With each of their children passing on, the girls started to lock themselves away in the castle keeping close to each other to help bring comfort. When one of any of the girls children died they all stayed together in Twilight's room clinging to each other to help them sleep and usual would be there for about a week. Though as the last child died going off to a place where they could never follow, they started to break off sleeping in their rooms again. Though most nights they still need another pony to help stave off the crippling loneliness that kept them up at night.
In some cases like Rarity who had practically moved into Twilight's room, the alicorn's comfort seemed to help more then the others to her. She and Twilight as the years had gone on had grown a closer friendship then with the others. With Rarity living in Canterlot away from the group she didn't see most of them as often as she wished she could, but Twilight who had her royal duties still had to make regular trips to the capital for meetings with the royal court. Every time she came she would spend her free time with Rarity hanging out at Rarities fashion studio and having dinner with the white unicorn's herd. Now that her herd was gone it was Twilight whom she was closest to that filled even a little of that gap, the larger softer royal bed that was in the room didn't hurt either.
The others had seemed to be the same with another. Applejack for instance spent many nights in Rainbow's room, the two finding a closer comfort in each other. The two had been closer then the other Rainbow coming home to Ponyville on occasion for some of the many many celebrations would stay at Sweet Apple Acres. Their friendly rivalry never ended either as one event she never missed was the running of the leaves where the two could always hold their friendly competition. After they would race one another they would usually go out and hit a bar where the two would drank laughing and joking about the event and about life in particular, before going home to the farm wasted.
Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy's closeness was different from the others. While since both were living in Ponyville all this time Fluttershy was closer to Applejack as they were once sisters-in-law. But Pinkie's up beat personality personality even the hard times for her after the Cake twins passed on helped Fluttershy making her happy to see and offsetting the sadness that she felt for the loss of her family. In turn Fluttershy's calm gentle personality was there when Pinkie would go overboard trying to overcome the pain she felt by being happy and upbeat, the kind pegasus would held her tightly on nights when the grief would break even the pink ones happiness.
The six had lived this way for around 20 years only mingling with the world outside their tight clique during the palaces court that was held four times a week where the six would attempt to help other out with problems through wisdom that came with living a longer then normal life. They would spend some of their evenings dinning on the balcony over looking the village which had seemed to double in size since their days of being normal citizens.
After the two decades they had finally moved on, though they would always hold that time in their hearts they felt they needed to live for the sake of each other and all of Equestria. They finally came to a decision and it was that evening on the 20th anniversary of the death of Starlight the six had gathered in the round table throne room standing over the star in the center with hands held out and the palms of their right hands facing out to form a circle in the center of them.
"Ancient forces of Equuis and pony kind hear us. Fill our hearts with the hearts of each other and bind our happiness and sadness to one another," Twilight began her eyes closed along with the others focusing her magic down her hand forming a mana construct of her cutie mark in front of it. The others cutie marks floated out in front of their respective hands.
"I give myself to the herd and I bring to it my knowledge and magic," she spoke her voice changing as magic filled it making her words a contract to the universe.
"I give myself to the herd and bring to it my creativity and generosity," added Rarity next her voice like Twilight's adding power to it.
"I give myself to the herd and bring to it my speed and loyalty," Rainbow continued in the magical tone.
"Ah give myself to tha herd and bring to it mah strength and honesty," with her usual draw Applejack joined the others.
"I give myself to the herd and bring to it my spirit and laughter," Pinkie continued with a happy tone
"I give myself to the herd and bring to it my gentleness and kindness," finished Fluttershy in her usually soft tone the magic still making it ring out.
"With our will and love we become a herd all as one forever in each others hearts," they finished together as the cutie mark constructs began to whirl in a circle slowly blurring until the magic of them forms a rainbow colored sphere in their place. Each of the six opened their eyes in a single motion to show their glowing white eyes and the sphere started to shrink the rainbow light reentering the hand held out toward it.
"We are now one with the others and so give birth to the herd, HARMONY, " they finished as the magic vanished from the area. They each heard the others voices and felt what the others were feeling slowly start to appear in their minds and their hearts.
After the ritual had ended the Twilight sent out the paperwork legally announcing the creation of the new golden heard much to the joy of the people who saw this as a sign the great mares that had done so much for their world would finally find happiness with each other and no longer feel the loss.
With loneliness leaving them finally, the empty space their lost herd had left as a void was finally filled again, they set out on personal prodjects to once again to try to make the world a better place.
Twilight had started a new university just on the outskirts of Ponyville. The Equestrian University of Science and Magic, started out a small school bringing only the best and brightest. Over time though the school had grown to include other subjects with the help of her friends. Rarity worked with other artists to help create the school of art and design to the university which had in the coming centuries had given rise to some of Equuis' greatest painters, sculptors and even architects. The school had also spurned the school of dance and music which with its sister school would grow Equestrian culture for the years to come. Applejack with the help of other farmers had helped give birth to the school of agriculture and the school of business thus helping to raise food productivity and grow the economy. Fluttershy helped create the school of medicine which would grant a better health care system all over Equuis with bringing in more physicians, psychologist and veterinarians. Pinkie surprisingly created the school of engineering separating it from science and was one of the key individuals who with a your protege gave birth to rocket science. Rainbow had pushed to create an athletics department which had been copied by other universities the world over in time giving birth to college sports.
Rarity started one of four of the largest charities on all of Equuis with the other three created by her fellow herd members. She had created Fashion for the Less Fortunate, which had gathered clothing through local drives and independent donations to sell or give away. The ones that were sold through stores all over Equestria were used to gather money from the sales keeping only a small crew for sales and volunteers to stock would start gaining enough money to help the homeless in other ways.
Applejack after looking into Sweet Apple Acres which she had given to her's and Fluttershy's descendants to see how the farm had grown in the last few decades, started her own charity. Like Rarity's, her's had also become of of the biggest and most important in Equuis. With the schools she helped create and the university food was cheap and plentiful in Equestria meaning no one went hungry in the country, started pushing for donations from the more fortunate. This food would be taken to more famine filled regions of the world to make sure no one went hungry not just in her own country but the whole world as well. They would also bring in supplies to any area there tragedies had occurred.
Pinkie Pie, who saw that with the growth of the food industry no one went hungry but so many of the less fortunate children never got toys or got to have parties for their special days like birthdays. She started putting out boxes in toy stories at first just in Ponyville at first to try to get toys for these children. She also went out on her own most of the time and sometimes when the other six had time with them, and hit businesses asking for donations to help the children. In time with a lot of effort they were getting enough toys and donations to not only make sure Equestrian children but also children all over the world had a birthday and toys.
Fluttershy was the last of the group to focus her efforts on a charity. After she started the school for medicine at the new university she got to thinking about all those poor people who didn't have access to health care and those who through some unfortunate even were left without anything, created the Staff of Asclepius. Named after a pony who in ancient history brought medicine to barbaric regions. The charity would enlist doctor volunteers to go to various counties to heal the people suffering there. It also worked with the other three her friends had set up to bring aid to areas where events left people homeless and hurt.
Rainbow Dash, who saw that societies entertainment was limited to celebrations which society had made to many of to make up for the lack of entertainment, races performed by the Wonderbolts, and the Equestrian Games themselves. With the fortune she had made being a Wanderbolt and a trainer when she had settled down Dash start to invest in the newly formed and young film industry. She invested in the fledgling companies giving them enough money to actually really get going. Because of this movie theaters popped up all over, television was later created. Once she started seeing a return on her investment she they started to work with various city officials in many different cities and with the help of Twilight and the princesses were able to have arenas build in those cities and various sports teams formed. In time she helped these forms of entertainment flourish and brought in a lot of money for her troubles. 90 percent of which was given to her friends' charities.
With the six of them and the growing university Ponyville grew from the large village to a sprawling metropolis, growing bigger then even Manehatten.
A hundred years after coming to live with each other to overcome their grief of loss Rarity whom had still regularly slept snuggled up to Twilight had sat on the alicorn's bed next to her closest friend with a small nervous smile.
"Twilight, thank you for everything you have done for me in the last hundred years," Rarity held up her had as Twilight started to speak, knowing the mare would tell her it was no big deal. "Twilight darling, I know you wanted to help us. You even let me sleep with you cuddling each other for a long time. Truth is over the last few decades I have been feeling something, you probably notice it and it was like the others had started to feel for each other," She stopped and sighed as she collected her thoughts. "I have fallen in love with you darling."
Reaching up taking the lavender mare's hands in her own and gently caressing them. "You were there for me in the time of need and were the friend I needed when I needed it. I with those acts felt our friendship grow expectantly over the years. That has grown into a love similar yet different to one I have only felt for one pony, Hoity. I want to be with you Twilight, I want to have you always by my side, to always hold you in my arms for the rest of our forever."
"Rarity, I ... I, " started Twilight stammering as the memory of being used by the one pony she had ever loved came flooding back. In midst of her stammering a gentle soft furred hand pressed against her lips silencing her.
"Darling, it has been nearly 200 years since that bastard hurt you. Please, I know you started to feel for me what I feel for you, you just are afraid of it after your earlier heart break. Twilight darling, please for the sake of yourself and for me let love into your life again," With that he removed her hand, wrapping her arms around the slightly shaking mare pulling her into a tight yet gentle embrace. As they get closer to one another their eyes locking they both move in with slowly careful movements and capture one another's lips. It was there both had fallen asleep in each other's arms snuggling and cuddling into each other more lovingly then ever before.