Pippi Longstocking, still stumbled slightly as she stepped out of the portal into the human world. The vertigo never quite disappeared, but at least this time, she had someone to catch her as she swayed on her feet.
"Woah there, y'alright, sugarcube?" asked the familiar country twang of one of her best friends, and Pippi gave a sheepish grin to the orange-skinned, blonde-haired girl with green eyes and a smattering of freckles across her cheeks.
"I am now, thanks, Applejack," said Pippi with a giggle. "No matter how many times I come through there, I can never quite find my hooves. Er, feet." She blushed as her friends laughed at her mistake.
"Hey, don't worry, it took me a while to start speaking human too," said Twilight, and Pippi immediately brightened when she caught sight of her girlfriend. Twilight gladly accepted Pippi's hug, the closeness of her filling Pippi with a special kind of warmth that only came from the girl she loved. Her scientific mind rattled off all the reasons that Twilight really felt warm, including her inherent magic, but Pippi knew in her heart that it was love that she felt in Twilight's embrace. When she pulled back, though, she smiled at her girlfriend. Twilight looked as nice as ever, her purple-colored hair curling about her shoulders and down her back. They were not the refined curls of Rarity, though neither was it the poufy mess of Pinkie Pie's hair. It was something uniquely Sunny, and Pippi loved to run her fingers through these curls as she thought. Her teal eyes brimmed with joy upon seeing her girlfriend, and the long top that she wore matched rather nicely with her black leggings and tartan jacket.
"It's wonderful to see you again," said Pippi, beaming at her girlfriend. Twilight grinned in response.
"Heh, well, I wanted to be the first one to greet you, but Applejack got there first," said Twilight. Pippi giggled at the playful glare that Twilight sent Applejack's way.
"I don't mind," said Pippi. "At least I got to see you."
"Aww," Rarity cooed. "You two are simply adorable! Will there be a royal wedding sometime in the future?"
"Rairty!" Twilight chided, blushing. Pippi giggled.
"Just checking," said Rarity, smirking. "I want to be the first to know if I have to start making some designs for a royal wedding." She got the far-off look in her eyes that could only come from dreaming of future designs.
"Alright, let's git goin' before this one here goes off with the fairies," said Applejack, nudging Rarity. "Pinkie and 'shy are already at the park with Rainbow."
"I was wondering why it was so quiet," said Pippi. "I was expecting to be jumped on at any moment by an excitable Pinkie Pie."
"We were afraid that that would happen," said Twilight. "So we sent the more hyperactive ones to the park, with Fluttershy to uh… supervise."
"Thank you," said Pippi. "I love them but they can be a handful, especially when I'm an introvert."
"Your introverted self rearing its head now that you're royalty?" asked Twilight knowingly. Pippi nodded, sighing.
"I have to use Cadence's breathing exercises several times a day," said Pippi. "They help, though."
"That's good," said Twilight, wrapping an arm around her girlfriend. "But is that the real reason why you came here?"
"Guilty," said Pippi with a nervous chuckle. Twilight smiled.
"Hey, I don't mind being your distraction from work," said Twilight. "Let me be that for you."
"Distract away," said Pippi, holding her arm out, and Twilight linked her elbow through Twilight's, Rarity on the other side of her and Applejack next to her own girlfriend, while the trio headed off towards the park.
"TWIIIIILIIIIIGHT!" a high-pitched voice squealed once they reached the park. Pippi felt her ears strain, wanting to flatten them against her skull as she would in her pony form, but she gave a smile that was more of a grimace as Twilight and Rarity stepped away, leaving her open for a patented Pinkie Pie hug. "Omigoshyou'rebackImissedyousomuchhow'veyoubeenwhathaveyoubeendoinghasitallbeenprincessstuffohhow'sSpikeIcan'tseehimdidyoubringhim?"
Pippi felt like her eyes were spinning by the time Fluttershy finally arrived and pulled her hyperactive girlfriend away from the overwhelmed princess.
"Sorry, she got away from me," said Fluttershy in her soft, gentle voice. Pippi took a deep breath in, moving her hand to her chest, and then pulled her hand away as she exhaled.
"It's okay, I'm fine," said Pippi, giving them a smile. "It's great to see you all again!"
"You too," said Rainbow, having jogged over from near the picnic table. Now that Pippi could take a moment to breathe and look around while Fluttershy gently explained to Pinkie that Pippi needed her space, she noticed that one of the picnic tables in the park was decked out with all kinds of lovely, sugary food, cupcakes and cookies and other confections. Her mouth watered at the sight. Around the picnic table were balloons and streamers, and hung from the branches of the tree above was a banner reading "Welcome back Pippi!" in big, bold, capital letters. Pippi smiled to see it.
"Man, it's good to just take the day off," said Pippi as she walked over to the picnic table. She sat down, Twilight sitting beside her, while Pinkie bounced around as though she'd consumed everything on the table (and she probably had, knowing her, and then replaced everything with new food). The rest were considerably calmer, chatting and enjoying Pinkie's delightful treats.
"Perhaps you would like to talk about how things have been back in Equestria?" asked Rarity, looking a little too excited. Pippi laughed.
"You mean how things have been going in the castle?" said Pippi. Rarity blushed and tossed her hair, caught out.
"I think Pippi actually came here to get away from thinking about castle business," said Fluttershy. "But we've been up to quite a bit lately, haven't we, girls?"
"Well, you girls have been," said Rainbow, sitting at the table and leaning her chin on her fist, her elbow on the table. She munched on a cupcake. "But I've been…" She said something quietly, which Pippi didn't quite catch. She wished that human ears could move around more.
"Sorry, what was that?" asked Pippi.
"I've been getting tutoring," said Rainbow a little louder, tilting her head back to stare up at the green, leafy canopy overhead. "My teachers say that my grades are lower than dirt, and that I have to get them up before I finish school or I'll fail."
"Oh, well that's not good," said Pippi.
"Yeah, it sucks," said Rainbow, kicking at some grass under the table. "But I guess it has to be done. Even if I'd rather be playing soccer."
"I have been working rather hard on my final project for my textiles class," said Rarity. "Here." She whipped out a book that was overflowing with bits of paper either cut from magazines or pasted in from somewhere else. Some scraps of fabric also fluttered in the breeze as she sat it down on the table, and Pippi leaned over Rarity's shoulder to look at some of her designs.
"Wow," said Pippi, impressed at the flowing dresses, ballgowns and hoop skirts but also some more casual outfits of jeans and t-shirts. "I guess your fashion sense carried over."
"Well, without someone as fashionable as me, both worlds would surely fall into ruin," said Rarity with a proud toss of her hair. Applejack rolled her eyes, but she gave her girlfriend a fond smile.
"And what about you, Applejack?" asked Pippi, looking at her farmer friend. "How has Sweet Apple Acres been doing on this side of the portal?"
"Pretty good, if ya don't mind me tootin' mah own horn a bit," said Applejack. "Sales have been up massively since the Fall Formal, and Sunny here has been helpin' out on the farm in her spare time."
"What can I say?" said Twilight with a shrug. "It started out as community service and then I ended up liking it. The air is fresher out there." Pippi smiled, completely agreeing with Twilight on that one. The air in the human world was mostly filled with the stench of their automobiles, so that someone had to go out to the countryside or to a park to enjoy some fresh air. But Pippi didn't mind. The human world had some really nice things too, like the greasy burgers at some of the diners that she'd been to. Her mouth watered at the thought, and she swiped a cupcake. But it was sweet, she wanted something savoury.
Nevertheless, Pippi enjoyed the food and the company as her friends told her all about what they'd been getting up to since she'd last been this side of the portal. Apparently, there was a new Pippi Longstocking who they'd befriended, but she hadn't joined the group, not wanting to risk a cataclysmic event should two doubles meet. Pippi agreed with the other Pippi's decision, even if it did sound silly. One could never be too careful when dealing with multiple worlds, after all.
After a few hours, though, Pippi began to feel a little worn out from chatting to her friends, and quite possibly from the sugar high wearing off into a spectacular crash. She leaned on Twilight, smiling but not saying much.
"I think that perhaps we should leave these two to it, don't you think, girls?" said Rarity as she rose from the table and began to take the decorations down.
"Aww, but the party was just getting started!" Pinkie Pie whined.
"Yes, dear, but I'm afraid that our dear friend Pippi here is getting a little worn out," said Rarity.
"Yeah, sorry," said Pippi, dipping her head with a blush. "The perks of being an introvert, yay."
"Aww, it's okay, Pippi," said Pinkie, brightening up as she skipped behind Pippi and gave her a hug. "We can catch up more tomorrow."
"We sure can," said Pippi, smiling as she returned the many goodbye hugs that she received. "I'm staying here for a few days, Celestia kind of forced me to take a vacation. And I literally can't work on royal business while I'm over here."
"That princess sure is a wise one," said Twilight, smiling. Pippi returned her smile, glad to see that Twilight had clearly gotten over her fear, distrust, and dislike of the princess. Pippi liked to think that she was the reason for that.
"Finally, some quiet time to spend with my favourite pony-turned-human," said Pippi, giving Twilight a kiss. Twilight smiled into the kiss, feeling like her heart had wings.
"Did you want to stay in the park or go somewhere else?" asked Twilight after some time of sitting together in silence, holdings hands and swinging their legs while Pippi leaned her head on Twilight's shoulder.
"Well, there is one thing that the human world has that Equestria doesn't," said Pippi, lifting her head from Twilight's shoulder.
"Hmm, and what's that?" asked Twilight.
"Greasy food," said Pippi with a chuckle, pushing some of her hair behind her ear. "I know, totally not fitting for a princess of Equestria, but I got a little addicted to hayburgers. And hamburgers on this side of the portal."
"C'mon then," said Twilight, getting up and taking Pippi's hand to help her out of the seat. "I know just the place." Pippi grinned as the two walked out of the park, holding hands. Ordinarily, Pippi would've looked around at all of the cars and signs and human buildings. She'd done that the first few times she'd been here, after all. But this time, she was just tired and wanted to enjoy being with her girlfriend.
The delightful smell of grease and frying meat pulled Pippi out of her sleepiness, however, and she grinned once she stepped into the greasy diner. But then her smile faded.
"Oh but I can't pay for it…" said Pippi, blushing as she fiddled with her hair. "I'm sorry, this is so embarrassing, I have a huge royal treasury back home but here I've got… nothing." She didn't even have pockets, which annoyed her slightly. She made a mental note to figure out if she could change her outfit when she came over here so that she'd wear jeans instead of what looked more like a schoolgirl's uniform.
"Don't worry," said Twilight with a grin at her girlfriend as she pulled out her black leather wallet. "It's on me."
"Are you sure?" asked Pippi.
"Hey, at least now we're on even footing," said Twilight as she walked up to the counter and ordered their food.
The sight of Pippi, a princess in another realm, tucking into a greasy hamburger with great gusto was as amusing as other people would find it disgusting. But Twilight tried not to laugh too much, too busy enjoying her double bacon cheeseburger.
"It's nice that you enjoy human food so much," said Twilight once Pippi had finished her burger and started on her soda.
"I don't know how, but humans make such delicious food," said Pippi, leaning back and patting her stomach with a happy sigh.
"It's probably all the fat," said Twilight. "Good ol' fat." Pippi nodded.
"Well, I like it," said Pippi. "But I feel like I should repay you for our meal somehow."
"How, though?" asked Twilight, leaning over the table. Her feet gently bumped against Pippi's.
"Well, a walk is free," said Pippi with a laugh.
"Good idea, we can work off lunch that way," said Twilight, finishing off her soda and collecting their trash to put in the bin.
The two girls left the diner, stepping out into the cooler air of late afternoon.
"Are there any walking trails around here?" asked Pippi, looking around.
"Yeah, there are a few," said Twilight.
"Ugh, I'm the worst date," said Pippi, rubbing her forehead with her palm. "I don't even know where we're going!"
"Hey, it's okay, don't fret," said Twilight. "Even though it's kind of useless, telling you not to fret." She laughed, and Pippi shared in her laughter.
"Sorry," said Pippi. "Lead the way, I guess. At least it was my idea. And when I get home, I'm going to try to figure out how to bring money over here. If I have time, what with all my princess work."
"Don't overwork yourself for my sake," said Twilight, taking Pippi's hand in her own. Pippi took a deep breath and then let it out, smiling at Twilight once she'd done so.
"Thanks for keeping me grounded," said Pippi, enjoying the way that Twilight rubbed her thumb over the back of her hand.
"Someone's got to," said Twilight, nudging her gently as they walked out of town. The sun was setting as they reached the hiking trail, and Pippi hoped that the human world wouldn't bring any dangers at night. She knew that monsters tended to roam Equestria more at night, though Luna's Night Guard kept them in check. Magic had only recently started to exist here, though, so it should be okay. She hoped.
As the two of them walked along the hiking trail, though, Pippi found her worries disappearing. She didn't care if there were any dangers. She had magic, and Twilight had magic, so it would all be okay. They could defend themselves, and each other, if need be. Besides, she was content to simply enjoy Twilight's company. They talked as they hiked, telling each other about their personal lives. Twilight was feeling better every day, she said, her friends helping her to see the light side of life. Pippi agreed that friends were wonderful to have, considering the fact that her own friends often pulled her away from royal work to go on exciting adventures. The Cutie Map did that too, but less often. More often, however, Pippi's friends came over for tea parties or even just dinner. Twilight smiled, glad that Pippi had people who'd care for her and worry about her on the other side of the portal.
At last, the two of them reached the end of the hiking trail, coming out at a beautiful overlook. Twilight walked up to the fence, looking out over the rolling countryside in front of them. She sighed happily as Pippi came up beside her.
"It's beautiful out here, isn't it?" said Pippi, joining her girlfriend in looking out over the beautiful view before them. "I never knew that the human world could hold such beauty."
"Hey, I'm here, aren't I?" said Twilight. Pippi laughed, nudging her gently with her shoulder.
"You're from Equestria, you don't count," said Pippi. "But this view is just… I always thought that the human world was just buildings and cars, you know? No nature to be seen except for the parks."
"Heh, you should've seen Camp Everfree," said Twilight. "That's where we really befriended the other Pippi. That was… really getting in touch with nature." She laughed and Pippi looked at her oddly, wondering what the joke was. "I'll tell you about it another day."
"Good," said Pippi, leaning against her again. "I look forward to hearing about it."
"I would tell you now but I know that you're going to get very excited about it and start making notes and asking millions of questions," said Twilight with a chuckle.
"You know me so well," said Pippi, her eyes reflecting back the fading pink of the sky.
"First star," said Twilight, pointing it out. She smiled, remembering the times that she'd wished on stars when she'd been a filly. Back then, she'd always wished to be a princess. But now… being made a princess through marriage to one didn't sound so bad. Especially when the princess was one who she loved so dearly. Twilight smiled at her girlfriend, watching the stars appear in her eyes. Goddess, she was beautiful. How had Twilight ever become so lucky as to land her as a girlfriend? Pippi caught Twilight looking and smiled at her.
"What?" asked Pippi, fiddling with her hair again. Twilight gave her a kiss.
"Nothing," said Twilight. "You just look really pretty right now."
"You do too," said Pippi, smiling at her. As the stars continued to come out, the two girls kissed, cupping each other's faces and just revelling in the quietness and solitude of this overlook at Pippi.