Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,
You're probably wondering why this letter was sent to you by mail rather than through Spike. I could easily blame Luna's bizarre infatuation with the Royal Equestrian Postal Service, but that would be a lie, and tempted though I am, it would be unfair to you, who have always been so brutally forthcoming with me in all of your letters, both as my student, and as my friend.
The truth of the matter is that, by the time you read this, Luna and I will no longer be at Silver Shoals, or any place else that you can find on a map.
This, I'm afraid, is my final letter to you, and where I'm going, you won't be able to send a reply.
Don't panic.
Let me start by assuring you that my sister and I are both quite alright. In fact, we are more than alright. Our retirement together has made up some of the happiest years of our lives, second only to our time spent watching you and your friends grow. I've had such amazing adventures since giving up the crown. I've hacked through jungles and climbed whole mountains without use of my wings - simply for the sake of the challenge! I've galloped through such amazing meadows, and tasted cleaner air than I ever dreamt of! I have journeyed from the ocean realm of the sea ponies, to the bitter tundras of Yakyakistan, and loved every minute of it.
Luna has occupied her time soaking up the symphonies and operas of the past thousand years, studying every sculpture, and painting that Equestria has to offer, from the prestigious Silver Shoals Cultural Center to Manehattan to Trottingham. (I don't pretend to get it myself, but most of those works had been inspired by dreams, and created under the moonlight, so it's hardly surprising that my sister is a sap for them).
We've both traveled so far, and it's all been so wonderful, as I'm sure you've gleaned from our many postcards and letters.
However, that excitement could not last forever. There comes a time when the world of ponies passes from under you, and becomes a place you no longer consider home. For me, there was no grand incident. It felt simply like a blanket draping itself over everything - a weight over the very air we breathed. I could not pierce it, or see through it, or bear it - that intolerable sameness. For my sister, "the call" took the form of a sharper heartbreak - when a grown pony first failed to recognize her. Luna has always been the sensitive type, and while it's not my place to get into the details, suffice it to say that she didn't take it well.
The point I'm making is this: our time is up. My sister and I both have felt it, each in our own way, each on our own terms.
You'll feel it someday too, and while I am sure that that day is countless moons in the future, sadly, it will come, and when it does, I want you to know that you don't need to fear, nor should you despair. If ever you valued my counsel or my judgment on anything, I beg you to please trust me on this.
You're going to be alright, and when you are finally ready, you'll know what to do.
You'll have to forgive the smudges on the page. Stoic though the role of princess may be, tears of pride are not among the things that I can control. It occurred to me now that you once gifted me with one of the most joyous moments of my life, and you didn't even know it. There was one letter you sent that shook my heart so deeply that I leaped out of my bed, and began to laugh and sing when I finished reading it. I woke half of Canterlot.
The reply you received from me was formal, of course. I couldn't tell you how I really felt at the time because it would have betrayed my secret hopes and dreams for you, which, by now, we're all reasonably certain that you've figured out.
It was your cutie marks - the letter about how you'd all discovered a commonality in your destinies long before any of you had met. I'd never doubted you, Twilight - not once - but your early years of friendship were expectedly rocky, and I confess now that I had doubted myself in my ability to prepare you for the tasks you needed to face.
That letter that you sent banished all of my fears and misgivings.
You see, there are forces in this world beyond even my comprehension - power that cannot be understood through spells or books. It aligned to bring you and your friends together - to bring you and I together! We would never even have met had you not passed your entry exam so impressively!
Those are the forces that will let you know what to do when it is your time to come and join us.
I never told you this, but I've often envied my subjects. Each of their lives are so brief, yet so wonderful - their passions like bursts of fireworks that light up the sky for just a tiny shining moment before fading away to streaks of ash hanging over the night. I'll never know that feeling - the urgency of their impermanence. The life of an alicorn is more like a slow-burning candle, even when our hearts are broken, or our tempers roused.
Our feelings my be just like anypony else's, but our experiences are not.
I confess to you now that Princess Luna and I chose Silver Shoals as the location not for our retirement adventures, but also as the leaping point for our eventual escape.
By the time you receive this letter, we'll have set sail, out into the great wide open, just like Luna and I had always dreamed of when we were fillies. Did I ever tell you of our pirate games? No, I don't imagine I have.
No worries. I'll tell you about it face to face someday.
In the meantime, all I can say is thank you. Your legacy is my greatest pride, and my greatest joy. In my heart, I know that Equestria has never been in better hooves, and that knowledge has granted my sister and I both freedom and peace.
Think of me when you raise the Sun. Think of Luna when you raise the Moon. And in those cherished moments between night and day - in dusk or in twilight - do me one small favor, and look to the stars. The first to twinkle, and the last to fade. It is there you'll find my sister and I.
We will be with you always. I promise.
Until we meet again,
Princess Emeritus Celestia
Author's Note
My reasons for writing this story are deeply personal: I did it to make myself feel better. There's been a pony-shaped void in my soul ever since The Last Problem, and writing this has really helped me. I sincerely hope that it will help some of you too.
SPECIAL THANKS: Thank you to Seraphem and Mushroom for looking this over, and encouraging me.
Cover Art by My Little Sheepiehttps://www.deviantart.com/mylittlesheepy/art/What-a-Lovely-Light-334041531
SUPPORT: This is a labor of love. However, I also have mouths to feed. If this story, Hooves of Fate, or my Heart Full of Pony essays have touched you in any way, and you can manage to spare a few bits, I'd very much appreciate your support on Patreon. I could really use the assistance.
For those of you who already are pledging, seriously, and for real, thank you. Your support makes a difference, and it means a great deal to me. /]*[\
Other Version: This is a slightly longer version of a fic I posted on Tumblr.
https://heartfullofpony.tumblr.com/post/188500638847/celestias-last-letter
