“SURPRISE!” Pinkie screams violently the very second that Twilight opens the front doors to her castle.

Twilight appears to seize violently for a fraction of a second, dropping the books in her grasp and causing her saddlebags to slide off of her back.

Twilight’s other friends cheer; a few other citizens of Ponyville blow party horns that had been oh-so-graciously given out by the town’s resident party planner. You are content to just smile and stomp your hooves in applause.
Twilight grips the front of her barrel with a hoof and lets out a deep exhalation. “Pinkie! You scared me half to death! What’s this party for?”

“It’s your WELCOMEBACKANDGREATJOBONYOURDIPLOMATICMISSION party!” Pinkie Pie chirps. She flings a hoof to point in your direction. “And it was all HIS idea!”

Twilight turns to you and smiles broadly. “Is that so? Thank you so much!” she chirps, tilting her head in fondness.

You bashfully rub the back of your head with a hoof. “Of course, Twilight, you deserve it.”

---

The party begins to heat up soon after, with the dozen or so attendees mingling amongst themselves, drinking Pinkie Pie’s punch and occasionally erupting in a riotous fit of laughter.

For your part, you are slowly scanning along the exceptionally decked-out buffet table full of snacks. As you approach a plate of particularly savory-looking loaded potato skins, you slow your strafing and eventually come to a complete stop. Looking to your left and right, you quickly swipe about half of the remaining bantam snacks onto your paper plate.

Feeling a tap on your right shoulder, you turn and look into Twilight’s eyes. Somehow she has snuck up on you. A cheeky expression on her face, she mumbles something inaudibly, pointing to your plate.

“What?” you ask, trying your best to make your question louder than the background noise.

Twilight says something again. You can catch a few syllables this time, but still have no idea what she is trying to communicate to you.

“WHAT!?” you call again over the uproarious reveling on the other end of the castle foyer, placing a hoof to your ear in emphasis.

Twilight shakes her head in frustration and leans in toward you. “It’s too loud here!” she exclaims, her warm breath washing over your ear and the side of your face. “Let’s go out to the balcony!”

You nod back at her, your ear inadvertently flickering several times from the still-present ghost of her warmth. Deliberately, you follow her out onto a raised patio area in the back of the castle just around the corner from the entryway. The mid-evening air is pleasantly cool against your coat, and only the faint roar of activity can be heard from the party only a room away.

“Oh, wow, this is nice,” you comment, rubbing the edge of your hoof into your ear. “I had no idea it was that loud in there.”

“Pinkie Pie throws wild parties. I thought you knew that?” Twilight asks you.

“I guess I did. The significance of it might have been lost on me at the time.”

Twilight giggles softly. After a fraction of a second of looking into your eyes, she leans over to rest her head against your neck. Together, you look over the grassy field behind her castle. The stars and the brightness from a crescent moon reflect strangely on the grasses of Equestria’s central valley, and you perceive the movement of the stalks as waves of soft light.

“Thank you for the party,” she says earnestly. Slowly, she removes her cheek from your coat, but doesn’t move her body any further away from you.

“You are very welcome! You work a little too hard, you deserve a break.” Turning your head to face her, you cock an eyebrow at her. “So?”

Twilight suddenly appears unsure of herself. “S-so? What do you mean? So what?”

“So, you wanted to talk to me out here?”

Twilight’s eyes widen and she seems to visibly relax. “Oh, I was just going to say that I had seen you take half of those potato skins in one go.”

You make a strange sound as a laugh catches in your throat. Throwing your head back soon after, you let out loud, happy guffaws.

Twilight begins to laugh with you. “Y-you can’t hide your sins from me!” she chokes between fits.

That only makes you laugh harder. When you finally get control of yourself, you notice Twilight looking up at you endearingly.

Staring into her eyes, you let your expression soften. “...I’m really going to miss you, Twilight.”

Twilight’s lips slowly fall into a frown. “O-oh, I had forgotten. When are you leaving?”

“As soon as we submit our article to the Journal of the Equestrian Medical Association. Next week?”

Twilight’s eyes crinkle in worry. “I wasted so much time away from you on that silly mission. You’re leaving soon…”

“You had to do it!” you protest. “Being a Princess comes first.”

Twilight shakes her head emphatically. “No. It doesn’t. Being a good friend and a nice pony does. A-and if I could do it again, I would have stayed. Maybe if I sabotage your efforts you’ll have to stay longer?”

Grinning down at Twilight, you shake your head in fond dismissal.

Twilight looks down at the floor, and takes a single step toward you before looking back up into your eyes. “I’m really going to miss you. More than you think.” She bites her lip, and you notice her eyes start to shimmer with what might be tears.

To kiss Twilight, proceed to Chapter 49.

To pet Twilight reassuringly, proceed to Chapter 50.

Next Chapter: Chapter 30 Estimated time remaining: 54 Minutes