Dear Twilight,
Sorry that I have to pen you such a formal letter, but It has been brought to my attention that Spike recently bought a book from a store in Canterlot called “The House of Enchanted Comics”. The reason I am letting you know this is because that store has been shut down for ethical and legal violations. Their books were all enchanted, allowing the reader to physically enter the story and live it out as they wish. As I’m sure you’re aware, this type of magic is dangerous as the chances of somepony getting trapped within the book is rather high. There’s also a chance that somepony could lose a grip on reality and not want to leave, much to their own detriment. On top of that, and I don’t want to cause you to worry, let’s just say that the shop in question was a front to some rather questionable activities involving enchanted books for grownup ponies. That’s the main reason the shop was shut down. I’m not saying that we should suspect that Spike was buying any of their legally questionable books, but they can be particularly dangerous, and I hope his curiosity didn’t get the best of him. He is a growing dragon, after all.
So, how have things been in Ponyville? Luna and I are looking forward to your next letter.
Write back soon!
-Celestia
Dear Celestia,
I cannot believe somepony would use magic for such a dubious purpose! Fortunately for me, the book Spike bought wasn’t one of those. In fact, it was a superhero comic, and all of us ended up getting sucked into it and taking on the roles of superheroes in the world of the Power Ponies. At first, it was confusing and a little bit scary because we had to face a villain with a long mane which she could control just like the rest of her body. The stuff of nightmares, let me tell you! Fortunately, with Spike’s help, we were able to defeat her.
I know the shop was shut down, but when I think back on our experience, I can’t help but feel sad that we won’t get to do it again someday. It was actually a great experiment in perspective. When you think about superheroes, you get an image in your mind of ponies with powers far beyond those of normal ponies, so entering a world where you could have great power seems rather enticing. For me, though, it felt stifling. It made me realize that even though we were taking the forms of super-powered ponies, we still really had to fight hard in order to win. That went doubly so for Spike! He took the place of a sidekick character that usually only plays a small role in the story, but he ended up being the real hero and saved us all. If anything, I think it was a big confidence boost for the little guy. Whether it’s Spike or Humdrum, sometimes you just need to believe in yourself, which can be difficult, even if you have friends who believe in you, too.
To go back to the earlier point, all of us had difficulty fitting into our roles at first. I said it felt stifling for me, so let me explain. Pinkie Pie got super speed, Applejack got a magic lasso, Rarity got special construct magic, Rainbow Dash got really cool weather control powers, and believe it or not, Fluttershy got to be super strong if she got angry. That might have been scarier than the villain we were fighting, actually. The powers I got, however, were more of a downgrade. I could use my horn to freeze and crystallize things, but I can already do that. My magic in this world of superheroes was actually less than in reality. It took a lot to finally figure out the best ways to use my magic when it was so limited. It made me dream up a different sort of magical training regimen, one where unicorns would have to solve magical problems, but be limited to certain schools of magic or certain spells. Has that ever been done before? If it has been, I’d love to hear about.
Yours in Ponyville,
Twilight
Dear Twilight,
It sounds to me like you had a good experience with the enchanted comic, but believe me, there’s been nothing but headaches for the last few days. We’ve had ponies suffering from what we’re calling extreme post-com depression. When they return to their mundane lives, leaving the fantasy world behind, they long to go back. It’s all they can think about. Thank goodness you and your friends have not suffered this effect.
A limited training regimen for magic? I suppose for a student of the magical arts, it could be an interesting sort of brain-teaser. I do believe there was an order of pony monks that practiced magical limitation as part of their spiritual rituals. If I recall correctly, they felt that limiting the use of the horn would lead to more meaningful and enriching experiences when it was used. That, however, was a complete denial of all magic, and some scholars have written contradicting reports, believing that the underuse of the horn can cause ill health effects in unicorns. I definitely think it’s healthy for a unicorn to use their horn regularly. I’ve been using mine every day for my whole life, and look at me! I’m over a thousand years old!
I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Honestly, your idea sounds like it would be a really fun activity for young unicorns who are just learning about different kinds of magic.
Luna wishes to have a word, so I will let her write the rest of this letter.
Your friend,
Celestia
Dearest Twilight Sparkle,
We have tried using the books from that store, and we can assure you, we know what you mean! Our royal powers were so diminished that we didn’t know what to do! Yet, once we left the book, it left us thinking, perhaps some dark thoughts.
Sorry, I just realized I was writing using the royal we again. We must I must practice restraint and try to communicate like the normal ponies of this era.
In any case, my dark thoughts after leaving the book reminded me of my time spent as Nightmare Moon, and how I wanted ponies to grovel before me. I stepped back, looked at my powers and how I, how all of us alicorns, must seem a bit intimidating to other ponies. We are so powerful and different, perhaps they fear us. Perhaps they fear me… even though that is not what I desire. It is true, you showed me that sometimes ponies wish to be frightened when I visited you on Nightmare Night, but a new fear has entered my heart. A fear that even though I have tried to show the ponies of Equestria that I am just like them in heart and spirit, that they may still fear me because I am so different.
That is why it is so very important that you are here now, Twilight. You were the thought that brought me back down from this fear. You, who were just recently a normal unicorn, are still in Ponyville, still living your life reasonably close to how you had been. Indeed, perhaps it is one of your duties as the princess of friendship to help everypony understand that we alicorns are still ponies. I hope that makes sense. Perhaps someday soon, I will travel to Ponyville again and see my friends there. It has been quite a while.
Yours,
Luna
Luna,
I would very much love it if you could come to Ponyville sometime soon and have dinner with all of us at the Hayburger. I’m sure everypony would love to have you.
Hugs and Smiles,
Twilight