The Last Equestrian Princess

by Dr_DeDeDe

Intermission(I)

Letters to Princess Celestia
Excerpts From HRH Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Personal Memoirs

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All my love to my wonderful husband and our darling little Dawnstar
And
To Princess Twilight’s friends who bought her first journal. You have given us all a gift more valuable than you could have ever imagined.

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Foreword by the Editor.

I first met Princess Twilight Sparkle when she caught me and my future husband breaking into her personal library in search of a rare book that my local library didn’t carry.

I, of course, feared that my life was over; one does not simply break into the Eventide Palace and live to tell the tale, especially when the Dusk Princess herself catches you red hoofed in her personal quarters. Little did I know that I was about to begin one of the most fulfilling personal and professional relationships of my life. As a mentor, as a teacher, and as a friend Princess Twilight proved herself far more loving, generous, and compassionate than any of us gave her credit for.

Though her reign was characterized by troubles nopony could have ever predicted or prevented, she bore all with grace and dignity, never failing to protect her people in their hours of need. Though she remained somewhat distant and reclusive in recent years, she gave of herself freely in the end and bestowed upon all ponykind a gift that we may never be able to repay. I can truly say, without any exaggeration, that Princess Twilight Sparkle was the greatest princess and indeed greatest pony that the Kingdom of Harmonia has ever known.

It was her wish that these memoirs be made public so that perhaps we would come to understand her more completely as ruler and as a person. I confess that I thought myself closer to Princess Twilight than any living pony today but as I went through and prepared her journals for publication, I realized that I only knew a part of her. Hidden deep beneath the veneer of ageless wisdom and benevolence was Twilight Sparkle, a young sorceress who stumbled onto the public stage before her time.

Published to celebrate the one thousand and fifth anniversary of her first coronation, these memoirs offer a uniquely personal look into the life of one of Harmonia’s most enigmatic public figures. Princess Twilight invites you to take a journey into her past and relive the earliest days of her reign. Political intrigue is set against personal struggle as Princess Twilight and Twilight Sparkle struggle to find a balance between friendship, family, and duty.

I invite you now to read on and join Princess Twilight as she celebrates with her friends on the eve of her second coronation day.

Sincerely,
Dr. Terra Nova
Chair of the Metaphysics Department at Harmonia University
Chief Engineer of the Dawnstar Project

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3/6/RY1005
Dear Princess Celestia,

I think you would have liked the party they threw for me tonight.

I managed to talk Pinkie Pie down from the grand spectacle she had planned; it wouldn’t have been appropriate all things considered. Still, there were balloons and dancing and a disturbingly large cake that even you would have trouble finishing in one sitting. I think the only thing you would have been disappointed in was how quickly your little ponies seemed to move on after the funeral. Despite everything you did for them, they were so quick to tear down your mourning shrouds and erect gaudy banners with my cutie mark bedazzled on them.

I can’t tell if you would have minded so much. You were always one to be happy for the happiness of others. I don’t think you would have wanted everypony to mope over you forever but-

I don’t know…I still feel like you deserved more after everything you did for these ponies. For more than a thousand years you watched over the day and night, driving the creatures of darkness away from your little ponies. They looked to you for shelter and protection and you never let them down…most of the time.

Nopony’s perfect.

I remember that everypony in Ponyville wore pink and yellow flowers for at least a week after Fluttershy’s funeral…so why didn’t they do the same for you? I don’t know why this is bothering me so much; maybe I’m the only one left who really knew you enough to feel truly sad about your passing. The way those stuck up nobleponies behave, you would think that you had never-

I’m sorry…I’m not being fair to them. A couple of very nice ladies offered me their condolences for my loss. I’m still a bit shy in such high society but Rarity managed to keep me from stuffing my hoof in my mouth on a couple of occasions. I think I’ll ask her to be my wingmare in any future royal events (I’m sure she’d appreciate the invitation.)

There was dinner, there was dancing, there were extravagant gifts I politely accepted and never plan to use again. The thought was nice but I think I need gold and jewelry like I need a hole in my horn.

(Rarity was eyeing a few of them enviously so I think I know what she’s getting for Hearth’s Warming Eve.)

My friends all went in on a gift for me and I have to say it may be the finest thing I’ve ever received. A simple purple leather diary with my cutie mark stitched in gold. On the inside were dozens and dozens of pictures of you and me, stretching back to our first lesson together all the way up to the last Summer Sun Celebration we did together.

I don’t even know where they got all those pictures of us…but I’m very glad they did.

(I made note of the ponies that turned their noses up at such a “simple” gift and I might just give the jewels they gave me to Spike as a welcome home snack.)

As for the name…I don’t know why I’m trying to talk to you through this diary but it feels right somehow. I guess I’ve been writing you letters for so long that I still can’t imagine you never reading one of my letters again.

I miss you now more than I can properly express in words. But words are all I have to give you so I hope they’re enough for now.

With Love,

Princess Twilight Sparkle
Twilight

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3/7/RY1005

Dear Princess Celestia,

I saw my friends off today at the station as they left to go back to Ponyville.

It’s odd to think that this could be the last time I see them for a while. Everyone promised to make their way up next weekend for lunch but that’s still seven days I’m not going to see them at all. That’s the longest I’ve gone without seeing my friends since I met them nearly four years ago. It’s a bizarre feeling I can’t really put into words. It feels like the end of something…no, that’s not right; this isn’t the end of anything at all. It's just a change from what-was to the start of what-will-be…and I’m struck by how much it's affecting me.

When I think about the pony I used to be before I went to Ponyville, I can’t help but think she would have minded being left alone in the royal palace with no friends and a mountain of work to do. She would have had her books and her notes and her precious magic and that’s all that she would have cared about. She wouldn’t have minded that her friends lived hundreds of miles away because she didn’t really care about her friends that much. She wouldn’t have been up at three in the morning, drinking lukewarm tea and talking to her dead mentor through a journal. She would have been completely fine with this separation.

But I don’t think she would have (or should have) ever been a princess.

When I think about how much I’ve been through to get to where I am today, I realize that I couldn’t have accomplished any of it without my friends to help me along the way. You may have spent years teaching me everything I know about magic but they’re the ones who taught me to be brave and kind and compassionate. Without their guidance and support, I would have never have been able to fulfill my destiny, let alone rule a country. They've come so far with me but now...

Now I have to do all this without them.

I know that they’ll be there for me if I need them but right now, the distance between us seems insurmountable. I miss them; I’m happy that I have friends that I can miss so much but it still hurts that I’m not going to wake up and see them tomorrow morning.

Sincerely, (and sleepily)

Twilight.

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3/11/RY1005
Dear Princess Celestia,

Sorry that I haven’t been writing much lately. I can’t remember the last night I had to myself or the last free moment I’ve had to get my thoughts on paper.

Needless to say, I’ve had my hooves full for the past few days trying to figure out how the heck you managed to run things so smoothly for so long. I spent nearly four hours yesterday acquainting myself with the various secretaries and undersecretaries that make up the Department of the Interior alone. I have about fifteen minutes to rest before I have to be in the West Wing for a recap of our current status with the seaponies. If I'm lucky (very, very, very lucky) I might be able to finish my paperwork early so that I don't have to work through dinner.

I don’t know why, but a part of me thought this was going to be easier than it’s turning out to be. I never saw you miss sleep because of work or run across the castle because you were late for a meeting. I guess you had a lot of practice and ponies you could rely on. I don’t feel that comfortable delegating until I understand things a little better; after the debacle with the succession papers getting “misplaced” I’m wary of being lied to or manipulated.

Chancellor Harrier is one of the only ponies in Canterlot that I really feel that I can rely on completely. She has been an absolute godsend for the past few days and has made sure that your my house is in order while I attend to my duties. She can be a little harsh with me at times but I understand why she needs to be; I’m responsible for the well-being of millions of ponies and she is responsible for me. I’m a relative newcomer to the world of government and she’s testing me to make sure I live up to everypony’s expectations. She’s not all bad though; she offered to go to the Treasury meetings in my place so I could get a few hours to relax and write to you.

I’m tired but it’s finally Friday and my friends are catching an early train from Ponyville to spend the weekend with me. I think after the week I’ve had, I’ve earned a little R&R, don’t you think?

I think I have to cut this short; Chancellor Harrier is back with her notes from the treasury meeting. I’ll write more as soon as I can.

Twilight

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3/12/RY1005
Dear Princess Celestia,

I should have known better than to think I could get some rest this weekend.

I stole a few moments to write this down but I should probably get back to my friends before Rarity and Chancellor Harrier try and kill each other again…okay, I’m exaggerating a little but I seriously think that little spat they just had singed a few of my eyelashes off!

Okay, context; so I woke up this morning expecting to have a wonderful garden party with my best friends without any drama or anything going wrong (stupid of me, I know). At first, it seemed like things were going my way; I met them at the train station, I gave them the grand tour of the newly renovated royal living quarters (at least 85% more purple and books than before) and we were all set to sit down to a nice lunch in the garden when duty reared its ugly misshapen head in the form of Chancellor Harrier arriving with papers for me to sign.

Earlier this week, the Chancellor proposed a series of economic policies that, in her mind, would smooth the transition between our administrations. In so many words, she suggested that we bribe some of the more obstinate members of parliament by “approving short term salary raises” in order to pacify some of the dissent brewing in the House of Lords and Ladies. I was reluctant to agree to the deal at first but Harrier eventually persuaded me that it was the simplest solution to winning the support of the upper chamber. Goodness knows I could use a few more friends in parliament so I finally signed off on her suggestion, hoping that it would make things easier in the short term.

And things might have gone off without a hitch if she hadn’t decided to interrupt my lunch with my friends by bringing me the documents to sign.

Rarity casually asked what I was signing and when I explained it to her she almost immediately took issue with the idea of paying ponies for their support. She questioned why I was using state money to essentially bribe my opposition into supporting me and if it were really wise to set this kind of precedent with the gentry.

Chancellor Harrier smiled at Rarity and told her, in the politest way imaginable since I was sitting beside her, that her input was worth less to the Crown than the ground beneath her hooves.

Rarity returned the smile and subtly suggested that Harrier was getting too old for politics because she must be senile to suggest such a half-baked resolution.

Harrier giggled sweetly and made the observation that Rarity knew even less about politics than she did about fashion.

Rarity complemented Harrier’s gold brooch and asked which member of the House of Lords and Ladies bought it for her in exchange for bringing this bill to my desk.

What followed was the tensest ten minutes of my life as the greatest socialites I’ve ever met traded barbs and insults through forced smiles and strained laughter. I saw a flash of anger crease Harrier’s brow for a moment and decided to step in before things got worse. I summoned up what little royal gravitas I possess and thanked Harrier for bringing the documents out to me. I said that I appreciated her input but such an important resolution warranted further debate and that I would not sign it until I had more time to think on it.

Harrier started to protest when Applejack butted in and gently reminded her that backsassing her boss wasn’t the best way to make her case. She glared at Rarity and Applejack, eyes cold with fury before collecting her papers, offering a short bow and storming out of the garden as she mumbled something under her breath.

I understand that she’s unhappy with my decision but Chancellor Harrier is going to have to learn that she’s not the only pony whose opinion I value and if I want to take advice from my friends then it’s my prerogative to do so. I happen to agree with Rarity in this case; I think there are better ways to engender loyalty than throwing money at the obstructionists. I was too concerned with winning some kind of popularity contest and sought an easy solution that wasn't really all that prudent. If ponies in parliament don’t like me then that’s their concern; I have enough real friends in my life without worrying about buying fake ones.

I’ll tell Harrier on Monday that I’m taking my friend’s advice and have decided to find another way to get the Upper Chamber on my side. She's a very professional mare so I don't think she's going to be too put out.

Right now, I just want to try and enjoy what’s left of the day; I don’t have that much time left with my friends and I want to make the most of it before they have to leave me.

Love,
Twilight

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3/26/RY1005

Dear Princess Celestia,

I don't understand this...I don't understand this at all.

I don’t understand how we could be running out of money…and by we; I mean all of Equestria!

Harrier brought me the latest treasury department report and things aren’t looking all that good. Our treasury is running on rapidly depleting good credit, our infrastructure is getting outperformed by the Neighponese and we owe mountains of gold to countries I’d rather not be in business with.

Oh, and it’s apparently all my fault according to my opposition.

That part didn't surprise me; some of my more vitriolic opponents would blame me if a vending machine ate their bits. What did surprise me was who it turned out was responsible for this mess.

It appears that you were the one responsible for this financial debacle. Somehow, someway, you must have spent Equestria into the bad situation we find ourselves in today.

I didn’t know anything was wrong; why would I what with the lavish balls and extravagant parades and lofty parties you were so fond of throwing? I assumed we were fine in terms of gold but now...I just don’t see how you could have been so…so irresponsible! Parliament is crying for a solution and I don’t know what to tell them! Damnit, I’m a sorceress not an economist! I don’t know the first thing about getting us out of debt because I didn’t think I would have to! I didn’t think my predecessor would blow all our money on silly parties just to kick the bucket and leave me holding the bag! This isn’t-

It’s fine…it’s going to be fine.

Harrier assured me that she could find a solution to all this but...I just wish you would have told me. I don’t understand how you could trust me to run a country without letting me know about things like this.

Twilight

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4/13/RY1005
Dear Princess Celestia,

HOW DARE YOU

OF ALL THE ROTTEN, MEAN SPIRITED THINGS YOU COULD HAVE DONE

DID YOU REALLY EXPECT ME NEVER TO FIND OUT ABOUT

I cannot believe you never told me you had another student before me.

Oh yes, I know all about Sunset Shimmer.

I don’t think you ever intended for me to find out about her but thanks to another legal snafu, I stumbled upon another one of your dirty little secrets.

After we resolved the unmitigated disaster that was the issue of succession, we finally got around to executing the rest of your will only recently. Most of your things went to me but I was surprised to find out that that you willed a certain book from your personal library to one Sunset Shimmer. I had never heard of this pony until recently and I admit, I was curious to see who you left your copy of Practical Spellcasting for Beginners to. Much to my disappointment, Sunset Shimmer had refused to collect her inheritance. All of Harrier’s attempts at contacting her had failed so I decided to take an hour out of my day to track this mystery mare down.

I should have known something was wrong the minute I showed up at her apartment and she pretended not to be home. I could see a flicker of movement through a crack in the tightly shut curtains but after fifteen minutes of knocking, she still refused to come to the door. So, as my lunch break drew to a close, I resolved to try again the next day.

And the day after that.

And the day after that.

And the day after that.

And the day after that.

Seven times I made the trek down to her apartment and seven times I was refused at the door. I suppose I could have just mailed the book to her or slipped it in her mail slot but at this point, I was really curious about her and had invested too much time and energy stalking tracking her to give up without speaking to her. So, acting on a hunch, I arrived at her apartment half an hour after my usual time and ambushed met Sunset Shimmer as she was leaving her apartment.

She wasn't happy to see me.

She responded in short, one word answers and remained dispassionately aloof as I tried in vain to strike up a conversation with her. As much as she tried to act nice, I could tell that she did not want to talk to me. She kept it cool, for the most part, until I mentioned that you had left her something in her will. Instead of happiness or even surprise, she just glared at the book I brought with such a withering look of contempt that I feared she would set it on fire just by glaring at it.

And then I made the mistake of asking her what was wrong.

What was wrong she erupted? Apparently, you had some nerve to send your special favorite to mock her with a pithy, perfunctory little gesture that was too little, too late! After years of not hearing from you, this is all you have to say to your once loyal student?!

She rambled on for some time after that but all I heard was “loyal student” echoing over and over again in my head. I always suspected that you had taken on students before I came along but I thought that they were all long since passed. I never expected to be standing in the doorway listening to one of my predecessors rant and rave about how she was cast aside by you once I came along. About how years of hard work and study amounted to diddly squat once the "chosen one" came along and hogged all of your time. And now I had the nerve to pretend to be nice to her?! After I ruined her life?!

Sunset then tearfully suggested that I store your book somewhere that would likely hinder my digestion and slammed the door in my face.

I stood there for what felt like hours, staring at the peeling paint on her apartment door while her words rattled around in my head. I thought she was just making it up; I thought there was no way that you would have abandoned a student just to focus your attention on me, right?

I’m quickly getting used to being wrong.

A quick scan of your personal diaries and a poll of the older members of the castle staff confirmed Sunset’s story; you had a student that you mysteriously stopped teaching once you took me on as your pupil. From your journal entries, it appears that Sunset was a “bright, hardworking student” who nevertheless was “impatient and overeager in her pursuit of magic.” You wrote that Sunset didn’t take your decision to end your relationship well but that what you did was “necessary for [my] magical development” because I showed “greater magical prowess” and possessed “an increased likelihood of rescuing Luna and completing Starswirl’s work.”

You kicked your first student out because you thought I had an "increased likelihood" of saving your sister, becoming a princess, and giving you a way out.

You know, I’ve made peace with the fact that you weren’t the saint everypony else believed you to be but this was, by far, the pettiest, stingiest, lowest thing you’ve ever done. It may be the lowest thing I’ve heard anypony do. You cast aside a hardworking young mare who looked up to you because you thought that I would be more likely to get the Element of Magic and become a princess?!

I cannot fathom why you thought this was necessary and I see now why you never told me about her. If I even had the slightest inkling that being your student would mean that you would have to put somepony else out, I would have never agreed to it…and you knew that! That’s why you never even mentioned her in the years that I was apparently taking her place!

Did you even bother to check up on her after you threw her out or was that too much to ask of Your Highness?! It took me ten minutes of searching to figure out that she goes to the University of Canterlot, that she’s slowly completing her Magical Theory degree through night and weekend classes and that she’s working two jobs to try and put herself through school right now! And in spite of basically being rejected by you, she never stopped pursuing her goal of becoming a sorceress!

And she’s good too!

I pulled her grades from the school’s computer and guess what? A’s and B’s in classes that I never got the chance to take! It would be one thing if she just didn’t have the talent for the stuff but she’s at least on par with my skills…or she would be if she had the same opportunities I did! Who’s to say she wouldn’t have been capable of wielding the Element of Magic if you had kept her on as a student?!

Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot! It was my destiny to be your chosen little princess pupil! And I guess that means everypony else who put work in before I came along can just drop dead! Gods forbid you take a moment out of shoving cake in your stupid face to spend time with a mare you promised to take under your wing!

Did it ever occur to you that I would have loved to have another pony I could have talked to about magic with? Did it ever cross your wine soaked mind that I wanted a friend I could share my passion with?! A friend who didn't think I was a loser egghead teacher's pet for reading during recess?!

DID YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT WHAT WE WANTED BEFORE YOU THREW HER AWAY LIKE A USED PIECE OF TISSUE PAPER?!

You did her wrong…you did her wrong and worst of all, you never made it up to her. The mare is struggling to pay her tuition bill and you thought a lousy book was the most appropriate thing to leave her?! After all those years of mentoring her and all those years since you sent her away, the best you can do is leave her a cheap beginner's spellbook that can be found in any public library in Equestria?!

This isn’t fair.

This isn’t fair!

Damnit, THIS ISN’T FAIR!

You owed her more than just a cast off from your collection that you didn’t want to leave to me! You completely left her out in the cold and now I can’t help but wonder if-

I can’t help but wonder if you wouldn’t have done the same thing to me if somepony more promising came along.

Author's Note:

I LIVE AGAIN

Yes, despite a thoroughly unproductive summer I have returned with the first of three intermission chapters that will bridge the gap between the first and second acts. Thank you all for your patience and I hope to return to a regular update schedule.

So yeah...Sunset Shimmer exists in this world too. I thought her story had the most potential in EQG and I was kind of disappointed when they made her a one note "bitch" character so her story's a little different here. Something happened between Sunset and Celestia and instead of going all grimdark she just kind of imploded into a ball of self loathing determined to prove Celestia wrong about her. She's here mostly because I want Twilight to be doing something more than just twiddling her nonexistent thumbs and doing paperwork while she's in Canterlot.

My approach to Celestia may seem harsh but I promise you that there's an explanation to all of this. I've always seen Twilight and Celestia's relationship as a Mother/Daughter relationship and I think one of the bigger parts of growing up is learning that your parents aren't perfect and infallible. An even bigger part of growing up is learning that this doesn't make them bad people which is what Twilight is struggling with right now.

In terms of dates; RY100X refers to years after the beginning of Celestia's solo reign after defeating Nightmare Moon. Twilight ascended to the throne five years after the beginning of the series in this timeline.

READ AND REVIEW AND I'LL SEE YOU TOMORROW FOR PART 2 OF THE INTERMISSION!!

Comments

[shyguy7829]

Here's some ointment, Celestia. You're gonna need it for that burn.

[RaptorCalloftheShadows]

3204951 Powerful enough ointment has never been made to sate that particular burn....

[GreyNoise]

Several grammar critiques and a vocabulary suggestion here.

a young sorceress who stumbled onto the public stage before she her time.

This sentence's tense structure would be improved by the removal of this word.

I don’t think you would have wanted everypony to be mope over you forever but-

Again, this sentence would be improved by the removal of the highlighted word, which is in the wrong tense.

A simple purple leather diary

Not a correction, but the use of leather suggests the use of some sort of animal skin, which is incongruous with a vegetarian society. I would suggest some sort of cloth, or perhaps cardstock or a thin piece of wood. Maybe something synthetic, like plastic.

Anyway, this is pretty good, and I'm looking forward to the next piece tomorrow.

[Dusty Sage]

Definitely an adroit handling of the EqG matter.

[gamedude88]

I find this chapter very interesting. At first, I was very sad that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna passed on. Now I feel like Princess Celestia has been kind of a stuck up who only wanted to spend bits and eat cake while sitting on her plot all day.
I just feel sad for Princess Luna and Princess Twilight Sparkle. If I was in Twilight's place, I would erase Princess Celestia's name form history by destroying all records of her and erasing her tombstone in the dead of night. Princess Luna is still cool in my book. I do like the journal entries of Twilght's life. It shows the stresses about being a princess and cleaning up someponie's else's mess. I can't wait to read what happens next.

[ArguingPizza]

Damn. You do a pissed of Twilight really well

[DarkEven]

I can’t help but wonder if you wouldn’t have done the same thing to me if somepony more promising came along.

Sorry Twilight, but if you already had a friend who know what could have happen? And you were young enough for Celestia 'Master Plan', not Sunset Shimmer!

You could could have DOOM US ALL