Dearest Luna, I have hurt you a lot, haven't I? So many rules, so many restrictions, it´s no wonder your anger darkened your heart. But I assure you that all I did was for a reason. All the rules I imposed on you were necessary. Sadly, I learned their importance too late.

When I first met her, I didn't think much of her. She was simply the youngest child of a family in need, nothing else. I gave them the lands next to our birthplace so they can turn it into a fertile land. I watched grown from a simple family of settlers into a diverse town, where all types of ponies were accepted. It saddens me to see how other towns make one type of pony stand over the others, and I was afraid Ponyville will do the same regarding earth ponies. But that wasn't the case at all and it was all thanks to the Apple family.

The generous, kind and honest Apple family, who welcomed every single pony, regardless of race, into their homeland. Their hospitality and the quality of their food was well know even in the halls of my palace, so I decide to pay them a visit. And then I met her again...

Sweet, funny and beautiful Annie Smith, the youngest of the Apple clan. Or so she sued to be, because when I reunited with her, the family had added a few more members. There were so many of them, all laughing and singing out loud. It was so different to my cold and empty chambers. I felt...happiness when around them. And especially, when around her. Annie made me laugh with no effort, treating me like any other pony, disregarding all protocols. She looked me at the eyes and listened to my words. Not my speeches but my words. That afternoon I spent with her is one of my happiest memories and when I retired to my bedroom that night, it was the first night since you were gone that I didn't cried.

I kept visiting Annie and her family, each visit the family growing along with my feelings for Annie. On several occasions I tried to tell her how I truly felt, to confess my affection for her. There were numerous opportunities to do so, the one I remember the most an unexpected change of schedule that led to a downpour, forcing us to hide in the barn. Us standing together next to a lamp, our wet manes dripping and our clothes and accessories drying in a corner, was the moment I felt more fear than since you changed before my eyes. I was sitting next to her like a common pony, robbed of my crown and boots and looking at her, I  felt an urge that was totally inappropriate for a Princess. I didn't act following those impulses that night, nor any other occasion. The vote of chastity that we took as Princess kept my lips sealed.

It´s so easy to forget we don't age, Luna. And the realization hurts so much. The painful, burning sensation in my chest when I descended from the carriage, anxious to meet Annie again and found her holding a foal, standing next to her husband. Years had passed since my last visit and I didn't even realized.

Time passed by for her while I just stood there, like an old tree that silently watched from the orchard. I watched her family grow and move to new lands, planting new seeds across Equestria. I gave a speech at the funeral, keeping a stern face while she suffered the worst possible pain a mother can experience. I couldn't share her tears, a Princess must never cry in public. Remember that, Luna.

She changed with time. Slowly but too me, it happened too soon. She is now fragile and old and soon would follow her husband to a place I'll never able to follow her. She is happy, at least. i know that much Her family keeps growing and she keeps laughing with the same cheerful tone. Her face has aged but to me, she is still as beautiful as the first day I laid eyes on her. And I wish I could tell her those words, those simple words. But I cannot.

A Princess cannot fell in love.

You see, Luna? This is why that rule exist. Love is certainly a wonderful feeling but for us Princesses, it´s nothing but pain.