come along, friends. Let us leave this lonely mare we have never met and don't know all by herself, while we have fun and do things appropriate for our age."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" grown up fantasy Twilight Sparkle cried out, dropping to her knees.
"Pumpkin Cake," Miss Feather Bloom's voice called out, breaking Twilight Sparkle from her depressing fantasy, "while class may be out for the day, you are still in my classroom and I do expect a certain amount of proper behavior. As such, I will ask you politely to please stop placing donuts on Twilight Sparkle's horn."
Blinking, Twilight found Pound and Pumpkin standing directly in front of her. Her gaze then drifted up to try and look at her horn. Sure enough, there was something that was covering it up that -- from what she could see -- was some sort of pastry.
"Why is there a donut on my horn?"
"Ha," Pound cried out as he turned to Pumpkin. "Told you she would notice. You owe me five bits."
"That doesn't count," Pumpkin huffed. "Miss Feather Bloom told her." Reaching up she pulled the donut of Twilight's horn. "We don't know how long it would have been for her to notice on her own."
"But why is i--" the rest of the sentence was cut off as the donut was shoved into Twilight's mouth. As soon as she tasted it, she decided that the rest of the conversation could wait while she enjoyed the sweet fried treat.
"We figured you would have one of your... 'moments' given everything going on," Pound Cake explained. "So we decided to start carrying emergency donuts. That way if we noticed you getting worked up, we could just give you one to snack on until you calm down."
Some small part of Twilight felt like she should be offended that her friends expected her to freak out and that she would be easily placated by a simple donut. Some other part of her was touched that her friends actually thought about her when she was not around, and actually thought about ways to help her. Plus, it was a tasty donut and did make her feel better.
"That doesn't explain why it was on my horn," she said before taking another bite.
"Standing bet," Pumpkin admitted. "See how long it would take for you to notice. Came up with it after the whole thing with Trixie."
With a nod, Twilight shoved the rest of the donut in her mouth and the rest of her stuff in her bag.
There was a knocking sound, and Twilight Velvet was standing at the door.
"Miss Feather Bloom?"
The white pegasus looked up from her desk, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes? Can I help you?"
"My name is Twilight Velvet." Velvet moved further into the room. "I'm Twilight Sparkle's mother."
Twilight froze as she stood there, staring at her teacher and mother. This was it. The moment of truth. Where her mother would hear about how she was doing in class and decide the rest of Twilight's life. Would she be allowed to stay in Ponyville, hanging out with her brother and friends while figuring out her life? Or will she return to Canterlot, losing her friends and only finding comfort in her books, until she winds up a lonely mare that cuts herself off from the world and does nothing but study?
"Ah, yes," Feather Bloom said with a smile. "I had heard that you were in town. I take it you are here to discuss how your daughter is doing in class then?"
"Yes," Velvet answered before turning toward Twilight and the Cakes. "Why don't you go wait for me outside?"
"...okay," Twilight said as she pulled her bag on and headed for the door. She had hoped that she would be able to hear what her teacher and mom talked about. Maybe it would give her some idea on how her mom would decide.
"Hey," Pumpkin said as she bumped Twilight with her shoulder once outside the classroom, "I'm sure Miss Feather Bloom only has nice things to say."
Pound moved to stand on the other side of Twilight, holding out another donut and grinning.
"I hope so," Twilight sighed as she took the offered treat. "I don't really want to go back to Canterlot."
A few minutes later, Twilight Velvet exited the schoolhouse. She made her way to where the three young ponies were waiting, Twilight Sparkle looking at her with wide eyes.
"Well?" Twilight asked as her mother approached.
Velvet smiled as she got closer. Reaching out a hoof, she wrapped it around the filly and pulled her into a hug.
"She said that you're doing wonderfully," Velvet said. "You're grades are the best in the class, you're working hard, and even helping other students. She mentioned that you were tutoring one of your classmates," she looked at Pound and Pumpkin, "and seems to think you're even helping others do better unofficially."
A wide grin spread across Twilight Sparkle's face as she leaned into the hug more.
"Does that mean I can stay?"
Velvet's smile vanished as she leaned in.
"Twilight..."
Twilight did not need to hear any more. She knew that look, that tone. Her mom was about to tell her something she was not going to like.
Velvet's hoof touched Twilight's chin, gently lifting it to look her in the eye.
"I'm glad you are doing so well and have made friends. You seem to have done a lot of growing while you were here." Velvet let out a sigh. "And yes, Ponyville does seem like a nice and friendly place. The ponies here are very welcoming and seem to care for you, Spike, and Shining Armor very much. All of which is very touching."
"But..." Twilight sighed, looking down at the floor.
"But it doesn't change my main concern, Twilight," Velvet said. "As much as I understand that you like Ponyville, and as happy as I am that you are doing well, I can't ignore what has happened. What very well may happen. Who knows what sort of dangers will come that your brother and his friends will have to face next. That doesn't even include matters like the hibernating dragon or parasprites.
"I'm sorry Twilight, but I just don't feel like you would be safe living here. It just seems too dangerous."
With a nod, Twilight slowly pulled away. Head low and tail dragging, she started trudging toward the library.
"If things around here stay quiet," Velvet said as she followed, "maybe we can reconsider." She perked up. "Plus, you'll get to help get everything ready for your brother or sister, and might get to see them after they're born."
"...Yeah..." Twilight responded, not looking up. She continued to walk at her slow pace. She understood her mom's reasoning, really she did. It did not really help though. Nothing about it made this any easier. It did not make her feel any better about the whole thing.
She still felt like she was about to lose her home. Her friends.
"I don't think donuts are going to help this time," she heard Pound say.
The rest of the walk home was in silence. She knew that her friends were with her, trying to cheer her up, and she could tell her mother was there as well, but she did not really talk to any of them. Reaching the library, Twilight led the way inside. She pushed past her family and went upstairs, making her way for her bed room.
Shutting the door behind her, she dropped the saddlebags on the floor. Making her way to the bed, she grabbed Smarty Pants and slipped under the covers, hugging the doll to her chest and curling up as tight as she could and burying her nose in its chest.
Twilight Sparkle began to cry.