And Till the End of Time...
They are lounged atop a hill on a blanket in the cool summer evening with a picnic basket, now almost empty, sat nearby and holding the remnants of their meal. They gaze at the bright stars shining above, admiring Princess Luna's night for a while and Twilight chatters about the constellations, getting into the kind of lingo that none of them but her can understand. They let her talk without interruption though because she loves sharing her knowledge and besides, some of it makes sense.
“And that there is the Ursa Minor,” She says; pointing with a hoof.
“Looks less hungry up there than it did when it was stomping through town,” Rainbow smirks and they share a few warm laughs at the memory. Twilight falls silent and they just keep gazing for a while; enjoying the peace and quiet that is for once unbroken by a certain impatient Pegasus or an excitable pink pony. It’s nice...
“I was just wondering...” Twilight starts and her friends glance to her as she trails off into silence. Her tone is almost sombre, quite at odds with how she was a few minutes ago.
“What’s on ya’ mind, sugarcube?” Applejack coaxes gently and Twilight hesitates with her ears lowering and she stares at the sky.
“Nothing. It doesn’t matter...” She says softly.
“If something’s bugging you, Twi, you gotta tell us so that we can make it better!” Pinkie replies with a smile that breaks through some of Twilight’s dampened mood. The unicorn smiles back at her.
“It’s okay. I was just thinking too much into things.”
Rainbow chuckles.
“You do do that a lot,” She teases with a nod and Twilight rolls her eyes at her. “But really, Twi. If you got something on your mind I can’t think of a better time to spill than when you’re chilling with all your friends,” She adds a tad more seriously.
“I don’t want to ruin everypony’s good mood,” Twilight replies.
“Darling, it is far more important that you have your peace of mind than us stargazing, however lovely it is,” Rarity says and Applejack nods her agreement as she watches a pair dart across the sky and she smiles.
“The stars ain’t goin’ nowhere. They can wait,” She urges, her gaze going to Twilight. The unicorn frowns uncertainly.
“A problem shared is a problem halved?” Fluttershy says gently and Twilight sighs softly in resignation then rubs her cheek as she thinks.
“Do you think...” She hesitates. “... Do you think we’ll always be friends?” She asks and she isn’t sure what she expects to hear but what she gets is silence, interrupted only by chirping crickets.
“Well, always is certainly a long time,” Applejack concedes with a thoughtful nod and her voice low. “But then ya’ gotta start considerin’ some things like how we’ve faced a bunch of evils, how we’ve helped each other become better ponies. Ah certainly think Ah’m a better mare for knowin’ ya’ll n’ Ah can’t imagine not havin’ ya’ around...” She pauses for a moment and Twilight gazes at her patiently. “Always is a long time... but that don’t mean a thing if ya’ care enough. Even if one of us goes someplace, it don’t mean we ain’t still friends. We’ll grow up n’ all and maybe we’ll go off an’ do different things... but it don’t mean we won’t still be friends...” Applejack glances over to Twilight then smiles at her. “Ah know that if one of you girls went trottin’ off someplace to great things then Ah’d wish the wind at yer tail n’ tell ya’ to write.”
Twilight returns her smile.
“Exactly!” Pinkie puts in firmly. “One day, Dashie is gonna be a Wonderbolt and she’s gonna be flying all over Equestria doing things but that doesn’t mean she won’t still be one of my bestest friends forever until the end of time... even if she forgets to write.”
“The Academy was tiring, okay?!” Rainbow cries in protest as she flails her hooves and Pinkie ruffles her prismatic mane with a giggle.
“I know, Dashie. I’m just messing.”
Rainbow sticks her tongue out at her childishly then smiles over at Twilight.
“Pinkie’s right though. I know for sure that if I went anywhere then you can bet that I’d be writing back to all of you whenever I could and visiting as often as possible... Things might change, Twi but it doesn’t mean our friendship has to,” The Pegasus assures her.
“It’s just... I can’t help but wonder if I’d have ever been friends with any of you if the Elements hadn’t have brought us together like they did,” Twilight explains.
“‘Bring us together’?” Rarity repeats; nose screwing up a tad like the words put an unpleasant taste in her mouth. “Now you’re being ridiculous. The Elements did not, in the slightest, bring us together.”
“They didn’t?” Twilight questions with a baffled frown.
“Of course not! I wanted to be your friend long before you told me I was the Bearer of Generosity. I didn’t head into the Everfree for my own benefit. I did so because you were going and I was dreadfully worried that you might have gotten hurt. Even back then I was beginning to consider you my friend, whether you shared the sentiment of not,” Rarity explains patiently.
“But I’d done nothing but brush you all off! I was being far less than friend material,” Twilight protests and Rarity smiles at her.
“Well, as a designer, I can assure you that ‘friend material’ does come in all shapes, sizes and forms. It does not have to be polished like a newly cut gem. Take Applejack for example-”
“Mind yerself, Rares...”
“-she is about as unpolished as any gem I have ever found,” Rarity continues; ignoring the comment and Applejack gives her a flat look as her ears lower in annoyance. “And I’ve found a lot of gems. I mean, an awful lot of gems.”
“Rares...” Applejack growls warningly.
“One moment, darling, I’m about to redeem myself,” Rarity says and Applejack scowls. “She is, in every manner of speaking, my opposite. Literally, in every manner of speaking; we do not even have that in common. However, just because she is unpolished and though I would very much like the opportunity to tidy her up a bit; she is not by any means a bad friend. Quite the opposite in fact and she has become one of the ponies I hold dearest. Pardoning the phrase, I have found her to be quite the diamond in the rough...”
Applejack is quiet for a long moment.
“Thanks, Rares...” She mumbles somewhat sheepishly.
“My pleasure, Applejack,” Rarity returns before looking back to her fellow unicorn. “And so, there are many kinds of friend, Twilight. You are the friend that I meet up with weekly to drink tea and chat with and read books in the company of. You might not have been bubbly and forward but I knew enough to see you for a good pony... and really, to be a friend, that’s the only quality that truly matters...”
Twilight nods slowly before her eyes widen.
“I’m not taking notes! This could all go in my friendship report!” She cries and she makes to rise and likely run off to fetch a scroll, a quill and some ink but is pushed back down by a blue hoof.
“You’re killing the mood, Twi. We’re being really deep here,” Rainbow Dash grins and Twilight blushes.
“Right... Sorry.”
Her friends laugh in amusement as they all settle back down and fall back into a tranquil silence.
“So, Fluttershy, what are your views on our friendship?” Rarity quips curiously and the quiet Pegasus gazes at the stars a while longer with bright blue eyes before she smiles gently.
“I think...” She begins then she looks between all her friends; her gaze settling finally on Twilight. “That friendship is magic...” She says simply and the smiles that light the faces of everypony present show that it is the absolute and undeniable truth. Twilight takes a deep breath; a weight she didn’t realise was there lifting off her shoulders and she nods her agreement.
“Yes, it is...” She murmurs.
They lay there, atop the hill and gazing at the stars with only one unchanging fact connecting them to each other. Simply being that however mismatched a group they might seem; they’re friends. In Pinkie’s words, ‘Friends forever and always until the end of time...’