Princess Celestia stared down at the resting place of her former student, who was now resting in peace. She was holding a letter with her magic above the grave; contemplating whether or not she would leave just yet, or stay a little longer. Using her magic, she slowly unraveled the silky violet ribbon that held the letter closed. She read it over once again, a small tear forming in the corner of her eye.
My Faithful Student,
I am regretful that I was not able to reach you at a sooner time, and I wish you luck wherever you may go. Most of Equestria has heard of your passing by now, and many are mourning. You have touched many of the brightest and exceptional souls in Equestria, Twilight, I sincerely hope you know that. Luna and I will miss you, as well as everyone you knew.
Luna did not take your passing as well as I did; but do not mistake taking your passing well as not caring for you, Twilight. I cared for you very much, but as the ruler of Equestria I simply cannot show my emotional distress. Luna cared for you more than you knew; she has locked herself away in her room, refusing to leave ever since you left. You truly taught her what it was like to have a friend, Twilight, and ever since one of her best and only friends left her forever, she is unsure of what to do. It is thought that we may accept the passing of any pony in our kingdom easily, since we have dealt with much of it over the years, but that is all but the truth.
We feel for everypony that passes through our hooves, whether it was a natural death or it was some accident that the pony suffered through; it has never been easy on us, and the death of each Bearer of the Elements had started to pass, Luna and I felt a deep sorrow pooling in our hearts. We knew that the day would soon come for the next, and that it would soon come to be your turn to leave, Twilight Sparkle. We did not want a mare such as you, someone who has taught my sister and I so much about friendship, and even brought us back together, to ever leave us.
But we had no choice. It was the way the world works, and everypony has their time to pass through the looking glass, everypony but my sister and I. Twilight, I understand your need to leave as your mind grows older, and your body starts to get weak. Every day that I sit in my throne, I think of the years that have passed in time, and all of the ponies that I had once cared for, and how they are now gone. I haven't really had anypony stay with me over time, besides my sister. It pained me very much to banish her to the moon, but that was the proper action at the time. But you, Twilight, you brought my sister back, and you gave me the hope to carry on through the generations. We will always miss the unicorn that roamed these halls and the streets of Ponyville, we always will.
You have always been a pony of worry. That was only your downfall, Twilight. You worried about how your friends would act if they had found out that you were keeping their time of demise from them, but now I am certain you have found the answer you were looking for. Your friends will always be there for you, and that is something that you should have known through your studies of friendship. What you did for them, however, was the best thing that you could do for them Twilight. You gave them a reason to live that day, and a reason to be happy, and the happiness you gave them is something that is always to be loved by friends. You were the reason that they were happy; remember that.
I do not like to pick favorites out of all of my students, but you have touched my heart in ways that I didn't even know possible. You taught me the love of a friend, and you even showed me at times what it would have been like to have a daughter of my own. You showed me since the time that you were a young filly how much you loved me since the nights you fell asleep reading on my lap. You trusted me with every fiber of your being, and it pains me that I wasn't able to be there during your final moments when you needed me most. You have inspired my sister and I to be friends once again, and to fight every battle that would dare to tear us apart. You have been my most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, studying until the day of your death. You have learned much over time, and I am very glad that you have. You have far surpassed any expectations that were set by anypony, Twilight. You have not let anypony down.
I should be thanking you for what I have learned through your life. You have taught me so much on the true value of friendship, and I will always be thankful for what you have done. You will never leave my heart, Twilight, and I will never forget the violet unicorn that was once my loyal subject and friend. My final request to you, Twilight Sparkle, is that you remember Equestria not for my sister and I, but rather for those you taught of true friendship, and those that you were able to grace with your presence.
I am terribly distraught over you leaving, more than you may ever know. There is one final thing that I can say to you: I wish you the best of luck wherever your next adventures may take you, and may you peacefully rest with your friends in time, my Faithful Student.
Yours Truly,
Princess Celestia
She closed her eyes tight, tears falling from her eyes as she finished re-reading her letter to Twilight Sparkle. Using her magic once again, she slowly and carefully rolled the letter, tying it with the violet ribbon once more. The letter started its slow descent onto Twilight's grave, resting on all of the flowers that were laid out there by other ponies. She stared at the tombstone, another tear dropping from her eyes.
Here lies Twilight Sparkle
Bearer of the Element of Magic
Friend, Lover, and Faithful Student.
She looked back over to where all of her friends had been put to rest, flowers also resting upon them.
Here lies Applejack
Bearer of the Element of Honesty
A true and honest friend.
Here lies Fluttershy
Bearer of the Element of Kindness
Kind and caring to all.
Here lies Rainbow Dash
Bearer of the Element of Loyalty
Forever faithful to Equestria.
Here lies Rarity
Bearer of the Element of Generosity
Always giving to those in need.
The last of the tombstones that her eyes fell upon was Pinkie Pies.
Here lies Pinkie Pie
Bearer of the Element of Laughter
Making everypony smile.
Celestia stared at all of the now resting ponies, proud of who and what they had become. They were all together now, happy in their own ways. Another tear dropped from her eyes, but she couldn't help but smile, smile, smile.