The Lord of the Ponies: The Friendship of Equestria

Ch.3 Two Very Dear Friends

Twilight's cart full of fireworks was pulled on by a stallion towards Sweet Apple Acres. From here she could see Applejack and Big Macintosh hard at work bucking the apple trees. Twilight didn't call out to her friends, as she had important business to attend to, and had the cart proceed to the front door of Granny Smith's house. Once the cart reached its destination, Twilight leapt off, and turned towards the stallion who had pulled her cart.

"Thanks for the help. I can take the cart from here," assured Twilight, as she quickly unhitched the stallion.

Twilight's horn glowed a sparkling purple, and so did the cart. The lavender mare used her magic to levitate the cart, and set it off to the side. She then proceeded towards the stairs to the front door. The stallion gave a quizzical look at the Unicorn before he galloped off, and out of Ponyville.

The first thing Twilight noticed about the house was the sign nailed to the door: "No Visitors, Only Birthday Party Business Excused". The sign did not faze her. She simply knocked on the door with her hoof, and waited for a reply.

"No thank you, you whippersnappers! I don't want anymore visitors, well-wishers or distant relations!" yelled out Granny Smith, which was slightly muffled by the walls of the house.

Twilight smiled at Granny's reply, and inquired, "And what about very old friends?"

The door to the house opened slowly, only so much that Granny's head poked out. Granny Smith couldn't believe her eyes, so she quickly put on her reading glasses, and looked again to find...

"Twilight?" asked Granny Smith.

"Granny Smith," pronounced Twilight. Granny Smith opened the door and rushed out to greet her old friend with a hug.

"My dear, Twilight!" cried Granny Smith, tears of joy welling up in her eyes.

Twilight returned Granny's hug, and spoke into her ear, "Good to see you. One-hundred and eleven years old? Who would believe it?" Twilight then retreated from the hug, and looked into the old mare's eyes.

"You haven't aged a day," Twilight said, astonished at the youthful spirit that gripped the old Earth Pony, manifested as an eccentric twinkle in the geriatric's eye. Granny Smith simply nodded, and smiled at the return of her dear friend.

Both ponies laughed and went indoors.

"Come on, come in!" beckoned Granny Smith as she waved Twilight through the door.

"Welcome, welcome," further greeted Granny Smith. The old Earth pony beckoned Twilight further into the house, and closed the front door.

"Tea? Or maybe something a bit stronger?" asked Granny Smith as she led Twilight down the far way towards the kitchen.

"I've got a few bottles of the Old Cider left. 1296. Very good year. Almost as old as I am,"  Granny proclaimed, and then snickered at the joke she made about her age.

"It was laid down by my father. What say we open one, eh?" asked Granny, as she continued trotting towards the kitchen. Twilight however, was still at the front door, and decided to take the short way to the kitchen... through Granny Smith's study.

"Just tea, thank you," responded Twilight as she moved into the study.

"I was expecting you sometime last week. Not that it matters. At least you got the fireworks for the party. You have caught me a bit unprepared. We've only got apple pie and some apple fritters..." rambled on Granny Smith from the kitchen.

As Granny rambled, Twilight crept into the study, marvelled by the books, maps and souvenirs that littered the place; testaments to the recent travels of the aged Earth pony.

"Granny's really going to have to shelve and index all these documents." thought Twilight, as she started to sort the books and maps into the shelves that lined the walls.

"There's some apples here. No, that won't do. We've got apple jam, and apple tart. But not much for afters. Oh, no, we're all right. I've just found some of sponge cake." Granny continued her rambling as she moved about the kitchen. When the old Earth pony realized the absence of her guest, she proceeded towards the study.

"I could squeeze some apple juice if you'd like?" asked Granny. The old Earth pony was mystified as to where Twilight had gone, since her study was also empty of her guest, and was more spacious and organized all of a sudden.

"Just tea, thank you," said Twilight. Her sudden appearance in the kitchen surprised Granny greatly.

"Oh, right," replied Granny, as she turned to face her guest and re-enter the kitchen.

Granny Smith trotted to the table, and bit off a piece of the sponge cake which rested on the table.

"You don't mind if I eat, do you?" mumbled Granny through a mouth full of sponge cake.

"No, not at all," replied Twilight. The lavender Unicorn seated herself in a chair at the end of the table closest to Granny Smith.

There was another knock on the door, which surprised Granny Smith, and caused her to leap back.

"Granny! Granny Smith!" Twilight heard through the insistent knocking on the door.

Granny looked towards the direction of her front door, then at her friend Twilight with eyebrows raised, which wrinkled her features, and ruined her elderly complexion.

"I'm not at home!" Granny quietly insisted to Twilight.

Knocking could still be heard, and Granny crept towards the large window in her study. What she saw was worse than anything she'd encountered before. More dangerous than the dragon, Smaug. And definitely more pompous than the high society in Canterlot. The terrible creatures standing outside, the banes of her existence, were known commonly among the Apple family as...

"The Oranges!" Granny whispered back to Twilight in the kitchen. Even Twilight, after she heard this, raised her own eyebrows in fear of the ponies standing outside.

"They're after the farm," explained Granny Smith, as she snuck back to the kitchen as to not be seen through the study window.

"They've never forgiven me for living this long," whispered Granny, as she paced around the kitchen, in hope that the Oranges would go away soon.

"I've got to get away from these confounded relatives, hanging on the bell all day, never giving me a moment's peace," Granny said, after her voice returned to an inside volume. She waved her arms in the air as she paced around the kitchen, somewhat akin to a whining filly.

"I want to see mountains again. Mountains, Twilight! And then find somewhere quiet where I can finish my book," complained Granny, as she looked at Twilight.

The kettle soon whistled, which signified it was time for tea.

"Oh, tea." Granny Smith realized as she hurried over to the kettle on the kitchen fireplace, gripped it by the padded handle, moved towards the table, and poured Twilight a cup. She then set the kettle down on the table.

"So you mean to go through with your plan?" asked Twilight, before she blew on her tea.

"Yes, yes. It's all in hand. All the arrangements are made," assured Granny.

"Apple Bloom suspects something," Twilight mentioned, hoping Granny would further explain.

"Of course she does. She's an Apple. Not some pompous Orange from Manehatten," resounded Granny.

"You will tell her, won't you?" asked Twilight.

"Yes, yes," assured Granny.

"She's very fond of you," added Twilight.

Granny considered what Twilight said, and the full realization of her selfish actions saddened her complexion.

"I know," replied Granny, and with a light nod of her head, she continued, "She'd probably come with me if I asked her. I think in her heart, Apple Bloom's still in love with the Ponyville. The school, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweet Apple Acres."

Granny kept on speaking. Her voice became shallow and hoarse, a reflection of her physical age, "I'm old Twilight. I know I don't look it, but I'm beginning to feel it in my heart."

Twilight noticed Granny had one of her forehooves resting on her midsection, but she didn't disturb the old pony's monologue.

"I feel thin. Sort of stretched... like butter scraped over too much bread." Granny Smith looked over to the study window; her countenance reflected a hopeless longing.

"I need a holiday. A very long holiday. And I don't expect I shall return. In fact, I mean not to," affirmed Granny, with conviction in her tone.

***

Many hours later, when it was dark, Twilight Sparkle and Granny Smith sat out upon the steps of the house, and looked out towards the town. Spotlights illuminated the sky from all the decorations Pinkie Pie put up to celebrate Granny's one-hundred and eleventh birthday. At this moment, Granny shared the last jar of Zap Apple Jam with Twilight.

"Zap apple jam. You'll never find any better jam in all four corners of Equestria," proclaimed Granny Smith, as she took a spoonful of jam and sucked it down her gullet.

Twilight herself took a spoonful, and enjoyed the tingling sensation of the jam as it slid down her throat.

"Twilight, my dear friend... this will be a night to remember."