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>You are Anon.
>Tonight is your weekly meet-up night with Twilight.
>It started off, months ago, with you agreeing to let her ask you questions about Earth.
>Sciences, or at least the stuff you studied.
>How your body worked... or at least what you learned when you went on wikipedia at 3 in the morning.
>Society and culture, which you knew a lot about.
>Or, knew very little about.
>You had many opinions about it, anyway, like any good shitposter.
>And papAnon raised a good shitposter.
>Her questions started out with "So tell me about your life".
>Her questions started turning into "So how do you feel about things here, considering your perspective".
>Her questions finally - and most recently - became "So what sort of books do you like".
>You've even heard her mix in a little bit of "So what are you doing Friday night" for flavour.
>Twilight started off as a distant, distracted researcher who was interested in what you had to offer.
>Now, she's a confidant, and she's a friend.
>A good friend.
>She's also a huge nerdy goober, too.
>She'll get so excited over little things that interest her, and her excitement is infectious.
>When she gets worked up over something, you can't help but feel pumped up too.
>And right now, she's in your living-room.
>She brought over her projector, and she's setting up an old-fashioned film as we speak.
>It's only old-fashioned to you, of course - this is ground-breaking cutting-edge technology for Equestria.
>She was confused when you giggled as she broke out the big fat film reel, and you guess you'll cover movie technology next week.
>But right now, you're in the kitchen.
>And you're stalling for time.
>You're staring into your cupboards right now.
>Deep in the back corner, behind the plates and behind the glasses.
>Hidden beneath a stack of fancy napkins you never use.
>It's the last of your Earth popcorn.
>The type you cook over a stove top.
>You like Twilight.
>You want to share this bit of Earth culture with her, and share something with her that you have fond memories of.
>Like your childhood favourite: popcorn.
>You can still remember your dad cooking it whenever you and your brother watched a movie with him.
>He didn't want you making popcorn by yourself, since you were young.
>Not even microwave popcorn.
>He said it would get too hot, and the steam that came out of the bag would burn you.
>And to be fair, he was right; it took you a long time to learn the life lesson of "hot things are hot".
>Anyway, back to the present.
>You want to share this popcorn with Twilight, but this is the last physical piece of proof that you once lived on Earth.
>Back home.
>And if you were to cook this up now...
>...eat it...
>...and throw away the package, that would be like saying goodbye.
>And you don't know if you're ready for that.
>You know you aren't going back home, but it still feels like you're just a tourist on an extended stay in some foreign country.
>You sleep in this building, sure, but it's just some place.
>It's not where your heart is.
>A sad smile spreads across your face as you glance at the brand name.
>Your dad LOVED this one specific brand of stove top popcorn, and he got so angry when the company that made it discontinued it.
>There are probably letters in some forgotten filing cabinet in an abandoned office building that your dad wrote, angrily demanding that they bring the popcorn back.
>But with the advent of the internet, you found a place that sold this stuff.
>The company was based in another country, and they still sold'em there, so you bought a bunch.
>It arrived by mail, and you and your dad shared a bowl of it a few days before he passed away.
>That had been the happiest you'd seen him in a long time, and you're not ashamed to say that you cried when the two of you ate it together.
>So it's not just saying goodbye to home, it's also saying goodbye to your dad.
>...again.
>You nudge a napkin out of the way, and eye up the package out of a sense of nostalgia that these thoughts of your dad brought on.
>It's just like you remembered it.
>It's salted, unlike most popcorn here in Equestria.
>Salt does funny things to ponies when ingested in large amounts.
>Gets them silly, and full of energy.
>It's a weird mixture of being drunk and being high, and it's different for every pony race.
>Salt is required for healthy function, of course, but ponies need much less than a human does.
>Luckily, you have a source for your stash - you NEED one if you want to stay healthy.
>Don't... don't worry about where you get your salt.
>It's not important.
>What IS important is that you're sure you know how Twilight will react to this stuff.
>She'll be all nervous, like you're talking her into agreeing to do ecstasy with you.
>After all, this sort of IS pony-drugs.
>Then, she'll make sure all the doors are locked and the windows are covered up.
>Next, she'll demand that you never tell anypony, which you'll agree to.
>Finally, she'll eat too much, crawl all over you, and fall asleep for 10 hours.
>You've seen unicorns do it.
>There's a reason Rarity still won't look you in the eye when you pass her on the street.
>Your sad smile turns into an amused smirk, and you find yourself almost actually wanting to do this.
>You'd kill to see how cute Twilight would get once she gets affected by the salt.
>"Anon!  Anon, I've got the projector hooked up!  The movie's ready whenever you are!"
>You shout over your shoulder, still standing in front of your secret hiding place.
"Oh yeah?"
>"Yeah!  It's a scary movie, so you... it's okay if you need to snuggle up with me, okay?"
>Tempting.
>You've seen that tuft before, and Twilight was awful flighty about letting you touch it in the past.
>"A-And maybe it'll help you calm down if we read together!  I brought over my book bag with the latest installment of Daring Doo[spoiler]uche[/spoiler] in it!"
>...
>What a fucking goober.
>You know what?
>Maybe it's time that you started considering this place home.
>You know you aren't going back to Earth, and you have ponies here that you truthfully consider your friends.
>And you even have one purple nerd you consider your BEST friend.
>Maybe even more, if you're being honest.
>You can still keep your dad alive in your heart, even when you say goodbye.
>You reach into the cupboard (and have a momentary heart attack when you knock over all your glasses, which honestly almost ruined the moment for you) and grab the last container of popcorn.
"Just a second, Twi!  I'm gonna make a treat for you us to eat real quick!"
>"Oh, neat!  What is it?"
>It's something very special to you.
"I found some popcorn from back home underneath some napkins, Twi.  You want some?"
>There's the sound of something metallic falling down, and then silence.
>"Is... that's the salted stuff, right?"
"Yup."
>More silence.
>"L-Lemme just make sure the windows are covered, okay?  Oh, this is so exciting!"
>Nailed it.