Why haven't you aged?
Applejack slammed her back hooves against the apple tree behind her, sending apples down into the basket beneath the tree. It was a ritual she had carried out several times before, and it was one that she would carry out a thousand times more. Pushing her Stetson back on her head, the earth mare wiped the sweat from her brow with her hoof. Looking up, she noticed the red stallion bucking on the other side of the orchard had already finished his section.
"Good work clearin out that field, Big Mac!" Applejack yelled over to him, pushing her hat back into place. "Now, I thank Apple Bloom could use yer hailp with plantin' the seedlings in the bottom forty!"
"Eeyup." The old stallion hoarsely whinnied out, slowly trotting his way towards his youngest sister. In truth, AJ had sent the old grey stallion down because she was worried about how much more strain his old muscles could take bucking those apples. At nearly seventy five years of age, AJ often worried about how his was doing more work than he could take on.
"After the two of you get done, make shore ta head home before seven!" Applejack yelled down to the old stallion, as he and Apple Bloom started work. "Your wife said she'd have yer supper vittles ready by six, an' ah don't wanna catch any more heck from 'ol Junebug than I have to!"
The mare sighed, trotting back towards the house. It had been hard running things on the farm since Granny Smith had passed so many years ago, and AJ was busy trying to groom Apple Bloom and her husband for taking over Sweet Apple acres, so she could get some time to relax. The orange mare may not look any older than she had in her younger days, but she certainly felt the terrible weight of years upon her old back, as the decades weighed heavily upon her.
"Hello?" An elderly but elegant voice called out, as a knock came at the door. "Anypony in there?"
"Heya, Rarity." Applejack smiled, sitting down at a table in the kitchen. "Why don't y'all come in, an' sit here fer a spell?"
"Ah, Applejack, darling! So wonderful to see you!" The elderly unicorn trotted inside, having a seat beside an old friend. "You're looking as lovely as ever, as always!"
Looking over her dear old friend, Applejack still couldn't believe how much Rarity had changed. A once long and beautiful mane was now a powdery grey. That once flawless face was now covered with the wrinkles and creases of old age, and what had once been a graceful and elegant trot had now become a shaky and stumbling series of steps. It amazed AJ that Rarity didn't need a walker, but she was very happy that her friend could still get around so very well.
"Glad ta see y'all visitin' again from Canterlot." AJ told her, as she brushed a stray strand of her mane out of her face. "So what's goin on with you city folk?"
Ever since their parting ways so many years ago- Twilight to her princess of Friendship duties , Rainbow Dash to lead the Wonder Bolts in Cloudsdale, and Pinkie to run a comedy club in Manehatten- it had only been her and Fluttershy left here in Ponyville. And since the animal caregiver had passed, AJ had only rarely seen any of her friends, until Rarity had started visiting from Canterlot regularly. The two were the only harmony bearers left, and had grown very close over these past few years.
"Oh, just the usual politics. All the commotion going on from our dear friend Princess Twilight's unexpected death, and all that." She waved a wrinkled hoof dismissively. "But I'm not here to visit, Applejack. I've sold my fashion studio in Canterlot, and I'm moving back home to Ponyville."
"What?!? Rarity, have you gone plum loco?" AJ sputtered out in disbelief. "Livin in Canterlot an' bein a high falootin' fashionesita was always yer biggest dream!"
"Applejack, please be serious. I want to come home and spend my last years with my family and friends." Rarity snapped back, tapping her hoof on the table. "I don't want to go at some crazy party in Manehatten like Pinkie did. Nor would I want to pass like Rainbow Dash, dying with her husband right in the middle of- of-"
"Ya'll gotta admit, Rarity, they went out with a whole lotta spunk!" AJ replied with a laugh. "I hope when it's time fer my last roundup, I go out in half as entertainin' fashion!"
"That's just the thing, darling. I'm starting to wonder if you ever will go." Rarity responded, stifling a weak cough. "Not that I'm bitter, mind you. But haven't you noticed that you aren't even showing a wrinkle or gray hair in your older age?"
"Aw, it's just clean livin', an' that good ol' Apple family vigor!" AJ snorted. "Why, remember that Granny Smith lived ta be plum near two hundred when she passed. It's no surprise I'm still ornery in mah older years!"
"I'm not so sure, darling." Rarity sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Applejack, you know there are rumors going around the capital, that the Reason Princess Twilight Sparkle died was because she transferred her youth to another pony? One whom, I might add, never seems to age a day?"
"So? Whut do I care what them city folk thank?" AJ asked indignantly. "You know as well as ah do, thait Twi died of a broken heart after her feller died."
"I am aware of that, Applejack. But there's talk among the Canterlot elite..." Rarity placed a hoof on her friend's hoof. "Darling, there's talk of going behind Celestia and Luna's back, and investigating the ageless earth pony who may be tied to Twilight Sparkle's premature passing!"
"So they thank they're gonna come after me, huh?" The now angry earth pony snorted. "Well, if they thank ah'll just-"
"Applejack, think of your brother and sister! And think of the farm!" Rarity protested. "It would be better if Applejack quietly disappeared, and no one knew what had happened to her."
"B-but... this farm is mah home. A-and they're mah family." The mare replied, her ears drooping. "A-and y'all... y'all are the only friend ah got left."
"Applejack, listen to me. Fluttershy, Rainbow, Pinkie Pie... they'll always be your friends, and they'll always be in your heart." Rarity replied, tears starting to come down her cheeks. "That's what Twilight told me when she died, and that's what I'm telling you now."
"Ah-ah'm never goin' ta see y'all again, ahm ah?" Applejack squeezed her eyes shut, water slowly leaking out of them. "An I ain't gonna ever gonna see Apple Bloom an Big Mac, either."
"I shall keep an eye on Apple Bloom and the farm, whenever I can." The old unicorn sobbed. "And I shall greatly, greatly miss you."
The two mares hugged tightly, the bitter tears flowing from both of their eyes. Neither of them had any words to say, that could express the adventures, laughs, sorrows, and memories that a friendship that had spanned decades entailed. It was hard for both for them to say this final goodbye, just as hard as it had been to say goodbye to all of the others. And so, after a final visit and sharing of the memories of happier times, they said the only things they really could say.
"See ya'll lter, ya prissy pony!" AJ replied, wiping a tear from her eyes. "Take care of yourself, ya heyah?"
"Good bye, you messy slob." Rarity told the tearful earth pony one last time "If you really are immortal, make sure a future Equestria remembers how fabulous we harmony bearers were!"
And as the two departed from the house that night- one with a small sack tied and slung over her hoof, the other headed back into town, they shot each other a final smile. While AJ would be back to check on her siblings and the ranch a few times, Applejack would never see her dear friend, the prissy fasionesta with whom she had been though so much with, again in this life.