4th October, 3483
Dearest Twilight Sparkle,
This is the final scroll in three. This letter will be the last of what needs to be said, and will address the events that took place a few days before putting this to pen.
As always, if you have not read the other two, please hasten to do so in order.
We bypass the remainder of the history of our great land for nothing else remains hidden. Most history books you can find in the library I have provided for you in Ponyville give great and accurate detail of the formation of all the cities and states of Equestria. There was no need for secrecy at that point, and as such, we may continue onward.
Now comes the essence of these letters. As detailed in the first, now is an important time to detail to you these truths, as I feel my capacity to do so diminishing with each passing day. As I have been already guiding you under my wing for all these many years, I believe you will one day be the inheritor of the world, and I am doing my best to prepare you for that day.
I write these letters in advance, not knowing when you will read them, if at all. However, I do this now at this critical juncture in order to let you carry on the work that I leave behind, and most importantly, to face down this entity that I have dubbed the Scourge.
I have also only started personal documentation now, marked by the escape of Luna. I believe this event to be significant enough to warrant a fallback journal in the event that anything happens to me.
From previous letters, I have mentioned this Scourge casually, but it is in this which I shall attempt to define it.
It is a monstrosity, beyond all comprehension.
It has taken the form of one of us, and seeks to undo my rule, and my benevolence.
And if anything were to happen to me, these letters and this diary are the only things that will lead you along the path to its hopeful annihilation, if that is even possible.
I only fear one thing, and that is my eventual fall to the Scourge before my time naturally comes, and before you grow to take my place officially.
To that end I have issued a decree that if anything were to happen, these letters and pages are to be given to you along with the ruling tiara of Equestria.
Do not worry; it is only a little pressure. But either way, pour your soul over these pages and absorb as much as you can for the ensuing war.
On the other hoof, I might have been successful in my plans to defeat a menace that cannot be defeated, and in that being the case, you are to use this as study media to show you how to thwart even the most vile and stubborn of opposition.
Now, I had promised you in earlier letters to explain a few things which I needed to get into more detail in order for you to fully comprehend. They are more secrets, things which are vastly overlooked by the populace but are nevertheless important in their own right.
We shall start with what is now known as the Cutie Mark.
Of course, they were never named that in the past. Their original name was the Branding, and I am not sure how it evolved to be named as such; but it works well to hide its true nature.
The mark, as I have mentioned before, is an outward expression of inward being. For Ponies such as myself, we did not have the choice, and our marks were cast upon us unwittingly. And for the most, all Ponies believe this is how it is, and will always be.
But Cutie Marks can be written.
As the overseer of Equestria, I try to avoid this. It is still a phenomenon that my science department studies in great depth, but there is simply nowhere to go in understanding how they exactly work.
Through careful experimentation and close observation of test subjects, however, we have found that Cutie Marks usually represent the inner qualities of a Pony, and is slated to be a sign of the one thing that they are chiefly prominent at. However, my questioning started when I had observed the unnecessarily vagueness of certain marks. If they were all to be standard, why then, would some require interpretation, and others not?
For example, your dear friend Applejack has three apples adorning her thigh. Surely, that was a sign that her work and experience had to do with apples. This is without a doubt, and any Pony seeing it would instantly visualise its necessity, including its bearer.
However, your other dear friend Rainbow Dash has a cloud, and a thunderbolt with a rainbow motif as her mark. It is only through a stretch can one equate that to the desire to win and to travel at fast speeds. More likely, I have found, was her attempt and subsequent success at the 'Sonic Rainboom' move being that which affected the mark's outcome.
In this I have found that certain behaviours or mental thoughts, usually heightened in intensity at the time, directly affects the form of the mark.
While this is neither good nor bad per se, it does not aid from the standpoint of a leader, and must be controlled carefully to ensure that everypony's Cutie Mark is succinct and to the point. The easier read a Pony is, the better we can assign them for tasks within our society, where everypony has his or her place.
You will understand the necessity of this when you mature further, and if you have any questions you can always check in with the research team.
I would like to now address what, perhaps, is the most pressing matter that no doubt is eating at your thoughts even as you read this.
I am, of course, referring to Luna, my sister, who had returned from the moon after a thousand or so years of imprisonment.
And as you also know, I was being intentionally ambiguous about your participation within the story.
So here is the truth, straight and direct.
It was a sly plot on my part, but do not worry, for you were never in harm's way.
I had three points to make upon the conceptualizing of this plot. Knowing, of course, that my sister was slated to return, I wished for you to go to Ponyville for these reasons.
- You would be a sufficient distraction for Luna for me to work around unnoticed.
- You would be injected into the society of Ponyville, for which I required you and Spike to be in such that I might keep closer watch on the Scourge, whose actions at the time were remarkably poignant (possibly due to Luna's return, but this is merely a hypothesis).
- It would be good training for you.
Foremost, I have to tell you that this plan was years in the making, long before even your birth. Luna's return was to be soon, and I had to prepare long in advance. The Magic Academy I had started suited well not only to produce some talented magic users for the good of Equestria, but for me to monitor all hopefuls.
Then along came you.
I still remember the first day I met you. Wide-eyed, pupils glowing like tiny balls of fire, in fact, it was quite disturbing if I might be so curt. You had a special gift, something that comes along once every few hundred years - you were to be the bearer of magic. Your potential, I might say, rivals even my own, and in your prime you might even be able to outmatch me in a fair sortie.
Needless to say from the moment I saw Spike's head break the ceiling of my Eastern Tower, I knew you were to be the one I would nurture from then on.
But do not read this in despair. I do not use you merely as a tool. I love you as my own child, and although I could not tell you all these as you were a child, I can now tell you these as you are my equal. Every parent strives to protect their children, even if it means not having to tell them the truth sometimes.
But it would take from then until just a few days ago for the plan to finally commence.
You had two primary roles. You, and Spike, needed to be placed in Ponyville to be my eyes and hooves. If you haven't already guessed by now, Spike is also working for me in addition to being your loyal servant.
You also had to, once you were there, make a personal journey to try to save Equestria from my sister.
It was essential for you to garner a bolstering gregariousness with some of the locals in order to remain in Ponyville without suspicion, and aiding them in the 'defeat' of Luna would help with that tremendously. No doubt after such a sacrifice you would be accepted into the town with open hooves.
From your passionate need to read books, I knew you would eventually find the book of lore describing the return of Luna. It came very, very close to the day, but rest assured if you hadn't found it yourself by then, you would have 'found' it anyway.
Of course, I also knew that you would never be able to leave well enough alone if I had simply dismissed your claims about Luna, so I made sure to use your new 'appointment' in Ponyville as a way to get you even more curious about the whole thing.
I then had Spike plant a book that I had written in the library at Ponyville, detailing the method of retrieving the Elements of Harmony. That was enough for you to decide to find it and use it to stop Luna by yourself.
Luna, having just returned, would definitely wish to find this weapon for herself, having observed from her jail the power it grants. She would seek to destroy it so as to have any chance of battling me.
The final piece of the puzzle was simply to show up as Luna herself during that party, make a few varied threats, and then run away. It took you no time at all to follow all the clues to the shrine where the Elements were.
Again, I want to stress that you were never in any danger, and I certainly would not have allowed you to undertake such a dangerous task by yourself.
All the while I was there, watching you. The tests I set against you and your companions in the Everfree Forest were only to harden your spirit and feed your determination. With each passing step conquered, the gauntlet that I had thrown against you eventually led to your final encounter with the real Luna, who had been trying to find her own way to the shrine all the while.
Everything went according to plan.
However, the device, as I had also surmised, was no longer functioning. A thousand years is long enough to reduce the castle to dust, let alone a highly sensitive piece of equipment. But they had already served their purpose. With Luna in full belief that she had destroyed the one thing that would mark her downfall, there was nothing left but for me to unleash a full degeneration spell at her while she was distracted by your monologue.
And that was when I showed up, and I believe you know the rest.
Of course, originally, there was no intention for anything outside of merely stopping Luna. The Scourge was born around the same time as you were, and as the years slowly passed, this Luna thing became quite a good opportunity to merely add layers, as it were.
Due to your heroism, no one could possibly say no to you moving into Ponyville for a while longer, where you and Spike could remain, close to this new blossoming problem.
I am proud that it came out so well.
I also find it hard to admit but the Scourge was in fact invaluable in your journey to the Shrine. It does appear at this point that her powers do not come by will, but perhaps that might be even more upsetting once she gains absolute control.
Either way, this is simply where we are now.
The book that comes with this letter is the record of the happenings of the days to follow. Please do read and digest it, and of course, do excuse the more candour tone.
I know that this letter does not answer many questions, most of which have probably arisen from reading this letter in the first place. But that is what the diary is for. May you find all you ever need within the pages ahead, and if you have any questions, you can always contact me or Spike or any of my trusted agents.
And for the last and final time, I apologize. Deeply, for everything that may have troubled you, for the truths that may have caused reflection, and for my dishonesty.
If it were the last wish I had upon this world, I would wish for your forgiveness.
Stay safe, my precious one.
You are more than a daughter to me.
Yours,
Princess Celestia