This will be the last letter I write to you as I finish up my role in reporting what I’ve learned about friendship. I’ve received your letter requesting me to return to Canterlot and teach in the School for Gifted Unicorns, and I cannot thank you enough for such an opportunity. It also seems fitting that I must leave Ponyville as well. My friends had all found their callings recently, one by one leaving Ponyville to pursue their dreams until Spike and I were the only ones left. I know now that it’s my turn to branch out, and continue my life under your guidance.
When Rainbow Dash first announced she had been accepted into the Wonderbolts we were all so happy for her; she had dreamed of this day to come and now she could finally live it. To celebrate, Pinkie held a party for her and invited the Wonderbolts themselves; I’ll never forget the joy she showed when they welcomed her into the squad. But, not a second before the party began did it end, and Rainbow Dash was flying away with the Wonderbolts to her new life far away from Ponyville. Right then a small part of me was unhappy for her achievement. She was heading to the Griffin Kingdoms to train, and begin her new life away from Ponyville.
Then came the letter from Photo Finish. She had been following Rarity and the progress she was making in her designs for some time. The day that letter was sent was the day Photo Finish thought Rarity was ready to ascend to the next level, and demanded that she come down to Fillydelphia at once as her protégé. She even came down to Ponyville just so she could drag her into her Pegasus-drawn carriage herself! We were all laughing so much at the spectacle….I still regret not giving her a proper goodbye that day. I know Spike does, too.
About two days after, Braeburn had showed up at Apple Acres in such a panic we were all scared for what he needed to tell us. He said that there had been a drought causing most of the apple trees to wither, and the town was at risk of starving or being disbanded if they couldn’t find a solution to the situation. After seeing it firsthoof, Applejack told him she’d help those citizens for free. This was going to be for the residents of Appleloosa’s own benefit she told me, not her own. Without a second to waste she gathered her things and hopped on the first train to Appleloosa, and as the train pulled away she turned back toward us and gave us one last nod, with a smile across her face.
A few weeks later Zecora had asked us to help her with gathering some herbs in Everfree Forest. As we were going along collecting Fluttershy saw the horrible state the critters there were living under, with predators around every corner and no safe haven to call their own. It nearly broke Fluttershy to pieces; yes she had been to the Everfree Forest before, but it was only for a few hours, if that. After spending three days helping Zecora, she had seen enough. With determination I had never seen before she gathered what she could carry on her back and announced that she would fix this problem, and save those poor creatures that were at the mercy of their predators. She was still Fluttershy though. Before she left on her journey she mumbled the words, “A hop, skip and a jump, and I’ll get there,” through a subtle smile and a few tears, and dashed off toward her dreams.
A week after she left, Pinkie and I had taken a visit to Manehattan so I could retrieve a few books I had loaned Applejack’s aunt and uncle. Pinkie wasn’t a fan of cities but wanted to meet Mr. and Mrs. Orange and get to know them better, along with whoever else she could find. She came to me that night in shock; besides for Aunt and Uncle Orange she hadn’t made a single friend. She told me how disconnected people were, that they didn’t acknowledge anypony around even if they were sitting on the same bench, or how whenever she tried to get to know them they just greeted her how Cranky Doodle had. She was earnestly scared for them; “They don’t smile for Pete sake!” she had told me. The following morning was the last day I would see Pinkie Pie for a long time. She had a battalion of balloons, antics, and songs ready to sweep Manehattan by storm. She was going to make them smile again. I didn’t make the same mistake with Rarity; before she could go I tackled her for a change and gave her a hug. She couldn’t stop laughing, even waving goodbye with a big grin on her face. And even though I was going home to a town without my five closest friends, I couldn’t help but smile back.
Despite this, it was tough living in Ponyville without them. Spike was great company and a still is very close friend, but it couldn’t fill the gap left open that those five had filled. I missed looking up and seeing Rainbow Dash shooting through the sky without a sliver of doubt in herself, seeing the accomplishment in Rarity’s eyes as she debuted a new outfit or design, the “Never say never” strength Applejack would bring into any situation we would face, the timid smile Fluttershy would dawn whenever I came to visit, or the way Pinkie Pie could cheer me up even if I was at my lowest. I missed them all so much that I even came to think they’d all forget of our lives in Ponyville. All those moments we spent together, all the laughs and tears and smiles we shared; I thought they would never return. For almost a year I went thinking that I’d never experience again that joy where your heart takes over and fills you with happiness. That magic that can only come from friendship.
It was only a week ago when I got the invitation from Pinkie Pie, asking everypony to meet up with her at Sugarcube Corner for a catching-up party. I remember arriving at the front steps with my stomach in knots and fear controlling my beliefs. I was so afraid to go through the doors and see five unrecognizable ponies who had forgotten of the times we shared…and of me. By the time I reached the entrance every part of me was shaking, and I could barely muster the strength to push open the door.
But I didn’t have to. Before I could raise a hoof they drew the door open and pulled me in, every one of them hugging me tight and saying how they had missed me and that it had been too long since we were all together again. And out of nowhere I began to cry. This warm, overwhelming sensation had flooded my senses and cast aside all the doubts, worries and sadness that had been building up over the months spent without them. I was so indescribably happy I couldn’t help but cry; it just felt right. And what’s more is that they knew how I felt, smiling back and welling up a bit themselves. They all felt that joy I’ll never be able to describe, that magic I had missed for so long.
Once I was able to pull myself together, the party finally began. It was wonderful being able to catch up with everypony and ask how their lives were going. Rainbow Dash told me how the Wonderbolts were teaching her tricks and techniques she had never even considered, and were helping her further excel her forte far past what she could ever dream of. She told me to come down to a race when I could and be impressed by her new talent firsthoof; it would be miles ahead of what I had seen her do back in Ponyville. Rarity said she could finally afford the trappings she needed to fulfill some of her greatest designs, and they had brought her the Equestria-wide fame she had sought for so long. She still considered the five ensembles she made for us to be the greatest achievements of her career, however. Applejack told me how trying to restore the farms in Appleloosa has been one of the toughest tasks she’s ever had, but with the help from the buffalo they were making better progress than they had expected. “It’s a tough challenge,” she told me, “but then again, so was facin’ Luna and Discord. And how could I say no to such a challenge anyway? ” Fluttershy told me about the reservation in Dream Valley south of Everfree Forest and the support she was getting from ponies everywhere. I could tell she felt nervous of what laid ahead as more and more ponies would follow her and her ambitions, but she had always put her cares before her fears, and that wasn’t going to change. Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was elated at the smiles she had gotten from hundreds of Manehattians. She said she was breaking through that awful, confuzzling veil that had stolen away their happiness, and was teaching them of the joy that comes out through one another. Not to mention how funny “kumquat” was to say.
By the time the party came to a close we were all together, talking of the memories we shared in Ponyville from so long ago. We relived Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom, Rarity's second chance in impressing Hoity Toity, helping Applejack with Applebucking season, Fluttershy standing up to the dragon polluting Ponyville, and Pinkie Pie trying to liven up the Gala. We even relived the day they all first met me....it was remarkable. They had remembered everything just as I had without forgetting a single detail. Afterward we exchanged our goodbyes, had one last group hug tighter than all the rest, and with tears swelling in our eyes we departed from Sugarcube Corner toward our lives apart from one another.
But we will never be truly apart. That night I realized how misguided my fears had been in thinking that my friends would move on and leave behind Ponyville forever. The truth is that we had never left Ponyville. Our hearts are still there, reliving the days we spent together and all the emotions and memories that come with it. I learned that no matter how many miles separate us or how many days we will go without being with one another we will never grow apart. I’ve learned of the indescribable, unbreakable magic that can only come through friends like Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.
I learned that in the end, we will never forget.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
