The Essence of Friendship
Applejack lay under her favorite tree in the orchard, looking up at the blue, cloudless sky, feeling the warmth on her face. She could hear, just barely, the sounds of her grandchildren and great-nieces and nephews hard at work, harvesting apples. Her own daughter would be in the kitchen, baking pies to fill an order. Big Mac's sons were raising a new barn along with their cousins.
A tired sigh escaped the ancient mare. More than anything, she longed to be out there in the field, bucking apples and running in the grass. She looked at her old, cracked hooves and the bleached peach-white hair of her fetlocks, once a vibrant orange. Her mane and tail, what was left of them, were snow white.
Her eyes, old as the rest of her, were still vibrant green, and her mind was as sharp as ever—she'd luckily never succumbed to the same ravages of old age that had wrecked Granny Smith's memory or left Big Macintosh completely senile unto his last breath.
Distantly, she heard Apple Bloom yelling about keeping a closer eye on the tools, or some fool thing...it was hard to tell from this distance. Her hearing wasn't what it used to be.
"Hello, Applejack," a soft, pleasant voice said as a shadow fell over her. She looked up.
Princess Twilight Sparkle had changed a great deal in the last hundred years. She now stood as tall as Princess Celestia; she wore similar gold regalia, with an amethyst in the shape of her six-pointed cutie mark upon her chest, and the small five-pointed tiara she'd worn since her early days seated atop her head. Her horn was now almost as long as her mentor's. While her bangs were still as short and straight as ever, the rest of her mane, as well as her voluminous tail, billowed away from her body on a magical breeze she herself perpetually generated. The magenta streak which she'd always had in her mane had been joined by four new streaks of color over the years: light sky blue, bubblegum pink, pale butter yellow, and an eye-pleasing white. These streaks rippled in the starry violet of Twilight's ethereal mane, each shining brightly.
The great alicorn smiled down at Applejack, her expressive purple eyes moist. "How are you feeling?" Twilight asked.
Applejack sighed. "You durn well know th' answer t' that, Twi. You wouldn't be here if'n ya didn't."
"I'm sorry," Twilight said, sitting primly beside her.
"Nah, it's okay," Applejack said. "Heck, walkin' up t' one'a yer oldest friends an' sayin' hey, heard you're dyin'...ain't no way t' start no conversation."
"True," Twilight said. She swallowed heavily. "But...other than...that, how are you?"
Applejack shrugged. "Ah ache some," she said. "Can't hold down much more'n applesauce an' milk these days. Ah'm a hunnert'n thirty, Twi. This ol' body's done wore out."
"I know," Twilight said sadly. She laid a hoof on Applejack's back and stroked it.
Applejack looked up at Twilight. "Will it hurt?" she asked.
"No," Twilight assured her in a soothing tone. "It won't hurt. I promise." She looked out into the orchards. "Is...is there anypony you need to..."
"No goodbyes," Applejack said. "Ah can't...Ah don't want..." She sighed. "Ah jes'..."
"I understand," Twilight said. She toyed with a few loose strands of Applejack's mane. "Whenever you're ready..."
"Can Ah...can Ah jes' have one last bite of apple?" Applejack asked.
"Of course," Twilight said with a smile. Her horn glowed, and a big, juicy red delicious apple detached itself from the tree above them, floating down into Applejack's old, tired hooves. Applejack took a bite of the apple, grimacing at the pain in her old gums, but humming in delight as the juices dripped down her muzzle.
Twilight waited patiently as Applejack finished the apple. Once Applejack had eaten her fill, she discarded the remainder. "Okay," she said. "Ah...Ah'm ready now."
Twilight smiled and stood up. "Alright." She walked around and face Applejack. Applejack looked up at her, jaw working as she fought her own nerves.
Twilight's eyes began to glow a soft white as her horn shimmered magenta. Applejack felt a pull...one she had felt only once before, over a century ago. Only this time, it felt different. Before, it had felt like part of her was being violently ripped away. This...
This felt like she was being drawn into a warm, welcoming light.
She heard voices, calling out to her...some of which she hadn't heard in decades...
Applejack's cutie mark disappeared from her flank. The vibrant green of her eyes dimmed to a pale, faded whitish hue. Her eyelids drooped.
Applejack's entire body sagged as her ancient heart beat one final time.
Twilight's horn dimmed, and her eyes faded. Her mane glowed, and a new streak joined the other four: a vibrant harvest orange, shining like morning dew on green leaves.
Twilight looked down at the dead body of her friend, smiled, and spread her wings, coasting to the barnyard.
She found Apple Bloom berating three burly young stallions who had apparently smashed several freshly cut boards with their recklessness. Apple Bloom had grown into a stout, strong mare, and while she was far from a spring chicken, she still had vitality to spare.
"Apple Bloom," Twilight called softly. Though her voice was not loud, it commanded immediate attention from all the ponies around her; they all stopped what they were doing and turned to kneel.
"As you were, my little ponies," Twilight said. She smiled gently at Apple Bloom. "How are you, Apple Bloom?"
"Too old t' be foolin' with these horseapple-brained young'uns," Apple Bloom muttered. She looked at Twilight...then did a double-take. Her ears wilted. "She's...?"
"Yes," Twilight said softly. "She...thought it best if she avoided any goodbyes. Thought it might...make it easier."
Apple Bloom sighed. "Where's...?"
"Underneath Bloomberg Junior," Twilight said.
"Of course," Apple Bloom nodded. She looked at Twilight again. "And...you really...?"
"Yes," Twilight said, running a hoof through the orange streak in her mane. She smiled. "Finally, we're all together forever..."
Eighty Years Earlier...
Princess Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack stood around an array of blankets which had been haphazardly spread out on the ground. Rain poured down; overhead, several pegasi were attempting to combat the out-of-control thunderstorm.
A doctor, two nurses, and three medic ponies worked furiously over Rainbow Dash, who lay mangled on the sodden blankets. Her broken, twisted wings were almost completely devoid of feathers, blood flowed freely from gashes in her side, her left front hoof was split in half, and blood seeped from her muzzle. Her rose-hued eyes were bleary as she looked up at her circle of friends.
Fluttershy and Rarity were sobbing. Pinkie Pie's mane lay flat and straight, rain dripping from its length. Applejack tried to be stoic, but her ears lay flat.
The doctor looked up at Twilight. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. There's...there's nothing we can do. If we'd gotten here even a few minutes sooner, there might be a chance, but..."
"I can teleport us all to the hospital," Twilight said. "There could still be—"
"I'm sorry," the doctor said. "Even if you did, we...we wouldn't even have time to prep for surgery at this point. And...there's little chance she'd even survive the operation." His ears wilted. "It's just too late, Your Highness."
Fluttershy broke down in loud, keening sobs. As the rain thinned to a trickle, tears streamed down the faces of Twilight's friends.
"No," Twilight whispered hoarsely. "It...it can't be...Rainbow Dash...you can't just...you can't just die..."
Rainbow Dash looked up at Twilight. "H...hey..." she said, struggling to speak. "I had a good run..." She coughed and spat out a glob of blood. "Besides...nopony lives forever..." She laughed weakly. "Well...almost nopony."
Twilight's ears drooped. In that moment, the reality of her alicorn existence struck home.
She was immortal. Her friends weren't.
Rainbow Dash was dying right in front of her.
One day, Pinkie Pie would die. And Fluttershy. And Rarity. And Applejack.
Her friends...they were all going to die. And it would just be her and Spike, together for...however long alicorns and dragons lived.
Without the very ponies that made her the Princess she was.
"No," Twilight said, eyes narrowing. She stamped a powerful hoof. "You're not going to die, Rainbow Dash. None of you are going to die. Not now, not ever."
Rainbow Dash coughed again. "Don't...think you can...do anything about that, Twi..."
"Watch me," Twilight said. Her eyes began to glow, and her horn lit up, casting a magenta glow that pierced the gloom of the clouds above.
"Twilight? What...?" Rarity asked, taking a fearful step back.
"What's going on?" Pinkie asked.
"Whut're you...?" Applejack wondered, eyes wide.
Fluttershy hid behind Applejack, trembling.
Rainbow Dash's cutie mark disappeared from her flank. The vibrant rose hue of her eyes faded to a dull pinkish-gray. She coughed one last time and fell still.
With one last, bright flare, Twilight's horn dimmed, and her eyes returned to normal. A bright shimmer of magic lit up her mane, and a streak of sky blue spread from the roots to the tip, sparkling and glowing as it darkened the natural violet.
When it was done, Twilight took off into the sky, trailing a rainbow behind her, and blew away the lingering clouds, scattering weatherponies in her wake. As the sky cleared and the sun shone down on the body of Rainbow Dash, the circle of medic ponies, and her shocked, stunned friends, Twilight Sparkle landed again, folding her wings at her sides.
"Twilight?" Pinkie asked in an unusually timid voice. "What...what did you just do?"
Twilight let out a deep, shaky breath. "I...I saved Rainbow Dash."
"Saved her?" Rarity shrieked. "You killed her!"
"No," Twilight said, turning to face her friends. The new blue streak in her mane swished as she turned. "Her body has died, yes, but...everything she was...will live on forever. Inside me."
"Inside...you?" Rarity asked, taking a step back.
"Do you remember when Tirek stole our magic?" Twilight asked.
"Of course," Rarity said, shuddering.
"I..." Twilight took a deep breath. "I...just thought of a way to adapt that horrible power...and use it in a different way."
"You stole Rainbow Dash's magic?" Fluttershy asked sharply.
Twilight shook her head. "I absorbed her essence," she said. "Rainbow Dash's magic, her talent, all her memories and experiences...everything Rainbow Dash was...even her very soul. All of that...it's inside me now. Part of me."
The others gasped. "Uhh...that's..." Applejack looked at Twilight fearfully. "That's...uhh..."
"That's horrific," Rarity whispered.
"She was dying!" Twilight said. "I...I was about to lose one of my precious friends!" She looked around at the others, ears falling. "I...I saw her dying...and I knew she was about to die...and I realized...all of you are going...going to die...one day...and I'll still be here...without you...and..." Tears spilled from her eyes. "I can't lose you. I can't lose any of you! Don't you see? Not when...not when there's a way..." She sniffled. "And so...I did...the only thing I could think of..."
It was days before any of them spoke to Twilight again, and years before they truly, fully understood why she'd done what she did.
Twenty years later, Pinkie Pie fell victim to a plague that spread through western Equestria. Many ponies died before a cure was found. As Pinkie's friends gathered around her deathbed, Twilight looked into the bloodshot blue eyes of her usually cheerful, ebullient friend. "Pinkie Pie," she said. "You don't have to die. Not here...not now. You can be with me and Rainbow Dash forever."
Pinkie looked up at Twilight, eyes wide. "I..." She swallowed. "I'm...kinda scared of dying," she admitted. "It...it isn't very fun."
"You don't have to," Twilight said with a gentle smile. "Let me save you. Please...please let me save you..."
"Is...is Dashie happy in there with you?"
Tears spilled from Twilight's eyes, and she nodded. "She's happy. She wants you to stay with us too."
"Okay," Pinkie said weakly.
The others watched as Twilight absorbed Pinkie into herself, and a streak of bubblegum pink appeared in her mane.
"This...this jes' ain't natural, Twilight," Applejack said as they left the empty, lifeless body of Pinkie Pie behind.
"This is the way it has to be, Applejack," Twilight said. "I won't let it be any other way."
Over the years, Twilight grew more distant from her living friends. And yet, when each neared death, she knew, and she was there.
Fluttershy was next. She had given birth to one foal more than her body could handle. Twilight approached her, and she cowered in her deathbed.
"If for no other reason, do it for your family," Twilight said. "Do it so they know...so they know you didn't just...go away."
Years later, Rarity passed of old age. Twilight was there. Sweetie Belle, in tears, pleaded with her sister to accept Twilight's offer. Rarity agreed, and became one with her oldest and dearest friends.
At Rarity's funeral, Applejack was solemn. "Twilight?"
"Yes, Applejack?"
"Ah jes' want you t' know..." Applejack swallowed thickly. "When mah time comes...an' Ah know it's comin' soon..." She bowed her head and sighed. "Ah won't argue. Ah'll...Ah'll wait for you. Do your thing...Ah'll be ready."
"Thank you," Twilight said, tears streaming down her face as she embraced the elderly earth pony. "Thank you so much."
* * * * *
An alicorn with a rainbow mane stood on the balcony of a crystal castle overlooking the bustling town of Ponyville. It had changed so much over the decades...
She looked up at the sky, at the shining sun overhead, and felt the warm wind on her face.
The Fuji apples were just about ready to be harvested. Dozens of baby squirrels were going to be born soon. There were two birthday parties today and a baby shower tomorrow. The Manehattan fashion expo was coming up in two weeks. A thundershower was scheduled for early tomorrow morning.
There was also Applejack's funeral, but she wasn't going. Because Applejack wasn't dead.
Applejack was immortal. And so were the others.
Twilight and all her friends would be together forever...
