The farmhouse floor cracked softly as Twilight walked upstairs, looking forward to meeting her dear friend.

The house didn’t change much in the time. It’s not a surprise considering how traditionalist the Apple family was, always keeping their way to do things through generations, their values, lessons and legacy.

Twilight slowly walked into Applejack’s bedroom, taking care to be as quiet as possible, even though there were no reasons to all that cautious. The surroundings were the same as the last time she was there: wooden floor, walls and roof; a rustic but comfortable looking bed covered by plaid blankets was close to the wall at her right; AJ’s dressing table rested nearby her closet, where she kept her clothes, most of them crafted by Rarity.

A golden shine of light coming from the only window adorned the room, providing it the perfect atmosphere of countryside family house. Twilight found her friend at the balcony, walking through the room and an open door, resting on her old Granny’s rocking chair, admiring the sunset in the horizon. The light reached all the area of the Sweet Apple Acres, a cool breeze shook their manes and Applejack sighed loudly with a smile cracking across her face.

“You remind me of her.” Twilight spoke after a while, also enjoying the spectacular view been shown to them.

“Hum? Who?” Applejack blinked, kind of caught by surprise by her friend’s presence, even though they had been together for most of the day.

“Granny Smith.” Twilight smiled, remembering the sweet old mare she once met. As the years passed, AJ way of talking, acting and even the way she tied her mane and tail in buns were getting more similar to her grandma.

The farm pony chuckled warmly at the alicorn’s comment. She gave her chair a weak impulse, just enough to provide a comfortable swing. “Ah’ll take that as a compliment, sugarcube.” She said bringing her attention back to the horizon. After another moment of silence, she spoke. “Mine is the third, but my family has been in Ponyville for five generations, Twi.” She smiled remembering the kids playing downstairs. “Ah spent my whole life here and damn, ah enjoyed every moment of it!” She nodded to herself, watching the last of the sunbeam disappearing behind the hills. “And ah want to stay here, forever.”

That last part caught Twilight by surprise; she looked up to her friend who kept a relaxed gaze on her green eyes. “What do you mean with that, Applejack?” She seemed slightly frightened by that remark.

“Ah mean ah want to… When ah go, Twi, ah want to stay here, ya understand?” She spoke so calmly about that, making it sound so natural and peaceful. “Granny Smith stayed, there at that hill.”

The princess started to tear up; keeping her voice from breaking she spoke sadly. “AJ, please… Don’t say that. I-I don’t want you to leave.”

To her surprise Applejack chuckled and jumped off her chair, stretching quickly before walking close to her. “C’mon Twi, ya’re sounding like Rarity right now with all this drama. Ah ain’t leaving you or anypony else anytime soon! Look, Ah’ve just became a grandma and ya bet yer flank ah’ll these kids growing up!” She smiled with a confident look, stomping her hoof on the ground and approaching her dear friend even more. “But… It’s still goin’ to happen. What ah mean is… Just promise ya’ll come visit me from times to times, right sugarcube?” She smiled tenderly to Twilight, who answered with a nod and a smile.

“I promise Applejack.” She hugged the farm pony with some tears running down her face, getting a tight grip in response.

(…)

“I hope it is important newbie, I’m in the middle of something!” A rainbow maned pony spoke from behind her desk without averting her eyes from the paperwork she was working on. A golden plaque rested on the table where one read the words “Cpt. Rainbow Dash” right next to miniatures of Equestria’s and Cloudsdale’s flags. A collection of medals was displayed on the wall behind her, as well as many certificates of “Fastest flier”, “Youngest mare to lead a team”, “First place on interspecies flying competition” and other stuff like that. To complete the view two windows provided natural light as well as a great view of the Wonderbolts Academy.

“Excuse me Rainbow… I mean, ‘Captain’ Rainbow Dash.” Twilight spoke with a smile as the door cracked open and she stepped inside.

With the mention of those words the grumpy expression on the blue pony’s face vanished and she looked up spreading a smile across her muzzle. “Well, well, guess who cared to pay a visit.” Rainbow Dash relaxed on her chair as a sarcastic expression was printed on her face.

“What are you talking about?! I always come to check on you!” Twilight replied quite offended, stopping her walk to the chair in front of the desk for a moment and raising an eyebrow.

“With ‘always’ you mean once each six months, right?” Dash said bowing to get something from a drawer on her desk.

“C’mon Rainbow.” Twilight sighed and averted her eyes. In fact, her visits had become more sporadic in the time. When Rainbow Dash first assumed the academy command she would come almost every week, then every month, once a quarter… But what she could do? She was a princess after all and had lots of responsibility to attend as well as being the principal of the friendship school which became way larger than when it first opened the doors. “I know I don’t come very often, but that doesn’t mean I--”

Twilight line of thinking was interrupted by her friend’s chuckles. “Chillax, Twi. I’m just messing with ya.” Rainbow placed two cups on the table and filled them with an amber-color liquid. “Take a sip and take a break. How long has it been since we last chit-chatted?” She smiled lifting a cup to her mouth and drinking the sweet apple cider.

The alicorn smiled and did the same, letting the tasty drink refresh her mind and relax her muscles. “It’s been a while. It’s hard to get some free time with so much to do.”

“Yeah, I got you there. Being a leader is way harder than I thought.” The pegasi sighed and leaned back on the chair soft surface, twisting the empty glass between her hooves.

Twilight giggled in a triumphant tone. “I told you. Is it just ‘putting on the crown and being a bossy egghead’ like you always said?” She leaned forward and smirked teasingly.

The hash blue pony smiled too and replied. “No way, I work my flank off to keep this place running! Being an egghead is hard. You deserve respect, Twi.”

“Sooo, I’m still an egghead after all?” Twilight questioned feeling defeated.

“Ha, totally!” Rainbow Dash smiled and focused the princess in front of her. “You’ll always be an egghead.” She paused for a moment and averted her eyes before saying. “But… You’ll always be my egghead.”

Both them blushed slightly and giggled softly with that affirmation. “Time flies, doesn’t it?” The alicorn sighed looking a pair of pegasi performing loopings in the air in the training fields through the window.

“It does.” The captain nodded with a sigh, now tossing the glass from one hoof to another. “Even faster than I. But don’t tell that to anypony!” They shared a laugh in unison and remained in silence for the next moments. “Sometimes I wonder if I did right in accepting Spitfire position when she reformed. I barely have any free time.”

“Leadership is a full-time job, and may I say, it’s not for everyone.” Twilight nodded in agreement.

Another period of silence passed until Rainbow Dash broke it. “Twilight.” The purple pony looked at her friend, listening to whatever she had to say. “I know that time is passing, things are changing; I can’t fly like before and honestly, I don’t know how long I’ll still be ‘Rainbow’ Dash.” She stroked her own mane which colors had started to fade, getting closer to shades of gray. “But, besides all that… Will you still… Think about me? Even if we don’t see each other anymore?” She asked sheepishly, a tone of voice totally unusual for someone like Rainbow Dash.

“Of course I will, Dash! I always think about you. I know we don’t hang out like before, but we are always going to be friends. Nothing can break the bond we have. The things we did, the memories we have will last forever.” She smiled warmly to the Wonderbolts leader and leaned her a hoof. “Friends forever?”

Rainbow Dash smiled back and placed her hoof over Twilight’s. “Friends forever.”

(…)

“Ok, we got everything right?! The cakes, the balloons, the banner, confetti, what else? Argh! She always made it look so easy!” Pound Cake stomped his hoof on the floor and shut his eyes in frustration. Just the idea of forgetting anything for that party had disturbed him for the whole week.

“What about a new haircut?” Pumpkin Cake spoke absently while placing a tray with cupcakes on a table nearby.

“Wow, thanks a lot sis. You also look great wearing the same blue ribbon for the last twenty years!” The pegasi replied as he flew down and gazed at his sister.

“Why, thank you. I always thought it brings out my eyes.” She winked to him and smiled playfully, but noticed the annoyed look on his face and turned around with a reassuring smile. “Relax, Pound. She was our personal tutor for years and we are working exactly as we were taught.”

“I know, it’s just--” The pegasi twin rubbed his foreleg and looked down in worry, but was caught by surprise when his sister shook his shoulders intensely.

“Hey! Look at me! It’s just another party, remember? It’s not the first event we organize and we did perfectly well in the prior ones. We can do this!” She gave him another shook, prompting for an answer.

Pound Cake closed his eyes and took a deep breath before grinning with confidence. “You’re right. We can do this!”

Pumpkin smiled back and turned around to go on with her duties. “That’s how I like it! Now move your flank and get back to work!”

Both them chuckled before hearing a knock on the door. “Sorry, we are closed! Private party!” Pound shouted before turning his attention back to the treats.

“Um, excuse me?” Twilight carefully pushed the door open and smiled to the Twins.

“Oh, Twilight, I’m so, so sorry! Please, come in.” The pegasi flew to the alicorn and greeted her with a police reverence.

“No need for that Pound, it’s great to see you too.” The princess smiled and pulled the stallion into a hug.

“We are putting the final touches to the party. Sorry, we are in a hurry, but I’ll bring you some of our best apple cakes in a minute.” He smiled and trotted back to the kitchen.

“A-Actually.” Twilight smiled nervously, calling the pegasi back to her. “I brought some company.”

“Howdy, sugarcube.” Applejack smiled as she walked in the bakery.

“Oh, hey there, Applejack. Glad to see you here and--” He stopped as Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy followed the farm pony. “Hey girls, I didn’t expect to see you all so earl--” His voice was cut again as Princesses Celestia and Luna were the next to enter.

In the following seconds most of the ponies living in Ponyville started to fill the store, making the pegasi smirk nervously. “Twilight, what is going on?!”

The Princess of Friendship giggled and replied. “I guess the news about this party spread really fast and all Pinkie’s friends decided to come.

Pound Cake froze in horror, his eyes widening with that remark. “A-All her friends? ALL OF THEM?!”

Twilight nodded. “Even the Yaks are on the way to Ponyville.”

“YAKS?!”

“Yes. Oh, and Silverstream is bringing the hippogriffs too.”

“Pound, what is all this mess? And you aren’t yo--” Pumpkin froze in the air, just like Pinkie Pie would. “What is going on?” She asked slowly, almost spelling each word.

“Apparently all Pinkie’s friends are coming for the party.” The pegasi answered calmly, his eyes were half closed, sort of remembering Big McIntosh.

“ALL HER FRIENDS?!” The unicorn shrieked.

“Hum-humf.” Her brother nodded getting a cupcake from the counter.

There was nothing else they could do. Of course, the bakery’s manager had lots of friends not just in Equestria but in many other kingdoms as well, but there weren’t expected more than twenty, maybe thirty guests attending to the party. There wasn’t enough flour and sugar in Equestria to bake enough treats for everyone, so Pound just gave up and passed his sister while munching a strawberry cupcake with chocolate topping.

It was impossible to hold all the guests in Sugarcube Corner, so the creatures filled the whole city. Ponyville had more visitors that day than in all Mayor Mare’s attempts to increase the town’s touristic activity.

The party was running for half an hour when Rainbow Dash flew inside the bakery and shouted, “All right, everypony, get to your places! Celestia and Luna, go to the tables room! Mr. and Mrs. Cake and the twins, you stay here! Twilight and the others, with me! NOW!”, she flowed up and down yelling orders, what made Twilight and some others hold back their laughter. And about Rainbow’s behavior, well, that’s what happens when Spitfire train someone to take HER spot at the Wonderbolts.

A muffled chatter took place in the baking shop as everyone waited excitedly for the ‘guest of honor’ to walk in. The door cracked open, every creature took a deep breath and shouted, “SURPRISE!”

A pink figure was half-way into the shop when she jumped and froze in the air, perfectly static. Her blue eyes were wide open and her jaw hangs open letting an audible “AAAHHHH!” escape in her surprise. “What is going on here?”, she asked, even though the toothy grin spreading across her muzzle suggested she already knew the answer.

“It’s your farewell party, silly!”, a cream-colored pegasus rushed to her and hugged the pink pony tightly, burying his face in her soft mane.

“Yeah, like, now you’re retiring and all… We couldn’t just wave ‘goodbye’, y’know?”, a unicorn mare wearing a blue ribbon approached and joined them.

“Awww, you didn’t have to.” Pinkie Pie smiled and involved the twins in her forelegs.

The crowd smiled at the beautiful moment, but no one intervened. It wasn’t a secret to anyone that Pinkie Pie and the Cake’s Twins had a special bond and therefore they deserved a moment of their own. Since they were newborns Pinkie took care of them, raised them, entertained them. She took them alongside their parents on their first day at school and in the last one as well. They all celebrated together when the foals got their cutie marks, and Pinkie made sure they celebrate a ‘cutie mark anniversary’ to them. When the Cake’s retired and Pinkie was totally in charge of the bakery the twins threw their first party, a ‘Welcome new-best boss’ party, which filled the others with pride and joy. And now, here they were.

“We are going to miss you.” Pound spoke softly, his voice breaking as tears ran down his face.

“Remember you have free cakes anytime you want, so come visit us, Ok?” Pumpkin added tightening her grip around Pinkie.

“No need for that, dummies! I’ll still live in Ponyville and I’ll come here all the time to check on you.” She replied.

“We love you, Pinkie!” A stallion shouted and suddenly everyone was cheering their friend who brought so much happiness to their lives.

“Oh, and by the way, did you see the hippos out there? Oh, by the way again, did you see EVERYONE out there?!” Pinkie started hopping around.

“Of course, Silverstream mentioned she would bring the hippogriffs.” Rarity agreed with a nod and smiled to her friend.

“No, I mean there are HIPPOPOTAMUS out there! C’mon, I’ll show you!” With that said Pinkie rushed out the door and towards Ponyville’s park.

“When did she ever met ‘these’ hippos?” Rainbow Dash muttered.

~~~~

“And now we’re opening another school in Fillydelphia, and in the next year we --” Twilight cut short her conversation with local politicians when somepony poked her shoulder. “Oh, Pinkie, how’s it going? Enjoying the party?”

“Yup! Best party EVER!” She shouted in her usual excited tone, what made Twilight smile. But suddenly Pinkie’s voice assumed a more serious tone, “Hey, Twi, can I talk to you for a second? In particular.”

“Of course, Pinkie.” She turned to the diplomats she was talking to and waved politely, “Excuse me.”, they bowed in reverence and walked away, leaving the princess alone with her pink friend.

The only sign of Pinkies aging were a few wrinkles on her face. Her energy was the same as a filly, she would always jump around, carrying her party cannon and making everypony’s days better with her cheery mood. Her ‘poofy’ mane hadn’t changed a bit and her coat never changed its bright shade of pink. Pinkie Pie’s blue eyes looked deeply into Twilight and they stayed there in silence for a moment.

“So… What is it, Pinkie?” Twilight inquired, showing her friend a reassuring smile.

Before they could say anything else, Pinkie Pie rushed and hugged the alicorn tightly. Probably one the tightest hugs she gave the whole day. “Twilight,” She spoke warmly, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

The first action Twilight had was hug her friend back. “Don’t thank me, the party was pretty much Pumpkin and Pound’s idea. They organized the whole thing, from beginning to end. Well, except for the guest list, that is.” She chuckled.

Much to her surprise she felt Pinkie’s head shaking in disagreement before breaking the hug. “No, Twilight, it’s not about the party. Of course, this party is great and honestly, I wasn’t expecting any of this! It’s so nice of everypony to be here.” She smiled brightly, a smile not even the time could take away from that pony. “But, that’s not what I want to thank you for.”

“Oh, is it about that Star Swirl spell book I gave you? I know you can’t even cast any spell, but I liked it so much that I though yo-hummf!” Twilight stopped when Pinkie placed her hoof over her mouth.

“No, Twilight, that’s not either.” She made a short pause and backed her hoof from Twilight’s mouth, who decided to be quiet this time. “I… I just want to thank you for being here today and… For being so special.” Before Twilight say anything Pinkie continued. “I’m proud to say I have lots of friends and it’s amazing to see all of them here today. I do have special care and love for each one of them, but… Some are just… Special, you know?” She smiled sheepishly.

“When I first saw you in Ponyville I knew we would be friends. I would throw you a party, we’d get to know each other, maybe hang out some times, but… That’s all.” Her deep, innocent blue eyes turned to face the alicorn once again. “I could never imagine we would go through so many things together. I never imagined we would have something so special! Who knew that young filly from a rock farm would get so far and surrounded by such amazing friends?!” She smiled even brighter than usual and her eyes were shining and sparkling with tears and memories. “Twilight, all of this, everything I have today, everyone I know, every place I went… None of this would be possible without you and the girls! So what I mean is… Thank you. Thank you for being in this story and for giving me the life I had. It wouldn’t be possible without you.”

Twilight sobbed quietly and let the tears stream down her cheeks. “Pinkie… I-I don’t know what to say I… Thank you!”

“Awww, come here, you softy!” The earth pony pulled her friend into a hug, which she gladly accepted. “Twi… I know time is passing and we won’t go in adventures like before, but… Pinkie Promise you won’t forget me?”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye?” Twilight smiled raising her head.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” Pinkie giggled happily.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading until here and I hope you have enjoyed :)