Golden Opportunities XV

>It was cold
>You could feel the chill biting at you, trying to force its way through the protective clothing that you were wearing
>Each breath you took was clearly visible
>Above you, the night sky stretched out in all directions
>Unfamiliar stars twinkled over your head, and the moon hung fat and heavy
>It was a very pretty night out, all things considered
>The kind of night where you wanted to go and get your telescope so that you could map out all of these constellations...
>Humans had constellations right?
>You knew that there wasn't anyone here that moved the stars--at least that’s what Sunset and Anon told you--but even without a telescope you could see little clusters of them bunched together in what looked like patterns
>If you looked at a few of them hard enough, you swore that they looked awfully like the ones back at home
>Almost like there WAS someone moving the stars around...
>But you couldn't give this alien sky your full attention however
>There was more important things to worry about…
>Important and painful things...
>You were in the middle of Canterlot Park with your two herdmates
>The three of you were completely alone
>You were standing in front of the statue that would send you home
>Today was the day that you had been dreading for a while now
>Even though you had been putting it off for as long as possible you couldn't hold this off anymore
>You needed to go home
>If you didn't leave by the time that sun came, up you'd be trapped here for thirty moons
>And you couldn’t have that
>You were a princess
>You had duties back home
>Duties not only to your friends, but to your little ponies as well


>So here you were, trying to work the willpower to step through the portal and return to your world
>A world without your herdmates...
>A world without a stallion to wake you up with kisses every morning...
>A world where you lived in a big, empty house with an ex-villain and your little brother...
"I'll make sure to write to you as soon as I get home," you said, looking at Anon and smiling as best as you could
>You didn’t do a very good job, it felt more like a grimace than anything, but you tried
>Anon nodding, trying his very hardest to keep his composure
>He had had a very small, very plastic smile on his face since the three of you had left Sunset's house
>He was trying his hardest to keep up a strong front, you knew, but every once in a while you could see a crack in the facade
>The smile would disappear for a brief moment, fear and worry flicking in his eyes
>He didn't want you to go...
>He didn't want you to leave him...
>Even though he didn't say it, his body was SCREAMING it
>It tore you up inside, seeing him like this…
>You didn't want to go...
>You wanted to stay...
>More than anything, you wanted keep waking up with him in your arms
>Wanted to feel his warmth and smell his scent and kiss his soft lips
>But you couldn't…
>Not until you fixed the portal…
>"I'll be waiting for i-it," your stallion said, taking a step toward you and pulling you into a hug
>You released a shaky breath, feeling tears welling up
>No...
>Don't you bucking cry...
>If you started crying Anon will start crying and if you saw that you'd never leave...


>And you had to
>For your little ponies...
>For the princesses...
>For Spike and the girls and all of your friends...
"I'll write to you every day," you said, nuzzling Anon's neck. "As soon as I have my magic back I'll be able to send you over a notebook, so you won’t need to use Sunset’s."
>Anon's grip around you tightened
>"Make sure the cover has your cutiemark o-on it," he said, his plastic smile widening just a hair as you looked at him. "I don't want to mix it up with my school ones."
"I'll make sure to put it on the front and back," you promised
>Fear and sorrow flashed across your stallion's face for a brief instant
>You heart skipped a beat seeing it
>Stay strong…
>STAY. STRONG...
>Anon leaned down, giving you a gentle kiss on the lips
>You returned the kiss, blinking as fast as you could to keep yourself from crying
>Oh buck did you not want to go...
>Oh bucking buck were you going to miss him...
>Slowly, with tears in his eyes, Anon broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against yours
>“Make sure to fix this stupid portal as quick as you can," he whispered
"I'll be back before you know it," you said with a sniffle
>The two of you stared into each other's eyes for a long while
>Not saying a thing, not moving, barely breathing
>Just staring...
>You might have kept doing so the whole night if Sunset hadn't cleared her throat
>You looked toward her, then over at the statue
>...
>Alright...
>No more messing around...
>You had to go...
>You tried to break the hug, only to find Anon's grip around you unyielding


>Once again he leaned down and kissed you
>"I love you," he said
>You hugged him again, this time with all of your might
"I love you too," you replied, not able to hold the tears back any longer.
>Giving you another peck on the lips Anon broke the hug and stepped away from you
>He sniffled, rubbing an eye with his gloved hand
>You didn't bother wiping the tears from your face, instead looking over at your sis
>She also had a small smile on her face, but unlike Anon's hers looked far more genuine
>It was a pretty smile; the kind of smile that lit up a whole room without any effort
>Though you wanted nothing more than to hug Anon again and cry your eyes out, you found yourself smiling at the sight
>It wasn’t much of a smile, but it was a lot better than what had been on your face a moment ago...
>Taking a few deep breaths to steady yourself, walked over to Sunset and hugged the horse apples out of her
"Take care of yourself, sis," you said
>"You do the same, mighty alpha," she replied with her usual playfulness, wrapping her arms around you
"And make sure to keep Anon happy. I don't want him getting sad because I'm gone."
>"I'll make him the happiest boy in the world."
>You leaned against her sniffling
>Keep it together filly...
>Keep it together...
"Also make sure to fight off any rivals, a-and keep rubbing your scent all over him. Other mares need to know whose stallion this is."
>Sunset chuckled as her hands slowly slid down to your bottom, giving it a squeeze
>"Someone's stalling," she teased
>You blushed


"Y-Yeah, well someone's a dyke," you retorted
>"Only for you ,Twi," Sunset said, giving you a peck on the nose
>You flinched, feeling yourself turning a bit red
>...Because of the cold
>Not because of the kiss...
>Nope...
>Giving your rump another playful grope, Sunset took a step away from you, placing her hands behind her back
>You almost grabbed her and pulled her back into a hug
>But you didn't...
>Strong...
>Be strong filly...
>Taking a deep breath, you turned around and took a step toward the statue
>You then turned back toward your herd and flashed another smile
"As soon as I have a breakthrough with the mirror, I'll m-make sure to tell the two of you," you said. "And I'm positive that'll be very soon, since I'm going to ask all of the princesses to help me out with this."
>You took another step toward the statue
>Your hands bunched up into fists, and you could feel yourself shaking
>You didn't want to go...
>You wanted to stay...
>Oh sweet Luna above you wanted to stay...
"I'm sure that it's just a simple problem. A few spells and we'll have this thing working all year around. Then you'll be a-able to come over and see Equestria whenever you like, Anon."
>You took another step toward the statue
>Your heart was pounding in your chest
>The anxiety in your stomach grew so much that it was all you could do to keep from puking


"You'll love it. Princess Celestia and Luna will be happy to see you--"
>You took another step
"--and we'll show you around Canterlot. What Sunset and I told you about it is nothing compared to seeing the city in person."
>Another step, and the anxiety grew
"And after that I'll t-take you down to Ponyville! You'll meet Spike and the girls a-and I'll show you my c-castle!"
>You were nearly there...
>Just a few more steps and you'd be in the Crystal Empire
>Both Cadence and Shining were waiting for you, you knew
"It's nothing like the other princesses castles, but it's really nice on the inside. I have it all decorated and there's a r-really nice library.”
>The statue was right in front of you now
>You could see it out of the corner of your eye
>One more step and you'd be gone
>You blinked away tears, gripping the bottom of the jacket that Sunset had given you so tightly that you were surprised that it didn't rip
"You'll l-love it. Both of you."
>The pain on Anon's face was now clearly visible, but that smile of his was still there
>Your heart leapt to your throat, preventing you from speaking
>Come on Twi...
>You can do this...
>You can do this…
>Swallowing, you squared your shoulders
"I'll see the two of you soon, I promise."
>You sniffled, forcing yourself to lift your hand and wave
"You two be good. I l-love you."
>Lifting your foot up for that final step, you were about to take that final step


>But instead of walking through the portal like you meant to, you found yourself spinning around and racing back toward Anon
>You had it halfway toward him before you began crying like a filly
>This wasn't fair!
>It wasn't fair at all!
>Why did it have to be this way?
>Why couldn't he come with you or why couldn't the portal stay open for a little longer?
>You couldn't leave your stallion!
>You loved him!
>You loved!
>Closing the distance between the two of you as quickly as your legs could take you, you threw your arms around Anon and buried your face in his neck
"I'm sorry," you whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I love you both so much I'm so sorry..."
>The smile left Anon's face
>The mask shattered, and if you would have looked up you would have been able to see how utterly devastated he looked
>With a sob, he closed his eyes and nuzzled the top of your head
>You cried harder when you felt those wonderful, strong arms of his wrap around you
>He felt so warm...
>He smelled so good...
>You loved him so much...
>Why did you have to go?!
>It wasn't fair!
>It wasn't!
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
>Your fingers dug into Anon's jacket as you felt someone pressing themselves against your back
>It was Sunset, who now looked like was trying very hard not to cry
>"Shush, everything's going to be alright, Twi," she whispered, nuzzling the back of your head. "It'll be alright."


"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
>"Shush, shush, shush, it's o-okay. It's okay..."
>For a time the mirror was forgotten
>All you knew was the warmth and comfort and love of your herdmates

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

"Honey, do you think Twilight would want some of this peetzer?"
>Your dear, loving Shiny gave you a look as you took a big bite out a slice of the pizza pie that you had gotten half an hour ago
>It was pretty late, and most of the pizza shops in the Empire were closed, but you knew a mare
>And that mare could make one HECK of a pie
>"I don't know if she'd want pizza at three in the morning, Cadence," he said
"And why not?" you playfully demanded, giving your husband a nudge before finishing the slice that was floating around in your magic. "Peetzer is delicious any hour of the day."
>And it was, too
>Breakfast, lunch, dinner, when the sun was up or when it was down
>Yep…
>It was the perfect food
>The greatest thing ever to be produced by ponykind
>Shining shook his head, turning toward the portal with a small frown
>"I hope Twily's alright," he murmured. "She should have been back by now..."
>Reaching into the pizza box that you had balanced on your back, you grabbed another piece of pizza
"I'm sure she's fine," you reassured
>Twilight was a pretty resilient mare
>You were sure she’d be able to take whatever hyoo-man land threw at her
>Despite your assurances, however, Shining didn't look very assured
>"What even made her go through the portal again? And why for so long?"
"Maybe she was looking for a cute stallion to bring back?" you said, nudging him again
>Snorting, Shining nudged you right back
>"Don't be silly. She was just--"
>For a moment, all of the magic seemed to seep out of the room
>The portal, which had been humming quietly in the corner that you had placed it exploded into a plethora of colors
>Shining yelped in surprise, and even you found yourself taking a nervous step backward as very old, very powerful magic began to fill the air


>It quickly saturated the room and caused all of the fur on your body to stand on end
>The humming that was coming from the portal grew louder and louder, and the colors few brighter and brighter until you couldn't even look at the thing
>Somepony was coming…
>...
>Hopefully it was Twilight...
>There was a pop and an explosion of light that forced you to close your eyes and covered your face with a wing
>But what you did NOT do was drop your pizza slice or the pie on your back
>Because that was wasteful, and while you were a lot of things, wasteful wasn’t one of them
>A second later you could hear the sounds of hooves clip-clopping against your crystal floor at a rapid pace
>Somepony was running toward you…
>Oh here we go...
>Tucking your wing against your body you blinked while letting some magic flow into your horn for an offensive spell
>Not that you'd think you'd need it, but it was better safe than sorry
>If this was going to be the first time you were going to be attacked by a hyoo-man you wanted to make sure that it’d be the LAST
>But, after your vision cleared, you saw that you didn't need to beat the stuffing out of anypony
>Your sister-in-law was making her way toward you on a pair of shaky legs
>She looked like she had been crying, her cheeks wet with tears and her eyes bloodshot, but you could see a fire in her eyes
>She trotted toward you with her withers squared and her jaw set
>You raised an eyebrow
>And what's all this, then...?
"Hello, Twilight," you chirped, taking another bite out of the pizza you still held in your magic. "How was your trip? Do you want something to eat? I have--"
>Annnnnd you were in the air
>You looked down at yourself to see that you were held up in Twilight's magical aura
>You took another bite out of your pizza
>Hmmm... look at that...
>While you were confused, yet calm, Shining, who also appeared to be floating in the air, didn't seem to appreciate the unexpected levitation


>"Twilight? What the buck are you doing?!" he shrieked, his legs flailing. "Put me down right now!"
>Your sister-in-law, wiping the tears from her eyes, floated the two of you over toward her
>"Cadence and Shining, I need the two of you to help me," she said
>Your ears perked up
>Oh...
>Your love senses were tingling...
>Your horn glowed, and before Shining could scream anymore you closed his mouth with a spell
>An act which was probably going to have you on the couch for a month, but there was no helping that
>You were now on the clock
>Swallowing your mouthful of pizza, you smiled at your fellow princess
"Me and Shining would be more than happy to help you with anything that you need."
>Shining's horn glowed, and with a spell he dissipated the magic around his mouth
>"Shining and I," he corrected
"Nerd," you snarked
>"Couch," he shot back
You grimaced
>And there it is...
>...
>Still worth it though...