And so that was it, then.

We became the avatars of the Elements; we became the Six. And I must say it was marvelous. With the exception of Twilight who didn't arrive until later, we five knew each other already: hard-working Applejack, clownish Pinkie Pie, kindly and demure Fluttershy and bold braggart Rainbow Dash.

Oh, and myself of course - the beautiful, graceful one.

*Ahem*

We all came together to help Twilight Sparkle rescue her mentor and our Princess from the clutches of that vile demon, Nightmare Moon. And I’m still uncertain as to why. Why us, I mean. Any other five ponies could have accompanied her on her quest, but it just…felt right to be one of those five, as it no doubt did with the others.

And when we’d finished, it was as though our friendships had been carved in stone. Oh certainly we were friends beforehand, but now it was almost as if we were all part of the same pony. And of course no friendship is absolutely perfect, goodness no, but even when things were at their worst we found a way to heal the wound and become stronger because of it. We were there for the others, no matter what.

We fought gods, we fought demons, we fought warlords, we fought sorcerers.

Together.

We were famous around the world – the Six Elements, saviors of all ponykind. Normally this would inflate my ego to no small degree, but using my station to earn preferential treatment would have been opposing the element I represented, and I’ve been down that path before. We were there: all ready to be called upon. Always reliable. Always there to save the day.

And then one day we weren't needed any more.

Over the years, many advancements were made to our world as the behemoth known as Science trundled along. Devices that could teach you things quickly and in a way you couldn't forget. Symphonies in small boxes. And the grandest device of all: the Amacitia.

This device used our six elements as an energy source, combining and concentrating their energy into a beam far and beyond anything we could muster. Any evil it confronted was already doomed. Apparently it literally ran on positive thinking: it would sweep up all the found thoughts that mirror our elements and unleash them. So we retired. To tell the truth, we were glad. We had done our part for Princesses and country and we could finally put our hooves up.

And then we all went our separate ways.

It had to happen at some point – we all have our own lives, after all. Friendship knows neither bounds nor distance: not being together is not the same as being apart. I was the first to leave - fame, fortune and he glittering skyline of Canterlot called my name and I pursued it. And I caught it. I am the most famous fashion designer in all Equestria and the bane of my competitors, some of whom now work for me.

Applejack is now the matron of Sweet Apple Acres. Granny Smith died shortly after I left, which came as a shock to everypony – it was joked that she was immortal but was just showing her age so nopony else caught on. Her funeral was simple, but extraordinarily crowded; the Apples have never been the smallest family and that will likely never change.

As is the custom for the Apple clan, the oldest mare in the family takes on running their particular farm and now that Granny Smith is gone, that means her. She’s an extremely savvy businessmare, nearly doubling the size of her farm due to taking just the right risks and spending her bits in just the right places but now that she has to effectively run the farm, she can’t leave it all that often. We often don’t hear from her for weeks at a time , especially during the busy seasons.

Rainbow Dash is back in Cloudsdale. She long ago dropped her plans of becoming a Wonderbolt, deciding that some things just weren’t destined to happen, though she still stays in contact with Spitfire and Soarin’. I believe she may have her eye on one of their new recruits, a colt named Tornado. That’ll catch more than a few ponies by surprise, as it was widely believed she was into mares.

She’s the new foremare of the weather factory and takes her job surprisingly seriously. Whereas before she would brush something off with the excuse “I’ll get to it later,” (though, to be fair she generally does) she runs the factory like clockwork. A cloud is never where it shouldn't be, not a drop of rain is wasted, and no snowflake goes unfallen.

Pinkie was given ownership of Sugarcube Corner when the Cakes decided to retire and now the place is known through most of Equestria as the place to go for your cravings. Now that she has free reign to use her imagination as she sees fit, she has created baked goods and candies the likes of which nopony has seen. Her work is art. Abstract art at a lot of the time, but still…

She always has samples for the foals which has endeared her to every foal in Ponyville and beyond, and she’s slowly tutoring Pound and Pumpkin in the baking arts as well. Her ‘ niece and nephew’ utterly adore their ‘Auntie Pinkie’ and I've no doubt what she’s teaching them will hold them in good stead when her time comes to retire. Sugarcube Corner was left in good hooves and will be given to good hooves in turn.

Fluttershy officially opened a veterinary clinic in Ponyville. She’s changed a lot since the time before; she’s much more outgoing, much more bold, much more willing to speak her mind. And I like that. She learned to speak up and be heard and she learned to do this on her own. I've heard stories of her practically bringing pets back from the dead, with the help of her partner Zecora, who has finally been tempted to leave her lonely hut in Everfree. It’s been suggested that they’re quite a bit more than just work partners, but I'm hardly one to spread rumors. At least not any more.

She’s extremely popular in the charity community as well, giving away the majority of any profits earned, keeping just enough to buy the medicines that can’t be made from the herbs in Everfree, and to feed herself – she still lives in her modest cottage saying that “It’s good enough for me.”

There’s serious talk of naming a hospital wing after her to commemorate her help in the community. She also runs a pet obedience class – one good stare and a dog or cat will never misbehave again!

And then…then there’s Twilight. She frightens me. Frightens me near to death. She began training herself in the higher forms of magic and didn't stop. Now I don’t think she can. She used to visit with me when she first returned to Canterlot from Ponyville and it was a joy to have a friend close by. But now when I see her, I see a dead soul, her eyes empty of all life, her coat almost aglow with eldritch energy. When she looks at me, I don’t think she sees me, anymore. I think she sees some unknown creature for her to dissect and learn from. I’m nothing but a... a “thing” to her. I hear even the two Princesses are afraid of her.

I…I don’t like talking about her anymore. The day I had to distance myself from her was one of my most heartbreaking. I'm sorry. It's terrible of me and I'm still ashamed.

Spike watches over her now, as he did when she first began spouting her incantations, losing herself in the magic and slowly destroying her mind and she seems to accept him, so she's in good hands at least. He seems to be immune to the effects of the energies that roil off her from time to time, though I'm sure he'd stay with his beloved sister/mother even if it killed him.

I wish I'd been that brave.

And so that’s it, then – we went our separate ways, got what we wanted from our lives and it’s happily ever after. All except for one of us. ... Poor dear...

And yet sometimes I wish we still had the Elements. Sometimes I wish we would still rush into danger when called upon, to save everypony from a terrible plight.

Sometimes I wish things had never changed.