> Dear Twilight
>  by Xandalite
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Letter of Friendship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Twilight,

You must think it is odd that I would write to you, without it being to alert you to an event of some sort, but I have been thinking of you lately and I wanted to tell you some things. I have you send me your reports on friendship, of what you have learned during your time in Ponyville, but I would now like to send you a report of my own findings in the dealings of friendship. When I first met you, you were so nervous about passing your entrance exam to the School for Gifted Unicorns. The shockwave from Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom triggered something in you: potential. I saw that you had tremendous magical abilities, but no guidance, which is why I decided to take you under my wing. Oh Twilight, how you pranced about in pure joy. You reminded me of Luna when she was your age, so happy and care-free. I wanted to nurture you and see you grow. Remember when we brought Spike home after his first checkup? How he sat there, suckling on his own tail? It was so cute that I had to have photos taken. I still have my copy pinned to the mirror in my chambers.

How is he doing these days? He was always so helpful that I knew he would make a great assistant to you when he grew older. I know that he is the only member of his species that he knows, but while raising him, I did my best to make sure that he felt like he was part of our family. That's right Twilight, our family. I see you and Spike as members of my family. It is true that I raised Spike, but it was only with the intention of preparing him to assist you in your journey. That does not mean that I didn't love and care for him. I deeply regret not truly raising him as a son. How I would have loved to have heard him call me mommy. The pride I would have felt watching him accomplish foalhood milestones. How happy it would have made me to kiss his boo-boos better and make him smile. The joy I would have felt as he left the nest to assist you. His own dragon, not needing me to help him anymore. All of the life skills he learned during our time together being put to the test, and him succeeding. But alas, I raised him only as one of my loyal subjects, with my only intention for him being something of my choosing.

You have no idea how sad this decision has made me. As the ruler of Equestria, I am expected to lead this great country and assist our ponies in any and all ways possible: From peace talks with neighboring regions to simple matters here at home. Everyone loves and respects me as their princess, but they seem afraid of me, As if I would turn tyrannous at the slightest transgression. Oh how I wish it were different. How I wish that our ponies would love and respect me as a friend. I don't like being so distant from our ponies. How I would love to go on long walks with friends. To go out to dinner with loved ones. To have someone sit down with me and just talk with me. To just be a friend to someone. I do have Luna, but I doubt that she sees me as a friend, especially after what I did to her. As you know, Luna had been taken by an evil entity and was transformed into Nightmare Moon a little over 1000 years ago. That evil did not simply materialize out of nowhere. It was spawned from Luna's own resentment and hatred. Her hatred of me.

While we were growing up, our childhood was filled with grooming and preparations for our future of leading Equestria. As I was a child of the sun, my future was indeed a bright one. I was to be the shining beacon of hope for Equestria. To lead this great country into the light of glory. But Luna's future was only to be a companion to me. The same way the moon gains its beauty from rays reflected from the sun, Luna merely shadowed me as co-ruler of this land. While I ruled over the day, she took to the night. The sun's warmth brings light and happiness to those who dwell in the daylight. Crops and plants grow, and the daylight allows us to see our friends and loved ones. But the night, it shrouds the land in darkness. It brings fear and despair to those who dwell in the daylight, and brings comfort to those who lurk in the darkness. And you know as much as I know that the creatures that make their homes in the shadows of night are generally hostile to daytime inhabitants.

Manticores, timber wolves, hydras, and werebeasts. And those are just the creatures we know about. Ponies have been abducted and dragged off into the shadows, never to be seen again. Ponies have been killed. All under the cover of darkness. Back in the times before, ponies used to fear the night. Children were warned not to stay out too late, or the creatures of the night would steal them away. Ponies didn't venture into the woods at night for fear of being attacked by manticores and timber wolves. And stories were told of those who ventured deep into the Everfree forest in the dead of night, who were slain by unspeakable evils that lurk about in the shadows. Our ponies came to believe that the day was the only safety from these horrors, and that the night should be feared and hated. As such, Luna was feared and hated. Ponies were scared of her, all for naught. Luna was a sweet and gentle soul. She still is. She just had the misfortune of being the one to govern the night, in a period where darkness was synonymous with all things vile.

Ponies turned to me for the warmth and protection of the sun, while Luna was met with the scorn and enmity, and was blamed for the mishappenings that occurred during the night. Ponies revered my beauty: my looks, and the fact that I benevolently ruled over this land with the grace and power of the sun. As the moon derives its beautiful glow from the sun, its own beauty is often overlooked. Luna wasn't a vicious creature of the night, but was merely misunderstood. She was docile and very shy. She enjoyed reading, almost as much as you. Her imagination was filled with worlds of mysticism and grandeur. But ponies of the time couldn't see past the fact that she was the child of the night. She was so sad during those times. She couldn't see why she was hated by those she only wished to protect.

Then, she saw me. She saw how I was loved by the masses. How happy I was. How my day brought joy to many, while her night only begot fear. She grew jealous. She began to loathe the daylight. She had begun to shut herself in her room, and we spoke less and less. Then came that fateful night. There was an explosion outside above the spires of the castle. Luna's night guards came to me and spoke of hearing her raving and ranting before the blast. I flew outside, to be met with Nightmare Moon. She told me that she planned on overthrowing her sister and ruling alone over the everlasting night. Her sister. Me. At first I denied it. There was no way that this monster could be my little sister. But the more she spoke of events past, the more I saw that my sister had indeed fallen. I pleaded with Luna to return to me, but she told me that Luna was no more, only her jealousy and resentment remained, giving her the power that she never had. She came at me with everything that she had, while I was hesitant to harm my own sister, the closest thing I had to a friend. It was a hard fight, but I proved victorious by its end.

I had hoped that Luna would have returned to normal, but what she had become still remained. I couldn't keep her here, for she would still try and do harm to myself and our ponies. I would not send her to Tartarus, as I did not want my only sister to suffer through more torture than she had already gone through at the hooves of her subjects. I had only one choice: to banish her to the surface of the moon. While the battle with Nightmare Moon at Canterlot was over, that was but a brief skirmish. The war with my sister lasted the entire millennium while she was, imprisoned, on the moon. The war raged on every day that Nightmare Moon still existed. Every day that Luna wasn't smiling happily at my side, was another battle for my sister's soul that I had lost.

For a thousand years, I wore a mask of complacency. Ponies revered me for defeating Nightmare Moon, the demoness of the night. I rejoiced with my ponies for the victory over evil. No one could see their ruler breaking down, for whom then would protect them? I went about my now solo rule as I was happy, but I cried constantly under that mask. Those tears of anguish eventually rusted the inside of the mask in a sense, sealing it to my face. I couldn't feel happy, centuries after the deed was done. I knew that Nightmare Moon would one day escape, and it gave me a feeling of relief in a sense. Even though she would still be the evil tyrant that I sealed away, I would still get to see my sister after all those years. When you, along with the Elements of Harmony, defeated Nightmare Moon, You would not have been able to believe how happy I was. You shattered the mask that had plagued me for so long. When Luna came forward and asked me for forgiveness, I cried, not out of sadness, but of elation. I had my little sister back, but I still had much to atone for.

I never recognized my sister's feelings of despair, did nothing to quell her jealousy, and eventually sealed her away from her subjects for so long. I still carry this albatross around my neck, but I will make amends. I still fight Nightmare Moon to this day. But every day that Luna grows more outgoing and self-assured, every day that I can bring happiness to her, is another victory for me. Another victory for Luna. And you Twilight, made that possible. Taking you as a personal student was one of the best decisions I had ever made. As the element of magic, you helped free Luna from her Nightmare's grasp, and freed me from years of loneliness. You also introduced me to the magic of friendship. I have never felt as close as I do to you than with anyone other than my sister. You, I helped you hone you magic, helped you become the great magician you are today. And in return, you helped me regain Luna, and helped me to understand friendship.

I notice your behavior around me sometimes, Twilight. You don't need to be nervous of me. You are not just my student, but my friend, and I am proud to call you both. But more than that, you are my family. As you know, the life a monarch sometimes requires abstinence of important things like courtship and love. Of course I have my suitors, but they only want to marry the Princess of Equestria. They only care about titles and royalty. They don't care about Celestia. And as such, I have never had any foals to call my own. Except you. When your parents left you in my care, I treated you as though you were my own daughter. I kept in touch with your parents often and explained to them how I felt. And in return, they gave me a wonderful gift: you. A sweet little bundle to raise myself. They entrusted you to me, and I know that I did not disappoint them.

I gave you those bubble baths that you loved so much. You laughed heartily at my bubble beards. I warned you that when you stayed up too late, you risked a visit from the tickle monster. And when you didn't heed my warning, I introduced you to her. Oh, how you giggled and ran from her until she couldn't keep up with that rambunctious little filly anymore and retreated. How I would read you your favorite bedtime stories, and how you would drift off into a land of dreams. I would sit there for a while, just watching you as you peacefully slept thinking about how lucky I was to have a filly of my own. And then came the time to begin your studies. You were so nervous about living up to my expectations. You studied harder than any other student in the entire school. Always walking around the playground with your nose in a book. You never wanted to make time for friends, since you had all the time in the world for your studies and books. That is why I chose to send you and Spike to Ponyville, so you could learn about how great friendship can truly be. And was I not right? You have made such wonderful friends during your journey.

But although you took so long to start making friends, you've always had one friend from the beginning besides Spike. Me. I always wanted you to see me as a friend, but I always saw you as my friend. We were partners in crime back when you still lived at the castle. Remember our sweet runs every now and then? We used to sneak around the night guards to the kitchen and raid the sweets pantry. We would always bring back a donut for Spike, and he would absolutely devour it. I never knew that a baby dragon could eat so fast! And we would always play pranks on the guards. I loved when we'd use invisibility spells to shield buckets of water. The guards never knew when to look up! And then there were those model magazines. You would love to think up ideas for fabulous dresses that you wanted would wear when you were older, and you would always blush at the hot stallion centerfold. Oh, the haunches on some of those guys! And as you grew older, you would retreat into your books more and more, but I would still take time out for you, no matter what.

And now, I would like you to return the favor, because I always have time for you. You see Twilight, my sister and I are divine beings, and as such, have a much longer lifespan than normal ponies. By the time I reach the end of my time here, you, and everypony I know now will have been long gone. As such, I want to spend as much time with you and Spike as possible. So I want you to practice your teleportation spells more, so you and Spike can come to Canterlot more often. We could have fun like times past. I could even call up the tickle monster so you both could have a reunion! I just want to spend as much time with you as I can before you graduate and decide to see the world. You are the closest thing to a daughter I have, and I love you. Everypony else sees me as their ruler, but I am eternally thankful that you see me as a friend.

Your faithful mentor and friend,
Celly