In the days before Luna and Celestia, the pegasus tribe used to teach their foals that the world was flat, and they could fall off the edge by flying too far. Let's just say I've flown too far. Two years ago, I was the Corporation's grand avenger, protector of the Flock. Now I'm not anything. Ponies throw around words to describe me: evil, murderer. But I feel so far away from my past self that I don't care or know what any of it means.
I was a loyal friend, a loyal Element, a loyal worker. And do any of those still describe me? No. But here I am, back in Ponyville, on Twilight Sparkle's doorstep. With a gift basket.
What do I say? Do I... apologize? I left Ponyville after the Incident. How do you say sorry to an old friend you abandoned?
"Yeah, sorry I ditched you for twenty-five years. How've you been? Also I killed some innocent foals!" That sounds great. I could just get out right now, leave the gift basket and run. But how would she know it was mine? I could just take it home with me, eat my own box of chocolates and burn the greeting card. But by now it's too late. Here I stand at the front of her castle, and here she is, opening the door.
"Rainbow Dash," says Twilight. I nod. There's a weird burning feeling somewhere in me. It's like a lit fuse on a bomb, sparking with heat inside of me. I explode.
"Listen, I don't want you to like me! I don't need you to be my friend, you should just leave me alone! I know what I've done, even though I don't really understand it... I brought you a gift basket." Twilight remains motionless. She isn't leaving.
"Rainbow Dash, a long time ago, I made a promise. I said I'd always be your friend, through thick and thin. I wasn't lying," she says. She opens the card. It has a picture of her castle on the front, which seemed appropriate when I bought it. On the inside, it used to say "Happy Birthday to my special little princess," but I got rid of that with liquid paper. Now it's empty. She reads the label on the chocolates.
"Coconut. That's my favorite. After twenty-seven years, you remember my favorite kind of chocolate?" she says. I shake my head.
"It's only been twenty-five." She looks at the ground.
"Twenty-five, then. It wasn't the same without you," says Twilight. I shake my head.
"Princess, I'm not your friend anymore. I don't deserve that. I just wanted to give you the basket. As kind of an apology and... notification that I'm back home," I say. Twilight whinnies, stomping a hoof on the ground.
"No, I am not taking the repentant criminal act from you. You should face what you've done, and move forward. And since when is my name 'Princess'?" This is ridiculous.
"You don't have to get up and face yourself every day! I've seen some horrible things, Princess, and I can call you whatever I want! You should hate me!" I tell her. Was that what I came here looking for? For her to yell at me, to feel some real remorse? I don't feel remorse at all. So that was no help. I turn towards home, taking flight once I'm halfway down the street. So what? What was I expecting, for Perfect Princess to actually care about what I've done? For her to understand me, just because I'm back in her hometown? She lives in a bubble where friendship is magic and everyone deserves a second chance. So I just flap my wings, leaving her doorstep, looking in from the outside. When did this happen to me? When did I start seeking attention like this? It's just stupid, it really is. I should have sold the old house and bought a new one! But here I am, on my way home, after so long. I can't believe she wanted to forgive me. Well, maybe I can.
Yeah, this is it. The old cloud house. I repaired parts of it with the newer reinforced clouds, so there are patches of gray in the white. The rainbows that used to flow over it are shut off now, leaving empty divots in the structure. It's chained to the ground, so no hot-shot pegasus or griffin can gather their buddies and fly off with it. It's not like it used to be, it's pretty decayed. I'll fit right in. I flap slowly, making my way to the door but not really wanting to touch down on the porch. Somebody's nailed a note to my door. It says:
"GO HOME." Well, it could be a lot worse, I can just tear it down. So I do, and shred it into eighths, not quarters. I unlock the door, and step across the threshold. Boxes are everywhere. There's a stack of letters, mostly junk mail, that were sent here while the place sat empty. Not long, I just kicked the renters out a month ago. I decide that I should go through the letters later. I don't feel like unpacking, so for a moment I just stand, a little dumbstruck. I'm here. Where my friends live, with their sisters and parents and whole happy lives. Where Scootaloo lies unmoving in a hospital bed, facing the consequences of being a failure.
Where I'm so close to the remnants of my old life, so ancient and so weird that it could never be mine. I can't leave now, pretend this never happened, go back to Cloudsdale. Go home there? I'm just lucky to not be imprisoned. I'm not even allowed within a mile of the Weather Factory, the city's pride and joy, it was mine too. I could have gone somewhere else but I didn't. I could have gone to Hoofington, Las Pegasus, anywhere, but I really must be attention-seeking. I'm going to unpack the boxes now. And welcome myself to Ponyville.
"Hello, Ponyville. I'm home," I say. To me, obviously. I don't know who else would be here besides maybe some random pests. Of course, the thing I said has to be some kind of ironic statement. Celestia forbid the entirely normal possibility that nopony is in my house. First there's a puff of confetti and a noisemaker, and I jump a little bit. Then a loud boom, and balloons and streamers and bright things are everywhere. I don't look to see who it is, because this is Pinkie Pie's classic brand of home invasion.
