It Doesn't Have To End Here

by Soothing Stone

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Main 6, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Starlight Glimmer, Spike
Length: 5871

Twilight's friends come together to celebrate her first anniversary after the coronation.

Decades from now, Twilight and her friends will all be in different positions, exploring new career paths, and still remaining friends throughout it all.

But there was a moment one year after Twilight's coronation where there was a hint of doubt if their friendships were over. Pinkie, the rest of the Mane 6, and Starlight, had the anniversary sneak up on them. With life getting crazier for all of them, the day came as a surprise. They know they have to do something about it. Given Pinkie's in the group, there's only one way to celebrate the day.

This is the story of a day that ended up being crucial for their friendships, whenever they realized it or not.

Featured on FIMFiction on 11/15/2019. Featured on Equestria Daily on 12/20/2019.

Published 2019-11-15 20:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-11-15 20:10:01 UTC

One More Time

Pinkie had a habit of crossing the day off her calendar to start the day. As far as she was concerned, every sunrise was a day closer to her next party, marked clearly in her planner. Each birthday or party occasion was marked in there, and it gave her another reason to look forward to the morning

Today, her eyes shot wide open when the sun reached beyond the window. She would get through her usual routine: tooth brushing, an unnatural amount of mouthwash (it was cotton candy flavored, so she was tempted to swallow it), and fixing her mane. When she reached around to see what the planner had for her that day, it came as quite a shock.

“The anniversary’s TOMORROW?” she screamed. “Can you believe it, Gummy? It’s already been a whole year since Twilight’s coronation for real this time, and it feels like no time has passed at all. How did I forget something like that?” One glance at the calendar told the story for her. “Oh yeah. I had twenty birthday parties to throw this month. Buuuut I gotta do something about this right now!”

The gator, deep in his wisdom and knowledge, licked his own eyeball. He blinked the other eye in silence.

“That’s right, Gummy. I need to get all my friends here right now, and we gotta do something about it! Twilight can’t just have her first year go by without something for the day! After all, that’s when we have our monthly meetup!”

She raced out of the bedroom as fast as her hooves carried her. Her racing kicked up a cloud of dust in the room, and it landed on Gummy’s face. He sneezed it out of his nose as he came to look out the window.

So another year has passed, he pondered. It feels as if we learned nothing and everything from it at once. For example, Pinkie learned that she should invest in a vacuum cleaner, as she has covered my face in dirt again. In a way, I never left the swamp. I am as filthy as I was then.

It was funny. Just a few minutes ago, Applejack swore she was working on harvesting apples, Rarity put the final touches on a new dress, Starlight was nearly done with student reports, Rainbow Dash honed in on her next show routine, and Fluttershy spent the whole morning convincing Discord that turning Angel into a pinata wasn’t okay. Now they were all in Sugar Cube Corner, listening to Pinkie ramble about the upcoming anniversary.

“That’s tomorrow?” Rainbow Dash facehoofed. “Gah, I should have kept track of that! I’m so sorry, guys. This one’s on me.”

“Not just you,” Rarity sighed. “From the look of it, this day’s snuck up on everypony.”

One glance around the area proved her right. Starlight kicked a hoof behind her back, and Fluttershy seemed the most distraught of the group. “So what should we do? We don’t have a lot of time to make something for her,” she asked.

Starlight rubbed a hoof along her forehead. “Okay, okay. We can do this. It’s still one whole day. We can make something out of it. Pinkie’s crammed a lot in a day before, and she’s got us if she needs some extra hooves.”

Pinkie almost literally deflated out of relief. “Whew. You’re right! We got plenty of time. There was that one party where I blew up 10,000 balloons in one hour because this filly needed a last minute surprise for her birthday. Don’t remember how it went. I think I passed out after the last balloon.”

Applejack found herself concerned for her friend’s safety after hearing that. “Maybe give yourself more time when you gotta do it again. But y’all know Twilight. She’s got an awful lot on her plate, and we don’t need to be givin’ her more things to worry about.”

“Perhaps, but this should feel like something she should be proud of,” said Rarity. “Remember how anxious she was when she found out she was going to rule Equestria all by herself?”

They all thought back to that day together, remembering in vivid detail how she reacted. “I really miss her,” Fluttershy admitted. “We might see her a lot, but Ponyville doesn’t feel like the same place without her.”

“Hate to say it, but you’re right,” Applejack agreed. “But don’t be forgettin’ how she’s been doing. She’s happy because she’s got us around when she needs us, and we got our little get togethers every moon.”

“Exactly. We shouldn’t be that sad about it,” said Rainbow Dash. “She’s not gone forever. But...Fluttershy’s not wrong. It feels different around here…”

Everyone’s eyes slowly drifted back to Pinkie. Somewhere along the lines, she brought in a whiteboard that already had 17 different party ideas. One read of the room later, and her mane deflated a tiny bit.

“Whoa whoa. I’m sorry if I dragged everything down like that,” Dash apologized. “It’s just...you know how it is.”

“I just want this party to go well,” said Pinkie. “Twilight deserves it after everything she’s done for us. And...maybe it can go back to the way things were for one day.”

Right after she finished speaking, she felt five friends come in to embrace her. A few of them did it to comfort her, a few of them did it to help themselves through the moment.

“Hey, we can still do this.” “We’re all in this together.” “Twilight hasn’t forgotten about us, so we won’t forget about her.” “As long as we stick together, our friendship won’t fade away like a badly designed dress for winter.” No points for guessing who said the last one.

Pinkie sniffled and did her best to hide the tears forming in her eyes. “O-Okay. You’re all right. And it’s not like we haven’t seen her. But...what should we do for the party? I have so many ideas bouncing in my head like bouncing balls, and it’s hard to pick just one.”

The six of them glanced over the ideas she drew up. They were pretty detailed, actually, hinting that she had a lot of time to plan them out, or the far more likely option: She came up with all of them on the spot at the last minute. Each plan got a different hum from them.

“I think I know what kind of party Twilight would want for this,” Fluttershy spoke up.

“Really? What? Tell me what it is. Oh please, tell me what it is! I can’t decide!” Pinkie begged.

“Well...first, you’d have to…”

“Didn’t think it would be that simple. I had no idea the hot springs near Canterlot can keep dragon eggs warm like you showed me. That’s just what I needed to see. The dragon migration’s getting bigger all the time, so the volcanoes might not be big enough anymore.”

“It’s no problem, Dragon Lord Ember,” Twilight noted, sipping her tea gracefully by the table. “By the way, you know anything about those secret admirer letters Spike’s been getting recently?”

“What? Uhh...no! I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the blue dragon sweated out. Her cheeks turned to a slight shade of red as she tried to put her poker face up. Yeah, she really had no poker face at all. Her blush only got deeper when she tried.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll find out about it sooner or later,” Twilight giggled. “If you ever need help again, you can send a letter whenever you like.”

“Alright, I’ll write next time. Was nice talking to you again, Star--I mean, Twilight!” She shook hooves with the princess and got it together just enough to stop sweating.

“Likewise.” Twilight opened the door for the Dragon Lord with her magic, and Ember used her wings to get out of there before Spike could see her. He was stationed right outside the door, already sporting his ambassador necklace.

In the year since Twilight took over, Spike had gone through a minor growth spurt. Ember was still taller than her, but he cut the distance in height between them in half. He wasn’t nearly as muscular as he would later get, but he wasn’t the scrawny little dragon that arrived in Ponyville all those years ago, either.

“I heard the whole thing. Kinda figured it was her, and who knows? That’s not important right now. How do you feel about the whole thing?”

“Excellent. I had a feeling I could handle diplomacy, but it feels soooo good that things are going smoothly.” She sipped the rest of her tea with a silly grin, adjusting the plate on her neck to the right. “I might celebrate with a good book soon. Heard Rainbow Dash tried her hoof at writing. If she ever gets to 20 books, I think I know what the title will be.”

“Speaking of celebrations, you know what’s tomorrow?”

“Yep. I’m meeting my friends and it’s my first anniversary as the sole princess of Equestria.” She pulled the drawer out from underneath her desk, and greeting her was a picture from her coronation. When she pulled it up to her face, she could see everything so clearly. The other Element bearers, herself, Spike, and the previous rulers of Equestria. They all had the sweetest smile, even if Twilight herself looked like a complete mess with her stained outfit.

Spike could see her drifting off into her memories, and he pulled a seat next to her. “That was a fun day once you got past all the disasters. What you thinking about?”

She sighed and put the picture back into the drawer. “You okay walking with me for a moment, just outside this room?”

“Twilight, you know I’d follow you anywhere in Equestria if you wanted me to. It’s nothing for me.”

“I know. It’s why I’m glad to have you around. You’re more than just an ambassador to me.” She nuzzled his face before she left the room.

Outside of the meeting hall was the throne room itself. She already left her mark on it, exchanging Celestia and Luna’s dual thrones with her own, along with a seat next to it for Spike. It just felt right when she put that seat there, but she didn’t take to sit on the throne that day. Instead, she went past the guards waiting on both sides to examine the window murals.

By her own request, the mural of Celestia and Luna stayed. It was a reminder of who came before her, and whose kingdom she inherited. Things were only this peaceful because those two helped pave the way. But that wasn’t what got her attention the most. It was one of the murals added since she moved to Ponyville.

It was a window featuring the princess herself, along with her friends. It was later modified to include Spike and Starlight. While it was obvious they were added in, it felt natural to her to add her little brother and her first student. All eight of them were around each other, all guarding over Equestria together.

“I’ve had that anniversary date on my calendar for a while now, because of this,” she said. “Look at us up there. We all look like we’re in pure harmony together, and it’s not far from the truth. We had disagreements and issues here and there, but we got past them.”

Sensing where this was going to go, Spike patted her on the shoulder. “You did. We all did. And Equestria’s in a better place because of it.” He turned to look her in the eye. “You’re worried that your friendships are fading with them, aren’t you?”

“It’s crossed my mind a few times,” she admitted. “Everything’s changed, and my life couldn’t be more different. It’s a little crushing at times, when I realize I can’t just go to see them like I once could. Pinkie’s parties, studying with Starlight, flying with Rainbow, trying on new dresses with Rarity, helping the farm out with Applejack, and looking after the animals with Fluttershy…”

He came over on her side for a hug. She draped her wing over his back and sighed. “I know. I miss them, too.”

“But…” There was a noticeable cheer in her voice.

The dragon pulled back, confused by that change in tone. “But what?”

“I’m not that worried about our friendships. Think about it. The Council of Friendship was just what we needed. We might not be the same ponies we were before, but we still hang out and talk to each other. And it’s not like I only see them for the Council meetings. We’ve met for birthdays and things like that along the way.”

“Yeah. We have.” He sighed again. “It’s why I’m looking forward to the party tomorrow. I think we all need it.”

“What? A party?” She was perplexed to hear that. “What’s this about a party? I didn’t want to do anything that big for the occasion. Maybe some cake and ice cream, but I didn’t want to make it a big hoopla, either.”

“You don’t have to make it a hoopla. But maybe your friends will.” He brought out a letter to her. “Got it while you were talking with Ember.”

“Huh. Wonder what it’s about.” She grabbed the letter and read over it. Each line made her more confused than the last, and she was befuddled when she was finished. “What’s this about? It’s kinda vague. Like, meet at that building that’s going to be a shop at the middle of the summer? I figured they started renovating it already.”

“That’s still three months away. They haven’t started working on it yet. Look who wrote the letter.”

“How did I miss that?” She glanced down at the name at the end, and it all came to her at once. She closed her eyes and giggled for a good while. “Of course she would. I know exactly where this is going.”

“Sounds just like what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“You have no idea.” A single tear came out of her left eye. “You have no idea…”

The sun set over Equestria with one flick of Twilight’s magic. It was springtime, so she was able to set it a little early in the evening. Just what she needed, too, plenty of time for the party. The nobles were willing to handle the rest of her duties to give her the night off. Turns out that they knew about the party as well, and they wanted to give her this moment for her anniversary.

For the occasion, she disregarded her royal attire. She might be a few inches taller and she started to resemble her former teacher in a few aspects, but she wanted to let things go for tonight. Spike did the same, leaving his shiny medallion within the castle as they left. The guards would still bow before her, but that was the only sign tonight that Twilight Sparkle was the princess of Equestria.

Still, as she trotted with Spike through Canterlot, the ponies in the town would notice her walking in. They whispered to each other about what she was doing here, but she didn’t care. This night was not for that. It was all about her friends.

The spot picked out for the party was just what the letter said. It was a multistory building, but only the first floor was being used at the moment. The windows were blacked out so nopony from the outside could peek in, and that left her even more curious. “What you think they’re having in there?”

“It’s Pinkie Pie. They probably have a big surprise party planned for you. That’s what she does,” Spike shrugged. “You’ll have a good time in there when we walk in, right?”

“Why wouldn’t I? It’s all I’ve been thinking about since I woke up. I just hope I don’t ruin it.”

“And there it is. Come on, they all want to see you there. Just go and have a good time, and there’s nothing to worry about.”

“You’re right. I should just be myself in there, minus the late night studies and fanfic writing.”

“Wait, you write fanficti--” The door opened up before he could finish his train of thought.

As much as Twilight didn’t want to admit it, she was a little worried about what she would find in there. It was less than a month since she had seen her friends, but it still felt like a long time with how much was going in her life now. That, and there was no telling what kind of party Pinkie would throw this time. That made the sight she was greeted to a bit of a surprise.

In the last 24 hours, her friends took what was a discarded bar covered in dust and debris into a clean, sparse, yet bright and colorful dance floor. Nothing too fancy, just some lights hanging from the ceiling to illuminate the wood paneled floor. There was a booth for a DJ to come in later, along with a few tables full of cake and other sweets. No guessing what the cake design would be.

Still, the “less is more” party floor wasn’t what had her attention. It was her friends, all gathered near the entrance of the store, a few of them with drinks in their hooves. As soon as they heard the door open, they all turned to the princess in delight.

Twilight felt like she was on the spot with six pairs of eyes looking at her. “Hi, guys. I know it hasn’t been that long since our last meeting, but it’s felt so much longer than that. How are you all? It looks really great out here.”

The next thing she knew, there was a stampede coming her way. All six of her friends from Ponyville came there to greet her, all in varying shades of happiness and relief. “My my, you look fabulous even when you’re not wearing anything! I see you’ve both been going through a growth spurt,” Rarity noted, seeing how much Spike grew up.

“No kidding. Check this out!” Spike flexed his right arm, and the bicep had a noticeable muscle bump. “But enough about me. Guess who just had her first anniversary today?” He pointed at Twilight with both index fingers.

“That’s what we’re having a party for, silly! But any day with Twilight is a good day to party,” Pinkie responded. “Oh...oh my gosh! We’re actually here with Twilight again!” She leaped up into the air and glomped Twilight before she knew what was coming.

“Oof! Wow, I think you got stronger,” Twilight groaned, returning the hug. She glanced up at the rest of her friends, and they were all laughing from the sight. “I couldn’t be happier to see you all. Royal chores are fine and all, but I knew you guys had something in mind for tonight.”

“You thought we were going to let you get away with something like this without throwing a party?” Dash complained. “Hay no, we weren’t. Wow. You’re really tall now.”

Twilight got up on her four hooves. All that stress she felt in her chest before she came in, it was fading away now. “Hey, I’m not that tall. Wait a minute…” She looked down the cake on the table nearby. “Is that for me?”

“We all helped with that one,” said Fluttershy. “Pinkie thought it should be a group effort, given what day it was.”

“That’s really sweet of you guys. Let’s see…” Twilight used her wings to drift over that way. Just as she expected, it was a really beautiful cake. In fact, she had issues putting into words how much she loved it.

It was a traditional three level cake, the layers getting smaller as they went up. The bottom layer was designed to look like Ponyville, with a lot of green hills for the pattern, stand-ins of the houses that made up the town, and so on and so forth. The middle layer was meant to be like Canterlot. She could see the castle she now called home on the side, along with the grandeur of the city with its various buildings.

Of course, the top layer had a figure of herself...and Spike...and every single one of her friends. All six Element Bearers, Spike, and Starlight, all at the top, all looking like equals in her eyes. It took her some time to avoid tearing up again.

Her friends stood by, a little concerned from her reaction. “Do you think she liked it?” Applejack worried.

“If I know her, she loves it,” Starlight responded. “It’s reminding her of something.”

“Like what?” Fluttershy pondered.

“Just wait.”

When Twilight turned around, she had one of the biggest, most heartfelt smiles they had ever seen. “I love you, guys. I couldn’t have asked for a better cake for tonight. No wonder we’ve stuck together like this. It’s so thoughtful with each layer. And we’re all at the top!”

“TOLD YOU SHE WOULD LOVE IT!” Pinkie screamed. “LOOK AT HER FACE! THAT’S THE FACE OF A REALLY HAPPY PONY!”

“Yes, it is,” the princess gleamed. “I couldn’t be happier if I tried. And here I thought…I thought…”

Her friends caught on to her hesitation. “What’s wrong?” Dash asked.

“And here I thought we might lose our friendship one day, even with the Council of Friendship meetings every moon. But I don’t think we will. This is exactly what I needed to see to know I was wrong. My life has gotten crazier and crazier this past year, but you guys are still in my life. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

That changed the environment in the room. It was like everything was out in the open, but rather than feeling crushed by it, they all felt uplifted. She could see it as the traces of stress and worry in the atmosphere vanished. If she had to guess, they were concerned about the same thing as her.

“Neither would we,” Rarity cried silently. “We won’t let anything like career paths and princess duties get in the way this time. Not after what we’ve been through, because this is worth it.”

Twilight nodded, and she used her wings to drape them over her friends for a group hug. They all returned the hug with her, and she felt warmer than she had in awhile. Though, that could be because Dash wasn’t that far removed from a workout. “You couldn’t have said it better. Now, who wants to tear into that cake with me?”

“It was a really good cake...can we take a picture of it first?” Dash asked.

Before they could move, they heard a flash in the room ring out. Somehow, while she was still hugging Twilight, Pinkie managed to set up a camera, put it into position, and took several pictures of the cake. “Already done. Let’s eat!”

The minutes seemed to blend into each other after that. They dug into the cake together, and it took all eight of them to get through...the first two layers of the cake. Nobody really wanted to eat the last layer, and it wasn’t just because of their full bellies. That design of Ponyville was just too cute to destroy.

After that, Pinkie brought out a bunch of party games for them to play. Sure, Twilight might be a princess, but that doesn’t mean she was ever going to outgrow the fun of Pin The Tail on The Donkey. The highlight had to be when one of them got the tail on Spike’s tail. He had a double tail now.

Once that was all over, Twilight was tempted to dance. After all, she was feeling a little less full, and maybe her dancing got better with time. A little better. Before she got on the dance floor, Pinkie cut her off with a hoof. “No no no, I got something for that. DJ P0N-3? You around?”

Right on command, Vinyl Scratch poked her head out from the booth. She had spent the last hour or so tinkering with her setup, making sure everything was right as it should be. The mute DJ nodded to to let Pinkie know she heard her, even with the headphones strapped to her noggin.

“Hehe, you’d be good at hide and seek. Okay, start Pinkie’s Ultra Awesome, Incredibly Loud Party Mix!”

Vinyl smiled as she got the message. She pulled out a record made just for the occasion (mind all the rainbows and sparkles Pinkie added herself) and dropped the needle on the groove. Within a few seconds, a booming, EDM song started to ring throughout the hall. It made everyone’s heart thump in their chest.

“PERFECT! Okay, Twilight, now you can dance!”

Twilight gleamed, and she was sure that she had it this time. She slid along the dance floor and...did something that could only be described as “what the chicken dance wishes it was”. There was a lot of flailing, lot of spinning around for the sake of it, and other moves Equestrian civilization didn’t have names for quite yet. A century from now, they would get two nicknames: “Mom Dance Moves” and “The Twilight Sparkle Special”.

Applejack was so...intrigued...that she just sat and watched. She caught Fluttershy doing the same thing and covered her eyes. “Is it really that bad?” Fluttershy commented.

“Nopony should have to see that. But it doesn’t matter. She’s having fun,” Applejack noted. At least she would have something to share with her kids, if she ever had anyway. She was there for the first ever Twilight Sparkle Special, a true historical moment in bad dance moves history.

Rainbow Dash was curious how it would go if she tried the same thing, so she went up in the air and flailed her hooves like Twilight did. She was sent flying across the room screaming from the force on her body. “AHHHHH! WHAT IS THIS DOING TO ME?” She came within inches of crashing into Vinyl’s booth.

“Huh? Did something happen?” Twilight turned to find out what happened.

“It’s nothing. Just never going to do that again,” Dash exhaled. That really took the wind out of her sails, and Vinyl nearly ducked under her booth from certain disaster.

“Okay, then. I don’t know about you, but a conga line sounds perfect to me!”

“Yeah, that sounds way better. Come on everypony, let’s do the conga!” Starlight got them all together for the line, and they were all lined up in no time at all. The line traveled all the way across the dance hall, and Vinyl wasn’t sure if the music really matched the mood for something like this. Oh well. She was having fun watching it.

In the midst of all the dancing, they never heard the door open behind them. The figures coming in were one white alicorn with a shimmering mane, and a blue alicorn with the stars of the night in her mane as well. They closed the door behind them and drank in the sights of the party.

The bass kept thumping from Vinyl’s sound system, and the conga line had no sign of slowing down. The former royal sisters weren’t sure what to expect when they walked in the door as well, but they probably didn’t expect Twilight to be a good dancer here. Or that she spent a day outside of her royal clothing while she was ruling.

“Do you think we should tell her we’re here, sister?” asked Luna. “I don’t wish to interrupt when they’re ‘having a good time’, as the foals say.”

“We’ll tell them once they’re done with their little dance,” Celestia replied. “She’ll want to know we stopped by. After all, she probably doesn’t know we got invited to this little party, too.”

“Right.” The two of them took seats on the edge of the floor, letting the eight of them have a blast on their own for the time being. “I want to dance at some point, though. We’ve got to put those dancing lessons to use.”

“And we will. Still, when was the last time you seen any of them like this? So...together and peaceful?”

“The last time we saw them, which was just two months ago,” Luna giggled. “It’s still a welcome sight for sore eyes. Do you ever regret giving Twilight the crown all to herself?”

“Never. If anything, this first year just told everypony she’s got it. So you really want to dance, Lulu?”

“There’s a dance floor, I spent the whole year on dance books, and this loud music does seem fitting for dancing. Why not?”

“Exactly. Come on, sister, let’s show these fillies what we’ve got!”

They slid in without notice, and Twilight could feel the breeze they left behind. “Huh? What was that?”

“Oh, we just invited Celestia and Luna along for the ride. I think they’re really proud of you,” said Spike.

“What?” Before she knew it, the sisters joined the conga line. “When in Equestria did you guys learn to dance?” They seemed more like naturals than she ever was.

“Practice, Twilight! Oh hoo, I should have done this a long time ago!” Celestia cheered.

“We can make up for lost time all you want. This track is making my teeth chatter!” Luna noted. “No, I will move along like I’ve done this for all my life!”

The next hour was a big blur, just like the first. Celestia and Luna were more than happy to help finish off the cake, and each moment was more fun than the last. Twilight wasn’t sure what her new responsibilities would hold ahead of time, but it definitely benefited from moments like this. It turned into the best mix of dancing, cake eating, and party games for her and her friends.

The best part of all was that it was with her friends. They weren’t just the ponies that helped her get this far in life. They were her best friends, too. Even though they were going through new changes in their lives like she did, she could feel how strong their friendships were. It was comforting for her to see that. No matter how much things changed, they could count on each other through the thick and thin.

It was hitting her as the party went on, and she found out just how long Pinkie’s party record went on for. Four hours wasn’t enough as far as she was concerned. As the party rolled on with a quiet track to cool down, she looked at all of them, huddled together around her to give her the best possible time.

“This doesn’t have to be the last time, does it?” she asked them. “We can still do this in the future?”

“Of course we can!” Pinkie replied. “Why should we stop here?”

“As long as we’re still friends, we can have more parties like this in the years to come,” Rarity added on. “This is only the end if we let it be.”

“And we’re not gonna let it end like that!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “We’ll keep going as long as we want!”

“I don’t think we can do it all the time,” Applejack admitted. “But that don’t matter. We’ll be friends even if we don’t have a big fancy party every day.”

“That sounds pretty good to me,” said Fluttershy. “I’d love to stay friends with every one of you.”

“Same for me, too,” Starlight agreed. “Why wouldn’t I want to keep being friends with you girls? You’ve all shown me so much, and I don’t want to let it go anytime soon.”

“I think you already know the answer from us,” Celestia gleamed. “We may be retired, but we’ll still be around.”

“What Celestia means to say is, WE NEED TO HAVE MORE PARTIES!” Luna shouted with her Royal Canterlot Voice. “I mean, I’d love to have more parties with you all.”

“That sounds like a pretty good ‘yes’ to me,” Spike smiled. “What do you say? More like this in the future?”

“Yeah.” Twilight was so happy, she felt like she could die. Good thing she wouldn’t do that anytime soon. “It really feels like a new beginning rather than the end, doesn’t it?”

“It does, now that I think about it,” Spike noted. “And I think it’s going to be even better than the last one.”

“Just what I was thinking.”

None of them would know what the future held for them at that moment. Starlight was already the principal at the School of Friendship, Pinkie would get interested in asking Cheese Sandwich out a few months from them, Dash and Applejack would hang out more often, Fluttershy was spending even more time with Discord than before, and Rarity got the idea to expand her business to other countries. In addition, Celestia and Luna would explore more of Equestria to come, and Spike would soon hit the mother of all growth spurts.

But that was all in the future. For tonight, they would all come to this place to celebrate Twilight’s first year as princess of Equestria. On top of that, it was another night with them together as best friends. For that one night, that’s all they would need.

Author's Note

Oh man. This is gonna take some time to process. Let's do it anyway.

This story was meant to be a celebration of FIM in many ways. I saw the series finale and thought it was beautiful, perfect, and satisfying. While I'm not completely sold on the idea of taking place around 20-30 years in the future, that song will make nearly everyone weep.

That said, there was more to the story than this. You probably saw the title and wondered what it meant before you saw the story. It's not just for the characters, though. I noticed since day one of joining the fandom(summer of 2011) that people freaked out that the fandom will die as soon as the show is over. And in a way, this story is my way of saying "it's only over if you want it to". The characters here all will go through various changes in their lives, and most will give them far less free time than they used to. But they're still putting in the effort to stay friends, even then.

And in a way, this story accidentally turned into how they started the first step in making sure their friendship will last. That's what I'd say. If you want to let go and move on, that's fine. But if you don't want what FIM built to die, you don't have to. It doesn't have to end here. It's only over if you let it be. Whatever friendships you made because of the fanbase, they're not over. And there's still all nine seasons to rewatch, along with the movies and spinoffs. They're not gone because the show is over.

Guess that's why the story ended up the way it did. If you want it to continue, you can, and there might be more people willing to help you than you first realized.