Twilight looked at me with tears in her eyes. "Roy, it's been so long... Look how big you've grown." I leaned against a tree.
"I know. Last time you saw me, I was what, 11?"
"Yes. And you're....?"
"23."
"Everypony here will be surprised to see you!" She said excitedly.
"Oh I'm sure they will" I said with agreement. "But..." I looked around. "I'm worried about mom."
"Princess Cadance? Roy, she hasn't seen you in 12 years, of course she'll be happy to see you!"
"Yeah but.... I just ran off and left without even saying goodbye to her." Twilight approached me and used her magic to pull me down so I was leveled with her.
"Roy, trust me, everything will be ok" she said comfortingly. "And don't worry, I've got your back."
"Thanks Aunt Twilight" I said, straightening up.
"Now come on, everypony at Canterlot castle is having dinner and your mom is there." Twilight began using her magic to push me towards the castle. Her magic was so strong, I felt like I was going to lose my balance and fall face down at any moment.
"Ok Aunt Twilight, can you slow down? I know you're excited but...." I realized that she wasn't listening. "Ok..." I shut my mouth and kept on walking.
When we reached the dining room, I gasped and ducked around the corner. We could hear the ponies having conversations. I could even hear my mom talking to Princess Celestia. "Roy, what are you doing?" Twilight asked.
"Look, I can't do this."
"Why not?" She asked, approaching me.
"My mom has Princess duties. I'm afraid that she'll be so busy, she won't have time for me. I feel like my life will be very similar to the first half to Cats in the Cradle." Twilight looked at me confused. "It's a song about a dad who never had time for his son. And then later, his son never had time for his dad. What if that happens to me? What if mom won't have time for me?"
"Don't worry about that. Your mother loves you" she whispered. I nodded as she patted me comfortingly with her forehoof. "Come on" she whispered. I followed her, unsure what is about to happen. I watched as Twilight entered the dining room.
Princess Celestia turned to Twilight and smiled. "Hello my faithful student. Are you going to join us for dinner?" She asked.
"Yes but there's something I should tell you and Princess Cadance as well." All the ponies and Princess Cadance looked at Twilight.
"Is something wrong?" Princess Cadance asked.
"Oh no, everything is fine. It's just that..." She looked out the room and nodded her head towards me. I sighed and entered the room. Princess Cadance quickly stood up and stared at me wide eyed.
"Roy...." She said softly.
"Hi mom" I said. Princess Cadance approached me and I saw tears in her eyes.
"Roy.... You've come home" she whispered.
"And I'm staying for good." Princess Cadance placed a forehoof against my face and stroke it gently. She glanced at my clothes and saw that they were a little burnt.
"What happened? Are you ok?"
"Yeah it's kind of a funny story" I said. Twilight stepped in to defend me.
"I was practicing magic and the spell I was working caused him to return here. And I wasn't even working on a teleportation spell. Princess Celestia stood up and approached me.
"It doesn't matter what spell brought him back. All that matters now is that our prodigal son has returned."
"Thank you Princess Celestia" I said as the alicorn wrapped her wings around me.
"Welcome back Roy" she whispered. She broke the embrace and returned to the dinner table. I took a seat between my mom and Aunt Twilight. Luckily when I returned to Earth, I taught myself not to eat meat, thanks to living in Equestria. And now, I no longer have a craving to meat.
I picked up my fork and dug into the salad I remember enjoying so much. Throughout dinner, I never said a single word.
After dinner, I began wandering through the halls of Canterlot. "Roy?" A voice asked. I turned around and saw my mom approaching me. "Is everything ok? You never said anything during dinner. You just made 'mm-hmm and mm-mm' noises."
I sighed and rubbed the back of my head. "Ok... But don't get mad at me for what I'm about to say."
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"I'm scared."
"Scared of what?" She asked, wearing a concerned look on her face.
"You're a Princess. You got duties. I'm just worried that all your duties as a Princess will cause you to pay less attention to me. I mean we haven't seen each other for so long... I feel like we need to reconnect and catch up on what we missed. I'm scared that I'm too late for that."
"Come here..." She whispered. I cautiously approached her. She used her magic to gently pull me towards her. She wrapped her wings and forehooves around me, holding me close. "Roy, this is your home. I'm your mother. I'll always have time for you. Ok?" She felt me nod my head. After awhile, we broke the embrace. "I want to show you something."
I followed her down the hall and entered her room. She used her magic and pulled out a very familiar blanket. It was red, orange, and yellow. "After you left, I threw away the box that you were in. But I still kept your blanket." Compared to how tall I am, this blanket would make a great towel. "I was so devastated that I..."
"Keep the blanket" I said.
"What?" She asked.
"I don't need the blanket anymore. You keep it. That way you can remember the young version of me wrapped up in it." Princess Cadance used her magic to hold the blanket close to her. I cleared my throat.
"Well I kinda promised Aunt Twilight that I would meet her in the garden."
"Ok" she said with a smile. I headed out of the room but quickly returned.
"Oh, do you still have the room I slept in before I left Equestria?"
"Yes. We're in it" Princess Cadance said with a smile. So until I get a room of my own, I have to sleep with my mom? "But I'm sure you'll have a room of your own." I smiled and left the room once more. "My human has returned" she said proudly with a smile on her face.
Out in the garden, I was sitting on a log across from Aunt Twilight. "You know you don't have to call me 'Aunt' anymore' she said.
"It's a habit I have" I said. "Plus your brother is going to marry my mom in what? 2 months from now? Won't that make you my aunt?" Twilight laughed at what I asked.
"Yes, but you don't have to be formal with me."
"I'm telling you, it'll be a little awkward if I don't call you 'Aunt'. Well, I'll find it awkward." Aunt Twilight smiled chuckled and then became serious.
"Roy? I got a question."
"Yeah?"
"When you were transported back to your home world, what happened to you?"
"Got placed in an orphanage. Then I refused to be adopted by any parent that was willing to adopt me."
"Why did you do that?"
"Because I'm already adopted. Princess Cadance got to me first. Plus I had a feeling I would return. I just didn't know when." Twilight smiled and cried tears of joy.
"You consider us your real family?" She asked. I nodded.
"Of course. And I have no intention of leaving ever again. That's one mistake I'll never make again." Twilight smiled and hugged me tightly. I hugged her back. After awhile, our embrace broke. "Tomorrow, I'm going to take you around Canterlot and show you the things you've missed and bring you to all the ponies that missed you."
"That sounds great" I said with a smile. Twilight then lead me back to the castle. I walked over to a sofa that was placed against a wall, facing a large glass window. I remember napping here. I laid down on the sofa and closed my eyes. It's great to be back.
The rays of the sun shining through the window woke me. I would've been able to sleep more if I had my back turned to the window. I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I found a note next to me saying that I should go to the garden. Definitely Aunt Twilight's writing. I got up from the sofa and made my way to the garden where Aunt Twilight waited for me.
"Good morning Roy" she said softly.
"Aunt Twilight? What is it?" I asked.
"You may not remember this because you were still a baby at the time."
"What is it?" I asked.
"When you were a baby, I called in some friends to see you but they weren't allowed to take you to Ponyville until we were sure you were safe to be around."
"Ok?" I asked, a little worried that she's about to tell me some bad news.
"The day before you left Equestria was the same day my friends were going to see you again after that long gap. Princess Celestia was just going to send you to Ponyville to be looked after by Fluttershy. She was fond of you the most."
"But Princess Celestia said 'Send him back'."
"When you were still an infant, I took you to Ponyville and showed you to Fluttershy, one of my friends. She really wanted to be your foalsitter. And she promised not to tell anypony that she saw you."
I hit myself in the head. "I'm an idiot! I'm a total idiot! All this time I thought Princess Celestia wanted to send me back to my home, but she meant sending me back to Ponyville."
"You weren't the only one who thought you were going to be sent back to your own world."
"But if Princess Celestia wanted to send me to Ponyville, why did she send me back to Earth?"
"I'm sorry Roy. But that's something that Princess Celestia knows. And if I were you, I wouldn't ask her. It'll just upset her even more." I nodded my head with understanding and dropped the topic.
"Do you think I'll be able to see Ponyville at one point?" I asked.
"Of course!" Aunt Twilight said with a smile. I smiled back.
"Hello Roy" Princess Celestia said. I turned my head and saw standing there. I didn't even hear here approach me.
"Hello Princess Celestia" I greeted.
"What brings you to the garden?" Aunt Twilight asked. Princess Celestia smiled.
"Twilight. Why don't you bring Roy to Ponyville and show him around?"
Aunt Twilight's eyes grew wide and smiled brightly. "Ok!" She said excitedly. "Roy! This means you can meet my friends!"
"Yeah, sure! Ok!" I said, feeling as excited as Aunt Twilight. "Hold on, I'll be right back" I said, heading back to the castle.
My mom was in her room filling out what appears to be a report. There was a knock on her door. "Come in" she said. The door opened and I stepped inside.
"Hi mom" I greeted as I approached her.
"Hello Roy, where are you headed off too?"
"Aunt Twilight is going to show me around Ponyville."
"That's so great! Well have fun!"
"I will" I said as I hugged her. She wrapped her wings around me with a smile on her face.
"How long will you be gone?"
"Don't know. But I'm definitely coming back."
"Have a great time in Ponyville" she said, smiling.
"I will. Bye mom." I left the room as my mother looked on with a smile on her face. "My human.... My son... Is finally back home."