The sun shone down on the most beautiful day Equestria had seen in a long time.  It was obvious that Celestia was in a happy mood, to be gracing the ponies of her and Luna’s land with such a nice day.  Ponies spread across Equestria felt the need to relax rise within them and all throughout the land, from royal Canterlot to bustling Manehattan to small Ponyville, work slowly ground to a halt as ponies took a day off to enjoy themselves.  There may have been repercussions the next day but, at this point in time, nopony cared about tomorrow; they were content to bask in the glow provided by one of their Princesses.

The sun shone down on the sandy beach, causing the fine particles to sparkle brightly in the eyes of the ponies standing on it.  The waves of the sea could be heard lapping at the sand, providing a small mist of water which kept the heat tolerable.  Birds circled overhead before gliding out to sea and diving down in an attempt to grab something to eat.  The whole area was peaceful and quiet... with the exception of the ponies running around the beach like mad.

“They’re comin’ your way, Twi!  Don’t let ‘em beatcha!”

Twilight Sparkle eyed the two ponies running frantically towards her with a calculating eye, their hooves leaving deep imprints and kicking up sand as they advanced. A quick tactical decision (“The best defence is a good offense”) brought her forward, obviously surprising her two adversaries and Twilight kicked the bright red ball one of them had off to the side and away from the goal she was keeping.

“Nice move, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she turned on her heels to get the ball she had just lost. “I wasn’t expecting that!”

“Thanks, Rainbow. It wasn’t much,” Twilight responded half-heartedly.  Only part of her was focusing on the game of beach soccer she and her friends were playing; the other part was preoccupied and not really paying much attention to anything that was going on around her.  It was too busy mulling over something that had been running through her mind for the past couple weeks.

“Wasn’t much, darling? Stopping the Iron Pony herself isn’t much? You undervalue your skills, dear,” floated Rarity’s voice from the opposite end of the ponies’ playing field. The sun hat resting on her head didn’t help her vision any, but she insisted on wearing it despite Rainbow’s and Pinkie’s protests.  The fashion designer had told her two teammates that it wasn’t a sun hat but the armour she donned to do battle on this day.  The Elements of Harmony may have been on vacation, but Rarity’s flair for the dramatic was as strong as ever.

“Yeah, Twilight! Rainbow and I were like ‘zoom’ and you were like ‘whoosh’ and the ball was like ‘boing’ and now Applejack and Fluttershy are like ‘zip, bang, boom’ and Ihavetogostopthemnow!” Pinkie Pie’s somewhat nebulous form said as a dust cloud appeared where she had been previously.  Twilight blinked slowly and then tried to focus her attention on the opposite end of the ‘field’.

Applejack had gained possession of the ball that Twilight had knocked away from Rainbow and was headed towards Rarity with Fluttershy at her side.  The usually quiet and timid pony was louder and more active than usual; not on par with Rainbow Dash’s energy and brashness but enough to be a serious contender in their game of soccer.

“Applejack, pass the ball!” Fluttershy shouted as Pinkie and Rainbow bore down on the muscular earth pony.  A quick kick of a foreleg and Fluttershy was alone with the ball, heading towards Rarity at a quick canter. A couple curses from behind her provided the knowledge that Rainbow and Pinkie were soon to be giving her problems. It was now or never...

“Rrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhh!”

As the ponies without the ball all tensed up at the loud roar, Fluttershy kicked the ball towards the opposing team’s goal. A dumbfounded Rarity shook her head and dived towards the ball, but was too slow to stop it from sneaking past her outstretched hooves.  As the ball rolled down the beach away from the ponies, Fluttershy jumped in the air and hovered briefly, excitedly flapping her wings.

“I can’t believe it! I scored a goal! I actually scored a goal! All right, go me! Yay!”

Twilight laughed to herself as she left the goal to tackle Fluttershy with a hug.  Fluttershy let out a little squeak and then started giggling as she and Twilight landed on the soft sand.  It wasn’t long before an amused Applejack joined them and the opposing team jumped on the pony pile as well.  For a few minutes there was nothing but a pile of laughing ponies on the beach before the friends disentangled themselves and lay quietly on their backs.

“That was pretty darned amazin’, Fluttershy.  I never woulda expected something like that from you,” Applejack said from under the brim of her hat, which had been pulled down over her eyes to shield them from the sun. “You sure as shootin’ surprised all of us!”

“I don’t know what came over me! I just reacted to some instinct that said ‘distract them’ and it worked. Eeeeee!” The excited squeal that issued from the yellow pony’s mouth caused a renewal in the laughter among the ponies.

Twilight soon stopped laughing and stared at the sky over head, listening to her friends around her. Hearing Fluttershy’s roar and subsequent cheering at scoring the only goal in their hard fought soccer game had lightened her mood considerably but it didn’t take much for it to be dampened. All she had to do was listen to that annoying part of her that wouldn’t be quiet and she grew silent and sober. It was happening more and more often these days and she knew her friends would notice soon, and when they started asking questions she wasn’t sure she’d have answers for them.

“Well, what should we do now? The sun is starting to set and we still need to eat dinner.  All of this soccer and playing around has made me hungry,” Rainbow said as she stood up and shook some sand from her back and flanks.  Giving her wings a quick flap to knock any loose sand off of them, she took to the air above her friends and lazily flew a figure of eight pattern.

“There’s enough dried driftwood on this beach to make ourselves a lil’ fire.  We could toast sandwiches around a fire on the beach,” Applejack suggested. “It’s far enough away from our tents that we don’t have to worry about ‘em, plus there’s not much that can catch fire this far from the tree line.”

A brief discussion occurred but nopony could come up with a better suggestion than Applejack's so the ponies lying on the beach all got to their hooves and brushed themselves free of sand. The ponies paired off and started to gather wood for their cooking fire: Rarity with Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash with Fluttershy, and Applejack with Twilight.  Each party set off in a different direction with instructions to meet back at their starting point in 10 minutes.  It didn’t take long for Twilight and Applejack to gather a large amount of driftwood, the unicorn locating and picking it up and the earth pony carrying it on her back.  As the two turned around to meet back with their friends, Applejack broke the uncomfortable silence that was hanging between the two ponies.  They’d been gathering their share of driftwood with no words passing between them for the past few minutes.

“Twi, what’s wrong? Somethin’s botherin’ you, sugar cube,” Applejack stated. If there was one thing that the Element of Honesty was good at, it was stating the immediate concern. “You’ve been real quiet ever since we got here... not to mention the past coupla weeks.”

Twilight started slightly at Applejack’s straight forward question. True, she’d been expecting one of her friends to ask her about her melancholy but she hadn’t expected it to occur so soon. She didn’t have a suitable answer prepared yet and so she decided to shrug off Applejack’s concern with a laugh that the earth pony could tell was immediately forced.

“Nothing’s wrong, AJ. Everything is fine.”

The smile that Twilight forced to her muzzle twitched slightly as she looked at Applejack. The other pony shook her head and sighed inwardly, knowing that it wasn’t worth forcing the issue at the moment.

“If’n you say so, sugar cube. But just remember if you need to get somethin’ off yer back, you can talk to any of yer friends, Twi. We’re here for you, no matter what.”

“I know, Applejack. Thanks.” The smile that Twilight turned towards her friend was a little smaller but genuine this time. She knew her friends were there for her and that was why it made it so hard to bring up what was bothering her so much.

The two ponies made small chat about how the day had started and what they were expecting from the rest of their vacation as they wandered back down the beach.

=========================================

-- Three weeks ago --

The idea for a beach vacation had come from Rarity, of all ponies. She had just finished a big order for a client in Canterlot and was looking to relax somewhere away from Ponyville, when the thought had struck her and she’d brought it up to her friends. Everybody had eagerly agreed, feeling the need for some well-deserved rest and relaxation; Applejack had just finished applebucking the latest crop of trees, Fluttershy’s veterinary clinic was currently vacant of patients, Rainbow Dash and the weather ponies had been putting in a lot of extra time to make up for some errant Everfree weather that had caused some issues around Ponyville and Pinkie Pie had been tending to Sugarcube Corner while the Cakes had been on their own vacation, visiting relatives in Manehattan. In fact, Twilight had been the only pony who didn’t have a reason related to work to justify the vacation but had been the first to voice her agreement with it. Her reason had been to try and get herself out of the funk she was currently in.

The ponies had discussed dates and how long to take off before finally making their decision that an entire week off was definitely needed. After that, it had been Fluttershy who had brought up the point that Rarity wanted to go to a beach.

"Ummm, Rarity?  Why do you want to go to a beach?  Aren't you afraid of getting dirty? ...if you don't mind me asking," the timid pegasus had asked her friend. Rarity had simple laughed lightly at her friend's question.

"Well, my dear Fluttershy, the nice thing about a beach is that there is plenty of water nearby. If one should happen to get dirty, there's a big bath merely a few paces away that will wash away any grime!" the unicorn had said with a grin. "And also because I have designed the most fabulous little swimsuits for all of us to wear."

Rainbow Dash and Applejack moaned in unison.  They knew that there had to be a catch hidden in there somewhere.  Rarity sent a little glare their way.

"Please wait until you see your outfits before dismissing them! I assure you that they are not at all what you imagine!" Rarity huffed, crossing her forelegs and staring at the cyan and tan ponies.

"Rarity, we don't wear clothes except for formal events. Why would we want to wear some while at the beach?" Twilight had asked with a bewildered expression on her face.  The somewhat evil-looking grin that had appeared on Rarity's face had given every pony a little shiver down their spine before they had called it quits for the night and headed off to their beds.

=========================================

-- The day before --

“Awww, Twilight... why can’t I come too? Don’t I deserve a vacation as well?” Spike’s insistent badgering had been expected but Twilight found it more irritating than usual. To be honest, Twilight probably did deserve it as she was only telling him of the trip the day before they left.

“Spike, just send the letter to Princess Celestia, please. I’d like to keep her aware of what we’re up to, in case a circumstance should arise that requires the Elements.” No matter that she and her friends were going to be on vacation for the next week, Twilight liked to try and cover for every situation. Just in case.

With a little grumble under his breath Spike testily picked up the letter and ignited it, watching the ashes swirl out the window on a gust of magic. Turning his back on Twilight, he was preparing to go and do his chores (while sulking obviously) when he felt his stomach bulge and a letter forced its way out of his mouth. That was a quick response from the Princess! Unrolling the scroll, Spike hastily read it before passing it over to Twilight and resuming his duties.  Holding the letter in front of her, Twilight read it to herself as she headed towards her room to start packing for the trip.

“My dear Twilight Sparkle,”

“Thank you for writing to inform me that you will not be reachable at home for the next week. I’m sure nothing will occur but you can never be too sure. In any case, enjoy your trip with your friends and make sure to try and relax. I’m jealous that you and your friends can just take a week off. There’s no such luck for Luna and myself I’m afraid. To help you get to your destination in a more timely fashion, I’ll loan you a carriage. We don’t want you girls wasting too much time traveling!”

“Sincerely, Princess Celestia. P.S. Luna says to keep an eye on the night sky.”

Twilight smiled to herself at the Princess’ letter. No matter that she’d been writing to Princess Celestia for almost 5 years now, her letters always brightened Twilight’s day.

Placing the letter on her desk, Twilight started packing the few items she’d need for the week long trip.  Once that was complete, she’d apologize to Spike and offer to buy him lunch before heading out to talk to the girls about their method of transportation to their intended vacation spot.

=========================================

-- First day of vacation --

Six excited ponies were gathered outside Ponyville’s library with their bags for the week. All of them had a small bag packed with the usual exception of Rarity whose baggage alone would have filled the entire carriage the Princess had provided.  After some drama-filled grumbling, Rarity narrowed her choice down to one medium-sized and one small bag - one containing her clothing and the other containing the swimsuits for her and her friends. As she climbed the steps into the carriage behind Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, she turned her head slightly and smiled at Spike who stood next to Twilight on the ground.

“Oh, Spikey-wikey, do be a dear and make sure the rest of my luggage gets back to the boutique, please.”

Without waiting for a response, Rarity entered the carriage and sat down on one of the benches inside. She felt guilty for taking advantage of Spike’s crush on her (which had been obvious to her since the first day they had met) but it was so convenient some times.  As she waved at the dragon out the window, she watched Twilight lift a foreleg and bop the stunned purple dragon on the head gently.  Spike shook his head, the hearts in his eyes disappearing, and turned towards Twilight who was smiling wryly to herself.

“Spike, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about our vacation sooner. There’s been a lot of stuff running through my mind lately and I haven’t been in the best of moods. I just need a little... me time to try and sort things out,” the lavender unicorn told the dragon as she levitated her bag into the carriage. The dragon watched the bag disappear inside the cozy interior then turned back to his friend.

“Aww, it’s okay, Twi. I could tell that something has been bothering you for awhile and I’ve been trying to give you your space. I was just kinda miffed that you waited so long to tell me. It hurt a little.”

Twilight put a leg around Spike and gave him a brief hug. She hadn’t meant to upset him that much. It just showed that while she had learned so much about friendship over the past years, there was still so much more to the concept that she needed to explore. Spike returned the hug quickly then comically tried to push Twilight away as he puffed out his chest and glanced around suspiciously.

“Aww, c’mon, Twi, no mushy stuff! Please!”

Twilight giggled to herself as she leaned down and butted her head against his instead.

“Well, we’re off, Spike. I haven’t left a list of stuff to do because you know it all by now. Big Mac is watching over Sweetie Belle while Rarity is gone and has said you’re welcome to join them for dinner if you’d like. Derpy also said that you can join her and Dinky for dinner whenever you want. Be careful, make sure to clean up after yourself, no parties, blah blah blah,” Twilight finished with a wink, causing Spike to laugh. Glancing around once more to make sure no one was watching, he leaned in to give her a quick hug. It was the first time Twilight had gone somewhere and not left him a detailed list (or two... or three...) with instructions for every single possible situation she could think of, including events such as: volcano erupting in Ponyville, glaciers covering all of Equestria in ice, and moon people who had fallen under the influence of Nightmare Moon and traveled to Equestria to abduct Princess Celestia, which was Spike’s personal favourite.

“Well, have a good week, Spike! We’ll see you in a few days!”

Spike waved as the door to the carriage closed and the team of Pegasus pulling it trotted for a short distance to gather speed before flapping their wings and taking to the air. Turning back to the library, Spike rubbed his hands in anticipation for the nap he was heading off to.

As Ponyville quickly receded into the distance, the six ponies in the carriage started discussing plans for what to do while on their vacation.  Needless to say, all the suggestions were appropriate for the pony who proposed it; Fluttershy wanted to look at the various animals that would be around and make some new friends, Rainbow Dash wanted to have a swimming contest with Applejack (who was all for it), Pinkie Pie wanted everypony to bury her in the beach (“Make sure to get her head,” Rarity had muttered under her breath), and Rarity wanted to have a fashion show where each pony modeled the swimsuit she had made for them. Twilight was the only who one didn’t suggest anything as she blankly stared out the window, half-listening to her friends and half-ignoring them. Her good mood from earlier had disappeared as quickly as Ponyville.

“Um... Twilight, do you have any ideas? For what to do at the beach?”

The gentle prompt and nudge from Fluttershy turned Twilight’s head and she found all of her friends staring at her. She gave a quick shake of her head and smile to let them all know she was fine and then turned back to the window as their chatter slowly resumed, her thoughts roiling in her mind.

Should she tell them now?  But if she did, that would ruin the vacation for everybody. No, it would be better to wait until the last day of the vacation to tell them. But then she would be moping all week long and wouldn’t get to enjoy the vacation. Maybe after they landed and started preparing for the day she’d tell them? But then they’d want to know how long she’d had her mind made and it would probably just end up in them questioning her all afternoon.

No matter what scenario Twilight ran through in her mind, the discussion never ended well. For somepony who was used to thinking her way through things and almost always able to find a positive outcome, this was more disheartening than anything else that could happen. Letting out a quiet sigh, the depressed mare stared at the clouds outside the carriage as they passed by.

=========================================

The fire that the ponies had started on the beach earlier had started to die down finally. They hadn’t realized how dry some of the driftwood had been and their initial fire had been a lot more intense than they had intended. Pinkie hadn’t helped any, throwing on log after log with a scary yearning in her eyes. It had taken Rarity grabbing her hooves and forcing Pinkie to sit beside her for the Element of Laughter to calm down. The six ponies had toasted their sandwiches and were working on marshmallows for s’mores now. Quiet chatter passed back and forth between them, commenting on the beauty of their location, the soccer game they had played earlier, and Princess Celestia’s generosity at providing transport for them. Had they tried to get there any other way, it would’ve taken at least 2 days, cutting their vacation time much shorter.

Staring deeply into the flames, Twilight had finally had enough of the facade she was wearing. Pulling the marshmallow she had been roasting from the fire, she placed it on a plate next to the s’more makings and stood up.

“Twilight? You’re not going to finish your s’more?” Pinkie asked as she licked her lips and predatorily eyed the lone marshmallow on the plate. Twilight silently shook her head and started heading off to her tent.

“You going to your tent to read, Twilight?”

Rainbow’s tentative question caused Twilight to pause and turn back to look at the other mares.

“No. I’m not in the mood right now, Rainbow. I’m sorry, girls, I’m just going to bed. Maybe I’ll be in a better mood tomorrow.”

“Well... try and have a good sleep, Twilight.”

“Thanks, Rainbow. Night, girls.”

With the brief conversation finished, Twilight headed off to her tent.  Upon entering, she immediately threw herself down on the sleeping bag and pillows she had placed earlier. Curling up around one of the pillows, she turned her back on the fire and the silhouettes her friends were casting. She heard them lower their voices and knew they were talking about her.

“There’s something really bothering Twilight. She’s not in the mood to read? I don’t think I’ve ever heard her say that as long as we’ve known her!” Rainbow incredulously stated, her concern for the lavender unicorn clear to her friends. The others nodded their agreement.

“We barely talked to each other while gatherin’ firewood. And when I asked her what was wrong, she just put on that stupid fake grin of hers and said nothin’ was botherin’ her. But she ain’t telling us the truth. She ain’t been the Twilight we know for quite awhile now,” Applejack told the others. Heads cocked as ponies thought about Twilight’s behaviour over the past month and saw immediately that Applejack was right.

“When I asked her if she had any ideas for what to do while on vacation, she didn’t say anything. I would think that she’d have a book or two and a huge list of ‘Things that need to be done to enjoy a proper beach vacation’ all prepared for this day.”

Fluttershy’s contribution only added to the worry of the other ponies. She was right – Twilight had no books or lists of things to do and she ALWAYS had a book or list of things to do, no matter the occasion. Twilight not having either of those things with her was akin to Luna and Celestia disappearing and leaving both the sun and moon in the sky in a state of limbo – utterly unthinkable!

“Well, what should we do, darlings? We simply have to help Twilight Sparkle with whatever predicament she’s in! One of us needs to get her to open up and I volunteer myself, seeing as we’re both unicorns and all.”

“Now, wait just a darned minute! Bein’ a unicorn has nothing to do with it, Rarity! Twi just needs somepony to be honest with her and tell her that we’re worried and she needs to talk to us!”

“Umm... I want to talk to Twilight... if that’s okay with anypony...”

Needless to say that Fluttershy’s statement was lost in the hubbub caused by Rarity and Applejack.  Rainbow Dash got off the ground and jumped in between the two quietly arguing ponies before things could escalate further than they had.

“I am the Element of Loyalty and I would follow Twilight to the ends of the earth if that’s what was required to cheer her up, but I’m not so good at the talking bit so I don’t think I should be the one to talk to her. Knowing me, I’d just say something that would make things even worse. But you two don’t need to argue about this. That’s not going to help Twilight any!”

“I’ll talk to her.”

The quiet but firm statement came from a thoughtful looking Pinkie, staring at the tent that Twilight had entered. The other ponies looked at her with shocked expressions on their faces.

“Pinkie Pie, now I don’t mean no offense to ya, but I don’t know if you’re the best pony for this sorta thing, sugar cube. You can be a bit... overeager sometimes.”

“Yeah, I have to agree with AJ, Pinkie. You can just be so... so... so random.”

“I know that, Rainbow. But I can also be serious when I want to be. You remember when Cranky moved to Ponyville? I was serious about leaving him alone if he didn’t accept my apology. A pony can only do so much before they get too annoying. Thankfully, I can usually tell when that is.”

“Usually, darling, but sometimes you can go a bit too far.”

“I know that too, Rarity. But when I do it’s because I know that going that little bit further is going to push somepony past their breaking point and back around to where they’re happy. It all works out!”

“Um, Pinkie Pie, that doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know, Fluttershy, but it works! I mean, I did get Rarity to cheer up after the disaster that was Prince Blueblood, right? How long was she moping about over that loser before I managed to get her back to normal?”

A quiet giggle escaped Fluttershy as she nodded and answered, “At least three months. She was quite upset over her dream not coming out how she’d planned.”

Rarity smiled sheepishly and glanced over at Pinkie Pie before nodding her consent. Pinkie had helped her out of her funk by doing something fairly outrageous even for her but it had gotten Rarity laughing again. While the event itself had been outrageous, Pinkie had been more serious than Rarity had ever seen her that night and things had gone amazingly. Rarity had never seen that side of Pinkie since but she knew it was there.

“Well, if you think you know that to do, Pinkie, then you have my go ahead. “

Pinkie leaned over and gave Rarity a hug before standing up.

“Okey dokey lokey, Rarity! Anyways, I’m off to bed, girls. My Pinkie Sense says Twilight and I will be getting up early tomorrow morning.”

Before she could get too far from the fire, Rarity called after her.

“Just... no mustaches this time, Pinkie.”

Pinkie just grinned and kicked a hoof in the dirt before heading to her tent, and all the friends broke out laughing as the memory of Pinkie with a mustache on came back to them.

Alone in her tent, Twilight hugged her pillow tighter and listened to her friends laugh outside. Closing her eyes, she turned her head into her pillow and silently wept.

=========================================

Exiting her tent as quietly as possible, Twilight listened to the gently rolling waves break on the beach as the sun started to peek over the horizon. She was up extremely early and felt like doing anything to try and lighten her mood; attempting to go to bed early hadn’t helped as she’d ended up tossing and turning and thinking for most of the night.

Turning, Twilight began trotting down the beach at a slow canter. She was so focused on her own issues that she missed a pink pony come up behind her and match her pace. Deeming she was far enough away from the tents, the depressed mare broke into a full gallop as she ran down the beach, her hooves kicking up sand behind her. Maybe if she ran fast and far enough, she could outdistance her problems. She knew that it was impossible but she was going to try.

After a few minutes of running as hard as she could, Twilight slowed back to a canter to rest her muscles. She wasn’t as athletic as Rainbow Dash or Applejack and couldn’t sustain a full-out pace nearly as long as they could. As she slowed, the sound of hoof steps behind her finally made it to her ears and she sighed and started running a quick check of who she would end up talking to.

She immediately ruled out Rainbow Dash and Rarity as they were too insistent on getting their sleep to get up this early. Rainbow was just too lazy and Rarity ‘needed her beauty sleep’ as she was so fond of telling the girls. Fluttershy was also struck from the list as the footsteps were much too sure of themselves as well as being too close; Fluttershy would’ve been so far back and so hesitant that Twilight would never have been able to hear her.  Slowing to a walk, Twilight closed her eyes and continued her list. Pinkie was Pinkie so that meant she would’ve been talking Twilight’s ears off the entire time which left Applejack. Sitting down on the sand, Twilight heard the other pony sit down behind her. The two sat quietly, watching the sun rise and the light reflect off the water. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Twilight finally spoke up.

“So, Applejack, what brought you out after me?”

There was no response from behind Twilight which she found irritating. At the least, Applejack could acknowledge her presence.

“Well, ignoring me is pretty rude, App-“ Twilight cut herself off as she turned to find Pinkie sitting in the beach behind her. The surprised Twilight sat staring for a couple of seconds before she closed her mouth and started again. “Sorry, Pinkie. I didn’t mean to call you Applejack. I just thought that...”

“If any pony was coming to talk to you, it’d be her. I understand, Twilight. Do you mind if I join you?”

“No, go right ahead.”

Twilight indicated the patch of sand next to her and Pinkie scooted forward, leaving a furrow behind her. Twilight smiled a little at the image before turning to look back at the sunrise. Even though she had acknowledged the pink pony’s presence and Pinkie had joined her, they still sat quietly. Twilight was surprised; she’d never head Pinkie this quiet for this long before. As Pinkie shifted slightly to make herself more comfortable, she finally spoke.

“Twilight, what’s wrong? There’s been something bothering you for at least a month now. We’ve been quiet, hoping that you would tell us what’s up or ask for some help with whatever’s bothering you, but instead we’ve just seen you get more and more depressed and withdrawn. I haven’t seen you have a good laugh in a long time. It makes me sad.”

“Why? Because you’re the Element of Laughter?” Twilight’s words came out harsher than she’d intended.

“No. Because I’m your friend.”

The simple statement cut straight into Twilight’s heart and she hated herself for the pain she was causing her friends. Closing her eyes to keep the tears from falling, Twilight dropped her head forward and took a deep breath.

“Pinkie, I’ve decided to move away from Ponyville.”

The breath that she’d been holding fled Twilight and she waited for the questions from Pinkie. After the pink pony had said nothing for a few seconds, Twilight turned to look at her. Pinkie turned towards Twilight with a small smile on her face.

“If you figure that’s what’s best for you, Twilight, then do it.”

Once again, Pinkie’s straightforward words cut into Twilight but this time, they cut the strings of a large weight that had been hanging on her heart. Twilight had expected anger, sadness or indignation... everything but acceptance.

It was the one outcome she hadn’t envisioned when telling her friends that she was planning on leaving Ponyville.

“You seem so accepting of it, Pinkie. What if the others aren’t when I tell them?”

Pinkie gave a little laugh and leaned over to knock her head against Twilight’s.

“We’re your friends, Twilight. If you feel you need to do something, you just let us know. We may not be happy about it, but we’re not going to try and live your life. Besides, it not as if others of us haven’t thought about leaving Ponyville. We all know that with the work Rarity gets it won’t be long before she moves to Manehattan or Canterlot to deal with more ‘sophisticated’ ponies. When Rainbow Dash joins up with the Wonderbolts, she won’t be able to stay at Ponyville as they’ll be travelling all over the place to do shows. I mean, we know that Applejack won’t leave because of the farm and Fluttershy has the perfect set up for her veterinary clinic, but it’s not impossible to see the others leaving.”

“And what about you, Pinkie? Have you ever thought of leaving Ponyville?”

A long silence met Twilight’s question. She was getting ready to repeat it when Pinkie finally responded.

“I’ve thought about it lots. I’ve turned down job offers in Manehattan and Canterlot. Heh... imagine me being a royal party planner? I think Luna was just joking, to be honest.”

Twilight started at that. Luna had asked Pinkie to be a party planner and she had turned her down? That was... unthinkable! Twilight wondered if any of the others knew of this.

“But despite all of that, I don’t think I could ever leave Ponyville.  I have a ton of friends here, I get to help Mr. and Mrs. Cake at Sugarcube Corner, and I have free reign over parties and being silly. Despite what you all may think of me, Twilight, I’m not naive enough to think that I could do the same thing anywhere else.”

Twilight just stared at Pinkie. Who knew that under the happy-go-lucky, always-singing, ever-laughing, logic-defying Pinkie was a font of wisdom? Hadn’t Twilight learned way back when she met Zecora that you shouldn’t judge a pony by what you see on the outside? It just showed her that there were some ponies you took for granted and ended up missing out on other sides of them.

“But that’s enough Serious Pinkie(TM) talk. Why are you planning on leaving?”

Twilight fell backwards onto the beach and stared up at the sky. She had thought long and hard about this.

“Pinkie, I don’t really DO anything in Ponyville. The rest of you all have jobs and family that keep you going and keep you there, but not me. I live at the library and I’m supposed to be the town librarian but nobody ever uses it. Rainbow Dash comes in to get each new Daring Do novel when it’s released but other than that, nopony ever comes to withdraw a book. Do you know why?”

Pinkie shook her head and didn’t answer, knowing that Twilight would answer her own question soon enough. She was right, of course.

“There wasn’t a library in Ponyville until a year before I moved there. I did the research and checked the records and was surprised to find that the library wasn’t a well-established, timeworn place like most libraries are. The only reason I can think of is that Celestia built it for the sole purpose of having a place to appease me while staying in Ponyville. Since nopony ever comes in, all I do is magic research which would be a lot easier to do in Canterlot. More ingredients, more reference material, more professionals to talk with. A library that gets no use doesn’t need a librarian. The only reason I stay in Ponyville is because you girls are all there. But it’s not enough anymore. I need to... do more with my life.”

Twilight sat up with a sad smile on her face and turned to see it mirrored on Pinkie’s face. Pinkie leaned in to Twilight and gave her a crushing hug which Twilight returned as best she could.

“Well, no matter where you go Twilight, we’ll always be your friends. Now let’s head back and you can tell the others and then finally start enjoying your vacation.”

Pinkie stood up and helped Twilight to her feet. Twilight’s smile widened and she started speaking as she and Pinkie started walking back to the tents.

“I do have a list of things that need to be done to properly enjoy a beach vacation...”

Pinkie’s laughter was loud and full of life. It was good to have her friend back to normal.

=========================================

Twilight was expecting to have to wait awhile for all her friends to wake up before she told them her decision which is why she was quite surprised to find everypony sitting around a low fire, making breakfast. She could only guess at what Applejack and Fluttershy had gone through to try and get Rarity and Rainbow Dash up this early.  As Twilight and Pinkie walked up to join them at the fire, all of her friends turned to Twilight and she smiled at them.

“I’m sorry for making you all worry about me over the past month. I’ve been doing some heavy thinking about where things are going in my life and I made a decision awhile ago and wasn’t sure how you’d react. After talking with Pinkie this morning, I realize it was foolish of me to agonize over telling all of you.”

Despite knowing how Pinkie had reacted and the words she’d spoken to her, Twilight was still a little nervous about her announcement.

“I’m going to be moving away from Ponyville.”

Expecting a verbal assault, Twilight had braced herself for the bombardment of questions she was sure would come. All she got were a couple of sad smiles and some raised eyebrows.

“If you think that’s best, Twi, then you gotta do what you gotta do.”

“Well, darling, I was expecting it to be something different bothering you, but I can see this has weighed heavily on you. I’m glad to see a genuine smile again!”

“You silly egghead. You over thought this again, didn’t you?”

“You promise you’ll write and visit occasionally, right?  Umm... if you want to, that is...”

Twilight felt tears come to her eyes as her friends proved what Pinkie had said. Twilight didn’t know how she ever could’ve doubted them.

“Group hug!”

The shout from Pinkie wasn’t surprising and neither was the crazy arm stretch that somehow gathered everypony together no matter how far away they’d been before. Twilight sniffled a little and threw her arms around her friends.

“Thanks, girls. Your support means the world to me.”

“Now, how about we finish our repast and then we can all put on the wonderful swimsuits I’ve created for us.”

Twilight giggled and gave Rarity a hug before she nodded.

“That sounds like a good plan to me, Rarity. Let’s eat!”

=========================================

“Rarity?”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“Is this it? I don’t feel like I’m wearing much.”

“Oh, Twilight, it’s a swimsuit! You’re not supposed to be wearing much!”

“But, this seems... lacking... even for a swimsuit.”

Rarity popped her head into Twilight’s tent with a wicked grin on her face.

“I know. Isn’t it deliciously scandalous?! I’m thinking of calling it the ‘Naughty Pony’ line.”

Twilight turned her head to look over the ‘barely there’ swimsuit that Rarity had told her to put on. To be honest, she felt more embarrassed wearing the swimsuit than nothing at all. Twilight sighed and shook her head.  At least she wasn’t the only one wearing something like this. She giggled quietly to herself, wondering how they’d ever convince Fluttershy to come out of her tent.

“Now, hurry up, darling, we’re waiting on you to come out and show off your suit. Everypony else has already put theirs on!”

As Rarity withdrew her head, Twilight shook her head again. She had been misjudging ponies for quite awhile obviously, why would it be any different now? Pulling the door of her tent open, Twilight stepped outside to see the rest of the girls.  Stopping in her tracks, Twilight’s jaw dropped at the sight of her friends.

Each of them was wearing one of Rarity’s ‘Naughty Pony’ swimsuits and looked... well, enticing and seductive would be the only way to describe them.  A dark green combo for Fluttershy, a lighter green combo for Applejack, a dark blue combo for Pinkie, and tiny black numbers for Rainbow and Rarity.  Twilight was wearing a light blue outfit that made her feel more exposed than covered and it bothered her. She never felt like this when she was wearing nothing, so why did wearing something make her feel this way? Ah, well, she’d just have to deal with it.

“Now, I’ve got a list here with things that we need to do...”

Twilight smiled as her friends groaned good-naturedly. As Twilight continued forward to meet her friends, she thought of the good times that had been had in Ponyville and wondered where she might find herself in the future.

Pushing it out of her mind for now, Twilight hopped about with a spring in her step. They were at the beach in their amazing swimsuits and they had a week to enjoy. She was going to make sure this was the best vacation with her friends.

=========================================

The carriage landed in front of the Ponyville library in front of an excited Spike. Twilight and the girls were back today! While the week to himself had been relaxing, he hadn’t realized how lonely he’d be with Twilight gone. She must feel the same way when he left for business in Canterlot.

As the door to the carriage opened and the six ponies stepped out, Spike felt happier than he had in a month. Twilight was smiling and chatting with her friends. He didn’t know what had been weighing on her but it was good to finally see her back to her old self.

As the girls parted to head off to their respective homes, Twilight walked towards the library with a strange look in her eyes – a mixture of disgust and love. As Spike ran forward to grab her bag, she gave him a quick hug and headed to the open door to the library.

“So, how was your week, Spike?”

“It was good! I kept the library clean, slept a lot, read a little bit, played around with the Crusaders every now and then. I ate dinner with Big Mac and the girls a couple of times, and with Dinky and Derpy as well. Something’s funny about Derpy though... she doesn’t seem to be acting like her usual self. She wasn’t as muffin-obsessed as she usually is. Plus, her attitude with Dinky was quite short. I think something may be bothering her.”

“Well, after unpacking and writing a letter to Princess Celestia, let’s head over to her place and I’ll see if anything’s up.”

“Alright, Twi! Let’s do it!”

=========================================

“Dear Princess Celestia,”

“I’ve made a decision that has weighed heavily on me for the past month. While I didn’t want to tell my friends what it was because I was afraid of how they would react, I made them worry because keeping my decision to myself changed how I was acting. When I told them what my decision was, they all accepted it albeit a little sadly. And it makes sense. If somebody is your friend, they’ll accept your choices no matter that it might make them sad; only somebody who isn’t your friend would try to force you to change your mind. And now, it’s time to tell you my decision.”

“I’m leaving Ponyville.”

“If you’ll have me back in the castle, I’d like to continue my magic research there. Seeing as nopony uses the library in Ponyville, I don’t think keeping me here is doing any...”

Celestia silenced herself as she reread the first portion of Twilight’s letter. Leaving Ponyville? That wouldn’t do.

Picking up a quill and a piece of parchment, the Princess wrote a brief letter to Twilight.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle,” the Princess read her letter to herself as she composed, a habit she’d never been able to break.

“Of course, you’re more than welcome back at the castle! Please give me a month to prepare some rooms and laboratory space for you to use. I’m sure you’ll need the time to properly tie off loose threads in Ponyville anyways.”

“Sincerely, Princess Celestia.”

Concentrating on the letter, she watched it disappear in a small burst of sunlight.

Standing and walking over to a mirror on her vanity, Celestia touched her horn to it and sent a brief pulse of magic into the object. A second later, the mirror surface vanished and was replaced with an image of Luna in her room.

“Sister? What’s so important that you couldn’t walk across the castle to talk?”

“Twilight wants to leave Ponyville, Luna. We have to move forward sooner than we’d intended.”

A serious look crossed over Luna’s face as she nodded. “We’ll start tomorrow.”

With the brief conversation done, the mirrors went back to normal. As Celestia looked at herself in the mirror, a sad smile formed on her face.

“Please forgive me, my little pony, for what I’m going to put you through. But it’s for the good of Equestria.”