• Published 19th Oct 2019
  • 4,230 Views, 90 Comments

Dear Princess Celestia, - Shakespearicles



Princess Twilight Sparkle writes letters to her former mentor. Her friend Spike would rather she didn't.

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Delivery

Princess Twilight Sparkle rolled up the scroll and sealed it with the wax emblem. "Spike?" she called out. The large drake entered her study. "I have a letter that needs to be sent right away."

Spike looked at the ornate letter C embossed on the scroll seal and frowned.

"Twilight, you don't need to keep sending friendship reports," he said.

"I know. This is different," she said, levitating it over to him.

"Twilight, you need to stop doing this," he said with growing concern.

"Please?" Twilight begged him. "It's important. Please send it right away."

"You know my dragon fire doesn't work like that anymore," he said.

"Can you please deliver it?" she asked.

"You could just send it by post to Silver Shoals."

"I need you to make sure that- that it gets to her!"

Spike could see that Twilight was on the verge of tears. Her eyes were already red. She had been crying again recently. He looked down at the scroll in his hand. It was dotted with watermarks from her teardrops while she had written it. On any other day, he would have accused her crying as emotional blackmail. But he couldn't bear to see her cry again over this.

"Okay. Okay Twilight. But this has to be the last time!" he said. She nodded. He turned to leave, stepping out onto the balcony and spreading his wings. He knew damn well this would not be the last time. It was a long flight to Silver Shoals, but he knew the way well.


The staff and residents of Silver Shoals were familiar with the dragon courier. He had been there far more often than he would have liked. The manager stepped out of her office onto the patio to greet him once again.

"The usual?" she asked, seeing the familiar scroll in his palm. He nodded. "Would you like some company?" He nodded. She walked alongside him to his delivery destination. "How is she doing?" she asked. She didn't even have to say who. He knew what she meant.

"She's having another bad day I think," he said. "I thought she was doing better for a while but..."

"She has lost a lot of ponies in her life. You both have," she said, walking beside him on the stone walkway.

The memories of his friends flittered through his mind in a flash, and then they were gone just as quickly. Even the pony he thought that he loved more than any other. The expression on his face never changed. He had become used to it. Almost numb to it. Everypony he had met since then, their mortality was always at the forefront of his mind. It kept him distanced from getting attached.

"I thought that it would have gotten easier for her by now," he said.

"I work in a retirement village," she said. "I've seen more than my share of ponies pass. It does get easier, but it's never easy." The stone walkway turned into a gravel path as they neared their destination.

"Do you think that's why they retired?" he asked. "To not have to watch so many ponies... pass?"

"Maybe," she said. "But I really can't say. They never talked about any of that stuff." She stopped walking. He looked back at her. She waved him on. "This is you," she said and then turned around to leave. Spike sighed and pressed on, walking to the end of the gravel path to where Celestia was.

"Hey," Spike greeted without formality. "I've got another letter for you. From Twilight, of course. I keep telling her she doesn't need to keep sending you these, but she, uh, she really misses you. We all do..." He held out the scroll. He looked at where Luna was, beside her. "Both of you." He scratched the back of his neck, unsure of what else to say. After making the trip so many times, there wasn't much else to say. He wiped his eyes. "Anyway, I'll just leave this here with you." Before he flew away, he tossed the scroll into the eternal flame, just below the engraving in the stone memorial.

In loving memory of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna

Comments ( 74 )

I mean this in a non-asshole way: as soon as I saw the tags, I knew where this was going. While the destination was obvious, I suppose the journey is the point.

It reinforces my immediate reaction after I saw the leaks: Twilight is not the sort of pony who would be happy taking Celestia's place, especially not when it's in circumstances so similar to Celestia's thousand-year solo reign. The saddest part is, Season One Episode One Twilight would have been better off psychologically than Series Finale Twilight. S1E1!Twi was all about her checklists and correctness. Finale Twilight lives for her friends and loved ones.

I'm sorry you don't get to be happy anymore, Twilight.

derpicdn.net/img/2014/8/28/709842/medium.jpeg

9893348
Regrettably, the tags do take some of the impact out of the ending. But likewise, I don't want people to get mad about too much of a gut punch twist. This was just a short thing I needed to write. For much the same reason why Twilight kept writing. To cope.

Oof, that twist at the end. Well done!

Damn. Poor... well everyone but mostly Twi.

I both love and hate this. I knew the ending was coming yet it still hurt...all so beautiful

Thanks a lot for ruining my day with that ending. Are you proud of yourself? You shouldn't be if you are. It does make me wonder how many, if any at all, Celestia saw herself.

I get the feeling the one about Luster did. And maybe the very first couple. But that's it.

Where's Cadance and Flurry Heart when Twilight needs them? Unless you really are heartless and killed them too.

Wow, that ending sure was a twist to my heart.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown but to wear it eternally... as Twilight said, it's both a blessing and mostly a curse.

Well done, Shakes!

9893436
This wasn't something I wanted to write. It was something I needed to write, even as it pained me to do so. Just as Twilight continued to do so. To cope. Cadance and Flurry Heart are alive and well, and they help when they can, but there is only so much they can do to stem the feelings of loss with the tide of time. It's a cumulative grief.

Dangit!!! THis is so sad!!!!

*Cries out to the heavens with tears in eyes*

Well done!!

That line she says, where every night she prays she'll wake up in her old bed, and every morning she get's angry when she doesn't? I relate to that so hard, in multiple ways. On the lower end, that's how I've been feeling ever since I watched the show's final episode. I keep wanting to go back and wake up back around the Season 2-4 times, when the show wasn't over and was so fresh and new and simple.

On a much bigger level, that's how I've been feeling about my whole life in general for years now. I keep just wanting to go back, back to one of the few times in my life where I was actually happy, or at least content. I'm not even very old, I shouldn't feel this way but I do. Every change only seems to bring even greater pain with it. I can't even imagine what it's like to be middle-aged, or an old person when I already feel this way as a young adult.

So yeah, good story.

9893489

I wanna go back and do it all over again, but I can't go back I know.
I wanna go back because I'm feeling so much older, but I can't go back I know.
I know now that things will never be the same.

They lose their bodies, but their magic flames are eternal!

Great story! It really is!:heart:

dzamie #15 · Oct 19th, 2019 · · 2 ·

Not a huge fan of "Celestia and Luna randomly stop being immortal despite being alicorns" thing. Them being dead seems kind of like a cheap ploy for reader tears and a way out of explaining why Celestia won't help Twilight with these issues.

The letters were very nice. It's really just this chapter that seems unnecessary and kind of lessens the impact. Of course, many others seem to think this one makes the story better, so... eh. To each their own.

I don't read tags so didn't see the end coming, and it was a complete surprise for me. Twilight is really having troubles adapting to being immortal, and it's understandable.

Great story.

You know, I would have found it hilarious if they just crumbled to dust in front of Twilight the instant they gave up their royal status. Better yet, if they died like the guy who drank from the wrong Holy Grail.

Did they do that to themselves?

Great story. Stuff like this is why you hold the title of “World’s Strongest Writer”. The gradual slip from happy to sad to simply attempting to survive is perfect. It’s kind of depressing, but I understand that it’s a story that needed to be told. The potential there is to great to ignore.

On a personal note, nothing to do with the story, I partially believe that Twilight would somehow give up her immortality if it came to it, since there’s not much point in being the princess of friendship without any friends. Idk. I’ve just preferred stories like the “Remembrance” animation, or even Somber’s recent story “One Last Snap” in their depiction of friendship, or the lack thereof, being more powerful force than immortality. Just a personal preference, still great story. Rant over.

9893348
So... Twilight should never have made friends in the first place? She should have just stayed emotionless and distant the whole series?

9893640
Immortal doesn't mean invincible. Maybe Celestia choked on a ham sandwich. Maybe they were both in the same train wreck. The 'how' isn't important.

9893791
Plus we've seen several times in the show that there are entities with the power to circumvent or absorb magic.

Be that Discord, who can remove both the wings and horn of alicorns with a snap of claw.
The Throne from Chrysalis' Fortress nullifying magic completely.
Tirek literally draining magic.
Or even those stone balls that Tempest threw in the movie. Those things could turn an alicorn to stone in seconds and I think we all remember what happened to the Storm King well enough to validate their lethal capabilities.

Honestly the Princesses are lucky they haven't been dusted so far, considering the amount of times they've gotten wreck'd.

Perhaps it was a legendary anti-magic Ham sandwich. Who knows.

9893787

So... Twilight should never have made friends in the first place? She should have just stayed emotionless and distant the whole series?

On the contrary, she should never have become a Princess. She'd have been happier as a librarian in Ponyville, or (if some sort of official government position is necessary for reasons) Archmage. If Celestia wants to retire that badly, she can hand things over to Luna. If you need two alicorn princesses (again, because reasons) then we have a spare up in the Crystal Empire.

In any case, Twilight would make a miserable Monarch of Equestria, and the job would make Twilight miserable.

Really? Twilight has been writing to a dead Princess Celestia all this time? No offence, but that`s a let down.

9893841
Okay, that makes a bit more sense. But I still don’t think that Twilight would have had a problem with just being a Princess. It’s the immortality that’s the problem. As I said in my previous comment, I prefer the idea that Twilight would ultimately choose a short life filled with happiness than a long one filled with sorrow, similar to what you said. But there’s nothing to say that she couldn’t do this while still being a Princess. There have been several episodes through the series, including the last one, that showed that despite her increased responsibility, she still was able to make time for her friends and be happy. So being a Princess isn’t inherently bad for her. Sure, if she stays immortal and lives millennium without her friends, yes, that would definitely be a problem. But I think she would rather pass on her reign to another(Luster Dawn maybe?)much sooner than Celestia and retire, likely giving up her immortality so that she wouldn’t have to continue to live without her friends. Just a thought.

It still pains me knowing how much pain and suffering Twilight is feeling. A princess of friendship, having all her friends eventually pass on after all the adventures, hardships, and happy memories they experienced together. And the worst part is, she still lives on with her immortal life, with the haunting memories. At least Spike is still with her...

Reminds me of one particular line from the musical Hamilton:
"If there's a reason I'm still alive when everyone who loves me has died, then I'm willing to wait for it... I'm willing to wait for it."

Nice story~!

9893791
Did you just make a Mama Cass reference on purpose?
She didn't actually die from chocking on a ham sandwich. She died of a heart attack. http://www.legacy.com/news/celebrity-deaths/article/the-truth-about-cass-elliot

I guess the immortality is tied to being an actual "ruler" vs an alicorn. Celestia and Luna rescinded theirs for reasons similar to why Twilight despises her own. They've earned their rest and reunion with old friends.

9893791
That sort of makes her tirade in a letter here about how she wishes her curse of immortality would end kind of... dumb? Like, they only thing keeping you alive is routine, Twilight. If you really want to stop being immortal, surely you have no shortage of spells and artifacts to kill you. Or ask Discord if he'll take away the alicorn bits and trap you in a memory of the past until you die of not being an alicorn.

Vik

This was brilliant.

Oof. This was good, and important. I'm glad I didn't really stop and think about the tags it made the last two bits give my heart a nice little drop. Good to feel, because until then I didn't think my heart had picked itself off the floor from last week. Poor Twilight.

Saw the ending coming from pretty far away, but I'm not upset with it. I consider it a happy ending, because it proves that Alicorns CAN die if they really want to. It sucks that Twilight is trapped in her responsibility for as long as she feels she needs to be, but her suffering will end as surely as the sister's someday, and she'll be with them again.

9893845
It can't have been the entire time; the first letter, at least, is before Twilight takes the throne, and we know Celestia was alive then. I do wonder just when the change happened, though.

9893348
Yeah, one of the hard things about graves fics and the new tags is that it spoils any real surprise they might have in them. It's one of the issues with a story revolving on a twist, I suppose.

9894131
It's a mix of anger from envy, as well as a feeling of obligation to remain and see to the well-being of Equestria, lest Twilight's sacrifices all be in vain. She does what she must, even as it pains her to do so.

It should be no surprise then that Celestia had her School for Gifted Unicorns running to find a new protege. After things with Sunset Shimmer didn't work out, this new unicorn with a cutie mark from the Tree of Harmony had to seem, to her, fated to finally be her ticket out.

It should be no surprise then, that Twilight has kept the school going, and eagerly sent Luster Dawn to Ponyville to learn about the 'magic of friendship'. Just because Celestia served over 1000 years, doesn't mean Twilight is about to. No fool, she. She's all about those term limits.

A fine story overall, but how does "I tried talking to your sister" work if Luna is also dead?

9894663
Maybe they didn't die at the same time.
Maybe she wrote a letter to 'Luna' in the same way she's writing to Celestia now.
Maybe she 'talked' to Luna in the same way Spike did when he delivered it.
Twilight is not well, and is somewhat of an unreliable narrator in this.

9894836
Honestly, this is probably my biggest peeve with Twilight's character arc. Nobody ever asked Twilight what she wants. Not the Princesses, not her friends, not anypony. It's always "Are you ready for this?" and "Can you handle this?" it's never "Do you want this?". I kind of wish somebody at some point just sat down with her and gave her the respect to just ask what she actually wanted, or if she was really okay with any of this.

9895323
My personal crazy theory is that if a time-traveling Twilight came back to before the first episode and told Twilight about all the history that's been hidden from her up to that point, all the stuff that will happen if she follows The Plan, and how things worked out in all the alternate realities Twilight has seen, Twi would have decided to somehow reform Nightmare Moon without using the Elements, then helped Luna run Equestria, probably while living in the Ponyville library.

I have to admit, I did NOT see that coming...
Somehow, this makes the idea of Twilight's immortality even worse.

Twice now, I've had ideas for stories come to me and not leave me alone or let me sleep until I wrote them down. I'm guessing this was a similar thing.

I'm still not ready.

I really liked it, thank you.

Some real sadboi hours going on

"I work in a retirement village," she said. I've seen more than my share of ponies pass. It does get easier, but it's never easy ." The stone walkway turned into a gravel path as they neared their destination.

Forgot to add a quotation mark after the “she said.”

An interesting and touching look at Twilight's reaction to what she's gone through, with a heartbreaking ending. :fluttercry: 10/10, would cry again.

9893348

I'm sorry you don't get to be happy anymore, Twilight.

That's grade A stinkin thinking that is. Who says she can't be happy? That she cant find well being and contentment with her life now? Or that she wouldn't work towards, say, making all ponies alicorns, and from there, all people of Equis immortal? Or failing that, still being happy. She has endless days ahead barring some outside force eviscerating her, or choking on a pretzel, or by chocolate, or a particularly nasty foreplay accident. She quite literally has nothing but time and boundless potential, and given who she is. a boundless potential to do good in her world.

So long as she tells the whole of the political realm to fuck off of course. Pull a Queen of England on this bitch Twily!:rainbowkiss:

Why must you hurt me in this way? :fluttershysad:

I saw this coming from the moment the description said Spike wasn't happy with it.
This probably made the engraving work as well as it did.

Aside from the random Twilestia part (wasn’t really all that built up and it kinda stuck out awkwardly as it seemed more like borderline romantic clop in terms of how the fic was written before-hand), this Fic was pretty nice. Though the ending seemed a little weird to me (after focusing on immortality, all of a sudden it’s revealed to not be true, and no one told Twilight this after her assumption...this kinda felt off to me), the emotion portrayed was still good.

9899169
Seconded.

And it's really odd if you think about it, over one thousand years, never having aged a day. A Millenia of perfect health even through times of war.

Yet somehow, suddenly, they're dead? That kind of killed it for me, it was sad, it was deep. Up till this chapter, here, it just felt off.

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