Twilight Sparkle slowly stepped down from the train car and looked around the Ponyville train station as she waited for her friends to disembark, the slowest of them being Rarity, who struggled with her scarves and luggage that she dug up from underneath the few feet of snow that they had been buried in at the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. Her gaze slowly took in the slightly bored faces of the ponies who were stuck waiting for their trains as well as the worn pillars that supported the small roof that sheltered their heads from any wayward weather. She directed her gaze over the gently rolling hills that surrounded the tiny village (tiny, at least, when compared it to the sheer size of the Crystal capital city) and then at the sprawling fields upon which a few ponies were working like ants to provide the food that the town needed. I’m finally home.

From behind her came the soothing, country voice of Applejack, echoing her thoughts aloud. “Ah’m not opposed to goin’ out an’ savin’ Equestria now an’ then, but Ah’m glad we’re finally home.” Twilight turned and nodded, returning the smile that Applejack directed at her. “That was some fancy magic back there though, Twilight. Ah’m happy Ah don’t have to remember none of that stuff. Just some good ol’ applebuckin’ for this farm pony.”

“Speak for yourself, Applejack!” Rarity’s slightly depressed voice came from within the train’s depths, no doubt from the unicorn who was still struggling with the many suitcases that she brought with her. “I for one am abhorred that we had to depart so soon! Didn’t you see how lovely we all looked? I could have made a dress for all of you to make the pickiest of stallions turn back to stare!” The white unicorn finally escaped from the bowls of the passenger car, blue-veiled luggage in tow. “I could have started up a crystal dress fashion line!” She jerked backwards as one of the larger bags jammed itself in the doorway. “I would have been the talk of the Crystal Empire for ages!” Her words jarred up and down as she jerked her head back and forth in an attempt to free the resilient suitcase.

A cyan hoof pushed the brown bag out with a slight pop, sending the struggling unicorn to the ground. “Yeah, yeah, Rarity. We all know how you love your dresses and stuff.” The helpful hoof went up to brush back the rainbow mane that its owner possessed. “Me, I loved that jousting!” Rainbow Dash, in one of her fits of dramatics, spread her wings and dashed forward, holding herself as if she had a lance at her side. “I mean, did you see the way me and Fluttershy went at it? Pow! Kabam! Wham!” Twilight and Applejack watched with bemused eyes as the athletic pegasus darted from one side of the station to the other, leaving Rarity to pick herself up from the ground and dust herself off sullenly.

The others turned back to the train as the other pegasus of their group gently flew out onto the platform. “Um, I liked the petting zoo. All those fluffy ewes and bunnies and all other sorts of critters that are there just for us ponies to pet. Oh, it was so fun!” The butter-yellow mare let out a soft squeak that often made itself known when she was excited. “I remember this one deer there, his name wa—“ Fluttershy gasped as Rainbow Dash flew up to her and dragged her out in front of the others.

“We heard about your little animal friends, Fluttershy. You told us about a gazillion times on the train!” The others smiled knowingly as the shy pegasus blushed. “I still liked the jousting better!” Dragging the unfortunate Fluttershy along with a hoof, Rainbow Dash flew around in a large circle, sending up small scraps of paper that had found their way into corners and under benches. “What did you think?” Rainbow Dash’s question was breathily asked as she stopped in midair with the shocked-looking pegasus in her hooves. “Uh, Shy?”

Twilight watched as the caretaker of animals shook herself and smiled at her friend. “Um, it was… nice.” As if on cue, the telltale sound of Pinkie Pie’s party cannon blasting its confetti washed over the station, followed by a pink pony riding atop of its grey barrel being propelled backward out of a train car further down. Grabbing the pink-projectile with a spell, Twilight pulled the potentially dangerous pony over to where they were standing. As soon as she was released from the magical grip, Pinkie Pie shot up from her perch and began to excitedly bounce around the five ponies.

“Well my favorite part was the party!” Giggling madly, the pony leapt onto her trademark cannon and pressed the top button again, sending out a wave of streamers and confetti to latch themselves onto the station’s benches as well as a few ponies who were unlucky enough to be sitting in the line of fire. “I mean, a party for a few friends is awesome enough and when we all have cake and fun it’s even better! But a party for an entire empire?! I could just explode thinking about how much fun it was!” The way her face was puffing up as she held her breath threatened to do just that.

Twilight and the others laughed uproariously at the pink pony’s ridiculous expression. When the laughter died down, Twilight cleared her throat to draw the attentions of her friends. “Everypony… I… I can’t say how much all of your help means to me. Each and every one of you could have stayed here, leaving me to save the Crystal Empire and to pass my test alone.” The studious unicorn shuddered violently at the thought of failing a test. “And you all persisted when other would have given up, even if it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to.” Twilight smiled at each of the Elements of Harmony, getting one from them in return. “But we did it. We saved the Crystal Empire!”

Their voices rose up to shout to the ponies amongst the stars, to tell them of their success and happiness. “Yeah!”

Pinkie Pie leapt back up and landed on top of her weapon of mass-decoration. “You know what this calls for?” Without waiting for an answer, she threw her hoof into the air with a reckless abandon. “A party!” With that, she slammed her hoof onto the button and started what was to be the best party that Ponyville had ever seen.

She sluggishly pressed her hoof against the thick door of the town's library, wincing as the loud squeaking of the hinges cut through the now-silent night. Shifting the saddlebags that rested heavily on her back, Twilight walked into her library and smiled. She was home at last. "Hello, my literary friends!" The librarian's attempt at making herself sound enthusiastic was skewed by the fatigue that gripped her within its tight fist.

Trying and failing to suppress a yawn that bubbled up from within her, Twilight started for the staircase, eager to be up in her bed to hasten the passing of the night and to dispel her weariness. Stopping for a moment, Twilight shook her head sleepily and hefted the saddlebags that she had forgotten were there. "Oops, forgot I had these on." Sighing, the unicorn slowly trotted back over to the hook that sat on the wall next to the door. She reached over her shoulder with a levitation spell and freed herself from the dragging weight of the straps, hanging the bag onto the hook and sighing with relief. "I'll unpack it later."

Cantering unsteadily toward the staircase, the lavender mare sighed once more as she about-faced. “I’d better not leave you in there though.” Her horn glowed brightly as she reached into the bulging pack to draw out a simple stone that was as black as midnight. “You’re coming to bed with me.”

With the object of her uncertainty now held safely within her magical grasp, Twilight slowly began to trot up the winding staircase to the second floor, which consisted of her room and a small balcony that overlooked the library. She cast a glance over the railing to her precious books before turning to her room's door. Pushing it open with a hoof, Twilight slowly stepped into a place that, for several occasions on her journey, she thought she would never see again. Of course, the first thing she did was take a running start and leap onto the mattress, giggling softly as it instantly cast her back up into the air. "Oh, it's good to be home!"

For a few minutes, she did nothing more than stare at the ceiling and trace along the different tree parts that ran along the top with her eyes. The soft chirping of the resident crickets outside merged with the gentle whispers of the wind. A smile slowly spread across her face as she listened intently to the sounds of a night that only a small, simple town like Ponyville could have.

Levitating the object that she held in her magic over to a table and releasing the spell, the ever-studious pony then turned to pull out a rather worn-looking book that had the look of being quite boring for a normal pony from underneath her pillow. "Ah, Equestrian Mathematics, my favorite!" Hugging the large tome to her chest as a child would hug a beloved doll; Twilight smiled at the anticipation of cracking open the leather bindings to pull the knowledge from the aged pages.

Soon the anticipation became too much to bear, pushing Twilight to set the book before her and to open the parchment to the world once more. Her soft, whispered words and formulae flowed over each other like water in a creek as the night progressed, faltering only when her voice grew dull with fatigue. Stashing the heavy book back underneath her thick pillow, she yawned again. "I think that's all for tonight."

As she lay back into the warm embrace of the blankets, her gaze wandered over to the small, black gem that she had brought upstairs with her. The wondering look was returned with a cheerful sort of flickering that came from the many different faces of the stone. "Tomorrow, I'll take a look at you. Who knows what kind-" a loud yawn cut across whatever Twilight had been about to say until it was smothered with a hoof, "what kind of things you can tell us?

Another yawn bubbled up from within her as she gently rolled over, turning her back to the stone to peer out of the window through which the moon could be seen hanging over Canterlot Castle. "I hope Spike's having fun up in Canterlot... I mean, it's not every day that a dragon saves the entire nation from hatred and fear." She smiled at the thought of her baby dragon being some heroic figure that he problably imagined himself to be when he had been saving Rarity from the Diamond Dogs. Allowing a soft sigh to escape, Twilight finally allowed herself to drift into the soft-spoken world of sleep.

The small and nondescript gemstone rattled slightly on the table and, unbeknownst to the lavender librarian, glowed a deep, violent purple color. From within the flickering light appeared a red iris framed by a vibrant green. The eye stared unblinkingly at the back of the Element of Magic for a few minutes before fading back into the depths of its cage, the purple light fading into nothing but the black that it was veiled behind. Tomorrow, Twilight Sparkle. Tomorrow indeed.