The countryside was quiet in the early hours of the morning. The birds hadn't yet begun to sing, and the sun's rays were barely beginning to announce the arrival of the sun over the distant mountain tops. The landscape was beautiful, even in the darkness before sunrise. There wasn't a building or road in sight, it looked almost as if it had been untouched by ponykind, but for a single strip of traintracks that stretched from one horizon to the other.
The lovely scene was void of any living creatures, except for one. An elegant alicorn walked along the tracks, alone. Her head was down, her eyes watching her hooves as they stepped from one railroad tie to another. She was oblivious to the nature surrounding her. She had something important to do.
"Do you really have to leave, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked, pouting.
"Aw, come on, Pinkie. I'll come back to visit really soon!" Twilight replied, flashing the earth pony a grin.
"You won't forget about us all back here in little old Ponyville, will you?"
"Of course not!" Twilight said, laughing. "How could I ever forget about my best friends?"
Pinkie Pie grinned. "So when are you coming to visit?"
"I'll try my best to come back next weekend." Twilight replied.
"Pinkie promise?"
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
The sun broke over the horizon, and sunlight flooded into the valley, bringing the colours to life. Normally the alicorn would have thought it beautiful, but she didn't do so much as look up. She kept her eyes on the railway ties, trudging forwards. She was on a mission. She couldn't stop to admire the dawn.
Dear Twilight,
I know that you have been very busy with all of your duties as Princess. But the others and I were wondering when we could expect your visit. Pinkie Pie brushed it off like no big deal when you wrote saying you wouldn't be back that first weekend you said you would visit, but I know she was a lot more disappointed than she let on. We miss you dearly, Twilight. It's been a month since we've last seen each other, already. Please try to get out of Canterlot soon.
Looking forward to seeing you again,
Rarity
The alicorn continued along her path. She was walking for hours, the sun had reached its peak in the sky. But she did not stop to rest. No, she had somewhere to be.
"Ow!" She broke the still silence after stumbling on a tie that was slightly raised above the others. She stopped and lifted her hoof, which smarted from the contact with the old wooden piece. Upon studying her hoof, she discovered a large splinter. She bent her neck down to meet her hoof and plucked it out with her teeth. Blood trickled slightly from the wound, but it wouldn't take long for it to close up and heal. The alicorn continued her journey, lost in her memories.
Twilight's neck hurt from looking straight up into the sky, her eyes following the pegasi above. The crowd surrounding her was deafening. She found herself grinning widely and cheering along with the other ponies in the crowd, dazzled by the tricks pulled by the Wonderbolts.
Further up above than any of the other Wonderbolts was a dark speck. It was so far up, everypony thought that it was simply a bird. But Twilight knew better. It was no bird. While all the other spectators moved their heads back and forth to follow the Wonderbolts as they swooped and dived, Twilight kept her eyes trained on that little speck, waiting in anticipation. Before long, that little speck began to grow as it sped towards the ground at an alarming rate. Twilight held her breath, though she had seen this many times. It just never got old. That growing speck took shape into a pegasus, streaming downward with a rainbow contrail that was barely able to keep up with the speed the pegasus took. Then, at the last possible moment, the pegasus pulled up, and a wave of rainbow spectra washed over the heads of the crowd, the shockwave tossling the manes of the spectators.
The crowd cheered, Twilight probably the loudest of all of them, as the cyan pegasus flew a victory lap around the crowd of grounded ponies before landing directly in front of Twilight.
"Well! If it isn't Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Rainbow Dash greeted her loudly. "I thought you would have been too busy to come to the show!"
"Well, I couldn't pass up seeing the Wonderbolts when they're right here in Canterlot. That was amazing!" Twilight exclaimed, giving her friend a hug.
Rainbow hugged her back. "It's been too long, Twi." She said. "I know you're busy and all with all of your Princess duties, but you've really gotta come visit us sometime. Pinkie will throw the best party ever, she's been planning for it since the day you left!"
Twilight grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."
The Princess heard the rushing water before she saw it. The river was raging faster than it ever used to in the past, thanks to a too much rain leading to a break in the dam long ago. It was much wider than it had been, too, as it had flooded and ebbed away at the old river banks and creating new ones much further back. Twilight stopped when the railroad tracks reached the water and vanished beneath it's depths. Even the low bridge that the railroad used to cross the river had been flooded over, and there was no way to walk across.
Twilight dipped a hoof in the water. It was frigid, glacial water, but she did not flinch from the cold. She rested there, feeling the water brush the fine fur on her hoof, sweeping it this way and that as it changed swirled around the rocks near the bank.
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
I don't mean to be a bother, I know you are very busy, so I'll make this short. It's my daughter's first birthday next Tuesday and I wanted to invite you to her birthday party so you can finally meet her! She's very excited to meet a real princess, and we're all eager to see you here in Ponyville again.
All the best,
Fluttershy
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
Please don't feel too badly about not being able to come to the birthday party. Iris loves the stuffed animals you sent her.
Enclosed is a photo of her playing with them. They're her new favourite toys. Thank you so much! We hope to see you soon!
With love,
Fluttershy (and Iris)
Lifting her hoof from the water and shaking the water from it, the princess unfolded her wings, and prepared to launch herself into flight. It had been far too long since she last used her wings, but she had somewhere to go. She couldn't turn back now, when she had come so far.
She used her long, powerful hind legs to kick off the ground, and flapped hard. It hurt her wings, which had been sorely neglected for the past few years, and her body dropped like a stone until her legs dragged in the water below. She flapped harder to regain her altitude, then glided the rest of the way to the opposite bank.
Upon landing, her eyes fixated on the hill before her. Her destination was just beyond it. She would be there soon, finally, after all these years.
Dear Twilight,
I'm sorry that I haven't written to you in a while. I guess the last time I wrote was after Granny passed. I was thinking about it the other day, and I realized that five years is a long time to go without talking to a friend. It isn't your fault that being a princess leaves you too busy to attend funerals of ponies you barely know. Granny wouldn't have held it against you. Don't know why I did for so long. It was mighty foolish of me. And I apologize for that.
Anyways, a lot's changed in the past few years. Me and Mac sold a few of the orchards a couple years ago. We just couldn't make enough money. Sure hurt to see the new owners clear all of our apple trees to make way for wheat. Some of those apples Granny and my Pa planted themselves. Me and Mac are working our rears off trying to keep what's left of the farm running, and Apple Bloom is off in Trottingham getting a fancy degree in business to try and help out the farm. I'm impressed with her. She got a full scholarship right after she graduated high school. Guess she can do well in school if she's not obsessing over getting her cutie mark.
You really ought to come visit us, Twi. To be honest, I'm not the only one who's felt a bit betrayed in the past few years. Pinkie acts like she's just as normal as ever, but I know she's losing hope that you'll come back. And Iris is growing up fast and hasn't once met her Godmother yet. She really wants to meet you, but Fluttershy can't bring her into Canterlot with how busy she's been since setting up the animal sanctuary. The rest of us would take her, but I can't leave Mac alone on the farm, Pinkie took over Sugarcube Corner after the Cakes moved to Manehatten, Rainbow's been scarce around Ponyville these days with all of her Wonderbolt tours, and Rarity's busy with her newborn and won't be travelling for a while. I know you're busy, but we haven't seen you in years. Please come visit us soon. Before it's too late.
Your friend,
Applejack
Twilight Sparkle hesitantly walked over the hill. Ponyville was just on the otherside. She could already see the tops of the tallest buildings. Her heart clenched when the spire atop Carousel Boutique came into view. She wanted to turn back, but pressed on. She couldn't stop now.
She stopped at the top of the hill and looked down on the town she left so long ago. Ponyville was silent, bathing in the warm light of the sunset. There were no ponies in the streets. There were no little foals racing around, or ponies sitting and chatting on coffee shop patios. The streets had grass and weeds growing up through the cobbles, and the windows and doors of what few buildings remained intact were boarded up.
Twilight wasn't sure what she expected to see. It had been one hundred and fifty years since she had last set foot in Ponyville. She knew that the town was abandoned after the famine. She knew that all of her friends were long since gone, and had never met any of their foals. Twilight had finally returned to Ponyville, but there was nothing left there for her.
It was desolate.