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// Letters 
// Story: The Remaining Five 
// by ABagOVicodin 
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	“Dear Princess Celestia,
You wanted us to tell you about our lessons in friendship whenever we learned something. I always sent you letters proclaiming that I didn't learn anything, and I already knew what the lesson was. But this time, I can't claim that I knew this was going to happen. No one can. My friends and I are the Elements of Harmony, but when one of us is not alive anymore, how can we call ourselves that? When one of us was gone, Discord was unable to be turned back into stone. Our friendship was like apple pie, and without Pinkie, the filling of laughter and smiles that kept the taste in the pie is missing. I've seen and been to funerals before, but I didn't expect that I would have to go to one for one of my best friends. I thought that we would all live happily into our old age, and share favorite memories together until we finally couldn't walk anymore. I guess I haven't told you what my lesson in friendship was yet... the truth is that I don't know what it is. When someone dies, usually you learn something from it, or you stay at home and mourn the passing. I am doing neither, but standing here out in the rain, as my eyes drift now and again to my friend's grave, is making me want to mourn.
I learned that friendship is an accomplishment. Now as I think about the many fights that I had with Pinkie, and the parties that I attended, every memory that I spent with Pinkie will never leave me, and I will hold with me until my own death. I know that four of my friends are still alive, and will still be with me whenever I need them, but even with the disappearance of one, I already feel alone. They say “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.” That isn't true, no one in Ponyville is stronger because of this. Especially when the one who passed had interacted with everyone's life. Pinkie touched everyone's heart, and the lack of her touch will only weaken those who considered her as a role model, a lover, a babysitter, and a mother. We will all live on, even though it won't be easy.
Your Faithful Subject,
Applejack”

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“Dear Princess Celestia,
Please forgive me, my hoof is having trouble writing right now. But I know that if I put this scroll down, I will never write this letter to you. Pinkie was my best friend. She was the one who visited me the most, asked me how I was, and helped me when I was way over my head. I have hundreds of friends, all of them animals, and of course Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. I learned about death the hard way, a year after I got my cutie mark. I was taking care of a bird who was born with a hurt wing. She wasn't able to fly anywhere, and had to walk. I built a nest for her nearby my bed, and we both started to walk around my house, as I cleaned up and took care of the other critters that I became friends with. She was my best friend, I knew her before Angel, and she was very special to me.
Over the months that I took care of her, she was slowly starting to become more sick, just like Philomeena before she was reborn. Because she couldn't fly, she wasn't able to exercise as much as she wanted to. A bird's wings are their primary source of exercise, because they can only hop and step every now and then with the way their legs are made. I didn't know what was wrong with her, and I ended up using every medical technique that I knew on her to fix my friend. I knew Pinkie Pie at the time, and she would drop by my house to help, even though she knew nothing about animals. She gave me money to go see a vet, and even he wasn't able to tell me what was wrong with her. I know now what was wrong, the vet didn't want to break my heart. In the end, she passed away in a month, still a baby bird who could have flown if she was born with the ability to do it. I loved her, I fell into a state of depression for weeks because of it, and the one person who brought me out of it, was Pinkie Pie.
She brought me a cupcake every day, for a week, and she didn't stop until I was actually able to make a smile on my face. I ate every cupcake she brought me, and when she invited me to one of her first parties, I went only because I wanted to pay her back for the happiness she brought to me. The punch was delicious. The cake was amazing. The games were more fun then counting all the bunnies in Ponyville. I never felt fun like that, and I was never invited to a party before. Having Pinkie in my life helped me experience a lot of things first. My first party was with her. She was my first friend when I moved to Ponyville. But at the same time, she was the first best friend I knew, that I had to attend a funeral for.
Pinkie always made me smile, even when I didn't want to talk to her and just shut myself up into my own little world, void of interaction. She spent fifty bits alone to gather a group together to help me move. Rarity's element would be proud. If Pinkie was a pegasus, and I knew her before I moved down to Ponyville, her death would not have affected me as much as it does now. All that she did for me, now looms over my head while I failed to repay her kindness, with my own. I will always love her, and keep her in my heart, since no one could be the friend that she could. I will spread happiness to those who are close to me, Pinkie would like that.
Your Faithful Subject,
Fluttershy”

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“Dear Princess Celestia,
It's easy to let your reputation go to your head. I remember the problems that I made when I tried to show off my talents, even though my friends were able to save Ponyville from events that I wasn't able to fix. I am having the hardest time keeping this quill straight, sorry if that is making this letter harder to read. When I first met Pinkie Pie, I thought that she was an annoying mare, who spent way too much time on activities that were immature. If she was making parties, shouldn't she be more focused on trying to create fancy food orders for Canterlot? My attitude was that if you wanted to master your special talent, then reaching the top of the ladder was the way to do it. I never told her this, because I knew she wouldn't care. Also, at the time, I wasn't a fan of hanging out with the earth and unicorn ponies. I didn't have anything against them, I was just too busy trying to perfect my art of flying. Pinkie Pie was a joke to me, but now as I write this letter to you, I admit (a little too late) that I was the joke.
Pinkie Pie did party orders. She created works of art on a pastry tray, and sampled some out to me a few times, when I was hungry. I was a flier, a mare that wanted to have my name up in lights, and eventually join the Wonderbolts. Pinkie was goofy, always smiling, and helping everyone in Ponyville. I was competitive, paranoid about judgment, and ignorant of everyone in Ponyville. The two of us were complete opposites, and it was probably because of this, that she was the one who died happy. I haven't died yet, but I was unhappy before any of this happened. As I got to know Pinkie, after Twilight came to town, I learned that she had a fun side to her. She was capable of pulling pranks on everyone in Ponyville, including myself. The both of us always had a laugh because of it. But apart from pulling pranks on each other, I didn't spend much time with her. She didn't have that much time to spend either, at least, I don't think. How was she able to help with everyone's problems and still create appointments for her friends? I could never figure that out.
Pinkie's parties were the best, and this is coming from a mare who loved to party up in Cloudsdale. She was always creating new games to try out in parties, new drinks, and new food. I was never bored of her parties, and attended them when I could. My schedules were changed when Twilight told me that I was lazy, and the Wonderbolts wouldn't pick me if I didn't 'clean up my act'. I didn't believe her for a while, but eventually, my training regimens became brutal and harsh, to the point where my wings would be sore and begging for rest when I finally laid down on my bed. Every day I worked to try and test my flying, while Pinkie did what she wanted, and ended up being happy in the end. I was not accepted into the Wonderbolts, because I did not have the right attitude that they wanted. Even though Spitfire was a fan of mine, and wanted me to be a part of the team, she knew that the Wonderbolts' showings would tank quickly if I couldn't learn their moves, and told them to put mine into their act. The day that I was rejected from the Wonderbolts, was the day that Pinkie died.
Twilight managed to visit me in Los Pegasus, where the Wonderbolts were playing their shows. She told me the news, and I lost it. I didn't believe her. Pinkie was young, happy, and healthy. There was no way that she was dead. I broke down crying in the middle of the stadium. My best friend, the one who cared for me and provided a shoulder that I could cry on, was gone. My dreams of the Wonderbolts moved to the back of my mind, as my wish for Pinkie grew stronger. I didn't care about fame or the Wonderbolts anymore. I wanted Pinkie back. If I didn't blindly try and pursue my dreams, and instead took some of the lessons that my friends taught me to heart, I would have been able to be a a part of the Wonderbolts sooner. If that was the case, then I would have been able to save Pinkie... from what happened. The lesson that I learned was something that should have came to me a long time ago. I was selfish, I didn't listen, and because of that, I don't deserve a friend like Pinkie. I loved her, and she will always be in my heart, whenever I want to do what I love, or smile, or giggle. She was the purpose that I did most of those things, anyway.
Your Faithful Subject,
Rainbow Dash”

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“Dear Princess Celestia,
This was the worst possible thing. Pinkie Pie was a completely different pony from me, and I liked that about her. I always wanted to take part in the parties she threw, because it was a way to relieve the stress from work. Stitching together completely different patterns every week, was taxing on my brain, so it was nice to shake out the stress in one of her parties. A massage could only do so much after all. I envied Pinkie, but at the same time, making dresses was what I loved. However, that didn't mean that creating cakes and treats in order to put a smile on other pony's faces wouldn't have been fun as well. I almost can't believe that Pinkie is gone, even though I was able to see her body inside of that coffin. She was always wanting to help me, and see what I was doing. I was never bothered by her constant questions about my work, although my opinion on a chimmicherry or a cherrychanga will always be remembered.
It isn't fair. Pinkie was one of my best friends, she was a mare that had a lot to live for. She had a family that cared for her (even though they let her go), a surrogate family that loved her, and two surrogate siblings. Whenever I went to the Cake's house to buy some cupcakes for my dress presentations, Pinkie was there. She would be taking care of the babies, cleaning up what the parents could not, and on a dime, go out to help Ponyville with their problems. I owe her my entire career because of her modeling attempts, and yet I couldn't find a way to show my appreciation. Every pony from Los Pegasus to Cloudsdale asks me to make a dress for them, and whenever I ask them how they found me, Hoity Toity's name came up. Pinkie's generosity outshone mine, the one who had such a word as her element. She should have taken my element as well, she would have shown it more.
Pinkie added energy and excitement to my life, whenever she was present in my day. I can say that, because now that she is gone, I haven't had a visitor since Twilight told me the news. No one else asked me how my day was, or if I wanted a cupcake. No more letters were sent to my house from Ponyville. Canterlot wasn't aware of what I lost, so I still acquired letters from there. Pinkie added meaning to my life, and although I will be able to continue living without her, I can truthfully say that it is going to be hard. I loved her as a friend, and I can't accept the fact that she is gone. She will always be in my heart, and whenever I smile, I hope that her heart is filled with sunshine, wherever she is.
Your Faithful Subject,
Rarity”

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“Dear Princess Celestia,
I'm back! Did you miss me?”