Did I ever tell all you ponies how happy I was when I learned my best friend was a princess? It was a long time ago, a few years back, but I remember it like it was just yesterday. Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and I had just returned from this big conundrum involving cutie marks getting mixed up... yeah, don't ask how that works, because I don't know how either. So, anyways, we were all marching into the library, all of us wearing our elements of harmony, when Twilight figured out how to fixed this spell made by Starswirl the bearded! He's that one pony Twilight dressed up as on Nightmare Night. I still think her outfit looked more like a clown then a wizard....
Oh! Look at me, getting all sidetracked! Where was I... Oh! That's right! When she fixed the spell, the elements of harmony zapped her! Like poof! She was gone! Hee Hee! I thought we had killed her! Of course, I only laugh about it now because, thank Celestia, we didn't end up vaporizing her after all; she was just fine. Actually, she was better than fine! She was super-duper-alicorn-twilightlicious! We were all so happy! All six of us! Oh, I mean seven! Spike was there too, or, maybe I mean eight? Princess Celestia seemed to appear out of nowhere when Fluttershy commented that Twilight looked like a princess, so I guess it kinda depends how long Princess Celestia was standing there...
Eh, I'll think about that later. The next day, we all took a train ride to Canterlot to celebrate Twilight's coronation! Everypony was there! Twilight's parents, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance with that fancy Crystal-Empire-special-event-hairdo and Shining Armor! We were all so excited! So Euphoric!
So....blind.
Like the rest of my friends, I was happy for her, I still am... but I know now just how bittersweet the whole celebration was... When Twilight was addressing the crowd in her carriage, I was literally bouncing with joy! The gears in my mind were turning, orchestrating plans for a party to celebrate my best friend's coronation. Where would the best place to have a party.... Why, Sugarcube Corner of course! I told all my friends about my idea, and they said it was a fantastic idea! After that, I hopped my way over to Princess Celestia, because I wanted to invite her too.
I said, "Hi there Your Highness! Are you gonna party with Twilight and AJ and Rarity and Dashie and Fluttershy and me and, like, everypony else in Ponyville at Sugarcube Corner after the coronation?!"
Celestia chuckled at this, "Pinkie, we've already planned a party in the ballroom!"
I knew about that party. I didn't help set it up because it was supposed to be formal. Yeah, boooring!
"Oh, silly Princess!" I giggled, "I already know about that party! But we're gonna throw another one for Twilight at Sugarcube Corner when we all go back to Ponyville!"
"But..." murmured Celestia, confused by my statement, "Twilight isn't going back to Ponyville any time soon..."
Her words stung, shattering my world. I just stared at her for what seemed to be an eternity before I finally mustered the will in me to speak, "Wh..what? What do you mean? Pfft! Silly Princess, of course we have to go home after this! We can't just all stay in Canterlot!"
"Pinkie, when this coronation ends, Luna and I need to introduce Twilight to the rest of the Equestrians. The three of us will be traveling from city to city as ponies meet their new leader. Didn't you know that?"
She was lying, she had to be! The Princess was known for her sense of humor, maybe she was just pulling my leg, "Ha..haha! Good one Your Highness, you really had me there for a second!"
"I'm sorry Pinkie..." apologized Celestia, "This is no joke... Twilight isn't going to be in Ponyville for, well, a very long time..."
I stood there, immobilized, frozen by the cold revelation. I looked ahead; Twilight was waving gracefully at the cheering crowd of ponies. Her chariot was carrying her away from me, miles and miles away from me.
As promised, there was a party in the ballroom after the celebration. It looked like everypony was enjoying themselves, all except me. Ironic, isn't it? The element of laughter being the manifestation of misery at a party. Even my friends were laughing and joking among themselves, Twilight included. Perhaps they were oblivious to the events to come?
"Pinkie!" exclaimed Dashie, "What are you doing? Come on! Hang out with us!"
I snapped back from my thoughts, "Oh, right! Sorry..."
"You're beginning to sound like Fluttershy," she jested. "Something up?"
"No, I was just thinking about some stuff..." I lied.
"What kind of stuff?"
"Oh nothing," Liar liar, tail on fire....
"Doesn't sound like 'nothing' to me."
"It's fine," I insisted, "I was just thinking about... you know, stuff..."
"If you say so," Muttered Dashie.
I smiled the first fake smile in my life that day. There were times before when I had to force a smile, like when I thought something was going to be better than it was, but never before had I worn the deceitful mask of a truly fake smile. I was smiling, when I should've been crying.I forced out laughs as I held back tears. The biggest joke I made in that ballroom was when I told Twilight I was glad she was an alicorn now- fooled everypony in the room.
Finally, Princess Celestia walked onto the stage, thanked everypony for attending, and announced that Twilight was going to Manehatton so that every Manehattonite could see their new princess. In an instant, all my friends sported a face more akin to mine. The ponies in the room stomped their hooves in applause, save six mares huddled together- I bet you can guess who those were.
"What! you can't leave, Twilight!" Exclaimed Dashie.
"I didn't know I was suppose to go to Manehatton!" defended Twilight.
"How long will you be gone?" questioned Rarity.
"When will we see you again?" asked Fluttershy.
"What the hay is all this nonsense about leaving?!" shouted AJ, not comprehending-just as the rest of us couldn't-that our friend would be leaving us... possibly forever.
"Girls, calm down!" demanded Twilight, "Look, don't worry, we'll see each other soon," she promised.
The room fell silent, depressingly so. Not a shout, not a comment, not even a whisper broke the omnipotent silence.
Finally, I spoke. "You... will write to us, won't you, Twilight?"
The lavender alicorn, my best friend, turned to me and smiled with a smile as warm as the sun, "Of course I will Pinkie," she vowed, I'll write to you girls everyday until we see each other again,"
"...Pinkie promise?" I challenged.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." she accepted.
The sunrise of tomorrow arrived to Ponyville with the five of us, me and my best friends- sans one, sans Twilight- along with it. With the afternoon arrived the mail. When I opened the mailbox, I read that Twilight had just arrived to Manehatton, and that she'd be staying there for two days before departing to Fillydelphia. All this I learned from a newspaper, not a letter. Just how I had learned that she was in Trottingham, just as I learned she was in Las Pegasus, just as how I had learned she would be arriving to Ponyville after she spends her two days in Hoofington! All by the bucking newspaper! Not a single letter!
She broke her promise... tore it into bits and casted them into the dirt. At first, I was furious, I had the nerve to hunt down Twilight and give her a piece of my mind.... but I couldn't. I wasn't mad, I was heartbroken, and I couldn't even muster the strength to leave my room, let alone go after Twilight.
As I said before, the newspaper arrived in the afternoon. It said that the new princess of Equestria had just arrived at Hoofington, and that the lavender alicorn was to depart after two days there and head to Ponyville. The mayor of our town was ecstatic to hear that Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and the new princess were to arrive here in three days- it would take another day for the three alicorns to reach Ponyville from Hoofington- and demanded that the town be in its best shape by the time the three Princesses arrived. We dedicated the whole three days decorating the town. I remember when the clock tower struck noon on that first day, while I was lacing fine ribbons across the trees of the park with a blue mare that had a light blue coat and a blue mane of an even lighter shade. When the tower began to wail its twelve chimes, I began to laugh hysterically.
"What?" asked the mare, "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing," I giggled, "It's just that, I have this friend, she has a beautiful lavender coat, I'd even say she is even prettier than the new princess! She's so organized, that if she were here right now we would have probably just finished decorating the town by now!"
After decorating the park, I was appointed to preparing the party. I made balloon animals, had streamers of all sorts of colors, set up all sorts of fun games, and baked the most delicious treats I've ever baked!
I...wondered, would it amaze the new princess? Were my lavender friend here, would this have amazed her? I wish Twilight could be at this party, I'd choose her over royalty any day.
The trumpets rang as I Hung a banner, littered with senseless words, above the entrance of Sugarcube Corner. Ponies were all gathering as a huge parade entered the city. At the end there was a gi-mungous-and I mean, GI-MUNGOUS- gold carriage, with the lavender alicorn I've read so much about sitting on the top. She was smiling politely to every face she saw, doing that small princess-y wave. You know, the kind where it looks like the only thing that works is the pony's wrist? That kind of wave. I joined my four friends, waiting by the end of the long line that made up the audience; only a few feet from Sugarcube Corner in fact, and waited for the new princess of Equestria to make herself present to them. Applejack was stomping her hoof impatiently, and Rainbow Dash was beginning to fly up every once and a while to see how far the princesses were from us. Fluttershy looked anxious, and Rarity, not surprisingly, was wearing a fancy dress. What struck me at odd though was that it didn't look like Rarity had dressed to impress, but rather out of celebration. Don't get me wrong, it was a really, really nice dress. But... it wasn't fancy or-ahem-overdone, like what you wear in the presence of royalty; instead it was fashionable. It was something beautiful, but more for a celebration...more akin to a reunion.
I stood there, stoically- I had grown familiar with that feeling- as the princesses passed by us.
There was the first one, Celestia.
There was the second one, Luna.
I there was the third one, her.
As she passed by, the lavender alicorn, I brought my hooves to my mouth and emitted a loud whistle. I don't know what compelled me to do what I did, but I've been grateful I had ever since. The alicorn, eager to see the source of the whistle, turned her head my direction. Our eyes met. In fact her eyes met with all four of my friends, too. Tears began to stream down her face, her smile broaden; and I felt mine had too; and she began to wave enthusiastically, as if she were painting a rainbow above her head. I mimicked her motions as if I was her reflection. I felt tears run down my muzzle. For the first time in what seemed like eons, I smiled. I smiled a smile as real as the sky above our heads, a smile that warms your heart and brings a tremble to your lips and you aren't sure if you're going to jump, dance and shout or break down and cry.
I never really saw that third alicorn, that new princess everypony was talking about.
I saw Twilight Sparkle; I saw my best friend.
And she shocked everyone as she stepped down from her carriage and hugged all my friends, before turning to me. We stood in silence, not speaking a single word to each other, instead we spoke in mute. Have you ever had that experience? It feels almost holy. A pony's eyes becomes pages and their body become illustrations, their soul the words we read.
Her tears said, I'm so sorry I didn't write...I wish I could say I couldn't find the time... but I can't. There was time at the silent midnights after the stressful days, there were the moments I could've written to you and the others as I traveled from town to town. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry....that I... forgot about you....
My smile said, Forgetting your friends... is a sin we've both done.... I'm sorry Twilight... I'm sorry that I ever saw that lavender alicorn as somepony other than you.... I'd rather condemn myself before condemning you... I forgive you, my friend.
Then she smiled at me with that beautiful smile of hers, speaking in place of her voice, When I leave again, I promise to write.... I promise for real this time. I promise I'll never let myself forget you again...
I wrapped my hooves around her, and she wrapped hers around me, sealing our covenant.
"I think," I whispered in her ear, "It's a promise we can both make..."
A new parade escorted Twilight, I was the marching band, Rarity and Fluttershy were the dancing ladies, Applejack was the army proudly marching, Rainbow Dash was the fireworks above our head, and Twilight was the float made of the most beautiful flowers in Equestria. The six of us marched, laughing, crying, and smiling, cheering, to Sugarcube Corner. I was a bit surprised to see an angry mayor outside the entrance waiting for us.
"Hello there, Mayor Mare!" greeted Twilight,
"Good day, Your Majesty," she bowed, then turned to me with a bitter face, "Miss Pie, would you like to explain the banner?"
I shrugged and grinned sheepishly.
"What's wrong with it?" Asked Twilight.
"I believe Miss Pie here accidentally hung up the wrong banner."
Twilight gazed at it for a second, then two, then three, then five, ten, thirty seconds, I think it was after Twilight had stared at it for two minutes the Mayor Said, "Uh... Your Highness- forgive me, I don't mean to suggest you lack observation skills- but it's fairly obvious of an error..."
"Well, I don't see it, would you be so kind as to point it out?" asked Twilight.
"It's the message! Pinkie had put up the wrong message!" exclaimed the mayor.
"The message?" asked Twilight, who began to chuckle, "There's nothing wrong with the message! In fact, I'd say the banner is absolutely perfect,"
The mayor was right, in my carelessness I had written a message on the banner I never intended to write. And yet, Twilight was right, it was perfect.
The banner read, WELCOME HOME, TWILIGHT!