The old mare, her once bright coat now dulled with age, slowly eased herself into her favorite rocking chair. As she settled in, her joints groaned and popped, with a not entirely unpleasant ache of familiarity with the restful position. She was finding it harder to get around these days; a lifetime’s worth of pains slowing her movements. She gazed upon the bright green waters of the sea, the reflections in the waves sparked her memory of the happier times she and her friends had shared.
She had not always been a pony person; had not always appreciated what having friends could mean. Now, alone again after so many years of having ponies that she could depend on, she looked back at her younger, more ignorant self with disdain and a little loathing. She thought she hadn’t needed anypony, and had been more than reluctant to change at first. But necessity brought the ponies together in friendship, and she had been unable to withstand their compassion and understanding. Now her heart ached without them, and she felt empty.
Her heart seemed to trouble her more often of late, and the doctors told her she needed to relax. They had recommended this stay by the sea as a needed vacation from the stresses
of once familiar places now made strange with the absence of her friends. There were new and younger ponies to do the work and live life to the fullest, she was just an old mare with more stories than dreams.
The unicorn sighed, and thought back on the happier times in her life, when each of her friends had still been alive. While she missed each friend terribly, they had all had rich, full lives with no regrets. She didn’t believe that one of them would have traded the lives they had for anything other than each other. Why she was still around, and they were gone, she could only blame on cruel fate.
As she rocked slowly back and forth in the chair her best friend had given her, she thought how each had slowly but surely drifted apart, especially after the Elements of Harmony were returned to the care of the Royal Sisters. Thanks to the friendship reports, and in no small part to the friends themselves, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had realized the extent of the troubles between them. With time and care, the sisters managed to heal the millennial gulf, and once again were able to wield the Elements themselves.
Without the burden of being the saviors of Equestria, the friends were able to better pursue their goals and spend more time just being friends again. Each began to really flourish and thrive, both separately and together.
Under the care of Applejack and her family, Sweet Apple Acres bloomed into one of the largest, most productive farms in all of Equestria. During the harvest season, shipments of the famous apples, along with barrels of cider, left daily on the new spur of the railroad for every city in the land. More orchards were planted, and soon distant Apple family members flocked to the expanding farm to help keep up with demand. Throughout all the bustle of running the farm, Applejack remembered well the lessons her friends had taught her, and was never again too proud to ask for help.
Pinkie Pie, even though she never stopped throwing parties, began to take an even bigger role in helping the Cake’s bakery thrive. Due to the high demand of Apple Family goods, she had been delighted to help when Applejack had suggested she learn to make the secret recipes. Between the quality of the apples, the time-honed perfection of the recipes, and her innate baking abilities, business had never been better.
With the town quickly becoming a full-fledged city, Rarity had no end of new customers. With her assistant Spike, now an adolescent, supervising mining operations, she had more time than ever to perfect her line of clothing, from simple work wear, to elegant evening dresses for the grand parties that were being thrown. She could not get over how much things had changed since she first moved to Ponyville. All her life she dreamed of living and working in one of the big cities, only to have the city move to her town.
Fluttershy, however, did not exactly care for the newfound hustle and bustle of Ponyville. Instead, with the help of her animal friends, she moved farther away, into the edges of the Everfree Forest, which was not so dangerous now, as regular patrols were made just inside the borders of the treeline. Space was a premium in the new city, so everything had spread outwards towards the forest. In addition to her usual animal sanctuary, Fluttershy also became veterinarian to the increased farm animal population just outside the city.
With the increased population and expanding boundaries, a new weather outpost was flown in to help control the increased demands of the ever-taxed system. Made redundant by the new labor, Rainbow Dash redoubled her efforts to follow her lifelong dream, and join the Wonderbolts. After quitting the Academy several times for not being able to follow orders and stay on task, the lessons of discipline finally allowed Rainbow Dash to take orders as well as she gave them. With lots of hard work, and perfect timing, she managed to graduate to become captain of the Wonderbolts, after Spitfire had a minor injury, and decided to retire.
As the town became a city, the Mayor was augmented by a city council, chaired by none other than Twilight Sparkle. Her knowledge, now supplemented with the wisdom her friends had helped her to achieve, allowed her to put her organizational skills to great use. In time, the Mayor retired, leaving Twilight in the prime position to take over. Elections were held, though widely believed to be unnecessary. They were.
The mare reflected on all this life had brought, as the memories of her friends warmed and comforted her. She thought of her best friend, who had been the last one to pass from her world, and how the Will had given her back the rocking chair she once had given. It seemed too much; one last act of kindness for her to bear. For after all, she had not done much at first to earn the love of such great friends. In fact she had marginalized and underestimated them. But when she had no one else to trust, they had taken her in, and shown her the power of friendship. They had shared many wonderful years after that incident, and remembering what it was like before, and now, the old mare could not regret anything that had happened. With these memories came the bittersweet tears, as well as that minor, but insistent pain in her chest. As the pain grew worse, remembering her friends helped her to forget pain and guide her to their fellowship once more, and with a weary smile, Trixie died knowing she’d be with them soon.