I don't think I need to do a recap of how Celestia and Luna announced their incoming retirement at the beginning of Season Nine, nor how the reactions were mixed from shock and sadness, to joy that the Sisters and their "uselessness" were finally getting kicked off the throne.

(As a side note, for me personally, nothing's ever going to be the same without Best Moon Horse watching over the Dream Realm)

But anyway, I've been thinking about it, and I have what might or might not be an interesting theory regarding the two.

What if they retirement was always part of the plan?

Now, I may need to brush up on what we know of Equestrian history, but from what I remember, Celestia and Luna came around the same time as–or a little while after–the Hearth's Warming stuff. The pony tribes were still divided back then. Perhaps Celestia and Luna, under the tutelage of Starswirl, wanted to find some way to unite the ponies together as one, and get them to the point where they managed themselves.

Say what you want about the film itself or how well it lives up to this, but I think this line from Jor-El in Man of Steel is sort of what I'm going for.

You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive for. They will race behind you. They will stumble. They will fall. But in time...they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time...you will help them...accomplish wonders.

Y'know, something along those lines.

But then of course, things changed. Perhaps the two got too invested in ruling. And then of course, Luna became Nightmare Moon. Celestia's primary reason for staying on so long would be to ensure that her sister came back safe and sound, and also making sure that Equestria stayed on the right path.

And while we're on that, let me say this. This is a bit of a headcanon, but I like to imagine that Celestia and Luna were just as much awesome fighters as our fan stories and animations like to make them out to be. Perhaps they were the kind of people who enjoyed a good battle when it came down to it. But then they ended up fighting each other. And in the aftermath, Celestia lost her will to fight anyone, lest she destroy their lives like she had destroyed Luna's.

These are just the musings of a low-tier fan writer. I just thought I'd put them out here for you all to see and/or discuss. I realize it might not cover everything, but again, these were just some thoughts I had.

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I can actually sorta see this, really.

Hmm. An interesting and plausible idea. Personally, I hold to the idea that Celestia is MUCH more powerful and 'together' than we understand. ( I mean, she brought Equestria from the middle ages into the modern age, and handled EVERYTHING by herself for 1k years...of which were not peaceful.) So I see her as playing the long, long game, and a retirement period was planned.

Honestly though, I see it as a generational retirement. Ponies aren't exactly painted as the most....erm....'resilient creatures, so letting them govern themselves would be interesting. From what I understand, Twilight/Cadence aren't ageless- (Tweet from M.MC, the fact they're magical alicorns, the Tale of Two Sisters info, etc,) so Twilight/her friends could rule for a generation (Maybe C/L helping for a year or two behind the scenes) but give our two sisters a break, and then they return.

That's how I see it at least (and makes the most sense vs dumping the kingdom to Twilight.) The 'last summer sun celebration and everything isn't a lie- it IS the last...for the ponies that will be currently alive/remember it. But I can't see Celestia just up and leaving the kingdom she quite literally handled for 1k+ years, especially when Twilight and Co. will eventually pass on.

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Honestly though, I see it as a generational retirement. Ponies aren't exactly painted as the most....erm....'resilient creatures, so letting them govern themselves would be interesting. From what I understand, Twilight/Cadence aren't ageless- (Tweet from M.MC, the fact they're magical alicorns, the Tale of Two Sisters info, etc,) so Twilight/her friends could rule for a generation (Maybe C/L helping for a year or two behind the scenes) but give our two sisters a break, and then they return.

Huh. I never thought about it that way.

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Maybe it's just me trying to rationalize the poor writing (which...lets be honest, they kinda dropped the ball,) but that context makes their actions MUCH more logical. Trying to make sure Twilight is ready, their eagerness making things awkward, etc.

I can't imagine Celestia running the show for 1k years and just up and running- not her style. (And it is not a logical leap to indicate they are ageless actually.) So that's how I've construed it at least.