As the bright light swirled all around her, Twilight remarked that she would never get used to this sort of travel. Oh sure she knew how to teleport, and had even become rather proficient at it, but this was something else altogether. It had been mere moments since she stepped back through the portal, connecting her world of Equestria to the strange one she had been sent to. A world of bizarre creatures known as humans. She had been sent there to retrieve her crown, the element of magic, and had gone through quite an ordeal to get it back.

Thankfully, she'd been successful in her task and was now on her way back to her own world, with the crown in her possession. Though the journey back was far from pleasant. Travelling through this portal was like being shot out of a cannon, fast and disorienting. But she put up with it, knowing it would only be a few more moments before she was back home. And soon enough, that feeling of dizziness passed from her and she opened her eyes again. Looking around, she found herself once more in the portal's original chamber.

Looking ahead, a smile crept onto her face as she saw a very familiar collection of ponies. At the head of the group was her beloved mentor, Princess Celestia, who stood next to her sister, Luna. Flanking them were her friends, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy. And on the other side of them were, to Twilight's surprise, her older brother, Shining Armour, with Princess Cadence standing beside him. Shining had not been here when she first entered the portal, so seeing him was a true joy for her after her ordeal. They all smiled at her as she stepped forward, along with Spike who had joined in this quest with her.

As she walked forward however, a strange feeling occurred in her. She looked down and saw that, once more, she was walking on four hooves. It was remarkable how quickly she'd forgotten what this felt like, as she'd spent her time in the other world not as a pony, but as one of the native humans. Needless to say, it had been quite an experience for her. How Spike managed to get around on two legs all the time she'd never know. Though, to be fair, he'd spent the journey as a dog, so he'd been equally distressed by the change at the time. Looking at her side, she saw Spike give her the same smile, clearly just as happy as she was that the two of them were back to normal.

The two directed their gaze back towards the group and walked forward, with the other ponies moving towards them as well. As Twilight approached Celestia, she used her magic to levitate the golden crown from on top of her head and towards the elder alicorn.

"Princess. I found the crown!"

The sun princess smiled back at her student.

"Well done Twilight. I knew you could do it!"

Twilight smiled at the praise as Celestia took the crown with her own magic. With the thing now no longer her concern for the time being, Twilight turned to her friends and family, who were all surrounding her with looks of relief on their faces.

"Oh Twilight! We were all so worried about you. Are you okay? It wasn't bad over there, was it?" Cadence asked.

Twilight shook her head.

"I’m fine Cadence. And no, it wasn't bad over there. Strange certainly, but not bad."

Cadence and Shining Armor looked satisfied with the answer and Twilight then looked over to her friends, of whom Rainbow spoke first.

"So what was it like over there? Princess Celestia said she didn't know anything about that place."

Twilight considered for a moment on how to answer them. In truth it was hard for her to put into words what it was like being over there. Not only being in a strange new world but also having been changed into the native species by way of the portal's magical power. That alone would probably cause them some concern and surprise. She knew that it would take ages to properly explain everything that went on when she was there, but she decided that, at least for now, it was best just to sum up her feelings on the whole thing.

"It was a...unique experience."

Rainbow and the others looked a little annoyed over such a brief explanation, which Twilight expected them to be, and Rainbow began to open her mouth again, no doubt to ask another question. But then something strange happened. She stopped before saying anything, instead letting her mouth hang open as she locked her gaze past Twilight. Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion over this sudden change in her, only to then notice that everypony else was looking the same way, even the princesses. Before Twilight could ask what was wrong, she heard, much to her surprise, a very familiar voice.

"So...this is the real you."

Twilight's heart sank when she heard that voice. It couldn't be, she told herself. There was no way he could be here. Slowly, she began to turn around. What she saw made her speechless in a way she never thought possible. For there, just beyond the surface of the portal, was one of the creatures from the other world, a human. He stood taller than all the ponies, save for Celestia and Luna. His hair was spiky and blue and he was clad in a distinct black leather jacket. But this was not just any human. For this was a boy who had become very important to Twilight over the last few days, in a way she had never expected one to become.

"Flash?" Twilight finally said.

This human, Flash Sentry, despite being a complete stranger to her when she arrived in the world of humans, had been a great ally to her in helping to find the stolen crown. On top of that, while many were suspicious or outwardly hostile to her, he, along with those few humans which were so like her pony friends, had been kind to her. So much so that something had occurred between them. Something Twilight was hesitant to talk about with her loved ones. And speaking of which, her brother, Shining, stepped forward and stood just ahead of Twilight, his eyes narrowed at this strange new creature that had appeared.

He looked over at his sister and noticed the look in her eyes as she kept her gaze upon the human.

"Twily, do you know this...person?"

Twilight said nothing, but nodded her head slowly to answer her brother. Ste stepped forward a bit before looking back at the others. There were a mixture of expressions there, from surprise and fear over this unknown creature, to confusion over just what he had to do with Twilight. Princess in Celestia seemed very intrigued by Flash's arrival, as she was looking from him to Twilight, no doubt awaiting an explanation from her. Sighing, Twilight knew what she had to do.

"Princess, guys. Could you give me...I mean, us, a moment?"

The group was, understandably, hesitant. After all, they had no idea what this thing was that had appeared in the portal or what it was capable of. Shining in particular seemed less than willing to just leave his little sister alone with him, as evidenced by the narrow glare he gave Flash, which caused the human to step back a little. But then Cadence looked at Twilight, and the expression on her face as she looked at the human. And a look of understanding crept upon her face. Twilight figured that Cadence knew what was going on. After all, if anypony knew matters of the heart, it was Cadence.

The pink alicorn placed her hoof on Shining's shoulder, getting his attention. She gestured to the entrance of the chamber, informing him that it was perhaps a good idea to leave Twilight as requested. Shining gave his sister one more glance before nodding in agreement. They began to leave, followed soon after by the rest, though many were still confused over what was going on. Princess Celestia was the last to leave, and gave her student a look of "I hope you know what you're doing" before leaving. Then, it was just Twilight and Flash. Nervously, she began to walk forward until she was mere inches away from the surface of the portal, with him on the other side.

"...Hey." He said.

"...Hey." She replied.

This was, without a doubt, an uncomfortable moment for both of them, with the silence between them almost deafening. Eventually though, Twilight decided to break the silence by asking the obvious question.

"Flash...what are you doing here?"

Flash considered this for a moment before saying the first thing that came to his mind.

"Because I followed you. Through that door you got sucked into."

Even with the general discomfort of the situation, Twilight couldn't help but give a small smile at that answer, not to mention a clear rolling of her eyes over it.

"You know what I mean." She said.

Flash nodded.

"Yeah. It's just that...you kind of left without warning."

Twilight's smile faded somewhat. It was true, what he said. As soon as the crown was with her, and the thief dealt wth, she'd returned through the portal to her home. Although she'd said her goodbyes to the other friends she'd made there, Flash was not one of them. Doubtless this boy was curious as to what was going on.

"I know. And I'm sorry about that. I wish I could explain but its...rather complicated."

Flash nodded again, this time gesturing to Twilight.

"I can see that".

He was, no doubt, remarking upon her appearance. Twilight couldn't blame him for being surprised. When they last saw each other, she was a human, like him. Now she was back to normal and this boy was completely dumbfounded by all of this, even in spite of all the crazy things that had happened during the dance. It wasn't his fault, she told herself. Unlike her other friends in that world, she'd never told him the truth about what she really was, which made this all the more difficult for her. Flash's next words didn't help matters.

"This is your world...isn't it?"

He was smarter than he'd let on. He'd clearly pieced together the general situation despite only a few looks through the portal. Twilight said nothing, but nodded, conforming his suspicions. He looked down somewhat, his voice now lowered to one more quiet.

"You could have told me, you know. About...this."

He gestured towards her with that remark, clearly talking about her current form. Looking down at herself, at her hooves and wings, she looked up at him again and sighed.

"I was worried you might think I was crazy if I told you what I really was."

Flash nodded before answering.

"Maybe. But you could have trusted me."

Twilight couldn't help but feel a little ashamed at that remark. He had a point. Flash had done a lot for her, helping her to get back the crown and even going out of his way to make her feel welcome at that school, whereas so many others had not. She could have trusted him more than she did, which she freely admitted to him.

"I know. And I'm sorry for all this. I know that you're probably not used to seeing girls like...this."

She stretched out her wings a little to indicate her current alicorn form. Flash looked at her. Fur and feathers. Horn and hooves. Twilight wasn't kidding, Flash told himself. No girl he'd ever met was like this. No creature in his entire world was like this. And yet, in spite of that, he couldn't bring himself to look away. True, she was not as he last saw her, but she was still a sight to behold. Her mane, still like it was in the human word. Her coat and the feathers on her wings almost shimmering in the chamber's dim light. And then there were her eyes. Those bright, purple eyes and sparkled like her name. He could never convince himself that she wasn't still something special.

"You're right. I'm not used to it. But...you're still beautiful."

Twilight's eyes widened at that and, despite her efforts not to, she blushed a little. But even so, she looked away, Flash's words making this entire situation even more of a challenge for her, knowing what it was she would eventually have to do. All it took was one look at the expression on her face for Flash to get the picture.

"You're...not coming back...are you?"

Twilight remained silent, instead shaking her head to answer him. There was silence between them once more. Both knew exactly what the other was thinking right now. Despite only knowing each other for a brief time, the two of them had become close, but in a way that was different from Twilight's other friendships. She knew full well what that meant, as did he. And the notion that they were now literally worlds apart made her almost regret her decision to go to that world in the first place. She looked up at him again when he began to resume speaking.

"Tell me. You and me...was there...was there anything there? Between us?"

Twilight was taken aback by that question, but in truth she's always suspected that it was in the back of both his mind and hers. It would have been so easy for her to lie to him. To tell him that there had never been anything there. No feelings of closeness. But she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to lie to him, no matter how hard it may make things for the two of them.

"Yes...there was."

The answer, rather than making him happier, actually seemed to make him sadder, as evidenced by a slight drop in his shoulders. Flash was deep in thought for a few moment before speaking again.

"I don't suppose there's any way we could be...together?"

Another question she wanted to speak an untruth to. She wanted to tell him "yes". That they could be together. That things would turn out happy for them, like in the kinds of stories you'd hear about as a kid, where the heart would win out and all would be well. But like with the last question, she couldn't bring herself to say anything but the truth.

"Flash...please listen to me. This portal does not stay open. There is only a brief window in-between years that it can be used. Even if we were to try and be together, I would have to leave my world forever. Or you would have to leave yours. Could you do it? To leave behind the world you know? To leave behind your friends? Your family?"

Flash opened his mouth to speak, but closed it soon afterwards. The look on his face told Twilight everything she needed to know. Like her, he wanted to lie to that question and to tell her that he was willing to leave it all behind for her, because she meant that much to him. But as important as she had become to him, leaving behind everything he knew was something he could not bring himself to do. And so he simply shook his head in response to her question. Twilight's ears dropped a little, but there was another question that needed to be asked.

"And me? Could you ever ask me to leave mine?" She asked.

Flash looked into her eyes, and knew the truth. Twilight had become precious to him, so to ask her something as terrible as leaving her friends, her family, her whole world, was out of the question. Remaining silent still, he shook his head once more. Twilight looked down at the ground, taking in the silence between them. She looked up again only when Flash spoke up.

"It was never going go be possible for us...was it?" He asked.

Twilight, despite everything she'd been doing until this point to hold back, began to well up in her eyes.

"No...It wasn't."

Flash looked at her. She may not have been human, but she was still Twilight, and that was what mattered to him. Lifting his hand, he placed his palm upon the surface of his side of the portal. Looking at it, Twilight followed suit, placing her hoof upon the same spot. It would have been so very easy for them to take that extra step, to try and take the others hand or hoof into their own, just as they had held in the human world. But they resisted, knowing that if they did, that if they allowed themselves to want each other more than this, it would be a path they could never come back from. Instead, Twilight removed her hoof from the portal surface and, eyes filled with tears, said her final words to him.

"Goodbye Flash."

Flash mournfully removed his own hand from his side of the portal and looked into her eyes once more.

"Goodbye...Princess Twilight."

He slowly began to turn around, keeping his gaze on her as much as he could before facing away from her completely. Hesitantly, he started walking away from her, with Twilight keeping her eyes on him. He moved further and further into the portal tunnel, away from her. After a few moments, he stopped. His head moved as though he was going to turn back, to look upon her and into those beautiful eyes he had come to love one more time. But he did not turn, instead looking ahead once again, and began to resume his journey back to the human world. Twilight watched him, step by step, until eventually, he had faded from sight, no doubt having gone back to his home, and to the other humans.

Twilight stared at the now-empty portal for a long time, perhaps expecting him to come back. But she knew that would not happen. The time has passed, and the portal was closed now. Eventually, she broke away from looking at it and began slowly walking out of the chamber. Once on the other side, she found herself once more in the company of her friends and loved ones. They all saw the look of sadness on her face and knew that something was wrong. They looked at each other, not knowing what to say or even if it was possible to say anything that could help her. Shining Armour then stepped forward and gently placed a hoof on his sister's shoulder.

"Twily? Are you alright?"

Twilight looked back on the last few minutes, on what had just occurred with her and the boy she had grown so close to, and looked up at her brother, opting for the most honest answer she could give.

"I will be...but not today."