Letters to a Lost World

by EileenSaysHi

Letter 8: Princess Twilight Sparkle

Dear Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle,

Oh my goodness.

Reading all your letters honestly brought me to tears. Every single one of them. Even Pinkie Pie’s, as much as she didn’t want me to feel sad reading it.

You don’t know how much I want – need, even – to just break through space and time and give each and every one of you a hug. You don’t know how much I miss you. Even with everything that’s happened since our last meeting, even with my new position and responsibilities… I don’t think a day has gone by where I haven’t thought about you, and how much I’d give to open that portal right now.

Before we get too far in, I have some good news and bad news. The bad news is that I have to disband the team that’s currently working on the portal situation, as they were never meant to be kept away from their regular duties for so long. However, they are spending their last week training a replacement team that will be able to pick up where they left off. Even then, however, I can’t throw ponies at this forever. If we haven’t made significant progress by the day the portal theoretically opens on its own, I will sadly have to freeze the project.

Believe me when I say I’m trying desperately hard not to think about that possibility. And I don’t want any of you to do so either. But, like Applejack said, you deserve to be in the know about this.

The good news is that, as of now, we won’t have to worry about running out of space in these journals. Starlight and I worked out a spell that will allow us to erase previous conversations and restore the pages to a pristine state. So long as the journals don’t become seriously damaged on your end, we’ll be able to keep in communication indefinitely.

I considered writing seven separate letters to each of you, so my expressions of gratitude could be more personal. Trust me, I mean it when I say each of these touched me deeply. But, as reigning monarch, my schedule is terribly limited and I didn’t want to stagger these responses out one by one. I’d feel awful if one of you was left waiting for weeks longer than the rest.

Besides that, though, I really do want to speak to all of you, as a group. And I want to explain just how amazed I am at all seven of you, and the people you’ve become. Fluttershy was right when she suggested I’ve always seen something special in you, and it’s been a true privilege to witness all of you come into your own as friends, as heroes, as human beings.

In response to something Fluttershy said in her letter, I am so, so sorry I ever let the validity of my feelings towards you come into question. I’ll admit that I have had thoughts like that cross my mind before, however. Was it fair of me to gravitate towards the people who most closely resemble my pony friends? Was it destiny that I happened to meet you when I already knew your counterparts, or some kind of bizarre magical nepotism? I don’t have an answer for that, and I’m sorry. But I have never thought of you as replacements. Please, please don’t reduce yourselves to that. You’re your own human selves, and I love you all the more for it. I am deeply, truly honored that so many of you still called me one of your best friends in your letters, even when I’ve nearly always been a long-distance friendship for you.

Perhaps that makes sense, though, when I consider that my friendships with you all are quite possibly the strangest I’ve made with anyone, and that’s saying quite a lot. Some of you said that I was special to you because of the ways I’ve guided you, helped you and, as Rarity so elegantly put it, taught you in the art of friendship. (Though I must object to being called a “master of the craft,” as I continue to discover new things about friendship every single day.) But to others, and sometimes the same people, I’m special, or just as special, because, when I’m here, I’m just another one of you, or even a learner myself, whether it involves getting beaned in the head with a softball by Canterlot High's star athlete or growing to understand myself more through meeting another Twilight Sparkle.

And what’s amazing is that I really am all of those things: a guide, an equal, a pupil. And I’ll never not be grateful for the ways you’ve allowed me to experience these different sides of myself in new ways, in a new world. There’s so much I’ve learned about myself through coming to this place, through being your friend.

Maybe Rainbow Dash is right. Maybe I do like being human sometimes. Though if you do ever get to come back to Equestria, maybe give your pony wings more of a chance this time. Trust me, new wings can take some getting used to.

And I’ve taken the lessons I’ve learned in your world to heart. Understanding more clearly what brings people together, and what drives them apart, was essential when the Cutie Map made it a near-daily assignment for my Equestrian friends and I. As was learning to see the potential for good in someone who’s done wrong; without the example of Sunset, I don’t know if I’d ever have taken Starlight Glimmer on as a student. And, as mentioned, I grew to discover a new side of me through meeting Twilight, finding new interests and even drawing some magical inspiration from her scientific work. (To Twilight: I’ll send you some details on that last part later!)

Those are some broad examples, but the truth is I feel as though I’m always finding something new of value any time I’m with you. And if I managed to impart any knowledge of my own in doing so, as so many of you said, then I’m thrilled beyond measure. But these experiences have informed me of who I am as much as any, and I’ve carried them with me all the way to my current post.

(Twilight, when you said you can’t possibly imagine yourself in my position of authority, I understand completely. I’m still struggling to comprehend it myself. But don’t doubt your own abilities, either. When I get nervous about the responsibility of leadership, I remember how, in plenty of my brightest moments as a leader before, I never even realized I was leading anyone at all.)

But please know that I didn’t come to this world so many times to learn lessons. I came for all of you, because I wanted to be with you, because I deeply enjoy your company and the experiences I have with you. Whether it was running around a carnival, attending one of Pinkie’s parties (though I have to agree that the alligators were a bit much, sorry Pinkie), having a sleepover or singing with the Rainbooms, they were times that felt uniquely human, and uniquely you. I will miss them dearly.

Before I make my final address here, I want to say something directly to Sunset. Dear Sunset, you’ve had perhaps the most unique journey of anypony I’ve ever known, and watching your growth over the years has been one of the great joys of my life. I am truly sorry that you’re now separated from Equestria at a time when you finally feel ready to visit as yourself, and I desperately hope you get that chance. But knowing you’ve found your home, and the people who’ve made it that for you, warms my heart immeasurably.

I’m afraid I’m running out of time to continue for much longer, but I want to make it clear that, even if the worst possible version of events comes to pass, I don’t see this as an end for our friendship, in any way. It’s merely a new chapter, and it’s up to us to make the most of it. With any luck, I’ll see you again someday, but I won’t think of any of you as being less of a friend if that’s not the case. And as you all head into the bright new future that awaits after high school, know that I’ll always be cheering on your success and happiness.

I struggled to find the right way to translate some of these feelings into words for a final sentiment, until I remembered that I don’t actually have to. We already did, years ago, together. And I can think of no better words to end this letter.

Nothing stays the same for long,
But when it changes, doesn’t mean it’s gone
Time will always get away
As it leaves behind another day

Things may come and things may go
Some go fast and some go slow
Few things last, that’s all I know,
But friendship carries on through the ages.

Your faithful friend, now and forever,
Twilight Sparkle

Comments

[Mystic Sunrise]

.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Oof. Well, if anypony can maintain seven long-distance relationships, it's Twilight. We'll see what the epilogue has to say. I can't help but suspect it could be Argyle offering commentary on the ancient manuscripts.

[Wild Stallion]

11312796
Or they finally get the portal working (years from now) in time for one final goodbye.

[redandready45]

This chapter was just so...beautiful. Bittersweet and longing, but hopeful and optimistic.

I am pumped for the next chapter.

[RDT]

Loved this chapter. A very nice culmination of all of the previous letters, building on their themes and twisting them around.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

The good news is that, as of now, we won’t have to worry about running out of space in these journals. Starlight and I worked out a spell that will allow us to erase previous conversations and restore the pages to a pristine state. So long as the journals don’t become seriously damaged on your end, we’ll be able to keep in communication indefinitely.

I considered writing seven separate letters to each of you, so my expressions of gratitude could be more personal. Trust me, I mean it when I say each of these touched me deeply. But, as reigning monarch, my schedule is terribly limited and I didn’t want to stagger these responses out one by one. I’d feel awful if one of you was left waiting for weeks longer than the rest.

You've got nothing to apologize for Princess.

Perhaps that makes sense, though, when I consider that my friendships with you all are quite possibly the strangest I’ve made with anyone, and that’s saying quite a lot. Some of you said that I was special to you because of the ways I’ve guided you, helped you and, as Rarity so elegantly put it, taught you in the art of friendship. (Though I must object to being called a “master of the craft,” as I continue to discover new things about friendship every single day.) But to others, and sometimes the same people, I’m special, or just as special, because, when I’m here, I’m just another one of you, or even a learner myself, whether it involves getting beaned in the head with a softball by Canterlot High's star athlete or growing to understand myself more through meeting another Twilight Sparkle.

I'd actually find it interesting to see a story based on the one sci twi mentioned in her own letter when she first met her counterpar. And that it involved tears and talking...

And what’s amazing is that I really am all of those things: a guide, an equal, a pupil. And I’ll never not be grateful for the ways you’ve allowed me to experience these different sides of myself in new ways, in a new world. There’s so much I’ve learned about myself through coming to this place, through being your friend.

Mhm. You are the expert and princess of friendship.

Before I make my final address here, I want to say something directly to Sunset. Dear Sunset, you’ve had perhaps the most unique journey of anypony I’ve ever known, and watching your growth over the years has been one of the great joys of my life. I am truly sorry that you’re now separated from Equestria at a time when you finally feel ready to visit as yourself, and I desperately hope you get that chance. But knowing you’ve found your home, and the people who’ve made it that for you, warms my heart immeasurably.

Just reading this made a tear came down my facts, mainly cause I wish we got that proper ending or eqg, and that we'll never know if Sunset wanted to stay on earth or return to equestria. But fortunately us fans can make our own ones that are great in their own way, including my own, which is in the final stages of completion.

[Bicyclette]

But please know that I didn’t come to this world so many times to learn lessons. I came for all of you, because I wanted to be with you, because I deeply enjoy your company and the experiences I have with you. Whether it was running around a carnival, attending one of Pinkie’s parties (though I have to agree that the alligators were a bit much, sorry Pinkie), having a sleepover or singing with the Rainbooms, they were times that felt uniquely human, and uniquely you. I will miss them dearly.

this is the core of this letter, i think, to establish that Twilight genuinely enjoys spending time with the Humane Seven instead of their time together being out of necessity for their adventures.

I’m afraid I’m running out of time to continue for much longer, but I want to make it clear that, even if the worst possible version of events comes to pass, I don’t see this as an end for our friendship, in any way. It’s merely a new chapter, and it’s up to us to make the most of it. With any luck, I’ll see you again someday, but I won’t think of any of you as being less of a friend if that’s not the case. And as you all head into the bright new future that awaits after high school, know that I’ll always be cheering on your success and happiness.

and without any danger of the notebooks running out, it really would be just a change to a different kind of friendship, one not even all too different from what many high school friendships turn into, conducted at a distance over social media. there is change and loss there as well, but a kind that is more expected out life.

But friendship carries on through the ages.

and aww, very fitting to end with the lyrics to this song!