Do We Let Go Of All We Know?
Dear Princess Celestia,
I cannot stress enough how thankful I am for what you said to me, all those years ago. At the time, I may have scoffed at your admonition to get my nose out of my books and make some friends, but looking back on all the wonderful memories that I have as a direct result of your instructions, I find myself wondering why I didn't do so sooner.
I've experienced so much since then, and I can't help but look back on it all and smile. The adventures, the fights, all those times that we learned and grew from our experiences. It was a roller coaster of emotions, to be sure. Some positive, some negative. We argued, we made up, and we otherwise did everything that friends normally do (and some things that friends DON'T normally do). But I wouldn't trade any of it for anything in the world, and if I could go back and do it all again, I wouldn't do a single thing differently.
And yet, despite the happiness brought on by remembering such things, still I have something bothering me.
Princess, I must ask you a question. What happens next? What do we do now? What does the future hold both for us personally, but also all of pony kind?
I know, it sounds so silly of me, but I can't shake the feeling that this is the end of something greater than any of us. We've all come so far both as individuals and as a group, I dare say. Dreams have been realized, lessons have been learned, and our friendships made stronger by our trials by fire. We've saved Equestria so many times and been on so many adventures that I honestly can't help but wonder what there is that's left to do. Scratch that, I can't help but wonder if there could possibly be ANYTHING that is left to do. We've so thoroughly come full circle that I can't help but observe just how much of a conundrum we're really in.
Where do we go from here? What could we possibly do now that we haven't done before? Is there even a purpose in carrying on when all seems to have been done? Or is it all for naught, and we've only barely scratched the surface of what there is to leave our mark on this world through? I regret to say that I cannot begin to come close to asking all the questions I have, now, but for the time being these shall have to do.
I fear that these may be but some of life's greatest mysteries, destined never to be solved nor understood. Just the same as the eternal question of why we're here to begin with, or whether all happens according to some kind of cosmic plan. Asked, yes, but never answered. We all know that the wisest among us have been trying to do as much for as long as ponies have existed in this world. They have never found any success in their efforts, but yet they tried anyway, for which we all must and correctly do commend them when we recall our history.
Perhaps, though, it is better this way. Someday, I dream that a new generation will come along and marvel at what we accomplished, and hopefully be inspired to create something even greater. While I hope that maybe I'll be able to see it for myself, one of the many things I've learned over the past several years is that the future is uncertain; an unknown. And while it is natural to fear the unknown, as a good friend of mine once told me, to hide is not the correct response. You have to giggle at the ghosties. Laugh in the face of fear and move forward. Three guesses which friend said that, by the way, and the first two don't count.
Maybe that's the true meaning of this existence, though. Achieve what we can with the time we're given, and then accept that it's time to let go of everything that we've come to know. That would be the most generous thing to do: pass on the world to the next generation, hopefully in better shape than we received it. And honestly, sometimes the most loyal thing you can do is to let something or someone you care about go, lest you inadvertently hurt them by hanging on.
Yes, I think that must be it, Princess. Though the sands of time march inexorably onward, we must make the most of what we have. Of WHO we have. Our friends' existence may be as ever fleeting as our own, but the memories we make with them are timeless and can be cherished forever. And when we ourselves pass on, let us trust that our story will be remembered and passed on through the generations as the stories of our predecessors were remembered and passed on to us, for while immortality of the flesh can be a fickle thing, immortality of the spirit is enduring through such actions.
So while I may not know where we are going, or what we will do next, I do know that this is not an end. Rather, this is a beginning. This is where we set down our quills, and let the next generation pick up writing where we left off. Where our chapter comes to a close, the next one begins in this never ending story of the universe. Such has it been for countless generations before ours, and so it shall be for equally countless generations to come. Billions of lives making up one giant, beautiful story, destined to continue until the end of time.
Let us then make our way into the unknown together, Princess, so that we may discover what this life has waiting in store for us. For better, or for worse, we must continue onward, and continue striving to make the most of our limited time in this world. I hold high hopes for what the future may bring, and I trust that you feel the same.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle