The hollow echoes of hoofsteps reverberated throughout the castle.
Princess Twilight Sparkle wandered her massive dwelling. While the different rooms of her home bore the loving imprints of her friends' decorative touches, the hallways remained as majestically austere as the day the castle had first come into being. Crystal pillars gleamed with undiminished sheen, vaulted ceilings soared in unending splendor, and undamaged tiles remained firm under the trod of restless hooves. Rows of identical doorways, each leading to some oversized room or passageway, stood in immobile silence: many had not been opened in years. Above each door, intricate glasswork depicted a trunk and branches, inanimate mockeries of the living tree that had first created this palace of stone.
Over the years, Twilight had taken to walking her halls more and more often. She had developed different familiar routes that she returned to with increasing frequency, as she found simple comfort in retracing these paths. One started from her bedroom, criss-crossed across the upper floors of the castle, went down a spiral staircase, and finished in the library. Another began in the kitchen, took a left near Spike's room, and followed an outer corridor around to the dining room. But her favorite routes—such as the one she now traced out with unconsciously mechanical precision—all ended at the same destination.
The map room.
Twilight paused at the room's threshold. Somehow, it never felt right for her to enter this most important of all the rooms in her home. At least, not anymore. Not since everything had changed. Before, it had been the most natural thing in the world, to gallop in with the exciting promise of an awaiting friendship mission, to stroll to her seat for an informal pancake breakfast, or to regally march up to the circle of thrones to debate matters of great importance. Now, though, something in Twilight rebelled against the idea of intruding on this solemn museum of days gone by.
With a slight exertion of will, Twilight put a hoof forward and entered. She trudged toward the round table in the middle of the room and the empty chairs that surrounded it. She delicately took a seat on the nearest throne, the one that displayed five small, bright stars in orbit about a larger beacon of purple light. Bending forward slightly, Twilight studied the map of Equestria in front of her. As she did every day, she checked the locations of the six glowing cutie marks that floated above the pale blue map. None had moved since the last time she had performed this ritual.
She saw that a bright lightning bolt hovered over Las Pegasus.
After she had finally achieved her lifelong dream of becoming a Wonderbolt, Rainbow Dash had been the first to drift away. A weekend performance here, a few days of practice there, and almost without Twilight realizing it, Rainbow Dash was in Ponyville less and less of the time. She had never deliberately cut ties with her former hometown, and she was always faithful to spend time with her friends whenever she stopped by, but the truth of the matter was that Rainbow Dash visited with decreasing frequency. But what did it matter? Rainbow Dash had achieved her dream.
A cluster of balloons floated nearby.
Pinkie Pie's parties had become ever more popular with ponies all over Equestria. Perhaps it had started as far back as the wedding reception for Shining Armor and Cadence, when Ponyville's party pony had first hosted a prestigious event attended by influential guests from across the land. And as the fame of the friends of Princess Twilight grew—and as Pinkie had more opportunities to throw parties for well-publicized events—Pinkie had begun to receive requests to organize celebrations in all of the Equestria's major cities. Unable to turn down an opportunity to spread cheer to more ponies than ever before, Pinkie Pie now spent her days traveling from party to party, leaving a trail of joy in her wake. Currently, she and Cheese Sandwich were preparing for the centennial anniversary of Las Pegasus. It had been Pinkie Pie's idea to book the Wonderbolts for a special performance there. Pinkie Pie had provided a whole host of reasons why an appearance by the Wonderbolts would make the party super-duper-amazing, but Twilight privately wondered if Pinkie Pie had just wanted to see Rainbow Dash again.
Three diamonds shimmered above Manehattan.
Rarity's business was thriving, with new branches opening every year. She had tried her hardest to defer most of the administrative work to the stores' local managers, insisting that her job was to create fashion, not operate retail establishments. But as her boutiques multiplied, Rarity began to take more frequent business trips to ensure everything was running smoothly according to her rules of time, love, and couture. Sometimes she would spend weeks at a time in another city, combining boutique oversight with a chance to find inspiration in an unfamiliar environment. Rarity had spent the last couple months helping Coco Pommel move the Rarity for You store to a larger building, and she had sent only the occasional letter about her latest ideas for a spring line of clothing.
Butterflies rested in the woods a bit east of the town of Hollow Shades.
Fluttershy had been the most reluctant to leave. She preferred the peaceful lifestyle of caring for her beloved animals to the exciting opportunities embraced by many of her friends. If anything, she had become more reclusive over the years as her friends went in different directions to pursue their dreams. She maintained that she was content with her quiet life, and Twilight was inclined to believe her. Still, when Princess Celestia herself had requested Fluttershy's aid in treating sick birds as an epidemic swept across eastern Equestria, the pegasus had been left with no choice but to help. She had quietly asked for the Apple family and Twilight to look after her animals, and then she had left the next day without fanfare. Her work had kept her busy over the past several months, the satisfaction of using her special talent in a meaningful way balanced against her discomfort with being so far from home.
To the south, a trio of apples sat in Appleloosa.
Applejack, at least, had not been gone long from Ponyville. She still spent the bulk of her time growing apples and performing the day-to-day tasks of running a farm. She and Twilight would share a meal at least twice a week, when they would reminisce about the days when all their friends could still find the time in their schedules to put aside a whole afternoon for harvesting apples. The two would talk for hours, their meandering conversations growing ever longer, while they pretended not to notice that they laughed less often than before.
Three weeks ago, when Braeburn had sent word that a bountiful crop of apples required the assistance of the entire Apple clan to harvest, Applejack had dutifully packed her bags and taken a train to Appleloosa. Big Mac had stayed in Ponyville to look after Sweet Apple Acres in her absence, but Twilight wished it had been the other way around. She was fairly certain Applejack had been the one to leave town the last time a member of the Apple family had asked for somepony's help. Still, Twilight knew nothing would stop Applejack from supporting her family, so Twilight had kept her reservations to herself. Applejack went off to Appleloosa, and there she was participating in one of the largest apple harvests in living memory.
And a purple star stayed in Ponyville.
Twilight let out a slow sigh. Her horn glowed, and the cutie marks disappeared from the map, leaving only the colorless image of Equestria for her to stare at. Years ago, Twilight had developed a spell to modify the Cutie Map so that it showed the current locations of all her friends, rather than only display the cutie marks of those called away on missions. She had originally intended it as a way to keep track of where Rainbow Dash went to perform with the Wonderbolts, and used it only sparingly. But as the map called her and her friends on fewer missions, and as it became a rare occurrence for every throne at the table to be occupied, Twilight had found herself entrenched in a daily routine: Check the map. Locate her friends. Move on with her day.
With a slight shake of her head, Twilight brushed away her memories and turned her focus toward the day ahead. It promised to be another busy one; if Twilight correctly recalled the schedule she had made the previous night, she would not have a free moment until late in the evening. Twilight headed toward the door with a purposeful trot. She needed to find Spike and get to work.
On her way out of the map room, a flicker of light caught the corner of her eye. Turning, Twilight saw that one cutie mark had not disappeared when she had terminated her magic. Her own mark hovered stubbornly above Ponyville, seemingly unaware of the fact that the map was no longer compelled to show the location of the mark's bearer.
Twilight narrowed her eyes slightly. Then she marched out of the room without a second glance. She had things to do, and she would not waste any more time considering the unnecessary instructions of a now-useless relic.
Apparently, the map was telling her to stay in Ponyville.