//------------------------------// // Intermission (III) // Story: The Last Equestrian Princess // by Dr_DeDeDe //------------------------------// Selected Passages from Letter to Princess Celestia Excerpts From HRH Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Personal Memoirs Part 3 1/1/RY1006 !!!Princess Twilight Sparkle’s New Year’s Resolution List For RY1006!!! REMEMBER BIRTHDAYS AND SPECIAL EVENTS Gain a better understanding of parliamentary procedure so that I can take some work off of Harrier. Delegate more of my current workload and micromanage less. Resolve border tensions with the griffons. Set up an animal charity in Fluttershy’s name (Name Ideas: Angel’s Kindness, Butterfly Gardens, Little Hut on the Edge of the Everfree) Set up scholarship fund for aspiring sorcerers. Establish guild for mages to better regulate magical use. Track down Trixie and Zecora (haven’t heard from either of them since I was crowned) Reinstate the young Seapony Empress as head of an independent state. Practice flying for one hour thirty minutes twenty five minutes daily. (Sorry Rainbow Dash!) Read at least one new spellbook a week. Practice new spellcraft every night. Try harder to reconnect with get in touch with my Ponyville friends. Make it down to Ponyville for a visit before Midsummer’s Eve. Make it out to the Crystal Empire to check up on things/hold memorial service. Try and make it out to see Spike before he graduates next year Write in my journal more. Relax. 1/30/RY1006 Dear Princess Celestia, We almost lost Spike today. I got out of a meeting with the Gryphonian Ambassador to receive a dragon note from a hospital in Neighpon. Apparently, there had been some kind of awful fight between Spike and his friends and a group of people called the “Shadows,” some kind of gang no doubt. He was found outside the gates of his school by his “friends” in the “academic club” he said he was joining (I’m almost convinced that this “S.E.E.S” is some kind of street gang). He was cut up pretty badly; one of his friends didn’t make it out alive. They got him to the hospital and the doctors managed to heal the worst of the injuries before anything serious happened…the doctor didn’t go into any details and I certainly didn’t ask for any. I’m absolutely furious with him! What the hell was he thinking getting mixed up in a mess like that?! He’s in Neighpon to get an education, not to creep around the school at night and get into fights with punks! He could have been killed! He could have been arrested! He could have been expelled! I would love nothing more than to throttle him right now and if it wasn’t for the meeting with the Caribou High King I have tomorrow, I’d be on the next train to Neighpon right now! I told him via dragonmail that we’re transferring him out of that school immediately. I thought he would protest, but he agreed that it was probably for the best. I can’t blame him; I wouldn’t want to stay at a school where one of my friends was killed either. Despite all this, he wants to finish his studies in Neighpon to remain close to his remaining friends. I don’t know how much I approve of that, seeing as how it was his friends who got him involved with their little S.E.E.S gang in the first place but he’s used to the Neighponese school system by now and another school has gratefully accepted his transcripts. It’s a small but very good high school in the countryside and even better, my mother’s brother lives there with his young daughter. Uncle Ryo said he’d be happy to take Spike in until he finishes school and seeing as he’s a police detective, I can rest easy knowing Spike will be on the straight and narrow from here on out. I’m happy to put this behind us. I sincerely doubt the Shadow gang has a branch in a sleepy little town like Inaba. I have to get some sleep now…or at least try to. I don’t know how… Spike was in the fight of his life yesterday and there was nothing I could do to help him. I can’t even go visit him in the hospital because of this stupid meeting I have tomorrow. I really hate this job sometimes. Sincerely, Twilight 2/15/RY1005 Dear Princess Celestia, It’s a little weird to have a friend that’s more famous than I am. Not that I have a big head or anything! But it’s weird to think that one of my friends just being in the city could draw so many people that traffic ground to a standstill ]with all the people going to the arena see her fly. I mean, the Wonderbolts always drew big crowds before but that was before Rainbow Dash joined the team. Ever since she made captain it seems like the air show crowds are getting bigger and bigger. She’s doing wonders for our Air Force Recruitment, I’ll give her that but I wonder how that mare keeps her energy up. Two shows a day, three performances a week, four cities a month with her “off time” being devoted to training, training, and yes, even more training. (Flash Sentry is quite the fan and keeps me updated on all Wonderbolt activity since I don’t really have the time to track sports teams anymore.) He actually managed to sneak me out of the castle and into the arena so that I could see them in their special night flying show. I used a special disguise spell to disguise myself as an ordinary pegasus so I could get out of the castle and into the stadium without stealing the spotlight.  I had never been to a proper air show before and I didn’t know what to expect but from the moment the Wonderbolts took to the skies, I was completely blown away by their performance! Flying through bursting fireworks, doing steep dives and synchronized air ballet to the roaring score of instrumental rock music! And all with Rainbow Dash at the helm, guiding the others and helping her team to shine. I’ve never seen flying like that before! I thought she was going to crash into the stands a couple of times but she pulled out in the end and finished with a team sonic rainboom that shot the Wonderbolts into the sky, around the stadium, and back to the podium for the grand finale that had everypony in the audience on their hooves and cheering! I thought I could make my way over to her when the show was done but we were practically trampled as everyone rushed out of the bleachers for the fan-meet and greet. There must’ve been eight thousand ponies between me and Rainbow Dash who was doing her best to sign everything shoved in her face as they fought their way to the locker rooms. After that, I figured she must’ve been tired so I decided to leave her in peace and make my way back to the castle. It was worth Harrier’s displeasure to see Rainbow Dash in action. I’m worried that I may have got Flash Sentry into a little bit of trouble judging by the look on Harrier’s face when she caught us sneaking back in the castle. Ah, I’m sure I can get him off the hook. I mean, what’s the use of being a princess if you can’t get your friends out of tight spots once and a while? Still…it was really cool to see Rainbow Dash fly like that again. It really inspires me to practice more, though I doubt I’ll be trying out for the Wonderbolts anytime soon. I’ll have to see if my big famous friend has time to give me lessons anymore! I’ll have Harrier send her a note while she’s in the city; maybe we can catch up on all the flying lessons I’ve been missing. Twilight 3/1/RY1006 Dear Princess Celestia, Despite our current financial worries, Harrier suggested that I keep up appearances and host the Gala this year like always. I don’t know where she thinks she’s getting this money from (the last treasury report nearly gave me a heart attack) but she seems to have spared no expense. I guess there’s always money to be found when entertaining the upper classes, isn’t there? Oh stars, I'm too young to be so cynical. I’m almost glad my friends made excuses not to attend; it’s not like I would have been able to spend much time with them anyway. I was stuck in the royal meet and greet line all night and I think it’s safe to say that I’m developing a growing antipathy to hoofshakers and flank-kissers. I didn’t even have time to eat a proper dinner; I had to eat spring rolls off of a napkin in the mare’s room on one of my two allotted bathroom breaks! Memo to self; contract Pinkie Pie to plan next year’s Gala and lock Harrier in the broom cupboard so she can’t possibly interfere. As much as I appreciate how the mare runs a tight ship, she cannot plan a party to save her life. Twilight 3/4/RY1006 Dear Princess Celestia, I just got back from a meeting with Harrier and I think she’s starting to slip a little bit. This all started when Sunset Shimmer interrupted my afternoon nap and demanded to know why I was trying to kill her boyfriend. I told her that I didn't know what she was talking about and she said that Flash was getting reassigned to a frontier garrison on the edge of the Crystal Empire. Apparently he’s supposed to ship out tomorrow but this is the first time I’ve heard anything about it. Harrier's in charge of the royal guards and she usually brings up staff changes during our weekly meetings. When Sunset and I tracked my chancellor down and demanded to know why she was shipping Flash Sentry off to the edge of nowhere, she got really flustered and disoriented. She started coming up with some excuse that this was some kind of “Military Relocation Initiative” but I honestly don’t think she knows what that means. I can’t even fathom why she would think it a good idea to send Flash to a wilderness outpost like Fort Frostmoth; a city guard like him would get eaten alive by frost trolls within a month! I can’t believe she didn’t even consider that! I think I’ve been working Harrier too hard; she’s beginning to show signs of stress and some questionable judgement . So I told her that I’d be taking over guard detail from now on. She didn’t seem too happy about that (Type A mares like us don't like people to think that we can't handle our jobs) but I had to be firm with her. Truth be told, she's been getting a little sloppy with palace security lately; reassigning or retiring some of the old guards and bringing in some fresh faced son of whatever lord as a favor. Well that stops today. I’m cancelling Flash’s reassignment order and assigning him to my personal guard. I’m sure Harrier would agree that having reliable ponies close to me is the best thing for everyone. I’ll let the little princelings she hired stay on for now but I think a more rigorous screening process is in order for future Royal Guard candidates. Twilight. 3/6/RY1006 8:25 PM Dear Princess Celestia, Happy Anniversary to me! Today marks one whole year of me ruling Equestria without screwing anything major up which is as good a reason as any for a celebration! We had a small party in the garden tonight; just me, my closest cabinet members and Flash and Sunset. I sent invitations to Ponyville but no one RSVP’d in time so the party was less lively than I hoped it would be. But that’s okay; my friends are busy busy little bees who can’t just drop everything and appear at my social events whenever I want them to! I mean, I did offer cover their train fare there and back but no big deal; I can always cancel the train tickets tomorrow! I mean…was I looking forward to catching up with everypony after not seeing or hearing from them in nearly a year? Sure! But we’re all adults with our own lives to live; I’m sure they had good reasons why they couldn’t make it to my anniversary party…and my birthday…and my Hearth’s Warming Eve party…and the Grand Galloping Gala. But that’s okay! I’m sure we’ll catch up next time or maybe the time after that! I’m totally okay with whenever they want to see me! I’m not too worried about this; don’t feel too sorry for old Twilight! All things considered, things are going pretty okay! Sincerely Twili No. You know what? It’s not okay! I know I screwed up with Applejack’s last birthday; I get that and I’m sorry! And I know I haven’t been able to get out to Ponyville as much as I would like but it’s not like I’m deliberately avoiding them! If anything, they’ve been the ones avoiding me! Rarity and Rainbow Dash completely flaked on me when I’ve tried to get them to come to lunch! I’ve sent them dozens of letters and invitations to social events and haven’t gotten so much as a “Thanks but no thanks” in return!  I’m sorry that I can’t just prance off to the Sugarcube Corner whenever they want me too but in case they haven’t noticed I’ve kinda have a country to run! This isn’t a stupid little dress shop or a two bit apple orchard here; my work affects the lives of millions of ponies which means, surprise surprise, I don’t have all that much free time anymore! It sucks, I know, but that’s life! I’m doing the best I can and I don’t think I deserve the frosty treatment I’ve been getting from the Ponyville gang! You know what? Fine! If they don’t want to come to my anniversary party then that’s their business! It’s not like we have to do absolutely everything together or anything! I’m had a great time with Flash and Sunset so if my other friends decided that they don’t want to help me celebrate then that’s their call! I can’t always be there for them and I don’t expect them to always be here for me. I’m certainly not going to be up until three in the morning crying because my party didn’t go the way I wanted to! And if they don’t want to talk to me or even do me the courtesy of responding to my letters then I sure as hell don’t want to hear from them! Twilight 4/13/RY1006 Dear Princess Celestia, Sorry I lost my temper back there; a lot of stress has been piling up on me lately and that party thing just felt like the last straw. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that my friends the Elements of Harmony and I have grown out of our former friendship. It hasn’t been easy to admit; I guess a part of me was trying to cling the past by holding on to our old relationships but I see now that I’m not being fair to them. I think we’ve all grown and changed in ways that we can’t remain friends. If they’re not invested in continuing our friendship then I’m not going to keep bothering them. I guess some people just can’t be friends forever. And really, now that I think about it, I have a lot more in common with Sunset Shimmer I did with the Elements of Harmony. I mean…I can talk to her about magic and science and stuff and have her not totally glaze over like Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash did. I can talk about my latest research projects without completely boring her and have her give feedback on areas where I need to improve. Sunset and I are a lot more alike than me and my Ponyville friends ever were; in a lot of ways, we’re a perfect match for each other. … So why do I still miss them? I’m really racking my brain to figure out what I actually had in common with the rest of the Elements of Harmony and for the life of me I can’t figure it out. It’s not like I’m terribly interested in fashion or sports or agriculture and not even Rarity is all that concerned about magic. Outside of adventuring to save Equestria and living in the same town together, we really didn’t have that much to talk about. But...I still miss them. I miss Rainbow Dash butting heads with Applejack. I miss Rarity gushing over the latest designs from Neighpoli. I miss Pinkie Pie randomly breaking into song or throwing parties for the silliest things. And despite the fact that we have literally nothing in common and we haven’t been friends in nearly a year…I still miss them. I wish I didn't; I wish I could just stop missing them and move on with my life. I want to be able to look at a cake without thinking about Pinkie Pie or look at a dress without wondering how Rarity would like it. More than anything though…I wish things would just go back to the way they were. But I guess I just have to respect their wishes and give them their space. I can't exactly force them to be friends with me, can I? It’ll get easier with time…won’t it? Twilight 5/1/RY1006 Dear Princess Celestia, I don’t know what the hell is going on but I don’t like it; not one bit. Sorry, let me back up. The park dedication I had today went well and I was about to board a carriage back to the castle when I saw Rarity walking through the park in the company of Fleur Di Lis and Fancy Pants. I hadn’t seen her a year now; last I heard she was preparing to show at Fashion Week in Manehatten so I was surprised to see her in Canterlot. I called her name but…well, that’s when things got weird. She kept walking despite the numerous attempts to call out to her and when I finally chased her down she was…distant. Almost cold. All my attempts to make small talk or catch up were rebuffed by one word answers and short, forced pleasantries. I could tell something was wrong but she didn’t open up to me no matter how hard I tried. By then, I was getting frustrated with her standoffishness and as she made up her third excuse to leave, I demanded to know what her problem was. This proved to be one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made.   Rarity proceeded to tell me, in great and violent detail, exactly what her problem was. Apparently, I had no right to act chummy with her after being cruel and dismissive to her and everypony else for the past year. She said that I had some nerve trying to talk to her after I had told Pinkie Pie that her constant party invitations were getting annoying and that I didn’t want to hear from them again unless I personally summoned them. She told me that I could keep my “noble company” and that she wasn’t going to be a “backup friend” to be summoned at my pleasure. Rarity ranted and raved for what seemed like forever, practically biting the head off Flash Sentry when he tried to stick up for me. She informed me that she had better things to do than cater to the whims of a royal brat like me and stormed off in a huff before I could get a word in edgewise. Needless to say, I was stunned, confused and not the least bit outraged that Rarity thought that she had the right to yell at me for being aloof and standoffish! And what was that garbage about me saying that Pinkie Pie was annoying?! I hoofwrote every single letter I sent out to them and Harrier said that I didn’t get so much as a postcard in reply! And she wants to call me cruel and dismissive?! This just confirms my suspicions that my Ponyville “friends” and I were never that compatible to begin with and if this is how they want to treat their “friend” and leader then I’m well rid of them! If they don’t want to hear from me again then I am happy to stop writing them! Considering that they managed to misconstrue party invitations as personal attacks on them, I may as well have just thrown away the letters I wrote them and have Harrier send them misleading hate mail because the end result would have been exactly…the same. Wait… I need to check up on something. I’ll write again when I can.