//------------------------------// // My name is Twilight Sparkle // Story: What Went Wrong // by Gremlin Grenade //------------------------------// Dear Princess Celestia, Today I learned about something special, something that may be more than friendship. Today I learned about family. A family, by definition, is two or more ponies who share genetic traits. When a unborn pony is conceived, they borrow genetic traits from their progenitors, causing them to exhibit similar physical and instinctual traits, even to the point of sharing habits or phobias. The term family is used to define this biological bond between ponies, and it is an instinctual desire for parents to wish to care for their child, thus carrying on their legacy by way of the concept of a family. However, today I learned that a family is something more than that. I learned that even when everypony else abandons you, you will still have family. Family isn't something that can be traded for, forgotten or ignored. It's the bond that forms between ponies who love each other more than anything, and would be willing to make great sacrifices for each other. Family always protect each other, they always care for each other, and families stop at nothing to make sure the others in their family are happy. I also learned that family isn't just something that is passed down by DNA. Family is a bond, formed in love rather than in conception, that is the only bond that remains unbreakable against any struggles. While nearly all ponies who are related to one another genetically are held together by this bond, sometimes it can be found in ponies completely unrelated to one another, a bond beyond friendship, formed of pure love. This is what family truly is, the form of unconditional love for another pony, that one would make any sacrifice to see the other's happiness. Today, I saw that bond in a wonderful mare and her love for a young filly, and in a mother, treated unfairly by fate, who refuses to let her love for her family be diminished. This mother, through the nature of her circumstances, has been forced to separate from the one she loves the most. Ditzy Doo Hooves is a mare who has struggled all her life, and through legal complications, she faces the loss of the most important thing she has left: her family. A reasonable, though technically improper, proposal has been made by a local pony who cares so much for the Hooves that I believe she is already part of their family. In normal circumstances I would consider this an abuse of my relationship to you, but I ask that you please allow this family to bypass the legal technicalities so that they can remain together and happy. Just as I consider myself family with my dearest friends, I believe it is painful and unfair to see this family suffer simply because they are not all bound by genetics. Families are determined by love, and there are few places that I've seen so much. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle P.S.Tell Mom, Dad, and Shining that I'm coming to visit soon.