“I’m not going, Twilight.”

A metallic screeching echoes around you as the train finally comes to a halt. The doors open and a few ponies begin to exit.

Twilight wipes her eyes with a hoof. “W-what?”

“I’m not going.”

Twilight blinks a few times and bites her lip. “D-don’t be silly, of course you are.”

“No, I’m not,” you repeat, stomping your hoof slightly on the wooden boards to accentuate your point. “Spending all this time with you...It’s the first time I’ve felt really alive.”

“Y-you have to go,” she protests, tears starting to fall from her eyes again. “You can help all of Equestria!”

Ponies begin to board the train.

“I can do that here, with you,” you tell her, placing a hoof on her cheek.

“Y-you already bought your ticket!” she offers as a last bit of resistance.

Reaching into your saddlebag, you pull out your cheap ticket and rip it in half with your teeth, spitting out the halves onto the platform. “Oops.”

“Last call for Chicacolt by way of Canterlot!” the conductor calls, two sharp whistles of the train’s horn following soon after.

Twilight’s eyes shimmer with tears, her lips quivering violently as she looks up at you.

“If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave on the next train. But, I don’t want to leave if you’ll let me stay. I never want to leave.”

Twilight practically sprints forward into you, throwing her forelegs around your neck. “I love you!” she sobs loudly into your coat.

Leaning forward into her, you wrap a hoof around her neck and pat her gently as she continues to cry into your neck. Slowly, the train begins to pull away. You close your eyes and listen to the clicks and horns of the train get quieter and quieter, and Twilight’s sobbing get louder and louder.

Opening your eyes again, you look down at Twilight and nuzzle the top of her head.

In response, lifts her head to stare into your eyes. “Why? W-why did you throw your whole future away to stay in a little town with a princess half of Equestria doesn’t even care about? Why are you acting so stupid?”

She doesn’t look mad, although through all the tears it’s difficult to tell for sure. Her ears, however, are plastered back against her head, a telltale sign that Twilight is ravenous for answers to a research question.

You lean forward and draw Twilight into a slow, warm kiss. Breaking it after a few seconds, you wipe the tears from her eyes with a hoof and offer her a fond smile, which she returns quickly. “Because, Twilight,” you offer quietly, “I love you too.”

PERFECT ENDING

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